WORLD

Israel has repeatedly denied cease-fire on its part despite several nations, including the United States, call for ‘humanitarian pauses’ in the Israel-Hamas war, which has now entered the second month. The Israeli military began to carry out operations inside Gaza's main city, a region which is believed to have significant presence of Hamas operatives.

US President Joe Biden once again asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ‘pause’ the fighting in Gaza amid fears of the war spiralling into the rest of the Middle-East. Meanwhile, Israel Defence Force (IDF) rejected any cease-fire blaming Hamas of not following its call for the same. “Hamas terrorists tell themselves that there will be a ceasefire. There won’t be one. We are moving forward,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.

Amid the fear that Israel may recapture Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made a statement that indicates that the Israeli Defence Forces are there in Gaza to stay. PM Netanyahu said that Israel will have security responsibility over the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period. This shows that Israel will not leave Gaza till it is assured of destroying all Hamas sites and militants.

"I think Israel will for an indefinite period have security responsibility...We've seen what happens when we don't have that... security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn't imagine," Netanyahu told ABC News. 

Adefiant Donald Trump sparred with a New York judge and slammed the state attorney general suing him Monday, using the witness stand at his civil fraud trial to defend his riches and lash out at a case that imperils his real estate empire.

The former president's barbed testimony spurred the judge to admonish: "This is not a political rally."

Trump's long-awaited testimony about property valuations and financial statements was punctuated by personal jabs at state Judge Arthur Engoron, whom he said was biased against him, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, whom he derided as a "political hack." He proudly boasted of his real estate business — "I'm worth billions of dollars more than the financial statements" — and disputed claims that he had deceived banks and insurers.

The Israeli minister who suggested dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza has been suspended from all government meetings "until further notice". Amihai Eliyahu, who serves as Israel's heritage minister and is a member of the far-right party, said recently that dropping an atomic bomb on Gaza may be "one of the possibilities".

The minister's comment drew criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Minister Amihai Eliyahu's statements are not based in reality. Israel and IDF are operating in accordance with the highest standards of international law to avoid harming innocents. We will continue to do so until our victory," the Prime Minister said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Afghanistan's Taliban government has once again slammed Pakistan for its decision to deport millions of Afghan refugees and illegal immigrants. Calling the decision 'unilateral', the Taliban government has criticised Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar.

In an audio clip shared on social media, Afghanistan's defence minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqub Mujahid has criticised the Pakistani government for expelling around 1.7 million Afghan refugees from the country.