(FASANO, Italy) — G7 leaders on Thursday agreed to lend Ukraine $50 billion this year — backed by profits from frozen Russian assets — to help the country’s war effort and rebuilding.
This plan has been years in the making. It’s a win for President Joe Biden, who has been pushing allies to agree to the deal, amid hesitation from some European countries.
The agreement will be formalized in the communique at the end of the summit.
But there are still key details of the plan the countries need to work out. The U.S. is willing to make a loan of up to $50 billion, though it’s unclear exactly how much the U.S. will end up lending. Other counties will pitch in to share the risk.
“We’re going to move with urgency,” a senior administration official said on a call with reporters.
“Ukraine is still going to have a large financial need next year and beyond and this summit is our best chance to act collectively to close the gap… This agreement is a signal from the leading democracies of the world, that we’re not going to fatigue and defending Ukraine’s freedom and that Putin is not going to outlast us,” the official said.
Officials said that while it will take time for the funds to be disbursed, they do expect the money to begin to be disbursed this calendar year.
Funds will be used for military, budget, humanitarian, and reconstruction support.
When asked by reporters about the risks associated with the loans, the senior administration official said that it can be thought of as a “secured loan” because of the interest that is generated from the Russian assets. The official added that there are scenarios in which the income stream “may not flow,” but noted that reparations could be a solution.
“How are we going to get repaid? Russia pays…the income comes from the interest stream on the immobilized asset,” the official said. “The principal is untouched for now, but we have full optionality to seize the principal later if the political will is there.”
The official added that “if there is a peace settlement, either the assets stay immobilized. And keep generating interest to repay the loans or Russia pays for the damage it’s caused. Either way, there’s a source of repayment.”
When asked how the U.S. overcame pushback from some allies, the official said that the risks of this agreement outweighed the risk of Ukraine falling short on funding to counter Russia’s offensive.
“What’s the alternative? And if Ukraine was insufficiently financed, to win this war, what would be the chilling effect it would cause across Europe and the rest of the world? What would be the signal to autocrats that they can redraw borders by force? Those are the costs, I think we all agreed were unacceptable, and that’s why we acted,” the administration official said.
(NEW YORK) — In a setback to Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the Russian prosecutor’s office announced Thursday he will stand trial on espionage charges, officially ending any future pre-detention appeals.
“The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation has approved an indictment in the criminal case against US citizen Evan Gershkovich,” the office said in a statement. “The criminal case has been sent to the Sverdlovsk Regional Court for consideration on the merits.”
It continued, “The investigation established and documented that the American journalist of The Wall Street Journal, Gershkovich, on the instructions of the CIA in March 2023, collected secret information in the Sverdlovsk region about the activities of the defense enterprise JSC NPK Uralvagonzavod for the production and repair of military equipment.”
Gershkovich has denied he was involved in any espionage and the U.S. State Department has declared him to be wrongfully detained.
The statement Thursday marks the first time prosecutors have publicly accused Gershkovich of working for the CIA, alleging without evidence that he was collecting “secret information” on a tank factory in the Sverdlovsk region. Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. government and Gershkovich’s many colleagues all vehemently dispute he was working as a spy and say that he was doing his job as a reporter.
Gershkovich was on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg, the capital of the Sverdlovsk region, when he was arrested in March 2023.
Previously, prosecutors have alleged Gershkovich was working for a foreign intelligence service without specifying which one.
(RUSSIA) — The Pentagon is downplaying Wednesday’s arrival of four Russian Navy ships in Cuba as U.S. officials acknowledge that U.S. Navy ships “actively monitored” the Russian ships as they made their way to a port of call in Havana.
At the on-camera Pentagon press briefing, spokesperson Sabrina Singh downplayed the Russian naval flotilla’s arrival in Havana noting that it’s happened multiple times over the years but acknowledged that U.S. military assets had been tracking the ships on their way to Cuba.
“We’ve been tracking the Russians plans for this,” Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary told reporters Wednesday.
The Russian ships’ transit towards Cuba was monitored by six warships from the United States Navy, Canada, and France. They included the U.S. Navy destroyers USS Donald Cook, USS Delbert Black, USS Truxton, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone, the Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec, and a French Lafayette class frigate.
“This is not a surprise we’ve seen them do this these type of port calls before and these are routine naval visits that we’ve seen under different administrations,” Singh said.
“We’re always constantly going to monitor any foreign vessels operating near U.S. territorial waters,” she added. U.S. territorial waters stretch out 12 nautical miles from the coastline.
A U.S. official said the Russian ships never came close to the American coastline as they transited the Atlantic Ocean.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has been very open about the port of call in Havana being made by the frigate “Admiral Gorshkov,” the nuclear-powered submarine “Kazan,” the sea supply tanker “Akademik Pashin” and the ocean rescue tug “Nikolai Chiker.”
Cuba’s defense ministry has described the visit as “keeping with the historical friendly ties between Cuba and the Russian Federation and is fully consistent with international rules.” In a statement, the ministry said “none of the ships carry nuclear weapons, due to which our country does not pose any threat to the region.”
Even though the Russian ships are in port, Singh said the U.S. was “going to continue to monitor what’s happening in the region.”
According to the Pentagon, Russia has sailed warships into the Western Hemisphere yearly from 2013 to 2020 with regular port visits into Havana.
The most recent docking of a warship was in June 2023 though the most recent military exercise in the region was in 2008 with Venezuela.
A U.S. official said that the port visit to Havana will last a few days and that sometime next week the Russian flotilla is expected to make a port of call in Venezuela.
(ITALY) — It has been thousands of years since the eruption of Mount Vesuvius left the Italian city of Pompeii in ruins, but the ancient archaeological site continues to offer new findings.
An ornate “blue room,” distinguished by depictions of female figures on the cerulean-painted walls, was newly excavated by archeologists, according to a press release from the Archaeological Parks of Pompeii earlier this month.
The room, which is nearly 90 square feet, was initially discovered during the Bourbon period (1813-1840) but was recently excavated and shown for the first time on May 27.
Experts believe some murals represent the four seasons, or “Horea.” Other murals are emblems of agriculture, such as a plow and a “pedum,” a short staff used by shepherds and hunters, according to the release.
The pigment of the room is particularly significant, according to experts, who noted “the color blue found in this room rarely occurs in Pompeian frescoes and was generally used for elaborately decorated rooms.”
The rare blue room has been interpreted as a sacrarium, or a Roman sanctuary “devoted to ritual activities and the storage of sacred objects,” experts said.
Objects discovered in the room include 15 transport amphorae, or large vases, along with a set of bronze objects consisting of two jugs and two lamps.
Additionally, archaeologists excavated piles of building materials that were ready to be used in the renovation work. A heap of empty oyster shells was also found.
The excavation of the blue room is part of a larger project to “safeguard the vast heritage” of Pompeii, which includes 13,000 rooms in 1070 residential units, as well as public and sacred areas, according to the release.
In 2018, a discovery was unearthed in a large villa that stood just outside the walls of Pompeii, far from the known archaeological area, during a joint operation of the Carabinieri of the Cultural Heritage Protection Center and Pompeii archaeological superintendence.
Archaeologists working at the site uncovered buildings with big balconies that had Pompeian red colors and geometric decorations of flowers and animals. They named it the ‘Vicolo dei Balconi’ (Alley of Balconies).
(KYIV, Ukraine) — Ukraine on Tuesday launched its Unmanned Systems Forces, a new branch of its military focused on drone warfare that officials said was the first of its kind.
“Ukraine is the only country in the world that has created the Unmanned Systems Forces, and this gives hope for the creation of a coalition of countries,” said Ivan Havryliuk, deputy minister of Defense of Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had announced the creation of the new branch in February, saying that Ukrainian military drones “have proven their effectiveness in battles on land, in the sky and at sea.”
The new branch’s commander — Col. Vadym Sukharevskyi, 39 — was appointed to the position just a day before Tuesday’s launch. He has been fighting against Russia since 2014. The commander goes by the callsign “Borsuk,” which translates to “Badger,” and has been referred to as a legend of the Russian-Ukrainian war. He was the first to give an order to open fire on the Russian militants in April 2014 as they were seizing the Donetsk region.
Drones have became a key piece of new technology for both sides in the Russia-Ukraine war. At first the Ukrainian Air Force used small commercial drones, like the DJI Mavic, for reconnaissance and dropping grenades. Then they switched to first-person view drones to attack enemy personnel and vehicles. And during the last two years, Ukrainians have developed a series of different kinds of aerial, land and water drones to help to fight against the Russians when Ukraine doesn’t have enough heavy weapons, artillery and jets.
“We have everything to win the war against the Russian Federation. Everything to replace a person in the trench, at sea, in the air and underwater,” Havryliuk said.
“This is the future. No one has yet used maritime drones before Ukraine,” Ukrainian MP Vadym Ivchenko said, adding that Ukraine managed to defeat the Russian Black Sea fleet without having its own fully fledged sea fleet.
Oleksandr Yarmak, platoon uncrewed aerial vehicle commander, called the new branch a historical one of a global scale.
“This is an absolutely new structure in which nothing needs to be changed, instead we can create new approaches,” he said.
The branch’s emblem — an iron swallow — was created by AI.
“It is a tender swallow that turns into a revenge machine,” Yarmak said, adding that the swallow is among Ukrainian’s favorite birds and is featured in the song “Shchedryk,” a traditional New Year’s Eve song.
Sukharevskyi, the commander, said that with the launch of the new branch Ukraine showed the whole world that they have moved away from conservative approaches in the Armed Forces.
“By creating the USF, we began to prepare for the war of the future, not for the war of the past,” he said.
When asked by ABC News about American involvement, Sukharevskyi said, “The United States is one of our main strategic partners, and they are involved in many directions — from reconnaissance to drones production.”
“Coalition of drones works and it`s pretty efficient,” he said, referring to an organization of countries participating in the production and transfer of drones to Ukraine that consists of Latvia, Great Britain, Sweden, Estonia, Germany, Netherlands, Lithuania, Denmark, Canada and Australia.
The commander explained that those forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which already have UAV control units, will not be subordinated to the new command, so as not to disrupt the established system of work and not to create chaos.
Sukharevskyi said that during the first five months of 2024, the state supplied the Armed Forces of Ukraine with six times more drones than for the entire year of 2023.
Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip are pictured on June 4, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, negotiations are apparently stalled to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, and Israeli forces continue to launch incursions in the southern Gazan town of Rafah ahead of a possible large-scale invasion.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 11, 6:09 PM Israeli forces kill 6 in West Bank raid: Palestinian health officials
Israeli troops shot and killed six Palestinians during a raid on a small village near the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday amid escalating violence there, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers killed “four armed terrorists” and injured “additional ones” amid “exchanges of fire” while conducting “counterterror activity” in the Kafr Dan area.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Dana Savir
Jun 11, 4:51 PM Hamas submits its response to cease-fire proposal
Qatar and Egypt have received a response from Hamas and the Palestinian factions regarding the truce proposal, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad said in a statement, “The response prioritizes the interest of our Palestinian people. The need to completely stop the ongoing aggression against Gaza. The Palestinian delegation expressed its readiness to deal positively to reach an agreement to end this war against our people, based on a sense of national responsibility.”
A U.S. official familiar with negotiations describes Hamas’ response as not an outright yes or no, but a counter with questions about provisions included in the proposal and some additional demands.
Another official said that while the U.S. is still analyzing Hamas’ response, mediators see the potential to bridge remaining gaps at this point and will coordinate with all parties involved on the next steps — which will likely include another round of talks.
Israel received the Hamas response from the mediators Tuesday evening, according to a senior Israeli official. In its response, Hamas rejected the outline of the deal for the release of the abductees presented by President Joe Biden, the official said.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford and Dana Savir
Jun 11, 1:02 PM 4 hostages rescued from Gaza released from hospitals
All four hostages rescued from Gaza this weekend have been discharged from hospitals, local officials told ABC News.
The three male hostages — Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrei Kozlov,27; and Shlomi Ziv, 41 — were discharged from Sheba Medical Center on Tuesday, according to the medical center.
Noa Argamani, 26, was transferred to Ichilov Medical Center on Saturday to be with her mother, who is in the hospital, officials said. Argamani was discharged on Tuesday morning, a hospital spokeswoman told ABC News.
-ABC News Jordana Miller and Dana Savir
Jun 11, 10:38 AM US announces $404M in aid for Gaza
The U.S. announced $404 million in aid for Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the region, bringing the total amount of aid from the U.S. to over $674 million since the wore broke out, the State Department announced Tuesday.
“This new funding will provide essential support to vulnerable Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and the region, including food, safe drinking water, health care, protection, education, shelter, and psychosocial support,” the State Department said. “We urge other donors to contribute to the humanitarian response in Gaza and the region, increase support to those affected by the conflict, and work together to find lasting solutions to the crisis.”
Jun 11, 6:23 AM Israel’s actions during hostage rescue may amount to war crimes, UN agency says
United Nation human rights officials said they were “profoundly shocked” by the Israeli operation that freed four hostages in central Gaza over the weekend, adding that actions by both Israel and Hamas “may amount to war crimes.”
“The manner in which the raid was conducted in such a densely populated area seriously calls into question whether the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution — as set out under the laws of war — were respected by the Israeli forces,” the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, or OHCHR, said in a statement on Tuesday.
The rescue operation in a refugee camp in Nuseirat killed as many as 274 people, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday. Hundreds of others were injured, the ministry said. Many of those injured and killed Palestinians were civilians, OHCHR said on Tuesday.
But OHCHR also said it was “deeply distressed” about the way the militant groups continue to hold hostages, “most of them civilians, which is prohibited by international law.”
By holding those hostages in densely populated areas, Hamas militants are putting civilians and the hostages at risk, the agency said.
“All these actions, by both parties, may amount to war crimes,” OHCHR said.
Jun 10, 4:11 PM More than 200 killed during hostage rescue raid: Gaza Ministry of Health
At least 274 people were killed and another 698 were injured during Saturday’s Israeli rescue operation that saved four hostages from Hamas custody in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
Israeli special forces were disguised as Palestinian refugees looking for a place to live when they entered the buildings where hostages were being held in the rescue operation, two Israeli security sources told ABC News.
The hostages were rescued from two locations in Nuseirat, a camp that has become home to thousands of refugees who’ve fled fighting throughout Gaza.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Jun 10, 4:09 PM UN Security Council adopts US draft resolution supporting Gaza cease-fire deal
The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S. draft resolution urging Hamas to accept the latest cease-fire and hostage release deal.
Nate Evans, spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said in a statement ahead of the vote that the deal would enable a pause in fighting, the freeing of a number of hostages and an immediate surge in humanitarian assistance, among other things.
“Israel has accepted this proposal and the Security Council has an opportunity to speak with one voice and call on Hamas to do the same,” Evans said. “Doing so would help save lives and the suffering of civilians in Gaza as well as the hostages and their families. Council Members should not let this opportunity pass by and must speak with one voice in support of this deal.”
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made a similar case just before the vote, saying every day the war goes on “needless suffering continues.”
“Colleagues, after eight months of devastation and pain and trauma, what is needed now more than ever is for the fighting to end in a sustainable way,” she said. “The United States and every single country in this chamber wants to see an immediate cease-fire with the release of hostages. We’ve heard those calls time and time again since Oct. 7. Now the opportunity is here. We must seize it.”
Hamas said in a statement they “welcome” what was included in the U.N. Security Council resolution “regarding a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.”
Jun 10, 3:16 PM Israeli special forces dressed as Palestinian refugees to go undercover before hostage rescue operation: Sources
Israeli special forces were disguised as Palestinian refugees looking for a place to live when they entered the buildings where hostages were being held in the Israeli rescue operation this weekend, two Israeli security sources told ABC News.
Special forces were already in position near the buildings where the hostages were being held before they were given the “go” command by Israeli forces, the sources added.
The “go” command was given at 11 a.m. local time, sources said.
The helicopters carrying the hostages and wounded police officers landed at Sheba Medical Center in Israel starting at 12:15 p.m. local time and the last helicopter landed at 12:45 p.m. local time.
The Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security forces, Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli SWAT team members participated in the rescue operation, now called “Operation Arnon” by the Israeli military. The name of the operation was given to honor the one security officer who was killed during the operation.
– ABC News’ Dana Savir
Jun 10, 11:06 AM US calls for Security Council vote on Gaza cease-fire, hostage deal resolution
The U.S. is calling for the United Nations Security Council to vote on a draft resolution urging Hamas to accept the ceasefire-hostage release deal on the table, according to a statement from the spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the UN.
“Israel has accepted this proposal and the Security Council has an opportunity to speak with one voice and call on Hamas to do the same,” the statement read. “Doing so would help save lives and the suffering of civilians in Gaza as well as the hostages and their families. Council Members should not let this opportunity to pass by and must speak with one voice in support of this deal.”
The Security Council vote has been scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jun 10, 9:19 AM Blinken urges Middle East to ‘press Hamas to say yes’ to proposal
On a tarmac in Egypt, Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out his objectives for his tour through the Middle East this week, calling on countries with connections to Hamas to push them to take the cease-fire deal on the table, while also emphasizing the need to develop a “day after” plan for Gaza, calling it “a critical moment.”
“My message to governments throughout the region, to people throughout the region: If you want a cease-fire, press Hamas to say yes,” Blinken said. “If you want to alleviate the terrible suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, press Hamas to say yes. If you want to get all the hostages home, press Hamas to say yes. If you want to put present Palestinians and Israelis alike on the path to more durable peace and security, if you want to prevent this conflict from spreading, press Hamas to say yes.”
He said a cease-fire would open a path to “more durable security, calm, peace in Gaza.”
“For that, it’s critical that we continue to work on plans for the day after to make sure that when it comes to security in Gaza, when it comes to governance, when it comes to reconstruction, we have the plans in place to come forward,” he said. “That’s going to be a critical part of my conversations here in the region as we go on to Israel and then to Jordan and then to Qatar.”
Blinken didn’t say when he expected Hamas to give its formal response to the proposal but said “there’s a sense of urgency among all concerned.”
“Our Egyptian counterparts were in communication with Hamas as early — as recently as a few hours ago,” he said. “Ultimately, I can’t put myself, none of us can put ourselves, in the minds of a Hamas or its leaders, so we don’t know what the answer will be.”
Blinken was adamant that Israel stood behind the proposal, stressing it was only Hamas preventing it from being implemented.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jun 10, 8:56 AM 4 rescued hostages ‘in less severe condition’ physically than expected
The four hostages rescued from Gaza this weekend are physically “in less severe condition than we kind of prepared for,” said Itai Pessach, head of the medical team at the Sheba Medical Center, where the hostages are being treated.
But the worry is mainly on the long-term psychological impact, as “they underwent continuous, psychological abuse,” Pessach told ABC News.
The rescued hostages — Noa Argamani, 25; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40 — were kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces. They were all rescued in good condition, the IDF said.
Argamani has been discharged while the three men remain at the hospital. But Argamani will still be receiving medical treatment from the Sheba team for an indefinite period, Pessach said.
“It’s a very, very long process of rehabilitation. And we received captives that came back six months ago, and we’re just now starting to see the initial post-traumatic response coming up,” Pessach said. “They have seen a lot of war-related things that happened and all of that is part of their trauma, and we will need to care for that.”
“When you see the eyes and you see, you know, they get silent for a second and you understand that there’s a trigger, there’s something in their minds, and you see a tear, or they ask to be left alone for a moment or something like that. This is when you really feel, under the surface there’s so much that’s waiting for us,” Pessach said.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge, Dana Savir, Omer Manor and Hugo Leenhardt
Jun 09, 11:34 PM US calls for Security Council vote on Gaza cease-fire, hostage deal resolution
The U.S. is calling for the United Nations Security Council to vote on a draft resolution urging Hamas to accept the ceasefire-hostage release deal on the table, according to a statement from the spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the UN.
“Israel has accepted this proposal and the Security Council has an opportunity to speak with one voice and call on Hamas to do the same,” the statement read. “Doing so would help save lives and the suffering of civilians in Gaza as well as the hostages and their families. Council Members should not let this opportunity to pass by and must speak with one voice in support of this deal.”
The State Department said it was consulting with Israel on the draft resolution last week, even though Israel is not a member of the Security Council. A specific vote time has not yet been set, but State Department officials anticipate it will happen in the coming days.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jun 09, 6:23 PM United States doubling down on efforts for Israel to reach a cease-fire
The United States is doubling down efforts to reach a cease-fire deal as pressure mounts on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Qatar this week to discuss a cease-fire agreement that secures the release of all hostages, according to the State Department’s announcement Friday.
While Blinken traveling to the region should not be seen as a marker of further progress in reaching a deal, he will be putting pressure on the respective countries’ officials when he’s there.
A U.S. official told ABC News the intelligence that the U.S. provided to Israel in the latest hostage rescue operation was related to “support with locating individuals.”
Currently, there are five American hostages the U.S. believes are still living and three that the U.S. has confirmed are deceased.
The White House is not commenting on the resignation of Centrist Israeli minister Benny Gantz on Sunday, as they don’t comment on domestic Israeli politics.
-ABC News’ Selina Weng
Jun 09, 3:39 PM Gantz resigns from emergency government in blow to Netanyahu
Centrist Israeli minister Benny Gantz announced Sunday that he was resigning from the emergency government because of what he has described as a lack of a plan from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the “day after” in Gaza.
During a televised news conference, Gantz announced he was resigning from the coalition government, taking with him his State Party and the seats it held in the Knesset. Netanyahu’s coalition government will still retain a majority, but the move by Gantz is considered a major blow to the prime minister.
“Netanyahu is preventing us from progressing towards a true victory,” Gantz said. “For this reason, we are leaving the emergency government today, with a heavy heart, yet wholeheartedly.”
He also called on Netanyahu to set a date for elections.
Gantz was set to make the announcement on Saturday but called it off amid the news of an Israel Defense Forces operation in Gaza that led to the rescue of four Israeli hostages.
Gantz is a member of Israel’s three-member war Cabinet, which includes Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
On Saturday, Netanyahu appealed to Gantz on X, saying, “This is the time for unity and not for division. We must remain united within ourselves in the face of the great tasks before us. I call on Benny Gantz — do not leave the emergency government. Don’t give up on unity.”
Following Gantz’s resignation, Netanyahu released a statement on X, saying, “Israel is in an existential war on several fronts.”
“Benny, this is not the time to abandon the campaign — this is the time to join forces,” Netanyahu said. “Citizens of Israel, we will continue until victory and the achievement of all the goals of the war, primarily the release of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas.”
Netanyahu added, “My door will remain open to any Zionist party that is ready to get under the stretcher and assist in bringing victory over our enemies and ensuring the safety of our citizens.”
In May, Gantz issued an ultimatum to Netanyahu, saying he would resign if the prime minister did not approve a post-war plan by June 8, saying at the time, “While the Israeli soldiers show supreme bravery on the front, some of the men who sent them into battle behave with cowardice and irresponsibility.”
A visitor looks at the new official portrait of King Charles III, painted by British artist Jonathan Yeo, displayed at the Philip Mould gallery, on Pall Mall, central London, on May 16, 2024. (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — A recently unveiled portrait of King Charles was vandalized in a London gallery on Tuesday by an activist animal rights group, the group said.
Two of the group’s supporters “pasted the face of the iconic British character Wallace over His Majesty’s,” the group said in a press release, referencing a character from “Wallace and Gromit,” an animated film series. The group released a video of the vandalization on social media.
Charles last month became the royal patron of the RSPCA Assured charity, which works to improve the lives of animals on farms. And the activist group on Tuesday said its action was part of an effort to stop the “awful suffering across farms being endorsed by the RSPCA.”
“The action highlighted the cruelty on RSPCA Assured farms the group had exposed over the previous weekend,” the group said.
The Metropolitan Police Service said they had not been called regarding the incident but went to the gallery on Tuesday in response to “footage circulating on social media.”
Staff told police that there was no damage to the painting or glass covering it, and that the protesters left when asked, according to Met Police.
“The gallery did not wish to report a crime and as such there is no further action by police,” Met Police said in a statement.
The artwork by Jonathan Yeo, a U.K.-based artist, was unveiled during a ceremony in May at Buckingham Palace.
The 6-foot-tall portrait is on view at the Philip Mould Gallery through June 21.
ABC News’ Helena Skinner and Zoe Magee contributed to this report.
A visitor looks at the new official portrait of King Charles III, painted by British artist Jonathan Yeo, displayed at the Philip Mould gallery, on Pall Mall, central London, on May 16, 2024. (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — A recently unveiled portrait of King Charles was vandalized in a London museum on Tuesday by an activist animal rights group, the group said.
Two of the group’s supporters “pasted the face of the iconic British character Wallace over His Majesty’s,” the group said in a press release.
“The action highlighted the cruelty on RSPCA Assured farms the group had exposed over the previous weekend,” the group said.
The artwork by Jonathan Yeo, a U.K.-based artist, was unveiled during a ceremony in May at Buckingham Palace.
The six-foot-tall painting portrait is on view at the Philip Mould Gallery through June 21.
Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip are pictured on June 4, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, negotiations are apparently stalled to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, and Israeli forces continue to launch incursions in the southern Gazan town of Rafah ahead of a possible large-scale invasion.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 11, 6:23 AM Israel’s actions during hostage rescue may amount to war crimes, UN agency says
United Nation human rights officials said they were “profoundly shocked” by the Israeli operation that freed four hostages in central Gaza over the weekend, adding that actions by both Israel and Hamas “may amount to war crimes.”
“The manner in which the raid was conducted in such a densely populated area seriously calls into question whether the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution — as set out under the laws of war — were respected by the Israeli forces,” the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, or OHCHR, said in a statement on Tuesday.
The rescue operation in a refugee camp in Nuseirat killed as many as 274 people, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday. Hundreds of others were injured, the ministry said. Many of those injured and killed Palestinians were civilians, OHCHR said on Tuesday.
But OHCHR also said it was “deeply distressed” about the way the militant groups continue to hold hostages, “most of them civilians, which is prohibited by international law.”
By holding those hostages in densely populated areas, Hamas militants are putting civilians and the hostages at risk, the agency said.
“All these actions, by both parties, may amount to war crimes,” OHCHR said.
Jun 10, 4:11 PM More than 200 killed during hostage rescue raid: Gaza Ministry of Health
At least 274 people were killed and another 698 were injured during Saturday’s Israeli rescue operation that saved four hostages from Hamas custody in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
Israeli special forces were disguised as Palestinian refugees looking for a place to live when they entered the buildings where hostages were being held in the rescue operation, two Israeli security sources told ABC News.
The hostages were rescued from two locations in Nuseirat, a camp that has become home to thousands of refugees who’ve fled fighting throughout Gaza.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Jun 10, 4:09 PM UN Security Council adopts US draft resolution supporting Gaza cease-fire deal
The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S. draft resolution urging Hamas to accept the latest cease-fire and hostage release deal.
Nate Evans, spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said in a statement ahead of the vote that the deal would enable a pause in fighting, the freeing of a number of hostages and an immediate surge in humanitarian assistance, among other things.
“Israel has accepted this proposal and the Security Council has an opportunity to speak with one voice and call on Hamas to do the same,” Evans said. “Doing so would help save lives and the suffering of civilians in Gaza as well as the hostages and their families. Council Members should not let this opportunity pass by and must speak with one voice in support of this deal.”
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made a similar case just before the vote, saying every day the war goes on “needless suffering continues.”
“Colleagues, after eight months of devastation and pain and trauma, what is needed now more than ever is for the fighting to end in a sustainable way,” she said. “The United States and every single country in this chamber wants to see an immediate cease-fire with the release of hostages. We’ve heard those calls time and time again since Oct. 7. Now the opportunity is here. We must seize it.”
Hamas said in a statement they “welcome” what was included in the U.N. Security Council resolution “regarding a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.”
Jun 10, 3:16 PM Israeli special forces dressed as Palestinian refugees to go undercover before hostage rescue operation: Sources
Israeli special forces were disguised as Palestinian refugees looking for a place to live when they entered the buildings where hostages were being held in the Israeli rescue operation this weekend, two Israeli security sources told ABC News.
Special forces were already in position near the buildings where the hostages were being held before they were given the “go” command by Israeli forces, the sources added.
The “go” command was given at 11 a.m. local time, sources said.
The helicopters carrying the hostages and wounded police officers landed at Sheba Medical Center in Israel starting at 12:15 p.m. local time and the last helicopter landed at 12:45 p.m. local time.
The Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security forces, Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli SWAT team members participated in the rescue operation, now called “Operation Arnon” by the Israeli military. The name of the operation was given to honor the one security officer who was killed during the operation.
– ABC News’ Dana Savir
Jun 10, 11:06 AM US calls for Security Council vote on Gaza cease-fire, hostage deal resolution
The U.S. is calling for the United Nations Security Council to vote on a draft resolution urging Hamas to accept the ceasefire-hostage release deal on the table, according to a statement from the spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the UN.
“Israel has accepted this proposal and the Security Council has an opportunity to speak with one voice and call on Hamas to do the same,” the statement read. “Doing so would help save lives and the suffering of civilians in Gaza as well as the hostages and their families. Council Members should not let this opportunity to pass by and must speak with one voice in support of this deal.”
The Security Council vote has been scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jun 10, 9:19 AM Blinken urges Middle East to ‘press Hamas to say yes’ to proposal
On a tarmac in Egypt, Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out his objectives for his tour through the Middle East this week, calling on countries with connections to Hamas to push them to take the cease-fire deal on the table, while also emphasizing the need to develop a “day after” plan for Gaza, calling it “a critical moment.”
“My message to governments throughout the region, to people throughout the region: If you want a cease-fire, press Hamas to say yes,” Blinken said. “If you want to alleviate the terrible suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, press Hamas to say yes. If you want to get all the hostages home, press Hamas to say yes. If you want to put present Palestinians and Israelis alike on the path to more durable peace and security, if you want to prevent this conflict from spreading, press Hamas to say yes.”
He said a cease-fire would open a path to “more durable security, calm, peace in Gaza.”
“For that, it’s critical that we continue to work on plans for the day after to make sure that when it comes to security in Gaza, when it comes to governance, when it comes to reconstruction, we have the plans in place to come forward,” he said. “That’s going to be a critical part of my conversations here in the region as we go on to Israel and then to Jordan and then to Qatar.”
Blinken didn’t say when he expected Hamas to give its formal response to the proposal but said “there’s a sense of urgency among all concerned.”
“Our Egyptian counterparts were in communication with Hamas as early — as recently as a few hours ago,” he said. “Ultimately, I can’t put myself, none of us can put ourselves, in the minds of a Hamas or its leaders, so we don’t know what the answer will be.”
Blinken was adamant that Israel stood behind the proposal, stressing it was only Hamas preventing it from being implemented.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jun 10, 8:56 AM 4 rescued hostages ‘in less severe condition’ physically than expected
The four hostages rescued from Gaza this weekend are physically “in less severe condition than we kind of prepared for,” said Itai Pessach, head of the medical team at the Sheba Medical Center, where the hostages are being treated.
But the worry is mainly on the long-term psychological impact, as “they underwent continuous, psychological abuse,” Pessach told ABC News.
The rescued hostages — Noa Argamani, 25; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40 — were kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces. They were all rescued in good condition, the IDF said.
Argamani has been discharged while the three men remain at the hospital. But Argamani will still be receiving medical treatment from the Sheba team for an indefinite period, Pessach said.
“It’s a very, very long process of rehabilitation. And we received captives that came back six months ago, and we’re just now starting to see the initial post-traumatic response coming up,” Pessach said. “They have seen a lot of war-related things that happened and all of that is part of their trauma, and we will need to care for that.”
“When you see the eyes and you see, you know, they get silent for a second and you understand that there’s a trigger, there’s something in their minds, and you see a tear, or they ask to be left alone for a moment or something like that. This is when you really feel, under the surface there’s so much that’s waiting for us,” Pessach said.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge, Dana Savir, Omer Manor and Hugo Leenhardt
Jun 09, 11:34 PM US calls for Security Council vote on Gaza cease-fire, hostage deal resolution
The U.S. is calling for the United Nations Security Council to vote on a draft resolution urging Hamas to accept the ceasefire-hostage release deal on the table, according to a statement from the spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the UN.
“Israel has accepted this proposal and the Security Council has an opportunity to speak with one voice and call on Hamas to do the same,” the statement read. “Doing so would help save lives and the suffering of civilians in Gaza as well as the hostages and their families. Council Members should not let this opportunity to pass by and must speak with one voice in support of this deal.”
The State Department said it was consulting with Israel on the draft resolution last week, even though Israel is not a member of the Security Council. A specific vote time has not yet been set, but State Department officials anticipate it will happen in the coming days.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jun 09, 6:23 PM United States doubling down on efforts for Israel to reach a cease-fire
The United States is doubling down efforts to reach a cease-fire deal as pressure mounts on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Qatar this week to discuss a cease-fire agreement that secures the release of all hostages, according to the State Department’s announcement Friday.
While Blinken traveling to the region should not be seen as a marker of further progress in reaching a deal, he will be putting pressure on the respective countries’ officials when he’s there.
A U.S. official told ABC News the intelligence that the U.S. provided to Israel in the latest hostage rescue operation was related to “support with locating individuals.”
Currently, there are five American hostages the U.S. believes are still living and three that the U.S. has confirmed are deceased.
The White House is not commenting on the resignation of Centrist Israeli minister Benny Gantz on Sunday, as they don’t comment on domestic Israeli politics.
-ABC News’ Selina Weng
Jun 09, 3:39 PM Gantz resigns from emergency government in blow to Netanyahu
Centrist Israeli minister Benny Gantz announced Sunday that he was resigning from the emergency government because of what he has described as a lack of a plan from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the “day after” in Gaza.
During a televised news conference, Gantz announced he was resigning from the coalition government, taking with him his State Party and the seats it held in the Knesset. Netanyahu’s coalition government will still retain a majority, but the move by Gantz is considered a major blow to the prime minister.
“Netanyahu is preventing us from progressing towards a true victory,” Gantz said. “For this reason, we are leaving the emergency government today, with a heavy heart, yet wholeheartedly.”
He also called on Netanyahu to set a date for elections.
Gantz was set to make the announcement on Saturday but called it off amid the news of an Israel Defense Forces operation in Gaza that led to the rescue of four Israeli hostages.
Gantz is a member of Israel’s three-member war Cabinet, which includes Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
On Saturday, Netanyahu appealed to Gantz on X, saying, “This is the time for unity and not for division. We must remain united within ourselves in the face of the great tasks before us. I call on Benny Gantz — do not leave the emergency government. Don’t give up on unity.”
Following Gantz’s resignation, Netanyahu released a statement on X, saying, “Israel is in an existential war on several fronts.”
“Benny, this is not the time to abandon the campaign — this is the time to join forces,” Netanyahu said. “Citizens of Israel, we will continue until victory and the achievement of all the goals of the war, primarily the release of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas.”
Netanyahu added, “My door will remain open to any Zionist party that is ready to get under the stretcher and assist in bringing victory over our enemies and ensuring the safety of our citizens.”
In May, Gantz issued an ultimatum to Netanyahu, saying he would resign if the prime minister did not approve a post-war plan by June 8, saying at the time, “While the Israeli soldiers show supreme bravery on the front, some of the men who sent them into battle behave with cowardice and irresponsibility.”
(NEW YORK) — Four instructors from Cornell College in Iowa were stabbed in a “serious incident” while overseas in China, university and Chinese officials said.
The incident took place in a public park in Jilin City, China, on Sunday, according to the statement. A Chinese official said on Tuesday that the instructors had been “attacked while sightseeing” in Beishan Park.
“All the injured were immediately sent to the hospital and received proper treatment. None of them are in danger of life,” said Lin Jian, spokesperson for the foreign ministry. “The police initially determined that this case was an isolated incident and is currently under further investigation.”
A 55 year-old suspect “collided” or “bumped into” one of the instructors and then proceeded to attack that instructor and three others with a knife, the Jilin Public Security Bureau said Tuesday. A Chinese tourist was also injured, and the suspect was arrested, police said.
Cornell College has a partnership with Beihua University and the instructors were accompanied by a local faculty member when the incident occurred, the university said.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds released a statement on X Monday, saying she’s been in contact with Iowa’s federal delegation and the state department “in response to this horrifying attack.”
“Please pray for their full recovery, safe return, and their families here at home,” Reynolds wrote.
In a statement, the Department of State said it was “aware of reports of a stabbing incident in Jilin, People’s Republic of China.”
“We are monitoring the situation and have no further comments at this time,” the department’s statement read.
Lin, the Chinese official, said cultural exchanges such as the one the instructors were undertaking were “in the common interests” of the U.S. and China.
“China has always taken effective measures and will continue to take relevant measures to effectively protect the safety of all foreigners in China,” Lin said Tuesday. “The sporadic cases will not affect the normal development of Sino-US cultural exchanges.”
Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa.
