Author: admin-to-del

About 600 former Israeli security officials, including previous heads of the Mossad and the military, have urged Donald Trump to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza as the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, considers expanding the conflict.

In an open letter, the former officials said an end to the war was the only way to save hostages still held by Hamas.

“Your credibility with the vast majority of Israelis augments your ability to steer prime minister Netanyahu and his government in the right direction: end the war, return the hostages, stop the suffering,” they wrote.

They added that they thought Hamas no longer posed a strategic threat to Israel.

The letter comes as pressure mounts for the Israeli government to end the war, even as Netanyahu considers intensifying the offensive. Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Israel over the weekend after two videos were released of emaciated hostages held in Gaza.

One video in particular, which depicted a skeletal Evyatar David digging what he said could be his own grave, prompted a wave of outrage across Israel.

On Sunday night, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters released a statement that accused Netanyahu of “leading Israel and the kidnapped to doom”.

The prime minister is considering expanding the war in Gaza despite the growing calls for a ceasefire. According to Israeli media, Netanyahu wants to try “pushing for the release of the hostages through decisive military victory”.

The prime minister announced he would hold a meeting later in the week to decide on the best path forward in Gaza, with expanded military operations on the table. Intensifying military activity in the Palestinian territory would placate the far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s governing coalition, who have consistently advocated against a ceasefire.

The Israeli government is exploring the idea of intensified military operations as ceasefire negotiations seemed to have stalled – which it blames on Hamas. The US and Israel withdrew their negotiators from Doha 10 days ago and said they would explore “alternative options” to retrieve the hostages.

An expansion of the war would be contrary to what Trump’s Middle East envoy told the families of hostages over the weekend was the US position. Steve Witkoff said Washington was backing a comprehensive end to the Gaza war that would bring hostages home and assured the families that would not mean more fighting.

Any expansion of the conflict would risk worsening the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza. A UN-affiliated humanitarian body said the territory was experiencing famine, as the approximately 2.1 million people who live there experience mass starvation.

Despite the announcement of expanded aid measures in Gaza, humanitarian groups say Israel is still not letting nearly enough aid into the territory. Israel denies there is starvation in Gaza and blames the UN for not distributing aid efficiently.

At least 40 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes in Gaza on Monday, in addition to five people who died of starvation, health authorities said. At least 10 of those who were killed were shot as they queued for food outside distribution centres run by the private US Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

A nurse at al-Aqsa hospital was also killed when an airdropped pallet of aid fell on him in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. Another man was taken to the hospital after a crate of aid fell on his tent.

The World Health Organization announced it was delivering medicine and blood units to hospitals across Gaza – a rare delivery to bolster the Palestinian territory’s devastated healthcare system.

A bar chart show the number killed or injured while seeking aid in Gaza from 27 May to 2 August

Almost 61,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began. Israel launched the war in response to an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in which Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.

Families of the hostages rejected the idea of further fighting in Gaza, which they said on Sunday “endangers the lives of the kidnapped, who are already in immediate danger of death”.

The former Israeli security officials also warned against an expansion of the war, arguing that Israel had long since achieved its military objectives in Gaza.

“At first this war was a just war, a defensive war, but when we achieved all military objectives, this war ceased to be a just war,” Ami Ayalon, the former head of the Shin Bet security agency, said in a video on Sunday night. “This [war] is leading the state of Israel to the loss of its security and identity.”

A demonstration was also held outside the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem in protest against plans to sack Israel’s attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara. The government voted for her dismissal on Monday, despite the Israeli supreme court saying she should not be replaced until her term has ended.

In March, the Israeli justice minister started the process of firing the attorney general.

Baharav-Miara, who was appointed by the previous government, had come into conflict with Netanyahu on a number of issues including his indictments over allegations over bribery and fraud. The government has accused her of deliberately blocking its policy initiatives and for conducting politically motivated “witch-hunts”.

She has also made public statements against the undermining of the separation of powers, understood to be a response to Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul.

Israel’s high court of justice issued an injunction against the government’s decision to dismiss the attorney general, leaving her in position for the time being. The government is expected to appeal against the decision to block the firing.

Israeli ministers have said they will stop inviting Baharav-Miara to hearings and committee meetings, regardless of the injunction.

The move to dismiss the attorney general has been widely criticised by opposition parties and rights monitors. The chair of the Democrats party, Yair Golan, accused the government of trying to fire Baharav-Miara to safeguard Netanyahu’s political interests.

“The agenda for the upcoming meeting: increased security for Netanyahu and his family and the dismissal of the attorney general,” Golan said in a post on X, alleging the prime minister did not care about the lives of Israeli hostages.

A white South African farm worker accused of killing two black women says he was forced to feed their bodies to pigs, according to lawyers.

Adrian de Wet is one of three men facing murder charges after Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were killed while allegedly looking for food on a farm near Polokwane in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province last year.

Their bodies were then alleged to have been given to pigs in an apparent attempt to dispose of the evidence.

Mr De Wet, 20, turned state witness when the trial started on Monday and says farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier shot and killed the two women.

Ms Makgato and Ms Ndlovu were searching for soon-to-expire dairy products which had been left for pigs when they were killed.

Mr De Wet, a supervisor on the farm, will testify that he was under duress when he was forced to throw their bodies into the pig enclosure, according to both the prosecution and his lawyer.

If the court accepts his testimony, all charges against him will be dropped.

The case has sparked outrage across South Africa, exacerbating racial tensions in the country.

Such tension is especially rife in rural areas, despite the end of the racist system of apartheid more than 30 years ago. Most private farmland remains in the hands of the white minority, while most farm workers are black and poorly paid, fuelling resentment among the black population, while many white farmers complain of high crime rates.

William Musora, 50, another farm worker, is the third accused. He and Mr Olivier, 60, are yet to enter a plea and remain behind bars.

The three men also face charges of attempted murder for shooting at Ms Ndlovu’s husband, who was with the women at the farm – as well as possession of an unlicensed firearm and obstructing justice for allegedly dumping the bodies in the pig enclosure in an attempt to conceal evidence.

Mr Musora, a Zimbabwean national, faces an additional charge under South Africa’s Immigration Act over his status as an illegal immigrant.

The Limpopo High Court was packed with supporters and relatives of the victims ahead of proceedings. Also present was Mr Olivier’s wife, who was seated in the front row of the public gallery and could be seen wiping away tears.

Members of opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters, which has previously called for the farm to be shut down, were also present in the courtroom.

The trial was postponed to next week.

A white South African farm worker accused of killing two black women says he was forced to feed their bodies to pigs, according to lawyers.

Adrian de Wet is one of three men facing murder charges after Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were killed while allegedly looking for food on a farm near Polokwane in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province last year.

Their bodies were then alleged to have been given to pigs in an apparent attempt to dispose of the evidence.

Mr De Wet, 20, turned state witness when the trial started on Monday and says farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier shot and killed the two women.

Ms Makgato and Ms Ndlovu were searching for soon-to-expire dairy products which had been left for pigs when they were killed.

Mr De Wet, a supervisor on the farm, will testify that he was under duress when he was forced to throw their bodies into the pig enclosure, according to both the prosecution and his lawyer.

If the court accepts his testimony, all charges against him will be dropped.

The case has sparked outrage across South Africa, exacerbating racial tensions in the country.

Such tension is especially rife in rural areas, despite the end of the racist system of apartheid more than 30 years ago. Most private farmland remains in the hands of the white minority, while most farm workers are black and poorly paid, fuelling resentment among the black population, while many white farmers complain of high crime rates.

William Musora, 50, another farm worker, is the third accused. He and Mr Olivier, 60, are yet to enter a plea and remain behind bars.

The three men also face charges of attempted murder for shooting at Ms Ndlovu’s husband, who was with the women at the farm – as well as possession of an unlicensed firearm and obstructing justice for allegedly dumping the bodies in the pig enclosure in an attempt to conceal evidence.

Mr Musora, a Zimbabwean national, faces an additional charge under South Africa’s Immigration Act over his status as an illegal immigrant.

The Limpopo High Court was packed with supporters and relatives of the victims ahead of proceedings. Also present was Mr Olivier’s wife, who was seated in the front row of the public gallery and could be seen wiping away tears.

Members of opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters, which has previously called for the farm to be shut down, were also present in the courtroom.

The trial was postponed to next week.

A white South African farm worker accused of killing two black women says he was forced to feed their bodies to pigs, according to lawyers.

Adrian de Wet is one of three men facing murder charges after Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were killed while allegedly looking for food on a farm near Polokwane in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province last year.

Their bodies were then alleged to have been given to pigs in an apparent attempt to dispose of the evidence.

Mr De Wet, 20, turned state witness when the trial started on Monday and says farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier shot and killed the two women.

Ms Makgato and Ms Ndlovu were searching for soon-to-expire dairy products which had been left for pigs when they were killed.

Mr De Wet, a supervisor on the farm, will testify that he was under duress when he was forced to throw their bodies into the pig enclosure, according to both the prosecution and his lawyer.

If the court accepts his testimony, all charges against him will be dropped.

The case has sparked outrage across South Africa, exacerbating racial tensions in the country.

Such tension is especially rife in rural areas, despite the end of the racist system of apartheid more than 30 years ago. Most private farmland remains in the hands of the white minority, while most farm workers are black and poorly paid, fuelling resentment among the black population, while many white farmers complain of high crime rates.

William Musora, 50, another farm worker, is the third accused. He and Mr Olivier, 60, are yet to enter a plea and remain behind bars.

The three men also face charges of attempted murder for shooting at Ms Ndlovu’s husband, who was with the women at the farm – as well as possession of an unlicensed firearm and obstructing justice for allegedly dumping the bodies in the pig enclosure in an attempt to conceal evidence.

Mr Musora, a Zimbabwean national, faces an additional charge under South Africa’s Immigration Act over his status as an illegal immigrant.

The Limpopo High Court was packed with supporters and relatives of the victims ahead of proceedings. Also present was Mr Olivier’s wife, who was seated in the front row of the public gallery and could be seen wiping away tears.

Members of opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters, which has previously called for the farm to be shut down, were also present in the courtroom.

The trial was postponed to next week.

A white South African farm worker accused of killing two black women says he was forced to feed their bodies to pigs, according to lawyers.

Adrian de Wet is one of three men facing murder charges after Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were killed while allegedly looking for food on a farm near Polokwane in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province last year.

Their bodies were then alleged to have been given to pigs in an apparent attempt to dispose of the evidence.

Mr De Wet, 20, turned state witness when the trial started on Monday and says farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier shot and killed the two women.

Ms Makgato and Ms Ndlovu were searching for soon-to-expire dairy products which had been left for pigs when they were killed.

Mr De Wet, a supervisor on the farm, will testify that he was under duress when he was forced to throw their bodies into the pig enclosure, according to both the prosecution and his lawyer.

If the court accepts his testimony, all charges against him will be dropped.

The case has sparked outrage across South Africa, exacerbating racial tensions in the country.

Such tension is especially rife in rural areas, despite the end of the racist system of apartheid more than 30 years ago. Most private farmland remains in the hands of the white minority, while most farm workers are black and poorly paid, fuelling resentment among the black population, while many white farmers complain of high crime rates.

William Musora, 50, another farm worker, is the third accused. He and Mr Olivier, 60, are yet to enter a plea and remain behind bars.

The three men also face charges of attempted murder for shooting at Ms Ndlovu’s husband, who was with the women at the farm – as well as possession of an unlicensed firearm and obstructing justice for allegedly dumping the bodies in the pig enclosure in an attempt to conceal evidence.

Mr Musora, a Zimbabwean national, faces an additional charge under South Africa’s Immigration Act over his status as an illegal immigrant.

The Limpopo High Court was packed with supporters and relatives of the victims ahead of proceedings. Also present was Mr Olivier’s wife, who was seated in the front row of the public gallery and could be seen wiping away tears.

Members of opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters, which has previously called for the farm to be shut down, were also present in the courtroom.

The trial was postponed to next week.

A white South African farm worker accused of killing two black women says he was forced to feed their bodies to pigs, according to lawyers.

Adrian de Wet is one of three men facing murder charges after Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were killed while allegedly looking for food on a farm near Polokwane in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province last year.

Their bodies were then alleged to have been given to pigs in an apparent attempt to dispose of the evidence.

Mr De Wet, 20, turned state witness when the trial started on Monday and says farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier shot and killed the two women.

Ms Makgato and Ms Ndlovu were searching for soon-to-expire dairy products which had been left for pigs when they were killed.

Mr De Wet, a supervisor on the farm, will testify that he was under duress when he was forced to throw their bodies into the pig enclosure, according to both the prosecution and his lawyer.

If the court accepts his testimony, all charges against him will be dropped.

The case has sparked outrage across South Africa, exacerbating racial tensions in the country.

Such tension is especially rife in rural areas, despite the end of the racist system of apartheid more than 30 years ago. Most private farmland remains in the hands of the white minority, while most farm workers are black and poorly paid, fuelling resentment among the black population, while many white farmers complain of high crime rates.

William Musora, 50, another farm worker, is the third accused. He and Mr Olivier, 60, are yet to enter a plea and remain behind bars.

The three men also face charges of attempted murder for shooting at Ms Ndlovu’s husband, who was with the women at the farm – as well as possession of an unlicensed firearm and obstructing justice for allegedly dumping the bodies in the pig enclosure in an attempt to conceal evidence.

Mr Musora, a Zimbabwean national, faces an additional charge under South Africa’s Immigration Act over his status as an illegal immigrant.

The Limpopo High Court was packed with supporters and relatives of the victims ahead of proceedings. Also present was Mr Olivier’s wife, who was seated in the front row of the public gallery and could be seen wiping away tears.

Members of opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters, which has previously called for the farm to be shut down, were also present in the courtroom.

The trial was postponed to next week.

A white South African farm worker accused of killing two black women says he was forced to feed their bodies to pigs, according to lawyers.

Adrian de Wet is one of three men facing murder charges after Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were killed while allegedly looking for food on a farm near Polokwane in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province last year.

Their bodies were then alleged to have been given to pigs in an apparent attempt to dispose of the evidence.

Mr De Wet, 20, turned state witness when the trial started on Monday and says farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier shot and killed the two women.

Ms Makgato and Ms Ndlovu were searching for soon-to-expire dairy products which had been left for pigs when they were killed.

Mr De Wet, a supervisor on the farm, will testify that he was under duress when he was forced to throw their bodies into the pig enclosure, according to both the prosecution and his lawyer.

If the court accepts his testimony, all charges against him will be dropped.

The case has sparked outrage across South Africa, exacerbating racial tensions in the country.

Such tension is especially rife in rural areas, despite the end of the racist system of apartheid more than 30 years ago. Most private farmland remains in the hands of the white minority, while most farm workers are black and poorly paid, fuelling resentment among the black population, while many white farmers complain of high crime rates.

William Musora, 50, another farm worker, is the third accused. He and Mr Olivier, 60, are yet to enter a plea and remain behind bars.

The three men also face charges of attempted murder for shooting at Ms Ndlovu’s husband, who was with the women at the farm – as well as possession of an unlicensed firearm and obstructing justice for allegedly dumping the bodies in the pig enclosure in an attempt to conceal evidence.

Mr Musora, a Zimbabwean national, faces an additional charge under South Africa’s Immigration Act over his status as an illegal immigrant.

The Limpopo High Court was packed with supporters and relatives of the victims ahead of proceedings. Also present was Mr Olivier’s wife, who was seated in the front row of the public gallery and could be seen wiping away tears.

Members of opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters, which has previously called for the farm to be shut down, were also present in the courtroom.

The trial was postponed to next week.

Saudi authorities put two people to death on Monday to reach 17 executions in three days, state media said, as the conservative kingdom accelerated toward a record number of executions this year.

Two Saudis were executed for “terrorist crimes,” the official Saudi Press Agency said, after 15 people, mostly foreigners, were put to death for drug offenses on Saturday and Sunday.

It is the quickest pace of capital punishment since March 2022, when 81 people were executed in a single day for terrorism-related offenses, sparking widespread condemnation. In 2016, Saudi Arabia executed 47 people in what had been the country’s largest mass execution since 1980.

Thirteen of those put to death on Saturday and Sunday were convicted of smuggling hashish, and another for smuggling cocaine.

Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s most prolific users of the death penalty, has carried out 239 executions so far this year. The conservative country is on course to outstrip last year’s 338 — the highest since public records first documented cases in the early 1990s.

This year’s executions include 161 for drug offenses and 136 foreigners, according to an AFP tally of official data.

Jeed Basyouni of the Reprieve rights group last week signaled a “significant rise in executions for hashish-related drug offenses, with foreign nationals making up most of these executions.”

“This is particularly concerning given the global trend toward decriminalizing the possession and use of hashish,” she told AFP.

Analysts link the spike to the kingdom’s “war on drugs” launched in 2023, with many of those first arrested now being executed following legal proceedings.

Saudi Arabia resumed executions for drug offenses at the end of 2022, after suspending the practice for around three years. It says it only carries out death sentences after defendants have exhausted all avenues of appeal, and that executions are aimed at ensuring security and deterring drugs.

The country executed 46 people in June alone, mostly foreign nationals, including 37 for drug-related crimes, which is an average of more than one drug-related execution each day, according to an Amnesty International report released last month. Last year, Saudi Arabia carried out a record 345 executions, the group said.

“We are witnessing a truly horrifying trend, with foreign nationals being put to death at a startling rate for crimes that should never carry the death penalty,” Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement.

Activists say the continued embrace of capital punishment undermines the image of a more welcoming society that is central to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda.

Saudi authorities put two people to death on Monday to reach 17 executions in three days, state media said, as the conservative kingdom accelerated toward a record number of executions this year.

Two Saudis were executed for “terrorist crimes,” the official Saudi Press Agency said, after 15 people, mostly foreigners, were put to death for drug offenses on Saturday and Sunday.

It is the quickest pace of capital punishment since March 2022, when 81 people were executed in a single day for terrorism-related offenses, sparking widespread condemnation. In 2016, Saudi Arabia executed 47 people in what had been the country’s largest mass execution since 1980.

Thirteen of those put to death on Saturday and Sunday were convicted of smuggling hashish, and another for smuggling cocaine.

Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s most prolific users of the death penalty, has carried out 239 executions so far this year. The conservative country is on course to outstrip last year’s 338 — the highest since public records first documented cases in the early 1990s.

This year’s executions include 161 for drug offenses and 136 foreigners, according to an AFP tally of official data.

Jeed Basyouni of the Reprieve rights group last week signaled a “significant rise in executions for hashish-related drug offenses, with foreign nationals making up most of these executions.”

“This is particularly concerning given the global trend toward decriminalizing the possession and use of hashish,” she told AFP.

Analysts link the spike to the kingdom’s “war on drugs” launched in 2023, with many of those first arrested now being executed following legal proceedings.

Saudi Arabia resumed executions for drug offenses at the end of 2022, after suspending the practice for around three years. It says it only carries out death sentences after defendants have exhausted all avenues of appeal, and that executions are aimed at ensuring security and deterring drugs.

The country executed 46 people in June alone, mostly foreign nationals, including 37 for drug-related crimes, which is an average of more than one drug-related execution each day, according to an Amnesty International report released last month. Last year, Saudi Arabia carried out a record 345 executions, the group said.

“We are witnessing a truly horrifying trend, with foreign nationals being put to death at a startling rate for crimes that should never carry the death penalty,” Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement.

Activists say the continued embrace of capital punishment undermines the image of a more welcoming society that is central to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda.

Saudi authorities put two people to death on Monday to reach 17 executions in three days, state media said, as the conservative kingdom accelerated toward a record number of executions this year.

Two Saudis were executed for “terrorist crimes,” the official Saudi Press Agency said, after 15 people, mostly foreigners, were put to death for drug offenses on Saturday and Sunday.

It is the quickest pace of capital punishment since March 2022, when 81 people were executed in a single day for terrorism-related offenses, sparking widespread condemnation. In 2016, Saudi Arabia executed 47 people in what had been the country’s largest mass execution since 1980.

Thirteen of those put to death on Saturday and Sunday were convicted of smuggling hashish, and another for smuggling cocaine.

Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s most prolific users of the death penalty, has carried out 239 executions so far this year. The conservative country is on course to outstrip last year’s 338 — the highest since public records first documented cases in the early 1990s.

This year’s executions include 161 for drug offenses and 136 foreigners, according to an AFP tally of official data.

Jeed Basyouni of the Reprieve rights group last week signaled a “significant rise in executions for hashish-related drug offenses, with foreign nationals making up most of these executions.”

“This is particularly concerning given the global trend toward decriminalizing the possession and use of hashish,” she told AFP.

Analysts link the spike to the kingdom’s “war on drugs” launched in 2023, with many of those first arrested now being executed following legal proceedings.

Saudi Arabia resumed executions for drug offenses at the end of 2022, after suspending the practice for around three years. It says it only carries out death sentences after defendants have exhausted all avenues of appeal, and that executions are aimed at ensuring security and deterring drugs.

The country executed 46 people in June alone, mostly foreign nationals, including 37 for drug-related crimes, which is an average of more than one drug-related execution each day, according to an Amnesty International report released last month. Last year, Saudi Arabia carried out a record 345 executions, the group said.

“We are witnessing a truly horrifying trend, with foreign nationals being put to death at a startling rate for crimes that should never carry the death penalty,” Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement.

Activists say the continued embrace of capital punishment undermines the image of a more welcoming society that is central to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda.