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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Suffering in Gaza is indefensible, says Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer has condemned the “unspeakable and indefensible” humanitarian conditions in Gaza. He said the situation had been “grave for some time” but it has “reached new depths”
In a statement, the prime minister said the situation had been “grave for some time” but it has “reached new depths”.
“We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe,” Sir Keir said.
He said he would hold an emergency call with Germany and France on Friday to discuss how to “stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need”.
Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into Gaza, has said there was no siege and blamed Hamas for any cases of malnutrition.
Israel and US leave Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar
Israel and US leave Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar for consultations. US special envoy Steve Witkoff accuses Hamas of not “acting in good faith” Israeli government did not say what triggered its withdrawal. But a senior Israeli official was quoted as saying there was “no collapse” in the negotiations. All sides involved in the talks – including mediators – admit that wide gaps remain on key issues. The latest round of talks in Doha has been going on for more than two weeks. Israel stopped aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip in early March following a two-month ceasefire. The blockade was partially eased after nearly two months, but food, fuel and medicine shortages worsened. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to get food aid over the past two months.
A Palestinian woman walks past damaged buildings after an Israeli strike on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip
Hamas has not commented on the issue. All sides involved in the talks – including mediators – admit that wide gaps remain on key issues.
The Israeli government did not say what triggered its withdrawal, but a senior Israeli official was quoted in local media as saying there was “no collapse” in the negotiations.
In a statement, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said: “We have decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultations after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Israeli and US negotiators have decided to leave Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar’s capital Doha, with Washington accusing Hamas of not “acting in good faith”.
In Thursday’s statement, Witkoff said that “while the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be co-ordinated or acting in good faith”.
“We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.
“It is a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way. We are resolute in seeking an end to this conflict and a permanent peace in Gaza.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is yet to publicly comment on why the Israeli negotiators were leaving Doha.
But the senior Israeli official – speaking on the condition of anonymity – insisted there was “no collapse” in the talks, the Times of Israel reported.
The official criticised Hamas’s “rejectionist and unfortunate approach”, adding that “we reached the stage where we actually need to return, and we will return here as soon as the right way is found to reduce the gaps and reach the closing stage”.
The latest round of talks in Doha – with Qatari and Egyptian mediators – has been going on for more than two weeks.
Earlier on Thursday, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) said that one in five children in Gaza City was now malnourished and cases were increasing every day.
More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have also warned of mass starvation – pressing for governments to take action.
Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into Gaza, has repeatedly said that there is no siege, blaming Hamas for any cases of malnutrition.
Israel stopped aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip in early March following a two-month ceasefire. The blockade was partially eased after nearly two months, but food, fuel and medicine shortages worsened.
According to the UN human rights office, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to get food aid over the past two months.
It says at least 766 of them have been killed in the vicinity of one of the GHF’s four distribution centres, which are operated by US private security contractors and are located inside Israeli military zones.
Another 288 people have been reported killed near UN and other aid convoys.
Israel has accused Hamas of instigating the chaos near the aid sites. It says its troops have only fired warning shots and that they do not intentionally shoot civilians.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 59,106 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Starlink Down: Thousands lose connectivity in reported outage
Starlink users across the United States were left without internet on Thursday as a major service outage disrupted connectivity for thousands. According to DownDetector, reports of issues began to surge around 3:30 p.m. EDT, with nearly 60,000 users affected at the peak of the outage. Elon Musk has responded to the Starlink outage, stating, Service will be restored shortly. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn’t happen again, Musk said. Starlink is currently experiencing a service outage. Our team is investigating.
Starlink confirmed the disruption in a statement, “Starlink is currently in a network outage and we are actively implementing a solution. We appreciate your patience, we’ll share an update once this issue is resolved.”
ORIGINAL STORY: Starlink users across the United States were left without internet on Thursday as a major service outage disrupted connectivity for thousands.
A notification on Statlink’s official website states, “Starlink is currently experiencing a service outage. Our team is investigating.”
Reports on DownDetector
According to DownDetector, reports of issues began to surge around 3:30 p.m. EDT, with nearly 60,000 users affected at the peak of the outage.
Users from across the country shared their experiences on DownDetector.
One person wrote, “Down in Maryland – Washington, DC area.”
Another wrote, “Down in Northern California.”
A third user added, “Down in rural central Texas.”
Another user wrote, “Down in East Central Indiana.”
Another person expressed, “Down in Porterville, CA. It’s been down for an hour now, and the Starlink website isn’t even loading. Did Elon rage-end Starlink?”
Reports on social media
Several users also took to social media to report the outage.
One user wrote on Reddit, “Down in Tennessee. WFH too, right in the middle of the workday. Such a pain.”
Another added, “We have multiple Starlinks at different locations and they’re all down right now. We’re located in Florida.”
A third user wrote on X, “Me awkwardly logging into twitter after months just to come and confirm if Starlink is down for anyone else.”
Another wrote, “Well… Starlink is down… guess I’m using the hotspot on my phone for right now.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with more information
France will recognise Palestine statehood, says Macron in big announcement
France will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. Palestinian statehood is now recognised by 142 countries, though Israel and the United States strongly oppose recognition. France would be the most significant European power to recognise the Palestinian state.
“True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine. I will make a formal announcement at the United Nations General Assembly in September,” the French head of state wrote on X and Instagram.
Including France, Palestinian statehood is now recognised by 142 countries, according to an AFP tally, though Israel and the United States strongly oppose recognition.
France would be the most significant European power to recognise a Palestinian state.
“The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and rescue the civilian population,” Macron wrote.
“We must finally build the State of Palestine, ensure its viability and enable it, by accepting its demilitarisation and fully recognising Israel, to contribute to the security of all in the Middle East.”
Politics latest: Labour is ‘full of control freaks’, says Corbyn – as he denies party launch was ‘messy’
France to recognise Palestine as a state – as Starmer says he will call Macron for ’emergency’ talks. Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of the hostages and for much more humanitarian aid to reach those in the territory. It comes just hours after Starmer announced he will be holding an “emergency call” with Macron, as well as the German chancellor, tomorrow.
Emmanuel Macron has said France will recognise Palestine as a state this September.
The French president has announced that his country will make the announcement at the UN General Assembly.
It comes amid growing pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to recognise Palestine immediately.
147 of the 193 member states of the UN recognise Palestine, and among them, half of the G20 also do – including Russia, China, India, Mexico and Turkey.
But the UK is joined by the US, France, Germany and other allies in not currently doing so.
In his post explaining the decision, Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of the hostages and for much more humanitarian aid to reach those in the territory.
Starmer: ‘Statehood is an inalienable right of the Palestinian people’
It comes just hours after Starmer announced he will be holding an “emergency call” with Macron, as well as the German chancellor, tomorrow.
In his statement – which you can see in full in our earlier post here – the PM said the world is “witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe”.
He also said that the situation has “reached new depths and continues to worsen”.
Addressing whether he will recognise Palestine, Starmer added that he is “clear that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people”.
But he has repeatedly stated that he sees this as coming as part of a rebuilding of Palestine, and that it will not happen immediately.
“A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state,” he said a short while ago.
Macron and Starmer also discussed the recognition of Palestinian statehood during a news conference earlier this month – as the French president visited the UK.
Source: https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID