US says attack on West Bank Palestinian church was ‘act of terror’
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US says attack on West Bank Palestinian church was ‘act of terror’
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called on Saturday for the perpetrators of an attack on a Palestinian church in the occupied West Bank to be prosecuted. Huckabee said he had visited the Christian town of Taybeh, where clerics said Israeli settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th-century church on July 8. Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Israeli settlements and his comments are a rare and pointed public intervention by the administration of President Donald Trump. The United Nations’ highest court said last year that Israel’s settlements in territories it captured in the 1967 Middle East war were illegal.
RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 19 (Reuters) – U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called on Saturday for the perpetrators of an attack on a Palestinian church in the occupied West Bank blamed on Israeli settlers to be prosecuted, calling it an “act of terror”.
Huckabee said he had visited the Christian town of Taybeh, where clerics said Israeli settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th-century church on July 8.
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“It is an act of terror, and it is a crime,” Huckabee said in a statement, “Those who carry out acts of terror and violence in Taybeh – or anywhere – (should) be found and be prosecuted. Not just reprimanded, that’s not enough.”
Israel’s government has not commented on the incident, but has previously denounced such acts.
On Tuesday, Huckabee said he had asked Israel to “aggressively investigate” the killing of a Palestinian American beaten by settlers in the West Bank, similarly describing it as a “criminal and terrorist act”.
Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Israeli settlements and his comments are a rare and pointed public intervention by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump in January rescinded sanctions imposed by the former Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Settler attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank have risen since the start of Israel’s war on the Hamas militant group in Gaza in October 2023, though violence has long simmered there.
The United Nations’ highest court said last year that Israel’s settlements in territories it captured in the 1967 Middle East war, including the West Bank, were illegal.
Israel disputes this, citing biblical and historical ties to the land as well as security needs.
Reporting by Ali Sawafta; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Kevin Liffey
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At least 36 killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid in Gaza, hospital says
At least 36 people were killed by Israeli fire while they were on their way to an aid distribution site in Gaza at dawn on Saturday. The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots at suspects who approached its troops after they did not heed calls to stop. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed group which runs the aid site, said there were no incidents or fatalities there on Saturday and that it has repeatedly warned people not to travel to its distribution points in the dark. UN reports 875 killings near aid sites in past six weeks in the vicinity of aid sites and food convoys in Gaza – the majority of them close to GHF distribution points. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. The military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed around 58,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to health officials, and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
Item 1 of 3 Mourners react next to a body during the funeral of Palestinians killed in an early morning Israeli strike, according to medics, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, July 19, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Summary Israel military says it fired warning shots at suspects
Gaza resident says no warning given before firing began
UN reports 875 killings near aid sites in past six weeks
GAZA, July 19 (Reuters) – At least 36 people were killed by Israeli fire while they were on their way to an aid distribution site in Gaza at dawn on Saturday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots at suspects who approached its troops after they did not heed calls to stop, about a kilometre away from an aid distribution site that was not active at the time.
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Gaza resident Mohammed al-Khalidi said he was in the group approaching the site and heard no warnings before the firing began.
“We thought they came out to organise us so we can get aid, suddenly (I) saw the jeeps coming from one side, and the tanks from the other and started shooting at us,” he said.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed group which runs the aid site, said there were no incidents or fatalities there on Saturday and that it has repeatedly warned people not to travel to its distribution points in the dark.
“The reported IDF (Israel Defence Forces) activity resulting in fatalities occurred hours before our sites opened and our understanding is most of the casualties occurred several kilometres away from the nearest GHF site,” it said.
The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident.
“NO MORE TIME”
GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a U.N.-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the accusation.
The U.N. has called the GHF’s model unsafe and a breach of humanitarian impartiality standards, which GHF denies.
On Tuesday, the U.N. rights office in Geneva said it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks in the vicinity of aid sites and food convoys in Gaza – the majority of them close to GHF distribution points.
Most of those deaths were caused by gunfire that locals have blamed on the Israeli military. The military has acknowledged that civilians were harmed, saying that Israeli forces had been issued new instructions with “lessons learned”.
At least 50 more people were killed in other Israeli attacks across Gaza on Saturday, health officials said, including one strike that killed the head of the Hamas-run police force in Nuseirat in central Gaza and 11 of his family members.
The Israeli military said that it had struck militants’ weapon depots and sniping posts in a few locations in the enclave.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.
The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed around 58,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis, leaving much of the territory in ruins.
Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks in Doha aimed at reaching a U.S.-proposed 60-day ceasefire and a hostage deal mediated by Egypt and Qatar, though there has been no sign of any imminent breakthrough.
At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive. Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan was kidnapped from his kibbutz home and is held by Hamas , urged Israel’s leaders to make a deal with the militant group.
“An entire people wants to bring all 50 hostages home and end the war,” Zangauker said in a statement outside Israel’s defence headquarters in Tel Aviv.
“My Matan is alone in the tunnels,” she said, “He has no more time.”
Reporting by Hussam al-Masri in Gaza, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo, Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem and Rami Amichay in Tel Aviv; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Joe Bavier
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Japan tariff negotiator Akazawa to hold more trade talks in US next week
Tokyo hopes to clinch a deal by an August 1 deadline that will avert President Donald Trump’s tariff of 25% on imports from Japan. “I intend to keep on seeking actively an agreement that is beneficial to both Japan and the United States,” Akazawa said.
TOKYO, July 19 (Reuters) – Japan’s top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said on Saturday he planned to visit Washington next week to hold further ministerial-level talks with the United States.
Tokyo hopes to clinch a deal by an August 1 deadline that will avert President Donald Trump’s tariff of 25% on imports from Japan.
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“I intend to keep on seeking actively an agreement that is beneficial to both Japan and the United States, while safeguarding our national interest,” Akazawa told reporters in the western region of Osaka.
Akazawa was visiting Osaka to host a U.S. delegation, led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, that participated in the U.S. National Day event at World Expo 2025.
Akazawa said he did not discuss tariffs with Bessent.
Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by William Mallard and Clarence Fernandez
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US says attack on West Bank Palestinian church was ‘act of terror’
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called on Saturday for the perpetrators of an attack on a Palestinian church in the occupied West Bank to be prosecuted. Huckabee said he had visited the Christian town of Taybeh, where clerics said Israeli
Huckabee said he had visited the Christian town of Taybeh, where clerics said Israeli settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th-century church on July 8.
“It is an act of terror, and it is a crime,” Huckabee said in a statement, “Those who carry out acts of terror and violence in Taybeh – or anywhere – (should) be found and be prosecuted. Not just reprimanded, that’s not enough.”
Reuters
India’s financial crime fighting agency summons Google, Meta executives, sources say
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating whether the platforms eased the way for promotion and wider reach of betting apps. A date of July 21 has been set for the appearances at the agency’s headquarters in the capital, New Delhi, the source added. The agency will investigate Google and Meta over the funds they received from betting apps, the second source added, as well as checking if they were advertising or promoting any other betting platforms.Google and Meta did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Item 1 of 2 A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
July 19 (Reuters) – India’s financial crime fighting agency has summoned executives of tech giants Google (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab and Meta (META.O) , opens new tab to its headquarters on Monday as it investigates accusations of money laundering on online betting apps, two government sources said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating whether the platforms eased the way for promotion and wider reach of betting apps through advertisements, the first source said.
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A date of July 21 has been set for the appearances at the agency’s headquarters in the capital, New Delhi, the source added.
A second government source accused Google and Meta of using their platforms to promote illegal activities, despite a government advisory against the advertisement of any form of betting.
The agency will investigate Google and Meta over the funds they received from betting apps, the second source added, as well as checking if they were advertising or promoting any other betting platforms.
Both sources sought anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to media.
Google and Meta did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Betting and gambling pose “significant financial and socio-economic risks for consumers, especially youth and children,” India’s information and broadcasting ministry told television channels and digital media in an advisory , opens new tab in 2022.
Promotion of offline or online betting and gambling through advertisements was not advised in the larger public interest, the ministry added.
Domestic news agency ANI first reported the news.
Reporting by Nikunj Ohri, Surbhi Misra; Editing by William Mallard and Clarence Fernandez
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