Wednesday, Jul 17th
Last update07:04:06 AM GMT
International Glance
Ukraine has claimed it damaged three Russian surface-to-air defence systems overnight in missile attacks on occupied Crimea.
One S-400 anti-aircraft missile unit was hit near Dzhankoi, and two more S-300 anti-aircraft missile units were attacked near occupied Chornomorske and Yevpatoria, Ukraine’s military said.
It comes as Kyiv said it also destroyed a Russian Su-57 plane, a twin-engine stealth fighter worth up to £28million around 370 miles from the frontline.
The Biden administration's proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza received the United Nations' endorsement Monday when the Security Council voted 14-0 in favor of a resolution supporting the plan, with only Russia abstaining but not vetoing. Still, acceptance by the warring parties remains elusive.
The U.S. drafted the measure and finalized it Sunday after six days of negotiations among council members. The three-stage proposal would bring about an immediate stop in the fighting between Israel and Hamas, along with the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians prisoners.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed misgivings about the version of the plan President Joe Biden made public May 31, though the White House has said Israel was involved in crafting it. Netanyahu is under pressure from the far-right flank of his governing coalition to continue the war, and in addition to the truce the proposal calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and, in the second phase, a permanent end to the conflict.
President Biden on Sunday paid tribute to fallen U.S. Marines at an American cemetery outside of Paris, a resting place that features prominently in his case against former President Donald Trump.
More than 2,200 Americans who fought and died in World War I are buried in the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery. "Every Marine I know, knows about the Battle of Bellau Woods," Biden told reporters after a short wreath-laying ceremony.
"More Marines were lost here than any battle until the middle of World War II. The idea that I come to Normandy and not make the short trip here to pay tribute..." Biden said.
Trump had been scheduled to visit the cemetery in Nov. 2018, on the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. But he scrapped those plans. The White House blamed the weather, saying it was too rainy for helicopters to fly, and arguing that a motorcade would have been too disruptive for traffic and the schedule.
Benny Gantz, a key member of Israel's war cabinet and longtime rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced his resignation from Netanyahu’s government on Sunday evening. The announcement came after an ultimatum by Gantz three weeks ago, demanding — among other things — that Netanyahu come up with a plan to replace Hamas in Gaza by June 8.
“Netanyahu is preventing us from reaching real victory,” said Gantz, a former Israeli army chief, in his Sunday evening speech. He called on Netanyahu to set a date for new elections to take place by the fall.
Far-right parties made major gains in European Union parliamentary elections Sunday, dealing stunning defeats to two of the bloc’s most important leaders: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
In France, the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen dominated the polls to such an extent that Macron immediately dissolved the national parliament and called for new elections. It was a massive political risk since his party could suffer more losses, hobbling the rest of his presidential term that ends in 2027.
Ukraine’s forces have hit an advanced Su-57 warplane on an airbase in Russia nearly 600km from the frontlines, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. The GUR shared satellite photos appearing to show an aircraft among scorch marks and craters. “The pictures show that on June 7th, the Su-57 was standing intact, and on the eighth, there were ruptures from the explosion and characteristic spots of fire caused by fire damage near it,” the GUR said.
The strike took place on Saturday at the Akhtubinsk base in southern Russia, the GUR said. The plane, capable of carrying stealth missiles, was among “a countable few” of its type in service. Russia’s Su-57 fleet has been largely absent from the skies over Ukraine, and has instead been used to fire long-range missiles from across the border.
The UK Ministry of Defence has said Russia is likely trying to avoid “reputational damage, reduced export prospects, and the compromise of sensitive technology” that would come from losing any Su-57 jets in enemy territory. For its part, the Russian defence ministry said its forces downed three Ukrainian drones in the Astrakhan region, home to the Akhtubinsk airstrip. Russian officials routinely say all enemy threats were shot down, regardless of the actual outcome.
Militant-held Israeli hostages were among the more than 200 people killed in the raid that freed four captives and has been lauded as heroic in Israel but described as a massacre across much of the Middle East, Hamas officials said Sunday.
Abu Obaida, spokesman for the Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades military wing, called Saturday's raid a "complex war crime." He said three hostages were killed in the attack, including one holding a U.S. passport, a claim Israeli military spokesperson Peter Lerner said should be taken "with a pinch of salt."
"By committing horrific massacres, the enemy was able to free some of his prisoners, but at the same time, it killed some of them," Obaida said. "The operation will pose a great danger to the (remaining hostages) and will have a negative impact on their conditions and lives."
Page 14 of 177
