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A New York judge fined former US president Donald Trump $5,000 on Friday after a disparaging social media post about a key court staffer in his New York civil fraud case was allowed to linger on his campaign website after the judge ordered it deleted. Judge Arthur Engoron avoided holding Trump in contempt, for now, but reserved the right to do so – and possibly even put him in jail – if he continued to violate a gag order barring parties in the case from personal attacks on court staff. Engoron said in a written ruling that Trump was “way beyond the ‘warning’ stage”, but decided on a nominal fine because Trump’s lawyers said the website’s retention of the post was inadvertent and was a “first time violation”. “Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional,” will lead to “far more severe sanctions”, including “possibly imprisoning” Trump, wrote Engoron. The judge’s ruling came in a week when he had already warned Trump and his lawyers to behave in court. Next week Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and now a key witness in the case against Trump, will testify in court. Trump and Cohen are now bitter – and vocal – foes. Engoron issued a gag order against Trump on the second day of the trial earlier this month after he attacked the judge’s law clerk, Allison Greenfield, in a social media post. Greenfield has been assisting Engoron throughout the trial, usually sitting next to the judge in the courtroom. FULL STORY

Jim Jordan of Ohio was forced out of the House speakership race on Friday after his Republican colleagues voted against his continued bid for the seat in a secret ballot after his third failed attempt to corral enough support to win the gavel. Jordan’s lost bid followed a contentious week on Capitol Hill, during which he and his allies attempted to cajole more moderate Republicans into backing Jordan. After his loss, Jordan told reporters he was “going to go back to work” and that it was “time to unite”. It is not clear who Republicans could elevate as a next nominee. There’s a deadline of Sunday at noon for candidates to announce interest in the speakership. The conference is expected to return on Monday evening to hear from candidates for the speakership, with voting set for Tuesday. By that time, the House will have been without a speaker for three weeks, hamstrung on conducting the work they were elected to do. After his loss, Jordan told reporters he was “going to go back to work” and that it was “time to unite”. It is not clear who Republicans could elevate as a next nominee. There’s a deadline of Sunday at noon for candidates to announce interest in the speakership. The conference is expected to return on Monday evening to hear from candidates for the speakership, with voting set for Tuesday. By that time, the House will have been without a speaker for three weeks, hamstrung on conducting the work they were elected to do. Some moderates want to see a consensus candidate, while the far-right flank that ousted former speaker Kevin McCarthy previously said they would be “prepared to accept censure, suspension or removal from the conference” to get Jordan the speakership. A handful of Republican House members have either said they’ll seek the speakership or are considering the idea. Most prominent among them is Minnesota’s Tom Emmer, currently the majority whip, the No 3 Republican in the chamber, who has McCarthy’s backing. Others in the mix include Oklahoma’s Kevin Hern, Georgia’s Austin Scott, Florida’s Byron Donalds, Louisiana’s Mike Johnson and Michigan’s Jack Bergman. FULL STORY

Tensions flared in the West Bank on Friday as angry and sometimes armed confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces took place across the occupied territory after a deadly raid by Israeli troops. The Palestinian health ministry said 13 people including five children were killed on Thursday in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem. Israeli media said Israeli troops used a drone before engaging in a prolonged gun battle with armed groups in the camp that left civilians and several militants dead. The organisation Defence for Children International in Palestine said Israeli forces used an American-supplied Apache helicopter, which “fired a missile toward a group of Palestinian civilians, mostly children”, and prevented Palestinian ambulances from reaching the wounded. Thousands from the camp attended funerals for those killed in the attack, including supporters of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a paramilitary offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood group. Crowds of supporters of the Islamic Jihad group chanted “revenge” and waved flags, an indication of the increasing prominence of armed groups in the West Bank. “It’s not worth blaming the fighters or giving excuses about Hamas, or Fatah, or the Islamic Jihad being responsible for our suffering – the responsibility lies with the occupation,” said Mohammed Zuhdi, a resident of Nur Shams camp, in reference to Israeli forces. “No one wants to die, but people get angry when they see women and children getting massacred, and they protest – then [are] killed by the Israeli army,” he said. “I’m here to stand with my people. Even if you do nothing to the Israelis they will shoot you – no one is safe these days.” Ahmad, a 21-year-old member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad who joined the protests, claimed that one Israeli soldier had been killed and others injured in the raid. “The Israeli soldiers are taking their feelings out on women and children,” he said. “I don’t know how they are planning a ground war in Gaza if they can’t enter a camp in Nur Shams.” FULL STORY

Two weeks of non-stop western shuttle diplomacy appear to have reached the brink of failure since, as it stands, the west can only point to 20 aid trucks crossing into Gaza as the visible fruit of its labour. At the same time, Israel’s neighbours are taking to the streets and acts of terrorism are returning to the capitals of Europe. With more than 4,000 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis already dead, the only certainty is that Gaza’s depleted healthcare system will collapse if Israel launches a lengthy land invasion to wipe out Hamas. The round of western diplomatic visits to Jerusalem had a dual purpose. They were public acts of solidarity in which the visit was the message, but there was also private questioning of the Israeli war cabinet, and what comes after an invasion. n particular Joe Biden, for all the empathy that he showed to victims and the families of hostages, has been quite sharp in urging caution on Israel, though he was subtle in couching that counsel in terms of the lessons the US has taken from fighting terrorism. Biden told Israel not to be consumed by rage as the US was after 9/11, saying: “While we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes.” In a stopover with reporters on the way back from Israel, he revealed the US military had discussed with the Israeli military whether an alternative to a ground assault was available. He said he had been blunt with Israel that its reputation was at stake. He relayed to reporters he had told the Israelis: “If you have an opportunity to alleviate the pain, you should do it. Period. And if you don’t, you’re going to lose credibility worldwide. And I think everyone understands that.” It was a version of the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken’s careful refrain to the Israelis that what you do matters, but so does how you do it. Biden rested the judgment of his visit, the first by a US president to Israel in wartime, on the opening of the Rafah crossing, saying: “Had we gone and this failed, then, you know, the United States failed, Biden’s presidency fails, et cetera, which would be a legitimate criticism.” FULL STORY

Rishi Sunak’s controversial fund to support startups during the Covid pandemic invested nearly £2m in companies linked to his wife, Guardian analysis has found. Carousel Ventures, a company part-owned by Akshata Murty’s venture capital firm, got an investment of £250,000 from the Future Fund to help fund its ownership of a luxury underwear business called Heist Studios, it can be disclosed. It is the fourth business linked to Murty revealed to have received an investment from the fund set up by Sunak to support startups when he was chancellor during the Covid pandemic. None of Murty’s investments that benefited from the Future Fund appear publicly on Sunak’s register of ministerial interests. Critics have raised concerns over a lack of transparency and the potential for a perceived conflict of interest given Sunak launched the scheme to help startups – a sector in which his wife is a known investor. Other investors in Carousel Ventures via an intermediary fund include Andrew Griffith, a Conservative MP who is now a Treasury minister under Sunak, and Brent Hoberman, a businessman who publicly pleaded with Sunak to bring in such a scheme and “save our startups”. The £250,000 loan to Carousel Ventures has now been converted into equity, so the UK taxpayer owns a small stake in the “revolutionary shapewear” company. As well as Carousel Ventures, Murty also had shareholdings in New Craftsmen, which received a £250,000 Future Fund loan; Mrs Wordsmith, which got £1.3m from the fund; and Digme Fitness, which received an unknown amount over £125,000, according to the terms of the fund. All three businesses went into administration. FULL STORY

The leaderless House was plunged deeper into chaos on Thursday after Republicans refused to coalesce around a speaker and a plan to empower an interim speaker collapsed. The party’s embattled candidate for speaker, congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio, vowed to press ahead, scheduling a long-delayed third vote on his nomination for Friday morning. But angry and exhausted, the House Republican conference ended the day of fiery closed-door sessions no closer to breaking the impasse that has immobilized the chamber for a 17th day. Jordan, a Donald Trump loyalist who led the congressional effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and now chairs the House judiciary committee, has lost two consecutive votes to secure the speakership and did not appear to have the 217 votes he needs to win the gavel in a floor vote by Thursday evening. Earlier in the day, Jordan had briefly reversed course and backed a novel, bipartisan proposal to expand the authority of the temporary speaker, a position currently held by Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, for the next several months as Jordan worked to shore up support for his bid. But a group of hard-right conservatives revolted, calling the plan “asinine” and arguing that it would effectively cede control of the floor to Democrats. As support for the idea crumbled, Jordan told reporters that he would continue to press ahead with his candidacy despite entrenched opposition from a widening group of members, some of whom accused the Ohio Republican of deploying intimidation tactics. “We made the pitch to members on the resolution as a way to lower the temperature and get back to work,” Jordan told reporters on Thursday. “We decided that wasn’t where we’re gonna go. I’m still running for speaker and I plan to go the floor and get the votes and win this race.” Behind closed doors, tensions flared. FULL STORY

Ukraine's military appears to have confirmed reports that its troops have crossed on to the Russian-occupied left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro River. The armed forces general staff listed Pishchanivka village in the southern Kherson region, 3km (two miles) east of the river, as being shelled by Russia. The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Ukrainian troops had advanced up to 4km east of the river. Russia's Vladimir Putin insisted that Ukraine's operation was failing. Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in the south in June, seeking to sever Russia's land corridor to the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014. Kyiv aims to reach the Sea of Azov coast, splitting Russian troops in the region in two, and making the Kremlin's supply lines more complicated. The counteroffensive has so far been slow, bringing only limited territorial gains. Has Ukraine broken through the dragon's teeth? War in maps: Ukraine widening Russia defences breach Ukrainian troops have made a number of smaller raids across the Dnipro river before - but the latest reported advance appears to be an attempt to expand the area under their control in anticipation of a larger offensive cross-river operation. In its report on Thursday morning, the General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russia had carried out air strikes on Pishchanivka in the past 24 hours. It provided no details on whether there were any Ukrainian troops in or near the village. Hours earlier, the ISW quoted Russian sources as claiming that "likely company-sized elements of two Ukrainian naval infantry brigades conducted an assault across the Dnipro River on to the east bank" on 17-18 October. "Geolocated footage published on 18 October indicates that Ukrainian forces advanced north of Pishchanivka (14km east of Kherson City and 3km from the Dnipro River) and into [the village of] Poyma (11km east of Kherson City and 4km from the Dnipro River)," the US-based think tank added. FULL STORY

Summary US President Joe Biden has delivered a televised speech on the US response to Hamas's attack against Israel He said he will ask US Congress for billions of dollars in funding for Israel and Ukraine, saying abandoning the US allies was "just not worth it" But he urged Israeli leaders to learn from US mistakes after the 9/11 attacks and to avoid being "blinded by rage" Biden's speech comes after his whirlwind trip to Israel and after an agreement was reached with Egypt to allow some aid to enter Gaza Gaza remains under siege, with Israel blocking supplies of water, electricity, food and fuel across its border The most serious escalation in the conflict in decades erupted on 7 October, when Hamas attacked, killing more than 1,400 people More than 3,700 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory says What did Biden say ? Here's what President Biden said in his rare Oval Office address to the nation. His speech aimed to draw a link between the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel and he urged Congress to take action and pass an aid package supporting both nations. Biden didn't actually say how much he was seeking in extra funding, but is expected to be asking for $100bn. Notable quotes from his speech include: "Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy." "If we don't stop Putin's appetite for power and control in Ukraine he won't limit himself to Ukraine." Biden said that Hamas had unleashed "pure unadulterated evil on the world" and stressed there was "no higher priority for me than the safety of Americans held hostage". He also addressed the common sentiment that both conflicts felt far away to many Americans, saying that "by making sure Israel and Ukraine succeed it is vital for America's national security". His final task was to explain why giving potentially billions in aid to Israel and Ukraine was important for Americans to support. Terrorists and dictators need to "pay a price", the president said. FULL STORY

Staffers on former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign are now totally free from non-disclosure agreements they signed barring them from taking legal action or publicly disparaging Trump, as a federal judge formalized a settlement agreement Wednesday over a lawsuit claiming the agreements were overly restrictive. The settlement voids non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements included in employment contracts for Trump 2016 staffers, barring the Trump campaign and any third parties from taking any action to enforce the agreements. The settlement—which also involved the Trump campaign paying $450,000 to resolve the claims—was initially reached in January and preliminarily approved in June, but Wednesday’s order finalizes the agreement, and gives ex-staffers more legal protections after the campaign informed them last year they were no longer bound by the agreements. According to the lawsuit, which was brought by Jessica Denson, the campaign’s onetime Hispanic outreach director, the NDAs prohibited employees from disclosing any “confidential information” about the campaign or using it to disparage Trump, his family or business, not only during their employment but “at all times thereafter.” The non-disparagement agreement stated employees could not “demean or disparage publicly” Trump, his company or family during their work for the campaign and “at all times thereafter.” Confidential information was described in the NDA as including “any information with respect to the personal life, political affairs, and/or business affairs of Mr. Trump or of any Family Member,” which Denson argued was overbroad and vague, and the agreement did not contain any exceptions for employees to bring legal action for alleged workplace misconduct. FULL STORY

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The contrast with the heavily choreographed trip by the US president to shake hands and stand in solidarity with key ally Israel could not have been sharper. On the streets leading up to the US embassy in Beirut, which had been shuttered behind rows of razor wire, protesters seethed with anger. Carrying flags and stones - which were hurled at the embassy - they tried to storm the building, but were repelled by volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets. The militant Shia group, Hezbollah, had called for a day of "unprecedented anger" after the hospital bombing. His face covered by a kaffiyeh - an Arab scarf - Wissam told me he'd come to support the people of Gaza and make the world understand what was happening there. "Because of the massacres carried out by the Zionist enemies with the full support of the United States, the demonstrations may escalate due to the massacres carried out by Israel, the latest of which is the bombing of children and women in the Maamadani Hospital. "America's support to Israel is clear after US President Joe Biden adopted the Israeli scenario that Hamas was the one that bombed the hospital." And it is a refrain that is almost universal in the Arab and Islamic world. There is disbelief at the Israeli explanations - no one accepts the carnage at the hospital was anything other than an IDF air strike. And the longer the bombing of Gaza goes on, the greater the chance of this furious reaction escalating into something much worse. In the Jordanian capital Amman, people turned out in their thousands to support the Palestinian cause and vent their anger at Israel and America. FULL STORY

A new poll found that American voters have a mutual mistrust of the other side and are open to exploring alternatives to democracy, and that a share of both Democrat and Republican voters believe it is acceptable to use violence to stop the opposing party from achieving its goals. A majority of voters that support President Biden or former President Trump believe that electing officials from the opposing party in 2024 would create lasting harm in the United States, according to poll results released Wednesday by the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Fifty-two percent of Biden supporters say individuals who support the Republican party are a threat to American life, and 47 percent of Trump supporters say the same about Democrats. Forty-one percent of Biden supporters say they believe people who support the Republican party and its ideologies have become “so extreme in what they want that it is acceptable to use violence to stop them from achieving their goals.” Likewise, 38 percent of Trump supporters say it is OK to use violence to stop Democrats from achieving their goals. The poll found that shares of both Biden and Trump supporters are open to using undemocratic means to achieve the party’s ideals. A significant share of respondents question if democracy is no longer a viable system of governance; 31 percent of Trump supporters said America should explore alternative forms of government to ensure stability and progress, compared to 24 percent of Biden supporters. The survey was conducted from Aug. 25 to Sept. 11 with 2,008 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points. FULL STORY

President Biden’s overall approval rating dropped to 37 percent in a poll released Wednesday — a near record-low for the president as he heads into an election year. The latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey, conducted Oct. 11-15, showed Biden’s overall approval rating at its second-lowest point in his presidency, 1 point higher than the record-low 36 percent approval in July 2022. Biden’s disapproval rating rose to a record-high of 58 percent, 1 point above the disapproval rating in July 2022. Biden, 80, is set to run for reelection next year and is not facing strong challengers in a Democratic primary. Former President Trump, 77, is the runaway favorite for the GOP presidential nomination. Respondents were split on which presidential candidate they supported in 2020, with 45 percent saying they would vote for or support Biden and 43 percent backing Trump. Also, 85 percent of respondents said they voted. Asked about their ideological alignments, 26 percent said they were very or somewhat liberal, 40 percent said they were very or somewhat conservative, and 28 percent described themselves as moderate. The latest approval rating dropped 2 points from the most recent polls, conducted in July and in April, when his approval held steady at 39 percent. In November 2022, Biden’s overall approval rating was at 41 percent. Biden’s disapproval rating rose by 2 points from the most recent polls, in July and April, when his disapproval rating was at 55 percent. The same survey gave Biden his second-lowest approval on the economy so far in his presidency, dropping 5 points from the July poll to a 32 percent approval rating in the latest October survey. The only survey showing Biden with a lower approval on the economy was in July 2022, when 30 percent approved of his job on the economy. Biden also received dismal ratings on foreign policy, even though it showed the vast majority of the public support military aid for Israel and Ukraine and support foreign humanitarian aid — positions the Biden administration has supported . FULL STORY

President Biden cautioned Israel Wednesday not to make the same mistakes the United States made after the 9/11 terrorist attacks as Israeli forces are expected to prepare a ground offensive in response to terrorist attacks launched by Hamas. Biden delivered remarks in Tel Aviv at the end of a trip to Israel meant to underscore his unwavering support for the Jewish state in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks, which killed more than 1,000 Israelis and has set off concerns about a wider conflict in the region. “Since this terrorist attack took place, we’ve seen it described as Israel’s 9/11. But for a nation the size of Israel, it was like 15 9/11s,” Biden said. “The scale may be different, but I’m sure those horrors have tapped into some kind of primal feeling in Israel just like it did in the United States. Shock, pain, rage. An all-consuming rage.” “You can’t look at what has happened here … and not scream out for justice,” Biden continued. “Justice must be done. But I caution this: While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it. After 9/11 we were enraged in the United States. While we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes.” Biden said the choices in a time of war are never clear and must be weighed against potential costs before noting that the Palestinian people are suffering, and that the vast majority of them are not represented by Hamas. Following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the U.S. embarked on wars in Afghanistan to hunt down those responsible and then months later, began a war in Iraq. The dual conflicts cost the United States thousands of U.S. troops and spanned 20 years. Biden served as vice president while both wars were being waged and his administration later oversaw the chaotic exit of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021. The president’s comments came as scores of Palestinians have been killed in retaliatory Israeli strikes on Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas. Israel is preparing an offensive against Hamas, including a potential ground invasion. World leaders have also sounded the alarm about a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where civilians have struggled to access food, water and medicine. FULL STORY

A federal judge on Wednesday denied former President Trump’s attempt to delay a lawsuit against him seeking civil damages over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. After Trump was indicted on federal criminal charges stemming from the 2020 election and Jan. 6, his attorneys in August attempted to put the civil lawsuit on hold, citing substantial overlap. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta denied Trump’s stay motion in a brief order issued Wednesday, calling the request “unwarranted.” “This case remains at the motion-to-dismiss stage,” Mehta wrote. “The claimed dilemma posed by simultaneously defending himself in this case and his criminal case only will arise, if at all, during the discovery phase. His request is therefore premature. Further, the balance of interests, including Plaintiff’s and the public’s in moving this matter forward, do not favor a stay.” Sandra Garza, the longtime partner of Brian Sicknick, a U.S. Capitol Police officer who died hours after the Capitol attack, sued Trump just ahead of the second anniversary of Jan. 6. Sicknick was pepper sprayed during the attack and passed away the following day after suffering two strokes. The medical examiner months later ruled he died from natural causes, while noting that “all that transpired played a role in his condition.” The U.S. Capitol Police said Sicknick died in the line of duty. Trump had sought the pause days after he was charged with four criminal counts in Washington, D.C., over his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including allegations related to Jan. 6. It is one of four indictments Trump faces. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges. FULL STORY

Anti-war whistleblowers leak list appearing to show plans to draft hundreds of Serbs to bolster Moscow’s armies At the beginning of September, Branko boarded a direct flight from Belgrade to Moscow. After a few days in the Russian capital, Branko, with three other Serbian nationals, was driven to a military recruitment centre in Krasnogorsk, a city on the outskirts of Moscow, where the group signed a contract with the Russian military. “It all went very fast; in one day I became a soldier for Russia … Now I am waiting to be sent to Ukraine,” Branko said in a text exchange on Telegram, requesting anonymity so he could speak freely. Branko, not his real name, was part of Moscow’s latest drive to recruit Serbs to fight for the Russian army in Ukraine, as the Kremlin seeks to replenish its forces, depleted by 18 months of fighting. Based on accounts provided by two Serbian fighters who travelled to Russia, as well as a leaked list of recruited Serbs, the Guardian found that Russian officials appear to have made plans to recruit hundreds of Serbian nationals to bolster the army. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia has introduced a series of laws to lure foreign citizens to join its ranks. Vladimir Putin, at a security meeting shortly after his troops invaded Ukraine, said the Kremlin should help people from overseas who planned to fight on Russia’s side. Since then, the Russian leader has signed an order lowering the minimum length of contract military service for foreigners from five years to one, and offered a fast-track recruitment drive to non-Russian combatants. Serbia, an EU accession candidate since 2012, has struggled to balance historically close ties with Russia against aspirations for integration with Europe, and tensions have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, with many Serbs sympathetic to Russia. FULL STORY

Germany’s chancellor expresses outrage after two molotov cocktails hurled at building Germany’s chancellor has vowed to step up the fight against antisemitism after assailants hurled two molotov cocktails at a Jewish synagogue in central Berlin. Speaking in Egypt on Wednesday, Olaf Scholz said he was “outraged” by what police called a suspected “serious attempted arson” that took place in the early hours of Wednesday in the Mitte district of the city. “Two unidentified people came on foot and threw two burning bottles filled with liquid in the direction of the synagogue on Brunnenstrasse,” police said in a statement. “The bottles landed on the pavement and broke, extinguishing the fire.” There were no reported injuries and the building, which belongs to the Kahal Adass Jisroel community, was not harmed. As the masked assailants fled the scene, security forces outside the building – which also serves as a daycare and a school – noticed “a small fire” on the sidewalk and were able to put it out, police added. Scholz described the tensions that have gripped his country in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war as “inhumane, abhorrent and intolerable”. Forcefully condemning the attack on the synagogue, he said further protection would be provided for Jewish institutions. “I want to expressly say that I am outraged,” Scholz told reporters during a trip to Egypt. “It outrages me personally what some are shouting and doing.” He later took to social media to stress that “antisemitism has no place in Germany” as well as thank security forces for their work. “Attacks against Jewish institutions, violent riots on our streets – this is inhumane, abhorrent and intolerable,” he added. FULL STORY

Small shards of broken glass glinted in between paving stones in central Ramallah, one of the few physical signs of a clash the previous night between protesters and the security forces of the ruling Palestinian Authority. Mohammed Tarifi sat with a friend on the corner of a deserted street that would normally throng with crowds stopping at its popular cafes, ice-cream vendors and juice shops. The two stared up at an enormous billboard for Sprite, a giant can of the soft drink rotating slowly in a sign of how Ramallah has grown in recent years and managed some limited prosperity as the economic and political centre of the West Bank. “I wasn’t at the demonstration but I saw it on TikTok – Ramallah was a war zone,” Tarifi said. As protesters chanted to demand the fall of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, throwing rocks at police cars near Ramallah’s central Manara square, security forces replied with smoke bombs in an attempt to repel the crowds. “I blame the Palestinian Authority. They should have just allowed the demonstration to happen rather than stopping it. We should support our people in Gaza, and I’m just so angry at what’s happened,” said the 20-year-old. Protests have erupted across the West Bank in recent days. A 12-year-old girl was shot by authority security forces during protests in Jenin and a university student was injured by live fire in the town of Tubas. “The roads are closed, and they’re all blocked anyway. Even if I want to leave Ramallah, there’s a good chance I’ll be shot,” said Tarifi, alluding to a widespread security crackdown by Israeli forces across the West Bank. FULL STORY

UN says Gaza needs aid deliveries of at least 100 trucks a day While the agreement to allow aid through the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza was a breakthrough, the flow of relief will still fall short of the perceived need, Reuters reports. UN aid chief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Wednesday that the organisation sought to bring aid deliveries to Gaza back to 100 trucks a day, the level before the Israel-Hamas conflict. Rafah crossing to open for aid: what we know Here is what we know about the desperately-needed aid being allowed into Gaza. Israel said Wednesday that it will allow Egypt to deliver limited humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The announcement to allow water, food and other supplies happened as fury over the blast at Gaza City’s al-Ahli Hospital spread across the Middle East, and as US President Joe Biden visited Israel in hopes of preventing a wider conflict in the region. Biden said Egypt’s president agreed to open the crossing and to let in an initial group of 20 trucks with humanitarian aid. If Hamas confiscates aid, “it will end,” he said. The aid will start moving Friday at the earliest, White House officials said. Egypt must still repair the road across the border that was cratered by Israeli airstrikes. More than 200 trucks and some 3,000 tons of aid are positioned at or near the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only connection to Egypt, said the head of the Red Crescent for North Sinai, Khalid Zayed. Supplies will go in under supervision of the UN, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told Al-Arabiya TV. Asked if foreigners and dual nationals seeking to leave would be let through, he said: “As long as the crossing is operating normally and the (crossing) facility has been repaired.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was approved after a request from Biden. It said Israel “will not thwart” deliveries of food, water or medicine from Egypt, as long as they are limited to civilians in the south of the Gaza Strip and don’t go to Hamas militants. Israel’s statement made no mention of fuel, which is badly needed for hospital generators. Source: