International
European leaders call for an end to the war in Gaza after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, said on Thursday that the death in an Israeli operation of the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is a “turning point” of the war, which should lead to the release of all hostages and the end of the conflict.
“This day is a turning point in addition to a military success for Israel. This opportunity must be taken so that all hostages are released and to finally stop this war,” he said at a press conference after the summit of EU heads of state and government.
Macron thus defended “ending military activities” and called for “accepting a ceasefire in Gaza” and “opening a political perspective for Israelis and Palestinians.”
Israel’s guarantees for the security of Palestine
The French president also stressed that “after the end of the war in Gaza, Israel will have to be given guarantees for its security” and also defended the need to “reform the Palestinian Authority” and “move towards the two-state solution.”
“An immediate ceasefire is necessary, urgently multiplying humanitarian operations, which are still at their lowest point, and moving forward to stop the violence perpetrated by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank,” he added.
Born in a refugee camp in Jan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza, Sinwar was elected leader of Hamas in Gaza in 2017 after arbilling a reputation as a bitter enemy of Israel and on August 6 – after the murder in Tehran of the then head of the political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh – he was chosen to occupy the highest position in the organization chart of the Islamist group.
He represented the hardest and most belligerent line of the group and is considered by Israel the mastermind of the attacks of October 7 against Israeli territory in which some 1,200 people died and another 250 were taken hostage, which made him the most wanted man by Israel.
Borrell: Sinwar was “an obstacle” to the ceasefire
For his part, the high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, said on Thursday that the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, who was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli operation, was “an obstacle” on the way to the “urgently needed ceasefire and the release of all hostages.”
“He was a terrorist on the European Union list responsible for the horrible attack of October 7 (2023). Violence must be stopped, hostages must be released and the suffering of Palestinians must be stopped,” Borrell said in a message in X.
In the same vein, the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, said that after the death of the leader of Hamas “a new phase has to begin.”
“It is time for all hostages to be released, for the ceasefire to be proclaimed immediately and for the reconstruction of Gaza to begin,” the president said,” the Italian leader continued.
Regarding Sinwar’s death, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the attack of October 7 last year “was horrible and inhuman” and that “someone who is militarily responsible for Hamas’ activity, of horrible crimes, has lost his life.”
Von der Leyen says that this coup weakens Hamas
In the opinion of the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, the death of the top leader of Hamas “significantly weakens” the organization.
“Sinwar was the leader of a terrorist organization, the terrorist organization of Hamas and was basically the brain behind (the attack) of October 7 with the deaths, massacres, rapes and kidnappings. His death certainly weakens Hamas significantly,” Von der Leyen said at the press conference after the European summit held today in Brussels.
The acting Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, said that “it is very difficult to understand what Israel’s goal is” in the war. “We see that they are able to eliminate targets in an almost surgical way, but not every time, because there are already 42,000 dead in Gaza” and he said he was “perplexed.”
After more than a year of war in Gaza, Israel killed Sinwar yesterday in a military operation in the Rafah area, in the southern Strip, the country’s authorities confirmed today.
Apart from the death of the Hamas leader, European leaders approved some conclusions in which they were “deeply alarmed by the dramatic military escalation in the Middle East” and called for an “immediate ceasefire,” both in Gaza and in Lebanon.
European leaders call for an end to the war
They also condemned Israel’s attacks on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNFIN) in Lebanon and noted that “all actors have an obligation to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of United Nations personnel.”
At the same time, the EU insisted that Israel “has the right to defend itself,” but that “international law must be respected.”
They also condemned “in the most energetic terms” Iran’s attacks on Israel on October 1 and its actions to “destabilize the East through the Middle East, through terrorist and armed groups, including the Houthi, Hezbulah and Hamas rebels.”
European leaders insisted on their call for the release of living Israeli hostages, as well as the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and Lebanon.
Although not included in the conclusions, Spain and Ireland insisted on the need for the EU to verify whether Israel is fulfilling its humanitarian obligations under the partnership agreement.
International
WHO worker killed as Israeli forces fire on Gaza medical convoy
An employee of the World Health Organization (WHO) was killed on Monday in Gaza Strip after Israeli forces opened fire on a medical convoy transporting patients for evacuation, according to witnesses and official accounts.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the vehicle approached troops in a “threatening manner,” alleging that the driver accelerated toward soldiers despite warning shots. “The troops fired warning shots. The vehicle continued advancing, and additional fire was directed at it,” the military said in a statement.
The army also claimed the vehicle lacked clear markings and was therefore treated as a potential threat.
However, survivors disputed that account. Raed Aslan, a passenger in the convoy, told reporters in Khan Younis that the vehicles were clearly marked with WHO insignia. “The vehicle was clearly identified as belonging to the WHO,” he said, adding that an Israeli tank blocked the road and fired at the driver despite the route being empty.
The convoy was transporting patients to the Rafah crossing, the only exit point available for medical evacuations abroad, as Israel does not permit transfers to Jerusalem or the West Bank.
The incident adds to a series of controversial cases involving Israeli military actions against humanitarian convoys. In April 2024, seven workers from World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah. The military initially cited a “misidentification,” despite the vehicles being clearly marked.
Similarly, in March 2025, 15 paramedics, rescuers, and a UN worker were killed near Rafah. Israeli authorities first claimed emergency lights were off, but video evidence later contradicted that assertion.
A subsequent investigation by organizations including Forensic Architecture found that Israeli forces fired hundreds of rounds at the convoy, and that the vehicles were later destroyed and buried along with the bodies before being recovered days later.
The latest incident is likely to intensify scrutiny over the conduct of military operations in Gaza, particularly regarding the safety of humanitarian personnel and medical evacuations.
International
NASA’s Orion sets record as farthest crewed mission from Earth
NASA’s Orion spacecraft set a new milestone on Monday, becoming the crewed space mission to travel the farthest distance from Earth, surpassing the record set by Apollo 13, which reached 400,171 kilometers from the planet.
The Orion capsule, part of the Artemis II mission, achieved the record at 12:57 p.m. Eastern Time as it continued its journey toward the gravitational sphere of influence of the Moon.
The milestone came less than an hour before the crew was scheduled to begin observation activities during its planned lunar flyby.
“From here, in the ‘Integrity Cabin,’ as we surpass the greatest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth, we do so honoring the extraordinary efforts and achievements of those who came before us in human space exploration,” said Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
The mission, which launched last Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, is designed to orbit the Moon and return to Earth within ten days. According to the schedule, the spacecraft is expected to begin its lunar flyby at 2:45 p.m. ET, concluding around 9:20 p.m.
International
Petro accuses top guerrilla leader of bribing officers to evade military strikes
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, said Saturday that the country’s most wanted guerrilla leader is bribing members of the security forces to obtain advance information and evade military operations.
According to the government, Iván Mordisco, a dissident leader of the now-defunct FARC, is currently on the run in the जंगल following an الجيش bombardment last week that killed six of his closest collaborators in the department of Vaupés.
Authorities believe the guerrilla commander had been at the site shortly before the operation. “He buys off the commanders who are supposed to capture him; that’s how he escapes the bombings, but leaves his own people to die. He is warned before every strike,” Petro wrote on social media platform X.
The six individuals killed in the strike were part of Mordisco’s security ring, according to Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Local media reported that one of those killed was a woman known as “alias Lorena,” who was allegedly Mordisco’s partner and the mother of his child.
After failed attempts to negotiate peace, Petro’s administration has shifted to a more aggressive military strategy against the guerrilla leader. In recent months, three of Mordisco’s brothers have been captured and now face charges including homicide, kidnapping, and arms trafficking.
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