International
The US begins to disembark aid for Gaza through the artificial dock it has installed on its coast
Gaza has begun to receive humanitarian aid on the ground through the artificial pier built and anchored off its coast by the United States.
As reported by the US Central Command on its website, “the trucks carrying humanitarian assistance began to arrive on land through a temporary dock in Gaza. No American military man landed in Gaza”
“This is an ongoing multinational effort to deliver additional aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza through a maritime corridor that is entirely humanitarian by nature and will include aid products donated by several countries and humanitarian organizations,” says the Command.
The United States announced yesterday, Thursday, the start of the operations of the floating pier as a maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza, which according to the Pentagon will allow about 500 tons of aid to be delivered in two days and assist more than two million people at risk of famine.
The European Union (EU) has also begun sending aid from through the maritime corridor from Cyprus to this pier.
The first shipment consists of 88,000 cans of food sent by Romania through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
Precisely, the infrastructure includes a floating platform several kilometers from the coast for large ships from Cyprus to transfer the pallets to other smaller boats.
The project has been named Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) and consists of two docks: one floating to which the ships loaded with help will be moored and another called Trident, which will be the “roadway” through which the trucks that will take the supplies to land will travel.
Meanwhile, Israeli evacuation orders continue in Rafah, the town at the southern end of the Gaza Strip where many displaced by the offensive against Hamas have been concentrated in half a year.
About 600,000 people have already left the city, according to this United Nations.
“In general, they have moved north and northwest, towards the coast, where they have been ordered to go. Their journey is complicated because there are no safe routes and there is certainly no danger-free destination in Gaza,” the spokesman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jens Laerke, said at a press conference.
Before the attacks of October 7, 2023, Rafah was a small town of about 275,000 people, a figure that has skyrocketed to 1.4 million due to the progressive displacement from north to south that the Israeli military intervention has involved.
International
Wildfires in France Burn Nearly Three Times More Land Than in 2025, Interior Minister Says
More than 50,000 hectares of land have been destroyed by wildfires across France since the beginning of the year, nearly three times the area affected during the same period in 2025, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Friday in an interview with AFP.
Emergency crews are currently battling several major fires, including one near the popular Cap Ferret peninsula, where flames have already consumed more than 10,000 hectares, making it the largest wildfire of the season so far, according to the minister.
“Currently, we have 32 fires underway, which obviously do not all have the same level of importance,” Nuñez said.
“We have exceeded the threshold of 50,000 hectares burned since January 1 of this year. It is practically three times more than during the same period last year,” he added.
Despite the extensive resources deployed and the long hours worked by emergency teams — estimated to be two and a half times higher than last year — Nuñez said authorities remain “calm” and “determined” to contain the situation.
The minister acknowledged that the main concern is the fatigue affecting firefighters and emergency personnel who have been working under demanding conditions.
“The concern, if there has to be one, obviously lies in the state of exhaustion of the men and women who are committed. We have to hold on throughout the entire season,” Nuñez said.
France’s late spring and early summer have been marked by repeated periods of extreme heat, conditions linked by scientists to climate change and considered a major factor contributing to the increase in wildfire activity across the country.
International
Israel Says Saudi Recognition Would Mark ‘Historic Breakthrough’ for Middle East Peace
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Saudi Arabia’s recognition of Israel would represent a “historic breakthrough” toward achieving peace in the Middle East.
The statement came after the United States and Saudi Arabia announced an agreement on Wednesday to establish a civil nuclear program in the kingdom. U.S. President Donald Trump said the initiative would be linked to Riyadh’s decision to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel.
“Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords would represent a historic breakthrough toward peace in the Middle East,” Netanyahu’s office said following Trump’s announcement.
The statement added that recent developments, including joint military actions by the United States and Israel against Iran, as well as Israel’s efforts against what it described as Iran’s “terror axis,” have created new opportunities to expand regional diplomatic ties.
“The joint U.S.-Israeli military action against the genocidal regime in Tehran and Israel’s defeat of Iran’s terror axis have created the possibility of expanding the circle of peace,” the statement said.
A potential normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia would represent a major diplomatic shift in the region, as Riyadh has long been viewed as one of the key countries whose formal recognition could significantly reshape Middle Eastern relations.
International
Nicolás Maduro’s Son Calls U.S. Trial Against His Father and Cilia Flores “Unjust”
Venezuelan lawmaker Nicolás Maduro Guerra on Wednesday described as “unjust” the legal proceedings in the United States against his father, ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, following their capture in Caracas on January 3 by U.S. forces.
“Faced with the unjust trial taking place today, the people raised their voices with a single demand: We demand the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and the First Lady,” Maduro Guerra wrote on his Instagram account.
The lawmaker attended a rally in Caracas where supporters of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV)gathered to show support for the former president, who faces charges in the United States including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and cocaine importation. Flores is accused of crimes related to drug trafficking and weapons possession.
The event was also attended by PSUV Vice President for Mobilizations and Events Nahum Fernández and Caracas Mayor Carmen Meléndez, according to photos shared by Maduro’s son.
The third hearing in the case against Maduro and Flores concluded Wednesday at a federal court in New York after lasting only about 18 minutes. During the hearing, the judge preliminarily set June 2027 as the expected start date for the trial.
One of the main arguments from the defense will focus on immunity. Maduro’s lead attorney, Barry Pollack, who has also represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, said the defense plans to request immunity for both defendants, arguing that Maduro was serving as head of state and Flores as first lady at the time of their detention.
Both Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty during their first court appearance in New York on January 5.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed power after Maduro’s capture, has not yet commented on Wednesday’s hearing in the United States.
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