International
The United States maintains that Israel’s operation in Rafah is of a “limited” scope
The Pentagon held on Tuesday its analysis that the operation of the Israel Defense Forces in Rafah has a limited scope and although he described the attack on a camp of displaced people as “horrible”, he asked to wait for the results of the Israeli investigation.
“We still think it’s a limited operation,” Pentagon’s deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh said at a press conference.
In that intervention he stressed that “of course” they have seen the images of the attack on a camp of displaced people from Tal al Sultan, where the impact of a missile and the subsequent fire killed 45 people on Sunday night.
“It’s horrible. It’s heartbreaking and it must stop. We must also remember that we support Israel in its fight against Hamas. It is a terrorist organization that is embedded in tunnels, that uses innocent civilians as hostages and that uses people as human shields. That’s why we are going to support Israel in its efforts to defeat Hamas,” he said.
Singh reiterated that they continue to urge the Israeli Executive to take all precautions to protect the population and stressed that they are waiting for the conclusions of the investigation opened by Israel, whose Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has described what happened as a “tragic mishap.”
The vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, said on Tuesday that “the tragic word does not even begin to describe” the Israeli attack on a camp for displaced people in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, in which 45 people died last Sunday night.
Harris made those statements to questions about the bombing, during a ceremony in Washington for the inauguration of Courtney O’Donnell as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The vice president did not respond to a second interrogant, about whether that attack crossed a “red line” in the United States’ policy towards Israel.
In an interview with CNN on May 8, US President Joe Biden warned for the first time that he would stop supplying Israel with certain offensive weapons, which he acknowledged has been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Rafah to invade.
The United States warned Israel that it is opposing a large-scale operation in Rafah, but so far the Biden government has maintained that the current military operations are of limited scope.
The Israeli airstrike, in which about 45 Palestinians were killed, many of them children, affected a camp of tents for displaced people in Rafah, in southern Gaza, where the war has caused about 36,000 deaths.
After the incident was known, Netanyahu claimed that the death of civilians in Rafah was a “tragic mishap.”
The deceased were in an alleged “safe zone” in the Tal al Sultan neighborhood, in the northwest of Rafah, where there were hundreds of displaced people in an improvised camp that Israel had not yet ordered to evacuate.
The Israeli Army reported that it was a “precise intelligence-based operation” aimed at eliminating two high commanders of Hamas who were in a building in the area, although it admitted that a fire later generated that caused a high number of fatalities.
International
Florida officials warn against raw milk after dozens sickened
Unprocessed milk from a farm in Florida has sickened at least 21 people, prompting state authorities to issue a public health alert, U.S. media reported Monday.
The 21 cases include six children under the age of 10, all diagnosed with infections caused by E. coli and Campylobacterbacteria linked to raw milk from the farm in the southeastern U.S. state. Local authorities have also warned about the dangers of drinking unpasteurized milk.
Seven people have been hospitalized, two of whom have suffered complications, according to multiple reports.
The Florida Department of Health has urged the public to avoid raw milk consumption and blamed the outbreak on the farm involved—without naming it directly—citing poor sanitary practices.
Florida law prohibits the sale of unprocessed milk for human consumption, although it can be sold if labeled for pets. Pasteurization, which involves heating milk to kill harmful bacteria, is required under U.S. federal regulations for any dairy products sold across states.
Despite these regulations, sales of raw milk have been increasing in recent years, fueled by online promotion from wellness influencers and advocates of unprocessed foods.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warn that raw milk can contain potentially deadly bacteria such as E. coli, Campylobacter, Listeria, or Salmonella, which can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea, vomiting, and indigestion to severe complications like kidney failure.
International
Massive wildfire in Southern France kills one, injures nine
Hundreds of firefighters battled on Wednesday to contain a massive wildfire in southern France that has left one person dead and nine others injured.
The blaze, which broke out Tuesday in the Aude department, is the largest recorded in France during the current summer season. Authorities have deployed 1,800 firefighters in an effort to bring it under control.
An elderly woman died in her home in the town of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, while two others were injured—one in serious condition due to burns—according to the local prefecture. Seven firefighters suffered smoke inhalation injuries, and one person remains missing. The wildfire has already scorched an estimated 12,000 hectares of land.
“The fire is spreading very quickly due to unfavorable weather conditions. This is one of the driest areas of the department, and strong winds are fueling the flames,” said Lucie Roesch, secretary general of the Aude prefecture. Rémi Recio, subprefect for the city of Narbonne, added, “The fire is still spreading and is far from being contained or under control.”
The A9 motorway, which runs along the Mediterranean coast between France and Spain, has been closed in both directions between Narbonne and Perpignan, along with numerous secondary roads.
In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, the smell of smoke lingers over the charred hectares. A helicopter was seen drawing water from the river below the village and dropping it several kilometers away, AFP reporters observed.
A campsite and at least one village were partially evacuated, with 25 houses and around 35 vehicles damaged, according to a preliminary assessment.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou announced he will visit the affected area on Wednesday.
International
Japan marks 80 years since Hiroshima bombing with call for nuclear disarmament
Japan observed a minute of silence on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a solemn reminder to the world of the horror it unleashed, amid heightened tensions between nuclear powers the United States and Russia.
At exactly 8:15 a.m. local time (23:15 GMT), the moment when the U.S. bomber Enola Gay dropped the “Little Boy” atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, the city paused to remember.
The bombing claimed an estimated 140,000 lives, not only from the devastating blast and fireball but also from the deadly radiation that followed. Three days later, another bomb dropped on Nagasaki killed 74,000 more. Japan’s surrender on August 15 marked the end of World War II.
On a sweltering morning, hundreds of students, survivors, and officials dressed in black laid flowers at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. The city’s mayor, Kazumi Matsui, warned of “an accelerating trend toward military buildup worldwide,” citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated that Japan has a mission “to take the lead toward a world without nuclear weapons.”
Today, Hiroshima is a thriving metropolis of 1.2 million people, yet the skeletal remains of one building still stand at its center as a powerful reminder of the tragedy.
Wednesday’s ceremony was attended by representatives from around 120 countries and regions, including delegates from Taiwan and Palestine for the first time.
Among the attendees was 96-year-old Yoshie Yokoyama, who arrived in a wheelchair accompanied by her grandson. She told reporters that her parents and grandparents were victims of the bombing.
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