Israel and Hamas’s deal for a temporary ceasefire went into effect Friday morning, triggering a pause in hostilities and the resumption of the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Hamas also released the first round of hostages, with Israel releasing the first round of Palestinian prisoners shortly thereafter. Israel confirmed on social media that 13 [...]

Israel and Hamas reached a deal on Tuesday that includes a four-day ceasefire as well as the release of 50 Hamas-held hostages and many Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. The deal also includes measures to allow the flow of humanitarian aid and resources like water, food and fuel into Gaza. The deal did not immediately [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Tuesday saying that Israel is executing repeated and unlawful attacks on healthcare facilities, personnel and transport and that these attacks should be investigated as war crimes. HRW also expressed concern about Israel cutting off access to electricity, water and humanitarian aid, saying the country’s actions were “further [...]

The families of nine civilian victims of Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC), their lawyer François Zimeray told the media last week. The complaint asks the ICC to prosecute Hamas leaders for genocide and war crimes and to issue an international arrest warrant for Hamas leadership. [...]

New Jersey governor Phil Murphy used his public, taxpayer-funded expense account to spend almost $12,000 at events at MetLife Stadium in northern New Jersey, including a Taylor Swift concert, according to records reviewed by POLITICO this week. The expenses started accumulating when Murphy took office in 2018, but have not grown since 2019. POLITICO obtained [...]

Amnesty International released a report on Tuesday saying that Israel used white phosphorus illegally in its military operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. White phosphorus is an incendiary material that militaries use to create smoke screens and to light battlefields. Its use is allowed in war but can violate international law if used in civilian [...]

On Wednesday, two people targeted a Berlin, Germany synagogue with molotov cocktails, a type of homemade firebomb, and rioters in Tunisia burned down the historic El Hamma synagogue. The attacks came as tensions continue to boil over in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent siege of Gaza. Berlin police [...]

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions Wednesday targeting individuals that contribute to Hamas operations and financing. In total, OFAC announced sanctions on ten individuals in Gaza, Sudan, Turkey, Algeria and Qatar for being members of Hamas, contributing to Hamas operations or facilitating financing for Hamas. The sanctions [...]

US prosecutors indicted Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) on Thursday for acting as a foreign agent of the Egyptian government. These charges are in addition to previous charges of bribery against Menendez and are related to the same incidents. The indictment alleges that Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes from Egyptian businessmen [...]

The American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER), a group founded by prominent anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum, agreed on Wednesday to drop their lawsuit challenging law firm Perkins Cole’s diversity fellowship program. AAER moved to drop the suit after Perkins Cole announced changes to their fellowship program that would welcome applications from all students instead [...]