JERUSALEM, April 2 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begins a four-day visit to Hungary on Thursday, defying an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza as Israel has expanded its military operation in the enclave.

As a founding member of the ICC, Hungary is theoretically obliged to arrest and hand over anyone subject to a warrant from the court but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made clear when he issued the invitation that Hungary would not respect the ruling.

Algeria's military announced on Tuesday that it had shot down an armed drone near the country's southern border with Mali, marking a rare and potentially significant military escalation in tensions between the two neighbours.

The aircraft, identified as a Turkish-made Akinci combat drone, was intercepted on Tuesday, 1 April, as it entered Algerian airspace near Tin Zaouatine, a remote town that has become a stronghold for Tuareg separatists opposing Mali's military government.

Algeria has been increasingly vocal in its criticism of the Malian leadership and its military operations in northern regions long plagued by instability.

Among Algeria's primary concerns is the presence of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group, now operating under the Africa Corps, who have been assisting Mali's armed forces.

Moscow's growing influence in the Sahel has strained its ties with Algiers, one of its last allies in North Africa.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/41296397

Schooled by Trump, Americans are learning to dislike their allies

https://archive.is/2025.04.01-221630/https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2025/03/31/schooled-by-trump-americans-are-learning-to-dislike-their-allies

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27991220

Lorenzo Tondo in Jerusalem, Malak A Tantesh in Gaza and Julian Borger
Tue 1 Apr 2025 14.17 EDT

"Dr Ahmed al-Farra, a senior doctor at the Nasser medical complex in Khan Younis, witnessed the arrival of some of the remains.

“I was able to see three bodies when they were transferred to the Nasser hospital. They had bullets in their chest and head. They were executed. They had their hands tied,’’ Farra said. “They tied them so they were unable to move and then they killed them.”"

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/60113523

GERMANY IS REPORTEDLY seeking to deport two Irish citizens for taking part in pro-Palestine protests in Berlin.

Four foreign residents are reported to have been hit with deportation orders, including two Irish citizens – Roberta Murray (31) and Shane O’Brien (29).

Solidarity demonstrations will take place tomorrow in Berlin and Munich in response to the deportation orders.

MBFC

March 31 (Reuters) - Iran complained to the United Nations Security Council on Monday about "reckless and belligerent" remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, describing them as "a flagrant violation of international law" and the founding United Nations Charter.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27962568

Ryan Grim and Sarah Hay Mar 20, 2025

[a very chilling article on how Trump and his underlings are trampling on any semblance of legality]

"The family only discovered that their loved one, Jerce Reyes Barrios, had been renditioned to #ElSalvador when they saw him in viral videos posted by the #Trump administration, in which it celebrated what it said was the mass deportation of violent members of the #Venezuelan gang #TrenDeAragua. "

Israeli forces have been accused of executing handcuffed Palestinian medics before burying them in a mass grave underneath their crushed ambulances in southern Gaza's Rafah.

Fifteen humanitarian workers went missing last week after responding to a distress call from civilians being attacked by Israeli forces.

The workers include eight paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), six members of the Palestinian Civil Defence search-and-rescue teams, and one UN staff member.

They were found over the weekend in a mass grave with at least around 20 multiple gunshots in each one of them, according to Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza.

At least one of them had their legs bound, another was decapitated and a third topless, he added.

Lorenzo Tondo in Jerusalem, Malak A Tantesh in Gaza, and Julian Borger
Mon 31 Mar 2025 10.24 EDT

"Fifteen Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, including at least one United Nations employee, were killed by Israeli forces “one by one” and buried in a mass grave eight days ago in southern Gaza, the UN has said.

According to the UN humanitarian affairs office (Ocha), the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) and civil defence workers were on a mission to rescue colleagues who had been shot at earlier in the day, when their clearly marked vehicles came under heavy Israeli fire in Rafah city’s Tel al-Sultan district. A Red Crescent official in Gaza said that there was evidence of at least one person being detained and killed, as the body of one of the dead had been found with his hands tied."

Jeremy Scahill Mar 31, 2025

[article contains some details on recent negotiations]

"Hamas’s chief negotiator, Dr. Khalil al-Hayya, announced that Hamas had accepted a deal on Saturday put forward by Qatar and Egypt, the two main regional mediators. “We do not want anything new. We want to respect what was signed, what the guarantors guaranteed, and what the international community approved,” al-Hayya said. “Out of our concern for our people and our families, we dealt with all offers responsibly and positively, with the aim of achieving our goals of stopping the war.” "

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27946021

from Drop Site News [you may get a request to sign up for free subscription]

Sharif Abdel Kouddous Mar 31, 2025

"The day after the assassination of Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat, the Israeli military openly celebrated his killing. A correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher and a contributor to Drop Site News, Shabat was killed on March 24 when the Israeli military targeted him as he was driving in his car in Beit Lahia. He was 23 years old. Earlier that day, journalist Mohamed Mansour of Palestine Today was killed, along with his wife and son, in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Khan Younis.

On its official X account the following day, the Israeli military confirmed it had “eliminated” Shabat, claiming they had “exposed” his role within Hamas six months earlier, and the statement concluded with the haunting words: “Don’t let the press vest confuse you, Hossam was a terrorist.”"