Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 13 Palestinians on Saturday, six of them in a shooting incident near a US-backed aid distribution centre in the territory’s south.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that at around 7:00 am (0400 GMT), “six people were killed and several others wounded by the forces of the Israeli occupation near the Al-Alam roundabout” in southern Gaza’s Rafah area.

Gazans have massed at Al-Alam almost daily since late May to collect humanitarian aid at a centre about one kilometre (0.6 miles) away, operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

READ ALSO: Israeli Strikes Kill 44 In Gaza

Samir Abu Hadid, who was there early Saturday, told AFP that thousands of people had gathered near the roundabout.

“As soon as some people tried to advance towards the aid centre, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire from armoured vehicles stationed near the centre, firing into the air and then at civilians,” Abu Hadid said.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was looking into the incident, the latest deadly fire near the Al-Alam aid point.

The GHF began operations in late May as Israel partially eased a more than two-month blockade on the Gaza Strip.

READ ALSO: Over 330 Dead As Israel Unleashes ‘Hell Fire’ On Gaza

The United Nations, which has refused to cooperate with the GHF over neutrality concerns, has warned that Gaza’s entire population of more than two million people was at risk of starvation.

In the territory’s north early Saturday, Bassal said seven people were killed in an Israeli strike that hit a house near Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the report.

AFP

Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles, drones and bombs across Ukraine early Saturday, killing five people in a major attack that the mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, described as unprecedented.

Russian forces have accelerated attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, with the Kremlin vowing to retaliate over a brazen attack on its air bases last weekend.

In Kharkiv, Mayor Igor Terekhov counted 48 Iranian-made drones, two missiles and four guided bombs before dawn in the city of some 1.4 million residents located less than 50 kilometres from the Russian border in northeastern Ukraine..

“Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the beginning of the full-scale war,” Terekhov posted on Telegram around 4:40 am (0140 GMT), adding that drones were still buzzing overhead.

The Russian strikes pummelled homes and apartment blocks, killing at least three people and wounding 17 more, the mayor said. A woman was also pulled alive from the rubble of a high-rise building.

Kharkiv region Governor Oleg Synegubov said the wounded included two children.

READ ALSO: Zelensky Slams Russia After Three Generations Killed In Drone Strike

“Medical personnel are providing the necessary assistance,” he wrote.

The northeastern city was already reeling from an attack on Thursday that wounded at least 18 people, including four children.

In the southern port city of Kherson, Russian shelling killed a couple and damaged two high-rise buildings, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

And in Dnipro, two women, aged 45 and 88, were injured in strikes, according to local officials.

Rescuers in the western city of Lutsk, near the Polish border, meanwhile discovered a second fatality from Friday’s strikes, describing the victim as a woman in her 20s.

The aerial bombardments come days after Ukraine launched a brazen attack well beyond the frontlines, damaging nuclear-capable military planes at Russian air bases and prompting vows of revenge from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine has been pushing for an unconditional and immediate 30-day truce, issuing its latest proposal during peace talks in Istanbul on Monday.

READ ALSO: Russia, Ukraine Exchange 303 Prisoners As Part Of Agreed Swap

But Russia, which now controls around one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, has repeatedly rejected such offers to end its three-year war.

The Kremlin said on Friday the Ukraine war was “existential” for Russia.

– Ceasefire hopes dim –

The comments are Moscow’s latest to dampen hopes for a breakthrough amid a flurry of meetings between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, as well as telephone calls between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, aimed at stopping the fighting.

“For us it is an existential issue, an issue on our national interest, safety, on our future and the future of our children, of our country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, responding to remarks by Trump on Thursday comparing Moscow and Kyiv to brawling children.

READ ALSO: Trump Says Putin ‘Playing With Fire’ In New Jab At Russian Leader

Ahead of the talks this week in Istanbul, an audacious Ukrainian drone attack damaged nuclear-capable military planes at Russian air bases, including thousands of kilometres behind the front lines in Siberia.

Putin had told Trump he would retaliate for the brazen operation, 18 months in the planning, in which Ukraine smuggled more than 100 small drones into Russia, parked them near Russian air bases and unleashed them in a coordinated attack.

Putin has issued a host of sweeping demands on Ukraine if it wants to halt the fighting.

They include completely pulling troops out of four regions claimed by Russia, but which its army does not fully control, an end to Western military support, and a ban on Ukraine joining NATO.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed the demands as old ultimatums, questioned the purpose of more such talks and called for a summit to be attended by him, Putin and Trump.

AFP

A bright red Tesla Model S is now for sale at the White House — the most visible symbol yet of the fractured relationship between President Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

According to a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to lack of authorization to comment publicly, Trump made the decision to sell the vehicle less than 24 hours after a public clash with Musk.

The car, acquired by the president in March and regularly seen parked on West Executive Avenue, appears to be among the first material casualties of their soured alliance.

For years, Trump criticized electric vehicles, often claiming they were too expensive and lacked sufficient range.

READ ALSO: ‘He Flogged Me for 30 Minutes,’ Abuja Churchgoer, Sister Recount Alleged Police Assault [VIDEO]

In 2023, he declared online that the cars should “ROT IN HELL.”

That stance shifted after Trump and Musk forged an unlikely partnership. Musk contributed around $275 million to Trump’s 2024 re-election effort and was tapped to lead a major initiative to downsize the federal workforce.

In March, with Tesla under fire over Musk’s new political role, the two held an event at the White House showcasing Tesla models.

Musk touted the Cybertruck as “bulletproof.” Trump, pointing to a red Model S, said: “That kind.” He got it.

READ ALSO: Trump Orders Inquiry Into ‘Conspiracy’ To Hide Biden’s Health Decline

Trump later remarked that the Secret Service would not allow him to drive it and that the car would remain at the White House for staff use.

He stated he would pay by check — around $80,000 — and declined any discounts. A White House spokesperson confirmed the vehicle was purchased “at a market rate.”

While executive branch employees are generally barred from endorsing commercial products, those rules do not apply to the president.

Trump maintained that his gesture was merely to support Musk.

On March 11, several Tesla vehicles were delivered to the South Grounds of the White House, shortly after Musk signaled his intent to donate $100 million to Trump-aligned political groups.

(New York Times)