CNN
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Israeli forces have denied new reports that soldiers have been ordered to fire on unarmed Palestinians awaiting humanitarian assistance in Gaza after hundreds of people were reported to have been killed in recent weeks while approaching food distribution sites.

On Friday, the Daily Harletts newspaper published an article claiming that Israeli soldiers in Gaza had been instructed by their commanders to shoot a Palestinian crowd approaching the aid site.

One soldier, who spoke anonymously with Haaretz, described the approach route to aid sites as a “sacrificed field” in which Israel will cause fires, even if there is no immediate threat. According to this article, Israeli forces recently began dispersing shells across the crowd, resulting in a sharp increase in casualties.

“We strongly reject the charges raised in the article. The IDF did not instruct the military to intentionally shoot civilians, including those approaching the distribution centre,” the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) said in response to the article. “To be clear, the IDF directive prohibits intentional attacks on civilians.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz rejected the report as “a malicious lie designed to trust the IDF, the world’s most moral army.”

More than 500 Palestinians have been killed since May 27 and since May 27th, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed as they approached aid sites or trucks carrying trucks. The Palestinians approached the site and fired on a near-base basis when health officials and emergency responders said.

In one such incident earlier this month, more than dozens of witnesses, including those injured in the attack, told CNN that Israeli forces shot crowds with repeated volleys of gunfire. Weapons experts said the shooting rate heard on footage and the images of bullets recovered from the victims matched the machine guns used by Israeli forces.

On multiple occasions, the IDF has allowed to fire what is called a “warning shot” with Palestinians approaching military positions near the aid distribution site. He also said he is investigating victim reports, but the findings so far have not been published.

According to Haaretz, the military advocacy general has directed the IDF’s general staff fact-finding assessment mechanism (thinking cases that include potential violations of war law) to investigate suspected war crimes near the aid site.

“An allegations of deviation from the law or IDF directive will be thoroughly considered and further action will be taken as necessary,” the IDF said Friday.

CNN has contacted the IDF for additional comments.

The Gaza aid site where the death occurred is run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) of Israeli-US Support. The group’s distribution was confusing from the beginning a month ago, with hopeless Palestinian crowds rushing through the site the moment they opened, often within an hour, before making available assistance.

The GHF was established to replace the UN aid distribution mechanism that Israel and the United States accused of looting Hamas. Hamas rejects these claims, and humanitarian groups say that most of the undispersed food aid reaches civilians.

The GHF coordinated with the Israeli military to designate specific routes for Palestinians traveling to aid sites, and has received acute criticism from aid experts. It acknowledges several episodes of violence occurring outside of immediate aid sites, but it repeatedly described it as “going through without any issues” with food distribution work.

In response to Haaretz’s report, the organization said it was “unaware” of the specific incident described. Nevertheless, “these allegations are too heavy to ignore, so we ask Israel to investigate them and make the results transparent and timely.”

On Thursday, the US State Department announced it would award $30 million to the organization. It says it is an ongoing sign of US support for the GHF, distributing 46 million meals in four weeks of operation.

CNN
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Russia has gathered 110,000 troops near Pokrovsk as part of its efforts to take over the strategic eastern Ukrainian city, the Ukrainian military chief said on Friday.

Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Friday that the area around Pokrovsk is the “hottest place” along the 1,200-kilometer (745 miles) frontline that runs east.

The Russians had been trying to capture Pokrovsk for almost a year, making offensive attacks one after another. However, despite having distinct advantages in terms of the number of troops and weapons available, Moscow failed to take over the city.

Pokrovsk is a strategic target in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that his goal is to partially occupy the eastern Ukraine regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Kiev and his allies accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of stagnating peace efforts, allowing his troops to seize more Ukrainian territory.

Although not a major city, Pokrovsk sits on the main supply roads and railways that connect with other military hubs in the region. Along with Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, they will form the backbone of Ukrainian defence in parts of the Donetsk region, still under Kyiv’s control.

About 60,000 people lived in Pokrovsk before the war, but most have left in three years since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine’s last operating Koh mine was in Pokrovsk, and many of its employees were staying in the area to continue doing so. When they were forced to close early this year, they began to leave too.

The WAR Institute (ISW), a US-based conflict monitor, said Ukrainian defence operations in Pokrovsk late last year forced Russia to abandon its original plan to take over Pokrovsk in a frontal attack.

ISW said this was because Ukrainian forces began using drones as an integral part of their defensive strategy, consolidating drone operators and ground forces.

At the same time, Russia was unable to significantly increase the number of troops in the region as it was trying to contain the surprising invasion of Ukrainian troops into its own territory in the southern Kursk region.

Silsky told reporters last week that at one point, Kursk’s operations had pulled back nearly 63,000 Russian troops and around 7,000 North Korean troops.

“This has allowed us to reduce pressure on the enemy’s main fronts and reorganize our troops. And the capture of enemy Pokrovsk, announced in September 2024, has not yet happened thanks to Operation Kursk,” he said.

Instead of continuing to attack the cities directly, Russian forces began surrounding the cities from the south and northeast.

In its latest assessment on Friday, ISW said the Russian troops continue to attack with 1-2 soldiers’ small fires, sometimes motorcycles, with all-terrain vehicles and buggies.

In a statement issued Friday, Sirksky said Russia continued to plunge into the administrative borders of the Donetsk region.

“They want to do this not only for achieving some operational outcomes, but primarily for empirical purposes. To achieve psychological effects: to place the infamous “Russian soldier’s feet” there, plant the flag and trumpet another pseudo-‘Victory’,” he said.

AP
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Oslo police announced on Friday the charges against Marius Borg Hoyby, the eldest son of a Norwegian princess. It includes months of investigation into cases that include “double digits” victims for multiple counts of crimes, including rape, sexual assault and physical harm.

Hoiby, the son of Crown Prince Mette Maritt and the son-in-law of the heir to Crown Prince Hacon, has been scrutinized since his repeated arrests in 2024 amid allegations of rape and preliminary accusations of physical harm and criminal damage.

Oslo police lawyer Andreas Kruzzewski said Hoyby was cooperative during police interrogation, which is now complete. Evidence from the case was drawn from sources such as texting, witness testimony and police searches, police attorneys said.

The charges included one case of rape involving sexual intercourse and two cases of rape without sexual intercourse, four cases of sexual assault and two cases of physical harm, Kruzzefukushi said at a press conference.

“We cannot provide further details on the number of victims in an incident beyond confirming that it is a double digit number,” he said.

Defence counsel Petal Secrek said in an email to the Associated Press that Hoyby “takes the charges very seriously, but in most cases he has not admitted any misconduct, particularly in cases relating to sexual abuse or violence.”

The Royal Palace did not immediately respond to an email request from the Associated Press seeking comment. The palace, cited by Norwegian Newswire NTB, says it will not comment while passing through “normal procedures.”

This case was the top news in Norway, where the Royals are popular.

Hoyby, 28, previously lived with a royal couple and two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Svere Magnus, but now lives in another house nearby.

Høiby is free to hold off any possible trial and still be entitled to a presumption of innocence until the court rules.

Once known lovingly as “Little Marius,” Hoyby grew up in the public eye, enjoying the same wealth and privileges as his royal brothers, while his biological father, Morton Borg, spent time in prison for drugs and violent crimes. Høiby acknowledges cocaine use and addiction.

The future queen of Norway made headlines in 2001 when she married Hacon.