The Israeli military said on Wednesday its forces had resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 20 Palestinians, according to local health workers.
Türkiye detained Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the main rival of President Tayyip Erdoğan, on charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group in what the main opposition party on Wednesday called “a coup against our next president”.
Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Wednesday of violating a new agreement to refrain from attacks on energy targets hours after it was agreed by US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Israeli military begins new ground operation in Gaza
The Israeli military said on Wednesday its forces had resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 20 Palestinians, according to local health workers.
The renewed ground operations came a day after more than 400 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of the conflict, shattering a ceasefire that has largely held since January.
The Israeli military said its operations had extended Israel’s control over the Netzarim Corridor, which bisects Gaza, and were a “focused” manoeuvre aimed at creating a partial buffer zone between the north and the south of the enclave.
The United Nations said an Israeli airstrike had killed a foreign staffer and wounded five workers at the site of a UN headquarters in central Gaza City on Wednesday. But Israel denied this, saying it had hit a Hamas site, where it had detected preparations for firing into Israeli territory.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, executive director of the UN office for Project Services, said: “Israel knew that this was a UN premises, that people were living, staying and working there, it is a compound. It is a very well-known place.”
Israel, which has vowed to eradicate Hamas, said its latest onslaught was “just the beginning”.
Israel and Hamas accuse each other of breaching the truce, which had offered a respite for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents after 17 months of war that has reduced the enclave to rubble and forced most of its population to evacuate multiple times.
The Israeli campaign has killed more than 49,000 people in Gaza, say Palestinian health authorities, and caused a humanitarian crisis with shortages of food, fuel and water.
Israel has accused Hamas of using Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas denies this and accuses Israel of indiscriminate bombings.
The war was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which gunmen killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to resume bombardments has triggered protests in Israel as 59 hostages are still held in Gaza, with 24 of them believed to be still alive.
A coalition of hostage families and protesters against Netanyahu’s moves against the judiciary and other parts of the security establishment has regrouped and accuses the prime minister of using the war for political ends.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli army dropped leaflets in the northern and southern Gaza Strip, once again ordering residents to evacuate their homes.
Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a video statement warning Gaza residents that evacuation from combat zones would begin shortly.
He said airstrikes were “only the first step” and if the hostages were not released, “Israel will act with force you have not yet seen”.
The renewed violence was condemned by Western nations, including France and Germany, as well as Qatar and Egypt which had been acting as mediators in the ceasefire negotiations.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday she told Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that the situation in Gaza was “unacceptable”.
Jordan’s King Abdullah called for the ceasefire to be restored and for aid flows to resume.
“Israel’s resumption of attacks on Gaza is an extremely dangerous step that adds further devastation to an already dire humanitarian situation,” he said on a visit to Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
However, Dorothy Shea, acting US ambassador to the United Nations, said on Tuesday the blame for the resumption of hostilities “lies solely with Hamas”.
In Wednesday’s violence, three people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City, while another airstrike left two men dead and wounded six others in Beit Hanoun town in the north, said the Gaza health officials.
Palestinian medics said Israeli tank shelling on the Salahdeen Road killed one Palestinian and wounded others, while an Israeli airstrike killed three people in a house in Beit Lahiya town north of the enclave.
Türkiye detains Istanbul mayor in what opposition calls ‘coup’
Türkiye detained Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the main rival of President Tayyip Erdoğan, on charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group in what the main opposition party on Wednesday called “a coup against our next president”.
The move against the popular two-term mayor capped a monthslong legal crackdown on opposition figures across the country which has been criticised as a politicised attempt to hurt their electoral prospects and silence dissent.
Türkiye's lira currency crashed by as much as 12% to an all-time low of 42 to the dollar in response, underscoring worries over the eroding rule of law in the major emerging market and Nato member country that Erdoğan has run for 22 years.
Imamoglu (54), who leads Erdogan in some opinion polls, was to be named his Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) official presidential candidate within days. He now faces two separate investigations that also include charges of leading a crime organisation, bribery and tender rigging.
In a handwritten letter shared on social media, the detained mayor said Turks would respond to the “lies, plots and traps” against him. Earlier, before leaving home for the police station, he said he would not give up in the face of pressure.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc warned against linking Erdoğan to Imamoglu’s detention or other legal processes, using words like “coup” to describe it, and also against street protests.
Though authorities temporarily banned protests and police shut down some city streets, hundreds of people gathered at the police station and chanted: “The day will come when [Erdoğan’s] AK Party is called to account.”
Any larger protests could test authorities’ willingness to expand a legal blitz since late last year that already includes numerous indictments, the ousting of several elected opposition mayors and the jailing of a nationalist party leader.
CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said his party would go ahead and select Imamoglu as presidential candidate on Sunday. “Turkey is going through a coup against the next president. We are facing a coup attempt here,” he said.
The next election is set for 2028 butErdoğan has reached his two-term limit as president after having earlier served as prime minister. If he wishes to run again he must call an early election or change the Constitution.
Erdoğan (71) faced his worst electoral defeat in nationwide municipal elections last year, when Imamoglu’s CHP swept Türkiye's major cities and defeated his ruling AK Party in former strongholds.
Germany, France and the Council of Europe criticised Imamoglu’s detention. Human Rights Watch called the charges “politically motivated and bogus”, and said he must be released immediately.
The Istanbul prosecutor’s office said a total of 100 people, including journalists and business people, were suspected of being involved in criminal activities related to certain tenders awarded by the municipality, as part of the first investigation.
It said a second probe charged Imamoglu and six others with aiding the PKK, which is deemed a terrorist organisation by Türkiye and its Western allies.
The detention came a day after another blow to Imamoglu, who already faced numerous probes and indictments: Istanbul University annulled his degree, which if upheld would block him from running in presidential elections.
Trump says ‘we are very much on track’ after Zelensky call
Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Wednesday of violating a new agreement to refrain from attacks on energy targets hours after it was agreed by US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
But a prisoner swap touted as a confidence-building step went ahead, and Trump followed Tuesday’s phone call with Putin with a call on Wednesday with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying afterwards that “we are very much on track”.
Trump said his “very good telephone call” with Zelensky lasted an hour, their first conversation since an Oval Office meeting descended into a shouting match on 28 February.
The discussion followed Tuesday’s call with Putin, and aimed “to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs”, Trump posted on social media.
During Putin’s call with Trump on Tuesday, the Russian leader rejected a proposed full 30-day ceasefire, which had been sought by Trump and previously accepted by Ukraine. But Putin agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure, a proposal Zelensky accepted.
That narrowly defined pause appeared in doubt on Wednesday, however, with Moscow saying Ukraine hit an oil depot in southern Russia while Kyiv said Russia had struck hospitals and homes, and knocked out power to some of its railways.
Still, the two sides announced they had carried out an exchange of prisoners, each releasing 175 troops in a deal facilitated by the United Arab Emirates. Moscow said it also freed an additional 22 wounded Ukrainians as a goodwill gesture.
Zelensky said on Wednesday that the continued attacks showed Moscow’s words did not match its actions and that Russia was not ready for peace. He said the US should be put in charge of monitoring any ceasefire.
“If the Russians will not strike our facilities, then we will definitely not strike theirs,” he said at a briefing in Helsinki alongside the president of Finland.
Some European leaders said Putin’s rejection of Trump’s proposed full truce was proof Moscow not seeking peace. The offer to temporarily stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities counted for “nothing” and Trump would have to win greater concessions, said Germany’s defence minister.
“Attacks on civilian infrastructure in the first night after this supposedly pivotal and great phone call have not abated,” Boris Pistorius told German broadcaster ZDF. “Putin is playing a game here and I’m sure that the American president won’t be able to sit and watch for much longer.”
After Tuesday’s call between Trump and Putin, the White House said talks on a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea as well as a more complete ceasefire and a permanent peace deal would begin immediately.
It was unclear whether Ukraine would be involved in those talks, which Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said would take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
US judge blocks Trump’s transgender military ban
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the US military from enforcing Trump’s executive order barring transgender people from military service while a lawsuit by 20 current and would-be service members challenging the measure goes forward.
US District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington found Trump’s January 27 order, one of several issued by the Republican president targeting legal rights for transgender Americans, likely violated the US Constitution’s prohibition on sex discrimination.
“The cruel irony is that thousands of transgender service members have sacrificed — some risking their lives — to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the military ban seeks to deny them,” said Reyes.
Reyes was appointed by President Joe Biden, Trump’s Democratic predecessor.
Jennifer Levi, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, praised the court for acting “decisively and swiftly”.
“This ruling pulls no punches. The court methodically documented the concrete harms this ban inflicts on brave transgender service members who ask nothing more than to serve their country with honour,” said Levi.
In response to Trump’s order, the military said on 11 February it would no longer allow transgender individuals to join the military and would stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender transition for service members. Later that month, the military said it would begin expelling transgender members.
Reyes said in her ruling the government had conceded the plaintiffs were excellent soldiers and living proof that “transgender persons can have the warrior ethos, physical and mental health, selflessness, honour, integrity, and discipline to ensure military excellence”.
“So why discharge them and other decorated soldiers? Crickets from defendants on this key question,” said Reyes.
Malaysia agrees to terms for restarting MH370 wreckage search
Malaysia had agreed to the terms and conditions of an agreement with the exploration firm Ocean Infinity to resume the search for the wreckage of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, said its transport minister on Wednesday.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777, was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014 in one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.
The decision will enable the commencement of seabed search operations in a new location estimated to cover 15,000 sq km in the southern Indian Ocean, based on a “no find, no fee” principle, said Minister Loke Siew Fook.
Ocean Infinity would receive $70-million if the wreckage is successfully located, he said.
“The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of the MH370 passengers,” said Loke.
Mexico City overhauls bullfights in win for animal rights activists
Mexico City’s local congress on Tuesday passed a measure aiming to make bullfights much less harmful to bulls and matadors, a move applauded by animal rights activists but sharply criticised by fans of the centuries-old tradition.
The measure, among other things, will not allow bullfighters to use spades and swords to attack the animal, which in turn will have its horns covered to prevent injuries to humans.
The bill, introduced by Mayor Clara Brugada of the ruling Morena party, passed with 61 votes in favour and one against.
Outside of the local congress, dozens of bullfighting fans clashed with police. Some broke past a barrier and attempted to force their way inside the building. Other demonstrators held up signs announcing their respect for the bull.
On 1 March, bullfighter Emilio Macias was seriously injured in the neighbouring state of Tlaxcala after being pierced in the behind by a bull’s horn.
“The aim is not to make bullfighting disappear, but evolve,” said legislator Victor Hugo Romo de Vivar. DM