The Israel-Hamas war

The Israel-Hamas war|The demonstrations
Blinken: The protests are a sign of our country's strength

Foreign Minister Antony Blinken says that the ongoing student protests against the Gaza war around the United States are part of democracy.

- Our citizens express their opinions, their concerns, their anger, at any time. I think it reflects the strength of the country, says Blinken, who is currently visiting China.

At the same time, Blinken is critical of the silence of the protest movements around Hamas. He believes that the protesters have not condemned Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7.

- It's like it's not even part of the story, says Blinken.
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The Israel-Hamas war|The reactions
The EU promises 70 million euros more in aid to Gaza

The EU decided on Friday to donate an additional 68 million euros for emergency humanitarian aid to Gaza, AFP reports.

"In light of the continuing worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the steadily increasing needs in the area, the European Commission is stepping up its funding to support Palestinians affected by the ongoing war," the Commission writes in a statement.

The total humanitarian aid from the EU to Palestinians in Gaza and around the region thus amounts to a total of 193 million euros in 2024.
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Trump: Charlottesville was nothing against this

The student protests against the Gaza war taking place across the United States are far worse than the criticized demonstration in Charlottesville in 2017, claims Donald Trump.

"Charlottesville was a small peanut and nothing to the kind of hate we're seeing now," Trump said as he met with reporters outside the courtroom in New York on Thursday, according to Axios.

Several hundred white supremacists marched through Charlottesville in 2017, chanting slogans. One of them drove a car into a counter-demonstration, which led to the death of a woman.

In the aftermath, then-President Trump received a lot of criticism for saying that there were "a lot of fine people on both sides."

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The Israel-Hamas warThe demonstrations
Rabbis with gifts of food arrested at the Gaza border

Seven people were arrested by Israeli police as a group of rabbis demonstrated for a ceasefire and the release of hostages at the Gaza border on Friday, Israeli media reported.

The Israeli and American rabbis brought food they wanted to hand over to Gazans, including unleavened matzah bread traditionally eaten by Jews during the ongoing Passover holiday.

"The Israeli government is using hunger as a weapon against 2.3 million Gazans, causing malnutrition and disease by preventing vital humanitarian aid," writes the Rabbis for Ceasefire organization in a statement