UNITED NATIONS: The United States told the UN Security Council on Friday that the Palestinian militant group Hamas was to blame for the deaths in the Gaza Strip since Israel resumed hostilities there.
“Hamas bears full responsibility for the ongoing war in Gaza and for the resumption of hostilities. Every death would have been avoided had Hamas accepted the bridge proposal that the United States offered last Wednesday,” acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the 15-member council.
Israel effectively abandoned a two-month-old truce three days ago, and has resumed its aerial bombardment and ground campaign, saying it wanted to press the militants to free remaining hostages.
Hamas said on Friday it was reviewing the US proposal to restore the ceasefire.
Of the more than 250 hostages originally seized in Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel — which triggered the war in Gaza — 59 remain in the enclave, 24 of whom are thought to be alive.
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon told the council that, in recent days, Israel had “eliminated several top Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists.”
Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday alone killed more than 400 Palestinians, with scant let-up since then.
“Hamas has a choice,” Danon said. “They can come back to the table and negotiate, or they can wait and watch their leadership fall, one by one. We will not stop until our people come home, all of them.”
French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont urged Israel to “unconditionally resume humanitarian aid, to stop the bombing, to stick to the logic of negotiations, however slow they may be, and to stop responding to cruelty with the unleashing of violence.”
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US tells UN Hamas is to blame for deaths since Israel resumed Gaza hostilities
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US tells UN Hamas is to blame for deaths since Israel resumed Gaza hostilities
- “Hamas bears full responsibility for the ongoing war in Gaza and for the resumption of hostilities,” Shea told the 15-member council
- Israel effectively abandoned a two-month-old truce three days ago
Norwegian Olympic medalist confesses to cheating on girlfriend in post-race interview
- On Tuesday, he admitted to being unfaithful to his girlfriend, calling it the biggest mistake of his life
- Fighting back tears, he described her as the “gold medal” in his life
ANTERSELVA: A post-race interview with the bronze medal winner in the men’s Olympic biathlon competition on Tuesday took an unexpected turn when he revealed in a live broadcast that he had been unfaithful to his girlfriend.
Sturla Holm Laegreid, one of Norway’s top biathletes, finished third in the 20-kilometer individual race, but was full of remorse when he spoke to Norwegian broadcaster NRK at the Milan Cortina Games.
“Six months ago I met the love of my life. The world’s most beautiful, sweetest person. And three months ago I made the biggest mistake of my life and cheated on her,” Laegreid said, fighting back tears.
He said he told his partner a week ago about what had happened.
“I’m sure many people now see me in a different light, but I only have eyes for her,” he said. “I’m not quite sure what I’m trying to say by saying this now, but sport has taken a back seat in recent days. I wish I could share this with her.”
Laegreid’s teammate Johan-Olav Botn shot perfectly in his Olympic debut to secure the gold medal while Eric Perrot of France, the overall World Cup leader, missed one shot and finished 14.8 seconds behind Botn to take silver. Laegreid also missed one target and was 48.3 seconds behind, taking the bronze.
It was Laegreid’s first individual Olympic medal. He was part of the relay team that took gold at the Beijing Olympics.
But instead of celebrating, he was distraught, crying and hugging friends, after the race. During a news conference he explained why he decided to tell the world about his personal situation on the TV broadcast.
“It was the choice I made. We make different choices during our life and that’s how we make life,” he told a room full of journalists. “So today I made a choice to tell the world what I did, so maybe, maybe there is a chance she will see what she really means to me. Maybe not.”
He said he felt bad about upstaging his teammate with his deeply personal news.
“Now I hope I didn’t ruin Johan’s day,” he said. “Maybe it was really selfish of me to give that interview. I’m not really here, mentally.”
Sturla Holm Laegreid, one of Norway’s top biathletes, finished third in the 20-kilometer individual race, but was full of remorse when he spoke to Norwegian broadcaster NRK at the Milan Cortina Games.
“Six months ago I met the love of my life. The world’s most beautiful, sweetest person. And three months ago I made the biggest mistake of my life and cheated on her,” Laegreid said, fighting back tears.
He said he told his partner a week ago about what had happened.
“I’m sure many people now see me in a different light, but I only have eyes for her,” he said. “I’m not quite sure what I’m trying to say by saying this now, but sport has taken a back seat in recent days. I wish I could share this with her.”
Laegreid’s teammate Johan-Olav Botn shot perfectly in his Olympic debut to secure the gold medal while Eric Perrot of France, the overall World Cup leader, missed one shot and finished 14.8 seconds behind Botn to take silver. Laegreid also missed one target and was 48.3 seconds behind, taking the bronze.
It was Laegreid’s first individual Olympic medal. He was part of the relay team that took gold at the Beijing Olympics.
But instead of celebrating, he was distraught, crying and hugging friends, after the race. During a news conference he explained why he decided to tell the world about his personal situation on the TV broadcast.
“It was the choice I made. We make different choices during our life and that’s how we make life,” he told a room full of journalists. “So today I made a choice to tell the world what I did, so maybe, maybe there is a chance she will see what she really means to me. Maybe not.”
He said he felt bad about upstaging his teammate with his deeply personal news.
“Now I hope I didn’t ruin Johan’s day,” he said. “Maybe it was really selfish of me to give that interview. I’m not really here, mentally.”
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