There’s progress reported in Gaza truce talks, but Israel downplays chances of ending war with Hamas

TEL AVIV, Israel – A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported “noticeable progress” in cease-fire talks for Gaza. But Israel hasn’t sent a delegation and a senior Israeli official downplayed prospects for a full end to the war while emphasizing the commitment to invading Rafah.

Pressure has mounted to reach a deal halting the nearly 7-month-long war. A top U.N. official says there is now a “fullblown famine” in northern Gaza, while the United States has repeatedly warned close ally Israel about its planned offensive into Rafah, the southernmost city on the border with Egypt, where more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering.

Egyptian and U.S. mediators have reported signs of compromise in recent days, but chances for a cease-fire deal remain entangled with the key question of whether Israel will accept an end to the war without reaching its stated goal of destroying the militant group Hamas.

Egypt’s state-owned Al-qahera News TV channel said that a consensus had been reached over many disputed points but did not elaborate. Hamas has called for a complete end to the war and withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza.

A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, played down the prospects for a full end to the war. The official said Israel was committed to the Rafah invasion and that it will not agree in any circumstance to end the war as part of a deal to release hostages. on Saturday decried remarks by U.S. President Joe Biden describing them as “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, which the president said during a campaign fundraising event earlier in the week.

Japan said Biden’s judgment was not based on an accurate understanding of its policy, while India rebutted the comment, defending itself as the world’s most open society.

Biden grouped Japan and India as “xenophobic” countries, along with Russia and China as he tried to explain their struggling economies, contrasting the four with the strength of the U.S. as a nation of immigrants.

Japan is a key U.S. ally, and both Japan and India are part of the Quad, a U.s.-led informal partnership that also includes Australia in countering increasingly assertive China in the Indo-pacific.

Just weeks ago, Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio

Kishida on an official visit, as the two leaders restated their “unbreakable alliance” and agreed to reinforce their security ties in the face of China’s threat in the Indo-pacific.

Australian police shoot dead a boy, 16, armed with a knife after he stabbed a man in Perth

MELBOURNE, Australia – A 16-year-old boy armed with a knife was shot dead by police after he stabbed a man in the Australian west coast city of Perth, officials said Sunday.

The incident occurred in the parking lot of a hardware store in suburban Willetton on Saturday night.

The teen attacked the man and then rushed at police officers before he was shot, Western Australian Premier Roger Cook told reporters on Sunday.

“There are indications he had been radicalized online,” Cook told a news conference.

“But I want to reassure the community at this stage it appears

I-95 overpass in Connecticut scorched during a fuel truck inferno has been demolished

NORWALK, Conn. — Workers have demolished a bridge over a Connecticut highway that was damaged in a fiery crash involving a gasoline tanker truck.

The demolition that began Friday is expected to keep both sides of Interstate 95 in Norwalk closed through the weekend and extend a traffic nightmare on the major artery linking New England and New York.

Gov. Ned Lamont says the plan is still to reopen the highway on Monday morning. Crews are expected to finish removing the bridge by Sunday morning, and road repairs will be made.

The tanker truck burst into flames under the overpass after colliding with two other vehicles Thursday.

The cause remains under investigation.