https://archive.ph/6fZjC

France’s military took part in efforts to stop Iranian drones targeting Israel prior to this week’s ceasefire, the country’s defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said late on Wednesday.

“I can confirm that the French army intercepted less than 10 drones in the last few days during the different military operations conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel, either by ground-to-air systems or via our Rafale fighter jets,” Lecornu said during a parliamentary debate on the situation in the Middle East.

Lecornu said Iran had launched some 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones towards Israel during the 12-day conflict.

More than 300 Foreign Office staff have been told to consider resigning after they wrote a letter over fears the government had become complicit in Israel’s alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The letter, first reported by Novara Media, said: “In July 2024, staff expressed concern about Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law and potential UK government complicity.

The reply to the letter was sent by the permanent under-secretary, Oliver Robbins, and Nick Dyer, the second most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office. They told the signatories: “If your disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound, your ultimate recourse is to resign from the civil service. This is an honourable course.” The reply did not address the substantive complaints by staff.

Israel has already proven it’s the good guy by spraying the Madleen with an unknown chemical, ramming the vessel, boarding it and making the crew throw their mobile phones overboard.

Israeli commandos were so nice during the encounter that they agreed not to kill anyone as long as they showed total obedience. In fact, the commandos showed such restraint that they didn’t even strip anyone naked. Well, not that I know of…

Israel was temporarily nice to the crew of the Madleen so it could get a propaganda picture and then it took them ashore where it tried to make them watch footage of October 7. When the crew refused, it demanded they sign deportation papers accepting they had illegally entered Israel, even though they were in international waters and it was Israel who took them to Israel!

I understand some of the Madleen crew signed the deportation papers and were sent on their way, but disgracefully, Rima Hassan refused to be repatriated. Apparently, she wouldn’t confess to something she hadn’t done because she has “principles”. Israel says it therefore has no choice but to keep her as a hostage, I mean an, um, prisoner.

Obviously, prisoner is the only accurate word to describe someone who is being illegally detained, having committed no crime. Hassan can’t be a hostage because she smiled defiantly and ate a sandwich and no hostage would ever eat a sandwich. It disrespects all those who were captured on October 7 to call Hassan a hostage, just because she is being held against her will after being abducted by armed men.

I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but Hassan is Palestinian and it’s fine to treat Palestinians this way. It’s what Israel has always done x

Graz Mayor Elke Kahr has now said that 10 people have been killed in this morning’s shooting. School students are among the dead and a number of people have been reported wounded.

Police say the suspected gunman probably took his own life after the attack on the Dreierschützengasse high school at about 10:00 (09:00 BST).

It is not clear at the moment if the gunman was a student or a former student at the school.

After Greta Thunberg made an appeal for pressure to be put on the Swedish government to release her and the other activists from the Israelis, the Foreign Ministry released a statement saying consular support could be offered to her and any other Swedes.

That’s how it stood for most of the day. But within the last hour, Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard was interviewed outside the Swedish parliament.

She said the assessment of the situation is that the activists on the Madleen are not in any danger and, therefore, aren’t in need of consular support.

https://archive.ph/IftGV