*) UN agency for Palestinians barred from North Gaza aid deliveries

The United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees says that Israel had definitively barred it from making aid deliveries in northern Gaza, where the threat of famine is highest.

The head of the agency Philippe Lazzarini said on X that “despite the tragedy unfolding under our watch, the Israeli Authorities informed the UN that they will no longer approve any UNRWA food convoys to the north.”

He called the decision “outrageous,” saying the decision makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a “man-made famine.”

*) Israeli war to only end with Jews settling in northern Gaza: Knesset member

The head of the Knesset’s National Security Committee Zvika Fogel has said “the Israeli war on Gaza will end with Jews settling in northern Gaza,” while speaking to Israeli public broadcaster KAN.

He added that “Israel must end the war when Jews settle in the entire northern Gaza Strip.”

Fogel called for encouraging the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza saying, whoever wants to “voluntarily migrate” will receive a “grant” from him.

*) Four suspects remanded in custody over Moscow concert attack

Four men accused of involvement in the massacre at a Moscow concert hall that killed 137 people have been remanded in custody, as Russia observed a national day of mourning following the attack claimed by the Daesh terror group.

President Vladimir Putin has vowed to punish those behind the “barbaric terrorist attack,” and said the four gunmen had been arrested while trying to flee to Ukraine.

Kiev has strongly denied any connection to the attack. All four suspects have been charged with terrorism, according to Moscow’s Basmanny district court, and face life imprisonment.

*) Senegal anti-establishment candidate leads in presidential poll

Senegal’s anti-establishment candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye appeared to be closing in on a first-round victory in a presidential poll.

Opposition figure Faye had promised voters “a profound change” and a presidential programme of left-wing pan-Africanism.

Faye was well ahead of former ruling coalition Prime Minister Amadou Ba, according to preliminary results from individual polling stations published by local media and on social networks.

*) Pro-Palestine protesters stage event at New York Metropolitan Art Museum

Protesters covered the steps of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art with a large patchwork blanket displaying messages of solidarity with Palestine to draw attention to Israel’s war on Gaza.

Many demonstrators gathered on the steps of the museum, also known as The Met as they chanted slogans such as “Free Palestine” and “How many children did Israel kill today?”

They also distributed brochures that highlighted the museum’s silence over Israel’s “genocide” of Palestinians and its support for its war in Gaza, advocating for a world where justice prevails.