*) Israeli army to 'fight hard' in southern Gaza

Israel's ground invasion has expanded to every part of Gaza, according to its military, as it ordered more evacuations, vowing to hit south Gaza with “no less strength” than it hit the north.

Heavy bombardment followed the evacuation orders, and Palestinians in the sealed-off territory bordering Israel and Egypt say there was no place left to go.

Nearly half of Gaza's 2.3 million people fled to the south after Israel ordered civilians to leave the north in the beginning of the war on the enclave.

Israel’s war on Gaza was sparked by the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 Israelis. And over 15,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli bombardment.

*) Turkish Red Crescent sends over $3.4M aid to Gaza amid ongoing war

The Turkish Red Crescent has dispatched over $3.4 million worth of aid to Gaza amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the head of the relief group said.

Addressing an event in Istanbul, Fatma Meric Yilmaz said the Red Crescent had gathered about $17.3 million in financial donations, with the $3.4 million dispatched as immediate assistance.

Additionally, the organisation has sent in-kind aid carried from Türkiye on 11 aircraft and two ships.

*) US Muslims launch anti-Biden campaign ahead of 2024 presidential election

Muslims in the US have launched a campaign against President Joe Biden’s bid for re-election in 2024 over his support for Israel in its war on Gaza.

A group of Muslim leaders from Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania gathered over the weekend in Dearborn, Michigan to launch the campaign.

The campaign aims to encourage voters to withdraw their support for Biden due to his “unwillingness to call for a cease-fire and protect innocents in Palestine and Israel," it said in a statement.

American news website Axios said that Arab American and Muslim American outrage could hurt Biden’s re-election prospects in most of the 2024 swing states he won in 2020.

*) 11 hikers dead after Indonesia volcano erupts, dozen still missing

Eleven hikers have been found dead and another 12 are missing after a volcano erupted in Indonesia, with rescuers racing to carry injured and burned survivors down the mountain on foot.

Rescuers worked through the night to find dozens of hikers stranded on Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra after it spewed an ash tower of 3,000 metres into the sky on Sunday.

Three hikers were found alive and 49 had safely descended from the crater, some with burns and fractures, according to a local rescue official.

*) Bitcoin skyrockets, passes $40k amid optimism for US trading approval

Bitcoin has risen past $40,000 for the first time since May last year, boosted by hopes that the United States will soon allow broader trading of the world's biggest cryptocurrency.

The digital asset has skyrocketed this year, gaining nearly 150 percent, with expectations growing that US regulators will allow the creation of exchange-traded funds.

These would track the price of bitcoin and allow the public to invest in the currency without directly purchasing it.

Bitcoin was trading above $40,700 at around 0400 GMT Monday.

*) Israel-Hamas agree to extend truce for seventh day

Israel and Palestinian group Hamas have agreed to extend the truce for a seventh day after another exchange of captives for Palestinians and humanitarian aid was delivered to besieged Gaza.

Israel’s military said that a truce with Hamas will continue “in light of the mediators’ efforts to continue the process of releasing hostages, and subject to the terms of the agreement.”

Israel freed 30 more Palestinian women and minors early on Thursday as Hamas released 10 Israeli captives and four Thai nationals — who had arrived in Egypt on the same day.

*) Henry Kissinger, US diplomat and controversial Nobel winner, dies at 100

Henry Kissinger, a controversial Nobel Peace Prize winner and diplomatic powerhouse has died at age 100.

Kissinger Associates Inc said in a statement that he died at his home in Connecticut on Wednesday.

Kissinger had been active past his centenary, attending meetings in the White House, publishing a book on leadership styles, and testifying before a Senate committee about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.

*) India ‘intelligence’ official plotted to kill Sikh activist on US soil

An Indian government official has directed a $100,000 plot to assassinate a prominent Sikh separatist leader in New York City, US authorities said.

Last spring, US officials became aware of the plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is considered a terrorist by the Indian government.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration stopped the plot when the foreign government employee recruited an international narcotics trafficker to commit the murder, the DEA administrator said.

*) Russia claims capture of village in Ukraine's Donetsk region

Russia said its armed forces had taken control of Khromove, a small village on the outskirts of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

Moscow’s troops seized Bakhmut in May after one of the bloodiest battles of its 21-month military offensive.

Russia’s defence ministry announced this in a daily briefing.

*) Elon Musk uses F-word for advertisers who boycotted X over ‘anti-Semitism’

Billionaire Elon Musk has used the F-word for advertisers who fled his social media platform X over alleged anti-Semitic content in a fiery interview.

His remarks followed a moment of contrition in a New York Times DealBook Summit interview, as he first said, “I’m sorry” for a tweet that agreed with an “anti-Jewish” post on X on November 15.

Musk has faced a torrent of criticism since he agreed with a user who claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people, saying the user who referenced the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory was speaking “the actual truth.”

*) US, Israeli spy chiefs discuss ‘next phase’ of Gaza truce deal in Doha

US and Israeli intelligence chiefs have arrived in Doha to discuss the “next phase” of a deal between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, a source briefed on the visit said.

The leaders of the US Central Intelligence Agency and Israel’s Mossad were scheduled to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the source said, adding that Egyptian officials were also taking part.

*) More people at risk of death from disease than bombardment in Gaza: WHO

More people could die from disease than from Israeli bombings in Gaza if its health system was not repaired, World Health Organization spokesperson Margaret Harris has said at a UN briefing in Geneva.

Palestinian health authorities in Gaza deemed reliable by the United Nations say more than 15,000 people have been confirmed killed in Israel’s bombardment, around 40 percent of them children, with many more dead feared to be lost under rubble.

“(There are) no medicines, no vaccination activities, no access to safe water and hygiene and no food. We saw a very high number of cases of diarrhoea among infants,” the UN spokesperson said.

*) Israel not letting enough fuel in Gaza, curbs harming aid delivery: EU

Israeli restrictions on fuel supplies to Gaza are hampering aid deliveries and humanitarian access required under a UN resolution, an EU commissioner, Janez Lenarcic, has said.

“We are calling for the increase of fuel supplies to Gaza,” Lenarcic told journalists in Brussels.

“The humanitarian access should be based on the needs and not on some restrictions,” the EU commissioner said.

*) Hijab can be banned in public service, top European court rules

The top European Union court has ruled that public authorities in member states can prohibit employees from wearing signs of religious belief, such as a Muslim head scarf.

The Court of Justice of the European Union said a policy of strict neutrality that was intended to establish a neutral administrative environment may be regarded as being objectively justified by a legitimate aim.

It added that another public administration would also be justified if it decided to authorise, in a general and indiscriminate manner, the wearing of visible signs of belief.

*) All 41 workers trapped in tunnel rescued after 17 days: Indian officials

Indian workers have been greeted with wild cheers and flower garlands as rescuers safely brought out all 41 from the collapsed Himalayan road tunnel.

With beaming smiles, the rescued men were welcomed as heroes after being hauled through 57 metres of steel pipe on stretchers specially fitted with wheels, where they were greeted by state officials before embracing their families.

Crowds outside the tunnel cheered, as news spread that all had made it safely out of the under-construction tunnel in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, where they had been trapped since a partial collapse on November 12.

*) Hamas seeks to extend humanitarian pause in Gaza

Palestinian group Hamas has announced that it is seeking to extend the four-day humanitarian pause with Israel in Gaza.

The group said in a statement that it is making serious efforts to secure the release of more Palestinians even after the pause ends.

A Palestinian source who preferred to remain anonymous, as the person was not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed to Anadolu Agency that Hamas informed mediators Qatar and Egypt that the resistance movements were willing to extend the current truce by two to four days.

*) Israeli girl’s death brings army’s ‘Hannibal Protocol’ back into focus

An Israeli eyewitness said that during Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, the army surrounded a house containing members of the Palestinian group and Israelis and later opened fire with tank rounds, killing all of them.

It appeared to be the latest implementation of the ‘Hannibal Protocol’, which involves the killing of enemy-held captives to prevent Israeli civilians from being taken to Gaza as hostages.

Reports in Israeli media about the high number of civilian casualties during Hamas’s cross-border assault and Israeli military helicopters shooting both Palestinian fighters and civilians at a music festival near Gaza have led to debates on whether the army applied the ‘Hannibal Protocol’.

*) President Erdogan discusses Gaza with his Iranian counterpart Raisi

In a recent phone conversation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi have discussed unlawful Israeli attacks on Palestine’s Gaza, humanitarian aid delivery for Palestinians, and potential steps to achieve a permanent ceasefire in the region.

President Erdogan emphasised the importance of taking a common stance by particularly Türkiye and Iran, and Muslim world against Israeli atrocities and brutality in Palestinian lands.

The leaders expressed their commitment to working together to turn the temporary ceasefire into a permanent one and achieving permanent peace in the region.

*) Ukraine calls for more air defence systems to protect grain corridor

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country needs more air defence systems in order to protect the grain corridor that has been operational since Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July.

“We have a positive response when these systems start to protect that region. Because both the corridor and the people there are important,” Zelenskyy said at a press briefing following the ‘Grain From Ukraine’ summit in Kiev.

Ukraine has an agreement with several states for the escort of vessels by Ukrainian boats, he said, adding that the country is already receiving naval boats specifically for this purpose.

And finally…

*) Irish writer Paul Lynch wins Booker Prize with novel ‘Prophet Song’

Irish writer Paul Lynch won the Booker Prize for fiction with what judges called a “soul-shattering” novel about a woman’s struggle to protect her family as Ireland collapses into totalitarianism and war.

“Prophet Song”, set in a dystopian fictional version of Dublin, was awarded the 50,000-pound (about $63,000) literary prize at a ceremony in London.

Canadian writer Esi Edugyan, who chaired the judging panel, said the book is “a triumph of emotional storytelling, bracing and brave” in which Lynch “pulls off feats of language that are stunning to witness”.

*) Gaza truce starts after intense Israeli bombing, prisoner swap to follow

A four-day truce in Israel’s war on Gaza has started with hostages to be released in exchange for prisoners. It is the first major reprieve in seven weeks of conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.

After prolonged negotiations, deliberations and delay, the pause was due to begin at 7:00 am (0500 GMT), silencing guns that have raged since Hamas’s attack on Israeli towns near Gaza on October 7.

The start of the truce is set to be followed by the release of the first group of 13 hostages being held in Gaza, and - an undefined number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, according to Qatari peace brokers.

*) Egypt says 130,000 litres of diesel to be delivered daily to Gaza

Egypt has said that 130,000 litres of diesel and four trucks of gas will be delivered daily to Gaza with a four-day truce.

Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS), also said in a statement that 200 trucks of aid would enter Gaza daily.

*) Israeli military confirms Al Shifa Hospital chief held for questioning

The Israeli military has confirmed that the director of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza had been held for questioning over allegations that the facility had been used as a command and control centre for Hamas.

“In the hospital, under his management, there was extensive Hamas terrorist activity,” the Israeli ministry said in a statement, but offered no evidence.

The Israeli army, which raided the hospital last week, has alleged that Hamas fighters used a tunnel complex beneath the facility in Gaza City to stage attacks.

*) ECOWAS parliament seeks to lift sanctions on Niger

The parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) appeals to the bloc’s heads of state to lift the sanction imposed on Niger after the July 26 military coup.

It said the people of Niger desire relief from economic hardship and humanitarian challenges, triggered by a ban on trade relations - and a freezing of the country’s accounts in regional central banks.

“This is an appeal to the ECOWAS Heads of State to consider the humanitarian situation and resolve the political impasse in Niger,” Nigeria’s Senate chief Ali Ndume said.

*) China reports no unusual or novel pathogens in respiratory illnesses upsurge — WHO

China has reported no “unusual or novel pathogens” in respiratory illnesses, spreading in the north of the country, the World Health Organization has said.

The WHO said that Chinese authorities had responded, advising “that there has been no detection of any unusual or novel pathogens or unusual clinical presentations, including in Beijing and Liaoning.”

It was a matter, the authorities said, of the “aforementioned general increase in respiratory illnesses due to multiple known pathogens.”

*) US won’t allow expulsion of Palestinians

US President Joe Biden has told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi in a phone call that the US would not permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from besieged Gaza or the occupied West Bank, the White House said in a statement.

It added that the US is also against the besiegement or redrawing of Gaza’s borders.

“The President affirmed his commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state and recognised Egypt’s essential role in setting the conditions for that outcome,” the White House said.

*) US warns India as it thwarts plot to kill Sikh separatist leader in America

United States authorities have thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh (SEEK) separatist leader in America and issued a warning to India over concerns the right-wing government in New Delhi was involved, a senior official said.

The US is treating the plot with utmost seriousness and has raised the issue with the Indian government “at the senior-most levels,” the White House said.

US authorities raised concerns with New Delhi that the Indian government may have had knowledge of the plot, according to the official who was not authorised to comment on the sensitive matter.

*) Dutch anti-Islam Geert Wilders wins most votes with landslide margin

Far-right, anti-Islam Geert Wilders has won the most votes in the Dutch election with a landslide margin, according to an exit poll.

This puts him in line to lead talks to form a new ruling coalition and possibly become the country’s prime minister.

The exit poll published by the national broadcaster NOS said Wilders’ Party for Freedom won 35 seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament. This is more than double the 17 he won at the last election.

If confirmed when votes are counted, a Wilders victory would send a seismic shock through European politics.

*) OpenAI staff warned board of discovery ‘that could threaten humanity’ ahead of Sam Altman’s ouster

Ahead of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s ouster, several staff researchers sent the board of directors a letter warning of a powerful artificial intelligence discovery that they said could threaten humanity.

This is according to two people familiar with the matter.

The previously unreported letter and AI algorithm was a key development ahead of the board’s ouster of Altman, the poster child of generative AI, the two sources said.

Before his triumphant return late on Tuesday, more than 700 employees had threatened to quit and join backer Microsoft in solidarity with their fired leader.

And finally…

*) Hollywood artists punished for supporting Palestine’s resistance to Israeli occupation

Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and “Scream” star Melissa Barrera were each dropped by Hollywood companies after making pro-Palestinian comments on the Israel-Gaza war.

Spyglass Media Group, the production company behind the upcoming “Scream VII,” acknowledged Barrera’s exit from the horror franchise.

The Mexican-born actress, who starred in “In the Heights” and the two recent “Scream” installments, had posted statements on Instagram Stories calling the war “genocide and ethnic cleansing.”

“Gaza,” she wrote, “is currently being treated like a concentration camp.”

*) Hamas to release 50 captives; Israel to free 150 Palestinian women, children

The Israeli cabinet has approved a plan that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says will bring a temporary ceasefire with Palestinian resistance fighters in besieged Gaza.

Hamas will free 50 Israeli captives over the course of four days, during which there will be a pause in the war, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office.

Israel, as part of the truce, will release 150 Palestinian women and children languishing in Israeli jails.

Qatar and the US have announced that the 4-day ceasefire will begin within the next 24 hours.

*) Gaza’s worsening sanitation situation signal ‘perfect storm for tragedy’: UN

Fuel shortages and worsening sanitation in the besieged Gaza are shaping up to be the perfect storm for tragedy through the spread of disease, the United Nations has warned.

UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, said there was a serious threat of a mass disease outbreak in the occupied Palestinian territory.

“Without enough fuel, we will see the collapse of sanitation services. So we have then, on top of the mortars and the bombs, a perfect storm for the spread of disease,” the UN agency said.

*) Jordan doesn’t rule out war with Israel if Palestinians are expelled en masse

Jordan has said the army had beefed up its presence along its borders with Israel.

It warned that any Israeli attempt to expel Palestinians across the Jordan River would represent a breach of Jordan’s peace accord with its far-right neighbour.

Jordanian Prime Minister said his country would resort to “all the means in its power” to prevent Israel from implementing any transfer policy to expel Palestinians en masse from the occupied West Bank.

*) Civilian death toll in Ukraine tops grim 10,000 mark: UN body

More than 10,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s offensive started in February 2022, with about half of recent deaths occurring far behind the front lines, the UN Human Rights Office said.

The UN human rights mission in Ukraine, which has dozens of monitors in the country, said it expects the real toll to be “significantly higher” than the official tally since corroboration work is ongoing.

This includes events in the first months after the invasion, such as the battle for control of Mariupol, where residents reported high civilian casualties.

*) Sam Altman to return as OpenAI CEO

OpenAI has announced its co-founder Sam Altman will return as CEO, days after the board fired him.

Altman's departure caused discontent in the tech giant company, and hundreds of OpenAI staff threatened to quit in response to the dismissal.

"I am looking forward to returning to OpenAI," Sam Altman said in a post on X.

OpenAI on Monday named ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO, while outgoing chief Sam Altman moved to backer Microsoft.

*) Hamas leader says ‘close to reaching’ Gaza truce deal with Israel

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has said his resistance movement is nearing a truce agreement with Israel, according to a statement posted on Telegram.

Negotiators have been working to seal a deal to allow the release of around 240 mostly Israeli hostages seized on October 7, during the deadliest assault on Israel in its history.

Israel has been relentlessly bombing Palestine’s Gaza in the wake of the Hamas attack.

*) WHO official says Gaza hospital situation ‘catastrophic’

A top World Health Organization official has described the hospital situation in Gaza as “catastrophic.”

The official says most facilities are no longer functioning and what remains will likely be overwhelmed by thousands of births expected in the next month.

Plans by the Israeli military to push further south, the WHO official added, would worsen health conditions even further.

*) Premature babies arrive in Egypt

Twenty-nine premature babies have arrived in Egypt, local media said, after they were evacuated from Gaza’s largest hospital which has become a focal point of Israel’’s ground invasion.

The infants were evacuated Sunday from the Al Shifa Hospital, which the World Health Organization has described as a “death zone” as Israel seeks to uncover what it claims are Hamas bases in tunnels underneath the facility.

An initial 31 babies were reported evacuated from Al Shifa to another Gaza clinic and it was not immediately clear why only 29 arrived in Egypt.

*) Israeli ships are ‘legitimate targets’ anywhere, warn Yemen’s Houthis

Israeli ships are a “legitimate target,” Yemen’s Houthi rebels have warned after their seizure of an Israel-linked cargo vessel opened a new dimension in the Gaza war.

“Israeli ships are legitimate targets for us anywhere ... and we will not hesitate to take action,” Major General Ali al Moshki, a Houthi military official, told the group’s Al Massirah TV station on Monday.

The capture of the Galaxy Leader and its 25 international crew came days after the Houthis threatened to target Israeli shipping over the Israel-Palestine conflict.

And finally…

*) Oxfam Report: Rich elite’s carbon footprint equals two-thirds of the world

The richest one percent of the global population is responsible for the same amount of carbon emissions as the world’s poorest two-thirds, or five billion people, according to an analysis published by the Oxfam International.

While fighting the climate crisis is a shared challenge, not everyone is equally responsible and government policies must be tailored accordingly, Max Lawson, who co-authored the report, said.

“The richer you are, the easier it is to cut both your personal and your investment emissions,” he said, adding: “You don’t need that third car or that fourth holiday, or you don’t need to be invested in the cement industry.”

*) Israel shells Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, kills many

At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in Israeli army’s shelling of Indonesian Hospital and its surroundings in northern Gaza, medical sources said.

The sources added that the Israeli army was firing live bullets at anyone moving outside the hospital’s door.

The assault led to the extensive destruction of the facility, the sources said, adding that the death toll is increasing.

*) Colombia’s president slams Netanyahu, compares him to Herod

Colombia’s president said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a “crazy man” who is “killing many people” in Gaza in the style of Herod.

Herod was the king of Judea who ordered the slaughter of innocents according to the Christian New Testament.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro also criticised the US for supporting Israel’s war on Palestine’s Gaza, saying, “The Israeli capital owns American banking.”

*) European outcry grows over Israel’s Gaza war, sparks widespread protests

People across Europe have continued to take to the streets to express solidarity with Palestine and condemn ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Braving rainy weather, some 2,000 people gathered in Amsterdam over the weekend, carrying Palestinian flags and chanting slogans including, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” “Ceasefire now,” and “Stop genocide in Palestine.”

A protester Cillia Ferrier maintained that what was happening in Palestine was apartheid, while another demonstrator, Bart, urged the Dutch government to stop Israel.

*) Turkish Center for Combating Disinformation rejects Israeli claim that Hamas killed innocent person

A claim by Israel that the Palestinian group Hamas killed an innocent person based on images depicting an execution was not accurate, Türkiye’s Center for Combating Disinformation said.

The centre, which falls under Türkiye’s Communications Directorate, said on X that the images in question were taken during the public execution of a drug trafficker in Iran in the year 2014.

Meanwhile, Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said the centre has, since October 7, exposed over 100 international false news regarding Israel’s attacks on Gaza and revealed the truth.

*) Australia beats India to win Cricket World Cup for sixth time as Head hits 137

Australia won the cricket World Cup for a record-extending sixth time, ending India’s dominant run in its home tournament with a six-wicket victory in a low-scoring finale.

A heavily pro-Indian crowd inside the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium was silenced as Australia overpowered India by chasing down the target of 241.

The victory has helped Australia regain its status as the kings of one-day international cricket, adding to its 50-over world titles in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015.

*) Thousands at Al Shifa Hospital ‘fighting death’

Over 7,000 displaced people, patients, and medical staff at Al Shifa Hospital are “fighting death due to a lack of water and food” caused by the Israeli military blockade.

There is “no food, water, or milk for infants at Al Shifa Hospital,” Gaza’s media office said on Telegram.

It added that they “may lose a number of malnourished children at the hospital due to the power outage, leaving them without incubators.”

*) Blinken urges Israel to take action against settler violence in occupied West Bank

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Israel to take “urgent” action to stop settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Blinken made the plea in a telephone call with Benny Gantz, an opposition leader who joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wartime cabinet.

Blinken “stressed the urgent need for affirmative steps to de-escalate tensions in the [occupied] West Bank, including by confronting rising levels of settler extremist violence.”

*) Heads of UN agencies reject unilateral proposals to create ‘safe zones’ in Gaza

The leaders of a number of UN agencies and humanitarian organisations have said they will not take part in any “safe zones” in Gaza declared by Israel.

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee said in a statement that they “will not participate in the establishment of any ‘safe zone’ in Gaza that is set up without the agreement of all the parties.”

The committee added that under the current circumstances, any proposals to unilaterally establish “safe zones” are likely to harm civilians.

*) Turkish FM urges West to uphold moral values over Gaza brutality

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has taken a tough stance on the ongoing Israeli attack on Gaza.

He said, “being silent on Israel’s lawlessness in Gaza is tantamount to giving the green light to other lawlessness around the world.”

Fidan called on the Western world “to uphold moral values and refrain from being complicit in the blatant violation of human rights in Gaza.”

*) TikTok to ban viral videos promoting bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’

TikTok has said it will prohibit content that promotes Osama bin Laden’s 2002 letter detailing the former al Qaeda leader’s explanation for attacking America.

The letter criticised US support for Israel and accused Americans of financing the “oppression” of Palestinians.

TikTok said in a statement, “Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism,” adding that reports that it was “trending” on the platform were inaccurate.