LONDON (AP) — Two Russian journalists were arrested by their government on “extremism” charges and ordered by courts there on Saturday to remain in custody pending investigation and trial on accusations of working for a group founded by the late Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin both denied the charges for which they will be detained for a minimum of two months before any trials begin. Each faces a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of six years for alleged “participation in an extremist organization,” according to Russian courts.

They are just the latest journalists arrested amid a Russian government crackdown on dissent and independent media that intensified after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. The Russian government passed laws criminalizing what it deems false information about the military, or statements seen as discrediting the military, effectively outlawing any criticism of the war in Ukraine or speech that deviates from the official narrative.

A journalist for the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, Sergei Mingazov, was detained on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military, his lawyer said Friday.

Gabov and Karelin are accused of preparing materials for a YouTube channel run by Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which has been outlawed by Russian authorities. Navalny died in an Arctic penal colony in February.

Gabov, who was detained in Moscow, is a freelance producer who has worked for multiple organizations, including Reuters, the court press service said. Reuters did not immediately comment on the ruling by the court.

Karelin, who has dual citizenship with Israel, was detained Friday night in Russia’s northern Murmansk region.

Karelin, 41, has worked for a number of outlets, including for The Associated Press. He was a cameraman for German media outlet Deutsche Welle until the Kremlin banned the outlet from operating in Russia in February 2022.

“The Associated Press is very concerned by the detention of Russian video journalist Sergey Karelin,” the AP said in a statement. “We are seeking additional information.”

Russia’s crackdown on dissent is aimed at opposition figures, journalists, activists, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and ordinary Russians critical of the Kremlin. A number of journalists have been jailed in relation to their coverage of Navalny, including Antonina Favorskaya, who remains in pre-trial detention at least until May 28 following a hearing last month.

Favorskaya was detained and accused by Russian authorities of taking part in an “extremist organization” by posting on the social media platforms of Navalny’s Foundation. She covered Navalny’s court hearings for years and filmed the last video of Navalny before he died in the penal colony.

Kira Yarmysh, Navalny’s spokeswoman, said that Favorskaya did not publish anything on the Foundation’s platforms and suggested that Russian authorities have targeted her because she was doing her job as a journalist.

Evan Gershkovich, a 32-year-old American reporter for The Wall Street Journal, is awaiting trial on espionage charges at Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison. Both Gershkovich and his employer have vehemently denied the charges.

Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 while on a reporting trip and has spent over a year in jail; authorities have not detailed what, if any, evidence they have to support the espionage charges.

The U.S. government has declared Gershkovich wrongfully detained, with officials accusing Moscow of using the journalist as a pawn for political ends.

The Russian government has also cracked down on opposition figures. One prominent activist, Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years.

VENICE (Reuters) – Pope Francis travels to Venice on Sunday for his first trip of the year, testing his mobility and resilience after a number of health scares in recent months.

It will be the 87-year-old pope’s first visit to the lagoon city since his 2013 election and he will also be the first pontiff to visit the Venice Biennale — a prestigious art show with exhibitions sponsored by numerous nations in myriad spaces.

The Vatican’s exhibition has been set up in a women’s prison and the pope will kick off his trip early on Sunday, flying directly into the Giudecca jail by helicopter from the Vatican to view the show entitled “Through My Eyes”.

It features creations by nine contemporary artists who worked closely with inmates on the project.

The unusual decision to house the Holy See pavilion in the jail highlights Francis’ repeated calls for society to rally around the poor and neglected, including prison populations. He has regularly visited detention centres during his papacy.

The pope is expected to meet some of the prisoners and staff on Sunday and deliver the first of three speeches, before heading by motorboat to the 16th century church of La Madeleine and then on to St. Mark’s Basilica for a Mass.

About 10,000 people are expected to attend the service, with thousands more likely to fill the giant St. Mark’s Square outside to follow it on large screens.

He will fly back home in his distinctive white helicopter after a visit set to last just over six hours.

It is the pope’s first trip beyond Rome since a brief visit to France last September. He had been due to attend a climate change conference in the United Arab Emirates in December, but pulled out shortly beforehand after coming down with influenza.

Francis uses a cane or a wheelchair to move around due to a knee ailment, and suffers from repeated bouts of bronchitis and flu. He unexpectedly withdrew from a Good Friday procession in March “to preserve his health”, but has looked well since then.

The Venice trip is the first of four planned inside Italy in the next three months. He is scheduled to visit Verona in May and Trieste in July, and also is expected to attend a June summit of Group of Seven (G7) leaders in Bari.

In September, he is set to embark on the longest foreign trip of his papacy, travelling to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore from Sept. 2-13.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Gavin Jones and Frances Kerry)

(Reuters) – Haiti’s transition council on Saturday said it will vote for the country’s next president on Tuesday as part of efforts to bring the Caribbean country under control amid rampant gang violence.

The transition council took power in a ceremony on Thursday, formalizing the resignation of former Prime Minster Ariel Henry.

The transitional government’s mandate runs until February 2026, by when there are slated to be elections, and cannot be renewed.

The council’s installation is seen as a key step toward the deployment of a multinational security mission Henry requested in 2022 and the United Nations approved more than six months ago.

The election will take place at the prime minister’s Villa d’Accueil office on Tuesday morning, a statement said.

(Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Chris Reese)

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Armed assailants ambushed and killed three law enforcement officers in southern Chile on Saturday before setting their car on fire, authorities said, the latest attack on police to revive security concerns in the South American country.

It remains unclear who carried out the assault on Chile’s national police force in the Biobío region some 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) south of Santiago, the capital. But a long-simmering conflict between the Mapuche indigenous community and landowners and forestry companies in Biobío and Chile’s Araucanía region farther south has intensified in recent years. That has prompted the government to impose a state of emergency and deploy the military to provide security.

“There will be no impunity,” Chilean President Gabriel Boric said, declaring three days of national mourning on Saturday, after firefighters dousing the burning police car made the grisly discovery.

The spate of bloodshed has tested Boric, who came to power in 2022 promising to ease tensions in the region, where armed Mapuche activists long have stolen timber and attacked forestry companies that they claim invaded their ancestral lands, among other targets like churches and national institutions.

But the indigenous community’s distrust of authorities has deepened, spurring violence even as Boric’s administration has touted its success in reducing Chile’s national homicide rate by 6%, according to government figures from 2023 published earlier this week.

“This attack goes against all the enormous strides that have been made,” said Interior Minister Carolina Tohá, a center-left former mayor of Santiago appointed as minister in late 2022 to boost Boric’s position as his approval ratings dipped.

Describing the assailants as “terrorists,” Boric traveled south to personally offer condolences to the victims’ families. The Carabineros, Chile’s national police force, said they were “working to the best of our abilities” to catch the assailants but declined to comment on possible leads.

The killing had been well planned, early reports suggest, timed to coincide with National Police Day, celebrating the 97th anniversary of the establishment of the Carabineros in Chile. It was the second such fatal attack on the force this month.

The Carabineros’ general director, Ricardo Yáñez, told reporters the officers had been dispatched in response to fake distress calls from the rural road, where they were met with a barrage of gunfire.

“This was not coincidental, it was not random,” Yáñez said of the ambush.

In Chile, around 1 in 10 citizens identify as Mapuche, the tribe that resisted Spanish conquest centuries ago and was only defeated in the late 1800s after Chile won its independence. Large forestry companies and farm owners control an estimated 500-700 kilometers of the land originally belonging to the Mapuche, many of whom now live in rural poverty.

By Brad Brooks

(Reuters) – Pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on a handful of U.S. university campuses on Saturday, as activists vowed to keep up the movement seeking a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas among other demands.

The Indiana University police department in Bloomington said in an emailed statement that 23 protesters were arrested there.

Indiana State Police along with Indiana University police told demonstrators they could not pitch tents and camp on campus. When the tents were not removed, police arrested and transported protesters to the Monroe County Justice Center on charges of criminal trespass and resisting arrest.

“The Indiana University Police Department continues to support peaceful protests on campus that follow university policy,” the police statement read.

Pro-Palestinian protests have spread to college campuses across the U.S., stoked by the mass arrest of over 100 people on Columbia University’s campus last week.

In addition to a ceasefire, protesters are demanding that their schools divest from companies involved with Israel’s military and seeking an end to U.S. military assistance for Israel along with amnesty for students and faculty members who have been disciplined or fired for protesting.

School leaders at several universities have responded in the past week by asking police to clear out camps and arrest those who refuse to leave. While saying they defend free speech rights to protest, the leaders say they will not abide activists infringing on campus policies against hate speech or camping out on university grounds.

Massachusetts State Police said in statement that they helped cleared out a protest encampment at Northeastern University in Boston and that 102 protesters who refused to leave were arrested and will be charged with trespassing.

Northeastern University said in a statement on social media that it decided to call in police as “what began as a student demonstration two days ago was infiltrated by professional organizers with no affiliation to Northeastern.”

At Arizona State University, campus police arrested 69 protesters early Saturday, the school said in a statement.

The university said “a group of people – most of whom were not ASU students, faculty or staff – created an encampment and demonstration” and were arrested and charged with criminal trespass after refusing to disperse.

(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Longmont, Colorado; Additional reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Editing by David Gregorio)

French-Led Effort Aims To Disarm Hizbullah, Restore Peace at Israeli Border 

Experts believe that an agreement to achieve Hizbullah’s withdrawal will only be successful as a result of international discussions, including Iran 

By Debbie Mohnblatt/The Media Line 

French President Emmanuel Macron held talks on Friday with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the country’s army chief, Joseph Aoun, at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris. The agenda focused on addressing the cross-border clashes between Hizbullah in southern Lebanon and Israel, alongside finding solutions to the persistent political impasse in Lebanon. 

Mikati’s office statement cited discussions with Macron regarding a French initiative to cease cross-border hostilities. The proposal entails bolstered assistance for the Lebanese army and the withdrawal of Hizbullah from areas within 10 kilometers (six miles) of Lebanon’s border with Israel. 

According to Romy Nasr, a security and extremism analyst covering the Middle East and North Africa, the Lebanese government wants to implement this withdrawal and is pushing for it through diplomatic channels and private talks with Hizbullah’s interlocutors. However, she believes that the government’s will to do so is not enough to get Hizbullah to withdraw.   

“They [the Lebanese government] are keen on preserving Lebanon’s government power in deciding whether they engage, as well as the level of engagement in any war. Such a decision should not be in Hizbulllah’s hands,” she said.  

At the same time, she noted that Hizbullah did not get the green light from the Lebanese government to start engaging in the ongoing war of attrition with Israel on the southern border.  

“Why would they agree to withdraw?” Nasr questioned, noting that as a response to the French plan, Hizbullah’s deputy, Naim Qassem, stated on Saturday: “There is no withdrawal from the confrontation, and no retreat from support for and protection of Gaza.” 

Mohamad Radwan Al Omar, president of the Lebanese Assembly for Inclusive Development and representative adviser to Lebanon for MediateGuru’s Global Advisory Board, told The Media Line that while the Lebanese army lacks advanced armament and equipment, Hizbullah has plenty. This imbalance is preventing the army from prevailing over Hizbullah in southern Lebanon.  

“The Lebanese army has been offered advanced weapons and equipment multiple times, but the offers were declined due to the need for a high budget for maintenance and the corruption prevailing inside the Lebanese government,” he said.  

In addition, Al Omar noted how, according to the Taif Agreement, Hizbullah was the only group in Lebanon that was exempted from being disarmed, allowing it to continue to carry heavy weaponry and to expand.  

The Taif Agreement, also known as the National Reconciliation Agreement, signed in 1989, ended the 15-year-long Lebanese civil war. The treaty, negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, consisted of a constitutional reform that intended to restore peace in war-torn Lebanon. The agreement commanded that all militias in Lebanon be dismantled and give up their weapons. However, Hizbullah did not consider itself a militia and argued that it still had a part in “liberating the territory,” as the Israeli army was still present in southern Lebanon. Therefore, Hizbullah was exempted from giving up its weapons.  

“Lebanon’s government is weak right now, so enforcing the [French] plan could be tricky. While the French plan offers a path toward a truce, it’s a tough road. Convincing both Hizbullah and Israel will be a major challenge,” said Al Omar. 

According to Nasr, Hizbullah will only withdraw from Lebanon’s southern border as a result of international power dynamics and negotiations, namely between the US government and Iran. “The latest events have shown the close coordination between both countries,” she said, referring to the mild effect of the Iranian retaliation against Israel’s attack in Damascus, which killed several Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps officials.  

“Iran’s support of Gaza is a priority. However, it does not precede the importance of preserving all negotiations around the nuclear program in Iran,” Nasr continued.  

She argued that while France’s rush to support the Lebanese army may de-escalate tensions at the southern border, this fully depends on whether such a move will receive strong support from Washington and the international community.  

“France is speaking directly to the US about this because it is concerned with preserving Lebanon’s stability. It is no secret that the US controls the Israeli decision in this regard, and, therefore, there is no need to directly speak to Israel as long as the issue goes back to Washington,” she said.  

Al Omar explained that Paris’ persistence in bringing stability to Lebanon is due to several reasons. “Lebanon and France have a long and complicated history,” he said, noting that France played a big role in shaping Lebanon after World War I and that the French influence is still felt in the language and some government structures. He added that France’s colonial past in Lebanon creates a sense of responsibility, and a stable Lebanon reflects well on France’s legacy in the region.  

Today, Al Omar continued, “France remains a close ally, providing political and military support to the Lebanese government. However, Lebanon is an independent country, and France can’t dictate what happens there.” 

Powerful groups like Hizbullah limit French influence, he explained, adding that in light of the situation, Paris works with other countries to try and manage the conflict through diplomatic channels. 

From France’s geopolitical perspective, Al Omar said, stability in Lebanon is in their best interest. An unstable Lebanon can easily destabilize its neighbors, which would be a security concern for France, given its stake in the wider Middle East. “Lebanon’s proximity to war-torn Syria is a prime example of this domino effect,” he said, noting that a stable and France-friendly Lebanon allows Paris to maintain its influence on the region’s political scene, acting as a counterweight to other powers. 

From an economic point of view, a peaceful Lebanon presents economic opportunities for French companies. “Imagine French firms being involved in rebuilding infrastructure or developing new industries after a period of calm—that would be a lucrative prospect,” Al Omar concluded. 

In Lod, Tensions in Neglected Mixed City High; Mayor’s Concern of Terrorism Real 

Crime escalates in Lod as residents face threats from local Jewish and Arab gangs. Economic woes deepen as shops close and streets empty while tensions escalate in this mixed city 

By Dario Sanchez and Giorgia Valente/The Media Line 

The mayor of the Israeli central city of Lod, Yair Revivo, penned a letter to the government in which he expresses grave concerns about the escalating crime rate and the influence of local gangs in the city just 15 minutes from Tel Aviv. 

Revivo noted the lack of action to combat these gangs, both Arab and Jewish, which he said are increasingly armed and pose a significant threat not just to the city but to national security—and a problem he has been “shouting about for over ten years.” 

He pointed out that Arab gangs, in particular, are amassing more weapons and could potentially target civil aircraft with shoulder rockets due to the city’s proximity to Ben Gurion’s airstrip. This follows reports in Israeli media that police had found a missile and launcher during a criminal investigation into one of the central city’s kindergartens, which Revivo noted in his letter, calling it “intolerable.”  

The mayor’s letter also questioned the effectiveness of security measures such as the IDF and Shin Bet, continuing, “If such a missile is luckily found by the police in Lod, God forbid we are close to the shooting of an El Al plane full of 500 passengers; a plane that will take off from Ben Gurion Airport near our city, get hijacked, hit directly, and crash.”  

“Perhaps only such an event can make you wake up!” Revivo wrote. “Unfortunately, there is no need to wait for the drone from Iran; everything is already here.” 

Amid these security concerns, the cityscape of Lod is marked by empty shops and neglected streets littered with trash, signs of a community under strain. Few people are seen outdoors, and the few who are keep a wary eye on those entering and leaving the main roads. The local economy suffers not only from a lack of domestic tourism from Palestinians coming from the West Bank due to Israeli restrictions after the war broke out but also from the absence of foreign tourists. 

The atmosphere in Lod is heavy with silence, broken occasionally by gunshots. The city’s social dynamics are further complicated by its demographic composition; about 30% of its population is Arab, contributing to a sense of detachment from the rest of Israel and exacerbating the city’s challenges.  

Near the mosque in the Arab part of the city, inside a hookah shop full of Arab customers either living or working in Lod, one of them catches attention for a tattoo of an M16 on his arm, as well as an image of a rose and a person covered with a balaclava on his hand.  

One citizen, Muhammad, expressed his concern to The Media Line, “There is a lot of criminality here. Despite living in East Jerusalem, I work here and come very often after work. With the war currently going on, the situation is getting worse day by day.” 

He added: “The situation is not completely under the police’s control due to the power of many local gangs. However, I can also say that there is always a stereotype related to us as Arabs. Jews portray us as troublemakers and are racist towards us. In the case of Lod and Ramla, the problem is mostly caused by both sides, not just us. There is, in fact, criminality among Jews too.” 

“I just wish peace for this land and further help for mixed cities, such as Lod, in this process. We should coexist, but, so far, we mainly live separately from one another.” 

In the Jewish part of the city, the situation is the same.  

Yossi, a Jewish citizen who has lived in the city for seventeen years, told The Media Line: “Aside from the security granted by the city, as Jewish citizens, we pay an extra 25 shekel per month each. It doesn’t matter about one’s salary, but this hasn’t brought more police or any changes.” 

“We need to learn to coexist; we have no choice. It is difficult after the 7th of October to trust one another again. Sincerely, I think that Arabs live overall well in Israel, way better than other Arab countries,” he said. 

Yossi added, “Our mayor didn’t do the right things here. There is no structural plan for both Jewish and Arab citizens. This exacerbated the distance between the two communities.” 

Gavi, another Jewish citizen, also acknowledged the lack of security in the city. 

“During the night, it is impossible to feel safe going out; our major promised to everyone better conditions, but this hasn’t happened yet,” he told The Media Line. 

“In this state of sort of anarchy, I think that Arab gangs may be capable of throwing rockets from here against planes in Ben Gurion,” Gavi added. 

Regarding Jewish gangs, it seems that they have lost power over the years and are not as relevant as Arab ones in Lod.  

Gavi said, “I know for sure that they do not cooperate. Maybe it was like this at the beginning. Now we see the overall control and power in the hands of the Arab ones.” 

Revivo did not respond to a request for comment from The Media Line. 

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities on Saturday were investigating the killing of a well-known social media influencer, who was shot by an armed motorcyclist in front of her home in central Baghdad.

Ghufran Mahdi Sawadi, known as “Um Fahad,” was popular on the social media sites TikTok and Instagram, where she posted videos of herself dancing to music and was followed by tens of thousands of users.

An Iraqi security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media, said that the assailant opened fire as Sawadi parked her Cadillac in front of her house on Friday, killing her, then took her phone and fled the scene.

The killing took place in Zayoona, the same neighborhood where a prominent Iraqi researcher and security expert Hisham al-Hashimi was gunned down in 2020. Before the U.S. invasion of 2003, the neighborhood was home to military leaders and considered a prestigious area in Baghdad. In recent years, many militia leaders have taken up residence there.

Sawadi isn’t the first prominent social media figure to be gunned down in central Baghdad. Last year, Noor Alsaffar or “Noor BM,” a transgender person with a large social media following, was also fatally shot in the city.

A neighbor of Sawadi who identified himself only by his nickname, Abu Adam or “father of Adam,” said he came out to the street after hearing two shots fired and saw “the car’s door open and she was lying on the steering wheel.”

“The woman who was with her (in the car) escaped, and security forces came and sealed off the entire area, and they took the victim’s body and towed her car,” he said.

In Iraq, the role of social media influencers has broadened from promoting beauty products and clothing to government projects and programs. Official government invitations classify these influencers as key business figures at sports, security and cultural gatherings.

Videos featuring a prominent influencer during the 93rd anniversary on Thursday of the Iraqi air force’s founding sparked a backlash, with many criticizing the Ministry of Defense for allowing them to record and publish videos from sensitive military sites. The ministry defended itself, saying that in the era of social media, like defense ministries worldwide, it uses influencers alongside traditional media to communicate with the public.

Last year, an Iraqi court sentenced Sawadi to six months in prison for posting several films and videos containing obscene statements and indecent public behavior on social media as part of a recent push by the Iraqi government to police morals.

Separately on Saturday, the Iraqi parliament passed an amendment to the country’s prostitution law — widely criticized by human rights groups — that would punish same-sex relations with a prison term ranging from 10 to 15 years. A previous version of the law would have imposed the death penalty.

The law also bans any organization that promotes “sexual deviancy,” imposing a sentence of at least seven years and a fine of no less than 10 million dinars (about $7,600).

The acting parliamentary speaker, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, said in a statement that the vote was “a necessary step to protect the value structure of society” and to “protect our children from calls for moral depravity and homosexuality.”

Rasha Younes, a senior researcher with the LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, said the law’s passage “rubber-stamps Iraq’s appalling record of rights violations against LGBT people and is a serious blow to fundamental human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and association, privacy, equality, and nondiscrimination.”

A report released by the organization in 2022 accused armed groups in Iraq of abducting, raping, torturing, and killing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people with impunity and the Iraqi government of failing to hold perpetrators accountable.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s parliament passed a law criminalising same-sex relationships with a maximum 15-year prison sentence on Saturday, in a move it said aimed to uphold religious values but was condemned by rights advocates as the latest attack on the LGBT community in Iraq.

The law aims to “protect Iraqi society from moral depravity and the calls for homosexuality that have overtaken the world,” according to a copy of the law seen by Reuters.

It was backed mainly by conservative Shi’ite Muslim parties who form the largest coalition in mainly Muslim Iraq’s parliament.

The Law on Combating Prostitution and Homosexuality bans same-sex relations with at least 10 years and a maximum of 15 years in prison, and mandates at least seven years in prison for anybody who promotes homosexuality or prostitution.

It also imposes between one and three years in prison for anyone who changes their “biological gender” or wilfully dresses in an effeminate manner.

The bill had initially included the death penalty for same-sex acts but was amended before being passed after strong opposition from the United States and European nations.

Until Saturday, Iraq didn’t explicitly criminalise gay sex, though loosely defined morality clauses in its penal code had been used to target LGBT people, and members of the community have also been killed by armed groups and individuals.

“The Iraqi parliament’s passage of the anti-LGBT law rubber-stamps Iraq’s appalling record of rights violations against LGBT people and is a serious blow to fundamental human rights,” Rasha Younes, deputy director of the LGBT rights programme at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters.

Iraqi officials who oversee human rights could not immediately be reached for comment.

Major Iraqi parties have in the past year stepped up criticism of LGBT rights, with rainbow flags frequently being burned in protests by both ruling and opposition conservative Shi’ite Muslim factions last year.

More than 60 countries criminalise gay sex, while same-sex sexual acts are legal in more than 130 countries, according to Our World in Data.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Editing by David Holmes)

By Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some senior U.S. officials have advised Secretary of State Antony Blinken that they do not find “credible or reliable” Israel’s assurances that it is using U.S.-supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law, according to an internal State Department memo reviewed by Reuters.

Other officials upheld support for Israel’s representation.

Under a National Security Memorandum (NSM) issued by President Joe Biden in February, Blinken must report to Congress by May 8 whether he finds credible Israel’s assurances that its use of U.S. weapons does not violate U.S. or international law.

By March 24, at least seven State Department bureaus had sent in their contributions to an initial “options memo” to Blinken. Parts of the memo, which has not been previously reported, were classified.

The submissions to the memo provide the most extensive picture to date of the divisions inside the State Department over whether Israel might be violating international humanitarian law in Gaza.

“Some components in the department favored accepting Israel’s assurances, some favored rejecting them and some took no position,” a U.S. official said.

    A joint submission from four bureaus – Democracy Human Rights & Labor; Population, Refugees and Migration; Global Criminal Justice and International Organization Affairs – raised “serious concern over non-compliance” with international humanitarian law during Israel’s prosecution of the Gaza war.

The assessment from the four bureaus said Israel’s assurances were “neither credible nor reliable.” It cited eight examples of Israeli military actions that the officials said raise “serious questions” about potential violations of international humanitarian law.

These included repeatedly striking protected sites and civilian infrastructure; “unconscionably high levels of civilian harm to military advantage”; taking little action to investigate violations or to hold to account those responsible for significant civilian harm and “killing humanitarian workers and journalists at an unprecedented rate.”

The assessment from the four bureaus also cited 11 instances of Israeli military actions the officials said “arbitrarily restrict humanitarian aid,” including rejecting entire trucks of aid due to a single “dual-use” item, “artificial” limitations on inspections as well as repeated attacks on humanitarian sites that should not be hit.

Another submission to the memo reviewed by Reuters, from the bureau of Political and Military Affairs, which deals with U.S. military assistance and arms transfers, warned Blinken that suspending U.S. weapons would limit Israel’s ability to meet potential threats outside its airspace and require Washington to re-evaluate “all ongoing and future sales to other countries in the region.”

Any suspension of U.S. arms sales would invite “provocations” by Iran and aligned militias, the bureau said in its submission, illustrating the push-and-pull inside the department as it prepares to report to Congress.

The submission did not directly address Israel’s assurances.

Inputs to the memo from the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism and U.S. ambassador to Israel Jack Lew said they assessed Israel’s assurances as credible and reliable, a second U.S. official told Reuters.

The State Department’s legal bureau, known as the Office of the Legal Adviser, “did not take a substantive position” on the credibility of Israel’s assurances, a source familiar with the matter said.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the agency doesn’t comment on leaked documents.

“On complex issues, the Secretary often hears a diverse range of views from within the Department, and he takes all of those views into consideration,” Miller said.

MAY 8 REPORT TO CONGRESS

When asked about the memo, an Israeli official said:  “Israel is fully committed to its commitments and their implementation, among them the assurances given to the U.S. government.”

    The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Biden administration officials repeatedly have said they have not found Israel in violation of international law.

Blinken has seen all of the bureau assessments about Israel’s pledges, the second U.S. official said.

Matthew Miller on March 25 said the department received the pledges. However, the State Department is not expected to render its complete assessment of credibility until the May 8 report to Congress.

Further deliberations between the department’s bureaus are underway ahead of the report’s deadline, the U.S. official said.

USAID also provided input to the memo. “The killing of nearly 32,000 people, of which the GOI (Government of Israel) itself assesses roughly two-thirds are civilian, may well amount to a violation of the international humanitarian law requirement,” USAID officials wrote in the submission.

USAID does not comment on leaked documents, a USAID spokesperson said.

     The warnings about Israel’s possible breaches of international humanitarian law made by some senior State Department officials come as Israel is vowing to launch a military offensive into Rafah, the southern-most pocket of the Gaza Strip that is home to over a million people displaced by the war, despite repeated warnings from Washington not to do so.

Israel’s military conduct has come under increasing scrutiny as its forces have killed 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the enclave’s health authorities, most of them women and children.

Israel’s assault was launched in response to the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 250 others taken hostage.

The National Security Memorandum was issued in early February after Democratic lawmakers began questioning whether Israel was abiding by international law.

The memorandum imposed no new legal requirements but asked the State Department to demand written assurances from countries receiving U.S.-funded weapons that they are not violating international humanitarian law or blocking U.S. humanitarian assistance.

It also required the administration to submit an annual report to Congress to assess whether countries are adhering to international law and not impeding the flow of humanitarian aid.

If Israel’s assurances are called into question, Biden would have the option to “remediate” the situation through actions ranging from seeking fresh assurances to suspending further U.S. weapons transfers, according to the memorandum.

Biden can suspend or put conditions on U.S. weapons transfers at any time.

He has so far resisted calls from rights groups, left-leaning Democrats and Arab American groups to do so.

But earlier this month he threatened for the first time to put conditions on the transfer of U.S. weapons to Israel, if it does not take concrete steps to improve the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

(This story has been refiled to remove an extraneous paragraph)

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Don Durfee and Suzanne Goldenberg)