The 2025 World Press Photo of the Year features a poignant image of a nine-year-old amputee from Gaza. In an Israeli airstrike, Mahmoud Ajjour lost both arms. Samar Abu Elouf, a Palestinian photographer, took his portrait for The New York Times. Jjour discussed regaining his life and pursuing his national goal of regaining his life with Al Jazeera.
More than half of the victims were in Gaza City and northern Gaza, according to medical sources who spoke to Al Jazeera on Friday. In addition, deadly attacks took place in the south of the Palestinian Strip, including in Khan Younis and Rafah.
Israel’s military reported that troops were stationed near Rafah’s Shaboura and Tal as-Sultan areas, as well as in northern Gaza, where large areas of Gaza City are now under Israeli control.
Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, reiterated on Friday that Israel intended to pursue its war goals.
He stated in a statement that the Israeli army is currently working toward a decisive victory in all ways, including the release of the hostages and Hamas in Gaza.
In Gaza, however, the attacks caused Palestinian Christians to keep holding temperate gatherings during Easter.
Ihab Ayyad, who spoke to Al Jazeera from a nearby church, claimed that he used to gather with other believers and go to his neighbors’ homes to celebrate each year.
We didn’t go to the museum this year because of the total destruction that has occurred all over, according to Ayyad, who said the Israeli occupation forces have levelled the majority of my relatives’ and my neighbors’ homes. “Many of my neighbors and relatives have been killed or displaced elsewhere.” Because we are deeply depressed, we haven’t celebrated.
Ramez al-Soury claimed to have traveled for the holy week from Gaza to Bethlehem or Jerusalem.
However, Gaza is now “atmosphere of war.” “Everywhere, there is a death odor. He claimed that the smell of murder and destruction is putting a lot of pressure on us.
Hani Mahmoud, a journalist from Gaza City, claimed that the Christian community is restraining their faith and gathering in one of the world’s oldest churches in Gaza without defiance but in devotion.
He said that Good Friday is the strength of those who still believe in peace despite the fact that the world is merely a stage for violence and death in Gaza.
In the West Bank, Rituals were also held to celebrate Good Friday and Easter.
In the area, there are about 50 000 Palestinian Christians. However, Israeli authorities forbid them from visiting Jerusalem, making it difficult for many people to attend those celebrations.
According to Al Jazeera Arabic on Friday, Israeli settlers and the military also reportedly attacked Palestinians on their land in the Salfit governorate of the occupied West Bank, bringing about a heightened mood.
A Palestinian was hurt in the attack, according to the Palestine Red Crescent.
Local sources also reported to Al Jazeera Arabic that the Israeli army guarded the town of Beita when dozens of settlers stormed Jabal al-Urma, a hill.
Israeli nationals who illegally reside on private Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are known as the “settlers.”
In the midst of uncertainty around the world, the Chinese president makes a trip to three Southeast Asian countries.
Xi Jinping, the president of China, is currently touring Southeast Asia with three countries.
In light of the global uncertainty brought on by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on 185 nations, Xi wants to win favor in the region by portraying China as a reliable source of stability.
China’s main trading partner is Southeast Asia. However, Vietnam and Cambodia are two of the many nations that have close business ties with the US.
During the 90-day pause on tariffs, some have already reached out to the White House in an effort to reach a deal.
According to experts, Trump’s conciliatory measure aims to isolate China by excluding it from the world.
Did Xi Jinping actually defeat the governments of Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia to protest Trump’s crippling trade barriers?
Can Beijing use the tariff negotiations to thwart Washington’s global effort to isolate it?
Presenter: Dareen Abughaida
Guests:
Director, China Market Research Group, Shaun Rein
Hinrich Foundation’s Head of Trade Policy is Deborah Elms.
The former Tunisian parliament speaker and former leader of the Ennahdha party was imprisoned and ordered by the International Committee for Solidarity with Rached Ghannouchi to release him immediately.
More than 15 cases against Ghannouchi have been brought forward, according to a statement released on Thursday, and “several unjust convictions and sentences have been sentenced.”
The committee said that the most recent of these was a 22-year prison sentence that was handed down in February on charges of plotting against state security. “He has no connection to this case,” the committee said.
Ghannouchi was given a three-year sentence earlier this year for making allegations that his party received foreign contributions.
The 83-year-old, who has been the country’s president’s main rival, was detained in April 2023 and given a one-year prison sentence on suspicion of incitement.
He has spoken out against Saied frequently and became the most well-known person to be detained as part of the president’s ongoing consolidation of power. He was elected in 2019 and has overseen a wave of legal reforms and repression that grew his rule.
The committee stated in its statement that “these unjust trials and sentences occur within the context of a widespread repressive campaign led by Kais Saied’s regime, which targets opposition voices from all backgrounds, represses organized action in all its forms, controls the media and civil society, and silences critical voices.”
Saied’s government must “exploit the judiciary as a tool for settling political scores,” it said.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Tunisian government to halt its crackdown on opposition and release all detainees just days prior to the committee’s statement.
In Tunisia, Ghannouchi is being tried on conspiracy charges in the wake of the trial of prominent opposition figures, according to the rights group.
HRW’s report, which was released on Wednesday, reinforced the concerns of opposition leaders over Saied’s authoritarian rule, which was established when he dissolved parliament in 2021 and became legally able to rule by decree.
Saied’s action was deemed a coup by the opposition. He has refuted these accusations, claiming instead that he is attempting to end the country’s political unrest and widespread corruption.
According to the report, Tunis had transformed arbitrary detention into a framework for repressive measures.
Bassam Khawaja, HRW’s deputy director for Middle East and North Africa, said, “Said’s government has returned the country to a time of political prisoners, robbing Tunisians of hard-won civil liberties.”
Who: Celta Vigo vs. Barcelona
What: Spanish LaLiga
Where: Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Spain
When: Saturday at 4:15pm (14:15 GMT)
Follow Al Jazeera Sport’s live text and photo commentary stream.
When Celta Vigo hosts Barcelona on Saturday, they will try to increase their lead to seven points.
Real Madrid, the defending champion, is second in the table, but they won’t play until Sunday when they face Athletic Club.
The leaders of the league are not happy with the way their matches are scheduled in the top flight of Spain, which they have been chasing quadruple this year.
Hansi Flick, the coach of Barcelona, demanded to meet with LaLiga officials over the “joke” schedule, alleging that Spanish football was neglecting its players.
After being changed from an afternoon start on May 4, the Catalan giants’ LaLiga game will begin at 9:00 PM (19:00 GMT) at Real Valladolid on May 3.
Even with that change, they still have less than three days to get ready for the crucial Champions League semifinal return match against Inter Milan on May 6.
“I want to see the person who is in charge of that.” It’s a joke, Flick said at a news conference on Friday.
The men who are in charge of that have no time to rest, and I want to talk with them because they have no idea how it is, are unbelievable and have no idea how it is.
One of the three competitions in which Barcelona are still competing is the Champions League, which Flick is familiar with after a trophy-filled spell at Bayern Munich, which raises issues related to fixture congestion.
The German manager, however, claimed he was speechless as a result of the team’s situation before a significant European game.
“This was the first time I had this.” When a champion league team plays, especially in the semifinals, he said, “every league protects its clubs.”
Bundesliga “take care of the clubs,” according to Premier League. But not here. Simply put, let them play.
In Saudi Arabia, Barcelona defeated fierce rivals Real 5-2 to win the Spanish Super Cup earlier this year.
finish of the photo 📸 pic. twitter.com/o8tr7LO0kq
Barcelona are looking to rebound from their first defeat of 2025 following a 3-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday in the Champions League quarterfinals, despite being able to advance to the semi-finals 5-3 on aggregate.
Flick praised their 37-year-old coach Claudio Giraldez, who came in this year and helped the team that finished its previous three campaigns in the bottom half. Celta Vigo are seventh in the standings, chasing European football.
Flick claimed that he has the highest regard for his work because he has led a great team and that it is unrelated to his age.
“Celta are very brave in their build-up, and they have a clear idea of how they want to play.”
It’s crucial for us to show our strengths, perhaps in addition to what Dortmund showed us. We discussed the circumstances surrounding our meeting in Dortmund, and we must improve tomorrow. They enjoy playing away games as well.
Raphael is to the left. 🇧🇷
Lamine is located to the right. 🇪🇸What a duo on the Barça wings… 💙❤️ pic. twitter.com/8NVBEZL6l2
The clubs meet for their 58th meeting, with Celta winning 13 and Barcelona winning 28.
In their final three games, Barca have won all three of their matches, with the only other defeat coming in one of the last six.
With only six minutes left in normal time, Barca held a 2-0 lead over Celta in their LaLiga match in November.
Barca scored two goals with Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, but Alfon Gonzalez and Hugo Alvarez scored for Celta, who were awarded a 2-2 draw after Marc Casado was sent off in the 82nd minute.
Due to injuries, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Marc Casado, Marc Bernal, and Alejandro Balde are all at Barca.
If Moscow or Kyiv makes it too difficult to put an end to the Russian-Ukraine conflict, according to President Donald Trump, the United States will “take a pass” on trying to end it.
Trump made the comment that, in response to discussions with European allies in Paris, Washington would “move on” if a truce did not appear “doable” within days.
The US president denied on Friday that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had ordered the full-scale invasion of pro-Western Ukraine in February 2022, nor that Vladimir Putin, the president of Ukraine. He argued, however, that both sides needed to advance.
We’re going to simply say, “You’re foolish, now, if one of the two parties makes it very difficult for some reason.” You are foolish. We’re going to take a pass on you, Trump said. You’re horrible people.
“But I’m hoping that’s not what we’ll have to do.”
Rubio added that Trump’s patience with the negotiations is waning.
The president is probably at a point where he will say, “Well, we’re done,” he said, “If it’s not possible, if we’re so far apart that this isn’t going to happen.”
Trump, however, stated to reporters on Friday that he did not want to declare his intention to leave the discussions. He continued to say that he still believes there is a good chance to put an end to the conflict.
He said, “It’s going to a head right now.”
While speaking during a trip to Rome, US Vice President JD Vance added that he thought a solution might be found.
Russia has accused Ukraine of stalling on a deal to gain a better negotiating position and has acceded to a full, temporary ceasefire.
The Kremlin has made a truce in the Black Sea conditional on the West lifting some restrictions, while Putin last month rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for a full and unconditional pause in the conflict.
Trump, who had direct conversations with the Russian leader in February, responded, “I hope not… I’ll let you know soon. “
Trump also refrained from accusing the former KGB agent of “playing” him because he had been told that Russia was going to “invade” him right up until the day of the attack.
Trump said, “Nobody is playing me; I’m trying to help.”
It’s “not easy” to agree on “key components” of a peace deal, according to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper on Monday.
He did acknowledge, however, that the Trump administration is attempting to understand the “root cause” of the conflict, which he claimed was brought on by “the actions of Washington and Brussels” to bring “the current regime to power in Ukraine.”
On Friday, during ceasefire negotiations, a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, and a separate drone attack in Sumy, in which another person was killed.
According to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov and emergency services, at least five children were among the dozens of people who were hurt in the attack on Kharkiv on Friday morning, which left 15 residential buildings, a business, and an educational facility.
According to Zein Basravi, a reporter from Kyiv, Russia also targeted Kyiv, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, and Lviv.
Around 5 a.m. local time, when curfews come to an end and people begin their daily lives, “we saw numerous missile, drone, artillery, and rocket attacks in cities across the country,” he said.
One person died and 74 were hurt in Kharkiv’s civil infrastructure. Five of the 74 were children, according to Basravi.
The volume of missile and drone attacks overall has not changed, according to President Zelenskyy, who stated on Thursday that despite Russia’s apparent reduction of its targeting of energy infrastructure. Instead, he continued, it is attacking Ukraine’s civilian sites.
Russian military airfields and “key drone production sites” have been hit by Russia, according to reports.
If Germany develops plans to send Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine, Moscow also issued a warning on Friday about potential escalation. Vassily Nebenzia, the ambassador of Russia, stated at the UN on Thursday that this action would signal Germany’s entry into the conflict.