A Cambridgeshire council has agreed to fund free parking at four city centre car parks from August 3, but some people are not convinced it will make a big difference

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Readers of Cambridgeshire Live have expressed divided opinions on proposals to introduce free parking in a city centre after 3pm. While many have welcomed support for town centres, others have raised questions about how beneficial the timing would be for workers, and whether the policy ought to prioritise cars at all.

The introduction of complimentary parking in Peterborough city centre is set to start next month after funding for the scheme was approved. Peterborough City Council’s cabinet met on Tuesday (July 21), with members voting to provide free parking at four council-run car parks across the city.

Funding for the scheme has been provided by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA). The first day of free parking at four council-operated car parks will be Monday, August 3.

These four locations will be: Bishops Road; Car Haven; Riverside; Pleasure Fair Meadow. Parking at the above locations will be free after 3pm from Monday to Friday.

Some feel the offer should go considerably further. One commenter, Rhodabike, describes it as “A good start, but rather a minimal gesture.

“If they really want to support businesses and improve the economy, extend the free parking to 24-7. Make access to the city more affordable and convenient, and more people will visit, which is supposedly the idea.”

Freddly believes: “There is no such thing as ‘free’ parking; people who aren’t willing to pay for the space their car takes up are spongers.”

Over on our Facebook page, Pauline C comments: “So those that work early and park, does that mean they only pay till 3pm and after that it’s free for them? No help there for the majority of workers!?”

Alison O L asks: “Could Cambridge have some, please? Might get more people to the shops in the city.”

Paul L says: “So the car parks will be empty until 3pm.”

Edward J questions: “Why can’t we have free bus fares and funding for more cycling infrastructure instead of encouraging people to drive?”

Simon W says: “That’s great. I’m sure the people of Cambridge love the idea of subsidising other people’s parking through their Council Tax, given how reasonably priced it is to actually park in and around Cambridge itself. Crack on.”

Andy F writes: “Because we are losing our high street shops, all parking should be free.”

Gemma B feels: “People who work should get free parking on the days they are at work.”

Do you believe that this will help the high street? Comment below or HERE to join in the conversation.

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The skincare world never stands still. From viral TikTok trends to weekly launches, knowing what actually works for your skin, rather than everyone else’s, can feel like an impossible task.

The challenge becomes even greater as our skin changes over time. Whether you’re noticing more fine lines, loss of firmness, increased dryness, or the hormonal shift that comes with menopause, sourcing products that genuinely address your concerns means a frustrating cycle of trial and error.

Well, let us introduce you to a brand that aims to cut through the noise and provide you with a specially curated skincare routine to target your own concerns and worries.

That’s exactly where Renew + Me comes in.

Renew + Me – Advanced Renewal Skincare

Renew + Me is a personalised skincare service designed to take the guesswork out of finding products that actually work.

After completing a quick online consultation, dermatologists create a prescription tailored to your individual skin concerns, whether that’s fine lines, dryness, loss of firmness or menopausal skin changes.

Better still, your treatment can be reviewed and adjusted over time, so your routine evolves alongside your skin.

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Designed for women aged 35 and over, the personalised skincare service takes the guesswork out of your routine by creating a dermatologist-designed prescription tailored specifically to your skin concerns. 

Even better? New customers can currently snap up a huge 75% off their first month using the code SKINGLOWMO.

Getting started couldn’t be easier. Simply complete a quick online consultation by answering questions about your skin, lifestyle, and concerns, and a team of dermatologists will hand-select a treatment plan that’s unique to you. The aim? Healthier, plumper and more radiant-looking skin in as little as 12 weeks.

Unlike buying countless products that end up gathering dust in the bathroom, your skincare will evolve with you. The prescription can be reviewed and adjusted every month as your skin changes, ensuring that your routine continues to deliver results for you.

Created by the team behind the hugely popular Skin + Me service, Renew + Me costs just £6.99 for your first month, before rolling to £29.99 per month thereafter. 

When you consider what most of us spend hopping between trending serums, miracle creams and overnight fixes, it could actually work out to be the more affordable option. Plus, there’s no long-term commitment, so you can cancel whenever you like.

If you’re a new UK customer aged 18 or over, you can also take advantage of an exclusive 75% discount by using the code SKINGLOWMO before October 31, 2026 at 11.59pm.

One of the standout products subscribers receive is the brands rich night cream that packs the skin with a boost of hydration to restore and replenish collagen, targeting visible signs of ageing.

It is specially formulated with retinoids that are 20x stronger than standard retinol, so your skin will be treated with the best ingredients to achieve maximum results in as little as 12 weeks.

So if you’ve been thinking about refreshing your skincare routine, especially if menopausal skin or visible signs of ageing have left you wondering where to start, then don’t skip on Renew + Me.

And with 75% off your first month, there’s never been a better (or more affordable) time to see whether a personalised routine is the upgrade your complexion has been waiting for.

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Larsa Pippen was brutally roasted by her Instagram followers this week after she posted a heavily edited image of herself.

The 52-year-old Real Housewives of Miami star – who recently helped cops catch a gang – took to the platform on Thursday to upload a snapshot posing in a navy blue mini dress on a balcony.

Her face was noticeably shaped with a chiseled jaw and her lips looking much smaller.

Fans wasted no time calling out the digital blunder, with multiple people naming her use of AI.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Pippen for comment but has not yet received a response. 

In the comments, one person wrote, ‘What in the AI is going on here?’ while another quipped, ‘That’s LarsaGPT.’ 

The 52-year-old Real Housewives of Miami star took to the platform on Thursday to upload a snapshot posing in a navy blue mini dress on a balcony

Another one of Pippen’s 5.4 million followers wrote in the comments: ‘Larsa no… come on! I love you but this has to stop.’ 

Multiple comments had iterations of ‘girl, bye,’ and others asked, ‘girl, who is this?’

Someone else joked, ‘Is this the humiliation ritual part?’

‘Even you don’t believe that,’ said another commenter while another dropped a crying laughing emoji and said, ‘That’s not even you.’ 

‘Girl, if you don’t give AI a break and let the rest of us get some time,’ yet another unimpressed social media user teased.

A top-liked comment begged to know: ‘Has anyone seen Larsa? Who is this?’

‘That filter is working overtime honey. Not hating but damn,’ one person added.

‘LarsAI Pippen,’ another follower added to the merciless thread of over 300 comments.

Fans wasted no time calling out the digital blunder, with multiple people naming her use of AI. ‘What in the AI is going on here?’ asked one person

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Another person quipped, ‘That’s LarsaGPT’

‘Even you don’t believe that,’ said another commenter while another dropped a crying laughing emoji and said, ‘That’s not even you’

‘Girl, if you don’t give AI a break and let the rest of us get some time,’ yet another unimpressed social media user teased

This past January Kardashian set the record straight on her friendship with Pippen; the former friends pictured in August 2018

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The reality television star was formerly married to NBA star Scottie Pippen, 60.

The star and her ex, who famously played for the Chicago Bulls, share sons Scotty Pippen Jr, 25, Preston Pippen, 24, Justin Pippen, 21, and daughter Sophia Pippen, 17.

In January, Kardashian set the record straight on her friendship with Pippen.

The TV star–turned–mogul sat down with sister Khloe Kardashian for a two-part episode of her Khloe In Wonder Land podcast, during which she revealed where she currently stands with Pippen.

‘I love Larsa. I love her kids,’ she told Khloe. 

She said of the end of their relationship, ‘That was a transition when I think she was going through a divorce and [ex-husband] Kanye [West] and I were having some issues.’

Kim acknowledged that she and Pippen ‘distanced ourselves for a little bit,’ as Khloe added that ‘it just fizzled.’

‘And she moved to Miami,’ the Good American founder noted, with her sister agreeing, ‘Yeah, she moved to Miami, but like, I love her.’

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“Our welfare bill is too high. It’s now over £10 billion a year for people in Northern Ireland,” the Minister said.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has claimed his department’s crackdown on benefit fraud has reduced losses by more than £60 million over the past year, while calling on Sinn Féin to back proposals he says could deliver £100 million to Northern Ireland over the next five years.

Speaking to Belfast Live, the DUP minister said estimated losses to benefit fraud have fallen from around £230 million to £170 million annually, which he attributed to a combination of increased enforcement, greater public awareness and additional investigative work carried out by his department.

Mr Lyons also defended his controversial decision to reintroduce the publication of the names of people convicted of benefit fraud, insisting it had formed part of a wider strategy to deter offending and encourage members of the public to report suspected fraud.

“Unfortunately, benefit fraud has a huge impact in Northern Ireland. The year before last, it was £230 million a year that we lost to fraud alone. Think of how that could be spent on public services in Northern Ireland because of the action that we’ve taken, that has now reduced by £60 million, so that’s welcome,” he said.

“It’s great that that has happened, but there’s more work to do. But I think it’s really sensible that we take this approach, where we say, this shouldn’t happen and there will be consequences for those who are committing this fraud, because ultimately, we’re talking about public money.

“Money that is raised through taxes by people who go out and work hard every day, and so it’s right that we make the best use of public money and that it should only go to those who need it.

“That’s why I’ve put a focus on tackling benefit fraud, and that’s why we’re in this position now, where there has been that reduction by over £60 million.”

Asked whether the publication of convicted benefit fraudsters’ names had contributed to the reduction, the minister said it had played an important role but stressed there was no single measure responsible for the improvement.

He said the increase in public reporting, alongside enhanced investigative work by departmental staff, had all contributed to the decline in fraud rates, which he said had fallen from 2.5 per cent to 1.7 per cent.

Mr Lyons said the reduction should be welcomed, given the scale of welfare spending in Northern Ireland, but insisted there remained significant work to do.

He said: “I think it has, first and foremost, because it’s been part of a wider campaign that I have been working on to ensure that we deal with this issue. It’s only one part of it, however, I think one of the reasons why we’ve been so successful is that we’ve raised awareness of this as an issue, the public are more aware.

“And the public being more aware helps to hopefully crack down on those and prevent those from taking part in fraud, but also encourages the public to report those who have been taking part in what are essentially criminal activities. So, I’m not going to attribute it to one piece; it’s a collective effort that has been going on.

“So yes, we named and shamed people. We brought it up the agenda. As a result, we got more people reporting incidences of benefit fraud, as well as the resource that we have put in to increase the number of checks that we do and to make sure that a good comparison is done between what people’s circumstances actually are and what they’re purporting them to be.

“So, as I’ve always said, there’s no silver bullet in any of this, but it’s the work that we have done collectively across all of these areas and the hard work of staff within the department as well, and it has made a material change. We’ve gone from fraud of about 2.5 per cent down to 1.7 per cent.

“That’s welcomed, that should be welcomed by people, because of the huge amounts of money that we spend on welfare in Northern Ireland. It equates to a significant sum of money, but going from 233 to £170 million a year is good progress, but there’s more to do. 170 million pounds. Think of what we could spend that on. It’s really important that we actually get that money back that we save.”

The Communities Minister also revealed he wants to introduce additional anti-fraud measures, but argued progress has been hampered by the absence of a funding agreement with the Treasury.

He claimed that while Westminster provides money intended to tackle benefit fraud, it is not ring-fenced once it reaches the Executive, meaning resources are often directed elsewhere.

Mr Lyons also criticised Sinn Féin, claiming the party has yet to approve an Executive paper he submitted more than a year ago that would allow Northern Ireland to retain a proportion of savings generated through anti-fraud work.

He said: “I do want to introduce further measures, and the Treasury sends us money every year to tackle this, but through our system, that money doesn’t come specifically ring-fenced, so what the executive has done has spent it on other things, and that’s why for a while we were starting to fall back there and we weren’t in a position where we could spend it.

“So if I had that additional resource, we could train more staff. There’s some incredible work that is going on. I’ve been behind the scenes, behind multiple layers of security, and I’ve seen those investigators at work.

“It is really, really intricate work that they do, really good work that they do. I want to see more of them because of the money that we invest; we can get the savings back, and we can save the taxpayer money.

“Unfortunately, that money is all retained by the Treasury at Westminster at this moment in time. I wanted to have an agreement in place with the Treasury so that we could move forward on that. I had a paper with the executive which would mean for every £1 that is saved, Northern Ireland gets to keep 50 per cent.

“And that equates to millions of pounds. In fact, it would be a saving of around £100 million for Northern Ireland alone over the next 5 years if we had that agreement in place and we invested in that way. I’ve had that paper at the Executive since May 2025.

“Sinn Féin have not agreed to my proposal that’s on the table, and I’m hoping that they will now see the benefits that we could have been reaping from this, and they will change their mind and get on board with us because I want to save that money because it’s the right thing for us to do. Morally it’s the right thing to do, but I also want to get the financial saving so that we can take that 100 million pounds over the next 5 years and put it into the things that will actually make a difference in Northern Ireland.”

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Looking ahead, Mr Lyons said he hopes to work with the new Prime Minister and Treasury ministers to maximise the financial return Northern Ireland receives from tackling fraud.

The minister also broadened the discussion to the overall welfare budget, arguing that reducing long-term economic inactivity would not only lower public spending but also improve health and well-being outcomes for those currently out of work.

He said Northern Ireland’s welfare bill now exceeds £10 billion annually and described its continued growth as “not sustainable”.

“I want to see that agreement in place first and foremost. And then I also want to make sure that we maximise that as much as possible because the money is there. The money is being spent. 170 million was spent this year, but it was spent giving money to those who deliberately misrepresented their circumstances and got money that they didn’t deserve.

“So I want to invest as much as we can so that we can keep as much of that money as we can and ensure that it goes on the things that will actually make a difference and help even further, so help reduce the rate of economic inactivity and bring the benefit bill down even more, because that’s a huge problem we have at the minute.

“I get criticised whenever I say this, but I’m gonna say it again, our welfare bill is too high. It’s now over £10 billion a year for people in Northern Ireland. Some of that is for people who desperately need it.

“Some of it is for our pensioners who have earned it through the work and the contributions that they have made. But there are huge numbers of economically inactive people who could be in work and want to be in work in many cases as well.”

He added: “I think the problem that we have in Northern Ireland is that we have politicians who trip over themselves to appear compassionate, but the problem is they’re not prepared to actually grasp the nettle, which is taking the time and the money to help people get well and get back into, to work, rather than paying people to stay sick, to stay sick or stay where they are right now.

“That’s a different approach that I’m trying to take. To this, and it will help society overall, but importantly, if we really want to be compassionate and we want to help people who are in this situation, we need to make them well and get them back into work.”

On working with Westminster, Mr Lyons said greater cooperation could help reduce welfare dependency while freeing up funding for public services.

“I’ve been working alongside the former Labour minister Alan Milburn to ensure that we can do just that. We’ve got our transformation funding in place, and what we’re trying to do is tackle those long-term issues and do what we can to get people back into work,” he said.

“So, the return that you can get on your money is incredible. For every person that you can take off welfare and get into work, you can save between £15,000 and 20,000 a year. That’s the money that you save on no longer paying benefits and the money then that the Treasury gets in, that will come from tax and national insurance contributions.

“We need to do something about that, and I would appeal to the Westminster government and indeed to those politicians in Stormont who think that the most compassionate thing that we can do is just keep the welfare bill increasing more and more. Let’s ask the question: where does that money come from? It comes from those that are working and it’s not sustainable. This is real politics. These are real pressing issues, and I hope that the Westminster government will recognise that under the leadership of the new Prime Minister.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Donald Trump‘s son is being asked to testify in Congress over his alleged links to ‘manosphere’ influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who were arrested last week. 

The brothers, who are accused of multiple rapes and sex trafficking among other charges, were arrested on Saturday, July 18 after an extradition request from the UK. 

Barron Trump, 20, has been called on by a House Democrat to testify to the House Oversight Committee about whether he knew about or ‘had any involvement whatsoever’ in the crimes of Andrew and Tristan Tate and the subsequent investigation.  

Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari shared a letter she wrote to the Chairman of the Committee on X on Thursday, writing: ‘Investigative reports have detailed direct, extensive communications between Andrew Tate and Barron Trump, the President’s son, as well as the Tate brothers’ broader interactions with high-profile political figures within the President’s personal circle. 

‘The Committee must investigate whether back-channel communications between the Tate brothers, presidential advisors, and members of the First Family such as Barron Trump influenced official actions or administration policy regarding criminal prosecution and investigation of the brothers or international law enforcement cooperation’. 

Andrew and Tristan Tate were dramatically arrested by US Marshals in Miami last weekend after the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) unveiled dozens of new charges against them.

The pending charges in the UK accuse Andrew, 39, and Tristan, 37, of abusing women between July 2010 and August 2017, the CPS said.

Andrew faces seven further counts of rape, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and 19 additional charges for offences relating to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.

Tate pal Justin Waller and Barron, pictured at Mar-a-Lago in 2024, are said to have struck up such a close rapport that Waller became a ‘big brother’ figure to the President’s 6ft 9in son

Tristan is being charged with one count of sexual assault, two counts of rape and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation. 

The brothers have denied any wrongdoing. 

Congresswoman Ansari called for the Committee to issue immediate subpoenas for the state records, White House & Agency logs, and, finally, Barron Trump. 

She added that the Committee ‘must learn from Barron Trump about his knowledge of the Tate brothers’ crimes, if he had any involvement whatsoever, and if he communicated with members of his father’s administration or the President himself regarding their legal proceedings’.   

The Tates, who are of dual British and American nationality, are vocal Trump supporters who have flaunted their supposed ties to the First Family – especially college student Barron, 20.

Justin Waller, an entrepreneur so close to the brothers that he describes himself as their ‘third brother,’ was among a cadre of MAGA loyalists who visited Mar-a-Lago in the spring of 2024 to dine with the then-teenager.

‘Barron walks, talks, moves and thinks in a way that resembles his father,’ Waller told the Daily Mail afterwards. ‘It is quite clear that he is not confused about what’s going on in the world, nor the rooms he finds himself in.’

The pair were said to have struck up such a close rapport that Waller became a ‘big brother’ figure to the president’s 6ft 9in son, dispensing dating advice and introducing him to the tailor who made the suit for his father’s second inauguration, according to Waller.

The Tate brothers style themselves as close confidantes of President Trump’s son Barron Trump. Barron pictured here with his dad and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final

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Tristan (left) and Andrew Tate (right) are said to be banking on presidential support to fend off extradition to the UK on rape and sex trafficking charges. But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said their extradition to the UK would not be blocked 

During the fitting, Barron spoke directly to Andrew Tate over Zoom, Waller told the New York Times.

The pair chatted again after the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to Andrew Tate, who boasted to a British filmmaker: ‘I’m very close with the Trump family.’

That same summer Donald Trump Jr and Andrew Tate appeared together on a livestream to promote a MAGA meme coin.

‘You’ve got people attacking you as far as I’m concerned,’ Don Jr said. ‘They just want to silence you.’ 

Press Secretary for the White House, Karoline Leavitt, said the Tate brothers’ extradition would not be blocked, suggesting the influencers would not be getting any help from the White House. 

The Tates have amassed a global following of fans, particularly young men and boys captivated by their baller lifestyle and unabashed chauvinism.

But they now face the grim prospect of spending months locked up in a federal jail while they fight extradition.

The brothers are also facing legal proceedings in Romania, where they have a home.

It’s understood the UK extradition request will take precedence and the pair will be flown to London to face trial if it succeeds.

The brothers deny all the charges they face worldwide.

They were first arrested in Romania in December 2022 after prosecutors accused them of running a criminal enterprise that lured women to the Eastern European country for sexual exploitation.

British prosecutors filed their own charges against the brothers in May 2025, including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking.

The Tates flew from Romania to Florida in February 2025 after authorities lifted their travel ban, a reversal that followed reported pressure from Trump administration figures.

Trump told reporters, however, that he knew ‘nothing about it.’

ProPublica later reported that a White House official intervened to have federal agents return electronic devices seized from the brothers when they landed in Florida.

In his remarks, Trump was cordial and conciliatory, saying “the second time is always better”, joking and praising the media – saying he respects “most of them”.

“As I said three months ago, the show must go on,” Trump said.

The US president also called on Americans to respect freedom of speech.

“We settle our differences not with bullets, but with open and vigorous debate,” Trump said. “And no deranged loser with a gun will ever change that. We can’t let that ever happen.”

Trump appeared to be in a good mood throughout the event, jokingly telling the media that “sometimes I really do think that some of you don’t like me”.

“This place [the dinner] is really the largest group of ‘Trump derangement syndrome’ people ever put together at one time,” he said. “I suspect some of you are lucky that our last dinner was cut short…I was going to go after you.”

The event was considerably scaled down from the first correspondents’ dinner, with about 700 people in attendance, compared with more than 2,000 in April.

Security was also tighter. Several blocks around the hotel were blocked off, with a heavy presence of police and national guard. Guests were screened twice, with QR codes and IDs, and were given wristbands.

At one point, visitors were prompted to walk in a single file line past two Secret Service officers holding rifles.

The suspect of the shooting in April, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States.

He was tackled by agents just short of a staircase which leads down to a ballroom where the dinner was getting underway.

Others in attendance on Saturday night included Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Israel is gearing up for an election at the end of October. And, with the Likud party of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, trailing in the polls, his government is pushing through measures which aim to dramatically expand Israeli control over Palestinian land on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The October 27 poll will be the first since Hamas’s October 2023 attack, the bloodiest assault on Israel since its creation, and the devastating war on Gaza that followed. It appears that with the failure of the war in Iran to achieve its strategic objectives, and amid continuing instability in Lebanon, Netanyahu’s government believe that territorial expansion will be one of its strongest electoral assets.

The expansion of settlements in the West Bank and the steady reduction of Palestinian-controlled territory in Gaza are not new developments. But the recent announcement by the defence minister, Israel Katz, of plans to establish three military-community outposts in northern Gaza marks a significant escalation. Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, meanwhile, recently announced 1.3 billion shekel (£318m) in funding for dozens of new Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Such proposals are likely to resonate with Israel’s increasingly right-wing electorate. But they may also reflect a broader effort to consolidate territorial gains before a possible change in political leadership.

The focus of international attention has shifted since the end of February towards Iran and Lebanon. So, with less scrutiny of developments in Palestinian territories, the government appears determined, in the words of Hagit Ofran, from the Israeli activist group Peace Now, to “create facts on the ground” before voters go to the polls.

The increasing suffocation of Gaza

Israel already controls around 65% of the Gaza Strip, with Netanyahu aiming to seize 70%, despite the ceasefire agreement brokered in October 2025. Recent satellite imagery shows the construction of a more than 23km earth barrier designed to consolidate Israeli control over these areas.

Even before the war, Gaza was one of the world’s most densely populated territories. Roughly 2.2 million people lived within just 365 square kilometres, making it the fifth most densely populated territory globally. With the current population estimated at around 2.05 million, reducing the accessible territory to only 30% of the Strip would more than triple population density to nearly 19,000 people per square kilometre.

Meanwhile, around three-quarters of Gaza’s housing stock has been damaged or destroyed, while 1.4 million people require adequate shelter. The destruction of water, sanitation and waste infrastructure has left around 60% of the population exposed to sewage or human waste. More than 900,000 people live amid accumulated garbage that fuels rodent infestations and disease outbreaks. Chickenpox has spread through overcrowded displacement camps. People in tents report being bitten by rats.

At the same time, the destruction of agricultural land and grazing areas has further undermined Gaza’s capacity to sustain its population.

The ambitious reconstruction proposals promoted by Trump’s Board of Peace, including “Project Sunrise”, which envisioned transforming Gaza into a futuristic high-tech city comparable to Dubai or Doha, appear to have been abandoned. They have been replaced by plans for a limited humanitarian zone, which will be capable of accommodating only a small fraction of Gaza’s displaced population. There has been little consultation with Palestinians themselves.

Meanwhile, the violence of the Israeli army in the Strip continues. More than 1,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since the ceasefire took effect. This includes documented shootings of civilians and children near the so-called Yellow Line. This is the line of occupation established by the Israeli army as part of the ceasefire, with soldiers reportedly operating under permissive ‘shoot to kill’ rules in this area. But most of those killed between July 13 and 20 died well away from this buffer zone. Clearly, more than nine months after the ceasefire, nowhere in Gaza can be considered safe.

Against this backdrop, defence minister Katz has openly reaffirmed the government’s objective of the large-scale expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. This would be implemented, he said in May, “at the right time and in the right manner”.

The continued fragmentation of the West Bank

The simultaneous intensification of land seizures in the West Bank has attracted even less international attention. Since October 2023, the Israeli government has armed thousands of settlers and incorporated many into territorial defence units. This has further blurred the distinction between the Israeli military and armed settler groups.

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has documented what it describes as the forced displacement of Palestinian communities on a scale unseen since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967. Human rights organisations increasingly argue that military operations and settler violence operate in tandem, systematically displacing Palestinian communities.

Smotrich recently described this as a “revolution in settlement”. Following cabinet approval for 13 new settlements in the central West Bank, violence has intensified around newly established outposts. Settlement expansion and settler violence reinforce one another, creating conditions that encourage the displacement of Palestinians.

A pre-election territorial grab

The cumulative effect of these actions and policies raises profound legal and moral questions under the 1948 Genocide Convention. This defines genocide not only as killing members of a protected group but also as deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction, in whole or in part, when accompanied by the requisite intent.

The large-scale displacement of Palestinians and the continued killing and deterioration of living conditions have led a growing number of international legal scholars, UN experts and human rights organisations to argue that these policies warrant assessment through the legal framework of genocide.

Whatever the eventual legal determination, the humanitarian and political consequences for Palestinians continue to deepen as Israel’s current government accelerates its territorial project amid the countdown to the October election.

Sean McCann – the younger brother of Madeleine McCann – will swim for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Saturday.

The 21-year-old – a Loughborough University student – is entered in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events as he makes his debut at a major championships.

The 400m heats begin on Saturday morning at the Tollcross Swimming Centre.

“I’m very excited. It’s my first senior Games so I’m just looking forward to representing Scotland and doing my absolute best,” McCann told Loughborough University earlier this week, external.

“It’s the pinnacle really of representing Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, especially at a home Games.

“I’ve got lots of family up in Glasgow so that makes it even more special. I was there in 2014 [at the Commonwealth Games], watching as a kid, so to make it now, 12 years later, is really a full-circle moment.”

McCann grew up in England but qualifies to compete for Scotland through his father, Gerry.

He and his twin sister were two years old when Madeleine, then aged three, went missing during a family holiday in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, in 2007.

It became one of the world’s most high-profile missing-person cases and remains an ongoing Metropolitan Police investigation.