State Department Memo Accuses Biden of ‘Spreading Misinformation’ on Gaza War

Palestinians in shock at Khan Yunis Hospital in southern Gaza after Israeli strikes on Monday. (Reuters)
Palestinians in shock at Khan Yunis Hospital in southern Gaza after Israeli strikes on Monday. (Reuters)
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State Department Memo Accuses Biden of ‘Spreading Misinformation’ on Gaza War

Palestinians in shock at Khan Yunis Hospital in southern Gaza after Israeli strikes on Monday. (Reuters)
Palestinians in shock at Khan Yunis Hospital in southern Gaza after Israeli strikes on Monday. (Reuters)

A memo signed by 100 State Department and USAID employees accused US President Joe Biden of "spreading misinformation" on the Israel-Hamas war and said that Israel is committing "war crimes" in Gaza, according to a copy obtained by Axios.

According to Arab World Press, the memo said that "we strongly recommend that the US government advocate for the release of hostages by both Hamas and Israel" — citing the "thousands" of Palestinians being held in Israel, including those "without charge."

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs had prepared a report through which it confirmed the commitment to international law.

The army command said that it has a legal department in the military prosecution, whose task is to approve every Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip and to ensure that it complies with international law.

The government’s legal advisor, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, sets broad lines for the government to guarantee that it doesn’t violate international law.

One of the prominent stances of the judicial departments is that the war was imposed on Israel, and it is a defense war. The narrative adds that the targeting of civilians is happening because Hamas is using them as human shields.

But the Israeli judicial advisors call on the government not to be reassured by this narrative.

Avichai Mandelblit, the former attorney general of Israel, said that Israel should be more cautious and the fact that Hamas committed war crimes doesn’t necessarily mean that Israel responds the same way.



Train Service between Moscow and North Korea’s Pyongyang to Resume This Month, Says Russia

A woman walks past a fountain in Pyongyang on June 6, 2025. (AFP)
A woman walks past a fountain in Pyongyang on June 6, 2025. (AFP)
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Train Service between Moscow and North Korea’s Pyongyang to Resume This Month, Says Russia

A woman walks past a fountain in Pyongyang on June 6, 2025. (AFP)
A woman walks past a fountain in Pyongyang on June 6, 2025. (AFP)

Russia and North Korea plan to restart a direct passenger train service between Moscow and the North Korean capital Pyongyang this month for the first time since 2020, Russia's state-owned rail monopoly said on Monday.

Russian Railways said it had agreed with North Korea's railways ministry to resume a twice-monthly service between the two capitals on June 17, a journey it said took eight days and which, at over 10,000 km (6,213 miles), was the longest direct rail journey in the world.

Another service between Pyongyang and Khabarovsk, a Russian city close to China's northeastern border, will restart two days later.

The services will be operated by Korean State Railway, the state operator, and in the case of the Moscow-Pyongyang route will see a North Korean passenger railcar hitched to the regular Moscow-Vladivostok service and then re-attached to another train.

Passenger rail traffic between Russia and North Korea was suspended in February 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Moscow and Pyongyang have since ratcheted up cooperation, including in the military sphere since President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty last year.

North Korea confirmed in late April that it had sent more than 10,000 troops and weapons to Russia to assist in its war in Ukraine, aid which proved crucial for Moscow in recapturing Russia's western Kursk region from Ukraine.

The two countries already operate a passenger rail service between Vladivostok in Russia's Far East and Rason, a North Korean port city.

The nations are also linked by freight rail networks, although Russia does not disclose the size of the cargo traffic.