By TIA GOLDENBERG, SAMY MAGDY and WAFAA SHURAFA, Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that his decision to resume limited aid to Gaza after a weekslong blockade came after pressure from allies who said they wouldn’t be able to grant Israel the support it needs to win the war so long as there were “images of hunger” coming out of the Palestinian territory.

Israel has faced condemnation from the United Nations, aid groups and some European allies for its blockade of goods into the war-ravaged territory, including food, fuel and medicine.

On Sunday it said it would allow a “basic” amount of aid into Gaza to prevent a “hunger crisis” from developing. Food experts have already warned that the blockade risked sparking famine in Gaza, a territory of roughly 2 million people.

The decision to let in aid comes as Israel steps up its offensive in the Gaza Strip in what it says is a bid to pressure Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal on Israel’s terms. On Monday, a military spokesperson ordered the evacuation of Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Younis, where Israel carried out a massive operation earlier in the war that left much of the area in ruins.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Under the newly launched air and ground offensive, Israel plans to displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and secure aid distribution inside the territory.

Netanyahu said Monday that the plan would include “taking control of all of Gaza.”

Netanyahu warns of a ‘red line’ on Gaza

Under the Trump administration, the United States — Israel’s top ally — has mostly avoided criticizing Israel’s steps in its war against Hamas, and blames the group for the humanitarian crisis.

But it has increasingly highlighted the plight of civilians in Gaza. President Donald Trump on his recent trip to the Middle East — a visit where he did not stop in Israel — voiced concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as did his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said on a visit to Turkey that he was “troubled” by it.

In a video statement posted to social media, Netanyahu said that Israel’s allies had voiced concern about “images of hunger.”

Israel’s “greatest friends in the world,” he said, including senators but without mentioning specific nationalities, had said there is “one thing we cannot stand. We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We cannot stand that. We will not be able to support you.”

Netanyahu said the situation was approaching a “red line” and a “dangerous point,” but it was not clear if he was referring to the crisis in Gaza or the potential loss of support from allies.

“Therefore to achieve victory, we need to somehow solve the problem,” Netanyahu said.

The video statement appeared aimed at pacifying anger from Netanyahu’s nationalist base at the decision to resume aid. Netanyahu has been under pressure from two far-right governing partners not to send aid back into Gaza. At least one of them said Monday he was begrudgingly on board with the decision.

Netanyahu says ‘minimal’ aid to be let in

The aid that would be let in would be “minimal,” Netanyahu said, without specifying precisely when it would resume, and would act as bridge toward the beginning of a new approach to aid delivery in Gaza, which will see a U.S.-backed organization distribute aid in organized hubs in Gaza that will be secured by the Israeli military.

Israel says the plan is meant to prevent Hamas from accessing aid, which Israel says it uses to bolster its rule in Gaza.

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip are seen at the Kerem Shalom Crossing in southern Israel, Monday, May 19, 2025. A day after Israel said it would resume allowing aid into the territory. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Aid groups say the mechanism is not practical, that it will not reach the most vulnerable Palestinians and say they won’t participate because it doesn’t align with their humanitarian principles.

A U.N. official said a shipment of 20 aid trucks carrying mostly food is expected to enter on Monday. The official was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Israeli authorities have not commented on when the aid would begin entering.

An Associated Press photographer saw at least three trucks loaded with humanitarian aid on the Israeli side of a crossing with Gaza but they drove off back into Israel shortly after.

Palestinians say an Israeli undercover raid has killed a militant

As the aid waited to enter the territory again, fighting continued to rage there, including an early morning raid in the southern city of Khan Younis by what Palestinian residents said was an undercover Israeli force disguised as displaced Palestinians.

The force killed Ahmed Sarhan, a leader of the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, in a shootout, the group said, and detained his wife and child, according to Palestinian witnesses.

The forces drove in on a civilian vehicle and carried out the raid under heavy aircover, killing at least six people, including Sarhan, according to Nasser Hospital. They carried what appeared to be luggage and blankets on top of their white vehicle.

Also Monday, an Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians in the Nuseirat refugee camp killed five people, including a woman and a girl, and wounded 18, mostly children, according to Al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on either incident.

The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

Magdy reported from Cairo and Shurafa from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip.

If you have a school-aged child in Rosemount, odds are you’ve waited in line at a particular intersection that is undergoing an update this summer.

Located just paces from Rosemount High School and Rosemount Middle School, the intersection at Minnesota 3 and 142nd St. W. is getting a new roundabout to improve safety and reduce delays, according to a news release from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The intersection at Minnesota 3 and 142nd St. W., near Rosemount High School, will see an upgrade this summer as a roundabout is installed to improve safety and traffic flow. A public meeting regarding the project is planned for May 21, 2025. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Transportation)

A public meeting is planned for Wednesday to discuss the $3 million project, which will see Minnesota 3 closed in both directions between Connemara Trail and 145th Street starting June 9 through September.

In addition to the roundabout, crews will add drainage and re-align the bike and pedestrian crosswalks to include access to the roundabout, according to the project page.

The public meeting, which starts at 4:30 p.m. at the Rosemount High School Student Center at 3335 142nd St. W., will have visuals of the roundabout and detours.

While there will not be a formal presentation, members of the project team will be in attendance to answer questions.

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By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Medical Writer

Former President Joe Biden’s office said Sunday that he has been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer and is reviewing treatment options with his doctors.

Biden was having increasing urinary symptoms and was seen last week by doctors who found a prostate nodule. On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and the cancer cells have spread to the bone, his office said in a statement.

When caught early, prostate cancer is highly survivable, but it is also the second-leading cause of cancer death in men. About one in eight men will be diagnosed over their lifetime with prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

Here are some things to know about prostate cancer that has spread.

What is the prostate gland?

The prostate is part of the reproductive system in men. It makes fluid for semen. It’s located below the bladder and it wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine and semen out through the penis.

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How serious is Biden’s cancer?

Biden’s cancer has spread to the bone, his office said. That makes it more serious than localized or early-stage prostate cancer.

Outcomes have improved in recent decades and patients can expect to live with metastatic prostate cancer for four or five years, said Dr. Matthew Smith of Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Center.

“It’s very treatable, but not curable,” Smith said.

What are the treatment options?

Prostate cancer can be treated with drugs that lower levels of hormones in the body or stop them from getting into prostate cancer cells. The drugs can slow down the growth of cancer cells.

“Most men in this situation would be treated with drugs and would not be advised to have either surgery or radiation therapy,” Smith said.

What is a Gleason score?

Prostate cancers are graded for aggressiveness using what’s known as a Gleason score. The scores range from 6 to 10, with 8, 9 and 10 prostate cancers behaving more aggressively. Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

As New York makes progress on stopping contamination from long-lasting chemicals known as PFAS, the Environmental Protection Agency is back-tracking on a recent federal regulation that set tighter limits for these chemicals in drinking water.

A drinking fountain at Mount Hope Playground in the Bronx. (Photo by Adi Talwar)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Wednesday that it plans to rescind and reconsider allowable levels of four long-lasting chemicals, known as PFAS, in drinking water—overturning regulations set by the Biden administration last spring. And utility companies will get a two-year extension to comply with previously-set standards for two other types of PFAS, officials said.

In response, environmental groups are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to counteract the federal government’s decision by tightening PFAS regulations at home. They want New York’s rules to match the stricter limits set by the Biden administration last year. 

“The Trump administration’s rollback on drinking water standards puts New Yorkers’ well-being and safety at risk,” a spokesperson for the governor said in an email, without commenting on calls to strengthen state rules.

PFAS, often called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down easily, are commonly used to stain-proof and waterproof goods, including non-stick pans, clothing, menstrual products, cosmetics and firefighting foams. 

But continued exposure to PFAS can lead to health issues, from increasing the risk of certain cancers to immune system deficiencies and developmental delays in children.

In April of last year, the EPA under Biden tightened limits on the amount of PFAS chemicals that can be present in drinking water, and gave utilities until 2029 to comply. To meet the new requirements, public utility water systems would need to inform the public of the level of PFAS measured in their drinking water. If those levels exceed established limits, they need to install filtration technologies to remove the chemicals or find alternative water sources. 

The move was historic as it was the first time the agency had set enforceable limits on PFAS in drinking water. 

But the Trump administration has since extended the compliance deadline for the Biden-era rule for two of the most common PFAS chemicals (PFOA and PFOS) to 2031. And it reconsidered the limits listed in the initial regulation for four other chemicals (PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and PFBS). The agency plans to issue a proposed rule for those new limits this fall, and finalize it in the spring of 2026, according to a press release.

“The work to protect Americans from PFAS in drinking water started under the first Trump Administration and will continue under my leadership,” the head of the EPA, Lee Zeldin, said in a statement.

But the environmental community in New York says the decision is detrimental to progress being made to protect communities from these chemicals, which the Empire State has been passing laws to phase out.

“Delay puts people at risk of exposure to contaminants in drinking water and increases their risk for a variety of health problems—plain and simple,” said Shannon Roback, science director at the environmental organization Riverkeeper.

Roback says updating state-level drinking water standards to mirror the EPA’s more protective original proposal could help New York build on its progress in phasing out PFAS contamination altogether.

New York has been phasing out the use of PFAS in certain goods, and passed tight restrictions on their presence in drinking water in 2020. (Photo by Jeanmarie Evelly)

Over the last decade, New York has been steadily tightening regulations against these chemicals and has become, according to experts, a national leader in cracking down on the use of PFAS.

In 2020, New York adopted some of the nation’s lowest drinking water limits for the presence of two of the most common types of PFAS, known as PFOA and PFOS. And the New York State budget approved earlier this month included a ban on the use of PFAS in firefighting gear. 

The PFAS-Free NY Campaign backs at least five additional bills this legislative session to crack down on the use of these chemicals. That includes legislation that would ban PFAS in household goods, one that would get rid of it in menstrual products and another that would regulate its use in cosmetics.

New York already bans these chemicals in certain products: there is one law on the books that prohibits carpets, including artificial turf, from containing PFAS. And there are others that prohibit its use in clothing or apparel, in food packaging and firefighter foam.

“New York has been a leader in addressing PFAS pollution,” said Rob Hayes, senior director of clean water at Environmental Advocates NY. 

Hayes says the rollback on the EPA’s drinking water standards for PFAS won’t impact New York City, where the drinking water currently meets even the more stricter levels set under Biden. 

But at least 1.3 million New York residents will be exposed to PFAS contamination, according to a recent report by the Environmental Working Group. That’s because there are 189 New York water systems—primarily serving residents on Long Island—that don’t meet the standard, the report notes.

Still, Hayes says that relaxing any PFAS rules now could lead New York down a dangerous path, and that tightening drinking water regulations on the state level could guarantee New Yorkers stay protected.

“When the federal government fails us, New York state authorities have to step up to protect us,” Hayes said.

“If the use of PFAS chemicals in products and in manufacturing processes continues, it’s possible that down the line the [city’s] drinking water could become polluted too, and it’s another reason why we have to turn off the tap on these chemicals entirely.”

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Mariana@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

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