By JOSEF FEDERMAN and SAMY MAGDY (Associated Press)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli officials appeared increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court may issue arrest warrants against the country’s leaders, as international pressure mounts over the war in Gaza. Airstrikes overnight into Monday killed 25 people in a southern city, according to hospital records.

The deaths in Rafah included nine women and five children, one of whom was just 5 days old, according to the records and an Associated Press reporter. Israel is planning an invasion of the city — though its closest ally, the United States, and others have repeatedly warned against it, saying an offensive would spell catastrophe for the more than a million Palestinians sheltering there.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have referred in recent days to an ICC probe launched three years ago into possible war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian fighters going back to the 2014 Israel-Hamas war. The probe is also looking at Israel’s construction of settlements in occupied territory the Palestinians want for a future state.

There was no comment from the court on Monday, and it has given no indication warrants in the case are imminent.

But Israel’s Foreign Ministry said late Sunday that it had informed Israeli missions of “rumors” that warrants might be issued against senior political and military officials. Foreign Minister Israel Katz said any such warrants would “provide a morale boost” to Hamas and other militant groups. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israel “will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense.”

“The threat to seize the soldiers and officials of the Middle East’s only democracy and the world’s only Jewish state is outrageous. We will not bow to it,” he posted on the social media platform X.

It was not clear what sparked the Israeli concerns. A series of Israeli announcements in recent days about allowing more humanitarian aid into Gaza appears to be aimed in part at heading off possible ICC action.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said during a visit to the region in December that the investigation is “moving forward at pace, with rigor, with determination and with an insistence that we act not on emotion but on solid evidence.”

Neither Israel nor the United States accept the ICC’s jurisdiction, but any warrants could put Israeli officials at risk of arrest in other countries. They would also serve as a major rebuke of Israel’s actions at a time when pro-Palestinian protests have spread across U.S. college campuses.

The International Court of Justice, a separate body, is investigating whether Israel has committed acts of genocide in the ongoing war in Gaza, with any ruling expected to take years. Israel has rejected allegations of wrongdoing and accused both international courts of bias.

Israel has instead accused Hamas of genocide over its Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Terrorists stormed through army bases and farming communities across southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostages.

In response, Israel launched a massive air, sea and ground offensive that has killed at least 34,488 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.

Israel blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas because Hamas fights in dense, residential areas. The military says it has killed over 12,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war has driven around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes, caused vast destruction in several towns and cities, and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine.

Israel has vowed to expand its ground offensive to Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians have sought shelter from fighting elsewhere. Israel says Rafah is the last Hamas stronghold, with thousands of fighters embedded there.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, which has provided crucial military and political support for the offensive, has urged Israel not to invade Rafah over fears it could cause a humanitarian catastrophe — concerns he reiterated in a phone call with Netanyahu on Sunday.

The Biden administration faces a May 8 deadline to report to Congress on whether Israel is abiding by international law in its use of American military aid, including by allowing the entry of humanitarian assistance.

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Israel on his latest trip to the region that began in Saudi Arabia on Monday. He said Israel needs to do more to allow aid to enter Gaza, but that the best way to alleviate the humanitarian crisis is for the two sides to agree to a cease-fire.

The U.S., Egypt and Qatar are pushing Israel and Hamas to accept an agreement they drafted that would free some of the hostages and bring about at least a temporary truce. Hamas is still believed to be holding around 100 hostages and the remains of some 30 others after most of the rest were freed in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners last year.

Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages without an agreement to end the war. Netanyahu has rejected that demand, saying Israel will continue its offensive until Hamas is destroyed and all the hostages are returned.

At an event in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Blinken called on Hamas to accept what he said was an “extraordinarily generous” offer from Israel. “In this moment, the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and cease-fire is Hamas,” he said.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Michael Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington and Matthew Lee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, contributed.

By MATTHEW PERRONE (AP Health Writer)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Makers of medical tests that have long escaped government oversight will have about four years to show that their new offerings deliver accurate results, under a government rule vigorously opposed by the testing industry.

The regulation finalized Monday by the Food and Drug Administration will gradually phase in oversight of new tests developed by laboratories, a multibillion-dollar industry that regulators say poses growing risks to Americans. The goal is to ensure that new tests for cancer, heart disease, COVID-19, genetic conditions and many other illnesses are safe, accurate and reliable.

“The final rule announced today aims to provide crucial oversight of these tests to help ensure that important health care decisions are made based on test results that patients and health care providers can trust,” said FDA commissioner Robert Califf, in a release.

Califf said inaccurate tests can lead to unnecessary treatment or delays in getting proper care.

But in a significant move, the FDA decided that the tens of thousands of tests currently on the market will not have to undergo federal review. The agency said it will essentially grandfather those tests into approval to address concerns that the new rule “could lead to the widespread loss of access to beneficial” tests.

Under the government’s plan, newly developed tests that pose a high risk — such as those for life-threatening diseases — will need to be FDA approved within 3 1/2 years. Lower risks tests will have four years to obtain approval.

The FDA already reviews tests and kits made by medical device manufacturers.

But labs, large hospitals and universities that develop their own in-house tests have been able to market them without each one undergoing agency review. The industry has resisted additional scrutiny for decades, saying it will stifle innovation and drive up costs.

There are an estimated 80,000 medical tests currently available from about 1,200 labs, according to the agency’s estimate. They include tests for complex diseases, as well as simpler conditions like high cholesterol and sexually transmitted infections.

In the 1970s and ’80s, most lab-based tests were “lower risk, small volume” products used mostly for local patients, according to the FDA.

Over time, the tests have grown into a nationwide business, with labs processing thousands of blood, urine and other samples per week from hospitals and clinics. Others advertise directly to consumers — including some claiming to measure the risk of developing ailments like Alzheimer’s and autism.

FDA officials have long voiced concerns about the accuracy of some tests, pointing to patients who have received inaccurate results for heart disease, Lyme disease and other conditions. Inaccurate tests can lead to patients getting an incorrect diagnosis, skipping treatments or receiving unnecessary medication or surgery.

More than a decade ago, the agency drafted tougher guidelines for the industry, but they were never finalized. For years, U.S. labs have successfully lobbied Congress and other federal institutions against tougher regulation.

When FDA released a draft of the new rule last September, a leading industry group argued the agency did not have legal authority to step into the testing market.

The American Clinical Laboratory Association said Monday it “has grave concerns about this rule as a matter of both policy and law. The rule will limit access to scores of critical tests, increase health care costs, and undermine innovation in new diagnostics.”

The group represents large testing chains such as Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp, as well as smaller labs and test makers.

___

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

A more vibrant NYCHA is on the horizon with a newly minted program that will highlight art, heritage and culture at five public housing developments. The selected artists will be paid $70,000 annually, with benefits.

Adi Talwar

The PSS King Towers Senior Center in Harlem, which reopened over the summer at 25 percent capacity.

In the effort first of its kind, the Public Housing Community Fund, a nonprofit organization that works with public housing tenants, is calling for artists to participate in a 20-month program that will brighten NYCHA campuses across the city.

“From Roots to Arts: Celebrating NYCHA’s Cultural Heritage,” funded by a $3 million grant from the Mellon Foundation, is creating a residency program with space within five public housing developments. The effort is part of the Housing Authority’s “Connected Communities” initiative, which is dedicated to site planning, policy, and joint work with public-private partnerships.

Artists selected for the program will be assigned to beautify one of the five campuses: King Towers in Harlem, Bushwick Houses in Brooklyn, Astoria Houses in Queens, Richmond Terrace in Staten Island and the Bronx River Houses in the Soundview section of the Bronx.

Each development will be given $155,000 for their art project, according to the Public Housing Community Fund. Selected artists will be paid $70,000 annually with benefits—or $105,000 over the 20-month residency period—and additional support to help bring their ideas to life.

Beginning in July, the residency will include a four-month community engagement portion for the chosen artists to build connections with residents through office hours, workshops, and talks, followed by implementation of the project itself, which runs through 2026.

Close to 200 tenants have already weighed in on what they’d like to see from the program through a series of events held this spring. In Bushwick, for instance, residents in a survey said they’d like art programming outside their community center and in areas such as the building lobby, entrance and playgrounds, and to include art that represents different cultures and nationalities. At Manhattan’s King Towers, residents said they would like the works to include historical references to Harlem’s history.

The application for interested artists will be available until May 19. A virtual informational session will take place Tuesday at 6 p.m. for those who want to learn more. The application process is open to all artists who meet the eligibility criteria, but NYCHA residents are strongly encouraged to apply.

“This is a clarion call to all artists passionate about making a difference in our communities—your creativity has the power to inspire and uplift,” said Alex Zablocki, the executive director of the Public Housing Community Fund. “I encourage every interested artist to apply and join us in shaping a legacy of cultural enrichment that echoes throughout our public housing and beyond.”

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

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Elon Musk over a settlement with securities regulators that requires him to get approval in advance of some tweets that relate to Tesla, the electric vehicle company he leads.

The justices did not comment in leaving in place lower-court rulings against Musk, who complained that the requirement amounts to “prior restraint” on his speech in violation of the First Amendment.

The case stems from tweets Musk posted in 2018 in which he claimed he had secured funding to take Tesla private. The tweets caused the company’s share price to jump and led to a temporary halt in trading.

The settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission included a requirement that his tweets be approved first by a Tesla attorney. It also called for Musk and Tesla to pay civil fines over the tweets in which Musk said he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 per share.

The funding wasn’t secured, and Tesla remains public.

The SEC’s initial enforcement action against Musk alleged that his tweets about going private violated antifraud provisions of securities laws. The agency began investigating whether Musk violated the settlement in 2021 when he did not get approval before asking followers on Twitter, now X, if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock.

Musk acquired Twitter in 2022.