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Violent mob attacks pro-Israel gathering in Toronto days after mayor’s ‘genocide in Gaza’ remarks

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Violent mob attacks pro-Israel gathering in Toronto days after mayor’s ‘genocide in Gaza’ remarks

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A pro-Israel event in Toronto turned violent on Wednesday when anti-Israel activists stormed a private venue, injuring one speaker and damaging property. The attack came just days after Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow faced criticism for describing “the genocide in Gaza,” a remark that Jewish groups warned could inflame tensions in the city.

The event, organized by the student group Students Supporting Israel at Toronto Metropolitan University and featuring Israeli military veterans, was moved off campus at the last minute for safety reasons. Despite the secrecy, about 40 masked agitators found the venue and forced their way inside, breaking glass and attacking participants.

Israeli-American speaker Jonathan Karten, who divides his time between Israel and New York, said he had come to Toronto to talk to students about his uncle, Sharon Edri, an Israeli soldier kidnapped and murdered by Hamas in 1996. “As soon as we got there, we were attacked by roughly forty protesters—terrorists, whatever you want to call them,” he told Fox News Digital. “Five managed to get into the main room. One had a drill bit. A guy broke through the glass door, I got knocked in the face, and we barricaded ourselves with tables and chairs until police came.”

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Masked pro-Palestinian protesters storm a pro-Israel event in Toronto, breaking glass and attacking attendees, Nov. 5, 2025.

He said the protesters seemed to know the location in advance. “They were waiting for us before we even started speaking,” he said. “It’s not something I assumed would happen in a civilian population in a Western country.”

The assault took place less than a week after Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said during an event that “the genocide in Gaza impacts us all.” The remark drew immediate outrage from Jewish organizations. “It’s shocking and dangerous language,” said Michael Levitt, CEO of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, who urged Chow to apologize and clarify that Israel is not committing genocide. “Words like these validate hate and normalize the harassment of Jews,” he told The Algemeiner.

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Masked protesters violently disrupted a pro-Israel event in Toronto, breaking glass and attacking participants, Nov. 5, 2025.

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According to the Toronto police statement, a group of protesters entered the private event without permission, damaged property, and caused attendees to fear for their safety. One person was injured by broken glass.

Police arrested five people in connection with the attack. All are scheduled to appear in court in January.

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A Toronto police spokesperson told Fox News Digital that while antisemitic incidents remain the most frequently reported hate-motivated category in the city, they have declined 41% compared to last year.

Students try to block entrance from extremist protesters attacking an event organized by Jewish students in Toronot, Canada.

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Despite his injuries, Karten said he intends to keep speaking on campuses. “We’re cautious, but not scared,” he said. “We have to make sure Jewish and Israeli voices are heard without fear.

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Keir Starmer reportedly considering stepping down as PM and could announce timetable for departure

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Keir Starmer reportedly considering stepping down as PM and could announce timetable for departure

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly considering stepping down and could announce a timetable for his departure as early as Monday, according to a report published Saturday.

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Britain’s Observer newspaper reported that Starmer was discussing his future with his wife at his Chequers country residence before making a final decision.

The outlet reported that senior Labour Party figures expect a statement addressing his future as early as next week.

A government source told Reuters that Starmer remains focused on governing and pointed to previous comments in which he vowed to remain in office.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer awaits Switzerland’s Federal President Guy Parmelin on the sidelines of the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday. (Isabel Infantes/Pool Reuters via AP)

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the prime minister’s office for comment.

Pressure on Starmer has been building for months amid growing dissatisfaction within his party and concerns over the government’s handling of the economy and cost-of-living issues.

The political threat to Starmer intensified Friday after rival Andy Burnham won a seat in Parliament, positioning him to mount a formal leadership challenge.

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Britain’s Labour party candidate Andy Burnham speaks to supporters after the Makerfield by-election in Ashton in Makerfield, England, Friday. (Jon Super/AP)

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Starmer congratulated Burnham following the victory, writing on X that voters, “chose Labour’s campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate.”

When asked about Burnham’s apparent ambitions to replace him, Starmer insisted he intends to remain in office.

“I’ve said repeatedly I’m not going to walk away from that,” Starmer said.

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Sir Keir Starmer is battling to save his position and refusing to stand aside despite dozens of Labout MP’s demanding he resigns. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

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Starmer has led the Labour Party since 2020 and became prime minister in 2024.

Calls for his resignation intensified last month, with more than 100 Labour lawmakers publicly urging him to step aside or set out a timetable for his departure. Several parliamentary aides also resigned in protest.

The internal revolt followed a series of disappointing local election results for Labour, which lost hundreds of council seats across England, surrendered long-held ground in Wales and fell behind political rivals in Scotland.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks a news conference at Downing Street in London, March 5. (Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)

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Starmer’s popularity has also declined amid a persistently high cost of living, sluggish economic growth and criticism over his acceptance of gifts from wealthy donors.

Fox News Digital’s James Cirrone and Emma Bussey, and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Trump vows Iran will not charge Strait of Hormuz tolls, but says US might

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Trump vows Iran will not charge Strait of Hormuz tolls, but says US might

United States President Donald Trump has pledged there will be no tolls for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, unless they are collected by his own country.

Trump’s statement, made in a Saturday afternoon post on Truth Social, is the latest sign that a recently signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) may be unravelling.

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“There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired,” Trump wrote, “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America.”

Since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28, Iran has successfully used the Strait of Hormuz as a pressure point, closing the strategic waterway to traffic.

But under the terms of Wednesday’s ceasefire memorandum, the strait is supposed to reopen for an interim period of 60 days. During that time, Iran is barred from charging vessels for passage.

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On Saturday, however, Iran’s joint military command said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, citing a “clear breach” of the memorandum’s commitments.

US Central Command (CENTCOM), the agency that oversees military operations in the region, denied that report and maintained that the traffic continues to flow through the waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz has long been a flashpoint in the conflict between the US and Iran. Nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas is transported through the strait, as well as about 30 percent of the global fertiliser trade.

Closure of the strait has caused global fuel costs to soar and has tested agricultural sectors across the world.

Trump had responded to Iran’s chokehold over the strait by imposing a US naval blockade on Iran’s ports in the region.

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But that naval blockade was lifted under the terms of Wednesday’s memorandum. The deal also paused fighting on all fronts in the regional conflict, including in Lebanon.

The memorandum, though, was not intended as a long-term deal. It serves as a launching point for negotiations on key issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.

Several points of divergence also went unaddressed in the memorandum. Nowhere does the memo say that future tolls cannot be collected from the strait after the 60-day period expires.

Before the war, there was no charge for passage through the strait. Trump himself said in an interview with The New York Times that the waterway should remain “permanently toll-free”.

But he appeared to reverse course in Saturday’s post, once again floating the possibility that the US could extract tolls in the strait, while barring Iran from doing so.

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No fees should be levied, Trump wrote, “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed”.

He explained that such a charge would compensate the US “for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs”.

Trump used similar language in his New York Times interview earlier this week, floating the US becoming “the guardian of the Middle East” in exchange for 20 percent of its revenue.

Saturday’s post is not the first time Trump has mused about the US imposing tolls in the strait, either.

In April, for instance, he discussed the idea with reporters, saying, “What about us charging tolls? I’d rather do that than let them have them. Why shouldn’t we? We’re the winner. We won.”

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There has been no indication that Trump’s plans have been officially presented to countries in the region, many of whom have struck a careful balance in their dealings with both the US and Iran during the war.

Iranian officials, meanwhile, have repeatedly said they will not rule out imposing tolls in the strait, framing the issue as a matter of sovereignty and regional negotiation. The strait sits between Iran and Oman.

Further discussions are expected on the matter in the coming weeks.

But such negotiations have been thrown into jeopardy amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which threaten to violate Wednesday’s ceasefire memorandum.

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Iran claimed that Saturday’s closure of the strait was a result of new Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, which killed dozens of people after the ceasefire was announced.

Iranian officials have also said that any upcoming talks should focus on proper implementation of the initial memorandum, and that the 60-day negotiating period stipulated in Wednesday’s deal would begin after that was settled.

Pakistan, a top mediator between the US and Iran, has said that follow-up talks are set to begin in Switzerland on Sunday.

Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that an Iranian delegation, led by parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has already arrived for the negotiations.

On the US side, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance are expected to attend.

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Vance departed for Switzerland late Saturday.

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Video: Moscow Tanker Blast Most Likely Russian Missile, Video Shows

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Video: Moscow Tanker Blast Most Likely Russian Missile, Video Shows

new video loaded: Moscow Tanker Blast Most Likely Russian Missile, Video Shows

A dramatic explosion that caused the lid of an oil tanker to fly into the sky during a Ukrainian aerial assault on Moscow was most likely caused by a Russian air defense missile, verified video shows.

By James McManagan, Paul Sonne, Malachy Browne and Jackeline Luna

June 19, 2026

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