Israel orders evacuations in northern Gaza as Trump calls for war to end

By Nidal Al-Mughrabi Reuters  The Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza on Sunday before intensified fighting against  Hamas , as U.S. President Donald Trump called for an end to the  war  amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire. “Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,”  Trump  posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel’s offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages. But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and U.N. offi...

Spectators gathering for 52nd annual pride parade

Spectators flocked to North Broadway Street and Montrose Avenue late Sunday morning, where the 52nd annual Chicago Pride Parade was scheduled to start at noon.

Many could be seen fanning themselves with signs to stay cool while a marching band played music.

Lex Rybicki, 28, has been attending the parades on and off for 11 years. For her, the parade represents freedom.

“Even though we’re all strangers, it feels like one huge family coming together.”

Lex Rybicki ties a pride flag to her partner near the starting point of the 52nd annual Chicago Pride Parade in Uptown, Sunday, June 25, 2023.

Mohammad Samra / Chicago Sun-Times

The parade, which will run through the Uptown, Northalsted and Lincoln Park communities, commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Riots, the protests in New York that were pivotal in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States.

The parade starts at Broadway and Montrose then proceeds south on Broadway to Halsted; south on Halsted; east on Belmont; south on Broadway; and east on Diversey to Cannon Drive.

Interim Chicago Police Supt. Fred Waller outlined safety plans for the parade late last week, saying there will be additional officers and command posts.

More experienced officers will work after the parade and into Sunday night, and undercover officers will be in the crowds throughout the day, Waller said.

Officers’ days off were canceled to ensure the department has enough police to monitor the parade and other activities in the city, and the department’s counterterrorism unit has been monitoring for potential threats toward the parade or the LGBTQ+ community in general.

“We want to be accepted, we want to be welcomed, we want to be loved,” Rybicki said.



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