Various news reports: Hamas financing issues in France, the housing crisis in Spain, and a military escalation in Ukraine

The French authorities brought charges against five people on suspicion of financing the Hamas movement through humanitarian associations, according to what the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecution announced on Saturday.

The prosecution suspects that the aforementioned associations are collecting money to provide to the movement under the guise of humanitarian operations.

The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecution reported that investigators from the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), which is handling the case, arrested the five defendants on Tuesday.

On Friday, the authorities opened a judicial investigation on charges of “financing a terrorist organization, which in this case is the Hamas movement,” an act that, if proven, may constitute a mistrust and money laundering linked to a terrorist organization.

Three of the five suspects were placed under judicial supervision, at the request of the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecution.

The prosecution said that it requested the pretrial detention of the two associations’ presidents, and one of them was placed in pretrial detention pending a deferred confrontation session that he had requested.

His lawyer, Lucy Simon, said: “My client participated in fundraising efforts exclusively for humanitarian purposes, and his imprisonment would be scandalous.”

The prosecution said that the president of the second assembly was placed under judicial supervision.

The headquarters of the two associations or the amount of money related to the case were not revealed.

The investigation began on April 21 against the backdrop of suspicions related to “financing terrorism and participating in a criminal terrorist scheme with the aim of committing crimes against persons.”

On Saturday, Madrid and other Spanish cities witnessed mass demonstrations against the backdrop of the housing crisis, the day after Parliament rejected measures proposed by the government to contain the crisis.

The authorities estimated the number of participants in the protest movement in Madrid at 70,000 people, while organizers said the number was approximately half a million.

These actions, which were called for before Friday's vote, come within the framework of the crisis that began about 10 days ago, with the eviction of an elderly woman from her home in the capital, becoming a symbol of the housing crisis that has been hitting Spain for years.

In a main square in Madrid, participants in the demonstrations marched behind a large banner that read: “Towards a general strike.”

Valisia Raco, a spokeswoman for the Tenants Union, which organizes the protest movement, said in a statement: “What can be felt in the streets is a new energy, an energy that we have not seen for a long time, an energy that shows that 8 days of people’s rule can do much more than 8 years of progressive rule,” in criticism of the government of socialist Pedro Sanchez.

She added: “Here the real politics begins, the politics that has always belonged to the people and that returns permanently to the streets... We want to restore the historical tool that has always been used by people working to change reality: the general strike.”

On Friday, Parliament dropped two draft laws submitted by the Sanchez government in an attempt to contain the housing crisis, dealing a setback to the Socialist Prime Minister and opening the door to escalation of the protests.

This came months before the general elections next year, which raised speculation about the possibility of moving forward the date of the elections scheduled to be held no later than the summer of 2027. But Sanchez has so far ruled out holding early elections.

Providing affordable housing represents one of the most prominent social problems in Spain in recent years, but the protests took on a broader dimension after elderly tenant Maricarmen Abascal was forced to leave an apartment in which she had spent nearly 70 years after a company took over the property and raised the rent by 275 percent.

Activists defending the right to housing took action, setting up protest camps in central Madrid and other cities, and making this 87-year-old woman a symbol of the housing crisis.

Spain, with a population of 50 million, suffers from a gap between demand and new housing. The Central Bank estimates the shortage at about 700,000 units.

On Saturday, Russia renewed its call for diplomats and foreigners present in Kiev to leave, warning that its forces would continue to launch “large-scale retaliatory strikes” on the Ukrainian capital, according to Agence France-Presse.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it “reiterated” its warning to the diplomatic corps, calling on “foreign nationals and diplomats in Kiev to leave the city.”

“The responsibility for any negative consequences lies entirely with those who ignore this warning,” the ministry added, declaring that “Russian forces will continue to launch large-scale retaliatory strikes” against “military targets in Kiev and in other Ukrainian cities.”

The Ukrainian capital has been subjected to intense attacks in recent weeks. The Russian strikes notably targeted bridges.

On Friday, Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klich described the situation in the capital as “very tragic,” noting that Moscow is “tearing Kiev apart” by attacking its bridges and energy infrastructure.

With the arrival of winter, the Ukrainian authorities fear that Russia will launch strong blows to the country's energy infrastructure, as it did in 2025.

For its part, Ukraine regularly launches attacks on oil refineries and warehouses in Russia, which caused a fuel crisis this summer, in addition to targeting commercial warehouses, cargo ships, and infrastructure.