Gaza peace plan, US politics live: Conspiracy theorist’s $2.2 billion courtroom blow

A US conspiracy theorist, who claimed a deadly mass shooting at a school didn’t happen, has lost his last gasp attempt to avoid a gargarntuan fine.

Welcome to our coverage of events in the US and Gaza on Tuesday, Australia time.

A renowned - and reviled - US conspiracy theorist is liable to pay a massive $2.2 billion fine after the Supreme Court declined to hear his last ditch appeal.

Alex Jones was ordered to pay damages after losing a defamation case about 2012’s Sandy Hook School massacre where 20 children and six adults died.
Jones, who runs the InfoWars conspiratorial website, claimed the massacre hadn’t occurred and the victims were “crisis actors”.

Last month, a senior Trump official appeared to intervene in the case before being told by Department of Justice officials to stay out of the issue.

In Gaza, harrowing footage has emerged of a public execution carried out by Hamas gunmen.

The grim video shows masked men line up eight people whose hands are tied behind their backs.

Moments later the gunmen open fire on the victims in front of a large crowd who shout “Allahu Akbar”- God is greatest in Arabic.

Hamas has confirmed the authenticity of the video, claiming that the detainees were “criminals and collaborators with Israel”.

The video may well put pressure on the peace deal, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently maintained that the war cannot end until Hamas gives up its weapons and ceases to control Gaza.

It comes after Donald Trump returned to the US after a whirlwind 24 hours saw him do a victory lap through Israel and Egypt as several nations praised his efforts to secure the long-awaited peace deal in Gaza.

While old rivals have lined up to sing his praises, there remains a few key players who think very little of the celebrations.

Iran said on Tuesday Trump’s call for peace in the Middle East was inconsistent with Washington’s actions.

Tehran’s foreign ministry said in a statement that: “The desire for peace and dialogue expressed by the US president is at odds with the hostile and criminal behaviour of the United States towards the Iranian people.”

Read on for more updates from Tuesday.

Originally published as Gaza peace plan, US politics live: Conspiracy theorist’s $2.2 billion courtroom blow