11 h. ago Netanyahu accused of slander after criticising Macron, Carney and Starmer

Israeli leader’s antisemitism claim labelled defamatory as he is warned against pursuing a war without endMiddle East crisis – live updatesBenjamin Netanyahu was accused of slander and pursuing a war without end after he claimed the leaders of France, Canada and the UK were stoking antisemitism and siding with Hamas by demanding he end the two-month blockade of food and aid into Gaza.In what has become an extraordinary standoff with some of Israel’s closest allies, Netanyahu appeared to deliberately raise the stakes on Thursday night by accusing his western critics of abandoning Israel in a war for its very existence. Continue reading...

Politics

12 h. ago Voices: Criticising Netanyahu is not antisemitic – this Jewish rebellion shows why

Last month’s declaration by 36 members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews against an escalation of the war in Gaza – in which ‘Israel's soul is being ripped out’ – is not only still reverberating through their own community, but has a much wider significance, writes Donald Macintyre

Culture

19 h. ago Nineteen months of carnage: How Gaza was reduced to rubble and starvation as the world watched

Gaza is on the brink of famine after a three-month blockade on supplies, the UN warns. Chief international correspondent Bel Trew looks at how the Palestinians got to this point

Politics

19 h. ago Furious Netanyahu tells Keir Starmer 'when rapists and baby killers thank you, you're on the wrong side of humanity' as he tears into UK PM for 'siding with Hamas over Israel'

The Netanyahu government faces mounting pressure from both allies and domestic voters over its conduct in the war in Gaza

Events

36 h. ago More than 9,000 children treated for malnutrition in Gaza, says Unicef – Middle East crisis live

Figures come as Palestinian health minister says there have been 29 ‘starvation-related’ deaths in the last few daysIsraeli foreign minister Gideon Saar accused unnamed European officials on Thursday of “toxic antisemitic incitement” he blamed for a hostile climate in which the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington DC took place.Israel has faced criticism from Europe as it has intensified its military campaign in Gaza, where humanitarian groups have warned that an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid supplies has left the Palestinian territory on the brink of famine.There is a direct line connecting antisemitic and anti-Israel incitement to this murder.This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and organisations, especially from Europe.These libels about genocide, crimes against humanity and murdering babies pave the way exactly for such murders. Continue reading...

Society

39 h. ago Israeli army issues evacuation warning for 14 areas in northern Gaza – Middle East crisis live

AFP says army released statement in Arabic claiming it was ‘operating with intense force’ in a number of areasIsraeli foreign minister Gideon Saar accused unnamed European officials on Thursday of “toxic antisemitic incitement” he blamed for a hostile climate in which the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington DC took place.Israel has faced criticism from Europe as it has intensified its military campaign in Gaza, where humanitarian groups have warned that an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid supplies has left the Palestinian territory on the brink of famine.There is a direct line connecting antisemitic and anti-Israel incitement to this murder.This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and organisations, especially from Europe.These libels about genocide, crimes against humanity and murdering babies pave the way exactly for such murders. Continue reading...

Events

42 h. ago ICC prosecutor says Netanyahu arrest warrant should remain as Israel jurisdiction challenge is heard

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court are urging judges to reject a request by Israel to scrap arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister while the court reconsiders its jurisdiction over Gaza and the West Bank

Events

42 h. ago Ireland’s deputy premier accuses Israel of ‘genocidal activity’ in Gaza

Simon Harris said it was now ‘clear’ that Israel wanted to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

Politics

58 h. ago ‘No flour, no food, no water’: Israel continues to pound Gaza as aid still struggles to get through

The Israeli military continued its renewed attack on Gaza overnight on Wednesday, killing at least 82 including a week-old baby and several women, Gaza’s hospital officials said

Politics

61 h. ago International opinion has rounded on Israel, but it's not enough to force Netanyahu's hand | Sanam Vakil

Condemnation alone won’t change Israel’s trajectory. For that, concrete action on sanctions and Palestinian statehood is requiredSanam Vakil is director of Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa programmeNineteen months on from the 7 October Hamas attacks and the war in Gaza, Israel is under a new wave of international pressure and increasingly isolated from its partners and allies. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government recently announced its intention to reoccupy Gaza yet again, and called up Israeli reservists. In tandem, the illegal expansion of settlements and violence in the West Bank continues unabated. And as part of a tactic to bring pressure to bear on Hamas to release the remaining hostages held in Gaza, Israel halted the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza for two months, leading to widespread starvation and brutal conditions.In reaction, the UK, France and Canada issued a joint statement expressing a strong rebuke of Israel’s war effort. The UK’s foreign secretary, Da...

Politics

65 h. ago Netanyahu has gone 'way too far' says minister as UK considers Israel sanctions amid Gaza escalation

Britain this week suspended free trade talks with Israel over its 11-week block on humanitarian aid reaching thousands of starving Palestinians

Politics

69 h. ago Israel latest: UN says Gaza aid blocked after Netanyahu accused of ‘killing babies as a hobby’

Israeli opposition leader's comments represent some of the strongest criticism from within the country since start of Gaza offensive

Events

3 d. ago The West has finally spoken up on Gaza – but it must not stop there

Editorial: Britain has hit Israel with further sanctions and suspended trade talks as it dramatically steps up its response to the humanitarian crisis. Now others must join to stop this violence

Politics

3 d. ago UK suspends trade talks with Israel as Lammy condemns Gaza escalation as 'monstrous'

Sir Keir Starmer tells MPs he is ‘horrified’ by Israel’s military escalation in Gaza

Politics

3 d. ago Israel still blocking aid for Gaza despite promise to lift siege, says UN

Continued restrictions come as opposition leader says Israel is becoming pariah nation that ‘kills babies as a hobby’Middle East crisis – live updatesTwo days after Benjamin Netanyahu announced he was lifting the siege of Gaza, Israel is still blocking food from reaching starving Palestinians, the UN has said, as the leader of the country’s centre-left Democrats party said his country was becoming a pariah nation that “kills babies as a hobby”.Only five trucks of aid had reached Gaza by Tuesday afternoon and aid workers had not been given permission to distribute even that token shipment, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) told a Geneva press briefing. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago The Guardian view on the calls to save Gaza: Palestinians need deeds, not words | Editorial

Israel faces growing international condemnation. But more is required to restore aid and bring a ceasefireThe UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher fears that thousands of babies are at imminent risk of death in Gaza unless aid reaches them. Benjamin Netanyahu fears that foreign politicians could see too many pictures of Palestinian children like these.Two months after all supplies were cut off, the Israeli government denies the obvious truth: that Gaza is on the brink of famine. But on Monday night the prime minister announced that “minimal” aid deliveries would restart, saying his country’s “greatest friends in the world” had told him that they could not “accept images of mass hunger”. His entirely cynical response saw a handful of trucks permitted to cross; reportedly, 100 a day will now be allowed – grotesquely inadequate given the vast scale of need. Reaching the most vulnerable will be perilous and difficult anyway amid Israel’s intensified offensive. Mr Netanyahu vowed that Isra...

Politics

3 d. ago Netanyahu is turning Israel into a global pariah – the world has finally run out of patience

The joint statement by the UK, France and Canada – combined with UK sanctions and suspension of trade talks – shows the international community has finally run out of patience with Israel, writes chief international correspondent Bel Trew

Politics

3 d. ago A moment of judgment has come at last: not just for Netanyahu but for his enablers | Owen Jones

Israel’s renewed assault on Gaza has prompted international condemnation, but many of those critics will face their own reckoning Suddenly, something is shifting. Last week, a stunning parliamentary intervention was delivered by the Tory backbencher Kit Malthouse. In a question to Hamish Falconer, Labour’s Middle East minister, he noted that “it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the slaughter in Gaza”, adding that “crimes come daily”. Given Britain was signatory to various conventions imposing a “positive obligation to act to prevent genocide” and other crimes, Malthouse asked what advice the government had taken as to the liability of the prime minister, the foreign secretary, Falconer himself and previous ministers “when the reckoning comes”.The idea of a “reckoning” is clearly playing on the minds of western politicians. Perhaps it is even keeping them up at night. This week, Britain joined France and Canada in denouncing the suffering in Gaza as “intolerable”, th...

Politics

3 d. ago UK suspends Israel trade talks and summons ambassador over 'intolerable' Gaza offensive

Sir Keir Starmer tells MPs he is ‘horrified’ by Israel’s military escalation in Gaza

Politics

3 d. ago Netanyahu is turning Israel into a global pariah, so what next?

While many will criticise today’s joint statement for being too little, too late, it does at least signal sanctions and the freezing of arms exports to Israel are on the cards, wries chief international correspondent Bel Trew

Politics