4 h. ago At least 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians had been held at notorious Israeli jail, say Gaza officials

Documents indicate they came from Sde Teiman, which already faces allegations of torture and unlawful deathsMiddle East crisis – live updatesAt least 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel to Gaza had been held in a notorious detention centre already facing allegations of torture and unlawful deaths in custody, officials from Gaza’s health ministry told the Guardian.The director general of the health ministry, Dr Munir al-Bursh, and the spokesperson for Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, where the bodies are being examined, said a document found inside each body bag indicated the bodies all came from Sde Teiman, a military base in the Negev desert, where, according to photos and testimonies published by the Guardian last year, Palestinian detainees were held in cages, blindfolded and handcuffed, shackled to hospital beds, and forced to wear nappies. Continue reading...

Events

48 h. ago Rafah border crossing to stay closed ‘until further notice’, says Israel

Officials say reopening of gateway between Gaza and Egypt would depend on Hamas returning remains of dead hostagesThe Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will stay closed “until further notice”, Israel has said, after the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said the territory’s sole gateway to the outside world would reopen on Monday.The statement by Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said reopening Rafah would depend on how Hamas fulfils its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 dead hostages. Israel’s foreign ministry earlier said the crossing would probably reopen on Sunday. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Hamas’s aim to retain authority in Gaza involves keeping the guns

With no law, order or any alternative administration under the ceasefire, the group is using violence to deter rivalsThroughout Israel’s two-year war in Gaza, aid officials working in the territory avoided naming Hamas in conversations they suspected might be intercepted, instead referring to the militant Islamist group as the “de facto authority”.This careful euphemism for Hamas, which violently seized power in 2007, captured an important truth. Though the group was a less obvious presence in the last months of the conflict, in the absence of any alternative, it remained the closest the increasingly devastated territory had to a ruler. Continue reading...

Culture

3 d. ago Mamdani and Cuomo spar in New York mayoral debate – US politics live

Candidates debate Trump, Gaza and New York-specific issues, while John Bolton indicted by federal grand juryFormer Trump adviser John Bolton indicted on 18 countsA reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest developments out of the Middle East, as Israel and Hamas continue to carry out various aspects of the US brokered ceasefire deal.This includes the news today that Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza, bringing the total number handed over to 120, according the Gaza health ministry and Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Gaza latest: Trump says ‘we will have no choice but to go in and kill Hamas’ if violence continues

Hamas has accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire by killing Palestinians while Israel says it wants the bodies of all hostages returned

Events

4 d. ago Israel and Hamas trade accusations as tensions rise over hostages’ remains

Militant group says it needs specialist equipment to recover bodies as Netanyahu says fight ‘is not over yet’Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti assaulted by Israeli prison guards, son saysIsrael and Hamas have traded accusations of ceasefire violations amid tensions over the flow of aid into Gaza and warnings that the humanitarian crisis in the devastated territory risks deteriorating further.The ceasefire deal signed last week between Israel and Hamas raised hopes of a surge of humanitarian aid finally reaching the territory after two years of war, but most restrictions have remained in place, throttling the supply of desperately needed assistance. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Trump says he will meet Putin in Hungary after ‘productive’ call – live

US president says he and Russian leader agreed to convene next week in an undetermined location in BudapestA reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest developments out of the Middle East, as Israel and Hamas continue to carry out various aspects of the US brokered ceasefire deal.This includes the news today that Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza, bringing the total number handed over to 120, according the Gaza health ministry and Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Johnson condemns leaked Young Republicans group chat messages as Senate fails to pass funding bill for tenth time – live

House speaker says he didn’t know the Young Republicans chat members as Senate rejects House-passed funding bill 51-45 as shutdown reaches 16th dayUS government shutdown stretches as progressives reject Republicans’ healthcare promisesVance brushes off racist texts by adults in Republican group chat as ‘what kids do’A reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest developments out of the Middle East, as Israel and Hamas continue to carry out various aspects of the US brokered ceasefire deal.This includes the news today that Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza, bringing the total number handed over to 120, according the Gaza health ministry and Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Gaza latest: Hamas accuses Israel of killing 24 people since Friday in breach of Trump’s ceasefire

Hamas has accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire by killing Palestinians while Israel says it wants the bodies of all hostages returned

Events

4 d. ago Palestinian bodies returned by Israel show signs of torture and execution, say doctors

Almost all had been blindfolded and had gunshot wounds between the eyes, says doctor at Nasser hospital in GazaGaza ceasefire – latest updatesMany of the 90 bodies of Palestinians returned to Gaza by Israeli authorities under the ceasefire deal showed signs of torture and execution, including blindfolds, cuffed hands and bullet wounds in the head, according to doctors’ accounts.As part of the US-brokered truce, Hamas has handed over the bodies of some of the hostages who died in the course of the war, and Israel has transferred two groups of 45 Palestinians killed during the fighting. The exchange was carried out through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Iran gives lengthy jail sentences to two French citizens for ‘spying’ for France and Israel

Their sentencing comes just days after Tehran suggested the pair could be released in a prisoner swap

Politics

5 d. ago ‘Cruelest forms of torture’: freed Palestinians describe horrors of Israeli jail

Men who were held in Nafha prison say they were brutally beaten, bound at the hands and feet, verbally abused, allowed to contract fungal and skin diseases, and assaulted with loud music for up to two days straightBefore releasing him, Israeli prison guards decided to give Naseem al-Radee a farewell gift. They bound his hands, placed him on the ground and beat him without mercy, saying goodbye the same way they had said hello: with their fists.Radee’s first sight of Gaza in nearly two years was blurry; a boot to the eye left him with blurred vision two days later. Vision problems added to the laundry list of ailments he gained during his 22-month stay in an Israeli prison. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Moment buses carrying 2,000 freed Palestinian prisoners including murderers & terrorists arrive in Gaza

ISRAELIS are counting the cost of having the 20 ­hostages home as buses carrying nearly 2,000 freed Palestinians — including murderers and terrorists — arrived in Gaza. Around 250 serious offenders serving life sentences in Israel were being welcomed back to Palestinian communities, along with 1,750 detainees held in Gaza. And many of the notorious...

Events

7 d. ago ‘All we see is destruction’: Palestinians pulling bodies from the rubble of Gaza fear the fragile ceasefire will not last

As aid trickles in, families reunite and homes are returned to, Gazans tell The Independent that they are still in danger

Events

1 week ago Donald Trump poised for Middle East visit to officially sign Gaza peace deal

Speaking at a televised Cabinet meeting, the US President said he was "looking at" travelling to Egypt for an official signing ceremony for phase one of the agreement

Politics

1 week ago Trump says Gaza peace deal ‘very close’ and he may travel to Middle East in days

US president optimistic after US, Qatari and Turkish officials join third day of indirect Israel-Hamas talks in EgyptDonald Trump has said he may travel to the Middle East at the end of the week, adding that negotiations in Egypt to end the two-year war in Gaza were “very close” to reaching a deal.The US president said that he could visit the region on Saturday or Sunday as he hailed talks that could bring “peace for the Middle East”. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Young lives cut short on an unimaginable scale: the 18,457 children on Gaza’s list of war dead

The children’s names below appear on a list of victims of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, maintained by health authorities in the territory. As of the end of July it ran to 60,199 names, of whom 18,457 were under 18s. Far from comprehensive, the list does not include the thousands still buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, as well as the war’s many indirect victimsAs of the end of July there were 18,457 children named on the long official list of Palestinian victims of Israel’s war in Gaza. Over almost two years, that is equivalent to bombs, bullets and shells killing a boy or girl every hour of every day.In reality the deaths are not spaced out so evenly. Siblings, cousins and playmates are often killed together, by an airstrike or artillery shell. Even children shot by snipers or quadcopters are sometimes brought into hospitals in groups, doctors say. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Scots gran detained on Gaza aid mission rushed to hospital day after returning home

Margaret Pacetta previously claimed her medication was confiscated while she was being held in an Israeli jail.

Events

1 week ago Scots gran back home after ‘hellish’ Israeli jail ordeal on Gaza aid flotilla

Margaret Pacetta says she “went through hell” in an Israeli jail after being arrested on a Gaza aid mission — claiming guards slammed a door on her broken leg and took away her medicine.

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Dozens’ of airstrikes on Gaza despite Trump’s call for Israel to stop bombing immediately

Palestinian officials accuse Israel of continuing to strike and shell Gaza City and other areas of the Strip

Politics