28 h. ago More than 500,000 people return to Gaza City amid ceasefire, as Steve Witkoff addresses Tel Aviv crowd – live

Palestinians return to destruction as US special envoy visits Hostages Square in Israel with Jared Kushner and Ivanka TrumpMalak A Tantesh, a young reporter who has contributed to the Guardian’s coverage, has written about a harrowing two years in besieged Gaza. You can read her account here:The Trump plan calls for Israel to maintain an open-ended military presence inside Gaza, along its border with Israel. An international force, comprised largely of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, would be responsible for security inside Gaza. The US would lead a large internationally funded reconstruction effort, reports the Associated Press (AP). The plan envisions an eventual role for the Palestinian Authority – something Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long opposed. But it requires the authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, to undergo a sweeping reform programme that could take years. According to the AP, the Trump plan is even more vague about a future Pale...

Events

28 h. ago Many unresolved questions remain as a ceasefire holds in Gaza

A ceasefire is holding in Gaza between Israel and Hamas after two years of war

Events

32 h. ago Drone footage above Gaza City shows the toll of 2 years of war

New drone footage shows what remains of Gaza City after two years of war as a ceasefire holds in its second day

Events

38 h. ago Trump says ‘for the most part, there is consensus’ on next stages of Gaza ceasefire plan – live

US president adds Hamas were gathering the hostages now, as displaced Palestinians return to northern GazaAs Abdel Fattah al-Kurdi made the long journey back to Gaza City, he found himself getting lost. Though he left the city just a few weeks ago, he could no longer recognise its streets. The buildings he had grown up in between had collapsed, their contents carpeting the roads in a mixture of torn furniture and broken concrete.Al-Kurdi could only recognise the Netzarim checkpoint marking his entry into north Gaza by the bodies lying at its feet – those who had tried to return home too early, their faces obscured by dust after being cut down by Israeli fire. Continue reading...

Politics

52 h. ago ‘I expect to find a ghost city’: Gaza residents on the long, arduous journey back home

Returnees anxious if the homes they left behind will still be standing after Hamas-Israel ceasefire takes effectAs Abdel Fattah al-Kurdi made the long journey back to Gaza City, he found himself getting lost. Though he left the city just a few weeks ago, he could no longer recognise its streets. The buildings he had grown up in between had collapsed, their contents carpeting the roads in a mixture of torn furniture and broken concrete.Al-Kurdi could only recognise the Netzarim checkpoint marking his entry into north Gaza by the bodies lying at its feet – those who had tried to return home too early, their faces obscured by dust after being cut down by Israeli fire. Continue reading...

Politics

67 h. ago An AP photographer shares the stories behind some of her most poignant Gaza images

AP photographer Fatima Shbair tells the stories behind some of her most poignant images from covering the war in her homeland, Gaza

Culture

3 d. ago Gaza ceasefire plan live: Hamas chief negotiator says group received guarantees that war has ended

Khalil al-Hayya says US, Arab mediators and Turkey gave assurances that war ‘has ended permanently’; Israel’s security cabinet has yet to publicly approve the dealFull report: First phase of deal to end war in Gaza agreedWhat we know so far about the dealFamilies of Israelis held hostage in Gaza gathered in what has come to be known as Hostage Square in Tel Aviv after the announcement.“President Trump, thank you very much. We thank him, our children will not have returned home without him,” said Hatan Angrest, whose son Matan is among the hostages. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Two years of displacement and destruction in Gaza – photo essay

Enas Tantesh’s photography captures not only the despair and insecurity but also moments of normality and human connectionOver the past two years in Gaza, the world has witnessed one of the worst onslaughts against a civilian population in recent history and has been unwilling or unable to stop it.More than 66,200 people have been killed and nearly 169,000 injured, meaning that about one in 10 of Gaza’s Palestinian population have been casualties of Israel’s military campaign.After the Israeli army destroyed a mosque and wrote on it in Hebrew, someone from Gaza wrote on the dome: ‘A promise we will construct it.’ Gaza City, 24 February 2025 Continue reading...

Culture

3 d. ago Pope urges news agencies to stand as bulwark against lies, manipulation and post

Pope Leo XIV has encouraged international news agencies to stand firm as a bulwark against the “ancient art of lying” and manipulation

Events

5 d. ago These numbers show how 2 years of war have devastated Palestinian lives in Gaza

Numbers alone cannot capture the toll the Israel-Hamas war has taken on the Gaza Strip

Events

5 d. ago Thousands in Gaza are missing 2 years into the war. Tormented families search for clues

Two years since the war in Gaza began, thousands of Palestinians there are looking for relatives who have gone missing in one of the most destructive conflicts of the past decades

Events

6 d. ago Horror words of Israeli troops in Gaza as they fight on even as ceasefire looms

Israel’s bombs piled into Gaza City, announced by deep booms and sending vast black and grey smoke clouds billowing over the enclave, heavy machine gun fire echoing through the ruins

Events

7 d. ago ‘My poems are part of my flesh’: Palestinian poet Batool Abu Akleen on life in Gaza

At just 20, the poet is one of the most vivid witnesses to the conflict. She talks about dreams of Oxford, the deaths of friends and how tragedy has shaped the person she has becomeBatool Abu Akleen was having lunch in the seaside apartment that has become the latest refuge for her family of seven, when a missile struck a nearby cafe. It was the last day of June, an ordinary Monday in Gaza City. “I was holding a falafel wrap and looking out of the window, and the window shook,” she says. Within an instant, dozens of men, women and children were dead, in an atrocity that was reported around the world. “It doesn’t feel real sometimes,” she adds, with the nonchalance of someone numbed by living with horror.But this impression is misleading. At just 20 years old, Abu Akleen is becoming one of Gaza’s most vivid and unstinting witnesses, whose debut poetry collection has already won accolades from the novelist Anne Michaels, the playw...

Politics

8 d. ago Inside decimated Gaza City: As world holds its breath for Israeli hostages, how every day is still life and death

As the Israeli armoured personnel carrier clatters across Gaza, the only glimpse I get of the decimated hellscape outside comes through two tiny video screens.

Events

8 d. 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

1 week ago Gaza death toll mounts as Hamas is still considering its response to Trump's peace proposal

Hamas is still considering its response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace proposal aimed at ending the nearly two-year war in Gaza

Politics

1 week ago Israel says ‘last opportunity’ for Gaza City residents to leave

Defence minister issues warning, while Hamas reportedly considers seeking amendments to Trump plan The Israeli military has issued what it said was its final warning for Gaza City residents to flee as it intensified its bombardment and offensive on Wednesday, while Hamas was reportedly considering requesting amendments to Donald Trump’s ceasefire ultimatum.Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the warning was the last opportunity for people to move to southern Gaza as the military encircled the city. Gaza’s civil defence agency said on Wednesday that Israeli forces had killed at least 46 people, including 36 in Gaza City. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Israeli minister says ‘last opportunity’ for Gaza City residents to flee – Middle East crisis live

Israeli offensive intensifies amid reports Hamas will seek amendments to Trump’s Gaza planHere are some images coming in via the newswires today:The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that the “intensification of military operations in Gaza City” has forced the humanitarian organisation to temporarily suspend operations at its Gaza City office and relocate its staff to ICRC offices in southern Gaza “to ensure staff safety and operational continuity”.The ICRC will continue to strive to provide support to civilians in Gaza City, whenever circumstances allow, from our offices in Deir al-Balah and Rafah, which remain fully operational. This includes providing medical donations to the few remaining health facilities in Gaza City and doing the utmost to facilitate the movements of first responders. In Rafah, the Red Cross Field hospital will continue to be a lifeline for the many wounded patients pouring in.The ICRC has been in Gaza City for decades. Following the latest...

Politics

1 week ago Israel to close last remaining route from southern Gaza to the north as it continues offensive on Gaza City – Middle East crisis live

Hamas has said it will review the outline of Trump’s Gaza plan, as leaders across the Middle East voiced support for the proposalThe Australian government has said it is “deeply concerned” about the safety of its citizens on board a flotilla to Gaza, with expectations the boats could be intercepted by Israeli forces as early as Wednesday afternoon Australian time.The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has said they have been in contact with six Australians confirmed to be on flotilla consisting of more than 40 ships.I’m deeply concerned by the alleged drone attacks on the Global Sumud Flotilla and the risks to the safety of Australians and other passengers onboard.Australia calls on all parties to respect international law and international humanitarian law, and to refrain from any unlawful or violent act against the flotilla.I think people feel pretty calm. And because everybody is really, really concerned about what’s happening in Palestine every single day, it really kind of...

Politics

1 week ago ‘Will my baby be born in a tent? Will it have food?’: what it’s like to be pregnant in Gaza

The World Health Organization has warned that more than 40% of pregnant women in the Gaza Strip are malnourished. Here, Nour Ziad al-Batsh, who is expecting her third child in March, describes her daily struggle to find food and healthcareThis pregnancy is not like my others. I have not been allowed to feel the joy I felt last time, to plan for the future and dream about where my child will go to school and how to decorate his room. In Gaza these days, I can only wonder whether I can find food to keep my baby healthy and how it will be to give birth in a tent.The natural joys I felt for the births of my daughter and son have been overwhelmed by depression, fear and anxiety because of this continuing genocide. Continue reading...

Politics