20 h. ago UN is threatened by Israel’s decision to cut ties with relief agency, world court told

Hague judges start five days of hearings on Gaza humanitarian crisisMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe very nature of the UN is threatened by Israel’s refusal to accept the rights of its agencies to operate freely in the occupied Palestinian territories, the international court of justice has heard.The statement was made at the start of five days of proceedings in The Hague that may prove critical to Israel’s future inside the world body. The UN’s top court will hear from dozens of nations and organisations in order to draw up an advisory opinion on Israel’s humanitarian obligations to Palestinians more than 50 days into its total blockade on aid entering Gaza. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Donald Trump will allow Putin to keep almost ALL the Ukrainian land he has seized, proposed 'peace plan' reveals

Putin would be required to freeze the current front line, allowing him to keep most of his gains - though, the country would be required to give up two small areas currently occupied by its troops.

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2 w. ago US government has revoked more than 600 student visas, data shows

Some cases were related to activism and participation in protests against Gaza war, others were for 'minor crimes’US politics live – latest updatesMore than 600 international students and recent graduates in the US have had their visas revoked or their legal status changed by the state department, according to data aggregated from around the country.The data, collected by Inside Higher Ed, shows that as of Thursday more than 100 colleges and universities have identified more than 600 cases of students whose immigration status was changed by the Trump administration. These institutions say that their students have lost their F-1 or J-1 student visas. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Israeli strike on Gaza City residential block killed at least 23, officials say

Israeli military says it struck a senior Hamas militant who it claims was behind attacks emanating from ShijaiyahMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsraeli aircraft struck a residential block in war-ravaged northern Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 23 people, health officials said, as the renewed fighting in the devastated Palestinian territory showed no signs of letting up.The Al-Ahli hospital said at least 23 people were killed in the strike, including eight women and eight children, figures confirmed by the territory’s health ministry. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Middle East crisis live: Israeli attack on tents housing journalists in Gaza kills at least two, say Palestinian medics

Airstrikes hit media tent outside Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, say medics, injuring nine othersAs we mentioned in the opening summary, ten Britons have been accused of committing war crimes while fighting for Israel in Gaza. Here is some more of the story, written by the Guardian’s legal affairs correspondent Haroon Siddique:Michael Mansfield KC is one of a group of lawyers who will on Monday hand in a 240-page dossier to Scotland Yard’s war crimes unit alleging targeted killing of civilians and aid workers, including by sniper fire, and indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas, including hospitals.The report, which has been prepared by a team of UK lawyers and researchers in The Hague, also accuses suspects of coordinated attacks on protected sites including historic monuments and religious sites, and forced transfer and displacement of civilians. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago At least 27 killed in Israeli bombing of shelter in Gaza City, rescuers say

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee from southern city of Rafah in one of war’s biggest mass displacementsAn Israeli bombing of a school turned shelter in Gaza City has killed at least 27 people, rescuers said, and hundreds of thousands in the Rafah area are fleeing in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war amid Israel’s newly announced campaign to “divide up” the Gaza Strip.Three missiles hit Dar al-Arqam school in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon, the civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal said, killing several children and wounding 100 people. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Israel has chosen military occupation over a ceasefire in Gaza. Where does this end? | Sanam Vakil

The latest escalation and attempts to dismantle the Palestinian leadership are utterly at odds with peace negotiationsSanam Vakil is a senior research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham HouseAgainst the pleas and protests of hostage families desperate to secure the release of their loved ones, the Israeli government is moving ahead with the military occupation of the Gaza Strip. On 2 April, the defence minister, Israel Katz, announced plans to seize large areas of Gaza with the aim of eliminating Hamas’s remaining infrastructure and establishing new security zones that will split Gaza in two. This escalation, which began in mid-March with intensified airstrikes, is intended to encourage a mass exodus of the local population, and has led to substantial civilian casualties. Despite the international outcry over more than 50,000 deaths, 110,000 civilian injuries and significant displacement of Palestinians, the Israeli government rationalises and justifies ...

Events

3 w. ago Israel announces intention to seize large areas of Gaza Strip in major escalation

Defence minister Israel Katz says seized land ‘will be added to the state of Israel’s security areas’Middle East crisis – live updatesIsrael’s defence minister has said the country intends to “seize large areas” of the Gaza Strip amid a major expansion of aerial and ground operations in the besieged Palestinian territory.Israel Katz said in a statement on Wednesday that “troops will move to clear areas of terrorists and infrastructure, and seize extensive territory that will be added to the state of Israel’s security areas”. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Israel announces plan to seize ‘large areas’ in Gaza – latest updates

Defence minister Israel Katz says large areas of the territory will be seized and added to the security zones of IsraelAirstrikes continued on Gaza on Wednesday morning after the Israeli defense minister announced that Israel intended to expand its war. In a statement, Israel Katz said the offensive was “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the state of Israel.”The move has been condemned by the Hostages Families Forum, who said it appeared that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government were making the return of 59 hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas “a secondary task” that had been “pushed to the bottom of the priority list.”I wish success to the IDF soldiers who are fighting bravely and powerfully in Gaza for the return of the kidnapped and the defeat of Hamas. The goal of Operation “Strength and Sword” is first and foremost to increase pressure for the release of all the hostage...

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