6 h. ago Israeli soldiers and former detainees tell AP Israel's use of human shields in Gaza is widespread

Several Palestinians and Israeli soldiers say troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for bombs and gunmen

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50 h. ago Watch: Moment Washington DC shooting suspect detained after Israeli embassy staff killed

Video captured the moment a man was detained in the Washington DC Jewish Museum on Wednesday, 21 May, after two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead.

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66 h. ago Israeli troops fire ‘warning shots’ at 25 diplomats visiting occupied West Bank

Shots force delegation representing 31 countries, including Italy, Canada, Egypt and UK, to run for coverMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsraeli troops have fired “warning shots” at a group of 25 diplomats who were visiting Jenin, in the Israel-occupied West Bank, on an official mission organised by the Palestinian Authority to observe the humanitarian situation there.The Israeli military said the visit had been approved, but the delegation “deviated from the approved route” and Israeli soldiers fired warning shots to distance them from the area. Continue reading...

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2 d. 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...

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4 d. ago As key Israel allies threaten action over Gaza catastrophe, Washington is largely unmoved

As Palestinians are told to evacuate before ‘unprecedented attack’, the White House continues to publicly back IsraelAs Israel orders Palestinians to evacuate Khan Younis in advance of what it calls an “unprecedented attack” on Gaza, much of Washington remains largely unmoved, even as Canada and European countries threaten “concrete actions” if Israel does not scale back its offensive.Despite reports of growing pressure from the Trump administration to increase aid into Gaza, where widespread famine looms, the White House continues to publicly back Israel. National security council spokesperson James Hewitt told the Guardian in an email: “Hamas has rejected repeated ceasefire proposals, and therefore bears sole responsibility for this conflict,” maintaining the policy stance inherited from the previous Biden administration despite mounting evidence of humanitarian catastrophe. Continue reading...

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8 d. ago Middle East crisis live: ‘a lot of people are starving’ in Gaza, says Trump, as Israeli strikes kill dozens

Widespread attacks across northern Gaza with survivors warning that people are trapped under the rubbleIsraeli airstrikes kill at least 80 as Trump talks of turning Gaza into ‘freedom zone’Donald Trump on Friday said the United States would have the situation in Gaza “taken care of”, telling reporters that people were starving in the besieged Palestinian territory.According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the US president told reporters during the final leg of his Gulf tour:We’re looking at Gaza. And we’re going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving.Missing this historic opportunity would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy for ever. Continue reading...

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8 d. ago Trump’s Middle East tour tells us he has forgotten about Gaza, much to Netanyahu’s delight | Yossi Mekelberg

As thousands of IDF soldiers prepare to occupy the strip, the president is silent. Israel’s ultra-right could want nothing moreAs Donald Trump hops from one Gulf capital to another, signs some eye-catching deals, meets the new Syrian president and even supposedly makes progress on the Iran nuclear issue, it looks like the war in Gaza has been pushed on to the sidelines of US diplomacy. While there were negotiations involving the Americans this week in Qatar over the release of hostages, Israel also saw fit to conduct a devastating assassination attempt on Hamas’s leader, Mohammed Sinwar, followed by intensive airstrikes across the strip. While Sinwar’s fate has not yet been confirmed, it is telling that this all took place while the US president was in the region: it reveals how unserious the Israeli government is about ending the war.The truth is that if the war is resumed in earnest, it will be unsurprising because, earlier this month, the Israeli security cabinet unanimously appr...

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9 d. ago Israel’s ‘no hunger in Gaza’ narrative flies in face of obvious evidence

Justification for Israel’s blockade is hard to sustain amid photos of malnourished children and critical famine warningsFor many decades, Israel was proud of its officials’ ability to defend and argue and convince around the world. The war in Gaza has seen the country’s public diplomacy face its greatest test – as was made clear on Wednesday morning with a robust exchange between David Mencer, a spokesperson for the Israeli government, and Nick Robinson, a presenter of the BBC’s flagship Today programme.Mencer stressed that he was speaking on behalf of the prime minister and made an uncompromising statement of Israel’s arguments, including the accusation that Hamas – described as a “genocidal death cult” – uses civilians as human shields. Continue reading...

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1 week ago Hamas frees last living US citizen held in Gaza in what Trump calls a ‘good faith step’

American soldier Edan Alexander meets family at Israel border after masked fighters hand him over to Red Cross Hamas has freed the last living US citizen it held in Gaza, soldier Edan Alexander, in a unilateral move Donald Trump described as a “good faith step” towards ending the war and bringing home all remaining hostages.The release of 20-year-old Alexander, a dual national serving in the Israel Defense Forces who spent 584 days in captivity after he was seized from his base on 7 October 2023, was agreed with little Israeli involvement beyond practical coordination on the ground. Continue reading...

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1 week ago Israel vows NO ceasefire or Palestinian prisoner release in return for US hostage being freed as Netanyahu warns fighting will be 'intensified' in Gaza

The militant group said it would release Edan Alexander, a US-Israeli soldier held in Gaza, later today as it engages in direct ceasefire talks with Washington.

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1 week ago Hamas says it will release last living American hostage in Gaza

Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American soldier kidnapped on 7 October, reportedly set to be released on TuesdayHamas announced on Sunday that it will release the last living American hostage in Gaza, Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American soldier who was kidnapped on 7 October 2023.The 21-year old’s release is set to take place on Tuesday, Reuters reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. Continue reading...

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1 week ago Hamas announces it will release another hostage as it's revealed terror group are in direct talks with Trump administration amid cautious hope of progress towards Middle East peace plan

The terrorist group hopes the release of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander will pave the way to reopening crossings and allow humanitarian aid back into Gaza.

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1 week ago Police given second week to question four Iranian men in custody

Reports suggest four detained under Terrorism Act were allegedly targeting Israeli embassyFour Iranian men who were arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack in London can be detained and questioned in custody for another week, police said on Saturday.Five men were arrested last week, with armed police and in at least one instance special forces soldiers sent in to detain them, with reports suggesting the alleged target was the Israeli embassy in Kensington. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago New film claims to identify Israeli killer of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

In Who Killed Shireen?, IDF soldier Alon Scagio is named as shooter of the Palestinian-American in Jenin in 2022A new US-made documentary has produced evidence pointing to the identity of an Israeli soldier who shot dead the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022.The documentary, Who Killed Shireen?, concludes that a member of the Duvdevan Israeli special forces unit shot Abu Akleh while she was reporting for Al Jazeera in Jenin, on the West Bank. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Netanyahu says new offensive in Gaza focused on consolidating seizure of territory

Israeli PM says operation will lead to significant displacement of the population ‘for its own protection’Middle East crisis – live updatesBenjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has said a new “intensified” offensive in Gaza will involve Israeli troops holding on to seized territory and significant displacement of the population.Speaking after officials said Israel’s security cabinet had approved a plan for “conquering” the Gaza Strip and establishing a “sustained presence” there, Netanyahu posted a video on X in which he said Israeli soldiers would not go into Gaza, launch raids and then retreat. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Palestinian activist says home raided ‘in revenge’ for appearing in Louis Theroux documentary

Issa Amro shares videos of confrontations with balaclava-clad military who he claims ‘want revenge’ after the BBC film The SettlersA Palestinian activist who appeared in a Louis Theroux documentary about settlers in the West Bank has reportedly had his home raided by Israeli soldiers.Issa Amro, co-founder of the non-violent activist group Youth Against Settlements, shared videos on social media of confrontations with Israeli military at his home, and another of a group of Israeli settlers forcing entry to the property. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Middle East crisis live: Israel approves plans to intensify Gaza operations

Plan could mark a significant escalation in fighting in the beleaguered territoryIsraeli ministers on Monday agreed to ramp up the war against Hamas in Gaza, an official said.Associated Press reported Israel has plans to capture more territory in the beleaguered Palestinian enclave and call up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers. The plan, which the official said would be gradual, could mark a significant escalation in the fighting in Gaza, which resumed in mid-March after Israel and Hamas failed to agree on an extension to an eight-week truce. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. On Sunday, Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers and said Israel would “operate in additional areas” in Gaza and continue to strike militant infrastructure. Israel already controls roughly half of Gaza’s territory, including a buffer zone along the border with Israel as well as three corrid...

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3 w. ago Unrwa says Israel has abused detained staff and used some as human shields

Accusation from UN agency comes as Red Crescent medic held since deadly Israeli attack on ambulances is freed The embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, has accused Israel of abusing dozens of its staff in military detention and using some as human shields.The head of the agency, Philippe Lazzarini, said that more than 50 staff members, including teachers, doctors and social workers, had been detained and abused since the start of the 18 month-long war in Gaza. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago New details on killing of paramedics in Gaza appear to contradict IDF’s account

Haaretz report comes as supreme court gives Israeli PM more time to respond to affidavit from fired Shin Bet chief New developments in the killing of 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip last month have come to light, with evidence reportedly contradicting the Israel Defense Forces’ claim that soldiers did not fire indiscriminately at the medical workers.The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Wednesday that its analysis of the IDF’s own materials collected as part of an internal investigation into the incident contradicted the army’s claim that soldiers did not shoot indiscriminately at Palestinian ambulances and a fire engine in the early hours of 23 March. Continue reading...

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