21 h. ago A biblical hatred is engulfing both sides in the Gaza conflict – and blinding them to reason | Jonathan Freedland

Israel starving Palestinians, two killings at a Jewish museum: both are atrocities. But vanishingly few can see itI sat this week with Hussein Agha, a man who has given his working life to seeking peace between Israelis and Palestinians, negotiating from the Palestinian side of the table. He was gloomier than I have ever seen him, adamant that peace between the two sides can never, ever come. Because, Agha explained, this conflict was not about mere lines on a map or forms of words, the goods in which diplomats trade. This was about emotions, and specifically hatreds. Hatreds that, he feared, are becoming too murderous to contain. “It’s biblical,” he said.What he had in mind was the fury that drove Hamas to slaughter around 1,200 Israelis on a sleepy Saturday morning nearly 20 months ago and the fury that has driven the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to bombard Gaza ever since, killing more than 50,000, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, and, over the last 80 days,...

Events

22 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

30 h. ago This goes beyond Gary Lineker. The BBC risks coming apart over the Gaza war | Jane Martinson

Mistakes have been made by both the star and the corporation. That shouldn’t compromise urgent coverage of the conflict When Gary Lineker bids farewell to the BBC on Sunday, his former bosses will be hoping for an end to their problems with headstrong stars harder than England football fans do at major tournaments. And, like England fans, they are sure to be disappointed.For Lineker was just the highest-profile example representing two existential challenges for the BBC: how to maintain its reputation for impartiality, and how to do so in a toxic and divisive age. Few issues are so difficult, or are being so badly handled by the BBC right now, as the Israel-Gaza conflict.Jane Martinson is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Events

69 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...

Events

69 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

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 UK suspends trade talks with Israel and attacks ‘repellent’ extremism

Foreign secretary, David Lammy, condemns blocking of aid trucks and calls by Israeli ministers to ‘purify Gaza’Middle East crisis – live updatesUK-Israeli relations have plunged to their worst state for decades after the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, suspended negotiations over a new free trade deal, saying Israel’s cabinet ministers’ calls to “purify Gaza” by expelling Palestinians were repellent, monstrous and extremist.He also said wider talks about a future bilateral strategic roadmap with Israel were being reviewed. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago UK suspends trade talks with Israel and attacks ‘repellant’ extremism

Foreign secretary, David Lammy, condemns blocking of aid trucks and calls by Israeli ministers to ‘purify Gaza’Middle East crisis – live updatesUK-Israeli relations have plunged to their worst state for decades after the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, suspended negotiations over a new free trade deal, saying Israel’s cabinet ministers’ calls to “purify Gaza” by expelling Palestinians were repellant, monstrous and extremist.He also said wider talks about a future bilateral strategic roadmap with Israel were also being reviewed. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago What can the UK actually do if Israel is sanctioned over Gaza bombardment?

Keir Starmer faces calls to impose restrictions on everything from sales of fighter-jet parts to bans from international music events

Politics

4 d. ago Netanyahu hits back after UK, France and Canada threaten action – Israel

Leaders of UK, France and Canada condemn Israel’s ‘egregious actions’ in Gaza and warn of joint action if offensive continuesFull report: Netanyahu vows to ‘take control’ of GazaAs we mentioned in the opening post, the UK, France and Canada issued a rare joint condemnation of Israel, denouncing its expanded offensive in Gaza and the blocking of aid into the territory.It marks a change in tone from the UK and Canada - in particular – which have broadly backed Israel’s war and insisted on its “right to defend” itself despite it being accused of committing genocide and carrying out widespread and systematic violations of international law. France has been more openly critical of the Israeli military’s conduct. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Gaza, Israel and the world are crying out for opposition to Netanyahu – now there are rays of hope | Aluf Benn

For years Netanyahu has divided and disrupted his opponents. But new leaders are beginning to organise• Aluf Benn is the editor-in-chief of HaaretzIn his successful quest to become Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has leveraged his most valuable asset: the country’s ineffective opposition. He has been playing his opponents off against each other, staying afloat while they are left powerless and irrelevant.Netanyahu has survived multiple corruption cases, an ongoing criminal trial and recurring elections. Even after Hamas invaded Israel by surprise, on 7 October, 2023, leading to the longest, deadliest and most ruinous war in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the opposition failed to pose a political threat to Netanyahu. This week, Israel continues its expanded offensive across Gaza alongside a deadly bombing campaign. Rather than bearing the responsibility for the unparalleled tragedy and being kicked out of office in disgrace, the prime minister h...

Politics

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...

Politics

4 d. ago Netanyahu vows to ‘take control’ of Gaza as UK, France and Canada threaten action against Israel

Key allies call escalation ‘egregious’ and promise ‘concrete’ response if Israel does not end renewed offensive and allow aid into stripBenjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Israel will “take control” of all Gaza, as three key allies attacked his “egregious” escalation of the military campaign and blockade on humanitarian aid.Britain, France and Canada attacked Israel’s expansion of its war as disproportionate, described conditions in Gaza as “intolerable” and threatened a “concrete” response if Israel’s campaign continues. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago UK, France and Canada threaten action if Israel’s offensive continues as first aid crosses into Gaza in weeks – Israel

Joint statement warns of ‘concrete action’ over Israel’s latest Gaza offensive; nine trucks allowed through but UN aid chief, Tom Fletcher, says significantly more are neededIn a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee has told residents living in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, Bani Suheila and Abasan to “evacuate immediately” ahead of an “unprecedented attack” he claims is targeting Hamas infrastructure.“The IDF will launch an unprecedented attack to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations in this area,” he wrote in the social media post.You should know that when Gazans who were related to those who were holding me were injured by IDF actions, I would be badly beaten and sent to solitary confinement for long days with no food fit for human consumption and with a hygiene level comparable to concentration camps in the Holocaust Does it seem logical that I’m the one who needs to be here to shout for the freedom of my beloved Ariel (her partner), his brother D...

Politics

4 d. ago ‘Our hearts ache’: the fight for survival in Gaza amid Israel’s new offensive and no aid

Ceasefire rumours of little interest, say the bereaved who face starvation after one of Beit Lahiya’s ‘hardest nights’• Middle East crisis – live updatesAt about 2am on Sunday, Basel al-Barawi was dozing fitfully in his home in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza. For hours, he had listened fearfully to the sound of explosions and shooting.Then there was a massive blast. Barawi ran out to the street and saw that his cousin’s house had been bombed, with 10 people inside. The strikes on Beit Lahiya came days after Israel launched a major new offensive, named Operation Gideon’s Chariots. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Israeli army begins ‘extensive’ new ground operations in Gaza

Netanyahu signals openness to deal with Hamas and says Israel will allow some aid into GazaThe Israeli army has announced the start of a large-scale offensive in Gaza, describing “extensive ground operations” to seize “operational control” of swaths of the devastated Palestinian territory as a second day of indirect ceasefire talks in Qatar ended without any breakthrough.Israeli military officials said its forces had “eliminated dozens of terrorists, dismantled terrorist infrastructure sites and [were] currently being deployed in key positions”. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Gaza ceasefire talks continue as Israel carries out fresh wave of strikes

Netanyahu signals openness to deal but lays out conditions while territory’s hospitals ‘overwhelmed’ with casualties• Middle East crisis – latest updatesCeasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have been continuing in Qatar for a second day as Israeli warplanes and artillery launched a fresh wave of strikes across Gaza, killing at least 103 people, according to health officials in the Palestinian territory.The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, signalled on Sunday that Israel was open to a deal with Hamas that would include “ending the fighting” in Gaza, but laid out conditions that have been repeatedly refused by the militant Islamist organisation. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Children risk being radicalised through social media, Scottish Labour MP warns

Gregor Poynton is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Children's Online Safety

Events

8 d. ago Trump says people in Gaza are starving and US will take care of situation

Intense Israeli airstrikes continue to hit Gaza as US president completes final day of Gulf tour in Abu DhabiMiddle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump has said people are starving in Gaza and the US would have the situation in the territory “taken care of”. Gaza has suffered a further wave of intense Israeli airstrikes overnight.On the final day of his Gulf tour, the US president told reporters in Abu Dhabi: “We’re looking at Gaza. And we’re going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving.” Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Israel's continued bombardment of Gaza risks radicalising a generation, adviser to the Qatari Prime Minister Dr Majed Al

Speaking to the Mail's special correspondent David Patrikarakos, Dr Al-Ansari confirmed that talks are ongoing with the Trump administration to replace Air Force One with a luxury Qatari plane.

Politics