11 h. ago Hamas hands over six hostages but Israel delays release of 600 Palestinians

Ceasefire in jeopardy as Israel waits for meeting of security cabinet under pressure from right-wingersMiddle East crisis – live updatesHamas released six Israeli hostages on Saturday, but Israel delayed the handover of more than 600 Palestinians it was due to free from its prisons in exchange, putting the five-week-old ceasefire agreement once more in jeopardy.The government said the release would be delayed until after a scheduled meeting of the security cabinet on Saturday evening at the earliest. Continue reading...

Politics

11 h. ago Hamas hands over six hostages but Israel suspends release of 600 Palestinians

Ceasefire in jeopardy as Israel says it will wait ‘until release of next hostages is guaranteed’ and Hamas scraps ‘degrading’ handover ceremoniesHamas released six Israeli hostages on Saturday, but Israel suspended the handover of more than 600 Palestinians it was due to free from its prisons in exchange, putting the five-week-old ceasefire agreement once more in jeopardy.In a statement on Sunday, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “In light of Hamas’ repeated violations – including the disgraceful ceremonies that dishonour our hostages and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda – it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for yesterday [Saturday] until the release of the next hostages is ensured, without the humiliating ceremonies.” Continue reading...

Politics

20 h. ago Shiri Bibas remains identified as Israel and Hamas prepare for another hostage

Gaza ceasefire deal still on track amid uproar over fate of two Israeli boys and initial false return of their mother’s bodyThe body of the Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas has been identified, Israel’s army radio reported early on Saturday, adding that Bibas was likely killed in captivity with her children.The confirmation came as Israelis and Palestinians braced for another tense exchange of hostages, prisoners and detainees on Saturday after uproar in Israel over allegations that two child hostages were “brutally murdered” by Hamas, and the group’s initial failure to deliver the body of their mother, instead returning the corpse of an unidentified woman. Continue reading...

Politics

31 h. ago Israel vows Hamas will ‘pay the price’ after 24 hours of chaos rocks fragile ceasefire deal

Hamas denies deliberately handing over wrong body and blames Israeli bombings for deaths of hostages

Economics

35 h. ago Middle East crisis live: Israel claims Hamas killed Bibas children with their ‘bare hands’

Statement from IDF spokesman contradicts Hamas claim the family was killed in an airstrikeOne of the four bodies returned by Hamas to Israel on Thursday is not that of Shiri Bibas, Israel’s military has said, calling it a “violation of utmost severity” of a ceasefire deal that was already precarious.The Israeli military confirmed that two of the bodies belonged to Bibas’ children, Ariel and Kfir, in the early hours of Friday. However, it added “During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body” Continue reading...

Events

36 h. ago Another ceasefire is under threat from Trump – the precarious deal between Lebanon and Israel | Mohamad Bazzi

Israel, seemingly with the US president’s blessing, has kept troops inside Lebanon. Renewed conflict with Hezbollah is loomingAs global attention remains focused on the hostage-prisoner swaps between Hamas and Israel, another ceasefire in the region hangs in the balance.The 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim militia which has been the most dominant political faction in Lebanon for the past two decades, was paused by a US-brokered ceasefire in late November. The agreement also paved the way to end years of political deadlock in Beirut. Lebanon has formed a new government, and finally has leaders chosen for their promises to carry out reforms, rather than their sectarian affiliations – but the future of the ceasefire deal has left them facing an immediate crisis.Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor at New York University Continue reading...

Politics

40 h. ago Middle East crisis live: Shiri Bibas remains mixed with others after airstrike, Hamas claims after Israel says wrong body returned

Israel has demanded the return of Shiri Bibas after it said testing showed that one of the four bodies released by Hamas did not belong to any other hostageFull report: Israeli military accuses Hamas of ‘serious violation’, saying Shiri Bibas not among returned hostagesOne of the four bodies returned by Hamas to Israel on Thursday is not that of Shiri Bibas, Israel’s military has said, calling it a “violation of utmost severity” of a ceasefire deal that was already precarious.The Israeli military confirmed that two of the bodies belonged to Bibas’ children, Ariel and Kfir, in the early hours of Friday. However, it added “During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body” Continue reading...

Events

41 h. ago Netanyahu slams 'cruel and malicious violation' of Gaza ceasefire deal over release of body

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed revenge for what he described as a “cruel and malicious violation” of the ceasefire agreement after a body that Hamas released as part of the deal was found to not be that of an Israeli mother of two young boys, as the militants had promised

Economics

41 h. ago Middle East crisis live: Shiri Bibas remains have been mixed with other remains after airstrike, Hamas says

Israel has demanded the return of Shiri Bibas after it said testing showed that one of the four bodies released by Hamas did not belong to any other hostageFull report: Israeli military accuses Hamas of ‘serious violation’, saying Shiri Bibas not among returned hostagesOne of the four bodies returned by Hamas to Israel on Thursday is not that of Shiri Bibas, Israel’s military has said, calling it a “violation of utmost severity” of a ceasefire deal that was already precarious.The Israeli military confirmed that two of the bodies belonged to Bibas’ children, Ariel and Kfir, in the early hours of Friday. However, it added “During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body” Continue reading...

Events

47 h. ago Shiri Bibas not among returned hostages, Israeli military says, accusing Hamas of ‘serious violation’

Statement from IDF comes hours after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders further crackdown on occupied West Bank over bus explosionsOne of the four bodies returned by Hamas to Israel on Thursday is not that of Shiri Bibas, Israel’s military has said, calling it a “violation of utmost severity” of a ceasefire deal that was already precarious.The Israeli military confirmed that two of the bodies belonged to Bibas’ children, Ariel and Kfir, in the early hours of Friday. However, it added “During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body.” Continue reading...

Events

56 h. ago The Guardian view on Gaza’s future: the ceasefire and hostage deal must not fizzle out | Editorial

As Donald Trump persists with a monstrous proposal to remove Palestinians, the immediate need is to prevent fresh conflictThe pain and damage wreaked in the last 16 months will reverberate through families, communities and the Middle East for decades to come. On Thursday, the bodies of two young children and their mother, and that of an 83-year-old peace activist, were returned to Israel by Hamas. They were kidnapped in the 7 October 2023 raid in which the militants killed around 1,200 Israelis and others. Around 48,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its war in response.It was always feared that the ceasefire deal, which has brought desperately needed respite for Palestinians in Gaza and the return of Israeli and foreign hostages, would be fleeting. The six-week opening stage is due to expire on 1 March. The talks on the more complicated second stage have yet to begin, more than a fortnight after the...

Events

66 h. ago Hamas hands over remains of four Israeli hostages including two children

Exchange under shaky ceasefire deal includes three deceased members of Bibas family

Politics

4 d. ago Middle East crisis live: Israel to begin negotiations on second phase of Gaza ceasefire deal, says minister

Mediators hope second phase of deal will agree release of remaining hostages as well as full withdrawal of Israeli troops from GazaGeneva Abdul is a reporter for the GuardianMore than 200 organisations worldwide have called on nations involved in producing F-35 fighter jets to “immediately halt all arms transfers to Israel” amid fears they have failed to prevent the planes from being used to violate international law. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Netanyahu insists he is 'committed' to Trump's plan to take over and develop Gaza as IDF pulls out of southern Lebanon villages under ceasefire deal

Netanyahu's remarks come after he signalled on Sunday that he was moving ahead with Trump's proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza.

Politics

5 d. ago Half of Britons back sending British troops to Ukraine, poll reveals

Nearly six in ten (58 per cent) told the YouGov survey that they either 'strongly' support or 'somewhat' back Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) deploying UK troops in the event of a ceasefire deal.

Politics

5 d. ago PM does not rule out vote on Ukraine peacekeeping role for UK troops

Spokesperson says Keir Starmer’s previously stated view that military action needs consent of MPs has not changedKeir Starmer has not ruled out holding a parliamentary vote on committing UK troops to a peacekeeping role in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, after calls from some within Labour and the Lib Dems.Downing Street hinted that a US-backed guarantee would be needed in order for the UK to send ground troops, saying it was an “essential” part of any ceasefire deal with Russia. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump tells Netanyahu to 'do whatever you want' regarding ceasefire deal after imposing strict deadline to release all hostages

Donald Trump has told Israel 's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do 'whatever he wants' in the next stage of the ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Events