8 h. ago Rafah border crossing to stay closed ‘until further notice’, says Israel

Officials say reopening of gateway between Gaza and Egypt would depend on Hamas returning remains of dead hostagesThe Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will stay closed “until further notice”, Israel has said, after the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said the territory’s sole gateway to the outside world would reopen on Monday.The statement by Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said reopening Rafah would depend on how Hamas fulfils its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 dead hostages. Israel’s foreign ministry earlier said the crossing would probably reopen on Sunday. Continue reading...

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11 h. ago Netanyahu pours cold water on claims that Gaza’s Rafah crossing will reopen

The crossing will remain closed until further notice, his office says

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33 h. ago Gaza awaits the reopening of the Rafah border crossing, its link to the outside world

Palestinians and aid workers are eagerly awaiting the reopening of the Rafah border crossing, which is the Gaza Strip’s lifeline for food and other aid and its only gateway to the outside world that wasn’t controlled by Israel before the war

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35 h. ago ‘It’s a trickle – we need a flood’: Northern Gaza is still not seeing enough aid despite ceasefire, humanitarian agencies warn

The ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel has allowed more aid to flow into Gaza – but obstacles remain, particularly in the north

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65 h. ago Greta Thunberg claims she was ‘kicked and had wh*** written on her suitcase’ in Israeli detention

The Swedish activist claims she had to ‘beg’ for water after her Gaza aid flotilla was seized, leading Israeli authorities to call the accusations ‘ludicrous’

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65 h. ago Hamas says it has returned all dead hostages it can locate in threat to ceasefire deal

Israeli anger over failure to return bodies but US downplays risk to ceasefire agreement

Events

2 d. ago Gaza latest: Hamas says it has returned all hostage bodies it can as Trump warns Israel could resume fighting

Reports conflict on whether Israel will reopen Rafah border crossing to let in aid

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3 d. ago Gaza latest: Israeli military says two more hostage bodies handed over as Trump threatens Hamas with return of fighting

Reports conflict on whether Israel will reopen Rafah border crossing to let in aid

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3 d. ago Gaza latest: Israeli military says more hostage bodies to be returned tonight as US warns Hamas to put down arms

Reports conflict on whether Israel will reopen Rafah border crossing to let in aid

Events

3 d. ago Aid organisations frustrated as crucial supplies trickle into Gaza and trucks wait at border

Relief agencies told The Independent that more than 1,000 vehicles were waiting at the border with Gaza, laden with supplies

Politics

3 d. ago Israel urged to open more Gaza border crossings to allow surge of aid

Aid agencies and UN officials call for more entry points to allow ‘thousands of trucks’ to enter devastated territoryGaza ceasefire – live updatesAid agencies and the United Nations are calling for Israel to open more crossings into Gaza to allow “thousands of trucks” to enter the devastated territory every day.Preparations are being made to allow convoys through the southern Rafah crossing with Egypt on Thursday, the first such access through the critical entry point since May last year. Continue reading...

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3 d. ago Watch: Aid trucks bound for Gaza line up at Egypt’s Rafah crossing

Trucks filled with humanitarian aid destined for Gaza line up at Egypt’s Rafah crossing on Wednesday (15 October).

Politics

3 d. ago Gaza ceasefire live: Israel says one of the bodies handed over by Hamas is not a hostage amid reports vital aid crossing to reopen

Israel previously said the flow of aid would be cut by half and Rafah crossing would not open as planned due to delay in returning bodies of hostagesIsrael limits aid into Gaza in dispute over hostages’ remainsThe Israeli military said on Wednesday that one of the bodies handed over by Hamas the previous day as part of the ceasefire deal is not that of one of the hostages who was held in Gaza. Four bodies were handed over by Hamas on Tuesday to ease pressure on the fragile ceasefire, after the first four on Monday – when the last 20 living hostages were released. The military said that “following the completion of examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the fourth body handed over to Israel by Hamas does not match any of the hostages”.In the north of the territory, as Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza City, the Hamas government’s black-masked armed police resumed street patrols, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).Our message is clear: There will be no place for ...

Events

3 d. ago Israel says body returned by Hamas is not a hostage as fears over fragile ceasefire grow

Identity of fourth body in hostage handover remains unknown as Netanyahu demands Hamas fulfills terms of ceasefire deal

Events

3 d. ago Gaza latest: Israel says body returned by Hamas is not a hostage after closing Rafah Crossing to aid

Hamas returns four more bodies of deceased hostages after Israel threatens aid cuts

Politics

3 d. ago Gaza latest: Israel will not open Rafah crossing in dispute over hostage bodies

Hamas returns four more bodies of deceased hostages after Israel threatens aid cuts

Events

3 d. ago Israel 'lifts threat to limit humanitarian aid into Gaza' as bodies of four more hostages are returned

Meanwhile Donald Trump threatens Hamas with military strikes unless the militant group disarms

Events

3 d. ago Humanish by Justin Gregg review – how much of a person is your pet?

From prosthetic testicles for dogs to sociable reptiles, a behavioural scientist explains what we get wrong – and right – about animal mindsIn the 1970s a former Soviet naval officer named Igor Charkovsky popularised a concept which came to be known as dolphin-assisted birth. Likely inspired by New Age theories, he urged expectant mothers to dip in the ice-cold water of the Black Sea, commune with dolphins, and give birth underwater. In the “very near future,” he claimed, “a newborn child would be able to live in the ocean with a pod of dolphins and feed on dolphin milk”.The oddest thing about Charkovsky was not so much his theory, but its remarkable resilience within both Soviet and western culture, as Justin Gregg sets out in his illuminating and lively new book. Gregg’s work is both a dissection and an ode to the irresistible allure of anthropomorphism, our tendency to apply human characteristics to non-humans, whether animals, objects, AI, or God. An expert on ani...

Politics

4 d. ago Hamas says it will return bodies of four Israeli hostages tonight after Israel says it will keep Rafah crossing closed – Gaza ceasefire live

Hamas tells mediators it plans to transfer bodies of four deceased hostages at 10pm local timeDespite the ceasefire agreement, a medical source told Palestinian news agency Wafa today that four people were killed when Israeli drones fired at residents inspecting their homes in Gaza’s eastern Shejaiya neighbourhood. We have not yet been able to independently verify this information.Israel’s military said it opened fire on people who it says approached Israeli forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip. Continue reading...

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4 d. ago Rafah crossing to stay closed, Israel says, affecting aid after Hamas failed to hand over bodies of hostages – Gaza ceasefire live

Israeli defence minister says delay in returning bodies is violation of ceasefireDespite the ceasefire agreement, a medical source told Palestinian news agency Wafa today that four people were killed when Israeli drones fired at residents inspecting their homes in Gaza’s eastern Shejaiya neighbourhood. We have not yet been able to independently verify this information.Israel’s military said it opened fire on people who it says approached Israeli forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip. Continue reading...

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