60 h. ago Watch: Netanyahu claims government’s plan to take over Gaza City is ‘best way’ to end war

Watch the moment Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declares that his government’s plan to take control of Gaza City is the “best way” to end the war — a move that has prompted the United Nations Security Council to convene an emergency meeting.

Politics

60 h. ago Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu claims Gaza City expansion plan is 'best way to end the war'

Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed his plan to take over Gaza City is the 'best way to end the war' in the Middle East. 

Politics

60 h. ago Netanyahu claims his Gaza City takeover plan is fastest way to end war – latest updates

Israeli PM’s plan to escalate war has drawn international condemnationSee all our Middle East crisis coverageIsraeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to hold a press conference with international media in Jerusalem at 4:30pm local time (13:30 GMT; 14:30 BST).He will likely be asked about the security cabinet’s controversial decision on Friday to expand its assault on Gaza and take control of Gaza City.Following the alerts activated in the Gaza Envelope, it is likely that two launches from the Gaza Strip crossed into the country’s territory, interception attempts were made, and their results are under review. Continue reading...

Events

63 h. ago Netanyahu’s Gaza war plan will fail, warns Israel’s finance minister

Far-right ultranationalist Bezalel Smotrich says he has ‘lost faith’ that PM can achieve ‘decisive victory’

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64 h. ago Netanyahu to give press conference after announcement of Israeli plan to escalate war on Gaza – latest updates

PM has ignored military advice and warnings that move could endanger hostages and will lead to further destruction and suffering for PalestiniansSee all our Middle East crisis coverageIsraeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to hold a press conference with international media in Jerusalem at 4:30pm local time (13:30 GMT; 14:30 GMT; 15:30 BST).He will likely be asked about the security cabinet’s controversial decision on Friday to expand its assault on Gaza and take control of Gaza City.Following the alerts activated in the Gaza Envelope, it is likely that two launches from the Gaza Strip crossed into the country’s territory, interception attempts were made, and their results are under review. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Photos show Israelis demonstrating for the release of hostages and ending the Gaza war

Israelis held protests calling for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and for an end to the 22-month war. Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City to pressure Hamas renewed international calls to end the conflict and stirred fears for hostages still in Gaza.

Events

4 d. ago Donald Tusk says ‘freeze’ in Ukraine war may be close as US and Russia plan talks

Polish PM makes remarks after speaking with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, amid White House efforts to end the conflictThe Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, has said a “freeze” in the war in Ukraine may be close as the White House and the Kremlin push forward with discussions for a high-level summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in the coming days.Tusk’s remarks came after he spoke with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has communicated with Trump and European leaders in recent days as the White House continues to try to broker an end to the three-and-a-half-year war. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago ‘Freeze’ in Ukraine war may be close, says Tusk, as US and Russia plan talks

Polish PM makes remarks after speaking with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, amid White House efforts to end the conflictThe Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, has said a “freeze” in the war in Ukraine may be close as the White House and the Kremlin push forward with discussions for a high-level summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in the coming days.Tusk’s remarks came after he spoke with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has communicated with Trump and European leaders in recent days as the White House continues to try to broker an end to the three-and-a-half-year war. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Israel’s delusional, inhuman Gaza takeover plan could be recipe for perpetual war

Decision will place huge financial burden on Israel and could lead to massive increase in Palestinian civilian deathsMiddle East crisis – live updatesOne of Israel’s most celebrated images is David Rubinger’s photograph of a trio of paratroopers at the newly captured Western Wall in 1967, an event that would mark the beginning of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.You see it when arriving at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport. It has been used to illustrate the Israel Defense Forces’ “values” page, and appears endlessly in the Hebrew media and on pro-Israel sites. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Israel’s Gaza City plan sparks global condemnation with warnings of more destruction and suffering – latest updates

Widespread calls for takeover plan to be stopped with UK’s Starmer saying escalation will ‘only bring more bloodshed’ and Germany halting arms exportsNetanyahu announces plan to take over Gaza CityThe UK’s ambassador to Israel has said extending the war in Gaza would only lead to more deaths and that occupying Gaza would be a “huge mistake”.Simon Walters was quoted by Israel’s Haaretz newspaper as saying on Thursday:The IDF has achieved all that it can achieve in Gaza, and extending the war any further will simply lead to more deaths. Deaths of soldiers, deaths of Palestinians, deaths of hostages.If you want to defeat Hamas, you cannot achieve that through military force. You need to use politics and diplomacy and you need to give the people of Gaza an alternative to Hamas.We are working with friends, allies in Europe and in the Middle East to generate a real plan for what happens after the fighting stops, after the war.It needs to be a description of what the governments will be fo...

Events

6 d. ago IDF chief opposes Netanyahu plans to seize Gaza amid fears Israeli hostages and troops will die

Exclusive: Israeli sources tell The Independent of the desperate campaign to halt Netanyahu’s Gaza war expansion plan - and say it will only put Israeli troops and hostages at risk

Events

9 d. ago Solar farm plan for near sacred pilgrimage route is savaged by locals who say it will make it look like a prisoner of war camp

The rural village of Monk Sherborne, Hampshire lies along St James's Way, the English part of the Camino Way, a path which leads to Santiago de Compostela in Spain and has been used for 1,000 years.

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