3 h. ago Where is the Gaza ‘peace process’ really going? | Ahmad Ibsais

Israel turns the violence up and down at will, maintaining full dominion over Gaza and the West Bank, then calls each pause a generous ‘ceasefire’If you started attending one funeral a day beginning 1 January 2025, you would finish in the year 3887. That is how long it would take to mourn every life lost in Gaza. By then, your grandchildren’s great10 grandchildren would be dust, and still you would be burying Palestinian bodies from a “war” Israel insists was about self-defense. Even then, this number does not tell you about the thousands of ways these bodies were burned, torn, crushed and made anything but whole.And yet here we are, watching world leaders gather in Egypt for a “peace summit” last month where the only people absent were Palestinians. The banner read “Peace 2025”, while Palestine’s representatives were barred from the room.Ahmad Ibsais is a first generation Palestinian American, law student and poet who writes the newsletter State of Siege Continue reading...

Politics

64 h. ago Israel receives another hostage’s body as Palestinian deaths reported in Gaza

Israel has continued to intermittently strike the Gaza Strip

Events

2 d. ago More Palestinian bodies returned by Israel as shaky Gaza ceasefire holds

More than a dozen more Palestinian bodies handed back to Gaza after dead Israeli soldier's remains were released as the grim corpse swap continues to hold the shaky ceasefire

Events

5 d. ago Israel and Hamas hand over bodies as part of Gaza ceasefire deal

Hamas hands remains of three soldiers to Israel and bodies of 45 Palestinians are returned to Gaza amid fragile ceasefireIsrael has announced that the remains of three soldiers killed by Hamas during its raid into Israel on 7 October 2023 have been handed over by the militant group.The transfer is the latest since the precarious ceasefire in Gaza came into effect just over three weeks ago. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Israel mourns 3 troops whose bodies were returned by Hamas as ex

Israel says the latest remains of three hostages returned from Gaza are soldiers who were killed in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel that started the war

Events

1 week ago Israel strikes Gaza after Netanyahu accuses Hamas of breaching ceasefire

Prime minister accuses Hamas of ‘clear violation’ of truce as far-right ministers clamour to resume warIsraeli warplanes struck Gaza on Tuesday night, shortly after Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered the military to carry out “powerful strikes” in Gaza, in the most serious test of the increasingly shaky US-brokered ceasefire.Witnesses reported seeing Israeli planes launch strikes on Gaza City, as well as explosions across the strip shortly after Netanyahu’s announcement. At least seven people were killed in separate strikes in Gaza City and Khan Younis, including two children, medical sources said. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Netanyahu orders Israeli military to escalate attacks on Hamas in Gaza

Move comes after Israel accuses Palestinian militants of ceasefire violations over delayed return of bodies of hostages

Events

1 week ago Returned body parts were of Gaza hostage recovered two years ago, Israel says

Netanyahu accuses Hamas of ‘clear violation’ of ceasefire as far-right ministers call for resumption of warBenjamin Netanyahu has accused Hamas of a “clear violation” of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire, saying the militant group had returned body parts of a hostage whose remains Israeli troops had recovered two years before.Under the terms of the ceasefire, which took effect on 10 October, Hamas is required to return the remains of all Israeli hostages as soon as possible. In exchange, Israel has agreed to hand over 15 Palestinian bodies for each Israeli. Hamas has yet to return 13 bodies. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Hamas returns remains of Israeli hostage after Red Cross’s help in search

Exclusive: Red Cross acts as ‘neutral intermediary’ to recover hostages’ remains in areas under Israeli controlThe International Committee of the Red Cross has accompanied members of Hamas inside areas of Gaza still under the control of the Israeli military to facilitate the search for the bodies of Israeli hostages, as the Palestinian militant group delivered the remains of another captive.Under the US-brokered ceasefire, which took effect on 10 October, Hamas is required to return the remains of all Israeli hostages as soon as possible. In exchange, Israel has agreed to hand over 15 Palestinian bodies for each Israeli. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Red Cross accompanies Hamas in search for bodies of Israeli hostages in Gaza

Exclusive: Red Cross acts as ‘neutral intermediary’ to recover hostages’ remains in areas under Israeli controlThe International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) accompanied members of Hamas inside areas of Gaza still under the control of the Israeli military to facilitate the search for the bodies of Israeli hostages, an official from the ICRC told the Guardian.Under the US-brokered ceasefire, which took effect on 10 October, Hamas is required to return the remains of all Israeli hostages as soon as possible. In exchange, Israel has agreed to hand over 15 Palestinian bodies for each Israeli. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago What to know about the 13 hostages whose remains are still inside Gaza

Palestinian militants have so far released 15 bodies of hostages that were held in Gaza for the past two years as part of the ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war

Events

2 w. ago Gaza ceasefire live: JD Vance has ‘great optimism’ truce will hold as he meets Netanyahu

On a visit to Israel, the US vice-president said Washington would not set a deadline for the group to disarm under the US-brokered dealIsrael has completed the identification of the bodies of two more hostages, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday, the Associated Press (AP) reports. Authorities identified the deceased hostages as Arie Zalmanovich and Tamir Adar. Their bodies were transported in coffins by the Red Cross and handed over to the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. A military ceremony attended by the chief rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces was planned for later in the day, Netanyahu’s office said. The two were killed in kibbutz Nir Oz during the 7 October 2023, attack by Hamas militants, which triggered the two-year war. Since the ceasefire began on 10 October, the remains of 15 hostages have been returned to Israel. Another 13 still need to be recovered in Gaza and handed over, a key element to the ceasefire agreement. Meanwhile, the burial of m...

Events

2 w. ago At least 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians had been held at notorious Israeli jail, say Gaza officials

Documents indicate they came from Sde Teiman, which already faces allegations of torture and unlawful deathsMiddle East crisis – live updatesAt least 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel to Gaza had been held in a notorious detention centre already facing allegations of torture and unlawful deaths in custody, officials from Gaza’s health ministry told the Guardian.The director general of the health ministry, Dr Munir al-Bursh, and the spokesperson for Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, where the bodies are being examined, said a document found inside each body bag indicated the bodies all came from Sde Teiman, a military base in the Negev desert, where, according to photos and testimonies published by the Guardian last year, Palestinian detainees were held in cages, blindfolded and handcuffed, shackled to hospital beds, and forced to wear nappies. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Gaza ceasefire live: Trump’s envoys arrive in Israel amid scramble to shore up fragile truce – Middle East crisis live

US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner expected to meet members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s governmentUS President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner have returned to Israel, a US embassy spokesperson has said.They are overseeing the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which they helped broker, and are expected to meet members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. 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...

Politics

3 w. ago Israel identifies remains of 10th Gaza hostage as body search continues

Eliyahu Margalit, 76, has been identified as the 10th dead hostage returned to Israel by Hamas, as part of a fragile ceasefire deal

Politics

3 w. ago Mamdani and Cuomo spar in New York mayoral debate – US politics live

Candidates debate Trump, Gaza and New York-specific issues, while John Bolton indicted by federal grand juryFormer Trump adviser John Bolton indicted on 18 countsA reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest developments out of the Middle East, as Israel and Hamas continue to carry out various aspects of the US brokered ceasefire deal.This includes the news today that Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza, bringing the total number handed over to 120, according the Gaza health ministry and Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Gaza latest: Trump says ‘we will have no choice but to go in and kill Hamas’ if violence continues

Hamas has accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire by killing Palestinians while Israel says it wants the bodies of all hostages returned

Events

3 w. ago Israel and Hamas trade accusations as tensions rise over hostages’ remains

Militant group says it needs specialist equipment to recover bodies as Netanyahu says fight ‘is not over yet’Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti assaulted by Israeli prison guards, son saysIsrael and Hamas have traded accusations of ceasefire violations amid tensions over the flow of aid into Gaza and warnings that the humanitarian crisis in the devastated territory risks deteriorating further.The ceasefire deal signed last week between Israel and Hamas raised hopes of a surge of humanitarian aid finally reaching the territory after two years of war, but most restrictions have remained in place, throttling the supply of desperately needed assistance. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Trump says he will meet Putin in Hungary after ‘productive’ call – live

US president says he and Russian leader agreed to convene next week in an undetermined location in BudapestA reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest developments out of the Middle East, as Israel and Hamas continue to carry out various aspects of the US brokered ceasefire deal.This includes the news today that Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza, bringing the total number handed over to 120, according the Gaza health ministry and Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. Continue reading...

Politics