6 d. 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

6 d. 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 WHO says aid situation in Gaza ‘remains catastrophic’ despite ceasefire – Middle East live

WHO’s director general says there has been little improvement in the amount of aid going into Gaza since the ceasefire took holdTurkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the United States and others must do more to push Israel to stop violating the Gaza ceasefire agreement, including the possible use of sanctions or halting arms sales.According to an official readout of his remarks to reporters on board a return flight from Oman, Erdoğan said the Palestinian militant group Hamas was abiding by the agreement. He added that Turkey remains ready to support the planned Gaza taskforce in any way needed. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Trump threatens to cut all support for Israel in extraordinary escalation after JD Vance 'personal insult'

President Donald Trump revealed a red line that will force his administration to yank its support for Israel as it attempts to hold a fragile ceasefire with Hamas: annexation of the West Bank.

Politics

1 week ago Vance says Knesset votes on annexing West Bank are an ‘insult’ as Netanyahu halts progress

US vice-president suggests votes were ‘stupid political stunt’ as Israeli PM halts further work on billsMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered a halt to the advancement of parliamentary bills linked to the annexation of the West Bank after the US vice-president, JD Vance, described a vote on two bills in the Knesset as an “insult”.The bills applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, which would be tantamount to the annexation of land Palestinians want for a state, won preliminary approval from Israel’s parliament on Wednesday, barely a week after Donald Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending a two-year Israeli offensive in Gaza. Continue reading...

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1 week ago On Mount of Olives where Jesus prayed, monks and nuns keep harvesting olives

Come October, monks and nuns are busy harvesting olives at the Mount of Olives and the Gethsemane garden — where the Gospel narrates Jesus spent the last night before being taken up the other side of the valley into Jerusalem to be crucified

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2 w. ago ‘It’s like a nuclear bomb has hit’: shocked Palestinians return home to desolation

Families are going back to Gaza City and surrounds to find their neighbourhoods obliterated, with many forced to camp in the ruinsWhen the Gaza ceasefire took effect a week ago, tens of thousands of Palestinians began to move from the sprawling camps in the south back to their homes in Gaza City and the surrounding area.For most, it was a shocking and bitter homecoming. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago ‘Locked up for 24 years’: joy and sorrow as Palestinian prisoners and detainees return home

Nearly 2,000 people, including about 1,700 seized from Gaza and held without charge, set free from Israeli jailsGaza ceasefire – live updatesThe police could not hold the crowds back. As soon as they saw the Palestinian prisoners through the windows of the bus, hundreds of people gathering in front of a theatre in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank rushed forward, chanting the names of loved ones they had not seen for years and in some cases, decades.The prisoners were gaunt, the sharp angles of their faces decorated by freshly scabbed-over wounds. Loved ones hoisted them up on their shoulders with ease. One prisoner, swaddled in a Palestinian keffiyeh and splaying his fingers into a V for victory, was dropped before his mother, whose feet he began to kiss. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Locked up for 24 years’: release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees sparks joy and sorrow

Nearly 2,000 people, including about 1,700 seized from Gaza and held without charge, set free from Israeli jailsGaza ceasefire – live updatesThe police could not hold the crowds back. As soon as they saw the Palestinian prisoners and detainees through the windows of the bus, hundreds of people gathering in front of a theatre in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank rushed forward, chanting the names of loved ones they had not seen for years or, in some cases, decades.Their faces were gaunt, the sharp angles decorated by freshly scabbed-over wounds. Loved ones hoisted them up on their shoulders with ease. One, swaddled in a Palestinian keffiyeh and splaying his fingers into a V for victory, was dropped before his mother, whose feet he began to kiss. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago A regatta, protesters and Palestinians return home: photos of the weekend

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from the weekend around the world Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Trump to join Starmer at Gaza ceasefire summit in Egypt as Israel waits for hostage release: Latest

Fragile truce allows Palestinians to return to their flattened homes after repeated displacements during nearly two years of Israeli war on the Strip

Politics

3 w. ago Gaza latest: Israelis praise Trump for peace deal at massive Tel Aviv rally as ceasefire holds

Fragile truce allows Palestinians to return to their flattened homes after repeated displacements during nearly two years of Israeli war on the Strip

Politics

3 w. ago More than 500,000 people return to Gaza City amid ceasefire, as Steve Witkoff addresses Tel Aviv crowd – live

Palestinians return to destruction as US special envoy visits Hostages Square in Israel with Jared Kushner and Ivanka TrumpMalak A Tantesh, a young reporter who has contributed to the Guardian’s coverage, has written about a harrowing two years in besieged Gaza. You can read her account here:The Trump plan calls for Israel to maintain an open-ended military presence inside Gaza, along its border with Israel. An international force, comprised largely of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, would be responsible for security inside Gaza. The US would lead a large internationally funded reconstruction effort, reports the Associated Press (AP). The plan envisions an eventual role for the Palestinian Authority – something Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long opposed. But it requires the authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, to undergo a sweeping reform programme that could take years. According to the AP, the Trump plan is even more vague about a future Pale...

Events

3 w. ago Palestinians return to ruins as aid groups push to scale up deliveries and US troops land in Israel

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians are returning to their neighborhoods as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas enters its second day

Politics

3 w. ago Trump says ‘for the most part, there is consensus’ on next stages of Gaza ceasefire plan – live

US president adds Hamas were gathering the hostages now, as displaced Palestinians return to northern GazaAs Abdel Fattah al-Kurdi made the long journey back to Gaza City, he found himself getting lost. Though he left the city just a few weeks ago, he could no longer recognise its streets. The buildings he had grown up in between had collapsed, their contents carpeting the roads in a mixture of torn furniture and broken concrete.Al-Kurdi could only recognise the Netzarim checkpoint marking his entry into north Gaza by the bodies lying at its feet – those who had tried to return home too early, their faces obscured by dust after being cut down by Israeli fire. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Gaza latest: Palestinians return to rubble of Gaza homes after ceasefire brings fragile calm

Israeli troops withdrew to agreed lines earlier in the day as part of ‘phase one’ of Trump’s peace deal

Events

3 w. ago Israel says Gaza ceasefire has begun as troops pull back and thousands of Palestinians return home

IDF says ceasefire agreement came in at midday local time, with Israeli hostages expected to be released early next week

Politics

3 w. ago Gaza latest: Tens of thousands of Palestinians return home as Israel says ceasefire is in effect

Israeli troops withdrew to agreed lines earlier in the day as part of ‘phase one’ of Trump’s peace deal

Politics

3 w. ago Palestinians displaced to southern Gaza begin journey home as ceasefire comes into effect

Thousands walk north along coastal road after Israel-Hamas agreement puts stop to fighting for first time in six monthsGaza ceasefire deal – live updatesThousands of displaced Palestinians have begun to return home from southern Gaza after a ceasefire came into effect and Israeli troops withdrew to an agreed-upon redeployment line – the first time that fighting has stopped in the devastated territory since March.The Israeli military said the ceasefire agreement, which was approved by the Israeli cabinet on Thursday night and begins the first phase of a US-drafted plan to end the war in Gaza, had been activated at noon local time (0900 GMT) on Friday. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago Trump urges negotiators to ‘move fast’ as Gaza ceasefire talks set to begin in Cairo

Talks on Monday expected to focus on release of hostages and end to war, after Israel kills 63 people in Gaza in past dayDonald Trump has urged negotiators to “move fast” in talks focused on the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a broader end to the war, as representatives arrived in Cairo for discussions set to begin on Monday.The talks will focus on the first phase of Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, the Egyptian foreign ministry said, which is the release of the remaining 48 hostages held by Hamas in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Continue reading...

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