12 h. ago Kashmir crisis live: India must ‘suffer the consequences’ for ‘cowardly’ attack says Pakistan PM

Shehbaz Sharif addresses nation as tensions escalate after 31 people killed and 57 injured in Indian air force attackPakistan authorises ‘corresponding’ retaliation after deadly India missile strikesAnalysis – India and Pakistan can ill-afford war, but who will talk them down?Footage shows the aftermath of India’s missile attack on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Wednesday.Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has spoken with Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, in a phone call on Wednesday.Erdoğan stated that Turkey was ready to do what it can to prevent the tensions from escalating, and that his diplomatic contacts in that regard would continue. Continue reading...

Events

13 h. ago Pakistan PM promises to ‘avenge each drop of blood’ after Indian airstrikes kill 31

Fears raised of escalating conflict after Pakistan accused India of ‘igniting an inferno’ in Kashmir and PunjabKashmir crisis live – latest updatesPakistan has warned that it will “avenge” the death of 31 people killed in overnight missile attacks by the Indian air force, raising fears of an escalating conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries.In a late night address to the nation late on Wednesday, Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said: “We make this pledge, that we will avenge each drop of the blood of these martyrs.” Continue reading...

Events

14 h. ago Pakistan authorises ‘corresponding’ retaliation after India missile strike kills 26

Fears raised of escalating conflict after statement accusing India of ‘igniting an inferno’ in Kashmir and PunjabKashmir crisis live – latest updatesPakistan has authorised its military to take “corresponding” retaliatory action against India after an overnight missile attack by the Indian air force killed 26 across Pakistan, raising fears of an escalating conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries.In a strongly worded statement, Pakistan accused India of “igniting an inferno” in the region after it carried out targeted strikes on nine sites in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the Pakistani province of Punjab in the early hours of Wednesday. Continue reading...

Events

14 h. ago Pakistan authorises ‘corresponding’ retaliation after India missile strikes kill 26

Fears raised of escalating conflict after statement accusing India of ‘igniting an inferno’ in Kashmir and PunjabKashmir crisis live – latest updatesPakistan has authorised its military to take “corresponding” retaliatory action against India after overnight missile attacks by the Indian air force killed 26 people, raising fears of an escalating conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries.In a strongly worded statement, Pakistan accused India of “igniting an inferno” in the region after it carried out targeted strikes on nine sites in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the Pakistani province of Punjab in the early hours of Wednesday. Continue reading...

Events

14 h. ago RTE asks for ‘discussion’ over Israel’s participation in Eurovision

RTE director general Kevin Bakhurst said he was ‘appalled’ by ongoing events in the Middle East.

Politics

15 h. ago Children so malnourished they’re losing their sight: Inside Israel’s aid blockade on Gaza

The blockade has led to famine-like conditions for the two million people living on the Strip, and at least 9,000 children have been admitted for treatment of acute malnutrition since the start of the year

Politics

16 h. ago UN experts demand action to avert ‘annihilation’ of Palestinians in Gaza – Middle East crisis live

More than 20 experts call on countries to act or ‘witness the slaughter of innocents’‘Desperate people’: Gaza faces wave of looting, theft and violenceThe Dutch government, seen as one of Israel’s most loyal allies in the European Union, is calling for an urgent review of the EU Israel association agreement, the basis for the EU-Israeli free trade agreement, the Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp told the Guardian.Veldkamp described the Israeli ban on the supply of aid into Gaza as “catastrophic, truly dismal” and in clear breach of international humanitarian law.You cannot starve the people of the Gaza Strip. It is against international law. It’s morally wrong. It’s dangerous. I don’t think it’s in Israel’s own interest. Continue reading...

Events

21 h. ago Kashmir crisis live: Pakistan PM authorises armed forces to undertake ‘corresponding action’ after India strikes kill 26

Pakistan authorises retaliation after India conducts ‘precision strikes’ in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir Pakistan decries ‘act of war’ after Indian missile attackIndia and Pakistan’s Kashmir dispute – explainedUS president Donald Trump was just asked about the Indian missile strikes into Pakistani-administered territory.“It’s a shame,” Trump told reporters. “We just heard about it.”In Ahmedpur East, we have information about the martyrdom of a child and 12 people injured Two civilians were martyred in Kotli.We know that a mosque was struck [in Ahmedpur]; ordinance landed on a house near it Parents and a child are stuck and being rescued. Continue reading...

Events

22 h. ago Israel corrects Trump after he wrongly claims that more hostages have died in Gaza

Trump’s surprise comments caused panic amongst the families of hostages

Politics

25 h. ago Kashmir crisis live: India missile attack kills 26; Pakistan says five Indian fighter jets shot down

Pakistani PM calls India’s missile attack on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir ‘cowardly’; defence minister says ‘We are in the process of retaliating’Full report: Pakistan decries ‘act of war’ after Indian missile attackAt a glance: what we know so farUS president Donald Trump was just asked about the Indian missile strikes into Pakistani-administered territory.“It’s a shame,” Trump told reporters. “We just heard about it.”In Ahmedpur East, we have information about the martyrdom of a child and 12 people injured Two civilians were martyred in Kotli.We know that a mosque was struck [in Ahmedpur]; ordinance landed on a house near it Parents and a child are stuck and being rescued. Continue reading...

Events

29 h. ago Pakistan decries ‘act of war’ as it retaliates against India missile attack

India claimed strikes, which followed attack on Hindu tourists in Kashmir last month, targeted ‘terrorist infrastructure’India-Pakistan crisis - live updatesAt least eight people, including a child, have been killed and 35 injured after India launched attacks on what it claimed were nine sites of “terrorist infrastructure” inside Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir, in a sharp escalation of hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.Loud explosions were heard early on Wednesday, and power was knocked out in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, witnesses said. Continue reading...

Events

30 h. ago Kashmir crisis live: India missile attack kills eight; Pakistan official says two Indian fighter jets shot down

Pakistani PM calls India’s missile attack on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir ‘cowardly’; defence minister says ‘We are in the process of retaliating’ Pakistan vows to retaliate after wave of Indian missiles hits countryUS president Donald Trump was just asked about the Indian missile strikes into Pakistani-administered territory.“It’s a shame,” Trump told reporters. “We just heard about it.”In Ahmedpur East, we have information about the martyrdom of a child and 12 people injured Two civilians were martyred in Kotli.We know that a mosque was struck [in Ahmedpur]; ordinance landed on a house near it Parents and a child are stuck and being rescued. Continue reading...

Events

37 h. ago Gaza should be ‘completely destroyed’ and its people moved to ‘third countries’, says Israeli minister

Israeli security minister Bezalel Smotrich said the population of Gaza will be sent to a small humanitarian zone in the south, from where they will be forced to look at relocating to third countries

Politics

42 h. ago Palestinians ‘desperate for food but getting bombs’, says UN as it criticises Israel’s Gaza aid plan – Middle East crisis live

Reports say that Israel is planning to use private American security contractors in move that OCHA says falls short of ‘humanitarian principles’China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, said Beijing is “highly concerned about the current Palestine-Israel situation”.“We oppose Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza, and hopes all parties continuously and effectively implement the ceasefire agreement,” Jian said.The government of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, hopes that the Israel Defense Forces’ call-up of tens of thousands of reservists, the threat of the new offensive and the prospect of Israel seizing swaths of territory will force Hamas’s leaders to make concessions.If it fails to do so, then physical possession of terrain will offer useful leverage in future negotiations and allow Hamas to be squeezed further in the meantime Continue reading...

Events

45 h. ago Hamas says it will not engage with Israel again until ‘hunger war’ in Gaza ends

‘No sense’ in considering new truce proposals, says group, hours after Israel agrees plan for ‘conquest’ of territoryMiddle East crisis – live updatesHamas has said it is no longer interested in truce talks with Israel and urged the international community to halt Israel’s “hunger war” against Gaza, hours after Israeli officials agreed an intensified offensive in the devastated territory that would involve displacing “most” of its residents and a sustained Israeli military presence in the devastated territory.“There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in the Gaza Strip,” Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told AFP. Continue reading...

Politics

45 h. ago Trump’s disturbing vision for Gaza has inspired Netanyahu’s plan to seize the Strip

Israel’s plans echo Donald Trump’s own wild plans in the past that the Palestinians be forced out of Gaza to allow the US to turn the enclave into a “Riviera of the Middle East”, writes chief international correspondent Bel Trew

Politics

59 h. ago Netanyahu says new offensive in Gaza focused on consolidating seizure of territory

Israeli PM says operation will lead to significant displacement of the population ‘for its own protection’Middle East crisis – live updatesBenjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has said a new “intensified” offensive in Gaza will involve Israeli troops holding on to seized territory and significant displacement of the population.Speaking after officials said Israel’s security cabinet had approved a plan for “conquering” the Gaza Strip and establishing a “sustained presence” there, Netanyahu posted a video on X in which he said Israeli soldiers would not go into Gaza, launch raids and then retreat. Continue reading...

Politics

63 h. ago Middle East crisis live: Gaza population to be moved as part of ‘intensive’ offensive, Netanyahu says

Israeli PM says people will be moved for their ‘own protection’ but does not give details about how much territory will be seizedIsrael to expand Gaza operations to establish ‘sustained presence’One of Pope Francis’s popemobiles is being transformed into a mobile health clinic for children in the Gaza Strip, fulfilling one of his final wishes, the Vatican said yesterday.The vehicle, used by the late pontiff during his 2014 visit to the Holy Land, is being outfitted with diagnostic and emergency medical equipment to help young patients in the Palestinian territory, where health services have been devastated by the Israeli invasion. Continue reading...

Events

67 h. ago Israel to expand military operations in Gaza to establish ‘sustained presence’

Plan goes beyond any aims so far outlined and is likely to prompt international concern and fierce oppositionMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael is to expand its military operations in Gaza in the coming weeks, with the aim of “conquering” the territory and establishing a “sustained presence” there, Israeli officials have said.The plan, which was unanimously approved at a security cabinet meeting late on Sunday, goes beyond any aims so far outlined by Israel for its offensive in the devastated Palestinian territory and is likely to prompt deep international concern and fierce opposition. Continue reading...

Events

69 h. ago Israeli cabinet approves plan to capture all of Gaza and keep its soldiers there indefinitely

Netanyahu has called up tens of thousands of reservists to free up soldiers for ‘the next stage’ of war in Gaza

Politics