11 h. ago What’s next for Gaza as US announces phase two of ceasefire?

The Trump administration is pushing on with its plan for peace in Gaza, even as key question remain, writes James C. Reynolds

Events

18 h. ago Netanyahu casts the announced start of Gaza ceasefire's next phase as largely symbolic

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cast the announcement that the fragile ceasefire in Gaza would advance to its second phase as largely symbolic

Events

31 h. ago US envoy Steve Witkoff declares second phase of Gaza ceasefire

Phase One, agreed upon by Hamas and Israel in October, included a hostage–prisoner exchange, a partial Israeli withdrawal, and a surge in humanitarian aid

Events

37 h. ago Trump envoy says Gaza is entering second phase of ceasefire plan

The United States says it’s moving into the next phase of a Gaza ceasefire plan involving disarming Hamas, rebuilding and daily governance

Politics

1 week ago The Guardian view on Gaza’s winter: the world must take heed as Palestinian suffering deepens again | Editorial

Families are struggling to survive amid the devastation. Israel’s ban on international NGOs will worsen this disasterAs Gaza enters the bleakest period of winter, children are dying of hypothermia, drowning in flooded camps and burning to death as their families try to cook in flimsy tents. Israel destroyed nine out of 10 homes over more than two years of war. Camped amid the ruins, Palestinians struggle against strong winds, heavy rain and freezing temperatures. Aid deliveries resumed following the ceasefire, staving off the famine that had taken hold in parts of the territory, but remain wholly insufficient: 1.6 million people face acute food insecurity. The sanitation infrastructure has collapsed.The UK, Canada, Japan, France and six other nations have jointly warned that the situation is catastrophic. Yet Israel is now deepening one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. On Tuesday, it announced that it is deregistering 37 NGOs active in Gaza. They must cease all operations t...

Politics

2 w. ago US pledges $2bn in new UN model for delivery of humanitarian assistance

Gaza not covered in announcement and will be handled on separate track, says US state department officialThe United States on Monday pledged $2bn in assistance to tens of millions of people facing hunger and disease in more than a dozen countries next year, part of what it said was a new mechanism for the delivery of life-saving assistance following major foreign aid cuts by the Trump administration.The US slashed its aid spending this year, and leading western donors such as Germany also pared back assistance as they pivoted to increased defense spending, triggering a severe funding crunch for the UN. The billions of dollars in assistance pledged by Washington on Monday will be overseen by the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, the state department said, under what it described as new model of assistance agreed with the UN that aims to make aid funding and delivery more efficient and increase accountability for the spending of funds. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Netanyahu meets Trump in US as future of Gaza and security in the Middle East hang in the balance

US president hosted the Israeli leader at Mar-a-Lago to discuss key issues of the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza

Politics

2 w. ago Netanyahu to meet Trump in US as future of Gaza and security in the Middle East hang in the balance

US president will host the Israeli leader at Mar-a-Lago to discuss key issues of the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza

Politics

2 w. ago In Gaza we’re trapped in an endless maze of waiting – for peace, for the deaths to stop and for our lives to begin again | Aya Al

A ceasefire was announced on 10 October. But despite ‘peace’ being on the lips of world leaders ever since, we Palestinians are still under siege and afraidHere in Gaza we hear the word “peace” constantly – even more often than we hear the roar of warplanes or the thuds of shelling. It appears on television screens, in the statements of world leaders, in promises repeated again and again. Every country claims to want peace for Palestinians. Yet have we ever lived it for a single day? The truth is that we have not.We are now living under a ceasefire, or at least that is what the US and the rest of the world have been telling us. But in Gaza, we haven’t felt it at all. It was announced on 10 October, amid great celebrations in Sharm el-Sheikh. Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 360 Palestinians, including about 70 children, in Gaza. Because of the explosions I keep hearing, I am still afraid to leave the house. We are trapped in an endless maze of waiting: for the suffer...

Events

3 w. ago Mother of last Hamas hostage calls on Israel not to move to phase two of ceasefire

Israel and Hamas have been trading accusations of ceasefire breaches since the US-brokered ceasefire began in October

Events