~theguardian-world | Bookmarks (343)

Joe Biden says he ‘will not hesitate to direct further measures’ to protect international waterways after attacks on Red Sea shippingMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe US and the UK launched air and missile strikes in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, aimed at halting attacks on ships in the Red Sea, Washington and London announced overnight.Joe Biden, the US president, said American and British forces,...

Israel has described the case as ‘preposterous’ and is set to defend itself; the international court of justice (ICJ) hears arguments alleging that Israel is committing genocide of Palestinians.See all of our updates on the conflict in the Middle East and the Israel-Gaza warThe United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) authority has posted to social media that it has received a report of a...

Attack with 21 drones and missiles by Iran-backed rebels comes despite planned UN security council vote on Wednesday to potentially demand halt to the assaultsSee all our Middle East crisis coverageThe Times of Israel reports that Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet will meet at 7pm tonight (5pm GMT) to discuss Israeli plans for the Gaza Strip when the war has finished.The Palestinian news agency Wafa...

US secretary of state rejects calls for immediate ceasefire but urges ally to make ‘hard decisions’ as fighting continuesSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageAnthony Blinken has reaffirmed the United States’ “unique bond” with Israel, and rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza but told his hosts in Tel Aviv that other regional powers have made clear that a pathway to the realisation of...

David Cameron urges Israeli authorities to clear barriers to aid deliveries amid risk of ‘widespread hunger’The British government has accepted that Israel as an occupying power had a duty under international humanitarian law to provide basic supplies to the people of Gaza.The admission came when David Cameron, the foreign secretary, urged Israel to remove barriers on the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory...

Israel’s president criticises claim of genocide brought to international court of justiceHere is a photograph issued of the meeting between Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, in Tel Aviv.During the public portion of the meeting Herzog said a lawsuit filed in the international court of justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in its Gaza offensive was...

Exclusive: First months of conflict produced more planet-warming gases than 20 climate-vulnerable nations do in a year, study showsThe climate costs of war and militaries can no longer be ignoredThe planet-warming emissions generated during the first two months of the war in Gaza were greater than the annual carbon footprint of more than 20 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, new research reveals.The vast...

Action on Armed Violence says 33,846 were killed or wounded by airstrikes, bombs or artillery, the most it has recordedMiddle East crisis – live updatesMore civilians were recorded as being killed or injured by airstrikes, bombs or artillery during 2023 than in any other year for more than a decade due to the high number of casualties from the three-month war in Gaza, an...

This blog has now closed. You can read our full report on the Middle East crisis here and all our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war here.The World Health Organization (WHO) said it had been compelled to cancel a mission to bring medical supplies to northern Gaza on Sunday after failing to receive security guarantees, Reuters reports.It was the fourth time WHO had had to...

US secretary of state poised for meetings with leaders who have so far proved resistant to pressure from WashingtonThe US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has landed in Israel for potentially difficult meetings with Israeli leaders and officials who have repeatedly proved resistant to pressure from Washington over their conduct of the war against Hamas.Blinken flew late on Monday night from the Saudi oasis...

Fixers with alleged links to Egyptian intelligence are making a fortune in ‘fees’ from people hoping to exit through the Rafah crossingIsrael-Gaza war – live updatesPalestinians desperate to leave Gaza are paying bribes to brokers of up to $10,000 (£7,850) to help them exit the territory through Egypt, according to a Guardian investigation.Very few Palestinians have been able to leave Gaza through the Rafah...

Hamza Wael Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuria died after two rockets were fired at car they were travelling in, witnesses sayMiddle Eastern crisis – live updatesAl Jazeera has accused Israel of the targeted killing of two of its journalists in Gaza as the head of the advocacy group Reporters without Borders decried a “never-ending slaughter” in the territory that had killed 79 journalists in the...

Six dead in airstrike on Jenin, Palestinian health ministry reports, as Israel said its aircraft fired on militants who had attacked troopsRead all our Israel-Gaza war coverageUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken met King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Aman on Sunday morning as part of a diplomatic push to prevent Israel’s war against Hamas from spreading elsewhere in the region.Blinken’s...

The US secretary of state was speaking in Turkey, on trip that will take him to Jordan, Egypt and IsraelUS secretary of state Antony Blinken has urged Middle East countries to use their influence over regional actors to ensure the Gaza conflict is contained and prevent “an endless cycle of violence,” as he continued his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions.Blinken was speaking on...

Escalation of violence comes as US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and Europe’s Josep Borrell begin tours of the region• Middle East crisis – live updatesThe most senior diplomats from the US and the EU launched a dual diplomatic offensive in the Middle East on Saturday aimed at calming tensions that threaten chaos and wider conflict across the region.Antony Blinken, the US secretary of...

Protesters also call for UK to stop arms sales to Israel and end to Israeli occupation of PalestineMiddle East crisis – live updatesHundreds of protesters in London have staged a sit-in on Westminster Bridge, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in the first big demonstration of the year.Elsewhere on Saturday, there were protests in Belfast and Dublin. Continue reading...

Israeli military says about 40 rockets fired into the Meron areaSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverage hereAttacks by Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea may impact the British economy, the chancellor has said.Speaking to the BBC’s Today programme, Jeremy Hunt was asked whether the attacks could push inflation back towards the high levels seen in recent years. Continue reading...

Humanitarian chief fears ‘famine is around the corner’ with 85% of population displaced and more than 20,000 deadThe UN humanitarian chief has described Gaza as “uninhabitable” three months into Israel’s war with Hamas, warning that famine was looming and a public health disaster unfolding.In a grim assessment of the devastating impact of Israel’s military response to the horrific Hamas attacks on 7 October, Martin...

Washington wants concessions from the Netanyahu administration, as critics say plans lack detail or commitmentSee all our coverage of the Middle East crisisIsraeli officials are scrambling to head off mounting frustration in Washington in the run-up to a potentially difficult meeting between the top US diplomat and Benjamin Netanyahu by offering a series of policy proposals on Gaza that critics say lack detail or...

Hassan Nasrallah says assassination in Beirut has changed nature of his group’s conflict with Israel, raising fears of escalationMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe assassination of one of Hamas’s most senior officials in Beirut has changed the nature of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, Hezbollah’s head, Hassan Nasrallah, has said, adding that a response is “inevitable”.In a second nationally televised address within three...

Yoav Gallant’s proposal suggests Palestinians would run day to day administration of territoryMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe Israeli defence minister has suggested that Israel would keep security control of Gaza after Hamas has been defeated with an undefined, Israeli-guided Palestinian body running day to day administration and the US, European Union and regional partners taking responsibility for the reconstruction of the territory.Yoav Gallant...

US secretary of state will attempt to calm regional tensions as well as pushing Israel to shift approach to war in Gaza and allow more aid inThe Iraqi government is forming a bilateral committee to prepare for ending the mission of the US-led international coalition in Iraq, a statement from the prime minister, Mohammed Shia, Al-Sudani’s office citing him on Friday.He said one day...

An unnamed US official has confirmed the trip but provided no other details. The US secretary of state heads to the region after the suspected Israeli attack on Saleh al-ArouriSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageThe Times of Israel is carrying some quotes from a relative of one of the hostages seized from Israel by Hamas who later died during a failed resuce attempt by...

Israel’s decision to defend itself at the international court of justice will make it harder for it to brush aside any adverse findingSouth Africa’s request for an interim measure by the international court of justice to prevent Israel from committing acts of potential genocide – primarily by calling for a halt to combat operations – has suddenly taken on an urgency and relevance that...