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Qatar says Hamas ‘received proposal positively’, while Unicef says 17,000 Gaza children left unaccompaniedUS airstrikes in Iraq and Syria – live updatesIsrael and Hamas appear to be inching closer towards a deal for a ceasefire and a release of some of the hostages still being held by the militant group in Gaza, while the UN children’s agency has warned that 17,000 children have been...

Defence minister Yoav Gallant’s announcement comes despite presence of more than 1 million civilians in citySaudi Arabia would be willing to accept a political commitment from Israel to create a Palestinian state, rather than anything more binding, in a bid to get a defence pact with Washington approved before the US presidential election, three sources have told Reuters. The news agency reports:Months of US-led...

Foreign secretary suggests after a ceasefire, UK would not need to wait for end of what could be years of talks on a two-state solutionThe UK could officially recognise a Palestinian state after a ceasefire in Gaza without waiting for the outcome of what could be years of talks between Israel and the Palestinians on a two-state solution, David Cameron has said.Speaking during a...

Two ministers said to have suggested move as part of efforts to free hostages and weaken Hamas, which they claim hijacks suppliesMiddle East crisis – live updatesMinisters in Israel’s war cabinet are reportedly considering limiting the amount of aid reaching Gaza, as rightwing protesters disrupt the entry of trucks carrying desperately needed humanitarian supplies to the besieged Palestinian territory.Benny Gantz, a retired general who...

Financial sanctions and visa bans imposed on four individuals as US frustration with Israel growsMiddle East crisis – live updatesJoe Biden has issued an executive order targeting Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have been attacking Palestinians, amid fast-growing frustration in Washington at Israel’s trajectory in the midst of its war in Gaza.The order initially imposes financial sanctions and visa bans against four...

The US military says it also hit up to 10 unmanned drones that were preparing to launchIsraeli media reports that Hamas representatives are again conducting talks in Cairo on the outlines of a possible hostage deal, with Egypt and Qatar mediating.Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that two Palestinian men have been shot and wounded overnight by Israeli security forces during a raid on the...

Findings suggest Jordan is relying on cyberweapon to quash dissent and its use is ‘staggeringly widespread’About three dozen journalists, lawyers and human rights workers in Jordan have been targeted by authorities using powerful spyware made by Israel’s NSO Group amid a broad crackdown on press freedoms and political participation, according to a report by the lobbying group Access Now.The information suggests the Jordanian government...

Police described the object as a ‘dangerous object’ as Sweden’s prime minister condemned the ‘attempted attack’Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson condemned “an attempted attack” against the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, after an object found outside it was destroyed by the bomb squad on Wednesday.Police said a “live” device had been found by staff on the embassy premises on Wednesday, calling it “a dangerous object”,...

Leader of Hamas heads to Cairo talks, with many families of Israeli hostages pressing for a negotiated releaseMiddle East crisis – live updatesHeavy bombardment of Gaza continued on Wednesday as the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was expected to arrive in Cairo to discuss a ceasefire proposal in the Israel-Gaza war that would reportedly involve the staged release of Israeli hostages.A Hamas official said Haniyeh...

Proposed truce is the most serious peace initiative to be tabled for months; Iran reacts after Biden says he has decided on response to Jordan drone strikeOvernight the US central command reported that Yemen’s Houthis fired one anti-ship cruise missile towards the Red Sea, which was shot down by USS Gravely.The attack was at 11.30pm local time. Continue reading...

Tehran warns Washington but regime unsure of degree of support for interventionist foreign policyIran has told the US via intermediaries that if it strikes Iranian soil directly, Tehran will itself hit back at American assets in the Middle East, drawing the two sides into a direct conflict.The warning comes as Iran waits on high alert to see how Joe Biden responds to the death...

Israeli PM also says he will not accept any truce that would require release of thousands of Palestinian prisonersMiddle East crisis – live updatesBenjamin Netanyahu has said he will not accept any ceasefire deal that requires the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners or the departure of Israeli troops from Gaza, as the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said he was willing to travel to...

Counter-terrorism officers enter Jenin’s Ibn Sina hospital wearing doctors’ scrubs and women’s clothesMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsraeli forces dressed in doctors’ scrubs and women’s clothes have killed three Palestinian militants in an undercover operation in a hospital in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.A border police counter-terrorism unit and a unit from the internal security forces, known as the Shin Bet, entered...

Israeli forces storm Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin, reports say; UN secretary general to host meeting after countries suspend fundingThe Wafa Palestinian news agency reports that “dozens of Palestinian civilians” have been killed today by Israeli airstrikes, including “intense and fierce airstrikes at the city of Rafah”, which is in the south of the Gaza Strip and is one of the areas Israel’s military...

Foreign secretary says move would help to make two-state solution an ‘irreversible’ processMiddle East crisis – live updatesBritain will consider recognising a Palestinian state as part of concerted efforts to bring about an “irreversible” peace settlement, the foreign secretary, David Cameron, has said.In what would mark a landmark diplomatic moment, he said the move would help to bring about a two-state solution – currently...

Satellite imagery and open-source evidence lay bare the destruction to civilian infrastructure by Israel in its war on HamasA Guardian investigation has detailed the mass destruction of buildings and land in three neighbourhoods in Gaza.Using satellite imagery and open-source evidence, the investigation found damage to more than 250 residential buildings, 17 schools and universities, 16 mosques, three hospitals, three cemeteries and 150 agricultural greenhouses....

Agencies including Oxfam and Save the Children note Gaza population already facing famine due to Israeli siege and bombardmentInternational aid agencies have said they are “deeply concerned and outraged” at the “reckless” decision by major donors to cut funding to a UN Palestinian aid agency after Israel accused some of its workers of taking part in Hamas’ 7 October attack.“We are shocked by the...

Open letter signed by more than 1,000 musicians from 2024 host country follows petition from artists in Finland and IcelandMore than 1,000 musical artists from Eurovision host country Sweden have signed an open letter calling for Israel to be excluded from this year’s edition of the song contest over its “brutal warfare in Gaza”.Published in Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, the open letter says that by...

US, Qatari, Israeli and Egyptian officials met in Paris and will continue to discuss optionsMiddle East crisis – live updatesTalks on Sunday initiated by Qatar, the US and Egypt aimed at brokering a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas were “constructive” but meaningful gaps remain, a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office has said.The statement said the parties would continue to hold discussions...

Biden administration officials reported as saying terms emerging for prospective deal involving release of hostagesSee all our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and the Middle East crisisThe Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says that medical teams at the al-Amal hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis cannot perform surgical operations due to “oxygen depletion”.The PRCS on Saturday condemned the siege and targeting of...

War has led to a crisis in relations in Lod – the town that both Arab and Jewish residents call homeFrom a distance the market looks like a scene of communal harmony. Jewish and Arab Israelis inspect the piles of pomegranates, oranges, pears and carrots. Israeli flags flap in the winter breeze from the balconies of shabby apartment blocks. A hundred metres away, a...

Eight hours after the oil tanker was hit, the US military said it destroyed a Houthi anti-ship missile site that was aimed into the Red Sea and ready to launchSee all of our coverage on the Israel-Gaza war and the wider Middle East crisis.Hamas said in a statement that Israel is on a “campaign of incitement” against UN agencies that deliver aid to Palestinians...

Penny Wong says allegations are deeply concerning as UNRWA investigates several employees accused of taking part in Hamas attacksAustralia will temporarily pause its funding of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) while an investigation is under way into several employees accused of taking part in Hamas’s 7 October attacks in Israel, the foreign minister has announced.Penny Wong on Saturday said Australia will join...

A DNA test has helped Shalom Koray find relatives in the US after escaping the Holocaust in a rucksack at the age of twoIn 1943, a two-year-old boy found wandering the streets of the Warsaw ghetto at the height of the Jewish uprising was smuggled out in a rucksack, probably by a police officer.The identity of the child could not be known. There was...