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Hamas and US CIA officials will meet Egyptian mediators on Saturday, according to an Egyptian security sourceIsraeli warplanes have attacked targets in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, after a rocket was launched towards the Ein Hashlosha kibbutz in Israel on Friday, the IDF has said.The Israeli army said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that the rocket fell in an area near the border...

Israeli foreign minister strongly criticises decision by President Erdoğan, accusing him of acting like a ‘dictator’Turkey has halted all trade with Israel, citing the “worsening humanitarian tragedy” in the Palestinian territories, which prompted strong criticism from the Israeli foreign minister.“Export and import transactions related to Israel have been stopped, covering all products,” Turkey’s trade ministry said late on Thursday. Continue reading...

Antony Blinken holds two-hour meeting with Netanyahu while Hamas considers ceasefire proposalIsrael’s leaders were under renewed pressure to allow more aid into Gaza on Wednesday after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told Benjamin Netanyahu to “accelerate and sustain improvements” seen during recent days in the amount of humanitarian assistance reaching the territory.Humanitarian agencies say that though the number of lorries entering Gaza...

Gustavo Petro tells May Day rally ‘if Palestine dies, humanity dies’, as Israeli foreign minister accuses president of antisemitismColombia’s president has announced that his government will sever diplomatic relations with Israel, in the latest escalation of a furious row between the countries over the war in Gaza.Addressing a May Day rally in Bogotá on Wednesday, Gustavo Petro again described Israel’s siege of Gaza as...

Riyadh seeks more modest agreement with Washington in absence of Gaza ceasefire and Netanyahu resistance to Palestinian stateThe US and Saudi Arabia have drafted a set of agreements on security and technology-sharing which were intended to be linked to a broader Middle East settlement involving Israel and the Palestinians.However, in the absence of a ceasefire in Gaza and in the face of adamant resistance...

Egyptian official says group wants clear terms allowing displaced people to return to the north of GazaSee all our Middle East crisis coverageReporting for Al Jazeera from Rafah, Tareq Abu Azzoum has said that Israel appears to have “ramped up airstrikes and land bombardment”. He writes for the news network:Israeli artillery units have been relentlessly pounding the Nuseirat refugee camp – in the northern...

State department says five units mostly from IDF but including at least one police unit responsible for gross violations in West Bank The US has found five units of the Israeli security forces responsible for gross violations of human rights, over incidents in the West Bank before the current Gaza war, the state department has said.The findings come at a time when Israel is...

US secretary of state to discuss avoiding regional conflictAntony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia to try to restart fraught ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, as a delegation from Hamas, expected in Cairo in parallel to the US secretary of state’s visit, said they would provide a response to an Israeli proposal focused on an initial hostage release.Pressure on international mediators has mounted to secure...

Tents, debris and personal items from the Nova festival, where 364 people died on 7 October, form shocking exhibit on Wall StreetWhile New York was preoccupied with student protests over the US’s ­support of Israel’s war in Gaza last week, another aspect of how the city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel is coming to terms with bloodshed in the Middle East was...

As hostilities ramp up, Israelis evacuated from the country’s north say Hezbollah must be pushed back to protect communities from its rocketsFor the Israeli communities evacuated from the country’s far north in the aftermath of 7 October, there is no longer any doubt about whether full-scale war with Hezbollah in Lebanon is going to happen. For most people, the only question is when.Nissan Zeevi,...

Two reservists brigades mobilised for Gaza missions while rows of tents put up in Khan YounisIsrael appears to be readying to send troops into Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, the only corner of the strip that has not seen fierce ground fighting and where more than half of the Palestinian territory’s population of 2.3 million has sought shelter.The Israeli military said on Wednesday that...

Spokesperson says some bodies allegedly had their hands tied while others were bound and strippedThe UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, has said he was “horrified” by reports of mass graves containing hundreds of bodies at two of Gaza’s largest hospitals.Palestinian civil defence teams began exhuming bodies from a mass grave outside the Nasser hospital complex in Khan Younis last week after Israeli troops...

Aipac and other groups targeting candidates critical of Israel’s war in Gaza – but progressives are not going down without a fight Pro-Israel groups are pumping millions into this year’s heated congressional races, singling out progressives who have voiced criticism of the Israeli government and its relentless campaign in Gaza.The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) is betting that $100m will be enough to...

Maj Gen Aharon Haliva is first senior figure to step down over role in deadliest assault in country’s historyMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe head of Israel’s military intelligence directorate has resigned over the failures surrounding Hamas’s unprecedented attack on 7 October, the military said, becoming the first senior figure to step down over his role in the deadliest assault in Israel’s history.Maj Gen...

Expected measures are under Leahy law and against the Netzah Yehuda battalion, accused of human rights violations against PalestiniansBenjamin Netanyahu has said he will fight against any efforts to impose sanctions on Israeli military units, amid reports that an Israel Defense Forces battalion is facing US sanctions over its treatment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.The US outlet Axios reported on Saturday that...

Tory MPs urging government not to restore funding despite UN’s roadmap, published on Monday, to make agency more transparentA plan due to be published today to improve the accountability and transparency of Unrwa, the UN relief works agency for Palestinians, is not expected to lead to a snap British decision to restore funding to the agency.Britain joined 18 other nations in suspending funding for...

More than half of Gaza’s population has sought refuge in areaOvernight Israeli strikes on Rafah killed 18 people, including 14 children, health officials have said in an update (earlier we reported that 13 people, including 9 children, were killed in the overnight strikes).The first strike killed a man, his wife and their 3-year-old child, according to the nearby Kuwaiti hospital, which received the bodies....

Turkish president says recent events between Iran and Israel should not allow Israel to ‘gain ground’ in GazaTurkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged Palestinians to unite amid Israel’s war in Gaza following hours-long talks with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul on Saturday, his office said.Erdoğan has failed to establish a foothold as a mediator in the Gaza conflict that has roiled the region,...

Grim milestone comes as G7 leaders urge Netanyahu not to press ahead with Rafah invasionThe death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza climbed to more than 34,000 on Saturday, with the majority of victims women and children, including at least six killed by an overnight airstrike on a house in Rafah.The latest grim milestone comes as hope of a ceasefire has dimmed, and global...

Controversy followed a viral video of pro-Palestinian students interrupting a dinner held by a Berkeley free-speech defenderDuring a dinner for students that the dean of the University of California, Berkeley law school held in his house’s backyard earlier this month, a woman wearing a hijab and checkered Palestinian scarf suddenly stood up with a microphone and amplifier. What followed lasted only a couple of...

Iranian official indicates no ‘immediate’ plan for retaliation after explosions reported in sky over Isfahan and TabrizMiddle East crisis: live updatesWhat we know so far about Israel’s strike on IranWhat’s in Isfahan? The city home to Iranian nuclear facilitiesUS officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out airstrikes against Iran, as explosions were reported in the sky over the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz,...

Reported Israeli drone strike on Isfahan may signal that this widening conflict has become more dynamicWhile the details remain vague, and Iranian denials strong, it seems very likely, given past history and strong comments from US officials, that a limited Israeli drone strike was launched against the Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday morning.Isfahan is significant for its military-industrial facilities, the presence of an...

Prime minister also seeks to assure allies Israel’s response to Iran will be measured, as officials urge him to focus on ceasefire dealBenjamin Netanyahu has told western diplomats that he will go ahead with a ground offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza, and has also suggested that Israel’s anticipated reprisal for Iran’s missile and drone salvo will be aimed at Iranian interests rather than...

How much should Britain get involved in the conflict in the Middle East? The Guardian’s John Harris is joined by the columnist Gaby Hinsliff and former national security adviser Peter Ricketts to talk about the fallout from Iran’s attack on Israel at the weekend. Plus, John talks to Gaby about smoking bans, NatCon and Liz Truss’s new bookArchive: Sky News, BBC News Continue reading...