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Israel says the graves were dug by people in Gaza a few months ago but the corpses had been examined by IDF soldiersHere are some of the scenes in Jerusalem, where people, including Israeli interior security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have been worshipping during the Passover holiday.Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Rafah for Al Jazeera, states that two people have been killed there by drone strikes....

Israeli prime minister terms pro-ceasefire rallies ‘horrific’ as students demand universities divest from weapons makersThe Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday condemned pro-Palestinian protests at universities in the United States as “horrific”, saying the demonstrations “have to be stopped”, as he categorized students as antisemitic.There’s been rising tensions at campuses across the US as demonstrations began last week after students at Columbia set...

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...

State department says Hamas has changed their demands, but that the US will keep pushing for an agreementSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageUN rights chief Volker Turk has said he was “horrified” by the destruction of the Nasser and al-Shifa medical facilities in Gaza and reports of mass graves discovered there.The emergency services said yesterday that 73 more bodies had been found at the...

The US secretary of state has rejected the idea that Washington might have a “double standard” when applying US law to allegations of abuses by the Israeli military in Gaza, while suggesting that examinations of such charges are ongoing.“In general, as we’re looking at human rights and the condition of human rights ...

Inquiry has not backed up allegations of ties to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which led to loss of $450m as people died in drovesIsrael has yet to provide evidence of Unrwa staff terrorist links, Colonna report saysUnsupported Israeli allegations about Unrwa links to terrorism led major donors to cut $450m in funding to the main humanitarian agency working in Gaza at a time when...

Exclusive: review finds government yet to substantiate claims UN relief agency staff have ties to Hamas or Islamic JihadIsrael still has no proof of Unrwa terrorist claims – but damage to aid agency is doneIsrael has yet to provide supporting evidence of its claims that employees of the UN relief agency Unrwa are members of terrorist organisations, an independent review led by the former...

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...

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....

‘The United States has not conducted air strikes in Iraq today,’ the US military’s Central Command said Paul Scruton, Lucy Swan, Iona Serrapica and Alex Olorenshaw have created a visual guide to Friday’s events in Iran via graphics, video and satellite images.You can take a look at it here: Continue reading...

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...

Discussion ‘leans more towards infiltration than attack’ says anonymous Iranian official as US says Israel has carried out military operationFull report: Israel has carried out airstrikes on Iran, US officials sayWhat we know so far about Israel’s strike on IranWhat’s in Isfahan? The city home to Iranian nuclear facilitiesIt’s 7:24am in Tehran and 6:54 In Tel Aviv. Let’s get a reminder of what we...

Washington blocks security council resolution supported by 12 member countries, with two abstentions including UKThe US has vetoed a Palestinian request to the United Nations security council for full UN membership, blocking the world body’s recognition of a Palestinian state.The vote in the 15-member security council was 12 in favor, the US opposed and two abstentions, the UK and Switzerland. Continue reading...

Authors and translators say PEN America has ‘had no criticism of American complicity in the bombardment of Gaza’, in stark contrast to other national centres of the organisation Thirty-one authors and translators have withdrawn their work from consideration for or declined PEN America’s 2024 literary awards over the organisation’s “failure to protect” Palestinian writers in Gaza.Nine out of 10 longlistees for the PEN/Jean Stein...

The gulf state’s prime minister said he was making the move due to ‘exploitation and abuse of the Qatari role’See all of our updates on the Israel-Gaza war and wider Middle East crisisThe EU has edged closer to calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East after a meeting of the 27 bloc leaders last night.Leaders have struggled to agree language from the...

IDF confirms buying thousands of tents for evacuation, raising fears over long-threatened attackIsrael has reportedly deployed extra artillery and armoured personnel carriers to the Gaza Strip periphery, suggesting that the military is preparing for its long-threatened ground offensive on Rafah, the only place of relative safety for at least 1.4 million displaced Palestinian civilians.Israeli daily Ma’ariv also said on Wednesday that troops had been...

UK foreign secretary is probably first non-Israeli politician to admit military reprisal is inevitable but urges Israel not to escalateDavid Cameron has said it is clear Israel is “making a decision to act” in response to last weekend’s Iranian mass drone and ballistic missile attack, as Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off calls for restraint and said his country would make its own decisions about how...

Labour shadow minister also says Israel should be held accountable before international tribunal for war conduct in GazaMiddle East crisis – live updatesLisa Nandy, the UK’s shadow minister for international development, has called for support for the UN relief agency, Unrwa, warning that “time has run out for hundreds of thousands” of people in Gaza.Nandy is in Washington this week attending the spring meetings...

David Cameron says it is hoped Israel ‘does as little to escalate as possible’ as he visits Jerusalem as west considers new sanctions on IranSee all our Middle East crisis coverageHere are some more pictures sent over the news wires from Rafah showing the aftermath of an Israeli strike there.Reuters, citing the semi-official Tasnim news agency, reports that Iran’s navy is to begin escorting...

Exclusive: Government ministries and offices behind most contentious of projects, which will create thousands of housing unitsIsrael’s government has accelerated the construction of settlements across East Jerusalem, with more than 20 projects totalling thousands of housing units having been approved or advanced since the start of the war in Gaza six months ago, planning documents show.Ministries and offices within the Israeli government are behind...

UN human rights office expresses concern over escalating violence after deaths near Nablus over weekendThe UN and the UK have voiced grave concern over escalating violence in the West Bank, demanding that Israeli security forces “immediately” stop supporting settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied territory.The comments came hours after two Palestinian men were killed by Israeli settlers in a northern village south of...

Iran’s military spokesperson tells western allies to stop supporting Israel and warns of response to any further aggressionFull report: IDF chief of staff says Israel will respondExplainer: how will Israel respond to Iran’s attackA senior spokesperson for Iran’s military has warned the US, UK, France and Germany to stop supporting Israel, and said that there will be an even stronger response from Iran if...

Violence is reported to have escalated after a 14 year old Israeli shepherd went missing in the West Bank on Friday Israeli settlers have killed two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials, after a weekend of escalating violence across the territory.The Palestinian health ministry named the victims of the attack near Nablus as Abdulrahman Maher Bani Fadel, 30, and Mohammed...

Flights delayed and traffic disrupted as protesters in major US cities intensify call for ceasefire in GazaThousands of people held protests across the US on Monday condemning Israel’s attack on Gaza, shutting down airports and disrupting traffic in major cities from New York to San Francisco.A portion of the Kennedy Expressway into Chicago O’Hare international airport, one of the US’s busiest, was blocked off...