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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....

Militant Palestinian group begins to rebuild system of governance in north after being driven out by Israeli forcesHamas militants have returned to northern Gaza, where they are mobilising against Israeli forces and rebuilding a system of governance, aid officials, Gaza residents, analysts and Israeli officials say.Elsewhere in Gaza, Hamas administrators and police maintain firm control of the south, where much of the population is...

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...

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...

Senior ministers including Yoav Gallant condemn ruling while Palestinians dismayed it did not go furtherMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsraeli officials have accused the international court of justice of antisemitic bias and expressed dismay that a South African case alleging that the war in Gaza amounts to genocide was not thrown out altogether, after the court issued an emergency interim ruling.The ruling on Friday...

UN court’s ruling is devastating for Israel and awkward for allies such as the UK and US, which belittled South Africa’s caseMiddle East crisis – live updatesIn seeking a provisional order from the international court of justice restraining Israel from committing potentially genocidal acts in Gaza, South Africa put not just Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the dock but also the whole post-second world...

International court of justice stops short of granting South Africa’s request to order immediate ceasefireMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe ​UN’s international court of justice has ordered Israel to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, in a historic decision.In an interim judgment delivered on Friday, the president of the court, Joan Donoghue, said Israel must “take all...

UN judges set to decide on whether Israel should halt its war in Gaza; William Burns will reportedly meet in Europe with his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts plus the Qatari PMSee all of our updates on the Israel-Gaza warSnipers around the vicinity of al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, are shooting people as they try to leave the buildings, according to an Al...

Judges in The Hague to decide on whether to order Israel to end its military campaign against HamasMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe international court of justice in The Hague is set to give its decision on Friday in South Africa’s case alleging genocide by Israel in Gaza, as the world watches to see whether the judges will order a ceasefire.At a two-day hearing...

Behind bullish statements officials have been examining potential scenarios for impending decision in case brought by South AfricaIsraeli officials are bracing for an expected interim ruling from the international court of justice on South Africa’s allegation that the war in Gaza amounts to genocide against Palestinians, an emergency measure that could expose Israel to international sanctions.The UN’s top court, which settles disputes between states,...

Doha ‘appalled’ at leaked recordings allegedly showing Israeli PM saying Qatar’s role in talks is ‘problematic’Qatar has harshly criticised Israel’s prime minister, accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately obstructing ceasefire and hostage release negotiations with Hamas for personal political gain.Doha’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said on Wednesday night that his government was “appalled” by leaked remarks allegedly made by Netanyahu in which he criticised...

Israeli prime minister apparently called Gulf state ‘problematic’; training centre run by UN refugee agency hit by tank shelling on WednesdayThe Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, said the conflict in Gaza shows the UN and other world bodies have lost their effectiveness and called on Muslim countries and other nations to unite for a new “fair world order”, reports Al Jazeera.Reporting from Ankara on Wednesday,...

Israel’s assault on Gaza’s second-largest city continues as Hamas delegation travels to Egypt for ceasefire and hostage-release talks Thousands of people sheltering in hospitals in Khan Younis are now trapped by Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip’s second largest city, even as a delegation from Hamas travelled to Egypt for the latest round of talks aimed at another ceasefire and hostage-release deal.The Israeli army...

Poll released Wednesday shows divisions by age and political lines, with 35% overall saying campaign against Palestinians is genocideMore than one in three Americans believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, a poll published on Wednesday has found.According to the Economist/YouGov poll, roughly equal numbers of adults believe Israel’s military campaign against Palestinians, which is estimated to have killed more than 25,000 people since...

Sources says Israel and Hamas closer to 30-day ceasefire; Iraqi PM’s office says US strikes undermine years of cooperationThe United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (Ocha) has outlined some of the violence happening in the West Bank in its latest update. It describes the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank in 2023 as “the highest” since Ocha started recording...

António Guterres says denial of Palestinian state will embolden extremists at highly charged security council debateFollow the Middle East crisis liveIsrael’s “clear and repeated rejection of the two-state solution” is unacceptable, and could only prolong the conflict in Gaza, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, has said, at the launch of a highly charged security council debate focusing on aid shipments to Gaza.Gutteres told...

Deaths come as talks of ceasefire increase and pressure rises on Netanyahu over leadership and handling of war effortMiddle East crisis – live updatesTwenty-four Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza on Monday, by far the biggest single-day Israeli death toll in the three-month war against Hamas, as talks about a ceasefire intensified and Palestinian casualties continued to climb.The deaths came amid fierce fighting around...

IDF says deaths happened when militants fired rocket-propelled grenade as soldiers prepared explosives to demolish buildingsFull report on latest round of US and UK strikesReged Ahmad here picking up the blog from Jem BartholomewUS Central Command (Centcom) has posted some of the latest video and images of their airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthis.The US undertook its eighth round of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen...

UK minister to tell meeting that suffering in Gaza is ‘unacceptable and our priority must be to alleviate it’Middle East crisis – live updatesCalls for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza and to accept a future Palestinian state as necessary for its own security are expected to dominate a meeting of the UN security council in New York on Tuesday.Before the meeting, the...

Medical staff arrested at al-Khair hospital, Palestinian officials say, while al-Amal hospital surrounded by tanksThe White House has called on Israel to protect innocent people as Palestinian officials said the Israeli military had stormed one hospital in Gaza and placed another under siege.National security council spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday Israel had a right to defend itself but added: “We expect them to...