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European chief diplomat Josep Borell says 1.4 million Palestinians in southern Gaza city are ‘without safe place to go, facing starvation’Iran’s football federation said on Saturday it had asked world football’s governing body, Fifa, to suspend Israel’s football federation over the country’s war in Gaza, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).In an announcement posted on the Iranian football federation’s website, Iran asked Fifa to “completely suspend”...

Special rapporteur cites lack of medical supplies, food and clean water, and continued demolition of infrastructureMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael appears to be in breach of the orders issued a fortnight ago by the international court of justice requiring it to take immediate steps to protect Palestinians’ rights and cease all activities that could constitute genocide, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied...

Philippe Lazzarini says summary dismissal of nine employees was ‘reverse due process’ after Israel’s claims they aided Hamas attackMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said he followed “reverse due process” in sacking nine staff members accused by Israel of being involved in Hamas’s 7 October attacks.Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner general, said he did not probe...

Joe Biden says he is working to achieve a sustained pause in fighting in Palestinian territoryIsraeli protesters have gathered in front of the Nitzana crossing with the Egyptian border, blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, reports Al Jazeera citing social media posts by Israeli activists.It also posted the below X update by Almog Booker, a reporter for Channel 13 who shared footage that he...

In sharpest criticism of Israel to date, US president says he is pushing for a ‘hostage ceasefire’ and that there are ‘a lot of innocent people who are in trouble and dying, and it’s gotta stop’See all of our coverage of the Middle East crisisUS President Joe Biden has suggested that Israel’s military response in Gaza has been “over the top” and said he...

Israel’s prime minister has rejected Hamas’ response to a ceasefire proposal and ordered troops to enter the overcrowded city of RafahNetanyahu rejects Gaza ceasefire deal and says victory is ‘within reach’A journalist and his son have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the central Gaza Strip, reports Al Jazeera.Nafez Abdel Jawad, who worked for Palestine TV, was killed in...

Exclusive: IDF troops shed light on their experience of fighting in the territory, where Palestinian casualties have passed 27,700Demobilised Israeli reservists have described how they deployed massive fire power in a brutal, complex and often one-sided war of sporadic but intense clashes that has reduced much of Gaza to ruins.They spoke, too, of the challenge of fighting on unfamiliar ground that is well-known to...

Letter sent to UN raises concerns about Alice Wairimu Nderitu’s ability to act with ‘effectiveness and impartiality’Leading Palestinian human rights groups have accused the UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide of failing to fulfil her mandate after she issued only one statement on the war in Gaza – largely supportive of Israel – that has claimed 26,000 Palestinian lives.In a statement issued...

In today’s newsletter: Plans for prisoner exchange, increased aid and a temporary end to violence have slowed in Gaza – the Guardian’s Bethan McKernan explains why• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.As the war in Gaza enters its fifth month, the push for a ceasefire has continued. Responding to Israel’s proposals, Hamas has made a far-reaching counteroffer, which includes a...

Immigration minister Marc Miller frustrated by impasse over list of about 1,000 people trapped in Palestinian territoryCanada’s immigration minister, Marc Miller, has said he is “pissed off” that extended family members of Canadians are being blocked from leaving war-torn Gaza.Ottawa last month provided a list of about 1,000 people approved to come to Canada to Israeli and Egyptian authorities, who jointly control the only...

Refugees crammed into the border city face a terrifying choice: stay for the expected attack, or flee back north through a war zoneMiddle East crisis – live updatesHundreds of thousands of Palestinians crammed into the small southern Gaza border city of Rafah are being forced to contemplate being displaced once more as an Israeli offensive looms.Those who fled to the border city, almost half...

Hamas statement said it viewed the proposal ‘in a positive spirit’, as Antony Blinken heads to Israel to discuss truce planIsrael confirms deaths of 31 hostagesAnalysis: rumoured split in Hamas leadershipHere are some of the latest images coming through from Gaza, Israel and France on the newswires:The Reuters report on the draft Hamas ceasefire plan has some more detail on what the organisation is...

Qatar says Hamas ‘generally positive’ about proposals, while pressure grows on Netanyahu government over handling of crisisIsrael has said it has informed the families of 31 people held in the territory since 7 October that their relatives are dead. The news came as the Qatari prime minister said Hamas had given a “generally positive” response to proposals for a deal trading a break in...

Qatar’s prime minister and US secretary of state say Hamas has responded to outlines of proposed dealWhen the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, launched his devastating assault on Israel on 7 October, the militant group’s exiled leadership, like the rest of the world, was apparently caught unawares.From plush penthouses in Beirut, Doha and Istanbul, they watched the carnage that killed 1,200 Israelis...

US secretary of state to fly to Cairo after meeting Saudi crown prince as UN reports increase in Israeli strikes on southern former ‘safe’ city of Rafah US-backed Kurdish fighters killed in drone strike on US base in SyriaFrench diplomat to review UNRWA after claims of staff role in Hamas attackAt least 27,585 Palestinians have been killed and 66,978 wounded in Israeli strikes on...

Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iranian-backed militia, claims attack after at least six fighters killedAt least six US-backed Kurdish fighters have been killed in a drone strike on a US base in eastern Syria. The attack was claimed by an Iranian-backed militia that was the target of US airstrikes on Friday.The deaths are the latest indicator of how conflict is seeping across the Middle...

Catherine Colonna will lead inquiry after Israel’s accusation that at least 12 UN agency workers were involved in 7 October assaultA former French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, is to lead an independent review of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees after accusations by Israel that at least 12 staff members were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.The review was ordered...

Iran-backed group says airstrikes ‘will not deter us’ after targets hit following continued Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red SeaRead all our Middle East coverageIran has denounced the latest US and UK strikes on targets in Yemen saying they “contradict” their declared intention of avoiding a wider Middle East conflict, AFP reports.These attacks are “in clear contradiction with the repeated claims of Washington...

Hundreds killed and injured in central Gaza Strip while Palestinians crowd into camps and the city of Rafah• Middle East crisis – live updatesIsraeli forces struck densely populated areas across the middle and southern Gaza Strip in a midnight attack on Friday and early Saturday, killing at least 25 people amid fears of an impending push south by ground troops as pressure builds for...

US military says retaliatory airstrikes targeted Iran’s Quds Force and affiliated militiaAt least 13 Iranian-backed fighters have been killed in strikes in eastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.The airstrikes destroyed 17 positions sheltering Iranian militias in Al-Mayadeen and Al-Bokamal near the border between Syria and Iraq, in addition to airstrikes targeting positions near Deir ez-Zor city, it said. Continue reading...

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...

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...