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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...

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...

William Burns and the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service will reportedly meet Qatari prime minister in Europe as part of efforts to broker a dealSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageThe director of the Central Intelligence Agency and his Israeli counterpart will meet Qatari officials in coming days for talks on a second potential Gaza hostage deal and pause in fighting, three sources familiar...

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,...