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Israel’s prime minister told US media that a deal to release hostages held in Gaza would only delay a planned assault on RafahLebanon’s Hezbollah said on Monday it had downed an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over Lebanese territory with a surface-to-air missile, the second time it has announced bringing down this type of unmanned aerial vehicle.Reuters reports:The Hermes 450 is an Israeli multi-payload drone...

Politicians say Palestinians sheltering in the southern city in Gaza have nowhere else to goSee all our Israel-Gaza coverageJoe Biden has added his voice to growing international calls for Israel to drop plans for an all-out military assault on the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, after a ferocious hostage rescue operation that killed dozens of Palestinians.Speaking after talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah at...

Failure to ensure special care for more than 1 million civilians in the area would ‘cause serious harm to Israel’s own interests’, foreign minister, Penny Wong, saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government has warned that Israel’s plans for a military offensive on the southern Gaza town of...

Israeli PM brushes aside warnings that assault on Gaza’s southernmost town would be a ‘human catastrophe’ Benjamin Netanyahu appears determined to push ahead with a ground offensive against Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah but has claimed Israel will provide safe passage to the 1.3 million displaced Palestinians sheltering there.Despite mounting warnings from aid agencies and the international community that an assault on Rafah would...

UN officials and Biden have said an offensive in city, where about 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering, would lead to a ‘bloodbath’In a call Sunday with Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden told the Israeli prime minister that Israel should not launch a military operation in Rafah “without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the more than one million...

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...

Two ministers said to have suggested move as part of efforts to free hostages and weaken Hamas, which they claim hijacks suppliesMiddle East crisis – live updatesMinisters in Israel’s war cabinet are reportedly considering limiting the amount of aid reaching Gaza, as rightwing protesters disrupt the entry of trucks carrying desperately needed humanitarian supplies to the besieged Palestinian territory.Benny Gantz, a retired general who...

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...

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...

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...

Josep Borrell says minister came to meeting with plans for an artificial island off Gaza and a railway to IndiaMiddle East crisis – live updatesOne of the EU’s most senior diplomats has criticised the Israeli foreign minister for not properly engaging with a summit in Brussels designed to pave the way for a peace plan in the Middle East.Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative...

The prime minister said he rejected the terms of a deal which included Israel’s complete withdrawal from GazaSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageThe prospect of a deal to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas appeared to recede on Sunday after a Hamas official said Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of their conditions meant there was “no chance” of their return.Netanyahu had earlier dismissed the militant...

Territory’s health ministry says most casualties are women and children, and that thousands more may lie under rubbleMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed 25,000 Palestinians, the health ministry in the territory has announced, as the UN chief described the scale of civilian killings as “heartbreaking and utterly unacceptable”.Most of the casualties were women and children, the ministry...

US president says Israeli PM not opposed to all two-state solutions after pair talk for first time in nearly a monthJoe Biden has said the creation of an independent state for Palestinians was still possible while Benjamin Netanyahu was still in office, following a call with the Israeli prime minister on Friday.The US president spoke to Netanyahu for the first time in nearly a...

Julian Hill labels Israeli prime minister’s position ‘appalling’ as he calls for financial consequences for Israeli settlers Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastBenjamin Netanyahu’s declaration he rejects any moves to establish a Palestinian state after Israel’s offensive in Gaza has been labelled “appalling” and a step toward “apartheid” by influential Labor MP Julian Hill.Hill has called for...