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Washington’s decision not to use its veto is an acknowledgement of its failure to lead the UN Gaza agendaDiplomacy occasionally has the capacity to surprise, and when it does it often portends a deep shifting in the landscape.Few as recently as the end of last week saw much chance that the UN security council would be able to put aside five months of division...

Australian and UK stress ‘urgency’ over need to allow aid into Gaza and for hostages to be released; US draft resolution calls for an immediate truce as part of a hostage dealThe Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that “hundreds of worshipers” were “blocked” from reaching the al-Aqsa mosque compound by Israeli forces on Friday.According to Wafa: “Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces significantly increased their...

US says attack would be ‘mistake’ as Biden and Netanyahu talk by phone for first time in over a monthIsrael will send a team of officials to Washington to discuss its planned offensive on Rafah, the White House has said, as the Biden administration insists that an attack would be a “mistake” and seeks to persuade Israel to allow in more aid in the...

Ro Khanna, Biden campaign surrogate, believes US president should take tougher line with ‘insufferably arrogant’ Israeli PMJoe Biden has committed a “strategic mistake” by “bear-hugging” the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as he prosecutes war with Hamas, a leading congressional progressive Democrat and Biden campaign surrogate said.“The bear-hugging of Netanyahu has been a strategic mistake,” Ro Khanna said, accusing the Israeli leader of conducting...

In State of the Union address, US president tells Israeli leadership protecting civilians in Gaza ‘has to be a priority’Full report: Biden announces US will build pier for aid on Gaza shore‘Who is going to distribute it?’: the key flaw in US’s planIsraeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories have expanded by a record amount and risk eliminating any practical possibly of a Palestinian...

President lays out plans in State of the Union speech while senior US official says ‘we are not waiting on the Israelis’US forces will build a temporary dock on the Gaza shoreline to allow delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale, Joe Biden announced in his State of the Union speech, amid warnings of a widespread famine among the territory’s 2.3 million Palestinians.“Nearly...

Decision to airdrop supplies suggests Biden has given up on being able to persuade Israel to coordinate ground-based reliefThe US will start airdrops of food and emergency supplies into Gaza in the next few days, Joe Biden has announced, amid UN warnings of famine and after Israeli troops opened fire on Gazans seeking food aid.The use of airdrops is a spectacular but inefficient way...

US president’s remarks that there could be truce by Monday are ‘premature’, says political head of Hamas in GazaMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsraeli and Hamas officials have downplayed hopes expressed by Joe Biden that a ceasefire in the war in Gaza is imminent, raising questions about whether a temporary truce can be implemented before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in two...

Secretary of state’s characterization of West Bank settlements signals return to longstanding US policy reversed by TrumpIsrael’s expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank was inconsistent with international law, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Friday, signaling a return to longstanding US policy on the issue, which had been reversed by the previous administration of Donald Trump.The Trump administration in...

Diplomatic search for ceasefire in Gaza gathers pace as threatened ground offensive in Rafah draws nearIn New York at the UN, in Brussels at the EU, in The Hague, in Cairo, in Rio and even at Westminster, a set of subtle and interrelated diplomatic dances are under way.Israel’s foremost supporters are attempting to apply the squeeze on their ally while avoiding making undiluted calls...

Médecins Sans Frontières says staff forced to evacuate, ‘leaving patients behind’ after special forces entered the hospitalIsraeli forces have stormed Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, according to Al Jazeera journalist Hani Mahmoud who is reporting from Rafah in southern Gaza.In a breaking news update to the publication, Mahmoud said Israeli forces had given those in Nasser hospital until 7am (Gaza time) to evacuate and...

Talks aimed at agreeing Gaza truce with Hamas come as calls grow for Israel to call off planned assault on RafahThe latest figures from the Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas, said 103 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes and 145 were injured in the past 24 hours.According to the statement, at least 28,576 Palestinians have been killed and 68,291 have been...

Human rights groups also want to see executive order used to stop US groups from donating millions of dollars each year to settlersThere are growing calls for Joe Biden to use his new executive order sanctioning violent Israeli settlers to also target political leaders, including government ministers, responsible for driving attacks against Palestinians.Pro-Israel groups and others in the US say the order is potentially...

Assistance package worth $17.6bn, seen as ploy to block broader Senate-backed measure, fails to win two-thirds majorityThe US House of Representatives rejected a Republican-led bill on Tuesday that would provide $17.6bn to Israel, as Democrats said they wanted a vote instead on a broader measure that would also provide assistance to Ukraine, international humanitarian funding and new money for border security.The vote was 250...

Some see the US president’s executive order imposing sanctions on settlers who violently attack Palestinians as a bid to win supportWas Joe Biden’s announcement of unprecedented US sanctions against Israeli settlers in occupied Palestine a sign of political weakness at home, or of a newly found willingness to assert American influence over Israel?The president signed the executive order imposing financial and travel sanctions on...

Financial sanctions and visa bans imposed on four individuals as US frustration with Israel growsMiddle East crisis – live updatesJoe Biden has issued an executive order targeting Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have been attacking Palestinians, amid fast-growing frustration in Washington at Israel’s trajectory in the midst of its war in Gaza.The order initially imposes financial sanctions and visa bans against four...

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...