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Families succeed in legal challenges after Home Office refused to decide on reunion applications without biometric dataFamilies in Gaza have won a legal case against the Home Office after a judge ruled the department’s decisions were a “disproportionate interference” in their right to a family life.Two challenges were brought against the Home Office in February this year after it refused to decide on family...

Israeli defence minister says withdrawal forms part of preparations for later attack on RafahAn Israeli strike on southern Lebanon early on Monday killed a field commander in the heavily-armed Lebanese group Hezbollah, as the United Nations warned that shelling was spreading and urged a halt to the violence.Hezbollah and the Israeli military have been exchanging fire across Lebanon’s southern frontier in parallel with the...

Limited communications and uncertainty over detention have left many families unsure if their loved ones are alive or deadMiddle East crisis – live updatesLate one night in March, Ahmed Abu Jalala rose quietly, trying hard not to wake his family, sleeping around him on the floor of a UN-run school in northern Gaza.The 54-year-old father knew his six children needed food, but after months...

In response, White House pushes back and rules out putting US monitors on ground after seven aid workers killed in Gaza The White House has pushed back on comments by World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés that Israel is engaged in “war against humanity itself” following the Israeli drone strike attack that killed seven of his aid workers on 1 April, but ruled out...

Drawdown after four months of fighting in Khan Younis coincides with new ceasefire talksIsrael has pulled all of its ground troops out of southern Gaza for “tactical reasons”, the country’s army has said, raising questions about the future direction of the war as Hamas and Israeli delegations travel to Egypt for a new round of ceasefire talks.Two brigades will stay in the northern half...

Israel was previously undecided on whether to attend talks but will now take part in the latest round of negotiationsSee all our coverage of the Israel-Gaza warThe Israeli military has withdrawn all ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip except for one brigade, a military spokesperson has said, according to Reuters.An Israeli brigade is typically made up of a few thousand troops. Continue reading...

UN Human Rights Council is debating possible ban on arms sales to IsraelSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageThe United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.Twenty-eight countries voted in favour, 13 abstained and six voted against the resolution. Continue reading...

Each time Madrid and Dublin speak out on the war in Gaza others are emboldened to join them, sources sayMiddle East crisis – live updatesBenjamin Netanyahu’s claim that the Israeli military’s killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza on Monday night was “a tragic incident” did precious little to allay the fears of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. Nor did his...

Steps approved in Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza include temporary reopening of crossing in the northSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageBenjamin Netanyahu’s office has said his security cabinet has approved a series of steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including the temporary reopening of a key crossing that was destroyed in the 7 October Hamas...

US president also said Israel must implement a series of specific steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workersMiddle East crisis – live updatesJoe Biden has called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, telling Benjamin Netanyahu that future US support for Israel will depend on it taking concrete action to protect civilians and aid workers.As the two leaders held...

Number of signatories warning Sunak over breach of international law in arming Israel rises to more than 750A fourth former supreme court justice has put his name to a letter warning Rishi Sunak that the UK is breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel, as the number of legal experts signing the letter rose to more than 750.Lord Carnwath joins Lady Hale, who...

Gaza health ministry says that 33,037 people have been killed in Israeli military offensive, including 62 in the last 24 hoursSee all of our Israel-Gaza war coverageReuters has spoken with Israelis who have been displaced from their communities in the far north of the country, close to the UN-drawn blue line that has separated Israel from Lebanon since 2000.Israel evacuated a number of communities,...

Alex Younger’s claim that insufficient care is being paid to collateral risks comes as UK is urged to suspend arms sales to IsraelMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael’s actions in Gaza have “bordered on the reckless”, a former head of MI6 has said, amid pressure on the UK government to stop arms sales.Alex Younger, who led the Secret Intelligence Service between 2014 and 2020,...

Humanitarian organisations working in Gaza say Israeli forces must stick to deconfliction proceduresMiddle East crisis – live updatesAid organisations working in Gaza have said they are demanding the Israeli military improve and adhere to security procedures intended to keep their workers safe, following Israeli airstrikes that killed all seven members of a convoy of humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK).“What happened is above...

Gantz says government ‘must set a consensual date for September’ while Netanyahu’s popularity continues to decline amid the ongoing war in GazaIsraeli minister Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet and main rival of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has called for snap parliamentary elections in September, as pressure builds over the war in Gaza.“We must set a consensual date for the month of...

Exclusive: YouGov survey indicates loss of support among people in Britain for Israel’s war in GazaA majority of voters in Britain back a ban on arms sales to Israel, according to a YouGov poll.One of the first up-to-date assessments of whether Israel is losing public support in key allied states, the research also suggests most people believe the Israeli government is violating human rights...

Founder of charity that lost seven people hits out at IDF as friendly governments decry drone attackAnalysis: Israel’s rules of engagement seem looser than ever – if they are followed at allIsrael is facing mounting international pressure to justify its conduct in the war in Gaza as the bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in a drone attack were repatriated to their families.Seven...

The US president has called for a swift investigation into the Israeli strike on a World Central Kitchen convoySee all our coverage of the Middle East crisis and Israel-Gaza warThe UK should stop arming Israel, a former national security adviser has said, after seven international aid workers were killed in Gaza in an Israeli airstrike.Lord Ricketts, who was also the former permanent secretary at...

Lord Ricketts says further steps needed to put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu after seven aid workers killed in GazaMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe UK should stop arming Israel, a former national security adviser has said, after seven international aid workers were killed in Gaza in an Israeli airstrike.Lord Ricketts, who was also the former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, told BBC Radio...

PM demands ‘transparent investigation’ from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as names emerge of three Britons killed in GazaMiddle East crisis – live updatesRishi Sunak has called for an urgent investigation into the deaths of three British aid workers working for the charity World Central Kitchen who were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit an aid convoy in Gaza.WSK confirmed that British victims John Chapman,...

US president ‘outraged and heartbroken’ after IDF drone attack killed seven people working for World Central Kitchen in GazaJoe Biden has said that Israel is not doing enough to protect aid workers and has called for a swift investigation into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) drone attack in Gaza which killed seven people working for the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity.“This conflict has been...

Vermont senator makes remarks after Israeli strike kills seven aid workers, amid war that has killed more than 32,000 PalestiniansThe Vermont senator and former US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has a message for the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu: “Stop murdering innocent people.”Sanders delivered his blunt message in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday, a day after seven aid workers were killed by...

Humanitarian groups say they cannot operate safely after Israeli targeting of food charity convoy prompts international outcry Gaza aid convoy strike: what happened and who were the victims?The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza seems likely to worsen after charities announced they are suspending operations in the territory in the aftermath of an Israeli drone attack which repeatedly targeted a clearly identified convoy of international aid...

Palestinian residents say IDF has ‘destroyed all sense of life’ as it leaves area after a two week raidSee all of our Israel-Gaza war coverageHundreds of residents have rushed to the area around the al-Shifa hospital to check on damage to the surrounding residential districts.“I haven’t stopped crying since I arrived here, horrible massacres were committed by the occupation here,” said Samir Basel, 43,...