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Grim milestone comes as G7 leaders urge Netanyahu not to press ahead with Rafah invasionThe death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza climbed to more than 34,000 on Saturday, with the majority of victims women and children, including at least six killed by an overnight airstrike on a house in Rafah.The latest grim milestone comes as hope of a ceasefire has dimmed, and global...

The IDF is embroiled in simultaneous conflicts with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran and in the West Bank – but hadn’t reckoned on the social and political divisions this would causeYoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, described the conflict Israel was engaged in as a “multi-front war” earlier this month.Israeli forces were fighting Hamas inside Gaza and engaged in daily exchanges of fire with Hezbollah on...

Ukraine aid component threatens to throw the Republican party into disarray – and endangers the speakership of Mike JohnsonThe US House of Representatives will finally vote on Saturday on a series of foreign aid bills, bringing an end to a months-long standoff in Congress led mostly by Republicans who refuse to support funding Ukraine’s ongoing military defense against Russia’s invasion.House members will hold separate...

Controversy followed a viral video of pro-Palestinian students interrupting a dinner held by a Berkeley free-speech defenderDuring a dinner for students that the dean of the University of California, Berkeley law school held in his house’s backyard earlier this month, a woman wearing a hijab and checkered Palestinian scarf suddenly stood up with a microphone and amplifier. What followed lasted only a couple of...

Discussion ‘leans more towards infiltration than attack’ says anonymous Iranian official as US says Israel has carried out military operationFull report: Israel has carried out airstrikes on Iran, US officials sayWhat we know so far about Israel’s strike on IranWhat’s in Isfahan? The city home to Iranian nuclear facilitiesIt’s 7:24am in Tehran and 6:54 In Tel Aviv. Let’s get a reminder of what we...

Iranian official indicates no ‘immediate’ plan for retaliation after explosions reported in sky over Isfahan and TabrizMiddle East crisis: live updatesWhat we know so far about Israel’s strike on IranWhat’s in Isfahan? The city home to Iranian nuclear facilitiesUS officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out airstrikes against Iran, as explosions were reported in the sky over the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz,...

Reported Israeli drone strike on Isfahan may signal that this widening conflict has become more dynamicWhile the details remain vague, and Iranian denials strong, it seems very likely, given past history and strong comments from US officials, that a limited Israeli drone strike was launched against the Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday morning.Isfahan is significant for its military-industrial facilities, the presence of an...

Washington blocks security council resolution supported by 12 member countries, with two abstentions including UKThe US has vetoed a Palestinian request to the United Nations security council for full UN membership, blocking the world body’s recognition of a Palestinian state.The vote in the 15-member security council was 12 in favor, the US opposed and two abstentions, the UK and Switzerland. Continue reading...

Prime minister also seeks to assure allies Israel’s response to Iran will be measured, as officials urge him to focus on ceasefire dealBenjamin Netanyahu has told western diplomats that he will go ahead with a ground offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza, and has also suggested that Israel’s anticipated reprisal for Iran’s missile and drone salvo will be aimed at Iranian interests rather than...

The gulf state’s prime minister said he was making the move due to ‘exploitation and abuse of the Qatari role’See all of our updates on the Israel-Gaza war and wider Middle East crisisThe EU has edged closer to calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East after a meeting of the 27 bloc leaders last night.Leaders have struggled to agree language from the...

How much should Britain get involved in the conflict in the Middle East? The Guardian’s John Harris is joined by the columnist Gaby Hinsliff and former national security adviser Peter Ricketts to talk about the fallout from Iran’s attack on Israel at the weekend. Plus, John talks to Gaby about smoking bans, NatCon and Liz Truss’s new bookArchive: Sky News, BBC News Continue reading...

IDF confirms buying thousands of tents for evacuation, raising fears over long-threatened attackIsrael has reportedly deployed extra artillery and armoured personnel carriers to the Gaza Strip periphery, suggesting that the military is preparing for its long-threatened ground offensive on Rafah, the only place of relative safety for at least 1.4 million displaced Palestinian civilians.Israeli daily Ma’ariv also said on Wednesday that troops had been...

UK foreign secretary is probably first non-Israeli politician to admit military reprisal is inevitable but urges Israel not to escalateDavid Cameron has said it is clear Israel is “making a decision to act” in response to last weekend’s Iranian mass drone and ballistic missile attack, as Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off calls for restraint and said his country would make its own decisions about how...

Labour shadow minister also says Israel should be held accountable before international tribunal for war conduct in GazaMiddle East crisis – live updatesLisa Nandy, the UK’s shadow minister for international development, has called for support for the UN relief agency, Unrwa, warning that “time has run out for hundreds of thousands” of people in Gaza.Nandy is in Washington this week attending the spring meetings...

David Cameron says it is hoped Israel ‘does as little to escalate as possible’ as he visits Jerusalem as west considers new sanctions on IranSee all our Middle East crisis coverageHere are some more pictures sent over the news wires from Rafah showing the aftermath of an Israeli strike there.Reuters, citing the semi-official Tasnim news agency, reports that Iran’s navy is to begin escorting...

Exclusive: Government ministries and offices behind most contentious of projects, which will create thousands of housing unitsIsrael’s government has accelerated the construction of settlements across East Jerusalem, with more than 20 projects totalling thousands of housing units having been approved or advanced since the start of the war in Gaza six months ago, planning documents show.Ministries and offices within the Israeli government are behind...

National security adviser Jake Sullivan made the announcement as EU considers similar movesSee all our updates on the Israel-Gaza war and wider Middle East crisisThe US has said it will impose sanctions aimed at Iran’s missile and drone programme as well as the Revolutionary Guard and defence ministry in the next few days, and expects its allies to follow suit, in the wake of...

Asna Tabassum says university is ‘succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice’ after decision to scrap speechThe University of Southern California is facing intense backlash for the decision to cancel the valedictorian speech of a Muslim student at the commencement ceremony in May, a decision which the student has criticized as being silenced by anti-Palestinian hatred for her views on...

UN human rights office expresses concern over escalating violence after deaths near Nablus over weekendThe UN and the UK have voiced grave concern over escalating violence in the West Bank, demanding that Israeli security forces “immediately” stop supporting settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied territory.The comments came hours after two Palestinian men were killed by Israeli settlers in a northern village south of...

Iran’s military spokesperson tells western allies to stop supporting Israel and warns of response to any further aggressionFull report: IDF chief of staff says Israel will respondExplainer: how will Israel respond to Iran’s attackA senior spokesperson for Iran’s military has warned the US, UK, France and Germany to stop supporting Israel, and said that there will be an even stronger response from Iran if...

Violence is reported to have escalated after a 14 year old Israeli shepherd went missing in the West Bank on Friday Israeli settlers have killed two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials, after a weekend of escalating violence across the territory.The Palestinian health ministry named the victims of the attack near Nablus as Abdulrahman Maher Bani Fadel, 30, and Mohammed...

Flights delayed and traffic disrupted as protesters in major US cities intensify call for ceasefire in GazaThousands of people held protests across the US on Monday condemning Israel’s attack on Gaza, shutting down airports and disrupting traffic in major cities from New York to San Francisco.A portion of the Kennedy Expressway into Chicago O’Hare international airport, one of the US’s busiest, was blocked off...

General gives clearest confirmation yet that Israel will hit back but it is unclear what form response will takeIsrael’s top general has said the country will respond to Iran’s missile and drone attack, but it remains unclear what form that response will take and whether it will be so forceful that it could tip a worsening spiral of violence into a full-scale regional war.US...

Speaker rejects pressure to approve package sent over by Senate, leaving its path to passage deeply uncertainMike Johnson, the US House speaker, has unveiled a complicated proposal for passing wartime aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, rejecting pressure to approve a package sent over by the Senate and leaving its path to passage deeply uncertain.The Republican speaker huddled with fellow GOP lawmakers on Monday...