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Amman and allies insist Jordanian actions were self-defence after public anger at home and across regionJordan has found itself caught in the crosshairs of the confrontation between Iran and Israel, facing public anger at home and in the region for its role in downing dozens of Iranian drones targeting Israeli territory on Saturday night.Underlying its precarious position, Amman summoned the Iranian ambassador on Sunday...

The warning from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations offered no details about the boarding See all our coverage of the Middle East crisisThe search for a missing Israeli teenager resumed on Saturday in the occupied West Bank, where settler attacks on Palestinian villages have left at least one dead and dozens injured, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP) citing sources on both sides.The Israeli army...

Few of Hamas’s senior leaders have been harmed but its ability to govern is reduced and thousands of fighters are deadSix months after the surprise attacks it launched into Israel, triggering the Gaza conflict, Hamas is weakened and divided but far from defeated, experts, officials and sources close to the militant Islamist organisation say.Hamas remains in de facto control of swaths of Gaza, including...

Israel’s defence minister says it will launch ‘appropriate’ response if Iran retaliates over embassy attack in SyriaSee all our Israel-Gaza war covergeAn assessment conducted by a UN team in Khan Younis after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area, has reported “widespread destruction”.In an update on its website, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) wrote:Every building they visited –...

Pedro Sánchez is first foreign premier Simon Harris will meet since becoming leaderThe new Irish taoiseach is to meet the Spanish prime minister to discuss their joint plan to recognise Palestine as a nation state and their attempts to force the EU to assess Israel’s human rights obligations as a condition of their trade deal with the bloc.Pedro Sánchez, who is due to arrive...

Samantha Power becomes first US official to confirm famine, while aid workers decry continuing lack of help ‘Man-made starvation’: the obstacles to Gaza aid deliveries – visual guideA promised surge in aid into Gaza that Benjamin Netanyahu promised Joe Biden a week ago has so far failed to materialise, aid workers say, as the US aid chief confirmed that famine is beginning to take...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereIsraeli forces killed three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an airstrike in Gaza without consulting senior commanders or political leaders including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says Reuters citing Israeli media reports on Thursday.Quoting senior Israeli officials, Walla news agency said neither Netanyahu nor defence minister Yoav Gallant had been...

US-backed proposal involves women, children and elderly or sick hostages in Gaza being exchanged for 900 Palestinian prisonersMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe Palestinian militant group Hamas has indicated it does not have 40 captives who are still alive who meet the “humanitarian” criteria for a proposed hostages-for-prisoners ceasefire agreement with Israel.A senior Israeli official confirmed claims made at the weekend by Hamas during...

Israel’s foreign minister threatens Iran as tension between two countries flare after killings of Iranian generals at consulate in SyriaSee all of our Israel-Gaza war coverageThe commander of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (Unifil), Aroldo Lazaro, said on Wednesday the danger of escalation on the Lebanon-Israel border was real, reports Reuters.“Unifil calls for a return to the cessation of hostilities, and a move...

US president gives some of his strongest criticism of Israeli PM yet, saying he needs to ‘empower’ Israel’s negotiators to call for a truceSee all our coverage of the Israel-Gaza warUS president Joe Biden has said prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach on Gaza was a “mistake” and urged Israel to call for a ceasefire, in an interview that aired on Tuesday.Biden’s comments were some...

Foreign secretary says Britain’s position on export licences is ‘unchanged’ after reviewing latest legal adviceMiddle East crisis – live updatesDavid Cameron has confirmed the UK government will not suspend arms exports to Israel after the killing of seven aid workers in an airstrike on Gaza last week, as he insisted the UK would continue to act within international law.The foreign secretary said that he...

Nicaragua asks UN’s highest court to halt German weapons sales to Israel, alleging it is breaching obligation to prevent genocideGermany has said Israel’s security is at “the core” of its foreign policy because of the history of the Holocaust, but denied accusations at the UN’s highest court that is aiding genocide in Gaza by arming Israel.Nicaragua has brought a case against Germany at the...

France’s foreign minister says they will continue to pressure Israel to obtain the opening for humanitarian aidRecent tragedies in Gaza are not a reason to “walk away from Israel”, the former British home secretary, Suella Braverman, said.Asked if the UK should still be selling arms to Israel, Braverman told LBC: “I don’t think the fact that these tragedies happen is a reason to walk...

Doctors describe rise in infections and amputations among dangerously malnourished patients Every morning, starving mothers arrive at the doors of al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza desperately seeking baby formula. Many mothers of newborns are unable to breastfeed, the head of the hospital said, because they are so underfed.Inside the hospital, where doctors are undergoing treatment for malnutrition alongside their patients, surgeons say they are...

People find landscape in southern Gaza city marked by shattered buildings and stench of death from under the rubbleCivilians return to Khan Younis – in picturesThousands of Palestinians, exhausted by six months of unrelenting war and multiple displacements, trudged back to the devastated city of Khan Younis on Monday, a day after Israel’s unexpected withdrawal of its forces from southern Gaza.With many making the...

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gives jam as swathe of film and TV celebrities add support, including Zone of Interest’s Jonathan Glazer and Thor’s Tessa Thompson A host of film directors and stars, including Susan Sarandon, Paul Mescal and Olivia Colman, have added their names to those offering time and memorabilia to a Cinema for Gaza auction that is raising funds for humanitarian relief...

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...

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...