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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...

Joe Biden declines to give details but says sanctions will coincide with second anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine The US will announce a major package of sanctions against Russia on Friday prompted by the death of political opposition leader Alexei Navalny but also devised as retaliation for the two-year war Vladimir Putin initiated against Ukraine, Joe Biden said on Tuesday.The US president...

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...

Two projectiles hit Belize-flagged vessel in strike that if confirmed would be a propaganda victoryMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe Houthis have claimed one of their most significant strikes since they started launching missiles at ships in the Red Sea, after two projectiles hit a Belize-flagged cargo ship.The Yemeni rebels claimed the ship was at risk of sinking, a significant propaganda victory for the...

Russian opposition leader’s death occurred on Friday, say supporters, but official cause remains disputedThe death of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, has been confirmed by his representatives, who are calling for the return of his body amid confusion over the cause of the death of Putin’s once most significant political challenger.Navalny, 47, died in jail on 16 February at 2.17pm local time, said...

The Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau say Congress needs to approve fresh support announced by Joe BidenPacific leaders have warned the US government that a delay in approving funding packages for the region threatens to play into the hands of Beijing, which is seeking to shift allegiances in the Pacific and draw away as many of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies as...

Jens Stoltenberg believes Congress will finally vote for package but meanwhile Russian forces are advancing near AvdiivkaThe US failure to vote through a fresh military aid package for Ukraine is already having an impact on the battlefield, Nato’s secretary general has warned at the end of a defence ministers’ meeting.Jens Stoltenberg said he still believed Congress would eventually approve the stalled $60bn (£50bn) package,...

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...

Albanese and cabinet ministers among those to back parliamentary motion introduced by independent Andrew WilkieGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAustralian federal MPs – including the prime minister and cabinet members – have voted overwhelmingly to urge the US and the UK to allow the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to return to Australia.The independent MP Andrew Wilkie hailed...

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...

President says ‘If you harm an American, we will respond’ as US forces strike in what is expected to be first of multiple attacksUS airstrikes in Iraq and Syria – live updatesJoe Biden has warned “if you harm an American, we will respond” as US forces attacked more than 80 targets in Iraq and Syria in a wide-ranging air assault on sites belonging to...

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...

Strikes expected to take place in Syria and possibly Iraq, after three US soldiers were killed at a base in JordanMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe US has ordered a series of reprisal strikes to be launched over more than one day against an Iranian-backed militia, the US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said.Austin said all drones in the region attacking the US were...

American war planners used joint Talisman Sabre exercises to position equipment in northern VictoriaFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastWhen US and Australian troops practised amphibious landings, ground combat and air operations last year, they drew headlines about the allies deepening defence cooperation to counter China’s growing military ambitions.But for...

Chris Wray tells House committee there has been been far too little public focus on a sleeper cyber threat that affects ‘every American’US officials say they have disrupted a state-backed Chinese effort to plant malware that could damage civilian infrastructure, as the head of the FBI warned that Beijing was positioning itself to disrupt daily life in America were the US and China ever...

Lloyd Austin says president ‘will not tolerate attacks on US forces’, but Qatar warns that reprisal attacks could undermine Israel hostage talksSee all our Middle East coverageUS defense secretary Lloyd Austin has vowed to take “all necessary actions” to defend US troops after Iran-backed militants killed three US troops and wounded dozens more in a drone attack on a US base in Jordan.“The president...

Pentagon calls attacks ‘necessary and proportionate’, after US personnel were injured in a weekend attack in IraqSee all our Middle East crisis coverageThe US has carried out strikes in Iraq against three facilities linked to Iran-backed militia, the Pentagon has said, after a weekend attack on an Iraqi airbase that wounded US forces.“US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used...

UK, US and others use universal periodic review to speak out over Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong KongThe UK, the US and several other countries criticised China’s human rights record on Tuesday as the country was subjected to rare scrutiny of its policies at the United Nations.The UK called on China to “cease the persecution and arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and Tibetans and allow genuine...

Foreign secretary defends continued campaign in Yemen, while Labour says it was not briefed beforehandMiddle East crisis – live updatesA fresh set of US and UK airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen were intended to “send the clearest possible message that Britain backs its words and our warnings with action”, David Cameron has said.The foreign secretary insisted he was confident that attacks carried out...