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Retaking of Shifa complex shows Hamas militants, despite heavy losses, are still operational in northern GazaThe latest raid on al-Shifa hospital reveals that the Israeli military’s hold on the areas of Gaza supposedly cleared of Hamas militants is considerably more tenuous than the country’s political leaders have claimed – and suggests the region’s military superpower is facing its own “forever war” in the territory...

'Gaza is in ‘state of famine’ and Israel is using starvation as weapon of war, says Josep BorrellSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageIn an operational update, Israel’s military has said that it “struck a Hezbollah military structure and an observation post” in Ramyeh inside Lebanon. The village is situated just north of the UN-drawn blue line that separates Israel and Lebanon.Israel is provoking famine...

IDF claims medical complex, where hundreds are reportedly sheltering, is being used by Hamas, as health ministry reports deaths and injuriesMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsraeli forces have taken control of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, following a major overnight raid on the medical complex.Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesperson, said early on Monday that troops were “conducting a high-precision operation in limited areas...

PM acknowledges international pressure is increasing but says it will not stop Israel achieving its goalsBenjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with sending Israeli troops into Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, rejecting deep international concerns over the risks to more than a million Palestinians who have sought shelter there.The prime minister said no amount of international pressure would stop Israel from realising all...

Syria’s state news agency reports airstrikes coming from Golan Heights led to ‘material losses’ and wounding of a soldierIsraeli forces arrested eight Palestinians in overnight raids across the occupied West Bank, local news sources said, according to Al Jazeera.The arrests reportedly took place in Qalqilya, Hebron and Jenin after Israeli troops raided Palestinian homes. Continue reading...

Destruction of buildings, too few ambulances and having to work in ‘red zones’ all adding to traumaThere have been no medical evacuations from northern Gaza for more than a month so severely injured people are trapped in damaged hospitals where they cannot get adequate treatment, a leading medical charity has warned.Ambulances need urgent access to take the most vulnerable patients for specialist care, said...

Israeli negotiators are heading to Qatar after the group dropped calls for a permanent end to hostilities and agreed a 40-day pauseIsraeli negotiators are expected to arrive in Qatar on Sunday amid intense new efforts to bring the war in Gaza to at least a temporary halt, after Hamas abandoned key ceasefire demands last week following a series of setbacks.In recent days, the militant...

World Central Kitchen says 200 tonnes of food is ready for distribution as second boat prepares to leave CyprusSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverage hereThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its fighter jets had struck a building used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Tayr Harfa and another infrastructure in Labbouneh overnight, according to the Times of Israel.A US charity said on Saturday that its...

Hamas seeks scaled-back release it can portray as victory as Israeli government weighs conflicting pressures over hostagesIn a cafe on a dusty roundabout in the small West Bank town of Silwad, men sit and play cards, one eye on the large TV screen showing the latest news from Gaza. When there is any mention of a possible ceasefire deal – and so the release...

Israeli PM’s decision may be intended to put negotiating pressure on Hamas, observers say, after his cabinet discussed truce proposal Middle East crisis – live updatesBenjamin Netanyahu has approved plans for an attack on Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, where more than a million people displaced from elsewhere in the territory have sought shelter, officials in Israel have said.The decision was made as...

The Open Arms, towing barge with 200 tons of food for Palestinians threatened with famine, said to be five kilometres off Gaza coastReuters has a breaking news line about the Gaza aid ship, the Open Arms, that set off from Cyprus on Tuesday. According to the news agency, witnesses have reported that the ship is close to Gaza’s coast now.More details soon … Continue...

More than 150 also injured after Israeli troops fire ‘direct shots’ at people waiting for food truck in Gaza City, according to officialsMiddle East crisis – live updatesGaza’s health ministry has said Israeli fire killed 20 people waiting to receive desperately needed aid in the besieged Palestinian territory, but the Israel military said the reports were “erroneous”.Officials said the attack occurred as a crowd...

Pallets with 50% more supplies than first boat, Open Arms, being loaded in CyprusMiddle East crisis – latest updatesThe charity sending food aid to Gaza on a ship travelling across the Mediterranean from Cyprus is loading a second boat with supplies, which it hopes will set off in the coming days.Pallets containing 300 tonnes of food aid – 50% more than the first shipment...

Where Spanish-flagged vessel Open Arms will dock, and how supplies will be distributed, is still unclearA ship carrying aid is nearing Gaza about 48 hours after it left Cyprus, with further aid preparations being made aboard a second “much bigger” vessel. It came as the EU foreign policy chief said starvation was being used as a weapon of war.After the 240-mile voyage, the ship...

Vessel expected to leave ‘as soon as possible’, aid group says as start of Muslim holy month overshadowed by warSee all our coverage of the Israel-Gaza warHaaretz reports that the IDF has issued a disciplinary note to a top commander after he ordered the destruction of a university compound in southern Gaza City without the approval of his superior.Al-Asraa university building was blown up...

Andrew Cayley, previously Britain’s chief military prosecutor, to run operation of the complex caseA senior British lawyer has been appointed to oversee the international criminal court’s investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories, the Guardian understands.Andrew Cayley, a barrister and former military prosecutor, has recently joined the ICC after he was chosen by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, to lead the...

Israeli prime minister hits back after Biden says war is hurting Israel more than helping itThe Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected Joe Biden’s comment that his approach to the war in Gaza is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel”, escalating a dispute between the leaders.Over the weekend, the US president said Netanyahu “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost...

Aaron Bushnell, who died last month, ‘sacrificed everything’ for Palestinians, says mayor of JerichoThe Palestinian town of Jericho has named a street after Aaron Bushnell, the US air force member who set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington to protest against the war in Gaza.The 25-year-old, who died on 25 February, “sacrificed everything” for Palestinians, said the mayor of Jericho, Abdul...

In MSNBC interview US president says Rafah offensive would be a ‘red line’ but he would not cut off weapons fundingAt least 31,045 Palestinians have been killed and 72,654 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.Most of the casualties have been women and children, the ministry has said, and thousands more bodies...

Cross-party group of peers expected to ask for more details about why minister made and withdrew claims about two academicsThe cabinet minister Michelle Donelan is to face more questioning this week over her judgment after taxpayers funded a payout to an academic she had falsely accused of supporting Hamas.The science secretary will appear before a cross-party group of peers on Tuesday, when she is...

Key site is al-Aqsa mosque on what Jews call the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Peaceful access for Muslims could send a message of calmIsraelis and Palestinians are bracing themselves for a tense and ­potentially violent week, with no sign of a ­ceasefire likely in Gaza and calls from Hamas for protest marches around the Islamic world to mark the start of Ramadan on Monday.Earlier...

Pentagon says planning for military port to deliver aid is in early stages; Swedish government says aid agency had agree to stronger internal controlsThe latest figures from the Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas, said 82 Palestinians were killed and 122 injured in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours.According to the statement, at least 30,960 Palestinians have been killed and 72,524...

Fifth major pro-Palestine rally of the year comes after government adviser warns against portraying protesters as extremistThousands of protesters are expected to gather again in central London to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the fifth major pro-Palestine demonstration in the capital so far this year.Saturday’s protest comes a day after Dame Sara Khan, a UK government adviser on social cohesion, said attempts...

Gili Roman recalls ‘worst days of my life’ while sister was missing and relief after her release in NovemberFor five days, Gili Roman waited for a phone call to bring news of his sister’s release among the first group of hostages freed from Gaza in November, after weeks of relentless violence in the war between Israel and Hamas.When the call came at two in...