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UN team visiting Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital found many gunshot injuries after Thursday’s attack, says spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres; US ‘working hard’ for truce deal, says presidentSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageThe latest figures from the Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas, said 92 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes and 156 were injured in the past 24 hours.According to the...

Organiser suggests PM consider own MPs’ behaviour after speech about rise in ‘extremist disruption’Pro-Palestine protests are to continue across the UK on Saturday after Rishi Sunak’s warning that democracy was being targeted by “extremists”.In an address to the nation on Friday, the prime minister spoke about “forces here at home trying to tear us apart”, in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks by...

Calls for independent inquiry as UN team visiting the wounded in Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital report seeing ‘large number of gunshot wounds’Israel is facing growing international pressure for an investigation after more than 100 Palestinians in Gaza were killed when desperate crowds gathered around aid trucks and Israeli troops opened fire on Thursday.Israel said people died in a crush or were run over by...

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...

Allegations against 12 employees led major donors to suspend funding to UN Palestinian agency despite hunger crisis in GazaA month after Israeli allegations that a dozen United Nations staff were involved in the 7 October Hamas attack, UN investigators have yet to receive any evidence from Israel to support the claims, though they expect some material to be forthcoming “shortly”.The allegations against the 12...

‘We designate Hamas as a terrorist group, but we must also call things by their name when there are atrocities in Gaza,’ says Stéphane SéjournéFrance has called for an independent investigation into the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza who were gathered to receive humanitarian aid on Thursday.Stéphane Séjourné, the minister for Europe and foreign affairs, told France Inter:We will ask for explanations, and there...

Israeli military denies shooting into large crowds of hungry people and says most were killed in crush or run over trying to escape More than a hundred Palestinians were killed in the early hours of Thursday morning, Gaza health officials said, when desperate crowds gathered around aid trucks and Israeli troops opened fire, in an incident that the US president, Joe Biden, warned was...

More than 30 news organisations sign open letter demanding freedom to report conflict in safetyMore than 30 news organisations have signed an open letter expressing solidarity with journalists working in Gaza and calling for their protection and freedom to report.The letter, coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), was signed by global news agencies AFP, AP and Reuters, as well as other leading...

New Zealand also announced sanctions on ‘extremist Israeli settlers’ accused of violence against PalestiniansSee all of our coverage on the Israel-Gaza warCNN are reporting that concern is rising among Biden officials that Israel may launch an incursion into Lebanon.In a politics piece published on its website on Thursday, CNN cite US administration and intelligence officials as being “concerned that Israel is planning a ground...

Dozens of foreign staff have had to leave and new specialists can’t be brought in, says group representing aid agenciesIsrael has stopped issuing visas for international staff of humanitarian organisations that work in occupied Palestinian territories, hampering efforts to get food and other vital supplies into Gaza.Dozens of foreign aid workers, including heads of organisations, have had to leave Israel and the Palestinian territories,...

Women and children suffering acute malnutrition as territory faces ‘catastrophic conditions’, according to UNOne in five pregnant women treated at a central Gaza clinic are malnourished, doctors have warned, as fuel and medical supply shortages closed the last hospital operating in the north of the strip.“Every day, we see women and children coming into our clinic suffering from acute malnutrition,” said Dr Maram, the...

Palestinian ambassador to UK says Hamas will be consulted but would have no members in governmentMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe formation of a new Palestinian technocratic government would be aided by both Qatar and Egypt and involves consultations with all Palestinian political factions – including Hamas, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, has said.The move appears to be part of an...

Exclusive: UN special rapporteur on the right to food Michael Fakhri says denial of food is war crime and constitutes ‘a situation of genocide’Israel is intentionally starving Palestinians and should be held accountable for war crimes – and genocide, according to the UN’s leading expert on the right to food.Hunger and severe malnutrition are widespread in the Gaza Strip, where about 2.2 million Palestinians...

Details of draft truce emerged in reports hours after US president Joe Biden said ‘my hope is by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire’Reuters is reporting that a Hamas official has told it that US president Joe Biden’s words about a halt to fighting in Gaza are premature, and do not match the situation on the ground.The official told the new agency there were...

US president appears upbeat as Hamas reportedly mulls 40-day halt in fighting with Palestinian prisoners swapped for Israeli hostagesIsrael-Gaza war latest – live updatesJoe Biden has said he believes a new, temporary ceasefire in Gaza is possible by next Monday, as Hamas was reportedly considering a draft agreement for a 40-day pause in fighting and the exchange of dozens of Israeli hostages for hundreds...

The Palestinian Scouts Association, once a recreational outlet, is deploying volunteers to help people displaced by warSahar Abu Zeid was perhaps an unlikely member of the Gaza City branch of the Palestinian Scout Association. She first got involved in 2017, aged 25, shortly after finishing an accounting degree, and quickly fell in love with the outdoor lifestyle and sense of community the organisation provided.Before...

Amount reaching starving territory dropped 50% in February despite severe shortages of basic necessitiesThe amount of aid reaching Gaza fell by half in February from the month before, the UN has said, as its secretary general, António Guterres, said an Israeli assault on Rafah would be “the nail in the coffin” of deliveries to the starving territory.“February registered a 50% reduction of humanitarian aid...

Isaac Herzog said ‘haters try to drive us off every stage’ as lyrics to October Rain scrutinised by organisersIsrael’s president, Isaac Herzog, wants to ensure the country competes in the Eurovision song contest after the event’s organisers said they were examining whether the lyrics sung by the Israeli contestant were too political.“I think it’s important for Israel to appear in Eurovision, and this is...

UNRWA chief says humanitarian work in Gaza compromised after donors froze funds over alleged Hamas linksThe UN agency for Palestinian refugees has been forced to “stretch every dollar” and juggle its finances in order to continue vital work in Gaza after 18 donor countries suspended funding over allegations of links to Hamas.The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East...

National security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi says ‘there is probably room to move towards an agreement’; Netanyahu reaffirms aim to send troops into RafahMore than half of UK export businesses have been affected by disruption to shipping in critical trade routes along the Red Sea, according to a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).The Iran-backed Houthis who control much of north-western Yemen have...

Closed-door negotiations in Paris and UN efforts in New York yield conflicting reports of progress, but city of Rafah remains in Israel’s firing line A closed-door meeting of spy chiefs, military officials and diplomats has briefly renewed hopes of a potential ceasefire deal amid fierce debates at the United Nations, but observers have warned that time is running out to make progress and prevent...

Pressure has mounted on Netanyahu government to negotiate a ceasefire and secure the release of those kidnapped on 7 OctoberSee all our Middle East crisis coverageThe Palestine Solidarity Campaign has defended the right to lobby UK MPs “in large numbers”, amid reports the group wanted so many protesters to turn up that parliament would “have to lock the doors”.According to the Press Association (PA),...

Desperation of people searching for food in southern areas is making journeys north unsafe, says UNMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe UN agency in charge of Palestinian affairs said it has been forced to pause aid deliveries to northern Gaza – where it is not “possible to conduct proper humanitarian operations” – amid increasing reports of famine among people in the area.The UN began...

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...