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UK and US leaders among those calling for release, as families renew pressure on Netanyahu to restart negotiationsThe leaders of 18 countries including the US and the UK have called on Hamas to free Israeli and dual-national hostages held in Gaza.“The fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected under international law, is of international concern,” they said. “We...

Israeli prime minister terms pro-ceasefire rallies ‘horrific’ as students demand universities divest from weapons makersThe Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday condemned pro-Palestinian protests at universities in the United States as “horrific”, saying the demonstrations “have to be stopped”, as he categorized students as antisemitic.There’s been rising tensions at campuses across the US as demonstrations began last week after students at Columbia set...

Gantz says government ‘must set a consensual date for September’ while Netanyahu’s popularity continues to decline amid the ongoing war in GazaIsraeli minister Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet and main rival of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has called for snap parliamentary elections in September, as pressure builds over the war in Gaza.“We must set a consensual date for the month of...

Demonstrators join families of hostages in cities across country and vow to persist until he is ousted as PMTens of thousands of people across Israel joined the families of hostages this weekend to protest against the government and call for the removal of Benjamin Netanyahu, as the Israeli prime minister grappled with one of the most serious threats yet to his coalition.The protesters in...

Judges issue unanimous decision and say Palestinians are in urgent need of humanitarian assistanceThe international court of justice has ordered Israel to allow unimpeded access of food aid into Gaza, where sections of the population are facing imminent starvation, in a significant legal rebuke to Israel’s claim it is not blocking aid deliveries.A panel of judges at the UN’s top court, which is already...

For years Haredi men have been allowed to continue Torah study, but proposal could force some to enlist A proposed bill to extend compulsory military service to ultra-Orthodox students, historically exempt from conscription, has ignited a fierce debate in Israel, with Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly warning that failure to pass the law could jeopardise the stability of the government.Israel has mandatory army service but for...

Israeli PM speaks via video link and answers questions after his request to talk to Democrats was turned downThe Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, virtually addressed Republican senators in Washington on Wednesday, days after the chamber’s majority leader, the Democrat Chuck Schumer, called him an impediment to peace in an unsparing floor speech.The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, told reporters, shortly after leaving the...

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...

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...

Prime minister vows to continue offensive as Hamas delegation withdraws from ceasefire talksIsrael will not give in to international pressure to stall an attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah and will continue its bloody offensive against Hamas, said Benjamin Netanyahu.“There is international pressure and it’s growing, but … we need to stand together against the attempts to stop the war,” the prime...

Turnout was low for first ballot since Hamas’ 7 October attack, with security a high priority for votersLocal elections in Israel, delayed by the war in Gaza, have returned gains for Ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties after low turnout in most areas.The municipal votes were expected to serve as an indication of public opinion after the 7 October Hamas attack and the ensuing war in...

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...

After walking fine line between Israel and US Arab community, experts say Biden has justification to take ‘harder line’ before electionA long time ago, Joe Biden signed a photo for Benjamin Netanyahu. “Bibi, I love you,” he recalls writing. “I don’t agree with a damn thing you say.”This twisty, best-of-frenemies relationship has been at the heart of the crisis in Gaza for the past...

Politicians say Palestinians sheltering in the southern city in Gaza have nowhere else to goSee all our Israel-Gaza coverageJoe Biden has added his voice to growing international calls for Israel to drop plans for an all-out military assault on the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, after a ferocious hostage rescue operation that killed dozens of Palestinians.Speaking after talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah at...

Israeli PM brushes aside warnings that assault on Gaza’s southernmost town would be a ‘human catastrophe’ Benjamin Netanyahu appears determined to push ahead with a ground offensive against Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah but has claimed Israel will provide safe passage to the 1.3 million displaced Palestinians sheltering there.Despite mounting warnings from aid agencies and the international community that an assault on Rafah would...

Hundreds killed and injured in central Gaza Strip while Palestinians crowd into camps and the city of Rafah• Middle East crisis – live updatesIsraeli forces struck densely populated areas across the middle and southern Gaza Strip in a midnight attack on Friday and early Saturday, killing at least 25 people amid fears of an impending push south by ground troops as pressure builds for...

Two ministers said to have suggested move as part of efforts to free hostages and weaken Hamas, which they claim hijacks suppliesMiddle East crisis – live updatesMinisters in Israel’s war cabinet are reportedly considering limiting the amount of aid reaching Gaza, as rightwing protesters disrupt the entry of trucks carrying desperately needed humanitarian supplies to the besieged Palestinian territory.Benny Gantz, a retired general who...

Israeli PM also says he will not accept any truce that would require release of thousands of Palestinian prisonersMiddle East crisis – live updatesBenjamin Netanyahu has said he will not accept any ceasefire deal that requires the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners or the departure of Israeli troops from Gaza, as the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said he was willing to travel to...

Doha ‘appalled’ at leaked recordings allegedly showing Israeli PM saying Qatar’s role in talks is ‘problematic’Qatar has harshly criticised Israel’s prime minister, accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately obstructing ceasefire and hostage release negotiations with Hamas for personal political gain.Doha’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said on Wednesday night that his government was “appalled” by leaked remarks allegedly made by Netanyahu in which he criticised...

Deaths come as talks of ceasefire increase and pressure rises on Netanyahu over leadership and handling of war effortMiddle East crisis – live updatesTwenty-four Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza on Monday, by far the biggest single-day Israeli death toll in the three-month war against Hamas, as talks about a ceasefire intensified and Palestinian casualties continued to climb.The deaths came amid fierce fighting around...

Josep Borrell says minister came to meeting with plans for an artificial island off Gaza and a railway to IndiaMiddle East crisis – live updatesOne of the EU’s most senior diplomats has criticised the Israeli foreign minister for not properly engaging with a summit in Brussels designed to pave the way for a peace plan in the Middle East.Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative...

The prime minister said he rejected the terms of a deal which included Israel’s complete withdrawal from GazaSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageThe prospect of a deal to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas appeared to recede on Sunday after a Hamas official said Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of their conditions meant there was “no chance” of their return.Netanyahu had earlier dismissed the militant...

The Israeli leader is under pressure over course of the Gaza war but is doubling down on opposition to a two-state solutionDefiant Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on opposition to Palestinian statehood, deepening the divide with Israel’s closest international allies, as cracks in his wartime “unity” government became increasingly evident.Anger with Netanyahu is also increasingly visible on the streets, even though there...

IDF bombs urban refugee camps, UN agency warns of famine risk and skirmishes on Lebanon border intensifyIsrael-Gaza war: live updatesIsraeli planes bombed refugee camps in Gaza on Saturday as its troops expanded ground operations and tens of thousands of Palestinians fled their homes, setting the stage for a new year as bloody and destructive as the last three months of 2023.The threat of wider...