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Israeli military says 99% of Iran’s 300 drones and missiles intercepted during overnight attackFull report: Iran warns it will strike again if Israel or US retaliateWhat we know so farJordan declared a state of emergency amid Iran’s drone attack on Israel, Reuters reported, citing state media.Two regional security sources told Reuters that the country’s air defenses are prepared to intercept and shoot down any...

US president convenes top advisers as US and Jordanian forces help Israel intercept barrageIran launches attack against Israel – liveIran said it launched dozens of drones and ballistic missiles towards Israel on Saturday in a major attack following days of acute tension building up in the region and warnings from the US and elsewhere about a wider conflict erupting.Air attack warning sirens began wailing...

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...

US president also said Israel must implement a series of specific steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workersMiddle East crisis – live updatesJoe Biden has called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, telling Benjamin Netanyahu that future US support for Israel will depend on it taking concrete action to protect civilians and aid workers.As the two leaders held...

This live blog is now closed. For more on the Biden-Netanyahu phone call, you can read our full report:Protect civilians and aid workers or risk losing US support, Biden tells IsraelJill Biden pleaded with her husband, Joe Biden, to “stop it, stop it now”, referring to the war in Gaza, the president told guests at the White House, according to a report.At a meeting...

US president ‘outraged and heartbroken’ after IDF drone attack killed seven people working for World Central Kitchen in GazaJoe Biden has said that Israel is not doing enough to protect aid workers and has called for a swift investigation into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) drone attack in Gaza which killed seven people working for the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity.“This conflict has been...

Vermont senator makes remarks after Israeli strike kills seven aid workers, amid war that has killed more than 32,000 PalestiniansThe Vermont senator and former US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has a message for the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu: “Stop murdering innocent people.”Sanders delivered his blunt message in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday, a day after seven aid workers were killed by...

Tone in parts of Israeli media borders on contempt, as prime minister’s growing friction with Biden linked to US abstentionThe Israeli prime minister’s handling of relations with the Biden administration, which led the US on Monday to decline to veto a ceasefire resolution at the UN security council, has been greeted by sharp criticism by Israeli commentators.After the US abstention, prominent columnists across the...

Washington’s decision not to use its veto is an acknowledgement of its failure to lead the UN Gaza agendaDiplomacy occasionally has the capacity to surprise, and when it does it often portends a deep shifting in the landscape.Few as recently as the end of last week saw much chance that the UN security council would be able to put aside five months of division...

The progressive congresswoman also called on the White House to suspend aid to the Israeli military in House speechProgressive US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the Israeli military campaign in Gaza an “unfolding genocide” in a scathing speech that demanded the Joe Biden White House suspend aid to Israel’s armed forces.“As we speak, in this moment, 1.1 million innocents in Gaza are at famine’s door,”...

Draft resolution loosens linkage between Gaza ceasefire and hostage release as US tries to claw back leadership on issue at UNWashington’s draft UN security council resolution on Gaza marks a shift in the US position, but it is a nuanced shift, retaining the linkage between a ceasefire and hostage release while loosening that linkage and emphasising that an immediate end to hostilities is the...

Source says wording suggests significant movement in US position as pressure mounts on Israel to halt campaignThe US has drafted a new UN security council resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” and hostage deal in Gaza, amid mounting pressure on Israel to halt its military campaign and allow the delivery of substantial amounts of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.The CIA and Mossad spy...

US says attack would be ‘mistake’ as Biden and Netanyahu talk by phone for first time in over a monthIsrael will send a team of officials to Washington to discuss its planned offensive on Rafah, the White House has said, as the Biden administration insists that an attack would be a “mistake” and seeks to persuade Israel to allow in more aid in the...

Democrat Chris Van Hollen says Biden must cease giving arms to Israel until it lifts restrictions on aid and does more to protect livesJoe Biden should use his leverage and the law to pressure Israel to change how it is prosecuting the war in Gaza, the Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen said.Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, is among a group of senators urging Biden...

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...

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 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...

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...

Washington supports appeal with draft resolution to UN security council calling for temporary ceasefireThe US has proposed a UN security council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire and for Israel not to go ahead with a planned offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza.The draft text marks the first time the US has explicitly backed a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, though it adds that...

US secretary of state and foreign ministers from UK, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan join Israel at security conferenceWestern leaders are hoping a round of meetings at a security conference in Munich will put overwhelming pressure on Israel not to press ahead with a ground offensive in Rafah.Almost all the key figures, save the Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, will be present in...

US national security spokesperson says talks in Cairo ‘constructive and moving in right direction’ Middle East crisis – live updatesIsrael and Hamas are making progress towards a deal that would bring about a ceasefire and free hostages held in the Gaza Strip, officials with knowledge of the talks have said.The US national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, speaking as negotiations were held in the...

Militants fired missiles at Greek-owned ship, says US military, in strike that raises questions over who Houthis are trying to targetIran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen have carried out their first attack in the Red Sea in six days, firing at an Iran-bound grain cargo ship, the US military has said, in a strike that raises questions about the group’s targeting.The lull in attacks on...

UN officials and Biden have said an offensive in city, where about 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering, would lead to a ‘bloodbath’In a call Sunday with Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden told the Israeli prime minister that Israel should not launch a military operation in Rafah “without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the more than one million...