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The US secretary of state has rejected the idea that Washington might have a “double standard” when applying US law to allegations of abuses by the Israeli military in Gaza, while suggesting that examinations of such charges are ongoing.“In general, as we’re looking at human rights and the condition of human rights ...

Expected measures are under Leahy law and against the Netzah Yehuda battalion, accused of human rights violations against PalestiniansBenjamin Netanyahu has said he will fight against any efforts to impose sanctions on Israeli military units, amid reports that an Israel Defense Forces battalion is facing US sanctions over its treatment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.The US outlet Axios reported on Saturday that...

Flights delayed and traffic disrupted as protesters in major US cities intensify call for ceasefire in GazaThousands of people held protests across the US on Monday condemning Israel’s attack on Gaza, shutting down airports and disrupting traffic in major cities from New York to San Francisco.A portion of the Kennedy Expressway into Chicago O’Hare international airport, one of the US’s busiest, was blocked off...

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...

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gives jam as swathe of film and TV celebrities add support, including Zone of Interest’s Jonathan Glazer and Thor’s Tessa Thompson A host of film directors and stars, including Susan Sarandon, Paul Mescal and Olivia Colman, have added their names to those offering time and memorabilia to a Cinema for Gaza auction that is raising funds for humanitarian relief...

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...

Israeli PM cancels White House visit by two ministers and says US ‘abandoned its policy in the UN’ after abstaining on voteThe UN security council has voted to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the first time since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, after the US dropped a threat to veto, bringing Israel to near total isolation on the world stage.The vote...

EU leaders call for ‘immediate humanitarian pause’ while US expected to bring UN resolution calling for truce without delayEU leaders have overcome their differences to call for an “immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza, hours before the US is expected to bring a resolution to a vote at the UN calling for a truce and a hostage deal without delay...

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...

Doctors who have returned from volunteering at besieged hospitals to tell officials aid is meaningless without a ceasefireA delegation of American and British doctors is in Washington DC to tell the Biden administration the Israeli military is systematically destroying Gaza’s health infrastructure in order to drive Palestinians out of their homes.The doctors, who have recently returned from volunteering at Gaza’s besieged hospitals, are expected...

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...

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...

St Louis group wished to donate money from bracelet sale to children’s relief fund but Girl Scouts said it could make political statementAt the height of cookie season, a time when Girl Scouts across America fundraise by selling their famous Thin Mints, Caramel deLites and shortbread, one troop in Missouri wasn’t in the mood.Instead, the eight girls of Troop 149 decided to make and...

Donors raise more than $100,000 for man who gave his $17.74 paycheck for 136.50 hours of work to relief efforts in GazaDonors have raised more than $100,000 for an incarcerated man in the US who, earning 13 cents an hour in a California prison doing janitorial and porter work, donated his paycheck of $17.74 to Gaza relief efforts.Last month, Los Angeles-based filmmaker Justin Mashouf...

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...

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...

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...

In sharpest criticism of Israel to date, US president says he is pushing for a ‘hostage ceasefire’ and that there are ‘a lot of innocent people who are in trouble and dying, and it’s gotta stop’See all of our coverage of the Middle East crisisUS President Joe Biden has suggested that Israel’s military response in Gaza has been “over the top” and said he...

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...

Poll released Wednesday shows divisions by age and political lines, with 35% overall saying campaign against Palestinians is genocideMore than one in three Americans believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, a poll published on Wednesday has found.According to the Economist/YouGov poll, roughly equal numbers of adults believe Israel’s military campaign against Palestinians, which is estimated to have killed more than 25,000 people since...

US secretary of state rejects calls for immediate ceasefire but urges ally to make ‘hard decisions’ as fighting continuesSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageAnthony Blinken has reaffirmed the United States’ “unique bond” with Israel, and rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza but told his hosts in Tel Aviv that other regional powers have made clear that a pathway to the realisation of...