Sidelined over Gaza war, Mahmoud Abbas faces growing calls to quit

Departure of longtime leader would pave way for new elections and much needed reform of Palestinian Authority

Last month the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, flew to the Qatari capital, Doha, for talks on securing a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. That in itself was unusual; the West Bank-based Abbas, who is also chair of the Fatah party and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), has been all but sidelined by local and international actors since the conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out.

According to three sources with knowledge of the meetings, which involved Palestinian and Qatari officials as well as diplomats from around the region, it was suggested that Abbas, 88, should consider shifting to a ceremonial presidential role. Such a move would pave a path for new Palestinian elections and help heal the long-running rift between Fatah and Hamas. It would also allow US-led hopes for a “revitalised”, “single structure” Palestinian Authority (PA) that could take charge in Gaza to move forward, with the eventual aim of restarting peace talks aimed at a two-state solution.

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Three sailors dead after Houthis strike ship in Gulf of Aden, US says

Incident marks first fatalities of commercial shipping crew since militants began launching strikes off Yemen last year

Three sailors have died and others have been injured after a Houthi missile attack on a ship in the Gulf of Aden, US officials have said – the first fatalities of crew of commercial shipping since the Houthis began launching strikes at ships in waters off Yemen last year.

The officials told US news agencies that the crew of the MV True Confidence had abandoned ship after the attack, which was claimed by the Houthis.

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After Michigan success, Biden ballot protest movement heads to Georgia

Campaign to ‘leave it blank’ or vote ‘uncommitted’ aims to increase pressure on Biden to stop Israel’s incursion in Gaza

A protest movement in Georgia – a swing state that President Biden narrowly won in 2020 – is seeking to apply pressure to the incumbent over his support of Israel before the 12 March Democratic primary election.

On Monday, a group of multifaith and multiracial groups called the Listen to Georgia Coalition launched the Leave It Blank campaign, which urges voters to submit a blank ballot next Tuesday. The push follows a similar grassroots effort – Listen to Michigan – in which more than 100,000 voters marked their ballots “uncommitted” last month.

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Food aid convoy for northern Gaza looted after delay at Israeli checkpoint

Trucks attacked by desperate people as logistical obstacles and restrictions imposed by Israel limit urgently needed aid

A new drive by the United Nation’s World Food Programme to deliver aid to an estimated half million people at risk of famine in northern Gaza has failed amid further scenes of chaos and violence.

A 14-truck convoy destined for northern Gaza was looted on Tuesday after being held at an Israeli army checkpoint for several hours, aid workers said. As the convoy turned back after the delay, it was attacked and 200 tonnes of food looted by “a large crowd of desperate people”.

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Two men acquitted of bribing Saudis in huge British defence deal

Jury acquits Jeffrey Cook and John Mason after lawyers argue payments were authorised by UK and Saudi governments

Two men have been acquitted of paying bribes totalling millions of pounds to high-ranking Saudis after they argued that they had been unfairly prosecuted.

Jeffrey Cook and John Mason had been accused of bribing a Saudi prince and his associates to secure and maintain a huge defence deal for a British company. But on Wednesday, a jury in London acquitted them after lawyers argued the payments had been authorised by the British and Saudi governments.

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Middle East crisis live: EU working on maritime humanitarian corridor to support people in Gaza – as it happened

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen due to travel to Cyprus as bloc works to try to establish corridor through island

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday that hunger and malnutrition were on the rise among children, breastfeeding women, and pregnant women in Gaza.

In a post on X, the UN’s health agency, said that the only paediatric hospital in northern Gaza was “overwhelmed with patients” and was facing “acute shortages of food, water, fuel, health workers, and medicines”. It added: “The need for access to humanitarian aid is dire.”

Malnutrition plays a major role in the number of children that come to us, and the number of deaths.

When a child is supposed to eat three meals a day and ends up eating one meal, that’s not enough; your body becomes deficient in carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins, and defecient in fats that are necessary for the body. Then the body goes into a severe dehydration state.

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Gaza’s hunger crisis

Children are reported to be starving in Gaza as insufficient aid supplies crawl into the territory. Meanwhile, as Ramadan approaches, peace talks are faltering. Patrick Wintour reports

The scenes were chaotic: hundreds of people crowded around aid trucks desperately trying to grab what they could amid a hunger crisis that international observers feared could turn into famine. By the end of the night, according to Gazan health authorities, 112 would be dead and more than 700 people injured.

As the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, tells Michael Safi, the events of that night are under investigation amid an international outcry. The incident has brought the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza into sharper focus and led to increasing pressure from Israel’s allies to intensify their efforts in getting food through the crossings and to the people who need it most.

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Gaza ceasefire talks appear to stall days before Ramadan

Two days of negotiations in Cairo break up with Hamas accusing Israeli PM of not wanting to a deal

Negotiations aimed at brokering a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war appear to have stalled, days before an unofficial deadline of the beginning of Ramadan.

Two days of talks between Hamas and international mediators in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, have not yielded any significant breakthroughs, Palestinian officials said, after Israel declined to send a delegation to the latest round of negotiations.

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Sinking of Rubymar in Red Sea poses grave environmental risks, experts warn

Leaking fuel and thousands of tonnes of fertiliser could harm marine ecosystems and affect coastal fishing communities

The sinking of a bulk carrier off the coast of Yemen after a Houthi missile attack poses grave environmental risks as thousands of tonnes of fertiliser threaten to spill into the Red Sea, officials and experts have warned.

Leaking fuel and the chemical pollutant could harm marine life, including coral reefs, and affect coastal communities that rely on fishing for their livelihoods, they said.

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Palestinians ‘beaten and sexually assaulted’ at Israeli detention centres, UN report claims

Internal analysis by UNRWA, based on interviews with released Palestinians, describes dog attacks and the prolonged use of stress positions

An internal UN report describes widespread abuse of Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention centres, including beatings, dog attacks, the prolonged use of stress positions and sexual assault.

The report was compiled by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) and is largely based on interviews of Palestinian detainees released at the Kerem Shalom crossing point since December, when UNRWA staff were present to provide humanitarian support.

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Middle East crisis: Hamas set to stay in Cairo for ceasefire talks; Israel says Hezbollah ‘aggression’ bringing ‘critical point’ nearer – as it happened

Leaders from Hamas expected to hold further talks with mediators; Israel defence minister warns of military escalation with Lebanon. This live blog is closed

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that malnutrition in northern Gaza is “particularly extreme”.

“The situation is particularly extreme in northern Gaza,” Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative for Gaza and the West Bank, said.

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Girl Scout troop disbands after parent chapter blocks Palestine fundraiser

St Louis group wished to donate money from bracelet sale to children’s relief fund but Girl Scouts said it could make political statement

At 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 sell bracelets, and donate the proceeds to a cause they felt was more urgent than their own: the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. As the violent siege in Gaza rages on with more than 30,000 killed, many of whom are children, troop leader Nawal Abuhamdeh agreed to the girls’ wishes.

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UN finds ‘convincing information’ that Hamas raped and tortured Israeli hostages

Pramila Patten’s findings are based on interviews with released hostages, whose testimony suggests abuses are continuing in Gaza

The UN’s special envoy on sexual violence in conflict has reported “clear and convincing information” that some women and children hostages held by Hamas had been subjected to rape and sexualised torture and that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe such abuses were “ongoing”.

The special envoy, Pramila Patten, also reported on Monday that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe sexual assaults including rape and gang-rape in several places took place during the 7 October attacks by Hamas.

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Hamas negotiators under pressure to produce list of hostages to be released

Officials at Cairo talks say list is first step in truce deal as militant group demands aid into Gaza

Egyptian and Qatari officials are putting pressure on Hamas negotiators in Cairo to produce a list of hostages to be released as the first step in a phased ceasefire agreement with Israel, according to officials familiar with the talks.

Israel has not sent a delegation to the second day of talks in Cairo, demanding that Hamas present a list of 40 elderly, sick and female hostages who would be the first to be released as part of a truce that would initially last six weeks, beginning with the month of Ramadan, the officials say.

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Middle East crisis: 16-year-old boy reportedly killed during Israeli raid near Ramallah – as it happened

Palestinian Authority ministry of health said the killing of Mustafa Abu Shalbak happened in the early morning hours. This live blog is closed

Israeli media is reporting that one person has been killed and several wounded in Margaliot in northern Israel, which is close to the UN-drawn blue line that separates Lebanon and Israel.

More details soon …

I am deeply concerned that in this powder keg, any spark could lead to a much broader conflagration. This would have implications for every country in the Middle East, and many beyond it. It is imperative to do everything possible to avoid a wider conflagration.

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Twin babies among 14 killed in Israeli airstrike on house in Rafah

Five-month-old boy and girl born after 10 years of trying died in blast at home that also killed their father

Five-month-old twins who were conceived after three rounds of IVF have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on their family home in Rafah, southern Gaza.

Naeim and Wissam Abu Anza were among 14 Palestinians – including six children – killed in the strike at the weekend, according to survivors and health officials. The babies’ father was among the dead. Another nine people are still missing under the rubble.

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Aid corridor needed urgently to prevent famine in north Gaza, says WFP official

Agency’s country director says deaths near aid convoy last week were avoidable and north of territory needs to be flooded with aid

The deaths of more than 100 people when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid convoy in Gaza was a tragedy that should have been foreseen and could have been prevented, the World Food Programme country director for Palestine has said.

Matthew Hollingworth also said an aid corridor into northern Gaza was needed urgently to prevent a “man-made” famine there after Palestinians were starved of food at terrifying speed and scale.

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Scientists unearth mysteries of giant, moving Moroccan star dune

Parts of the structure are younger than expected while an east wind blows the whole thing across the desert, researchers find

They are impressive, mysterious structures that loom out of deserts on the Earth and are also found on Mars and on Saturn’s biggest moon, Titan.

Experts from universities including Aberystwyth in Wales have now pinpointed the age of a star dune in a remote area of Morocco and uncovered details about its formation and how it moves across the desert.

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Israel asks Eurovision candidate to change controversial lyrics

National broadcaster says it agreed to make changes after request from country’s president

Israel has agreed to revise the lyrics of its potential submission to the Eurovision song contest after organisers took issue with verses that appeared to reference Hamas’s 7 October attack.

The contest, which will take place from 7 to 11 May in the Swedish city of Malmö, can disqualify contestants deemed to have breached its rules on political neutrality. Kan, Israel’s national broadcaster, is tasked with choosing the country’s entry.

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