UN security council backs resolution on large-scale aid to Gaza but not ceasefire

US opposes making demand for suspension of hostilities, lack of which International Rescue Committee calls ‘unjustifiable’

The UN security council has voted for a resolution calling for large-scale delivery of aid to Gaza in an effort to contain the imminent threat of famine and deadly epidemics.

The resolution did not however demand a suspension of hostilities, which was opposed by the US, which also insisted on removing a clause giving the UN exclusive control of humanitarian deliveries.

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Israel widens ground offensive in Gaza as UN aid resolution talks continue

More evacuations ordered in west of strip, 11 weeks into war that has now killed nearly 1% of people in Gaza

Israel is expanding its ground offensive in Gaza, ordering new evacuations in the west of the strip, as UN security council negotiations over a resolution intended to increase the flow of humanitarian supplies stretched into another day.

Israel’s military told people to leave their homes in al-Bureij, an urban refugee camp. It also said extra ground troops would head to fight in southern Khan Younis. Both areas were originally declared safe for civilians fleeing from the north.

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UN security council vote delayed yet again and now set for Friday – as it happened

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The World Health Organization said on Thursday that northern Gaza had been left without a functional hospital due to a lack of fuel, staff and supplies.

“There are actually no functional hospitals left in the north,” Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in Gaza, told reporters via video link from Jerusalem.

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Israeli military accused of targeting journalists and their families in Gaza

Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 68 journalists and media workers killed since 7 October

The Committee to Protect Journalists has accused the Israeli military of targeting journalists and their families in Gaza amid the highest death toll of media workers in any recent conflict.

The New York-based CPJ said at least 68 journalists and other media workers had been killed in Gaza, Israel and southern Lebanon since the Hamas cross-border attack on 7 October and subsequent Israeli assault.

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Meta censors pro-Palestinian views on a global scale, report claims

Rights group says Facebook and Instagram routinely engage in ‘six key patterns of undue censorship’ of content supporting Palestine

Meta has engaged in a “systemic and global” censorship of pro-Palestinian content since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war on 7 October, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In a scathing 51-page report, the organization documented and reviewed more than a thousand reported instances of Meta removing content and suspending or permanently banning accounts on Facebook and Instagram. The company exhibited “six key patterns of undue censorship” of content in support of Palestine and Palestinians, including the taking down of posts, stories and comments; disabling accounts; restricting users’ ability to interact with others’ posts; and “shadow banning”, where the visibility and reach of a person’s material is significantly reduced, according to HRW.

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Ikea warns Red Sea attacks could disrupt supplies and deliveries

Firm says it is weighing up options to secure product availability amid Yemeni rebel attacks on shipping

Ikea has warned that the disruption to global trade caused by Yemeni rebel attacks in the Red Sea could delay its deliveries and affect availability of some products.

The world’s largest furniture company said it was “evaluating other supply options to secure the availability of our products” after many big shipping companies stopped sending vessels through the Suez canal in response to the attacks by Houthi militants’ protests against the Israel-Gaza war.

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Hamas rejects hostage talks as UN declares ‘catastrophic’ hunger in Gaza

Hamas says no talks without halt to Israeli onslaught, after Netanyahu appeared to dismiss prospect of another truce

Gaza is facing a “catastrophic” hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions, according to the UN, with everyone in the besieged coastal strip liable to face acute food insecurity in the coming weeks.

At the same time, hopes of a temporary pause in fighting to allow a new prisoner exchange receded as Hamas rejected talks until Israel halted its military onslaught on Gaza. And a UN resolution aimed at increasing aid flows into Gaza remained mired in disagreement at the security council, with the US demanding changes, arguing that the current text could hurt humanitarian deliveries more than help them.

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Gaza children being killed or mutilated in ‘very extreme’ numbers, Australian doctor says

Reporting what is being directly witnessed by MSF healthcare workers does not indicate loss of neutrality, Natalie Thurtle stresses

An Australian doctor who coordinated medical aid to Gaza has expressed horror at the “huge proportion of children being killed or maimed for life” as the UN security council again delayed a vote on a ceasefire resolution.

Dr Natalie Thurtle, who helped oversee the response by Médecins Sans Frontières until last week, said it was “very confronting for colleagues trying to provide healthcare when it’s possible to be shot through the window of the hospital”.

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More than 100 container ships rerouted from Suez canal to avoid Houthi attacks

Cape of Good Hope diversion adds 6,000 nautical miles and three or four weeks to delivery times and has driven up oil prices

More than 100 container ships have been rerouted around southern Africa to avoid the Suez canal, in a sign of the disruption to global trade caused by Houthi rebels attacking vessels on the western coast of Yemen.

The shipping company Kuehne and Nagel said it had identified 103 ships that had already changed course, with more expected to go around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.

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Israel orders new evacuations in southern Gaza, says UN – as it happened

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Intensive Qatari and Egyptian-mediated talks are under way for a possible second Gaza truce under which Hamas would return some hostages in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

While the number of people slated to go free was still being discussed, Israel is insisting that women and infirm male hostages be included, said the source, adding that Palestinians jailed for serious offences could also be on the roster.

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Biden administration policy differences reportedly behind delay in Gaza ceasefire vote at UN

Work continues on UN security council text of resolution that the US could at least abstain on, as Qatar says hostage talks have been ‘positive’

A vote on a Gaza ceasefire resolution was postponed for a second time at the UN security council on Tuesday, amid reported policy differences inside the Biden administration.

While diplomatic efforts struggled in New York in the pursuit of a formalised truce, there was a renewed push for a new hostage deal that would involve a short humanitarian pause in the fight to allow an exchange with Palestinian prisoners.

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US announces naval coalition to defend Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks

Egypt and Saudi Arabia notably absent from Operation Prosperity Guardian as more shipping companies forgo route

The US has announced the creation of an enhanced naval protection force operating in the southern Red Sea in an attempt to ward off mounting attacks from Yemen’s rebel Houthis on merchant shipping.

Britain said it would be among the countries participating but notable absentees were Arab nations Egypt and Saudi Arabia while analysts speculated that shipping would continue to be disrupted and attacks continue.

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Palestinian casualties in Gaza near 20,000 with nearly 2m people displaced

UK and Germany demand ‘sustainable ceasefire’ as Israel’s military campaign enters 11th week

Israeli forces killed 25 people in bombings in southern Gaza, hit a refugee camp in the north and raided one of the area’s last operating hospitals, as Palestinian casualties in the territory climbed towards 20,000.

The death toll from airstrikes and grim conditions for nearly 2 million people displaced from their homes with little access to food, clean water or sanitation is fuelling growing international anger, even among Israel’s close allies.

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MPs clash in Commons as government urged to back instant Gaza ceasefire

Lib Dem MP Layla Moran describes desperate plight of relatives in Gaza after she was granted urgent question on situation

The Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran has made an impassioned plea in the House of Commons for the government to back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as she told of the desperate plight of relatives who had taken refuge in a church there.

Those inside the Holy Family parish in Gaza City were down to their last can of corn, she told the development minister, Andrew Mitchell, who will meet her on Wednesday. Two women were allegedly killed by an Israeli military sniper in the church on Saturday.

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Tuesday briefing: Will the accidental shooting of three Israeli hostages be a ‘sea change’ moment?

In today’s newsletter: The fallout in Israel after the IDF killed Alon Shamriz, Samer Al-Talalka and Yotam Haim on Friday

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Good morning. On Friday morning, in broad daylight, three young Israeli men who had been taken hostage by Hamas emerged near an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) position in Gaza, waving a white flag. They were unarmed, and shirtless, to show that they were not carrying explosives. An IDF sniper shot two of them dead, and wounded the third.

The survivor fled to a nearby building. He was heard shouting for help in Hebrew. When he reemerged from cover, he too was shot dead. A search of the building was carried out, revealing banners bearing the messages “Help, 3 hostages” and “SOS”.

PPE Medpro | A furious row has broken out between the disgraced Conservative peer Michelle Mone and the government over how much they knew about her links to a company that won lucrative deals during the pandemic. On Monday, as Rishi Sunak said he was taking the case “incredibly seriously”, Mone claimed the government “knew about my involvement from the very beginning”.

China | At least 118 people have been killed and more than 500 injured in an earthquake in China’s north-west Gansu and Qinghai provinces, state media has reported. The strong shallow earthquake struck shortly before midnight on Monday, with the toll rising on Tuesday as rescuers reached affected areas.

Technology | TikTok has given special status to certain high-profile accounts, with moderators in Europe encouraged to be more lenient with content posted by people including Russell Brand, according to internal messages seen by the Guardian. TikTok said it was inaccurate to say that staff had been asked to be less stringent with certain accounts and its guidelines are applied to everyone who uses the app.

Iceland | A volcano in southwest Iceland has erupted after weeks of intense earthquake activity. Fearing a significant outbreak on the Reykjanes peninsula, authorities had evacuated the nearly 4,000 inhabitants of the fishing town of Grindavik and closed the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.

Assisted dying | The ChildLine founder and broadcaster Esther Rantzen has said she has considered the option of assisted dying if her ongoing lung cancer treatment does not improve her condition. She told the BBC that there should be a free vote on the subject so that family members of people in her position do not face prosecution if they provide support.

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US launches Red Sea protection force after Houthi attacks – as it happened

This blog is now closed. See all our Israel-Gaza war coverage here

The US defence secretary has invited dozens of countries to take steps to address Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping as he spoke at a defence ministerial to tout a new military operation to secure commerce in the waterway.

“We’re all here because many countries can directly contribute to our common efforts to keep strategic waterways safe,” Lloyd Austin said, according to prepared remarks.

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Egypt’s Sisi wins third term as president after amending constitution

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi wins Egypt election with 89.6% of vote after facing no serious challengers

The president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, was voted in for a third term on Monday after an election where he faced no serious challengers, calling the vote a rejection of the “inhumane war” in neighbouring Gaza.

The president was able to claim the top job after Egypt’s constitution was amended in 2019, extending the presidential term to six years from four, and allowing Sisi to stand for a third term.

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US defence secretary reasserts support but urges Israel to change tactics in Gaza

Lloyd Austin discusses focus on precise targeting of Hamas leaders; however, UN delays vote calling for cessation of hostilities

The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, has held talks with Israeli officials about shifting away from large-scale aerial and ground operations in the Gaza Strip to a new phrase in the war focused on the precise targeting of Hamas leaders.

“Hamas should never again be able to project terror from Gaza into Israel. This is Israel’s operation; I’m not here to dictate timelines or terms,” Austin told reporters after meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defence counterpart, Yoav Gallant, in Tel Aviv on Monday. He added that protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza was “both a moral duty and a strategic imperative”.

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RSF paramilitary seizes control of Wad Madani, Sudan’s second city

Advance comes after three days of intense fighting that forced thousands to flee towards the south

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have seized Wad Madani, the country’s second city, which had taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees from the capital, Khartoum, early in the eight-month war between the regular army and the paramilitary RSF.

Videos posted by the RSF on Monday showed fighters in pickup trucks driving along streets in the city, the capital of el-Gezira state.

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