Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

UK, Germany and France say they have triggered UN sanctions on Iran

Posted on by

Move by trio of European powers gives Tehran 30 days to improve access for inspection of its nuclear sites

The UK, France and Germany have formally notified the UN that they have triggered the restoration of sweeping UN sanctions against Iran, giving Tehran 30 days to make concessions on access to its nuclear sites or face deeper worldwide economic isolation.

UK officials said the decision had not been taken lightly and there had been intensive diplomacy to try to avert this step. The officials emphasised there was still room for last-ditch diplomacy before the sanctions “snapback” comes into force in 30 days’ time. The annual high-level UN general assembly in September is likely to involve more intensive diplomacy over the situation with Iran.

Continue reading...

Tony Blair attends White House meeting with Trump on postwar Gaza

Posted on by

Former prime minister in Washington DC on Wednesday for talks that reportedly also included Jared Kushner

The former British prime minister Tony Blair has attended a White House meeting with Donald Trump to discuss plans for postwar Gaza, the Guardian understands.

After stepping down as prime minister in 2007, Blair took on the role of Middle East envoy until 2015 and spent time in Jerusalem trying to formulate a plan for a two-state solution.

Continue reading...

Pope demands ‘collective punishment’ end in Gaza as 10 more die of hunger

Posted on by

Latest deaths announced by Gaza health ministry bring starvation toll to 313, including 119 children

Ten Palestinians including two children have died from starvation in the last 24 hours, health authorities in Gaza said on Wednesday, as Pope Leo XIV demanded that Israel stop its “collective punishment” of the population in the besieged territory.

At least 313 people have died from hunger, including 119 children, since the war in Gaza began and Israel intensified its siege on the Palestinian territory. Last week a UN-backed monitoring body confirmed that Gaza was in the throes of famine and warned that without more aid, increasing numbers of people would lose access to food.

Continue reading...

Return of UN nuclear inspectors to Iran met with protests by MPs

Posted on by

Some Iranian officials say readmission breaches law passed after Israel and the US attacked the country in June

The partial return of UN inspectors to Iran for the first time since Israel and the US attacked Iran’s nuclear sites has been met with protests by officials in Tehran, who claim the strict preconditions they set have been breached. Some even described the return as criminal.

Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, tried to quell the backlash by saying the inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would not be visiting any of the bombed sites and that discussions about these were still to be had.

Continue reading...

A third of outpatients treated for wounds at MSF’s Gaza hospitals in 2024 were children, figures show

Posted on by

Explosive weapons designed to be used in battle are being used in urban areas, says Médecins Sans Frontières

Children under 15 years old made up almost a third of outpatients treated for wounds in field hospitals run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Gaza last year, statistics published in The Lancet reveal.

The figures were released by MSF in correspondence with the respected medical journal and come from six health facilities in Gaza supported by the international medical NGO. The facilities are predominantly in the south and centre of the devastated territory.

Continue reading...

Israeli protesters stage ‘day of disruption’ calling for end to war in Gaza

Posted on by

Netanyahu continues to prepare Gaza City offensive as mediators await response to ceasefire proposal

Tens of thousands of people took part in demonstrations across Israel on Tuesday, blocking highways on a “day of disruption” that aimed to push Benjamin Netanyahu into agreeing a deal to end the war and calling off plans to attack Gaza City.

Relatives of hostages led the biggest march and rally in Tel Aviv, while in Jerusalem hundreds of people gathered outside the prime minister’s office as the security cabinet met to discuss the war. There were dozens of other protests around the country, including on the main highway to the northern city of Haifa and inside Ben Gurion airport.

Continue reading...

Russia could back delay to ‘snapback’ of nuclear sanctions against Iran

Posted on by

Moscow willing to support six-month extension of deadline before punishments are reimposed, reports suggest

Russia could back an extended six-month deadline for its ally Iran before European powers reimpose sweeping United Nations sanctions over Tehran’s refusal to allow UN inspectors back into nuclear sites after the Israeli-US assault in June.

France, Britain and Germany – known as the E3 – have long threatened to trigger a “snapback” of sanctions at the UN security council before 18 October, when a largely defunct nuclear deal struck 10 years ago between Tehran and major powers expires.

Continue reading...

Norway wealth fund sells Caterpillar stake over Israel allegations

Posted on by

World’s largest wealth fund says it has excluded bulldozer maker and five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds

The world’s largest wealth fund has excluded Caterpillar, the construction equipment manufacturer, over Israel’s use of its bulldozers to destroy Palestinian property in Gaza and the West Bank.

Norway’s $2tn (£1.5tn) fund said on Monday it had excluded Caterpillar and five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds.

Continue reading...

Israel’s attack on hospital in Gaza may constitute a war crime on many fronts

Posted on by

Double-tap strike suggests killing of civilians, rescue workers and journalists deliberate and not a mistake

Israel’s twin strike on the Nasser hospital in Gaza, which killed five journalists including staff working for the Associated Press, Reuters, NBC and Al Jazeera, is a potential violation of international law writ large.

The attack targeted a civilian building, specifically a hospital, in a reckless double-tap strike that killed civilians, with rescue workers and journalists among them. All categories that should be protected under international law.

Continue reading...

‘No place is safe’: families flee Gaza City as Israel vows to press on with offensive

Posted on by

Others refuse to leave as aircraft and tanks bomb outskirts of city where about half of Gaza’s 2m people now live

Israeli aircraft and tanks have pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City, destroying buildings and homes, as Israeli leaders vowed to press on with an expanded large-scale offensive on the city.

Witnesses reported the sound of continuous explosions overnight from Saturday night into Sunday morning in the areas of Zeitoun and Shejaia. Meanwhile, tanks shelled houses and roads in the nearby Sabra neighbourhood and several buildings were blown up in the northern area of Jabaliya.

Continue reading...

Israeli strikes hit Yemen’s capital in retaliation for earlier Houthi attacks

Posted on by

Health officials report dozens of casualties in Sana’a, including six deaths

Israeli strikes have hit the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, in retaliation for Houthi missiles fired towards Israel, with Houthi health officials saying the attack had killed six people.

The strikes on Sunday were the latest in more than a year of direct attacks and counterstrikes between Israel and Houthi militants in Yemen, part of a spillover from the war in Gaza.

Continue reading...

Declaration of famine in Gaza lays bare Israel’s disregard for humanitarian duty

Posted on by

The IPC’s findings that a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza are starving should mark an urgent turning point in this war

The declaration on Friday of widespread famine in Gaza by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) should mark a turning point in the war. The IPC, which represents a fastidious survey of available data, is regarded as the international gold standard in nutritional crises.

Long-criticised by humanitarians in other emergencies for its overabundance of caution, the IPC’s declaration of Level 5 – “catastrophic” hunger – in Gaza is a significant moment. Famine, under the IPC’s exacting criteria, requires three critical thresholds to be passed: extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths, all of which are now visible in Gaza.

Continue reading...

Dutch foreign minister quits over failure to secure sanctions against Israel

Posted on by

Caspar Veldkamp resigns after cabinet reaches deadlock on adopting harsher measures over situation in Gaza

The Dutch foreign minister, Caspar Veldkamp, has resigned after a cabinet meeting failed to secure sanctions against Israel, weakening the Netherlands’ already fragile caretaker government.

Veldkamp’s colleagues from the centrist New Social Contract (NSC) party also walked out after the cabinet debate late on Friday reached an impasse over adopting harsher measures against Israel.

Continue reading...

Famine in Gaza City means ‘deaths will increase exponentially’, UN-backed organisation warns – Israel-Gaza war latest updates

Posted on by

The IPC has raised its classification to Phase 5, the highest and worst level of its acute food insecurity scale

Mothers in Gaza have resorted to using legume water and herbs as alternative to infant milk amid Famine, charity warns

Dr. Ra’ed Al-Baba, who works at Al Awda Hospital run by ActionAid’s partner Al-Awda, said usage of alternatives to infant milk had “catastrophic” consequences.

There are mothers who resort to using legume water, herbs, and other alternatives to infant milk because of the severe shortage. These methods carry catastrophic risks, causing gastroenteritis, food poisoning, delayed growth, severe anaemia, and even the inability to move. We have seen cases of extreme dehydration from polluted water mixed with these substitutes. This is not survival, this is slow death.”

Continue reading...

UN-backed experts declare famine in and around Gaza City

Posted on by

IPC says famine is ‘entirely man-made’ and immediate response is needed or avoidable deaths will soar

An “entirely man-made” famine is taking place in Gaza’s largest city and its surrounding area, UN-backed experts have declared, in an escalation of the devastated territory’s humanitarian crisis.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a globally recognised organisation that classifies the severity of food insecurity and malnutrition, found that three key thresholds for famine had been met.

Continue reading...

Friday briefing: Is Israel’s plan for Gaza City a full-scale assault – or political theatre?

Posted on by

In today’s newsletter: After Israeli officials announced a stepped-up military operation in the city, Palestinians and the world wait to see what happens next

Good morning. Israel claims to have launched the first stages of a sweeping military operation to conquer Gaza City – the administrative heart of the strip – warning that a million people could be forced from their homes, sparking a wave of fear among residents.

In the past few nights Palestinians have described relentless bombardments, with thousands already scrambling to escape, while others are too starved or frail to evacuate.

UK news | Protesters at the next mass demonstration against the ban on Palestine Action will withhold their details from officers to force en-masse processing at police stations in an effort to make it “practically impossible” to arrest everyone.

Ukraine | Moscow threw Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative into disarray on Thursday, insisting it must have a veto over any postwar support for the country as its forces carried out a large-scale overnight missile barrage.

Immigration | Refugee support organisations have been forced to install safe rooms in their premises, relocate to less visible sites and in some cases close their offices in response to the threat of far-right violence, the Guardian can reveal.

US news | A federal judge in Miami late on Thursday ordered the closure of the Trump administration’s notorious “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration jail within 60 days and ruled that no more detainees were to be brought to the facility while it was being wound down.

Health | Baby food manufacturers have been given 18 months to improve the quality of their products in England amid mounting concerns that leading brands are nutritionally poor.

Continue reading...

Indonesia working on details of plan to treat 2,000 people from Gaza amid concerns about right to return

Posted on by

Security ministry and the ministries of health and foreign affairs have met to discuss how the controversial proposal to treat Palestinians would work

The Indonesian government is working on plans to treat 2,000 people from war-ravaged Gaza, holding a series of inter-ministerial discussions to discuss logistics, legality and foreign policy implications relating to the highly sensitive proposal, according to a senior government official.

Indonesia announced earlier this month that it would provide temporary medical assistance to 2,000 Palestinians from Gaza, with the uninhabited island of Galang identified as one possible site. Located just south of Singapore, the island was once home to a former camp for Vietnamese refugees and most recently the site of a pandemic hospital.

Continue reading...

UN and Red Cross warn of catastrophe if Israel launches Gaza City offensive

Posted on by

Netanyahu tells soldiers he has approved takeover plan as aid groups advised to prepare for forced displacement

The International Red Cross and UN have warned of an impending catastrophe in the Gaza Strip if Israel launches an offensive to take over Gaza City, as the Israeli military told medical and aid groups in the Palestinian territory to prepare for imminent forced displacement.

At the same time a concerted campaign of international opposition to Israel’s defiance of ceasefire calls and its approval of a huge new illegal settlement construction in the occupied West Bank gathered pace, with the UK summoning Israel’s ambassador and joining 20 other countries in condemning the settlement plan as a “violation of international law”.

Continue reading...

Has Israel begun its Gaza City offensive or will there be yet more ‘approvals’?

Posted on by

Netanyahu is latest to ‘approve’ plan that has had daily announcements and that Israel knows will have serious consequences

Has Israel begun its expanded offensive in Gaza City, or is it hype?

After several weeks of threats of a new large-scale offensive, strongly opposed by most of the international community, Israeli officials have made announcements daily saying the plan to occupy Gaza City has been “approved”; it has been approved by the Israel Defense Forces, by the security cabinet, by the defence minister.

Continue reading...

Israel to call up 60,000 reservists as it launches ‘first stages’ of attack on Gaza City – Middle East crisis live

Posted on by

Troops already holding outskirts of territory’s capital, military says, while Israel approves huge new illegal settlement splitting West Bank

Iran launched its first military exercise since the end of its 12-day war with Israel, state television reported Thursday, with navy vessels launching missiles at targets at sea in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.

While such drills are routine in the Islamic Republic, the “Sustainable Power 1404” exercise comes as authorities in Iran are trying to project strength in the wake of a war that saw Israel destroy air defense systems and bomb nuclear facilities and other sites.

Continue reading...