Children and elderly are dying from starvation in Gaza, says health minister

UN spokesperson says about 90 aid trucks have entered Gaza, but Palestinian Red Crescent says deliveries have not arrived

Twenty-nine children and elderly people have died from starvation in Gaza in the last two days, the Palestinian Authority health minister has said , as Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people since dawn amid a renewed military offensive across the territory.

The warning came as food aid is expected to start reaching Palestinians in Gaza this week after Israel began allowing limited goods through after nearly three months after global pressure to lift the blockade and halt a newly expanded offensive.

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Israeli army issues evacuation warning for 14 areas in northern Gaza – Middle East crisis live

AFP says army released statement in Arabic claiming it was ‘operating with intense force’ in a number of areas

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar accused unnamed European officials on Thursday of “toxic antisemitic incitement” he blamed for a hostile climate in which the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington DC took place.

Israel has faced criticism from Europe as it has intensified its military campaign in Gaza, where humanitarian groups have warned that an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid supplies has left the Palestinian territory on the brink of famine.

There is a direct line connecting antisemitic and anti-Israel incitement to this murder.

This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and organisations, especially from Europe.

These libels about genocide, crimes against humanity and murdering babies pave the way exactly for such murders.

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Trump administration accepts jet from Qatar for possible use as Air Force One

Plane offer set off a firestorm of bipartisan criticism of Trump and raised questions about Qatar’s motives

The Trump administration has accepted the controversial gift of a Boeing 747 jetliner from the government of Qatar, and directed the air force to assess how quickly the plane can be upgraded for possible use as a new Air Force One.

The offer of the jet has set off a firestorm of bipartisan criticism of Trump, particularly following the president’s visit to the country last week to arrange US business deals.

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UK MPs to grill ministers over arms exports to Israel

Business committee orders three ministers to answer questions over fears arms being sent for use in Gaza

Three ministers responsible for arms exports to Israel have been summoned by parliament’s committee overseeing UK exports to explain possible loopholes in the rules.

Liam Byrne, the chair of the business select committee has ordered the trade minister, Douglas Alexander, and the relevant ministers from the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence and to offer urgent explanations.

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EU to lift economic sanctions on Syria to aid recovery of war-torn country

Move comes one week after Trump announced all US sanctions on Syria would be lifted

The EU has agreed to lift economic sanctions on Syria in an effort to help the war-torn country recover after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

After the decision by EU foreign ministers on Tuesday, the EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, wrote on X: “We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria.”

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Palestinian paracyclist who lost leg in 2014 airstrike killed in Gaza

Israeli strike on Khan Younis kills Ahmed al-Dali, 33, a father of four and member of Gaza Sunbirds cycling team

A Palestinian cyclist who lost his leg in an Israeli airstrike more than a decade ago was killed by another missile attack this week, after spending his life trying to defy his disability.

Ahmed al-Dali, 33, was a member of the Gaza Sunbirds, a paracycling team formed in 2020. He was also a keen para-footballer.

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UN warns 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in next 48 hours without aid – Israel-Gaza war live

UN’s humanitarian chief says aid lorries, which contain baby food and nutrition, are technically in Gaza but have not reached civilians

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of Unrwa, the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, has been speaking to Euronews.

He said US President Donald Trump has the unique power to force Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “change the situation” in Gaza.

I do believe that President Donald Trump has the necessary influence to change the situation in Gaza and make sure that the siege be lifted and that the population get access to the assistance it deserves.

It’s an outrage that we are confronted by a situation of starvation when it comes to Gaza. It’s a completely fabricated one. We are in a situation where hunger and food are being weaponised for political and military purposes…

What is needed in Gaza is a massive, unhindered, uninterrupted assistance of supply to make sure that we are reversing the trend of the spreading hunger.

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UK suspends trade talks with Israel as Lammy calls Gaza blockade ‘morally wrong’ and ‘unjustifiable’ – as it happened

Foreign secretary tells parliament that the Israeli government’s ‘egregious actions and rhetoric’ are isolating the country from its friends and partners. This live blog is closed

The Scottish secretary has said the new UK-EU trade deal provides “12 years of certainty and stability” for the fishing industry, amid criticism from the industry that the government has made too large a concession to the EU on fishing rights.

The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) has described the deal as a “horror show”, but Ian Murray said: “I don’t agree with that.”

It gives 12 years of certainty and stability for the industry, it doesn’t change any of the deal that was put in place in 2019, which is 25% more quotas for UK and Scottish trawlers and it gives wide access, of course to the new markets of the EU, in terms of pushing away all that red tape that was there before.

Not one more fish will be taken out of Scottish waters by an EU trawler as part of this deal and that provides that stability and certainty.

We should never trust Keir Starmer. You know, he’s screwing things up domestically, so he gets on the international bandwagon.

He’s selling us out, not just on Brexit, but on Chagos and … we’re hearing all sorts of things about Gibraltar. We’ll hold them to account on this. Where Labour negotiates, Britain always seem to lose.

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Mother of jailed British-Egyptian activist resumes full hunger strike

Laila Soueif announces life-endangering action in protest over continued detention of Alaa Abd el-Fattah in Cairo

The mother of the imprisoned British-Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah has announced she has resumed a near-total hunger strike, stopping taking the 300-calorie supplements she had been consuming on her partial hunger strike for the past three months.

Since the start of her hunger strike 233 days ago, Laila Soueif, 69, has lost 36kg, about 42% of her original body weight, and now weighs 49kg. She is taking the life-endangering step in protest at the continued detention of her son in Cairo beyond his five-year sentence.

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Australia demands Israel allow aid into Gaza, stating ‘the population faces starvation’ in joint statement

‘Palestinian territory must not be reduced nor subjected to any demographic change,’ joint statement declares after Israel announces military expansion

Australia has joined 22 other nations in condemning Israel over its decision to allow limited aid into Gaza while announcing a military expansion to “take control” of the besieged strip.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his troops were “making progress” on taking control of Gaza after Israel’s military had earlier declared a central city a combat zone and killed more than 60 people in airstrikes, while a senior minister said Israel’s army would “wipe out” what remains of Palestinian Gaza.

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Tuesday briefing: What Israel’s new aid response of ‘basic food’ will – and won’t – deliver

In today’s newsletter: A humanitarian worker outlines the situation on the ground following an 11-week blockade – and whether the country’s announcement will make a difference

Good morning.

As Israel intensifies its assault on Gaza, bombarding the already besieged strip with relentless airstrikes and expanding its ground operations to “take control of all areas”, the international community has urged Israel to open the border for aid. Countries including France, the UK and Canada have threatened action against Israel if it does not stop its assault on Gaza, which were described as “disproportionate” and “intolerable”.

Europe | Keir Starmer has vowed his EU reset deal will deliver cheaper food and energy for British people, heralding a “win-win” as he sealed the high-stakes agreement with concessions on youth visas and fishing.

Russia | Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have held a rare phone call, which the US leader described as “excellent”, but the Kremlin refused to agree to an immediate ceasefire in the war with Ukraine despite pressure from Washington and European allies.

UK news | The personal data of hundreds of thousands of legal aid applicants in England and Wales dating back to 2010, including criminal records and financial details, has been accessed and downloaded in a “significant” cyber-attack.

Welfare | At least £357m in carer’s allowance benefit was paid out in error over the past six years because of official failures, resulting in debt and misery being inflicted on tens of thousands of people.

NHS | A senior doctor has been accused of wrongly failing to escalate the care of a 13-year-old girl whose death led to the adoption of Martha’s rule, which gives the right to a second medical opinion in hospitals.

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Netanyahu vows to ‘take control’ of Gaza as UK, France and Canada threaten action against Israel

Key allies call escalation ‘egregious’ and promise ‘concrete’ response if Israel does not end renewed offensive and allow aid into strip

Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Israel will “take control” of all of Gaza, as three key allies attacked his “egregious” escalation of the military campaign and blockade on humanitarian aid.

Britain, France and Canada attacked Israel’s expansion of its war as disproportionate, described conditions in Gaza as “intolerable” and threatened a “concrete” response if Israel’s campaign continues.

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Microsoft employee interrupts CEO’s keynote with pro-Palestinian protest

Protester is engineer who worked on Azure software, which enabled Israeli surveillance of Palestinians

A Microsoft employee disrupted a keynote speech by the company’s chief executive with a pro-Palestinian protest at the company’s annual developer conference on Monday.

Joe Lopez, a Microsoft firmware engineer who worked on parts of the company’s cloud-computing platform, Azure, was escorted out the Build conference by security nearly immediately after he confronted Satya Nadella.

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Village where Israelis and Palestinians live together to promote peace faces planned tax on funds

Unique community in Israel appeals to UK for support after Knesset’s proposed 80% tax on its funding

An Israeli village where Jews and Palestinians live together to promote peace is in danger of losing vital overseas funding following Israeli government proposals to impose an 80% tax on foreign donations, residents have warned.

Leading figures from the unique community – Wahat Salam/Neve Shalom, which translates as “Oasis of Peace” – flew to the UK this week in a visit hosted by the Co-operative Group, which is calling for the UK government to support peace-building cooperatives worldwide with foreign and development policy.

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Israel says it will allow ‘basic’ amounts of food into Gaza after 10-week blockade – Israel-Gaza war live

Israel imposed blockade on devastated Palestinian territory in early March, cutting off supplies of food, medicine, shelter and fuel

We are continuing the Guardian’s live coverage of developments in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Israel’s war on Gaza.

Israel decided on Sunday to resume the entry of a “basic quantity” of food into Gaza, after coming under increasing international pressure to lift its devastating blockade of the Strip, which had lasted for 10 weeks.

On the recommendation of the IDF and based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas, Israel will allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip.

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Israel’s military announces start of ‘extensive’ new ground operations in Gaza – Israel-Gaza war live

Israeli ground forces supported by air force in new offensive despite peace talks in Qatar

In an earlier post, we reported on the dire situation at the Indonesian hospital, which is reportedly under siege by Israeli forces.

Now Gaza’s health ministry has said that all public hospitals in the north of the territory were “out of service”.

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Gaza ceasefire talks continue as Israel carries out fresh wave of strikes

Netanyahu signals openness to deal but lays out conditions while territory’s hospitals ‘overwhelmed’ with casualties

Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have been continuing in Qatar for a second day as Israeli warplanes and artillery launched a fresh wave of strikes across Gaza, killing at least 130 people, according to health officials in the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, signalled on Sunday that Israel was open to a deal with Hamas that would include “ending the fighting” in Gaza, but laid out conditions that have been repeatedly refused by the militant Islamist organisation.

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Layla Moran urges more action on Israel and warns of ‘cruel destitution’ in Gaza

Lib Dem MP says UK’s recent tone is tougher but ‘in terms of concrete actions, not much has changed’

Layla Moran has told the UK government to match its tougher tone on Israel with action as she warned that people in Gaza face “unbearably cruel levels of destitution”.

The Lib Dem MP called for further action, including recognition of a Palestinian state, in a renewed appeal for the family of Mohammad, an NHS doctor who operated on her last year, whose elderly parents remain stuck in northern Gaza.

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Israel accused of ethnic cleansing after more than 140 killed in Gaza in 24 hours

Israel says intensified bombings are part of campaign expansion to ‘achieve all of the war goals in Gaza’

At least 140 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours, a deadly escalation as Israel seemed poised to launch a major offensive in the besieged territory.

Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 300 people since Thursday, Palestinian health officials said, one of the deadliest periods in the war since ceasefire talks broke down in March. The intensified bombing campaigns came as Israel’s total blockade on humanitarian aid has prompted fears of a famine in the Palestinian territory.

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How Donald Trump’s ‘historic’ Gulf state deals benefit a handful of powerful men

The deals stand to enrich tech CEOs substantially by opening up new audiences for their products

On his tour of the Middle East this week, Donald Trump announced a slew of multibillion-dollar tech deals with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. With the sale of the US’s most advanced technology, he also sold the American model of the industry that made it: enormous amounts of power concentrated in the hands of a few men.

The announcements poured in last week: the US and the United Arab Emirates agreed on Abu Dhabi as the site of the largest artificial intelligence campus outside the US. The deal reportedly allows the UAE to import half a million Nvidia semiconductor chips, considered the most advanced in the world for the creation of artificial intelligence products. Saudi Arabia struck a similar deal for semiconductors, obtaining the promise of the sale of hundreds of thousands of Nvidia Blackwell chips to Humain, an AI startup owned by its sovereign wealth fund. Cisco said it had signed a deal with a UAE AI firm to develop the country’s AI sector. The agreements also directed some investment by Saudi firms into US technology and manufacturing. Amazon Web Services and Qualcomm likewise announced deals on cloud computing and cybersecurity.

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