Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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Dutch foreign minister quits over failure to secure sanctions against Israel

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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.

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

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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.”

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UN-backed experts declare famine in and around Gaza City

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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”.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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UK to evacuate nine Gaza students with university scholarships

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Move follows months of pressure from MPs, academics and campaigners, with dozens of other students still stranded

Nine students in Gaza with full scholarships to study at British universities have been told the UK government is working to facilitate their evacuation.

The students – who have all been awarded Chevening scholarships, funded by the Foreign Office in recognition of their potential as future leaders – welcomed the development on Wednesday, but dozens more Palestinians in Gaza with university places are still awaiting news.

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Buchenwald can refuse entry to people wearing Palestinian keffiyeh, German court rules

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Court in Thuringia rejected woman’s request to enter concentration camp memorial while wearing the scarf

A German court has ruled that a Nazi concentration camp memorial has the right to refuse entry to those wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh scarf.

The higher administrative court in the eastern state of Thuringia on Wednesday rejected a request from a woman to be allowed entry to the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial while wearing a keffiyeh.

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Israel to call up around 60,000 reservists before planned offensive on Gaza City, says Israeli military official – as it happened

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Israel is “killing all prospects” for peace in the Middle East, Jordan’s foreign minister has said amid escalating international outrage over Israel’s plans for a new large-scale offensive in Gaza City and plans to massively expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Ayman Safadi made his remarks during a visit to Moscow on the same day that the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, approved a plan to conquer Gaza City, an urban area home to hundreds of thousands of people in the north of the Palestinian territory.

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Israel expands Gaza City offensive as UK decries West Bank settlement approval

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Construction would be ‘flagrant breach of international law’ and undermine two-state solution, foreign secretary says

Israel has announced it is expanding its military operations in Gaza City, as the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, condemned its approval of a huge new illegal settlement in the West Bank as a “flagrant breach of international law.”

The Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Effie Defrin said the IDF had begun the second phase of Operation Gideon’s Chariots in Gaza, which it launched in May.

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Israel to respond by Friday over Gaza truce plan accepted by Hamas

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Israel under pressure to accept ceasefire proposal that is said to be almost identical to earlier US-backed plan

Israel has said it will deliver its response to international mediators by Friday over a new Gaza ceasefire plan accepted by Hamas amid mounting pressure for a truce in a war that has claimed more than 62,000 Palestinian lives.

After mass protests in Israel demanding a deal to secure the release of the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages held in Gaza, it appeared that Hamas had reduced its demands over a prisoners-for-hostages exchange as well as over the scope of an Israeli-demanded “security buffer zone”.

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Mediators optimistic Israel will accept ceasefire deal that is ‘almost identical’ to one they earlier agreed – as it happened

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Qatar says no breakthrough has yet been made but Hamas has given ‘positive response’

The UN’s human rights office on Tuesday condemned a far-right Israeli minister for taunting a Palestinian prisoner in his cell and sharing the footage online, Reuters reports.

National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir published a video on Friday last week showing him confronting Marwan Barghouti, the most high-profile Palestinian detainee in Israeli custody.

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Hamas says it accepts proposal for Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages

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Deal would include 60-day halt to violence and exchange of half of living Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners

Hamas officials say they have accepted a proposal for a Gaza ceasefire deal that would include the release of half of the approximately 20 remaining living Israeli hostages as part of a phased resolution to the war, as Gaza health officials said 62,000 Palestinians had died in the 22 months of war.

The proposed deal follows negotiations between Hamas and Egyptian and Qatari officials that have been taking place in Cairo in recent days, and comes after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was confronted on Sunday by Israel’s biggest protests of the war, which called for a deal to secure the release of the hostages.

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Netanyahu criticises protests in Israel against his handling of Gaza war

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Israeli PM suggests demonstrators are toughening Hamas’s stance and delaying the release of hostages

Benjamin Netanyahu has criticised massive street protests against his handling of the Gaza war, and failure to secure the release of remaining Israeli hostages, suggesting demonstrators were giving comfort to Hamas’s position in negotiations.

The Israeli prime minister made his comments against the backdrop of the largest protests in almost two years of war, with estimates that upwards of 400,000 people joined marches across Israel on Sunday.

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