In previous encounters, says Nebal Farsakh, there would always be some time without airstrikes.
“But now, there is not a single minute. That’s why the casualties keep going up and up,” says Farsakh, spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Continue reading...Leading Jewish groups have hit out at English football’s response to the Hamas attacks in Israel and criticised the Football Association’s refusal to light up the Wembley arch in the colours of the Israeli flag.
With the FA believed to be nervous over being seen to favour one of Israel and Palestine, it has decided to hold a period of silence for all victims of the conflict before England host Australia in a friendly on Friday night. On a day when the Premier League broke its silence on the situation, it was announced that the England and Australia players would wear black armbands and that supporters would be prevented from bringing Israeli and Palestinian kits and flags into Wembley.
Continue reading...Yousaf renews calls for UK government to urge ceasefire as he describes his family’s fears for trapped relatives
His mother-in-law in besieged Gaza is running out of drinking water. His brother-in-law, a doctor, is dealing with the horror of trying to identify body parts in a hospital nearby. And his four-year-old daughter, at home in Scotland, can only understand that “granny is afraid of the thunder”.
Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister, has described in brutal detail the impact on trapped family members of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in response to the shock attacks by Hamas at the weekend.
Continue reading...International humanitarian law dictates the rules combatants should follow – with a central tenet that ‘civilians should not be targeted’
Amid the horror of the attacks by Hamas on Israel and the response by the Israeli military in Gaza, there have been calls for both sides to abide by international law and accusations of breaches.
So what is the framework of international laws that is supposed to govern war or armed conflicts?
Continue reading...At press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, US secretary of state says America will always be by Israel’s side
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said the attacks by Hamas on Israel on Saturday had “harrowing echoes” of Nazi massacres, as he stood alongside the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem in an act of public solidarity.
Blinken, who is Jewish, vowed that the US would stand for ever alongside Israel, and said he would use his tour of the region to urge all parties, especially Hezbollah, not to broaden the conflict or open a second front.
Continue reading...Having no US ambassador to Israel in place and Republicans holding up military promotions is a threat to democracy, experts say
Political turmoil in Washington has left the US without key diplomats across the Middle East and raised concerns that years of congressional dysfunction are taking their toll on US leadership.
A devastating weekend attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen shook the region and came at a moment when there is no US ambassador in place in Israel, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon or Oman.
Continue reading...Airlines make decision for safety reasons as MPs and families call on UK to evacuate nationals from Gaza
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have suspended all flights between the UK and Tel Aviv in Israel, as countries around the world scramble to evacuate citizens amid the mounting crisis.
BA earlier had to divert a flight to Tel Aviv back to the UK because of security concerns, and said it took the decision after “the latest assessment of the situation”.
Continue reading...Brazil president calls for humanitarian aid to protect Israeli and Palestinian citizens, while Latin Americans also taken hostage
The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has called for an end to “the insanity of war” as it emerged that more than a dozen Latin Americans were killed during Hamas’s assault, with citizens of Brazil and Argentina taken captive in the Gaza Strip.
By Wednesday morning, Latin American government and media reports had confirmed the deaths of seven Argentinians, two Brazilians, two Peruvians, one Colombian and one Paraguayan. At least 15 Argentinians, three Peruvians, two Mexicans and one Brazilian remain missing.
Continue reading...UN secretary general called for essential supplies of fuel, food and water to be allowed in Gaza and called for immediate release of Israeli hostages
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was reluctant to be specific when asked on Tuesday whether the government had evacuation plans in place to assist Australian citizens and residents in the coming days. “We are working on a range of contingency arrangements that I won’t detail publicly for obvious reasons, but we do work on these contingencies,” he told ABC TV.
“It is a priority to keep Australians safe. And the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are working on a 24-hour basis to ensure that whatever support can be given is there. Australia believes in looking after our citizens and that is just what we do.”
Continue reading...Grim scene of ‘massacre’ at one of the first Israeli settlements reached by militants during assault
In Kfar Aza, no one was too old, too young or too weak for slaughter. It took the Israeli army half a day to reach the kibbutz of 750 people in southern Israel and fighting continued there for three days. In that time Hamas gunmen killed and mutilated dozens of civilian residents.
“Mothers, fathers, babies, young families killed in their beds, in the protection room, in the dining room, in their garden,” Maj Gen Itai Veruv of the Israel Defence Forces told the BBC, as his troops searched homes for bodies of victims. “It’s not a war, it’s not a battlefield. It’s a massacre.”
Continue reading...UK minister calls urgent meeting to discuss coverage as X comes under scrutiny over disinformation claims
The UK technology secretary has summoned social media executives to demand the removal of violent content from their platforms related to the Hamas attack on Israel.
Michelle Donelan called the meeting as the European Union criticised Elon Musk’s X platform about coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict on its platform including fake news and the use of repurposed historical footage.
Continue reading...US national security adviser says it is discussing option with Israel and Egypt amid heavy airstrikes on Gaza and amassing of 300,000 reservists close to border
The US is discussing the possibility of creating a safe passage for Gaza’s civilians as Israel’s air force continued to pound the enclave and the Israeli death toll from the Hamas offensive – the deadliest militant assault in its history – reached 1,200.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday talks on safe passage were being held with Israel and Egypt. “We are focused on this question, there are consultations going on. But the details of that are something that are being discussed among the operational agencies and I don’t want to share too much of that publicly at this time.”
Continue reading...Hundreds of thousands of reservists head for units amid mounting expectation of large-scale ground invasion
A massive Israeli military buildup was continuing along Gaza’s border on Tuesday, as the country’s military confirmed the death toll from Saturday’s Hamas attack – the deadliest militant assault in its history – had passed 1,000 and wave after wave of airstrikes hit the militant-controlled territory.
Amid mounting expectations that Israel would launch a ground invasion of Gaza within days, Israeli soldiers were still collecting bodies of the dead four days after Hamas rampaged through southern Israeli towns in the deadliest terrorist attack in the country’s history.
Continue reading...Scottish first minister says he has made contact with his wife’s parents who are trapped in besieged enclave after Hamas attack
Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, has called on the UK foreign secretary to push for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from Gaza.
Yousaf revealed on Monday that his wife Nadia’s parents, who live in Dundee, are trapped in Gaza and struggling to find safe passage.
Continue reading...Surrounded by evidence of heavy fighting and with air raid sirens still sounding, Road 232 is the new frontline between Israel and the enclave
Road 232, an Israeli highway, runs parallel to the blockaded Gaza Strip. It is surrounded by flat agricultural land in every direction, and from it the higher floors of the overcrowded enclave’s high rise buildings are clearly visible, about 3 miles (5km) away.
Now, the route appears to have become the new de facto boundary between territory controlled by Israel and Hamas, the Islamist movement that launched a devastating surprise sea, land and air offensive on 20 neighbouring kibbutzim and Israeli towns last weekend. They slaughtered more than 1,000 people, and abducted dozens more to be used as bargaining chips. More than 830 people in Gaza have been killed in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.
Continue reading...As Nathanel Young, 20, was buried, the streets of the divided city remained uneasily empty with both sides fearing reprisals
On a hillside in Jerusalem, hundreds of people stood in near silence at the funeral of a lone soldier. Speaking only in whispers or exchanging glances they crammed on to the stone walls that overlooked the line of white gravestones in Israel’s national cemetery on Mount Herzl.
A fearful quiet had descended on the city, with the line of cars snaking up the hillside and the crowds of people finding their way to the cemetery marking the only crowds in a place normally teeming with life.
Continue reading...Hamas says Israeli strikes have killed some captives and it will kill another if bombing without warning continues
Israel has declared a “complete siege” of Gaza, cutting off water, food and power supplies, as Hamas militants threatened to start killing Israeli civilian hostages if the bombing of civilian areas in the enclave continued without prior warning.
Palestinian militants abducted more than 100 people during a surprise multi-front attack in which they killed more than 700 – making Saturday the deadliest day in Israel’s history. Israeli media said on Monday the death toll had climbed to 900.
Continue reading...Death toll up to 800, including French, Argentinian, Thai and Nepalese, with at least 10 UK citizens reportedly dead or missing
At least 11 US citizens were among those killed in the Hamas onslaught on Israel at the weekend, Joe Biden said on Monday, as the death toll in Israel rose above 800.
As it became clear that the dead included people from different backgrounds and originally from countries other than Israel, the BBC reported that at least 10 British citizens were dead or missing. France confirmed the deaths of two of its citizens, and there were reports that as many as nine French people were missing, dead or taken hostage. German citizens are also thought to have been killed or kidnapped.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. For our latest reporting on Kennedy’s presidential candidacy, you can read our latest report:
Robert F Kennedy Jr is expected to announce his independent run for US president at 12.00 pm ET in Philadelphia.
The 69-year-old has spent several months running for the Democratic nomination for the country’s highest office. He is the only challenge to Biden, who has a majority of the support within Democratic party.
Continue reading...Earlier announcement by Olivér Várhelyi had prompted surprise from member states including Ireland and Spain
The EU has been plunged into a diplomatic row after an announcement that it was to suspend “all payments” to Palestinians as a result of Hamas’s attacks on Israel led to clashes with several member states including Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands.
After six hours scrambling for an explanation, the European Commission appeared to backpedal on an announcement made by the commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, saying: “There will be no suspension of payments.” But it muddied the waters by saying there were “no payments foreseen”.
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