Negotiators from the US, Israel and Hamas are set to begin talks, as the US president said the first phase should be completed this week
The UN commission of inquiry, several human rights groups and the world’s leading association of genocide scholars have concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
Despite the evidence, Israel denies the accusation and says it has only acted in self-defence.
Continue reading...Families of some aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla say they are being held without access to clean water or legal representation
Activists from New Zealand detained in Israel after they were removed from vessels carrying aid to Gaza are being held in poor conditions without access to water and legal representation, their families have said, as dozens more passengers from the Global Sumud Flotilla were set to be deported.
Rana Hamida, Youssef Sammour and Samuel Leason were among 437 activists, parliamentarians and lawyers travelling aboard the flotilla, a coalition of more than 40 vessels carrying humanitarian aid whose goal was to breach Israel’s 16-year maritime blockade of Gaza.
Continue reading...Secretary of state says ‘we’ll know very quickly whether Hamas is serious or not’ about release of hostages from Gaza
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said on Sunday that the war in Gaza has not ended, despite Israel and Hamas both agreeing to aspects of Donald Trump’s plan for an end to the almost two-year conflict in Gaza.
“We will know very quickly whether Hamas is serious or not by how these technical talks go in terms of the logistics,” Rubio told NBC News’ Meet the Press about the release of hostages from Gaza.
Continue reading...Protest vessel intercepted in the early hours of Friday morning 42.5 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza
The last boat of the 42 vessels in the Gaza humanitarian flotillathat sought to breach Israel’s 16-year maritime blockade has been intercepted by Israeli forces.
A live stream from the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) had late on Thursday evening shown the Polish-flagged sailing boat Marinette still “sailing strong towards Gaza” after the Israeli government claimed to have halted the flotilla carrying about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including Greta Thunberg.
Continue reading...Activists from Global Sumud flotilla including Greta Thunberg arrested as final boat is presumed intercepted in Palestinian waters
Israel says it has stopped a pro-Palestinian flotilla carrying aid from reaching Gaza, with its navy intercepting all but one of the vessels trying to breach the blockade.
Of the 42 vessels being tracked online by the Global Sumud flotilla (GSF), 41 were listed as having been confirmed or assumed to have been stopped by Israeli forces.
Continue reading...Turkey and Qatar putting pressure on group to make concessions – but condition it disarm is a sticking point
Hamas will demand key revisions to Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire proposal but is likely to accept the plan in coming days as a basis for renewed negotiations, analysts and sources close to the group say.
Trump imposed a deadline of “three or four days” from Tuesday for Hamas to give its response to his 20-point plan, which aims to bring the two-year war in Gaza to a close and allow an apparently indefinite international administration of the devastated territory, or “pay in hell”.
Continue reading...Zaytoun’s olive oil and dates provide a tangible way to help Palestinians, says the business’s managing director
A Palestinian food brand says its UK sales increased by 50% to £3.2m in 2024 as shoppers seek out its olive oil in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Zaytoun, the Arabic word for olive or olive tree, is a social enterprise set up to support the resilience of Palestinian communities through fair trade.
Continue reading...Greta Thunberg arrested and taken into custody after six of the flotilla’s boats were boarded
A number of boats from a pro-Palestinian flotilla have been boarded by Israeli forces roughly 75 miles off the coast of Gaza, as the vessels attempted to breach the maritime blockade of the war-torn territory and bring aid.
The raid began with the flotilla’s leading vessel, Alma, whose crew were detained by Israeli soldiers on Wednesday. A video from the Israeli foreign ministry showed the most prominent of the flotilla’s passengers, Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, sitting on a deck surrounded by soldiers.
Continue reading...Defence minister issues warning, while Hamas reportedly considers seeking amendments to Trump plan
The Israeli military has issued what it said was its final warning for Gaza City residents to flee as it intensified its bombardment and offensive on Wednesday, while Hamas was reportedly considering requesting amendments to Donald Trump’s ceasefire ultimatum.
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the warning was the last opportunity for people to move to southern Gaza as the military encircled the city. Gaza’s civil defence agency said on Wednesday that Israeli forces had killed at least 46 people, including 36 in Gaza City.
Continue reading...Israeli offensive intensifies amid reports Hamas will seek amendments to Trump’s Gaza plan
Here are some images coming in via the newswires today:
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that the “intensification of military operations in Gaza City” has forced the humanitarian organisation to temporarily suspend operations at its Gaza City office and relocate its staff to ICRC offices in southern Gaza “to ensure staff safety and operational continuity”.
The ICRC will continue to strive to provide support to civilians in Gaza City, whenever circumstances allow, from our offices in Deir al-Balah and Rafah, which remain fully operational. This includes providing medical donations to the few remaining health facilities in Gaza City and doing the utmost to facilitate the movements of first responders. In Rafah, the Red Cross Field hospital will continue to be a lifeline for the many wounded patients pouring in.
The ICRC has been in Gaza City for decades. Following the latest intensification of hostilities, ICRC teams stayed as long as they possibly could to protect and support the most vulnerable people. The ICRC remains committed to returning as soon as conditions allow.
The rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian assistance must be allowed and facilitated across the Gaza Strip.
Continue reading...Account of ‘intimidatory operation’ comes as Italy and Greece repeat call for Israel to guarantee safety of flotilla
A pro-Palestinian flotilla heading to Gaza has said it has been approached and harassed by Israeli naval boats that jammed one of its lead vessels’ communication systems as Italy and Greece reiterated calls for Israel to guarantee the safety of those onboard.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), carrying about 500 people including the climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, said it had an encounter with Israeli navy vessels that circled the fleet’s “lead boat for around six minutes” while remotely disabling its communication systems.
Continue reading...The Global Sumud Flotilla, with over 500 people including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aims to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza
Italy has said it will stop tracking an international flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza with a military vessel, as activists on board announced they were on “high alert” as they moved closed to their destination.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of more than 40 civilian boats with over 500 people including parliamentarians, lawyers and Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aims to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
Continue reading...Former PM seems a perfect fit for Trump’s new era but his track record in the Middle East is not reassuring
The emergence of Tony Blair as a potential Gaza interim consul and member of Donald Trump’s “board of peace” marks his latest reinvention as a would-be power broker in the Middle East.
As a key architect of the disastrous invasion of Iraq, a promoter of a simplistic interpretation of Islamist extremism as the world’s main security challenge and a figure who has been accused of intertwining his own business interests with his political advocacy, he is in some ways a perfect fit for the new Trump era.
Continue reading...Australian human rights expert who was on UN commission of inquiry labels Israel’s strategy a failure that ‘has not brought peace and has not destroyed Hamas’
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“The people of Gaza have absolutely no way to escape the killing: they are literally a captive population.”
Chris Sidoti knows the brutality of conflict too well, his experience investigating international crimes is devastatingly comprehensive. But he sees a categoric difference in the violence in Gaza.
Continue reading...Ruwa Romman is ‘running to build a movement’ and ‘restoring civic ethos of being involved in the government’
Ruwa Romman, the first Palestinian-American elected to state-level office in Georgia, was fighting for a speaking slot a year ago at the Democratic national convention, hoping to draw attention to concerns among progressive voters about the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
On Monday, she announced her candidacy for governor in Georgia – looking for a different kind of attention.
Continue reading...US president warns militant group will ‘pay in hell’ if it rejects the deal, which seeks to end two-year-long war
Donald Trump has given Hamas an ultimatum of “three or four days” to respond to his proposed peace and reconstruction plan in Gaza, warning the militant group would “pay in hell” if it rejects the deal, as the Israeli offensive continued, inflicting further civilian casualties.
Trump’s proposal was announced in a joint press conference in Washington with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and seeks a definitive end to the relentless two-year-long war. At least 31 Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Tuesday, local hospitals said.
Continue reading...Plan calls for immediate end to war between Israel and Hamas but lacks detail on how key points will be executed
The White House peace plan for Gaza proposes an immediate end to the devastating war between Israel and Hamas that has raged in the coastal territory for nearly two years, while pointedly excluding the Palestinian militant group from any future governing role.
Assuming both sides agree to a detailed list of conditions, the end of fighting will be accompanied by the release of all Israeli hostages, both dead and alive, “within 72 hours” of Israel publicly accepting the deal.
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