Category Archives: Israel

Trump appears sidelined as the US caught unawares by Israel’s unprecedented strikes on Qatar

Posted on by

The White House is caught between supporting Israel’s war against Hamas and patching up relations with a key US ally in the region

In the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas negotiators in the heart of Qatar’s capital Doha, the White House appeared sidelined from halting a conflict that Donald Trump has claimed only he could mediate.

As details of the diplomatic flurry before Tuesday’s extraordinary strike were revealed, it was claimed that the White House had little say in how Israel opened its latest front in its war against Hamas – this one on a US ally hosting negotiations days after Trump had claimed he was close to reaching a deal.

Continue reading...

Israeli-Russian graduate student freed after 903 days in Hezbollah captivity

Posted on by

Elizabeth Tsurkov, who entered Iraq to do research for Princeton, had gone missing in Iraq in early 2023

Israeli-Russian academic and Princeton student Elizabeth Tsurkov has been released after being kidnapped by Kata’ib Hezbollah and spending more than two years in captivity, Donald Trump said in a post on social media.

“I am pleased to report that Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton Student, whose sister is an American Citizen, was just released by Kata’ib Hezbollah (MILITANT Hezbollah), and is now safely in the American Embassy in Iraq after being tortured for many months. I will always fight for JUSTICE, and never give up. HAMAS, RELEASE THE HOSTAGES, NOW!” the US president wrote in a TruthSocial post on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Starmer condemns Israel’s airstrike on Qatar as No 10 denies prior knowledge of attack

Posted on by

‘Immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and a huge surge in aid into Gaza’ only route to peace, says PM

Keir Starmer has condemned Israel’s strike on Qatar before a meeting with the Israeli president in London on Wednesday.

The UK prime minister said the military strike, which targeted Hamas leaders stationed in Doha, was a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and risked “further escalation across the region”.

Continue reading...

Von der Leyen under growing pressure to take tougher line with Israel

Posted on by

EU Commission president urged to ‘show leadership’ and preserve bloc’s credibility amid catastrophe in Gaza

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is under growing pressure from MEPs to “show leadership” and preserve the EU’s political credibility by taking a tougher approach to Israel’s government over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

Von der Leyen is expected to refer to the EU’s role on the world stage in her annual “state of the union” speech to the European parliament on Wednesday, where she will set out her agenda for the year ahead.

Continue reading...

Israel’s expanded assault on Gaza City will endanger lives of ‘countless civilians’, charity warns – Middle East crisis live

Posted on by

Warning from ActionAid comes after Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli army told residents of Gaza City to leave

Dan Sabbagh is the Guardian’s defence and security editor

Fifty-one Israeli arms makers and the US defence giant behind the F-35 fighters used to bomb Gaza are among the 1,600 exhibitors at the biennial DSEI trade show that begins in London’s Docklands on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Flotilla boat carrying aid to Gaza struck by flaming object, video shows

Posted on by

Global Sumud Flotilla says one of its vessels was hit by drone at Sidi Bou Said port in Tunisia, sustaining fire damage

A flotilla carrying aid for Gaza and pro-Palestinian activists has published a video showing one of its boats being struck by a flaming object at Sidi Bou Said port in Tunisia.

The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) said the boat had been hit by a drone and that it sustained fire damage to its main deck and below-deck storage, though all six passengers and crew were safe.

Continue reading...

US visa refusal for Palestinian delegation prompts calls to move UN meeting to Geneva

Posted on by

General assembly session about two-state solution for Palestine and Israel due to start in New York on Tuesday

The US’s refusal to grant visas to the Palestinian delegation to the UN general assembly has led to calls for a one-day conference on a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel to be moved from the UN’s headquarters in New York to its other main site in Geneva.

Donald Trump’s White House has already refused to grant a visa to the Palestinian Authority (PA) president, Mahmoud Abbas, and 80 other Palestinian officials for the general assembly session, which begins on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Palestinian gunmen kill six people at Jerusalem bus stop

Posted on by

At least 12 others injured in attack at Ramot intersection during morning rush hour

Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a crowded bus stop in the northern outskirts of Jerusalem on Monday, killing six people and injuring 12 others before being shot dead by an off-duty soldier and a civilian at the scene.

The victims included a 79-year-old former cardiologist, a 43-year-old rabbi and a 25-year-old who had recently emigrated from Spain. Twenty-six others suffered injuries, including six who were left in a serious condition with gunshot wounds.

Continue reading...

Actors and directors pledge not to work with Israeli film groups ‘implicated in genocide’

Posted on by

Exclusive: Thousands of film workers join new boycott initiative criticized by Israeli producers’ group as ‘misguided’

Thousands of actors, directors and other film industry professionals have signed a new pledge vowing not to work with Israeli film institutions they say are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”.

“As film-makers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognise the power of cinema to shape perceptions” the pledge reads. “In this urgent moment of crisis, where many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror.”

Continue reading...

Protests expected as 51 Israeli arms makers among exhibitors at London trade fair

Posted on by

Campaign Against Arms Trade says UK government has hit ‘peak complicity in genocide’ in allowing the firms to exhibit

Fifty-one Israeli arms makers and the US defence giant behind the F-35 fighters used to bomb Gaza are among the 1,600 exhibitors at the biennial DSEI trade show that begins in London’s Docklands on Tuesday.

Their presence will be the focus for hundreds planning to demonstrate outside the four-day arms fair, at which the defence secretary, John Healey, is expected to speak alongside senior British military officials.

Continue reading...

Trump issues ‘last warning’ to Hamas to accept Gaza ceasefire deal

Posted on by

President says ‘the Israelis have accepted my terms’ and urges release of hostages to secure peace agreement

Donald Trump on Sunday issued what he called his “last warning” to Hamas, urging the Palestinian militant group to accept a deal to release hostages from Gaza.

“The Israelis have accepted my Terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”

Continue reading...

Israel’s top court says government is not giving Palestinian prisoners enough food

Posted on by

Justices rule state is legally obliged to ensure ‘basic level of existence’ and orders authorities to improve nutrition

Israel’s supreme court has ruled that the government has failed to provide Palestinian security prisoners with adequate food for basic subsistence and ordered authorities to improve their nutrition.

Sunday’s decision was a rare case in which the country’s highest court ruled against the government’s conduct during the nearly two-year war.

Continue reading...

Keir Starmer has ‘legal duty to stop Gaza genocide’, says Greta Thunberg

Posted on by

Exclusive: Activist spoke while onboard aid flotilla aiming to deliver food, baby formula and medical supplies to territory

Keir Starmer must obey his “legal duty to act to prevent a genocide”, Greta Thunberg has told the Guardian while travelling onboard an aid flotilla heading for Gaza.

The Swedish activist said there was a “huge absence of those whose legal responsibility it is to step up” under international law, and called out the UK prime minister before a potential meeting this week with Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog.

Continue reading...

More than 7,000 under-fives in Gaza put in malnutrition recovery in two-week period

Posted on by

Unicef expects August malnutrition cases to top 15,000, as famine declared in Gaza City spreads south

More than 7,000 children under the age of five were put on recovery programmes for acute malnutrition at clinics run by Unicef in Gaza in just two weeks last month, figures reveal.

The overall total for August is being compiled by Unicef but is expected to exceed 15,000 new patients, more than seven times the total in February.

Continue reading...

More than 7,000 under-fives in Gaza put in malnutrition recovery in two-week period

Posted on by

Unicef expects August malnutrition cases to top 15,000, as famine declared in Gaza City spreads south

More than 7,000 children under the age of five were put on recovery programmes for acute malnutrition at clinics run by Unicef in Gaza in just two weeks last month, figures reveal.

The overall total for August is being compiled by Unicef but is expected to exceed 15,000 new patients, more than seven times the total in February.

Continue reading...

‘Standing up for Palestinians’: why Greta Thunberg wears a Bohemian FC shirt

Posted on by

The Swede has has not necessarily become a fan of Irish football, as she sports a club jersey made with help from Fontaines DC

The humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza is a serious mission with an incongruous detail: Greta Thunberg sporting a jersey of the Dublin football club Bohemians.

The Swedish activist wore the pale blue shirt during an earlier flotilla in June and again this week as vessels prepared to leave Barcelona.

Continue reading...

Starmer must not meet Israeli president during UK visit, say Labour MPs

Posted on by

Exclusive: Isaac Herzog to visit London for expected talks with ministers, with UK on brink of recognising Palestinian statehood

The president of Israel will travel to London next week for a controversially timed trip amid outcry from Labour MPs who have urged Keir Starmer not to meet with the visiting delegation.

The arrival of Isaac Herzog is fraught with complication for ministers, with the UK government on the brink of recognising the state of Palestine at the UN general assembly.

Continue reading...

Palestine recognition: the principle the EU has been stuck on for decades

Posted on by

Europe’s ability to help bring peace to the Middle East has long come under question, with Spain’s PM this week saying it had failed on Gaza

In 1980 when Leonid Brezhnev ruled the Soviet Union and Donald Trump was a property developer, the nine leaders of the then European Community made their first major foray into joint diplomacy. The cause: the Middle East, including a Palestinian state.

“The time has come to promote the recognition and implementation of two principles universally accepted by the international community: the right to existence and to security of all states in the region, including Israel … [and] recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,” stated the Venice declaration calling for Palestinian self-determination.

Continue reading...

Scotland bans arms companies that supply IDF from receiving financial aid

Posted on by

Devolved government says contractors seeking support must prove products will not be used by Israeli military

The Scottish government has banned arms companies which supply the IDF from getting grants and investment support, and will freeze support for trade with Israel.

John Swinney, the first minister, said on Wednesday any defence contractors who wanted financial help in Scotland would have to prove their products would not be used by the Israel Defense Forces.

Continue reading...

Israeli drones dropped grenades near peacekeepers in south Lebanon, UN says

Posted on by

Unifil condemns ‘serious attack’ on Tuesday morning as it was clearing a road and adds that no one was hurt

Israeli drones dropped four grenades near UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon, the agency’s force said on Wednesday, in what it described as “one of the most serious attacks” on its personnel since a November ceasefire.

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, Unifil, said the Tuesday morning attack came as it was clearing a road to a UN position close to the Israeli border, adding that no one was hurt.

Continue reading...