WCK says IDF deployed deadly force without regard to protocols in drone strikes in Gaza that killed seven aid workers. This live blog is closed
The United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.
Twenty-eight countries voted in favour, 13 abstained and six voted against the resolution.
Continue reading...Each time Madrid and Dublin speak out on the war in Gaza others are emboldened to join them, sources say
Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that the Israeli military’s killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza on Monday night was “a tragic incident” did precious little to allay the fears of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. Nor did his assertion that “this happens in wartime”.
Sánchez, who has been one of the most outspoken and persistent European critics of the way in which Israel has prosecuted its war in Gaza after the terrorist atrocities of 7 October, described the Israeli prime minister’s “supposed explanations” as “totally unacceptable and insufficient”. He added that Spain was waiting for a full and detailed account of the killings before deciding “what action we’ll take with regard to the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu”.
Continue reading...Steps approved in Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza include temporary reopening of crossing in the north
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said his security cabinet has approved a series of steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including the temporary reopening of a key crossing that was destroyed in the 7 October Hamas attack.
The announcement was made hours after a warning from US president Joe Biden that future US support for Israel would depend on it taking concrete action to protect civilians and aid workers.
Continue reading...US president also said Israel must implement a series of specific steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers
Joe Biden has called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, telling Benjamin Netanyahu that future US support for Israel will depend on it taking concrete action to protect civilians and aid workers.
As the two leaders held their first phone call since Israeli airstrikes killed seven employees of the international food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), Biden issued the strongest US rebuke toward Israel since the start of the conflict.
Continue reading...Number of signatories warning Sunak over breach of international law in arming Israel rises to more than 750
A fourth former supreme court justice has put his name to a letter warning Rishi Sunak that the UK is breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel, as the number of legal experts signing the letter rose to more than 750.
Lord Carnwath joins Lady Hale, who was president of the UK’s highest court, and lords Sumption and Wilson, in urging ministers to act to prevent the “plausible risk” of genocide in Gaza.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. For more on the Biden-Netanyahu phone call, you can read our full report:
Jill Biden pleaded with her husband, Joe Biden, to “stop it, stop it now”, referring to the war in Gaza, the president told guests at the White House, according to a report.
At a meeting with Muslim community members on Tuesday, a guest told Biden that his wife had disapproved of him attending the event because of the president’s support for Israel in its war in Gaza, the New York Times reported yesterday. The report states:
Mr Biden replied that he understood. The first lady, he said, had been urging him to ‘Stop it, stop it now,’ according to an attendee who heard his remarks.
Just like the president, the first lady is heartbroken over the attacks on aid workers and the ongoing loss of innocent lives in Gaza. They both want Israel to do more to protect civilians.
Continue reading...Former MP has said Conservative minister Tom Tugendhat and peer Eric Pickles should be sacked
The Conservative former minister Alan Duncan is being investigated by the party after he said pro-Israel “extremists” within the party, including some ministers and peers, should be expelled because they refuse to support international law.
Duncan, who served as a foreign minister and an aid minister before stepping down as an MP in 2019, named Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, and the peer and former cabinet minister Eric Pickles among those who should be kicked out.
Continue reading...World Central Kitchen asks countries of workers who died to join its call, as Biden and Netanyahu hold first phone call since attack
The international food charity World Central Kitchen has called for an independent investigation into the Israeli strikes that killed seven of its aid workers in Gaza on Monday, as Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu held their first phone call since the attack.
WCK asked Australia, Canada, Poland, the US and the UK, whose citizens were killed, to join it in demanding “an independent, third-party’’ inquiry into the strikes.
Continue reading...London mayor’s comments come as other senior Labour figures call for government to take action after killing of aid workers
Sadiq Khan has become the most senior Labour politician to call for an immediate end of UK arms sales to Israel, with a number of other prominent party figures also saying the government should take action after the killing of seven aid workers in Gaza.
The London mayor said Rishi Sunak must halt arms sales, saying: “It’s got to stop.”
Continue reading...Former Foreign Office minister had suggested some in government were prepared to overlook human rights violations
Members of the National Education Union have voted to delay moving to a formal strike ballot until they know the detail of the government’s pay offer for 2024/5.
Delegates attending the NEU’s annual conference agreed the offer - when it comes - should be put to members in a snap poll and if rejected with a convincing turnout, move to a formal ballot for industrial action.
After achieving an overwhelming majority vote in our recent indicative ballot, NEU conference committed to intensify its campaign to win a fully-funded, above-inflation pay rise and greater resources for schools and colleges.
Education is on its knees, struggling to cope with a crisis never seen before in our sector. And the responsibility for this lies squarely at the door of secretary of state for education Gillian Keegan and 14 years of mismanagement and underinvestment by a government that does not care.
The Greens claim their policies could lead to at least 150,000 extra council homes a year being built. In his speech, Ramsay said these would come from a mix of new-build, refurbishments and exisiting homes. This is one of several policies intended to increase the supply of affordable housing. In its press notice the party says:
The policies the Green party would introduce to help councils increase the supply of affordable housing include:
-Providing funding to councils to meet their needs for affordable social housing and lift the overly restrictive rules on council borrowing for housebuilding – ensuring at least an extra 150,000 council homes a year are made available through a mix of new build, refurbishment, conversions and buying up existing homes
Denyer said the Greens were aiming for a record number of seats in the local elections. She said:
We are aiming for a record number of seats in the city and to lead the next administration. We know there is a huge appetite for the bold progressive approach of the Greens here, like in so many other towns, cities and villages across the country.
We go into these local elections with around 760 councillors on nearly 170 councils in both urban and rural settings and Greens being a governing party in 10% of all councils in England and Wales already.
She claimed the Greens had “more ambition” than any other party. She said:
When times are hard we need more ambition, not less. We need to rise to the scale of the challenges we face and be clear that not doing that is a political choice. Leaving millions of children in poverty is a political choice. Letting our NHS fall into chaos is a political choice. And failing to commit to the green investment we need is a political choice.
At the Green party, we’re making a different political choice. We choose to listen to what people need. We choose to see the cost of living crisis for what it really is, a widening inequality crisis. And we choose to offer solutions to fix it.
Denyer and Ramsay confirmed that the Greens are focusing on four seats in particular at the general election. They are Brighton Pavilion, where Siân Berry is the candidate, hoping to succeed Caroline Lucas; Bristol Central, where Denyer is the candidate; Waveney Valley, where Ramsay is the candidate; and North Herefordshire, where Ellie Chowns is the candidate. According to the YouGov MRP poll published yesterday, only Berry is on course to win. But Ramsay claimed he had a good chance because last year the Greens won control of Mid Suffolk district council (which roughly overlaps with the Waveney Valley constituency). He went on:
The counsellors there have spent the last year delivering on their promises to secure investment in the local area, make the council’s operations greener and improve local services. And their efforts are being recognised because the Green-majority council has recently won the council of the year award.
Continue reading...Israel government says its report will be ‘transparent’ after seven people working for food charity killed in an Israeli air strike. This live blog is closed
Reuters has spoken with Israelis who have been displaced from their communities in the far north of the country, close to the UN-drawn blue line that has separated Israel from Lebanon since 2000.
Israel evacuated a number of communities, totalling about 60,000 people, almost immediately after the 7 October attack in southern Israel. There has been an almost constant exchange of fire between Israel’s military and Hezbollah and other anti-Israeli forces inside Lebanon.
What we saw in the south on 7 October was basically Hamas “stealing the thunder” from Hezbollah. If anything, Hezbollah is more of a border threat than Hamas was.
Continue reading...Exclusive: YouGov survey indicates loss of support among people in Britain for Israel’s war in Gaza
A majority of voters in Britain back a ban on arms sales to Israel, according to a YouGov poll.
One of the first up-to-date assessments of whether Israel is losing public support in key allied states, the research also suggests most people believe the Israeli government is violating human rights in Gaza.
Continue reading...Founder of charity that lost seven people hits out at IDF as friendly governments decry drone attack
Israel is facing mounting international pressure to justify its conduct in the war in Gaza as the bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in a drone attack were repatriated to their families.
Seven members of World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed when a drone repeatedly hit their convoy of three cars, which were clearly identified as belonging to the charity, after it left an aid warehouse in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Monday night.
Continue reading...The deaths of seven aid workers add credence to allegations by observers that commanders on the ground in Gaza may ‘do as they please’
The killing of seven foreign aid workers by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza has once again raised serious questions about the IDF’s opaque and highly permissive rules of engagement, whether those rules are enforced, and how willing it is to investigate breaches.
Put simply, rules of engagement define how and in what circumstances it is permissible to use force, including lethal violence, during operations, and at what potential risk to civilians.
Continue reading...Israeli intelligence sources reveal use of ‘Lavender’ system in Gaza war and claim permission given to kill civilians in pursuit of low-ranking militants
The Israeli military’s bombing campaign in Gaza used a previously undisclosed AI-powered database that at one stage identified 37,000 potential targets based on their apparent links to Hamas, according to intelligence sources involved in the war.
In addition to talking about their use of the AI system, called Lavender, the intelligence sources claim that Israeli military officials permitted large numbers of Palestinian civilians to be killed, particularly during the early weeks and months of the conflict.
Continue reading...If draft brought forward by Pakistan is adopted, it would mark the first time that the UN’s top rights body has taken a position on the war in Gaza
The UK should stop arming Israel, a former national security adviser has said, after seven international aid workers were killed in Gaza in an Israeli airstrike.
Lord Ricketts, who was also the former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Sometimes in conflict, you get a moment where there’s such global outrage that it crystalises a sense that things can’t go on like this.”
Continue reading...National Education Union leader says morale among teachers is at ‘an all time low’ in radio interview
There is widespread agreement in the UK and the US that Israel has “gone too far” in its war against Hamas, Darren Jones, a Labour Treasury spokesperson, said this morning.
In an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Jones said:
I think what we’ve seen from President Biden, from Keir Starmer, and now from Lord Cameron, our own foreign secretary, is that countries that supported Israel’s right to defend itself and to recover its hostages from Hamas terrorists in Gaza, which clearly is their right to have done in the first place, have all said that you’ve gone too far, that we need to bring this war to an end, we need to get around the negotiating table, we need to aid to get to people who desperately need it in Gaza.
This latest situation, not only has it resulted in the death of aid workers, which is unacceptable, but it’s now making it much harder for aid to be made available to people who are in the most desperate situations.
The fact of the matter is if the UK, for example, stopped supplying arms, the war would not end. What we need to do is get the parties to a position where the fighting can stop.
As always, on questions of international law, it’s for judges and courts to make that decision, not for politicians.
Continue reading...Lib Dems also call for action to suspend arms exports to Israel after seven aid workers killed in Gaza
Ministers are under pressure from Tory MPs and peers to stop arming Israel after seven humanitarian workers were killed by an airstrike in Gaza.
Four Conservatives told the Guardian on Wednesday that the UK should stop exporting arms to Israel after its strike, which killed three British aid workers.
Continue reading...PM demands ‘transparent investigation’ from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as names emerge of three Britons killed in Gaza
Rishi Sunak has called for an urgent investigation into the deaths of three British aid workers working for the charity World Central Kitchen who were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit an aid convoy in Gaza.
WSK confirmed that British victims John Chapman, 57, James “Jim” Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, who were working for the charity’s security team, were among seven of its staff killed.
Continue reading...A cabinet split over military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews and large street protests demanding the release of hostages are threatening the prime minister’s grip on power. Bethan McKernan reports from Jerusalem
As the war in Gaza approaches its seventh month, tens of thousands of protesters in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities in Israel have demanded the release of hostages held in Gaza and called for new elections.
The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, Bethan McKernan, tells Michael Safi it is a moment of political danger for the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who also faces pressure from within his ruling coalition over the issue of exemption from military service granted to the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. Israel’s allies, including the US, are piling pressure on Netanyahu to urgently allow aid into Gaza, which faces a famine, and to spell out how he will address the aftermath of the conflict.
Continue reading...