Category Archives: Palestinian Territories

UN mission says Israeli tanks forcibly entered base in southern Lebanon

Posted on by

Unifil seeks explanation from IDF for ‘shocking violations’ while Netanyahu urges peacekeepers to withdraw

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has said two Israeli tanks destroyed a gate and forcibly entered a base in the south of the country as Israel’s ground operation against Hezbollah moved deeper into Lebanese territory.

The incident in Ramyah on Sunday morning was the latest in a string of violations that Unifil, the UN force deployed since 1978 to southern Lebanon, has blamed on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Continue reading...

‘We fear Gaza will be forgotten’: Palestinians despair as focus shifts to Lebanon

Posted on by

People and aid workers in the strip say ‘no one is talking about’ the bloodshed there and ceasefire hopes are receding

As Israeli bombs began to fall across Lebanon, the scenes of bloodshed and chaos were grimly familiar to the people of Gaza. Mai al-Afifa, 24, was teaching a workshop about how to identify unexploded ordnance in a school turned shelter in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah on Thursday when an Israeli missile hit the next building in the compound. Twenty-eight people were killed and 54 injured, according to medics at the scene.

Through the smoke and rubble dust Afifa saw the body parts of two women and a male aid worker as she stumbled to safety. The Israeli military said it had used a precise strike to target Hamas fighters using the school as a command centre.

Continue reading...

‘The fear is unspeakable’: airstrikes on northern Gaza leave hundreds of thousands with nowhere to go

Posted on by

Roughly 400,000 people trapped in latest offensive with most of territory under evacuation orders

At least 22 people have been killed in airstrikes in northern Gaza, with Israeli forces stepping up their campaign on the besieged Palestinian territory even as fighting in the new war in Lebanon escalates.

On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) renewed its evacuation orders for Palestinians still living in the decimated northern half of Gaza, although many residents say the fighting and Israeli sniper fire make it impossible to leave.

Continue reading...

Middle East: African Union joins UN member states in expressing support for Guterres – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog has now closed. You can read all our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war here and Israel’s invasion of Lebanon here.

Images on the newswires show Palestinians fleeing areas in the northern Gaza Strip after a fresh Israeli evacuation order:

In a separate post on X to the one we reported on earlier (see 9.38am BST), Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee reiterated an earlier call for health workers and medical teams in southern Lebanon to avoid using ambulances, claiming they are being used by Hezbollah fighters.

Continue reading...

Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, officials say, as thousands remain trapped

Posted on by

Palestinian women and children among dead after Israel reportedly targets schools and homes with quadcopters and airstrikes

At least 30 people have been killed by Israeli strikes throughout the day in northern Gaza’s Jabalia town and refugee camp, Gaza’s civil defence agency has said, a week after Israel launched an offensive there which it claims is aimed at stopping Hamas regrouping.

The agency’s spokesperson, Mahmud Bassal, said a strike that occurred before 9.40pm local time killed 12 people including women and children, while 14 were missing and likely trapped under the rubble.

Continue reading...

Middle East crisis: Nicaragua breaks diplomatic relations with Israel – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closing. You can read our latest full report on Israel’s invasion of Lebanon here and all our coverage of its war on Gaza here.

Israel’s Magen David Adom has reported that one person has been killed and another wounded at a kibbutz in northern Israel by anti-tank fire from Lebanon.

Israel’s emergency services said the person killed was a 27-year-old Thai national working at kibbutz Yiron.

Continue reading...

‘Catastrophic situation’ at children’s hospital as Israel renews Gaza attacks

Posted on by

Director of only major hospital in north of strip still offering specialist care says it cannot evacuate all its patients

The director of the only major hospital in the northern Gaza Strip now offering specialised care for children has described a “catastrophic situation” as Israeli forces launched new ground assaults and airstrikes in the north and centre of the territory.

Dr Husam Abu Safiyeh, the director of Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, said it had not been possible to comply with an Israeli army order to evacuate all patients within 24 hours.

Continue reading...

At least 22 people killed in deadliest Israeli strike on central Beirut since start of war, officials say – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog has now closed. You can read our latest report from the region here and all our Middle East coverage here.

Diplomatic communications have intensified in the past hours, before a UN security council meeting discussing the situation in the Middle East, Lebanon’s prime minister Najib Mikati said in a statement on X on Thursday, reports Reuters.

“There are contacts taking place between the United States and France with the aim of reviving a ceasefire declaration for a specific period in order to resume the search for political solutions,” he was quoted as saying.

Continue reading...

At least 400,000 people trapped by Israel’s latest Gaza offensive, says Unrwa

Posted on by

Raid centred on Jabaliya camp is worsening hunger and threatening polio vaccine campaign, says Philippe Lazzarini

Hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza remain trapped by the latest Israeli offensive centred on Jabaliya refugee camp, according to UN agencies and human rights groups.

“At least 400,000 people are trapped in the area,” Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, posted on X on Wednesday, amid witness accounts of bodies lying uncollected in the streets because of the renewed fighting.

Continue reading...

Middle East crisis: Al Jazeera accuses IDF of targeting journalists – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog has now closed. You can read our latest report on the Israel-Gaza war here and all our Middle East coverage here.

We have more reports coming in of deadly Israeli attacks on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza (see post at 07.54) and Bureij refugee camp, which is located nearby.

Two Israeli airstrikes hit tents for displaced people in the camps earlier, the Associated Press reports. The bodies of nine people, including three children, were brought to the al-Aqsa martyrs hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah.

Continue reading...

Israeli military deploys fourth division in Lebanon ground offensive

Posted on by

Hezbollah acting leader says its military capabilities still ‘fine’ as Israel sends more troops and keeps up airstrikes

Israel has said it is expanding its ground operation in Lebanon with the deployment of a fourth division after another night of intense airstrikes across the south and east of the country.

The reservist 146th division was sent to southern Lebanon overnight, hours after Israel announced the mobilisation of a third standing division, meaning the number of troops on the ground is now likely to number 15,000.

Continue reading...

Middle East crisis: Lammy to visit Bahrain and Jordan – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog has now closed. You can see all our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war here, and our latest report on Israel’s attacks on Lebanon here.

Turkey will evacuate its citizens who have applied to leave Lebanon by sea on Wednesday, the Turkish foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Reuters reports it said in a statement that two Turkish navy ships were expected to set off for Beirut on Tuesday with a total capacity of about 2,000 passengers, adding that the evacuation process will continue in the following days if necessary.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump claims to have been to Gaza despite no evidence of visit

Posted on by

Former president says territory where 41,000 people have been killed ‘could be better than Monaco’ if developed

Donald Trump’s truthfulness as well as his knowledge of Middle East geography has come under fresh scrutiny after the former president claimed to have been to Gaza – although there is no evidence of him ever visiting the war-torn Palestinian territory.

Trump raised eyebrows after the Republican nominee in November’s presidential election told Hugh Hewitt, a rightwing radio host, that he had been in the tiny coastal strip where more than 41,000 people have been killed and the majority of buildings badly damaged or destroyed in blistering Israeli military attacks responding to last year’s 7 October attack by Hamas. The Hamas attack killed 1,200 about Israelis and took about 250 hostage.

Continue reading...

Kamala Harris pays tribute to victims of 7 October attacks on first anniversary

Posted on by

Vice-president commits to ‘always’ support Israel’s defense as Biden condemns ‘vicious surge in antisemitism’ in US

US politicians on both sides of the aisle issued statements marking the anniversary of the 7 October attacks, with Kamala Harris paying tribute to the victims and calling, in their honor, to “never lose sight of the dream of peace, dignity, and security for all”.

Outside the vice-presidential residence, Harris, accompanied by her husband, spoke of the nearly 1,200 people, including 46 Americans, killed in Israel one year ago.

Continue reading...

Starmer urges all sides in Middle East to ‘step back from the brink’

Posted on by

UK prime minister tells parliament that the first anniversary of 7 October Hamas attack is a ‘day of grief’ for region

Keir Starmer has urged all sides to pull back from the brink in the Middle East as he addressed the House of Commons on the anniversary of the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel.

With Israel yet to decide how to respond to Iran’s unprecedented missile strike last week, the prime minister said he supported “Israel’s right to defend herself against Iran’s aggression, in line with international law”.

Continue reading...

World leaders mark first anniversary of 7 October attack on Israel

Posted on by

Pope and UN secretary general call for end to fighting as governments and individuals commemorate attack by Hamas

The US president, Joe Biden, has condemned the “unspeakable brutality” of the 7 October attacks launched by Hamas on Israel as world leaders, governments and individuals around the globe marked their first anniversary in commemorations ranging from official statements to formal ceremonies and small private vigils.

The attack killed nearly 1,200 people, according to Israeli government figures, including hundreds at a music festival near the Israel-Gaza border, and saw about 250 hostages taken to Gaza.

Continue reading...

‘The pain will never leave’: Nova massacre survivors return to site one year on

Posted on by

Low sobs and prayers for those killed by Hamas punctuated by sound of artillery fire towards nearby Gaza

One year ago, nearly 400 young Israelis were massacred at the site of the Nova music festival during the 7 October Hamas attack. As mourners gathered at the site of the festival to commemorate the victims on Monday, their low sobs and murmured prayers were punctuated by the sound of artillery and machine guns being fired by soldiers into nearby Gaza.

Perhaps no single scene across Israel more expressly exhibited the horrific violence meted out against hundreds of civilians by Hamas, and the subsequent ferocity of the Israeli response against that organisation and millions of people inside of Gaza.

Continue reading...

‘They told us a big attack wouldn’t happen’: the intelligence failures before 7 October

Posted on by

A year on, there are still bitter recriminations over warnings missed by Israeli military and intelligence services

In the late afternoon on 7 October, an Israeli software engineer in his mid-30s found himself driving down a deserted road parallel to the perimeter fence that separated Gaza from Israel. He had been fighting for hours with an AK-47 taken from a dead Hamas militant. Now he and three friends were headed to the town of Ohad to search for relatives who had gone missing.

“Only when we set off south did we understand how big this was. It was like an apocalypse,” the engineer, who did not want to be named, said last week. “There were hundreds of bodies of civilians inside their cars or on the road, hundreds of dead terrorists with their pickup trucks or motorbikes. There were dead police, army vehicles on fire. We were alone.”

Continue reading...

Israel launches intense wave of airstrikes on 120 sites in Lebanon

Posted on by

Military says 100 aircraft used in attack on targets in south of country as Israeli operations expand on multiple fronts

Israel launched an intense wave of air raids on southern Lebanon on Monday, with 100 aircraft targeting about 120 sites in the space of an hour, according to the country’s military.

An IDF Arabic spokesperson issued an urgent warning to Lebanese civilians to avoid being on the beach or on boats on the coast from the Awali River southward until further notice.

Continue reading...

Division among Australian politicians easy to see and hear on 7 October anniversary

Posted on by

Labor condemns Hamas and acknowledges ‘devastating’ loss of civilian lives. Coalition offers emphatic support of Israel and chides calls for a ceasefire

The divisions within Australian politics over the Israel-Gaza war were on full display on Monday as senior leaders marked the first anniversary of the 7 October attacks.

The Labor government reaffirmed its unequivocal condemnation of the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

Continue reading...