Category Archives: Palestinian Territories

Israel reportedly deploys extra weapons for assumed Rafah offensive

Posted on by

IDF confirms buying thousands of tents for evacuation, raising fears over long-threatened attack

Israel has reportedly deployed extra artillery and armoured personnel carriers to the Gaza Strip periphery, suggesting that the military is preparing for its long-threatened ground offensive on Rafah, the only place of relative safety for at least 1.4 million displaced Palestinian civilians.

Israeli daily Ma’ariv also said on Wednesday that troops had been put on alert and “the governing principle of the operation” had been approved by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) general staff and Yoav Gallant, the defence minister. The IDF declined to comment on the reports.

Continue reading...

Israel ‘making decision to act’ after Iran attack, says Cameron on Jerusalem visit

Posted on by

UK foreign secretary is probably first non-Israeli politician to admit military reprisal is inevitable but urges Israel not to escalate

David Cameron has said it is clear Israel is “making a decision to act” in response to last weekend’s Iranian mass drone and ballistic missile attack, as Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off calls for restraint and said his country would make its own decisions about how to defend itself.

Lord Cameron, the UK foreign secretary, speaking on a visit to Jerusalem, said he hoped the Israeli response would be carried out in a way that minimised escalation.

Continue reading...

Lisa Nandy urges support for UN relief agency for Palestinians

Posted on by

Labour shadow minister also says Israel should be held accountable before international tribunal for war conduct in Gaza

Lisa Nandy, the UK’s shadow minister for international development, has called for support for the UN relief agency, Unrwa, warning that “time has run out for hundreds of thousands” of people in Gaza.

Nandy is in Washington this week attending the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund with a message of how the UK’s humanitarian and development policy will change if Labour, as expected, forms the next government by the end of this year.

Continue reading...

Palestinian boy who survived airstrike dies during food aid drop

Posted on by

Zein Oroq’s death turns focus once again on human cost of six months of violence, food shortages and malnutrition in Gaza

When an Israeli airstrike destroyed his family’s home in November, Zein Oroq was pinned under rubble. He was wounded but survived, while 17 members of his extended family died.

But Zein, 13, would later suffer a cruel fate in Gaza, where more than 2 million people have endured more than six months of food shortages and malnutrition.

Continue reading...

Middle East crisis: Israel will ‘make its own decision’ on Iran after UK and Germany call for restraint – as it happened

Posted on by

Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments came after UK foreign minister David Cameron and his German counterpart travelled to Israel for talks

Here are some more pictures sent over the news wires from Rafah showing the aftermath of an Israeli strike there.

Reuters, citing the semi-official Tasnim news agency, reports that Iran’s navy is to begin escorting Iranian commercial ships to the Red Sea.

Continue reading...

Backlash as USC cancels valedictorian’s speech over support for Palestine

Posted on by

Asna Tabassum says university is ‘succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice’ after decision to scrap speech

The University of Southern California is facing intense backlash for the decision to cancel the valedictorian speech of a Muslim student at the commencement ceremony in May, a decision which the student has criticized as being silenced by anti-Palestinian hatred for her views on human rights.

In a missive to the USC community, the university’s provost, Andrew Guzman, wrote that the Los Angeles university took the unprecedented step of canceling Asna Tabassum’s planned speech because the “alarming tenor” of reactions to her selection as valedictorian – along with “the intensity of feelings” surrounding Israel’s ongoing military strikes in Gaza – had created “substantial risks relating to security”.

Continue reading...

Netanyahu aims to trap west into war across Middle East, warns Iranian diplomat

Posted on by

Iran’s chargé d’affaires in London said his country would respond more severely if Israel attacked it again in ‘another mistake’

Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to trap the west into a total war across the Middle East that would have incalculable consequences for the region and the world, Iran’s top diplomat in the UK has claimed, in his first interview since Tehran launched an unprecedented missile and drone attack against Israel at the weekend.

Seyed Mehdi Hosseini Matin also warned that if Israel made “another mistake” by launching an attack on Iran, there would be a response from Iran that was stronger, more severe, and administered without a warning like that issued before the weekend attack.

Continue reading...

Middle East crisis: Israel says Iran won’t get off ‘scot-free’ after missile attack – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog is now closed. For news on tensions between Israel and Iran, read our latest story:

A senior spokesperson for Iran’s military has warned the US, UK, France and Germany to stop supporting Israel, and said that there will be an even stronger response from Iran if Israel retaliates to the strikes at the weekend.

The official state news agency IRNA reports that Brig Gen Abolfazl Shekarchi said:

We remind the heads of state of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany to stop supporting the declining child-killing terrorist regime of Israel. The Islamic Republic of Iran has proven that it is not a warmonger and does not seek to spread the war. The response will be stronger if the regime carries out more severe aggressive act.

Continue reading...

US to impose new sanctions against Iran after its air attack on Israel

Posted on by

National security adviser Jake Sullivan made the announcement as EU considers similar moves

The US has said it will impose sanctions aimed at Iran’s missile and drone programme as well as the Revolutionary Guard and defence ministry in the next few days, and expects its allies to follow suit, in the wake of Tehran’s large-scale air attack on Israel at the weekend.

The national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, made the announcement on the same day Germany said it expected concerted EU sanctions, as the allies rushed to punish Iran economically while urging Israel not to launch military reprisals that could ignite an all-out war. Sullivan also said that a regional air defence and early warning system would be expanded to help defend against future attacks.

Continue reading...

UN demands end to Israeli forces’ support of settler attacks on West Bank Palestinians

Posted on by

UN human rights office expresses concern over escalating violence after deaths near Nablus over weekend

The UN and the UK have voiced grave concern over escalating violence in the West Bank, demanding that Israeli security forces “immediately” stop supporting settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied territory.

The comments came hours after two Palestinian men were killed by Israeli settlers in a northern village south of Nablus in the latest violent attack involving settlers in the increasingly tense West Bank.

Continue reading...

Artists refuse to open Israel pavilion at Venice Biennale until ceasefire is reached

Posted on by

Curators protesting against Gaza conflict say ‘art can wait but women, children and people living though hell cannot’

The artists and curators of the Israeli national pavilion at the Venice Biennale have announced their decision not to open until “a ceasefire and hostage release agreement is reached” in the conflict in Gaza, on the opening preview day of the largest and most prominent global gathering in the art world.

A sign on the front of the Israel pavilion in the Giardini, or public gardens, in Venice, one of the main venues for the Biennale, conveyed the team’s decision – while the pavilion itself is guarded by three armed Italian military personnel.

Continue reading...

Israeli settlers kill two Palestinians in West Bank, officials say

Posted on by

Violence is reported to have escalated after a 14 year old Israeli shepherd went missing in the West Bank on Friday

Israeli settlers have killed two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials, after a weekend of escalating violence across the territory.

The Palestinian health ministry named the victims of the attack near Nablus as Abdulrahman Maher Bani Fadel, 30, and Mohammed Ashraf Bani Jame, 21, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Continue reading...

Roads blocked as thousands protest in US against Israel’s attack on Gaza

Posted on by

Flights delayed and traffic disrupted as protesters in major US cities intensify call for ceasefire in Gaza

Thousands of people held protests across the US on Monday condemning Israel’s attack on Gaza, shutting down airports and disrupting traffic in major cities from New York to San Francisco.

A portion of the Kennedy Expressway into Chicago O’Hare international airport, one of the US’s busiest, was blocked off by protesters calling for an end to the violence.

Continue reading...

Jordan faces difficult balancing act amid row over role in downing Iranian drones

Posted on by

Amman and allies insist Jordanian actions were self-defence after public anger at home and across region

Jordan has found itself caught in the crosshairs of the confrontation between Iran and Israel, facing public anger at home and in the region for its role in downing dozens of Iranian drones targeting Israeli territory on Saturday night.

Underlying its precarious position, Amman summoned the Iranian ambassador on Sunday over comments from Tehran that appeared to threaten Jordan for joining the US-led effort to support Israel in shooting down the incoming salvo. The diplomatic summons came after Iran seemed to warn Jordan that it would face an attack of its own if it continued to defend Israel.

Continue reading...

Four Israeli soldiers injured by Hezbollah bombs inside Lebanon

Posted on by

One soldier seriously wounded as IDF crosses border in apparent first acknowledged breach since Gaza war began

Four Israeli soldiers have been injured inside Lebanon, one seriously, after being hit by bombs planted by Hezbollah.

The incident was confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces and came after the Lebanese Shia group said it had ambushed Israeli troops.

Continue reading...

Palestinians were refused Australian visitor visas due to concerns they would not ‘stay temporarily’

Posted on by

Senators label refusing 150 people, with Palestinian citizenship, visas into Australia during first months of conflict as ‘cold-blooded’ and ‘cruel’

About 160 Palestinians were refused visitor visas to come to Australia in the first three months of the Israel-Gaza conflict, mostly due to concerns they would not stay temporarily.

According to answers to questions on notice, 150 people with Palestinian citizenship were refused because they “did not demonstrate a genuine intention to stay temporarily in Australia” – a justification labelled “cold-blooded” and “cruel” by crossbench senators. Ten people who applied during the same period were rejected for other reasons.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Middle East crisis: Iran’s state media says vessel ‘linked to Israel’ seized by Revolutionary Guards – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here

The search for a missing Israeli teenager resumed on Saturday in the occupied West Bank, where settler attacks on Palestinian villages have left at least one dead and dozens injured, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP) citing sources on both sides.

The Israeli army said it was still looking for Benjamin Achimeir, 14, who went missing early on Friday from Malachi Hashalom, an outpost near the city of Ramallah.

Continue reading...

‘Shhh or I’ll shoot you’: family of jailed Christian woman tell of Israeli raid

Posted on by

Troops took Layan Nasir away at gunpoint from her home in the West Bank and her parents haven’t been told where she is

The Israeli troops arrived at about 4am last Saturday to take 23-year-old Layan Nasir away at gunpoint from her parents’ home in the West Bank town of Birzeit. There was no arrest warrant or charges, and her parents haven’t been notified of where she is held.

The only Palestinian Christian woman currently in Israeli detention, her case has been raised by the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. “I’m shocked and deeply concerned,” he said in a post on X. “Please pray for Layan’s safety and swift release.”

Continue reading...

Hamas weakened and divided but far from defeated six months into Gaza war

Posted on by

Few of Hamas’s senior leaders have been harmed but its ability to govern is reduced and thousands of fighters are dead

Six months after the surprise attacks it launched into Israel, triggering the Gaza conflict, Hamas is weakened and divided but far from defeated, experts, officials and sources close to the militant Islamist organisation say.

Hamas remains in de facto control of swaths of Gaza, including the parts where much of the territory’s population is now concentrated, and has re-established a presence elsewhere. In recent days, Hamas “operatives” armed with batons have been sighted keeping order on the streets of Khan Younis, the southern city from which Israeli forces withdrew just last week. On Wednesday, rockets targeting a kibbutz in Israel were launched by militants from Jabaliya in northern Gaza.

Continue reading...

Ireland and Spain reiterate plan to form alliance to recognise state of Palestine

Posted on by

Leaders of two nations vow to muster international support for two-state solution to Gaza crisis

Ireland and Spain have reiterated their intention to forge an alliance of countries that will soon recognise Palestine as a nation state.

The Irish taoiseach, Simon Harris, and Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, vowed on Friday to muster international support for a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine.

Continue reading...