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Here’s where things stand on Tuesday 8 July 2025:
- US President Donald Trump has held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, with both leaders touting their controversial proposal to push besieged Palestinians into neighbouring countries.
- Their meeting comes as Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians on Monday, and Israeli negotiators and Hamas held indirect talks in Qatar for a ceasefire in Gaza.
- The Houthis in Yemen have damaged a second ship in as many days in the Red Sea, targeting a vessel with rocket-propelled grenades.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 57,523 people and wounded 136,617, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023 attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.
War-weary Palestinians hope for an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza
As we’ve been reporting, negotiators from Israel and Hamas are holding indirect talks in Doha for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In central Gaza, weary Palestinians said they hoped an end to the violence was close.
Majid Farwana, a displaced Palestinian, said he was “expecting good things”.
“We’re really tired, we have suffered and left our homes. Even though it’s destroyed, we’d like to clean it up and settle there at ease,” he said.
Another displaced Palestinian, Ahlam Farwana, echoed the same sentiment.
“We’re waiting by the minute, I swear. We’re suffering when getting water, suffering at charity kitchens, we’re suffering with everything. We’re waiting and asking God to end this suffering and for the end of the war. That’s enough. No more than that. We’re tired,” she said.
Israeli forces kill 13 Palestinians in Gaza
Wafa is reporting that at least 13 people have been killed in Gaza since the early hours of this morning.
Here are the details:
- Al-Shifa Hospital said four people were killed, including a baby, in an Israeli attack on a house in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa.
- Al-Ahli Arab Hospital said two people were killed in an attack on Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood.
- Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said one person was killed and several wounded in an attack on Deir el-Balah.
- Nasser Hospital said it received the bodies of two people killed in a drone attack on the Khan Younis-Western Rafah road.
- Four people of a family were killed in an attack on a tent where displaced Palestinians were staying in al-Mawasi, Khan Younis.
Dozens of countries condemn US sanctions on ICC
A group of 48 countries has expressed “deep concern” at the US’s recent sanctions against the International Criminal Court and condemned all threats and attacks against the tribunal’s judges and staff.
“We stand with the court and are determined to continue our full support for it so that it can continue to operate independently and effectively,” the countries said in a statement.
The statement comes after the Trump administration announced sanctions against ICC officials, naming four judges whom it accuses of taking “illegitimate and baseless actions” against the US and its allies, including Israel.
Netanyahu takes new tone on Palestinian state, touts Gaza displacement plan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat down with US President Donald Trump at the White House and fielded questions from reporters about the future of a ceasefire deal, the prospect of a Palestinian state and what’s going to happen to the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Netanyahu said Israelis wouldn’t want a Palestinian state after what happened on October 7th, which is a different tone from what the prime minister had previously said on this matter. He had said that he’s worked his entire political career trying to prevent a Palestinian state, and that he would continue to do so.
Netanyahu also said that both Israel and the US are actively working to find countries that would take Palestinians from Gaza.
This is something the Israelis have been saying for some time, calling it a “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from their homeland. But, of course, this has been condemned as ethnic cleansing.
The Israelis are also noting that there still is a negotiating team in the Qatari capital, Doha, and there is some movement towards getting to a ceasefire deal.
The US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said that now more than ever, there is momentum. He himself is heading to the Middle East in the coming days to work on that very deal.
But Netanyahu says that despite all of this, until Israel achieves all of its goals and objectives in Gaza, the war would continue.
Five Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza
The Israeli military says five soldiers were killed and two were seriously injured in an “incident” in northern Gaza.
The Times of Israel newspaper reported that another 12 soldiers were also wounded when a bomb planted on the side of a road exploded near the soldiers who were on foot at the time, in Beit Hanoon at about 10pm local time [19:00 GMT] on Monday.
What did Trump, Netanyahu say at the White House?
We were told repeatedly it was going to be a private dinner with no media access, but inevitably, this changed, and the cameras were allowed in in time to get the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Nanyahu, presenting the US President a letter recommending that he be given the Nobel Peace Prize.
It was clear that discussions are going to centre on the situation in Gaza, in particular, getting a ceasefire in place and releasing those still being held captive.
But it would appear from the conversation that both leaders are thinking about the possible relocation of Palestinians to other countries as part of this process.
The US president also said he didn’t know whether there would ever be an independent Palestinian state, and the Israeli prime minister, commenting on the matter, said that whatever happened, Israel would always retain complete security over the area.
The issue of Iran was also brought up by the US president, and he said, “They want to meet and they want to work something out”. Later in the conversation, the issue of Syria came up, with the US president saying he decided to lift the sanctions against Syria to give that new country a chance.
This, he said, will also apply to the Iranian situation, saying that it would be possible to lift sanctions against Iran should some kind of negotiated deal be reached.
So, a wide-ranging conversation. The Israeli prime minister will be in Washington, DC, until Thursday, giving time for further discussions with members of the administration and, of course, meeting members of Congress.
Netanyahu says Israel working with US to displace Palestinians
The Israeli prime minister, speaking during his dinner with Trump at the White House, said Israel is working with the US to find countries that will take Palestinians who are forcibly displaced from Gaza.
A recap of recent developments
- US President Donald Trump has held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House amid a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza.
- The two leaders, fielding questions ahead of a dinner, repeated their controversial plan to push besieged Palestinians in Gaza into neighbouring countries.
- The meeting comes as Israeli forces killed at least 61 Palestinians in Gaza on Monday alone, including five people who were shot while trying to get food from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
- The Reuters news agency says the GHF is planning to build expansive camps called “Humanitarian Transit Areas” inside, and possibly outside, Gaza to house the Palestinian population.
- The proposal describes the camps as “large-scale” and “voluntary” places where the Palestinian population of Gaza could “temporarily reside, deradicalize, re-integrate and prepare to relocate if they wish to do so”.
- The report comes as Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz told a security briefing that the government wants to create a “humanitarian city” on top of the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza to “concentrate the population and separate it from Hamas”.
- The Houthis in Yemen damaged a second ship in as many days in the Red Sea, targeting a vessel with rocket-propelled grenades. Two crew members of the ship are missing.
- Here’s what happened today
- We will be closing this live page soon. Here are the day’s major developments:
- The Israeli military killed more than 60 Palestinians and wounded dozens of others in strikes across the Gaza Strip, including in an attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp.
- Talks are ongoing in Qatar between Israel and Hamas to reach a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza as more aid seekers are shot dead and hospitals run out of fuel.
- The Houthis in Yemen damaged a second ship in as many days in the Red Sea, targeting a vessel with rocket-propelled grenades. Two crew members of the ship are missing.
- Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the government wants to create a “humanitarian city” on top of the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza to concentrate starving Palestinians.
- At least one person was killed after the Israeli military targeted a vehicle travelling in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district. Another was killed on a motorcycle in the same district.
- Israeli forces launched raids across the occupied West Bank and announced the seizure of 74 hectares (183 acres) of land northeast of Ramallah as settlers again attacked Palestinians.
Netanyahu meets with Rubio, Witkoff ahead of Trump dinner
The Israeli prime minister is scheduled to have a private dinner with US President Trump at the White House tonight.
But first, he has held separate meetings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
The talks were held at Blair House, the presidential guest house near the White House.
One more killed in Lebanon as Israel launches more attacks
Lebanon’s National News Agency says one person was killed after a motorcycle was bombed in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon.
An Israeli drone reportedly dropped an explosive on a religious statue in Kfar Kila, while a sound bomb was also dropped on the outskirts.
Israeli drones were also reported to be flying over several other towns across southern Lebanon.
Plan outlines large ‘Humanitarian Transit Areas’ for Gaza: Report
A proposal seen by the Reuters news agency describes a plan to build expansive camps called “Humanitarian Transit Areas” inside, and possibly outside, Gaza to house the Palestinian population.
The news report said that the $2bn plan, which carries the name of the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), outlines a vision of “replacing Hamas’ control over the population in Gaza”.
The proposal describes the camps as “large-scale” and “voluntary” places where the Palestinian population of Gaza could “temporarily reside, deradicalize, re-integrate and prepare to relocate if they wish to do so”.
On February 4, US President Trump first publicly said the US should “take over” the war-battered enclave and rebuild it as “the Riviera of the Middle East”, after resettling the population of 2.3 million Palestinians elsewhere.
Humanitarian experts have expressed alarm over the details of the plan to build camps.
“There is no such thing as voluntary displacement amongst a population that has been under constant bombardment for nearly two years and has been cut off from essential aid,” said Jeremy Konyndyk, the president of the Refugees International advocacy group.
Photos: Starving Palestinian children, women wait to receive food
Israeli soldiers suffer serious wounds in north Gaza: Reports
A group of Israeli soldiers invading northern Gaza have encountered a serious “security incident”, according to Israeli media.
Several soldiers are believed to have been seriously wounded, with some suffering burns after reports of an explosion.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent on the ground confirmed that Israeli artillery continued to shell various areas in the northern Gaza Strip intensely, following reports of the incident.
Death toll of Israeli attacks on Iran climbs above 1,000 people
A total of 1,060 Iranian victims of Israel’s attacks in June have already been buried, according to the head of Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, Saeed Ohadi.
He told state television in an interview that the figure could reach as much as 1,100 dead because some people are still missing, while others are in critical condition.
The 12 days of Israeli air strikes that started on June 13 also killed dozens of top military commanders and scientists in Iran. At least 28 people were killed in Israel as a result of Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes.
Netanyahu’s US visit: Israel ‘stuck with’ Trump, must respond to pressure
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump are set to meet for the third time this year.
Among the issues for discussion: Israel’s 21-month war on Gaza and questions over how hard Trump will push for an end to the disastrous conflict.
Kenneth Roth, a visiting professor at the Princeton School for Public and International Affairs, said that former US President Joe Biden failed to take a stand over Israel’s conduct during its war on Gaza.
“Biden sort of said the right things in terms of stopping the starvation, stopping the bombing of civilians in Gaza, but was not willing to really exert pressure by conditioning the US military aid or arms sales, because he feared the consequences on the right,” Roth told Al Jazeera.
“Trump can squeeze the Israeli government without suffering political consequences, because there’s nobody to the right to whom the Israeli government can turn. They are stuck with him, and so when he pressures them, they have to respond.”
Netanyahu is also expected to meet while he’s in Washington, DC, with US House Speaker Mike Johnson. Johnson, a Republican who has aligned the House Republican lawmakers closer to Israel, plans to meet Netanyahu on Tuesday.
One injured during Israeli raid on Nablus, home burned in Tulkarem
The Wafa news agency cites the Nablus Medical Relief Society as saying that one Palestinian has been wounded by shrapnel in the knee in the Balata al-Balad area, east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.
Several Israeli military vehicles, accompanied by a bulldozer, stormed the area.
The video below shows how Israeli forces set fire to a house inside the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem.
Gaza babies face deadly malnutrition as aid access blocked: UNICEF
Thousands of babies in Gaza lack proper nutrition as aid remains severely restricted by Israel, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell has warned.
Many mothers have been killed or are too malnourished to breastfeed, leaving infants at risk of dying or suffering permanent health damage, Russell said.
“Every minute counts in saving their lives,” she added.
WHO to organise delivery of limited medical supplies: Gaza ministry
The Health Ministry has said trucks carrying medical supplies are scheduled to enter hospitals in Gaza via the World Health Organization on Tuesday. The shipments do not contain any food items.
“The expected items are of critical importance and urgently needed to continue providing medical care to the wounded and sick and to save lives,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The ministry urges all respected citizens, community leaders, families, and relevant parties to make every effort to protect the convoy, avoid any interference with the trucks, and ensure their safe arrival at hospitals to save the lives of patients and the injured.”
Children among wounded after Israeli attack on al-Mawasi
The Civil Defence agency in Gaza says its crews transported several wounded Palestinians, mostly children and women, after Israeli warplanes targeted the tents of displaced people in the al-Mawasi area.
This is the area, located in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, that Israel calls a “humanitarian zone”, but has targeted numerous times with deadly effect for civilians.
Iran’s supreme leader says US investors welcome in the country
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei suggested that US investors can come to Iran.
“In a conversation we had with the Supreme Leader, he believed that American investors can come to Iran and there are no obstacles to their activities… Unfortunately, it is Israel that does not allow peace in the region,” Pezeshkian said in a post on X.
He added that Iran would be open to US investments should sanctions on Tehran be lifted. “There is no limitation and nothing preventing the US investors to come to Iran and to make investments in Iran.”
But Pezeshkian also warned that the United States has two ways to deal with Iran and the region: peace or war.
“US President Mr Trump is capable enough to guide the region towards peace and a brighter future and put Israel in its place – or get into an endless pit or swamp, and that is a war that Netanyahu wants the US or its president to be dragged into.”
Israeli forces raid multiple towns near Tulkarem
Israeli forces raided the towns of Zeita, Anabta and Bal’a near Tulkarem as part of the army’s ongoing escalation in the northern occupied West Bank.
Local sources said Israeli soldiers stormed the home of the Ibrahim Abu al-Izz family in Zeita, forced them out at gunpoint and turned the house into a military post, raising the Israeli flag on its roof.
The Wafa news agency reported that several military vehicles also entered the nearby towns of Anabta and Bal’a, patrolling streets and neighbourhoods while restricting the movement of residents and vehicles.
Tulkarem and its refugee camp have been at the centre of repeated Israeli incursions in recent months. The raids have caused widespread damage to homes and public infrastructure, and forced thousands from the area.
Trump’s ‘utmost priority’ is to end Israel’s war on Gaza
US President Donald Trump’s “utmost priority” is to end the war in Gaza and free captives held by Hamas, the White House says, ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will head to Qatar later this week, where Israel and Hamas are holding indirect talks, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing.
Leavitt said Trump wanted Hamas to agree to a US-brokered proposal “right now” after Israel backed the plan for a ceasefire and the release of abductees held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The Hamas and Israeli delegations – sitting in separate rooms in Doha – are currently negotiating in Qatar late into Monday.
In Washington, DC, key US ally Netanyahu will hold separate meetings with Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio before his dinner with Trump at 6:30pm local time (22:30 GMT).
Doctors alarmed at rising meningitis cases in Gaza’s children
The World Health Organization and medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) warn that conditions in Gaza after 21 months of war have increased the risks of meningitis spreading.
“There’s been a rise in meningitis cases in children,” said Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territories. “We are very concerned.”
At Nasser Hospital in southern Khan Younis, Dr Ahmad al-Farra, head of the paediatrics and maternity department, reported nearly 40 cases of newly admitted viral and bacterial meningitis in the last week.
In Gaza City to the north, the paediatrics department at al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital has recorded hundreds of cases in recent weeks.
Hospitals still operating are overwhelmed with beds full and severe shortages of vital antibiotics. “There is no space in the hospitals,” said Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, deputy medical coordinator for MSF in Gaza. “There is no space to isolate.”
Airborne and life-threatening bacterial meningitis can spread in overcrowded tents, according to the WHO. Viral meningitis, though less serious, often spreads through the fecal-oral route, meaning it can easily spread in shelters with poor sanitation.
Israeli settlers attack village as soldiers raid West Bank towns
A group of Israeli settlers has attacked Palestinian shepherds near al-Maniya village, southeast of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.
Local sources told Wafa news agency the settlers wearing military uniforms emerged from two recently established pastoral outposts on land belonging to Palestinian villagers, which was illegally seized.
Israeli soldiers also stormed several towns in Tulkarem, and increased military activity was also reported east of Nablus.
Israeli soldiers re-arrest female Palestinian in raid on West Bank home
Israeli forces have raided the home of former prisoner Yasmin Shaaban in the town of al-Jalama, northeast of Jenin, taking her away in front of her four children.
According to the Prisoners’ Media Office, she was first detained in 2014 and spent five years in prison, then was re-arrested in 2022 and sentenced to six years before being temporarily released as part of a prisoner-exchange deal, only to be detained again now without charge.
“Shaaban is currently held in Damon Prison alongside dozens of other female prisoners who suffer from harsh detention conditions,” the monitor said, adding that the prison is overcrowded and lacks hygiene and ventilation, and that inmates’ cells are repeatedly raided by guards and their dogs.
“Prisoner Shaaban has expressed concern for the minors, pregnant, and ill detainees, stressing their suffering surpasses what the prison walls can describe.”
If you’re just joining us
Here’s a quick look at the latest developments:
- The Israeli military has killed at least 61 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since dawn, including 26 people in Gaza City and the northern part of the besieged enclave.
- Yemen’s Houthis appear to have successfully attacked another ship in the Red Sea, with two crew injured and two missing on a cargo vessel off the coast of Hodeidah.
- Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the government wants to create a “humanitarian city” on top of the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza to concentrate all Palestinians.
- At least one person was killed after the Israeli military targeted a vehicle travelling in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district.
- Amid ongoing raids and settler attacks in the occupied West Bank, Israeli authorities have announced the seizure of 74 hectares (183 acres) of land northeast of Ramallah.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital warns fuel will run out ‘within hours’
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah has warned its fuel will run out “within hours”, putting the lives of hundreds of patients at risk.
In a statement, the hospital said its shutdown would cut off healthcare services for half a million people in the central governorate.
It called on the international community and relevant authorities to urgently intervene after the hospital’s generator broke down.
Welcome to our coverage
Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and the tenuous ceasefire with Iran.
Stay with us for the latest news, reactions and analyses.
You can find all our updates from Monday, July 7, here.
