LIVE UPDATES: Israel kills 23 aid seekers in Gaza, two more babies starve to death

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Here’s where things stand on Thursday 31 July 2025:

• Israel’s relentless bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip continues, with at least 51 Palestinians killed since dawn on Thursday, including 23 aid seekers.
• Hamas says it will “immediately” resume negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza once aid reaches starving Palestinians in the enclave.
• Source at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis says a young man from Rafah has died from starvation. Earlier, medics said the total hunger-related death toll since the start of the war stood at 154, including 89 children.
• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his country will recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September, citing the need for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 60,249 people and wounded 147,089 others. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, and more than 200 were taken captive.

Gaza media office reports widespread aid truck looting

The office reports that 104 aid trucks entered Gaza today, saying the “majority” were subjected to looting.

It further accused Israel of “deliberately perpetuating” security chaos, adding it affirmed the UN’s position that 600 trucks are needed a day to adequately provide for the population.

Earlier today, we reported that a UN spokesperson said that aid trucks had been restricted to only one crossing into Gaza and were subject to “ad hoc” security checks by the Israeli military.

He said this has led to delays and increased dangers for both those making the deliveries and those seeking aid.

Journalists in Gaza have reported that Israeli operations have led to a breakdown in central governance, which has empowered criminal gangs.

‘Oslo-style’ two-state solution is dead: Scholar

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Menachem Klein, a professor emeritus of political science at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, has said that countries recognising Palestinian statehood must elucidate what a modern two-state solution would actually look like.

“I think an Oslo-style two-state solution is dead. There’s no way to revive it,” he said, referring to the 1993 accords that set a pathway to a future Palestinian state, based on the gradual withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory.

“So all the countries, entities, organisations speaking about a two-state solution must reconsider their vision and say what kind of two-state solution they mean that is relevant to the changing realities on the ground with the expansion of Israeli settlements and the lessons learned from the failure of the Oslo agreement,” he said.

“But no one in the West, no one speaking of the two-state solution, comes up with a concrete plan, with a concrete idea,” he said.

Trump says Canadian recognition of Palestinian state not trade ‘deal breaker’

The US president appears to be backing away from his threats against Canada over its plan to recognise a Palestinian state.

Trump, who has launched a trade war with the northern neighbour since taking office, had said on Wednesday that Canada’s move would make it “very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them”.

Trump softened that position today, telling reporters that he did not like Canada’s move, but it was not a “deal breaker”.

Death toll from starvation rises to 159

Local hospitals say that at least two more Palestinians were reported to have died from Israel’s forced starvation in the last 24 hours.

That brings the total number of hunger-related fatalities since Israel’s war began to 159.

As we reported earlier, infants have been particularly vulnerable, with shortages of infant formula leaving new mothers with few options.

Of those who died from starvation, at least 90 were children. UN officials have repeatedly called on Israel to allow an uninterrupted flow of aid supplies.

Read more about the events over the last 24 hours here.

Israeli media reports diplomats evacuating from UAE

The Kann public broadcaster has reported that the Israeli representatives in the country have been ordered to evacuate their delegation.

The move comes after Israel’s National Security Council reiterated a travel warning for the Gulf country, citing “our understanding that terrorist organisations (the Iranians, Hamas, Hezbollah and Global Jihad) are increasing their efforts to harm Israel”.

The UAE and Israel agreed to normalise ties in 2020, which saw the first direct commercial flights between the pair in decades.

Rights group hails ‘historic’ US Senate vote to block arms sales to Israel

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has hailed a US Senate vote on blocking arms sales to Israel.

The vote on the legislation, which has been regularly introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders throughout the war in Gaza, failed to pass in the 100-member chamber on Wednesday.

Still, it accrued more votes than ever before, with 27 out of the 47 Democrats in the chamber voting in favour, in a sign of mounting outrage.

“Although last night’s Senate vote should have been 100–0 in favor of these resolutions, the fact that a majority of Senate Democrats voted yes is a historic moment and a sign that sentiments in Congress are gradually catching up to the American people, most of whom now oppose the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza and support restricting military aid to Israel,” the group said.

Islamic Jihad releases video of Israeli captive held in Gaza

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has released a six-minute video showing Israeli soldier Rom Braslavski in captivity.

The video shows Braslavski being displayed footage of starving children in Gaza among other things. The armed group did not disclose any information, only saying that this was the last message from him before PIJ lost contact with the operatives holding him.

PIJ had, on July 22 claimed, that it lost contact with operatives holding Braslavski, with the announcement coming shortly after the Israeli army launched a ground invasion of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza for the first time.

Israeli soldiers had not previously launched a ground assault there due to concerns of harming living captives held in the area. Approximately 20 of the 50 captives held in Gaza are believed to be alive.

After the video was released, Braslavski’s family said in a statement that he has been “forgotten” and is not receiving food or medicine.

UN says ‘ad hoc’ checkpoint, single route causing aid delays

Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, has said that despite Israeli claims of secure convoy routes in Gaza, humanitarian workers are continuing to face delays that “expose drivers, aid workers, and crowds to danger”.

“The long waits are because a single route has been made available for our teams exiting Kerem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem] inside Gaza, and Israeli ground forces have set up an ad hoc checkpoint on that route,” Haq said.

He added that despite roadblocks, UN agencies are seizing every opportunity to “collect supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings and replenish those platforms with new supplies from outside”.

One injured as Israeli settlers launch more West Bank attacks

A young Palestinian man was wounded by bullet shrapnel during an attack by Israeli settlers on the village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Wafa news agency cited security sources as saying that groups of settlers also attacked Palestinians south of Bethlehem as well. The settlers reportedly threw stones at passing vehicles, causing damage to some of them.

Another settler attack took place in the town of Bruqin south of Salfit, with no injuries reported so far. In Hebron, settlers burned a Palestinian vehicle.

US Senator Sanders posts video of GHF whistleblower

US Senator Bernie Sanders has become the latest lawmaker to amplify the message of Anthony Aguilar, a US Army veteran and former GHF employee who has said he witnessed “war crimes” in Gaza.

“The distribution method, the delivery of aid, is not being done in line with American values,” Aguilar said in a video posted by Sanders. He added that the Israeli military “controlled and direct every aspect of the deliver of aid”.

He described the distribution sites as akin to the popular book and film series, The Hunger Games, with the fastest and strongest receiving aid, and women and children often left behind. Those who gathered were regularly shot with tear gas and rubber bullets, with defence contractors for the GHF at several times appearing to fatally shoot Palestinians, he said.

“This is not hyperbole, this is not Hamas propaganda, this is not the Gaza Health Ministry saying it,” he said. “It’s me. I’ve seen it.”

The post represents the increased embrace of Aguilar by US lawmakers. Earlier this week, he spoke with Senator Chris Van Hollen about his experience.

PLO deputy al-Sheikh welcomes latest pledges to recognise Palestinian state

Hussein al-Sheikh, the deputy chair of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has praised pledges from Canada, Portugal and Malta to recognise the state of Palestine.

The trio are the most recent Western countries to do so, following France and the UK, who made the announcement in recent days.

In a statement, al-Sheikh said he hopes the recognition would lead to “sustainable peace and international legitimacy for the State of Palestine”.

Slovenia bans arms trade with Israel

The government of Slovenia says it has become the first European Union country to officially prohibit the export and transit of military weapons and equipment from or through its territory to Israel, or arms imports from Israel.

The Central European nation’s government said in a statement that the EU is unable to adopt “concrete measures” to stop the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as a result of “internal disagreements and disunity”.

“People in Gaza are dying because humanitarian aid is systematically denied them,” it said, adding that “it is the duty of every responsible state to act, even if this means taking a step ahead of others”.

The government of Prime Minister Robert Golob said it “consistently and principledly advocates respect for international law and the protection of human rights” and will therefore take more measures against the Israeli government in the coming weeks without elaborating.

Fourteen arrested at anti-war protest in Haifa: Police

Israel’s police service says on X that the demonstrators were arrested after “they ignored repeated police calls and raised banners and chanted slogans against Israel and its military operations in Gaza, potentially posing a threat to public safety”.

Calls from within Israel to end its war on Gaza and speed up the return of Israeli captives have grown in recent weeks, in tandem with similar calls from European governments.

‘We need help’: Family pleads for release of US teenager held by Israel

Israeli authorities have been detaining an American teenager for nearly six months without trial for allegedly throwing rocks at Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, a claim the 16-year-old’s family denies while expressing concern for his deteriorating health.

Mohammed Ibrahim, a Palestinian-American who was born in the US state of Florida, has been completely cut off from his family since his arrest in February without visitation or telephone rights, his father and uncle said.

According to an Israeli military interrogation video obtained by the family and seen by Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Mohammed denied accusations that he was throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles near his village north of Ramallah.

Zaher Ibrahim, the jailed teenager’s father, said on Wednesday that the family has received reports that Mohammed is losing weight drastically and suffering from a skin infection. Ibrahim said he is concerned about his son’s wellbeing.

“Of course, we have fear,” he said. “When you can’t visit him and you can’t get a phone call from him, what do you know? We don’t know if he’s dead … There’s nothing we know.”

Read more here.

Hamas: Ready to negotiate once aid reaches Gaza’s starving

The Palestinian group says in a statement released via its Telegram channel that it is ready to “immediately” engage in negotiations to end the war in Gaza “once aid reaches those who deserve it and the humanitarian crisis and famine in Gaza are ended”.

“Continuing negotiations in the shadow of starvation lose their substance and usefulness, especially after the criminal Zionist occupation withdrew from the negotiations last week without justification, at a time when we were on the verge of reaching an agreement”, the statement reads.

Israel indeed walked away from negotiations last week after Hamas submitted what it said was a “positive” and “constructive” response to the latest proposal for a ceasefire it was handed.

The US then came out strongly, saying Hamas was not acting in good faith and that it was considering alternatives to end war besides a negotiated settlement.

Mediators Egypt and Qatar, however, said that progress had been made in the latest round of talks.

German FM meets Netanyahu amid war of words over Palestinian statehood

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has met Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, according to the office of the Israeli prime minister, which did not provide details of the meeting.

Wadephul told reporters moments ago that Israel is in danger of becoming isolated. Countries around the world have been increasingly speaking out against Israel as it continues to manufacture famine in the Gaza Strip, carries out daily bombing raids that kill civilians and supports extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank.

“Israel must always find friends, partners and supporters in the international community. And that is currently in danger in this situation. And if there is one country that has a responsibility to prevent this, then in my view it is Germany,” Wadephul said.

Wadephul met Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar earlier, shortly after Germany said recognition of a Palestinian state should come at the end of talks on a two-state solution.

The stance angered far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who wrote on X that “80 years after the Holocaust, and Germany is returning to support Nazism”.

Saar said Germany remains a friend of Israel, and this does not change “even when there are disagreements between us”.

Photos: Starving Palestinians rush to receive airdropped food

Former senior Israeli security officials call for end to war, ‘comprehensive’ deal

Several former top-ranking members of the Israeli security establishment have made public statements calling for an agreement that will bring back all captives held in Gaza and end the war.

Former head of military intelligence and CEO of Israel’s national water company Mekorot, Major General Uri Sagi, said during a live broadcast that the war must end immediately, and said statements by officials that they will achieve complete victory over Hamas are “incomprehensible”.

Amos Yaron, who was director general of the Ministry of Defence, said a true leader must understand when “the cost of war is heavier than the price of victory” in reference to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He and others also called for the establishment of a state inquiry into the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas and the government’s handling of the situation.

Witkoff visit to Gaza comes amid GHF outrage

There are several reasons why US envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit a GHF site in Gaza on Friday.

The US pays millions in taxpayer dollars for the GHF to operate. Now there are concerns by US senators that US nationals may be found accountable, liable for the deaths of innocent Palestinians killed while trying to reach the GHF sites.

A whistleblower, a former Green Beret, has also talked about the GHF being set up to help Israel push the population to the south of Gaza, which is a policy that Israel has talked about.

Reports tonight show that Israel insists whatever is going to happen moving forward with a ceasefire, temporary or not, it wants those GHF sites to continue operating, because apparently they serve a purpose as far as Israel is concerned.

Settlers attack Palestinians in West Bank’s Nablus, Ramallah

A group of Israeli settlers have reportedly attacked an automotive repair shop in the village of Bazariya, located northwest of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

Settlers attacked from the eastern outskirts of the town and engaged in clashes with local residents, Wafa news agency cited a local official as saying.

Palestinian outlets also reported another settler attack on a village in Ramallah. Israeli soldiers and police forces stormed the town of Silwad and the village of Khirbet Abu Falah in Ramallah, hours after Israeli settlers attacked them.

Israel allows Arab countries to airdrop limited aid over Gaza

Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates coordinated with Israel to drop 43 aid packages over Gaza, according to a statement by the Israeli military.

It said the packages containing food were dropped from planes to residents of southern and northern Gaza, again refuting “claims of deliberate starvation” in Gaza.

At least three Palestinians starved to death in Gaza today, according to medical sources in Gaza and the enclave’s authorities.

The UN and other international aid organisations have slammed the air drops as an ineffective and potentially dangerous move that fails to address the root cause of the mass starvation in the enclave, which is Israel’s blocking of basic necessities as a systematic policy.

Israeli protesters demand release of all Gaza captives in Tel Aviv rally

Israeli activists have published footage of a rally starting from Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv to demand an end to the war and the release of all Israeli captives held in Gaza.

Participants in the rally organised by the “Stand 101” movement dressed uniformly in white, walking silently through the streets and holding banners that read “Now is the right time for their return”.

They also held pictures of several captives, including Gali and Ziv Berman.

Heavily sanctioned Israeli minister hails US sanctions on Palestinian officials

Far-right Israeli Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who remains under sanctions from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, has hailed Washington’s decision to sanction the Palestinian Authority officials.

In a post on X, Smotrich said the US showed it “stands firm and chooses to lead a path of justice and morality”.

The Trump administration has faced domestic pressure to sanction Smotrich, while other Western countries have said Smotrich and fellow far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”.

The Trump administration, however, has taken a permissive approach to Israeli officials, and earlier this year, revoked sanctions against illegal Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians.

Earlier this week, one of those previously sanctioned settlers, Yinon Levi, earlier this week was accused of fatally shooting Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen.

At least 51 killed in Gaza today

This update to the number of Palestinian casualties resulting from Israeli attacks comes to us from sources at hospitals in the Gaza Strip.

This total includes at least 23 people who were killed by Israeli troops while seeking aid.

If you’re just joining us

Here are the latest updates

• Doctors and residents of Gaza are warning of severe infant formula shortages, leaving new mothers with few options to feed their children.
• Israel has struck southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, in the latest round of attacks it says target Hezbollah.
• The US has announced sanctions on the Palestinian Authority, a move hailed by Israeli officials.
• At least 41 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the early hours of the morning.

Witkoff, Huckabee to travel to Gaza Friday: White House

The US envoy and the US ambassador to Israel are set to travel to Gaza on Friday, according to White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.

Steve Witkoff and Mike Huckabee will inspect the current food distribution sites and work on a plan to deliver more food, Leavitt said.

She added they would meet with local Gazans to “hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground”.

More details of the visit, and how it would be coordinated, were not immediately available.

Houthi leader promises wider attacks on companies linked with Israel

Houthi leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi has emphasised his commitment to a “fourth phase” of attacks to oppose the war on Gaza announced earlier this week, which will include targeting the ships of any company that has dealings with the Israeli army or transports goods to Israel.

The Houthi armed forces “are capable of reaching them”, he said during a televised speech that lasted about 100 minutes, adding that widening the scale of attacks was “a necessary step” in response to the Israeli-imposed famine in Gaza.

“We direct a warning to anyone who dares to stand with the Israeli enemy, using all tools of betrayal, treachery and criminality,” al-Houthi said.

He renewed his denunciation of Arab countries in the region for not standing up to Israel and the US, and said any Arab state that continues to have economic relations and trade with Israel must follow the example of Colombia, which banned coal exports to Israel this week.

The Houthi leader described military operations against Israel as “ongoing” and said the group launched 10 missiles and drones this week, targeting Ben Gurion International Airport among other places.

Hamas says ending war ‘humanitarian and moral duty’

Hamas has released a statement following a UN conference in New York addressing the Israel-Palestine issue, after which attendees voiced “unwavering support” for a two-state solution.

Hamas said that “any effort made at the international level to support our Palestinian people and their legitimate rights is appreciated and welcomed”.

However, it noted that no progress could be made until Israel ended its war in Gaza, which would mean “halting the crime of genocide and the systematic starvation policy practiced by the occupation forces”.

Hamas added that it was ready to resolve the war – and release remaining Israeli captives – via a ceasefire agreement that saw a “complete withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, the opening of crossings, and the immediate commencement of reconstruction”.

The group underscored the need to move towards a political process “leading to the end of the occupation and achieving our people’s aspirations to establish their fully sovereign independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital”.

Malnutrition, formula shortage leaves new mothers with few options

Dr Kahlil Daqran has outlined the desperate situation for young mothers in Gaza: There is no access to infant formula, yet they are often too malnourished to breastfeed.

“In the Gaza Strip, we have thousands of children being starved because there is no milk for children under the age of two,” he said.

“These children, their mothers also have malnutrition because there is no food, so the mothers cannot produce milk. Now, our children are being fed either water or ground hard legumes, and this is harmful for children in Gaza.”

Azhar Imad, 31, has said she has mixed tahini with water in hopes of feeding four-month-old Joury, but fears this will make her baby sick.

“I am using this paste instead of milk, but she won’t drink it. All these can cause illnesses,” she said. “Sometimes, I give her water in the bottle; there’s nothing available. I make her caraway and herbs, any kind of herbs.”

Erdogan hails increase in European countries recognising Palestinian state

The president of Turkiye has said he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, who announced last week that France would recognise a Palestinian state.

The UK later followed suit, with Canada following on Wednesday and Portugal on Thursday.

“We find the recent humanitarian reactions coming from Europe, particularly from France and Britain, very valuable. We welcome every step taken toward recognition of the State of Palestine,” Erdogan said.

He vowed to put more pressure on Israel in the coming days to avoid a worsening of the humanitarian disaster.

“No one can remain silent in the face of the atrocities in Gaza, where children are dying of hunger and civilians seeking food are deliberately shot,” he said.

Photos: Bodies of aid seekers brought to Gaza’s al-Shifa morgue

What is the Kfir Brigade?

As we recently reported, the Israeli army has announced that more soldiers in its Kfir Brigade have been working to “solidify control” of the so-called Magen Oz Corridor in southern Gaza.

Here is a bit more information about the Israeli brigade:

• The brigade, formed in 2005, is the youngest and largest of the Israeli military’s five infantry brigades.
• It operates under the Israeli military’s Central Command and comprises five battalions stationed in the occupied West Bank.
• The brigade has a presence in most Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank, and had been in the Gaza Strip before the Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave in 2005.
• The Kfir Brigade has been fighting in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s war on Gaza began, and it played a key role in Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip’s north in late 2024.
• In January, the brigade was withdrawn from northern Gaza after three months of being stationed there.
• It has most recently been operating around the city of Khan Younis in the south of the besieged enclave.
  A Kfir Brigade combat team operates in a location given as Khan Younis, Gaza, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on December 29, 2023

Smoke rises after Israeli air attacks hit Lebanon

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reports that the number of Israeli air attacks on the mountain ranges in eastern Lebanon’s Baalbek reached at least seven.

The Israeli raids targeted the outskirts of Brital town and Nasiriyah town in Tallet al-Sunduq area in Bekaa Valley, as well as the vicinity of Jarmak area in Jezzine, and the areas of Mahmoudiya and Khardali.

The footage below, which has been verified by Al Jazeera, shows large plumes o

Brown University reaches settlement deal after ‘anti-Semitism’ row

Brown University has become the third Ivy League campus to reach a deal with the Donald Trump administration, which among other things, has accused the country’s top universities of “anti-Semitism” because their students organised pro-Palestine protests.

As part of the deal, Brown will pay $50m over 10 years to improve Rhode Island’s workforce development programmes.

It will also commit to supporting its local Jewish community and restricting its acknowledgement of transgender students.

You can read more here.

Israel hails US sanctions on Palestinian officials

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has thanked the US State Department and its Secretary Marco Rubio for what he called “moral clarity” in sanctioning the officials of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

“The PA must be held accountable for its ongoing policy of ‘Pay-for-Slay’ for terrorists and their families and incitement against Israel in its schools, textbooks, mosques and media,” he wrote in a post on X.

Saar said the important action by Donald Trump and his administration “also exposes the moral distortion of certain countries that ran to recognise a virtual Palestinian state while turning a blind eye to its support for terror and incitement”.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas in February ended the programme to provide payments to families of Palestinians killed or imprisoned by Israel, which Israel calls “pay for slay”.

GHF aid system in Gaza ‘scandal, and shameful’: French foreign minister

Jean-Noel Barrot, France’s top diplomat, says a US and Israel-backed aid distribution system in Gaza had generated a “bloodbath” and had to cease activity.

“I want to call for the cessation of the activities of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the militarised distribution of humanitarian aid that has generated a bloodbath in distribution lines in Gaza, which is a scandal, which is shameful, and has to stop,” Barrot told reporters after meeting his Cyprus counterpart in Nicosia.

Portugal to consider recognising Palestinian state in September: PM

The Portuguese government will consult the president and parliament on the question of recognising the State of Palestine at the UN in September, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro’s office says.

Portugal “is considering recognition of the Palestinian state, as part of a procedure that could be concluded during the high-level week of the 80th United Nations General Assembly, to be held in New York in September”, the statement said.

Trump claims Gaza’s humanitarian crisis would end with Hamas ‘surrender’

US President Donald Trump has said on his own social media platform, Truth Social, that “the fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!”.

Trump’s comment comes as US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel.

Indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in Doha ended in deadlock last week, with the two sides trading blame for the impasse, and gaps remaining over issues, including the extent of Israeli forces’ withdrawal from Gaza.

US imposes sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials, PLO members

The US is imposing sanctions on Palestinian Authority (PA) officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), saying the groups are undermining peace efforts, the US State Department has said in a statement.

The move prevents those targeted from receiving visas to travel to the US, it said.

“It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace.”

The move comes after Washington closed the Office of Palestinian Affairs in March, in what critics said was an attempt to sideline Palestinian officials’ ability to engage with the US. It also comes after the US cut funds to the PA’s security forces in February.

If you’re just joining us

Here are the latest developments:

• At least 111 Palestinians, including 91 aid seekers, have been killed and 820 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours, the enclave’s Health Ministry says.
• The families of captives held in Gaza have welcomed a declaration from a group of Arab nations calling, for the first time, for Hamas to disarm and relinquish power in Gaza.
• Hamas says its armed wing, Qassam Brigades, has attacked a group of Israeli soldiers and vehicles with a number of mortar shells east of al-Qarara town, near southern Gaza’s Khan Younis city.
• Irene Khan, UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, says her organisation was “deeply concerned” by the Israeli army’s threats against Anas al-Sharif, the last Al Jazeera journalist in the northern Gaza Strip.
• Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says the recognition of a Palestinian state comes more at the end of the negotiations for a two-state solution, but that process must begin now, warning Berlin would respond to “unilateral steps”.
• Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, has called on the European Union to suspend the trade section of its association agreement with Israel over its conduct of the war in Gaza.

Talks on two-state solution must begin: Germany’s top diplomat

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says the recognition of a Palestinian state comes more at the end of the negotiations for a two-state solution but that process must begin now, warning Berlin would respond to “unilateral steps”.

“A negotiated two-state solution remains the only path that can offer people on both sides a life in peace, security, and dignity,” he said in a statement issued shortly before departing for Israel and the Palestinian territories.

“For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state comes more at the end of that process. But such a process must begin now,” Wadephul added.

Sweden calls on EU to suspend trade pact with Israel: PM

Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, has called on the European Union to suspend the trade section of its association agreement with Israel over its conduct of the war in Gaza.

“The situation in Gaza is absolutely appalling, and Israel is failing to fulfil its most basic obligations and agreements on emergency aid,” he said on X.

“Sweden therefore demands that the EU freeze the trade section of the association agreement as soon as possible,” Kristersson added while also calling on the Israeli government to allow “unhindered humanitarian aid into Gaza”.