- An estimated 14,000 babies in Gaza are at risk of dying from starvation in the next 48 hours as Israel continues to block desperately needed food aid from entering in mass amounts.
- The UK pauses trade deal negotiations and the EU reviews existing agreements with Israel as Western criticism grows over the devastating blockade of Gaza and its war expansion.
- Israel expresses defiance at mounting pressure from Western allies, reiterating plans to “capture additional territory, clear and destroy the terrorist infrastructure”.
- Israeli forces kill more than 70 Palestinians in another day of relentless attacks including on a displacement shelter in Gaza City with children among the 22 dead.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 53,573 Palestinians and wounded 121,688, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
- An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 taken captive.
Israel says it will bring senior negotiators back from Qatar
The Israeli government says it will bring senior negotiators back to Israel from Doha for “consultation” as it presses forward with an expansion of military attacks on Gaza.
“Israel has agreed to the American proposal for the return of the hostages, which is based on the Witkoff framework. This proposal was recently conveyed to Hamas via the mediators, even though it is continuing to cling to its refusal,” the office of the prime minister said in a social media post.
“After approximately one week of intensive contacts in Doha, the senior members of the negotiating team will return to Israel for consultations. The working echelon will – at present – remain in Doha.”
Hamas has accused the Israelis of participating in bad faith, putting forward an image of serious negotiation while stepping up the war on Gaza. Israel has vowed to seize permanent control of the Strip and has advanced plans to expel the Palestinian population.
“No real negotiations have taken place since last Saturday,” Hamas said in a statement.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala denounces Israel’s ‘cruelty and barbarity’
Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel laureate and acclaimed human rights advocate, says world leaders must place greater pressure on Israel to end its genocide in Gaza.
“It makes me sick to my stomach to see Israel’s cruelty and brutality in Gaza. I am heartbroken seeing thousands of starving children, demolished schools and hospitals, blocked humanitarian aid, and displaced families,” Malala said in a social media post.
She encouraged supporters to donate to aid organisations such as UNRWA and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.
“Our collective humanity calls for global and immediate action. I call on every world leader to put maximum pressure on the Israeli government to end this genocide and protect civilians,” Yousafzai said.
Israeli expansion of Gaza attack ‘politically motivated’
Israel’s decision to expand its offensive on the war-ravaged Gaza Strip is “100 percent politically motivated”, Meron Rapoport, editor at the Israeli news outlet Local Call, told Al Jazeera.
The Israeli military’s objectives “do not really exist at the moment; it is totally a political move” to intensify the war on the blockaded enclave, he said.
“It is quite clear to everyone” the captives will not be released during this intensified assault, Rapoport said.
“I think the idea here is to break down the structure of Palestinian society – what is left of it – to drive the people into some smaller areas in the Gaza Strip,” he added.
This is being done to pressure Palestinians into eventually fleeing the Strip, the editor said.
‘Weaponisation of humanitarian assistance for military purposes’
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), says an Israeli plan to rely on private military contractors to oversee aid distribution in Gaza falls short of “any basic humanitarian principle”.
“The aid plan which is being proposed is a tool which facilitates the forced displacement of the people,” he told the Financial Times. “And, ultimately, we know that in [the] context of war, forced displacement of people may constitute [a] war crime.”
Lazzarini added: “What’s being proposed here is a weaponisation and instrumentalisation of humanitarian assistance for military purposes and political purposes. I don’t see how morally we can justify a humanitarian organisation to be part of such a plan.”
Hamas condemns Gaza aid ban, ceasefire stalling
Hamas has confirmed that no aid has entered Gaza despite Israeli officials saying a “basic” amount of humanitarian relief would be allowed into the starved Palestinian territory.
“Netanyahu’s statements regarding the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip are an attempt to throw dust in the eyes and deceive the international community. No aid has yet entered the Strip, and the few trucks that have arrived at the Kerem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem] crossing have not been received by any international body,” the Palestinian group said in a statement.
Hamas also denounced the work of Israeli truce negotiators in Qatar as Israel ramps up its attacks on Gaza.
“The presence of the Israeli delegation in Doha, despite its lack of authority, is a blatant attempt by [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to mislead international public opinion. The Israeli delegation has been extending its stay day by day without engaging in any serious negotiations since last Saturday,” it said.
‘No alternative’ to veteran aid agencies leading operations in Gaza
Lex Takkenberg, who for decades was UNRWA’s general counsel, says Israel’s plan to take over aid distribution in Gaza will not work.
Eventually, it will be forced to allow the resumption of the “UN-led aid system”, which has been tested over decades, Takkenberg told Al Jazeera. These agencies have “resources at the border” and are “ready to move in”, he added.
“There is simply no alternative. It will not work. The UN declined to cooperate, and the Gulf countries told [President] Trump they would not fund this,” Takkenberg said.
If Israel’s plan succeeds, it will threaten the future of humanitarian action not just in occupied Palestinian territory but globally as well, he added.
Here’s what’s happening
For those just joining, here’s a quick review of the latest developments:
- The United Nations said no aid has been distributed in Gaza so far despite Israeli pledges, with a top UN official warning 14,000 babies could die from starvation in the coming days.
- The United Kingdom announced targeted sanctions against Israeli settler groups and a suspension of trade deal negotiations with Israel, saying that blocking aid from entering Gaza and expanding the war must end.
- Rights groups welcomed the decision, but said further steps – especially an end to weapons transfers – must follow.
- The Israeli government called the move “regrettable”, adding that the British government is harming its own economy because of an “anti-Israel obsession”.
- The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas announced a review of its free trade agreement with Israel, calling conditions in Gaza “catastrophic”.
‘War of annihilation in Gaza’: Israelis freed after arrest for war criticism
A handful of Israeli anti-occupation organisations such as Breaking the Silence and Standing Together say several members were released from stints in detention stemming from their dissent against expanded Israeli military action in Gaza.
“I was released from prison today after three days in custody for protesting against the war of annihilation in Gaza. I spent three days there because, according to this government, opposing the war is a crime,” Nadav Koenig, a team member of Breaking the Silence, said.
The group Standing Together also said co-director Alon-Lee Green and six other activists were released to house arrest after two days in detention, a penalty the group called an “outrageous attempt to silence opposition at the exact moment the government is expanding the war”.
Gaza City resident: Netanyahu’s aid comments ‘all lies’
Residents of Gaza City have expressed dismay over the lack of aid as international humanitarian experts warn of looming famine in the Palestinian enclave.
“Today, we are hearing in the news that aid has entered. We don’t have anything,” said Jamal Hassan, 46. “Today, children will sleep without dinner and drink salty water. This is the real famine the Palestinian people are now experiencing, and no one is paying attention.”
He added: “The talk of Netanyahu and some of his false discourse that the border has been opened and aid entered – these are all lies.”
After an 11-week blockade, Israel cleared nine trucks of aid on Monday – an amount described by the UN as a “drop in the ocean”.
EU could struggle to find consensus on more serious steps against Israel
European Union leaders feel this is the moment to speak up. This is the moment to take action when it comes to the atrocities committed against Palestinians in Gaza. And this explains the change in the tone of the statements we’ve seen over the last 48 hours from many countries.
Portugal, Spain, Ireland, France, Nordic countries are saying Israel – if it does not allow aid into Gaza, if it does not stop the war in Gaza – will have to face repercussions, particularly a review of the trade agreement signed in 2000 with the EU, and the EU could also be imposing sanctions.
The only problem here is the decision-making process at the EU level should be made on the basis of consensus. It has to be unanimous. You have other countries such as Germany, Greece, Hungary and many others saying there’s no way to impose sanctions on Israel and the only way out of the crisis is to engage with the Israelis diplomatically.
Unless the EU manages to set aside those differences, it will be extremely difficult for it to move ahead with a stronger stance, such as the imposing of the sanctions or the review of the agreement.
But thousands of people who took to the streets across many capitals in Europe say unless Europe takes action, it will be a moral failure and will be seen as an act of betrayal for the Palestinian people who suffer daily relentless bombardment and whose future is uncertain.
No aid distributed in Gaza despite supplies, UN says
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says no aid has been distributed in the Gaza Strip despite more supplies being dropped off at the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing.
“Today, one of our teams waited several hours for the Israeli green light to access the Kerem Shalom area and collect the nutrition supplies. Unfortunately, they were not able to bring those supplies into our warehouse,” Dujarric said.
Earlier, the UN said it received permission from Israel for about 100 more emergency aid trucks to enter Gaza after an 11-week blockade.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher previously called the aid deliveries approved so far “a drop in the ocean” as famine stalks the war-battered Palestinian enclave.
Three wounded in Israeli settler attack near Ramallah, occupied West Bank
At least three people have been seriously wounded when a group of illegal Israeli settlers raided the Palestinian village of Beitillu, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.
It cited witnesses as saying the settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, attacked several homes in the village and opened fire towards its residents.
Israeli soldiers, meanwhile, fired tear gas canisters and physically assaulted those who attempted to block the assault.
Settler attacks against Palestinians and their property are a regular occurrence in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. Between 600,000 and 750,000 Israeli settlers live in more than 250 illegal settlements and outposts across the area.
Rubio says US has not discussed deportation of Palestinians to Libya
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the United States hasn’t discussed the deportation of Palestinians from Gaza to Libya, but added Washington has asked other countries in the region if they’d be open to accepting Palestinians who want to move voluntarily.
“What we have talked to some nations about is if someone voluntarily and willingly says ‘I want to go somewhere else for some period of time because I’m sick, because my children need to go to school’, or what have you, are there countries in the region willing to accept them for some period of time?”
Rubio added that he’s not aware of Libya being included in that group.
He also told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the US understands another 100 trucks are behind the initial ones to cross into Gaza and more might enter in the coming days.
