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Here’s where things stand on Tuesday 10 June 2025:
- The UK has sanctioned two Israeli far-right ministers over comments they made on Gaza.
- Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich will both face a travel ban on entering the UK and will have any assets in the UK frozen as part of the measures announced by the foreign secretary.
- Australia, Canada, New Zealand Norway, and the UK warn that the rising violence and intimidation by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank must stop
- Israel says it has deported Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, a day after the Gaza-bound aid boat she and 11 other people were on was intercepted by Israeli forces in the Mediterranean.
- Israeli navy ships have struck targets in the port city of Hudaydah in Houthi-controlled Yemen.
United Kingdom and some of its allies will formally sanction two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, over “their repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian communities” in Gaza, where Israel’s genocidal war has intensified, and in the occupied West Bank, its Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has said.
The UK will join Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in freezing the assets and imposing travel bans on Israel’s National Security Minister Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Smotrich, both key proponents of the annihilation and expulsion of Palestinians, expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and annexation of Palestinian lands.
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich will both face a travel ban on entering the UK and will have any assets in the UK frozen as part of the measures announced by the foreign secretary.
“Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. These actions are not acceptable,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, along with the foreign ministers from the other nations, said in a joint statement. “This is why we have taken action now to hold those responsible to account.”
David Lammy said the Finance Minister Smotrich and National Security Minister Ben-Gvir had “incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”.
In response, Israel said: “It is outrageous that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to these kind of measures.”
After announcing the sanctions, Lammy said: “These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now – to hold those responsible to account.
“We will strive to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of the remaining hostages by Hamas which can have no future role in the governance of Gaza, a surge in aid and a path to a two-state solution.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the cabinet would meet next week to respond to what he called the “unacceptable decision”.
The move comes as the UK and other Western nations seek to ramp up pressure on Israel’s government amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
The Foreign Office added that “alongside partners Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway, the UK is clear that the rising violence and intimidation by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank must stop”.
In a statement it said the measures taken against Smotrich and Ben-Gvir “cannot be seen in isolation from events in Gaza where Israel must uphold International Humanitarian Law”.
Smotrich, speaking at the inauguration of a new illegal Jewish settlement in Hebron, spoke of “contempt” for the UK’s move.
“Britain has already tried once to prevent us from settling the cradle of our homeland, and we cannot do it again. We are determined, God willing, to continue building,” he said in a thinly veiled reference to the era of Mandate Palestine before Israel’s creation in 1948.
Earlier , Starmer said the UK “was talking to other partners about what more we can do, including questions of sanctions” when asked what actions the government would take against Israel.
“My strong belief is, when we make a move, if we’re able to do that in company of other countries, that’s a stronger move than doing it on our own.”
The UK, like other European countries, has been increasing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to end the blockade on aid into Gaza, where international experts have said famine is imminent. But many in their countries have held sustained protests that the UK and the European Union members are not doing enough to stop the genocide.
Last month, the UK suspended free trade talks with Israel for pursuing “egregious policies” in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, summoned its ambassador, and announced further sanctions against Israeli settlers on Palestinian land.
Lammy , who called Israel’s recent offensive “a dark new phase in this conflict”, has condemned comments by Smotrich on the possible ethnic cleansing and destruction of Gaza and relocation of its residents to third countries.
Ben-Gvir, a settler himself, and Smotrich have called for the permanent conquest of Gaza and the re-establishment of the Jewish settlements there, which Israel abandoned in 2005.
The leaders of the UK, France and Canada have also threatened “concrete actions” against Israel if it continues with the renewed military offensive in Gaza and maintains aid restrictions, reiterating a commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict.
In response, Netanyahu accused them of wanting to help Hamas and being “on the wrong side of history”.
Israel’s war on Gaza, which began in October 2023, has so far killed almost 55,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Israel has maintained a crippling siege and aid blockade on the devastated enclave, and has only allowed a United States and Israel-backed aid model to distribute some aid. Their Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been widely criticised as a model that weaponises aid and violates humanitarian principles.
Since it began operating in Gaza on May 27, some 130 Palestinians have been killed after Israeli forces opened fire at desperate people seeking meagre food parcels for their hungry families. More than 1,000 have been wounded.
Israeli raids in West Bank
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have also stepped up incursions and a wide-scale crackdown on Palestinian towns and villages in the occupied West Bank, which have been ongoing for months, while also providing protection for Jewish settlers to attack Palestinians, their lands, and properties.
Greta Thunberg deported, Israel says, after Gaza aid boat intercepted
Israel says it has deported Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, a day after the Gaza-bound aid boat she and 11 other people were on was intercepted by Israeli forces in the Mediterranean.
Thunberg departed Tel Aviv on Tuesday morning on a flight to France after she agreed to be deported, the Israeli foreign ministry said.
France said five of the six French citizens detained alongside her had refused to sign their deportation orders and would now be subject to judicial proceedings.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the activist group operating the yacht The Madleen, has demanded the immediate release of everyone detained.
The vessel was intercepted early on Monday while the activists tried to deliver a “symbolic” amount of aid to Gaza in defiance of Israel’s maritime blockade and highlight the humanitarian crisis there.
The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed it as a “selfie yacht”, and announced in a post on X on Monday night that the passengers had been transferred to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport following the vessel’s arrival at the port of Ashdod on Monday night.
“Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority, in accordance with Israeli law, to authorize their deportation,” it said.
On Tuesday morning, the ministry said Greta Thunberg had “just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France)”, and posted a photo of her sitting on a plane.
France’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, earlier wrote on X: “Our consul was able to see the six French nationals arrested by the Israeli authorities last night.”
“One of them has agreed to leave voluntarily and should return today. The other five will be subject to forced deportation proceedings.”
Barrot did not identify them, but the six French nationals include MEP Rima Hassan and two journalists, Omar Faiad of Qatar-based Al Jazeera and Yanis Mhamdi of online publication Blast, who Reporters Without Borders said were documenting the Madleen’s journey.
As well as France and Sweden, citizens of Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey were on board the vessel.
The FFC confirmed in a statement on Monday night that all 12 had reached Ashdod and that it expected any who refused to be deported to be transferred to a detention facility in Ramle, near Tel Aviv.
“We continue to demand the immediate release of all volunteers and the return of the stolen aid. Their kidnapping is unlawful and a violation of international law,” it added.
Israel’s foreign ministry said the aid, which includes baby formula and medicine, would be transferred to Gaza “through real humanitarian channels”.
The FFC said the Madleen was intercepted by the Israeli military inside international waters about 185km (115 miles) west of Gaza early on Monday.
According to the group, the vessel was surrounded by quadcopter drones, sprayed with a “white irritant substance”, and had its communications jammed.
Video footage released by the group showed the passengers sitting down with their hands raised as Israeli forces boarded.
It also posted a pre-recorded clip showing Thunberg saying: “If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by Israeli occupational forces or forces that support Israel.”
“I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible.”
The foreign ministry later said all the passengers were “safe and unharmed”, and posted a video showing troops handing them food and water.
When the Madleen set sail from Italy on 1 June, the FFC said it was “carrying humanitarian aid and international human rights defenders in direct defiance of Israel’s illegal and genocidal blockade”.
The Israeli foreign ministry called it a “gimmick”. It also insisted the blockade was “consistent with international law”, and that unauthorised attempts to breach it were “dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts”.
On Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the maritime blockade was necessary to prevent the smuggling of weapons to Hamas.
Israel and Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Gaza when Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007 by ousting its rivals, a year after winning legislative elections.
Israel stopped all deliveries of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies to Gaza on 2 March this year and resumed its military offensive two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.
It said the steps were meant to put pressure on the group to release the hostages still held in Gaza, but the UN warned that Gaza’s 2.1 million population were facing catastrophic levels of hunger because of the resulting shortages of food.
Three weeks ago, Israel launched an expanded offensive to take control of all areas of Gaza. It also partially eased the blockade, allowing in a “basic” amount of food.
Israel is now prioritising distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which it backs along with the US. The UN and other aid groups are refusing to co-operate with the new system, saying it contravenes the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence.
It is 20 months since Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented Hamas-led cross-border attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 54,927 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Israeli navy strikes Houthi-controlled port city of Hudaydah
Israeli navy ships have struck targets in the port city of Hudaydah in Houthi-controlled Yemen.
The Israeli military said in a statement the strikes were carried out in response to Houthi missiles targeting Israel and were aimed at stopping the use of the port for “military purposes”.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Images posted on social media showed black plumes of smoke rising from the port, with Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reporting two separate strikes.
The Houthis have regularly launched missiles at Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. On Thursday, a Houthi missile was intercepted above Jerusalem, while last month one hit the grounds of Israel’s main airport.
The strikes on Hudaydah, which unusually were carried out by navy ships rather than aircraft, were conducted in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) earlier issued evacuation warnings to all those present in Hudaydah port, as well the other Houthi-controlled ports of Ras Isa and Salif.
“Due to the terrorist Houthi regime’s use of seaports for its terrorist activities, we urge all those present at these ports to evacuate and stay away from them for your own safety until further notice,” IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X.
Nasruddin Amer, the deputy head of the Houthis’ media office, wrote on X that the attack had no significant impact on the group’s operations.
“It has no effect even on the morale of our people, who take to the streets weekly … in support of Gaza,” he wrote.
Hudaydah port, which is the main entry point for food and other humanitarian aid for millions of Yemenis, has been the target of several Israeli strikes in the past year.
Last month, one person was killed in an Israeli strike, the Houthi-run health ministry said in a statement at the time. Israeli officials said the strike would put the port out of action for around a month.
The Iran-backed Houthi group has controlled much of north-western Yemen since 2014, when they ousted the internationally-recognised government from the capital, Sanaa, and sparked a devastating civil war.
The Houthis began attacking ships passing through the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza after the Israeli military launched an offensive there in response to the Palestinian armed group Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023.
From November 2023, the Houthis launched dozens of missile and drone attacks on commercial ships – sinking two vessels, seizing a third and killing four crew members.
The attacks forced even major shipping companies to stop using the Red Sea – through which almost 15% of global seaborne trade usually passes – and to take a much longer route around southern Africa instead.
In response, former US president Joe Biden began US air strikes against the group.
That campaign ramped up after US President Donald Trump took office, until a ceasefire was reached in early May.