The UK government plans to evacuate more than 100 critically ill and injured children from Gaza and bring them to Britain for urgent medical treatment under a new scheme set to launch in the coming weeks.
Even as the humanitarian situation in the besieged Palestinian territory continues to deteriorate, Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly seeking to expand Israel’s offensive.
“The die is cast – we’re going for full occupation of the Gaza Strip,” Sky News quoted senior officials close to the Israeli prime minister as telling Ynet. “If the Chief of Staff doesn’t agree – he should resign.”
Netanyahu’s office was also quoted by local broadcaster N12 as saying: “The decision has been made – we’re going to occupy Gaza.”
The Jerusalem Post similarly quoted a source in the leader’s office as confirming plans for a full occupation.
In a video message, Netanyahu said Israel was “committing to free Gaza from the tyranny of these terrorists”.
This came after indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas collapsed. The talks were centred on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce that would have allowed aid into Gaza and facilitated a partial hostage-prisoner exchange.
Nearly 600 Israeli ex-security officials appeal to Trump to end war
Inside the aid drops onto Gaza’s torched ruins – with the starving too weak to fight for food
Moderate Democrats now changing tune on Israel over starvation of Gaza: ‘Moral obligation’
Family condemns Hamas video showing emaciated Israeli hostage inside Gaza
Key Points
- UK plans to evacuate more than 100 critically ill and injured children from Gaza
- Netanyahu signals 'full occupation' of Gaza
- UN expert who warned of Gaza famine: ‘No one should act surprised, it’s genocide’
- Nearly 600 Israeli ex-security officials appeal to Trump to end war
- Protesters gather at Netanyahu's office demanding end to war in Gaza
Israel intercepts missile fired from Yemen as Houthi attacks continue
09:00 , Maroosha MuzaffarIsrael’s military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen early this morning, triggering air raid sirens across parts of the country.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree later confirmed the launch, framing it as an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The Iran-backed group has repeatedly targeted Israel and Red Sea shipping routes in recent months.
Israel to allow gradual and controlled entry of goods to Gaza through local merchants
08:40 , Maroosha MuzaffarIsrael will permit the gradual and regulated entry of goods into Gaza via local merchants, COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said on Tuesday.
“This aims to increase the volume of aid entering the Gaza Strip, while reducing reliance on aid collection by the UN and international organisations,” the agency said, according to Reuters.
IDF pushes back as Netanyahu pressures chief to back Gaza reoccupation - report
08:20 , Maroosha MuzaffarAs Netanyahu reportedly has hinted that IDF chief Eyal Zamir should quit if he is opposed to reoccupying Gaza, the army has pushed back – scaling down forces and warning of troop exhaustion, Ynet reported on Tuesday.
Emergency orders were lifted, and thousands of reservists may soon head home, the outlet said.
The IDF admitted: “The battalions are worn out.”
The outlet quoted an IDF spokesman as saying: “It was decided to provide breathing space for the fighters and to end the delay in release for all ground fighters starting in November 2025.
“The decisions were made by the Chief of Staff out of concern for the quality of the fighters’ service and the strengthening of their rights, in light of their contribution to the IDF and the State of Israel. Implementing these decisions will contribute to maintaining the operational competence of the IDF’s special units, the operational and professional experience of the fighters, will maintain the quality of its activity and provide breathing space for the reserve fighters.”
Zamir will also reportedly brief the cabinet on the massive toll of any new ground invasion.
UK plans to evacuate more than 100 critically ill and injured children from Gaza
08:03 , Maroosha MuzaffarThe UK government has announced a new scheme to evacuate over 100 critically ill and injured children from Gaza for NHS treatment, with details to be finalised in the coming weeks.
Campaigners welcomed the move but urged swift action, warning that some children in need had already died while waiting or had to be sent elsewhere for care.
“We have previously had children on the list but because approval takes so long, some of those children have ended up dying,” Omar Din, a co-founder of Project Pure Hope and a healthcare executive in NHS primary care, told the Guardian.
“The government needs to move at pace.”
“It’s not too late in the sense that there are people who can still be helped, there are many children,” Din said. But he added: “We should have done this much sooner.”
Families of those missing at food distribution sites wait in agony
07:40 , Maroosha MuzaffarAs famine worsens in Gaza, more Palestinians are vanishing after going to aid distribution points run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, Al Jazeera reported.
Families, like that of Khaled Obaid, whose son Ahmed disappeared weeks ago while seeking food, are left without answers.
“He hasn’t returned until now. He went because he was hungry. We have nothing to eat,” his father told the outlet.
Nearly 1,400 people have been killed at or near aid sites, many reportedly shot by Israeli forces or US contractors.
Rights groups and the UN have called these sites “death traps”.
Bodies of the missing are often unreachable due to ongoing attacks, the outlet reported.
Moderate Democrats now changing tune on Israel over starvation of Gaza: ‘Moral obligation’
07:20 , Maroosha MuzaffarModerate Democrats who have staunchly backed Israel have begun to question Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions in Gaza as images come out of the region showing children starving, Politico reported.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) has been one of the most vocal defenders of Israel during his time in Congress, quitting the Congressional Progressive Caucus partially because of it. But he’s begun to question Netanyahu’s Gaza response two years on from the Oct. 7 Hamas terror strike on Israel.
“All parties, including the U.S. and Israel, have a moral obligation to do everything in our power to ease the hardship and hunger that’s taken hold in the Gaza Strip,” Torres told Politico last week.
The New York Democrat’s tone represents a larger shift. Last week, a handful of moderate Democrats joined Sen. Bernie Sanders’ motions to restrict weapons sales to Israel.
Along with more progressive members like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), moderates like Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) joined the motions. In the end, a majority of Democrats supported both resolutions, with three Democrats not voting on them.
Read more here:
Moderate Democrats changing tune on Israel over Gaza starvation: ‘Moral obligation’
Hamas is using images of starving Jewish hostages to destroy ceasefire hopes - and that suits Netanyahu
07:00 , Maroosha MuzaffarHamas and Netanyahu are mortal enemies but have much in common when it comes to Gaza, Sam Kiley, world affairs editor, explains:
Hamas is using starving Jews to dash ceasefire hopes - and that suits Netanyahu
Reservists seeking mental health help up 1,000% amid Gaza war: IDF official
06:45 , Maroosha MuzaffarThe number of Israeli reservists seeking mental health treatment has skyrocketed from 270 to around 3,000 annually – a 1,000 per cent increase – amid the ongoing Gaza war, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Lt-Col Uzi Bechor, who heads the IDF’s Combat Mental Health Unit for reservists, says trauma cases are rising sharply, but more soldiers are also seeking help much sooner than in the past.
“Previously, we dealt with 270 patients per year. Since the war, this has increased dramatically to 3,000,” adding that the prolonged and intense nature of the war has led to a rise in trauma cases.
He told the outlet: “There has been a huge increase in treatment since the start of the war. But we were also on the way to being prepared for this as the war started.”
IDF chief cancels US trip
06:30 , Maroosha MuzaffarIDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir has cancelled a planned visit to the United States, a military source said on Monday, citing the absence of a ceasefire in Gaza and the ongoing hostage crisis as reasons for the decision, The Times of Israel reported.
The trip, scheduled for Monday night, was meant to include meetings with US defence officials, Jewish leaders, and attendance at the US Central Command’s handover ceremony.
However, the source noted that “due to the difficult situation of the hostage issue, and the great responsibility on his shoulders, he decided to cancel his trip”.
The move comes as Israel’s cabinet discusses the possibility of fully occupying Gaza, including areas where hostages are thought to be held.
UN expert who warned of Gaza famine: ‘No one should act surprised, it’s genocide’
06:15 , Maroosha MuzaffarMichael Fakhri, UN special rapporteur on the right to food, says the mass starvation unfolding in Gaza is no accident but a deliberate, long-term strategy by Israel – calling it a war crime and genocide.
He accused Israel of weaponising food and aid, systematically destroying Gaza’s ability to produce or receive food, and tightening restrictions over decades.
“Israel has built the most efficient starvation machine you can imagine. So while it’s always shocking to see people being starved, no one should act surprised. All the information has been out in the open since early 2024,” he told the Guardian.
“Israel is starving Gaza. It’s genocide. It’s a crime against humanity. It’s a war crime. I have been repeating it and repeating it and repeating it, I feel like Cassandra,” he added, alluding to the Greek mythological figure whose warnings went unheeded.
Inside the aid drops onto Gaza’s torched ruins – with the starving too weak to fight for food
06:00 , Maroosha MuzaffarAs pallets of aid are flung out of aircraft to those starving in Gaza, The Independent’s chief international correspondent Bel Trew joins a Jordanian flight – while Nedal Hamdouna watches from the devastated enclave below:
Inside the aid drops on Gaza’s torched ruins - with the starving too weak to fight
Watch: Protesters gather at Netanyahu's office demanding end to war in Gaza
05:34 , Maroosha MuzaffarNearly 600 Israeli ex-security officials appeal to Trump to end war
05:10 , Maroosha MuzaffarNearly 600 retired Israeli security officials and former intelligence agency heads have written to Donald Trump urging him to put pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza immediately.
The Commanders For Israel’s Security (CIS) group sent a letter to the US President with 550 signatories, including fomer Mossad director Tamir Pardo, ex-Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon, and former deputy Israeli army chief Matan Vilnai.
The CIS movement is made up of retired senior defence and foreign service officials, who support a two-state solution to secure Israel’s future as “the strong democratic home of the Jewish people via separation from the Palestinians”.
“It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel,” reads the open letter, which was sent on Friday and shared with the media later. “You did it in Lebanon. Time to do it in Gaza as well.”
“Chasing remaining senior Hamas operatives can be done later. Our hostages can’t wait.”
Read more here:
Nearly 600 Israeli ex-security officials appeal to Trump to end war
Netanyahu signals 'full conquest' of Gaza as civilian toll rises
04:45 , Maroosha MuzaffarIsraeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will push for expanding Israel’s offensive in Gaza during a security cabinet meeting on Tuesday, local media reported.
“We must continue to stand together and fight together to achieve all our war objectives: the defeat of the enemy, the release of our hostages, and the assurance that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” he said.
“The die is cast – we’re going for full conquest,” CNN quoted senior officials close to the Israeli prime minister as telling Ynet. “If the Chief of Staff doesn’t agree – he should resign.”
Israel’s continuing assault on Gaza killed at least 40 Palestinians on Monday, including 10 people who were reportedly seeking aid, according to local medics. Another five people died of starvation.
Aid organisations say Israel’s latest steps to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave remain insufficient.
