Photograph: Ebrahim Hajjaj/Reuters
Closing summary
It is coming up to 6pm in Gaza City and Tel Aviv. This blog will be closing shortly but you can find all the Guardian’s Middle East coverage here.
Here is a summary of the developments on today’s blog:
Israel’s defence minister has said the military would tighten its encirclement of Gaza City, issuing a final warning for residents there to flee south. Israel Katz said in a statement, shared with Israeli media on Wednesday, that “those who remain … will be considered terrorists and terrorist supporters”.
Katz’s comments came as the Israeli military said it would close the last remaining route for residents of southern Gaza to access the north on Wednesday. The military’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X: “Al-Rashid Street will be closed to traffic from the southern sector area at 12:00 (0900 GMT). Movement southward will be allowed for those who were unable to evacuate Gaza City. At this stage, the [Israeli military] permits free movement southward without inspection.”
Israel pressed its offensive in Gaza on Wednesday, with at least 16 Palestinians reported killed across the strip as the world awaited Hamas’s response to US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan. Hamas has said it would study the plan, both within the group and with other Palestinian factions, before responding.
A Palestinian source close to the group’s leadership told Agence France-Press (AFP) on Wednesday that Hamas officials want amendments to clauses in Trump’s Gaza plan including on disarmament. Hamas negotiators held discussions on Tuesday with Turkish, Egyptian and Qatari officials in Doha, the source said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters and adding that the group needed “two or three days at most” to respond.
The 16 dead in Gaza included people who had sought refuge in a school sheltering the displaced in Gaza City. Al-Falah school in the city’s eastern Zeitoun neighbourhood was hit twice, minutes apart, according to officials at al-Ahli hospital. Among the casualties were first responders, they said. Five Palestinians were killed later on Wednesday morning, when a strike hit people gathered around a drinking water tank on the western side of Gaza City, the same hospital said.
Also in Gaza City, the al-Shifa hospital said it received the body of a man killed in a strike on his apartment west of the city. Israeli strikes also hit the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing a husband and wife, the al-Awda hospital said. Another man was killed in a separate strike in the Bureij refugee camp, according to the same hospital.
A funeral was held on Wednesday for Yahya Barzaq, a Palestinian journalist working for Turkish broadcast outlet TRT who was killed in a strike in Gaza on Tuesday, according to the broadcaster. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request by the Associated Press (AP) for comment on the killed journalist or Wednesday’s strikes.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that the “intensification of military operations in Gaza City” had forced the humanitarian organisation to temporarily suspend operations at its Gaza City office and relocate its staff to ICRC offices in southern Gaza “to ensure staff safety and operational continuity”. While first responders, including the Palestine Red Crescent Society and civil defence, had been working “relentlessly to provide relief”, the ICRC said their movement and ability to safely reach the civilian population had been “severely constrained”.
A pro-Palestinian flotilla heading to Gaza has said it has been approached and harassed by Israeli naval boats that cut one of its lead vessels’ communication systems as Italy and Greece reiterated calls for Israel to guarantee the safety of those onboard. The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), carrying about 500 people including the climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, said it had an encounter with Israeli navy vessels that circled the fleet’s “lead boat for around six minutes” while remotely disabling its communication systems.
The Australian government has said it is “deeply concerned” about the safety of its citizens on board the Gaza aid flotilla. Government officials have made representations to the Israeli government, over concerns Australians will be detained or arrested by the Israel Defense Forces.
The Prince of Wales has condemned the killing of aid workers in regions such as Gaza as a “cruel affront” to humanitarian principles. Speaking at the launch on Wednesday of the first, global memorial for humanitarian workers in west London, William paid tribute to their “courage and sacrifice” and honoured those who had died. The prince addressed guests including staff from aid organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Mines Advisory Group, as well as bereaved families and survivors of attacks.
On Wednesday, Egypt’s foreign minister Bader Abdelatty said Trump’s proposal for ending the nearly two-year war in Gaza requires more negotiations on certain elements, echoing remarks made by Qatar a day earlier. The comments by Qatar and Egypt, two key mediators, appeared to reflect Arab countries’ discontent over the text of the 20-point plan.
As Gaza’s humanitarian crisis grows, some women say they are being exploited by local men promising food, money, or other aid in exchange for sexual interactions, reports the Associated Press (AP). Six women have detailed their experiences to the news agency, each speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from their families or the men. The women said some of the men were associated with aid groups or approached them during aid registration.
The Israeli army said sirens sounded in communities near the Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon, after “two projectiles” crossed from there into Israel. No injuries were reported, it added.
Iranian authorities on Wednesday approved a bill toughening penalties for those convicted of spying on behalf of Israel and the US, months after the 12-day war between the foes. Iran’s president must sign off on the bill before it goes into effect. It comes after dozens of people were captured by authorities on suspicion of spying for Israel and the US in the aftermath of the war.
The US will regard “any armed attack” on Qatari territory as a threat to Washington and will provide the Gulf Arab state with security guarantees, the White House said, after an Israeli strike on the country last month. The agreement comes after an Israeli strike on the key US regional ally on 9 September, targeting officials from Hamas who were discussing a US peace proposal for the war in Gaza.
The Trump administration has filed a first-of-its-kind civil rights lawsuit against pro-Palestinian groups and activists, accusing the advocates of violating a law that has traditionally been used to protect reproductive health clinics from anti-abortion harassment and violence. The lawsuit, filed on Monday by the justice department’s civil rights division, alleges that two advocacy groups and six people broke the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (Face) Act when they protested against an event at a West Orange, New Jersey, synagogue in November 2024.
A mass protest against the ban on Palestine Action on Saturday in London could set a record for the number of people arrested at a single event of civil disobedience, organisers have said. Defend Our Juries said it had received 1,500 pledges to attend the demonstration in London and risk arrest and was expecting hundreds more to register by the weekend.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels early on Wednesday claimed the attack that left a Dutch-flagged cargo ship ablaze and adrift in the Gulf of Aden. The attack on Monday on the Minervagracht was the most serious assault in months by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden.
Dozens of people attended a funeral service for a Palestinian freelance journalist, Yahya Barzaq, on Wednesday at the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah.
He was killed Tuesday along five other people in an airstrike while working for Turkish broadcast outlet TRT in Deir al Balah.
Updated
As a reminder, here is what is in Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza:
Killing of aid workers is 'cruel affront' to humanitarian principles, says Prince William
The Prince of Wales has condemned the killing of aid workers in regions such as Gaza as a “cruel affront” to humanitarian principles, reports the PA news agency.
Speaking at the launch on Wednesday of the first, global memorial for humanitarian workers in west London, William paid tribute to their “courage and sacrifice” and honoured those who had died. The prince addressed guests including staff from aid organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Mines Advisory Group, as well as bereaved families and survivors of attacks.
William called for better protection and recognition for aid workers. He said:
We are witnesses to the appalling suffering of those who are victims of war and violence; from Ukraine to Sudan, from Myanmar to Haiti and, indeed, throughout much of the Middle East. And, alas, in so many other places.
Yet, the presence of humanitarian aid workers, like those in Gaza, runs like a thread of shared humanity through even the grimmest of environments.
Rather than running away from danger, discomfort and hunger, these incredibly brave men and women stay behind to bring whatever respite, compassion and care they can to those who need it the most.
We must champion and fight for their access to people in the most desperate of circumstances.
He added:
We must do more to recognise their service, and more to protect them.
William has long supported aid workers, and met representatives from the British Red Cross and Palestine Red Crescent Society last year to hear about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the wider region – and the impact on staff.
In 2023, William and the Princess of Wales met rescuers from the Disaster Emergency Committee to thank them for their efforts after an earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
The United States will regard “any armed attack” on Qatari territory as a threat to Washington and will provide the Gulf Arab state with security guarantees, the White House said, after an Israeli strike on the country last month.
“In light of the continuing threats to the state of Qatar posed by foreign aggression, it is the policy of the United States to guarantee the security and territorial integrity of the state of Qatar against external attack,” said an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on Monday.
In the event of an attack on Qatar, the US will “take all lawful and appropriate measures – including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military – to defend the interests of the United States and of the state of Qatar and to restore peace and stability,” the order said, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The agreement comes after an Israeli strike on the key US regional ally on 9 September, targeting officials from the Palestinian armed group Hamas who were discussing a US peace proposal for the war in Gaza.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Qatar’s prime minister from the White House on Monday, apologising for strikes and promising not to do so again, the US said. Netanyahu was in Washington to meet Trump, and had until then been defiant since ordering the 9 September strikes.
Qatar is a key US ally in the Gulf and hosts the largest US military base in the region at al-Udeid, which also includes a regional headquarters for elements of US Central Command.
Here are some more images coming in via the newswires:
On Wednesday, Egypt’s foreign minister Bader Abdelatty said US President Donald Trump’s proposal for ending the nearly two-year war in Gaza requires more negotiations on certain elements, echoing remarks made by Qatar a day earlier.
Hamas has said it would study the plan, both within the group and with other Palestinian factions, before responding.
The comments by Qatar and Egypt, two key mediators, appeared to reflect Arab countries’ discontent over the text of the 20-point plan that the White House put out after Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced they had agreed on it Monday.
The plan, which has received wide international support, requires Hamas to release hostages, leave power in Gaza and disarm in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners and an end to fighting. The plan guarantees the flow of humanitarian aid and promises reconstruction in Gaza, placing it and its more than 2 million Palestinians under international governance. However, it sets no path to Palestinian statehood.
According to the Associated Press (AP), the Palestinian government in the occupied West Bank said earlier it welcomed the plan, as did the governments of Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Updated
The Israeli army said sirens sounded in communities near the Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon, after “two projectiles” crossed from there into Israel. No injuries were reported, it added.
The Trump administration has filed a first-of-its-kind civil rights lawsuit against pro-Palestinian groups and activists, accusing the advocates of violating a law that has traditionally been used to protect reproductive health clinics from anti-abortion harassment and violence.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday by the justice department’s civil rights division, alleges that two advocacy groups and six people broke the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (Face) Act when they protested against an event at a West Orange, New Jersey, synagogue in November 2024. The event at the Ohr Torah synagogue promoted the sale of property in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are widely considered illegal under international law. Similar events have sparked protests in the years since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, but this event escalated into violence.
One man, a pro-Israel counterprotester, pepper-sprayed a pro-Palestinian demonstrator, while another counterprotester bashed the same demonstrator in the head with a flashlight, according to a local news outlet. Local New Jersey prosecutors ultimately filed charges against the two counterprotestors on multiple counts, including aggravated assault. (The pair have denied the accusations against them.)
The lawsuit filed by the Trump administration portrays the pro-Palestinian advocates as the aggressors. It alleges that some of the advocates physically assaulted at least one pro-Israel protester, effectively used vuvuzelas “as weapons” – arguing that the horns are “reasonably known to lead to permanent noise-induced hearing loss” – and ultimately disrupted both a memorial service and a lecture on the Torah.
“These violent protesters meant their actions for evil, but we will use this case to bring forth good: the protection of all Americans’ religious liberty,” Harmeet K Dhillon, an assistant attorney general in the justice department’s civil rights division, said in a press conference on Monday.
The Trump administration is asking a court to fine the pro-Palestinian demonstrators more than $30,000 for their first violation of the Face Act, and roughly $50,000 for each subsequent violation.
One of the groups named in the lawsuit, American Muslims for Palestine-New Jersey, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The national branch of another group, the Party for Socialism and Liberation-New Jersey, also did not immediately respond. The other defendants could not be immediately reached for comment.
Iranian authorities on Wednesday approved a bill toughening penalties for those convicted of spying on behalf of Israel and the United States, months after the 12-day war between the foes.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that the bill was presented to parliament on 23 June, as Iran and Israel were engaged in a war that saw unprecedented Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic, which the US briefly joined.
Iran’s president must sign off on the bill before it goes into effect. It comes after dozens of people were captured by authorities on suspicion of spying for Israel and the US in the aftermath of the war.
The text approving “tougher sanctions for spying and collaborating with the Zionist regime [Israel] and hostile countries, including the United States, on security and national interests” was approved, said the Guardians’ Council, the body responsible for overseeing legislation.
It did not specify which other countries were considered “hostile”, according to state news agency IRNA, but said “all deliberate assistance is condemned as corruption on Earth” – one of the most serious charges in Iran, punishable by death.
The previous, existing law did not specify particular countries, and espionage was not necessarily considered a capital offence.
The new bill sets a penalty of up to two years for “using, transporting, buying or selling unlicensed internet devices such as Starlink”, which is often used to access restricted online content, reports AFP.
It also outlaws sending videos and images to “hostile or foreign channels that … could undermine national security”, an offence punishable by up to five years in prison, according to IRNA. The bill moreover bans “all illegal marches and gatherings during wartime”.
On Monday, Donald Trump and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stood together as they unveiled their plan to end the war in Gaza. But it was a 20-point proposal with precious little detail, drawn up with no involvement from Hamas or other Palestinians.
The Guardian’s Washington DC bureau chief, David Smith, speaks to Reged Ahmad on whether this proposal is a roadmap to peace or just theatrics by the US president in the latest episode of Guardian Australia’s Full Story podcast:
Israeli defence minister issues final warning for Gaza City residents to flee
Israel’s defence minister has said the military would tighten its encirclement of Gaza City, issuing a final warning for residents there to flee south.
“This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south and leave Hamas operatives isolated in Gaza City,” Israel Katz said in a statement shared with Israeli media on Wednesday.
Those who remain... will be considered terrorists and terrorist supporters.”
The World Health Organization has warned that more than 40% of pregnant women in the Gaza Strip are malnourished. Here, Nour Ziad al-Batsh, who is expecting her third child in March, describes her daily struggle to find food and healthcare:
This pregnancy is not like my others. I have not been allowed to feel the joy I felt last time, to plan for the future and dream about where my child will go to school and how to decorate his room. In Gaza these days, I can only wonder whether I can find food to keep my baby healthy and how it will be to give birth in a tent.
The natural joys I felt for the births of my daughter and son have been overwhelmed by depression, fear and anxiety because of this continuing genocide.
Displacement has made us bankrupt. I have run out of food. My health condition is critical because of pregnancy. I have bleeding due to blood formation inside the uterus as a result of extreme fatigue. I went to Doctors Without Borders and was classified as a malnourished patient. I was transferred to a specialised clinic to examine my pregnancy. The result was they say my pregnancy is high-risk. I will most likely lose my baby.
I need to stay in the hospital. But the hospital does not have the capacity for me to stay.
I constantly have questions for myself about where I will give birth and whether the baby will be healthy. Will I find healthcare when I need it and will there be food for the baby? If I cannot find a home to live in, then will the baby be able to stay alive in a tent?
I feel dizzy all the time due to lack of food and weakness. I sleep most of the time and suffer from tremors due to hunger.
Read on here:
Updated
Hamas officials want amendments to clauses in US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan including on disarmament, a Palestinian source close to the group’s leadership told Agence France-Press (AFP) on Wednesday.
Hamas negotiators held discussions on Tuesday with Turkish, Egyptian and Qatari officials in Doha, the source said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters and adding that the group needed “two or three days at most” to respond.
Trump’s plan, backed by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, the group’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
But the Palestinian source told AFP:
Hamas wants to amend some of the clauses such as the one on disarmament and the expulsion of Hamas and faction cadres.
Hamas leaders also want “international guarantees for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip” and guarantees that no assassinations attempts will be made inside or outside the territory.
Six people were killed in an Israeli attack last month on Hamas officials meeting in Doha to discuss an earlier ceasefire proposal.
The source said Hamas was also in touch with “other regional and Arab parties”, without giving details.
Here are some images coming in via the newswires today:
Intensified military operations force ICRC to temporarily suspend operations in Gaza City
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that the “intensification of military operations in Gaza City” has forced the humanitarian organisation to temporarily suspend operations at its Gaza City office and relocate its staff to ICRC offices in southern Gaza “to ensure staff safety and operational continuity”.
While first responders, including the Palestine Red Crescent Society and civil defence, have been working “relentlessly to provide relief”, the ICRC said their movement and ability to safely reach the civilian population has been “severely constrained”.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the ICRC said:
The ICRC will continue to strive to provide support to civilians in Gaza City, whenever circumstances allow, from our offices in Deir al-Balah and Rafah, which remain fully operational. This includes providing medical donations to the few remaining health facilities in Gaza City and doing the utmost to facilitate the movements of first responders. In Rafah, the Red Cross Field hospital will continue to be a lifeline for the many wounded patients pouring in.
The ICRC has been in Gaza City for decades. Following the latest intensification of hostilities, ICRC teams stayed as long as they possibly could to protect and support the most vulnerable people. The ICRC remains committed to returning as soon as conditions allow.
The international humanitarian organisation stressed that medical personnel, units and means of transport, as well as civil defence personnel “must be respected and protected”, and added:
The rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian assistance must be allowed and facilitated across the Gaza Strip.
Updated
Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 16 Palestinians, say hospital officials
Israel pressed its offensive in Gaza on Wednesday, with at least 16 Palestinians reported killed across the strip as the world awaited Hamas’s response to US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.
The dead included people who had sought refuge in a school sheltering the displaced in Gaza City, reports the Associated Press (AP). Al-Falah school in the city’s eastern Zeitoun neighbourhood was hit twice, minutes apart, according to officials at al-Ahli hospital. Among the casualties were first responders, they said.
Five Palestinians were killed later on Wednesday morning, when a strike hit people gathered around a drinking water tank on the western side of Gaza City, the same hospital said.
Also in Gaza City, the Shifa hospital said it received the body of a man killed in a strike on his apartment west of the city.
Israeli strikes also hit the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing a husband and wife, the al-Awda hospital said. Another man was killed in a separate strike in the Bureij refugee camp, according to the same hospital.
A funeral was planned for Yahya Barzaq, a Palestinian journalist working for Turkish broadcast outlet TRT who was killed in a strike in Gaza on Tuesday, according to the broadcaster.
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request by the AP for comment on the killed journalist or Wednesday’s strikes.
Updated
As Gaza’s humanitarian crisis grows, some women say they are being exploited by local men promising food, money, or other aid in exchange for sexual interactions, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Six women have detailed their experiences to the news agency, each speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from their families or the men.
The women said some of the men were associated with aid groups or approached them during aid registration. They described some solicitation as blatant, with men asking to touch or have sex with them. Other times, they said it was culturally coded, with marriage or meetings suggested.
“It’s a horrible reality that humanitarian crises make people vulnerable in many ways – increased sexual violence is often a consequence,” said Heather Barr, associate director for the women’s rights division at Human Rights Watch. She added:
The situation in Gaza today is unspeakable, especially for women and girls.
Psychologists report similar accounts from patients. Six human rights and relief organisations told the AP they were aware of reports of men associated with aid groups soliciting sex.
Four psychologists working with women in Gaza described patients’ accounts to the AP. One said her organisation – focused on protecting women and children – treated dozens of cases involving men sexually exploiting vulnerable women, including some in which they became pregnant.
The psychologists, all Palestinians working for local organisations in Gaza, spoke on condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns for the women involved and the sensitive nature of the cases, in a conservative culture where sex outside marriage in any context is seen as a grave offence. They said none of their patients wanted to speak with the AP directly.
Five of the women who shared their stories with the AP said they did not engage in sexual interaction with the men. The psychologists said some women who came to them agreed to the men’s demands, while others refused.
Six human rights and relief organisations – including the local Palestinian group the Women’s Affairs Centre and the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse network, which coordinates with various aid groups including United Nations agencies – told the AP they were aware of reports of sexual abuse and exploitation linked to receiving aid.
Amal Syam, director of the Women’s Affairs Centre, told the AP:
Israel’s siege on the Gaza Strip and the restrictions on humanitarian aid are what’s forcing women to resort to this.
Israel says there are no restrictions on aid and that it has taken steps to expand what comes into Gaza. Israel also accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid – without providing evidence of widespread diversion – and blames UN agencies for failing to deliver food it has allowed in. The UN denies there is widespread aid diversion.
A mass protest against the ban on Palestine Action on Saturday in London could set a record for the number of people arrested at a single event of civil disobedience, organisers have said.
Defend Our Juries said it had received 1,500 pledges to attend the demonstration in London and risk arrest and was expecting hundreds more to register by the weekend.
The group said the record number of arrests at a single event was 1,314, made by the Metropolitan police during the Committee of 100’s 1961 anti-nuclear demonstration in Trafalgar Square. The central London square was also the centre of the 1990 poll tax uprisings when 339 people were arrested in one day.
More than 1,600 people have been arrested since the ban under the Terrorism Act came into effect on 5 July, mainly for holding signs reading: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” The highest arrest tally so far was on 6 September at a demonstration in Parliament Square when 890 people were detained, 857 for showing support for a proscribed group.
A Defend Our Juries spokesperson said:
With over 1,500 people already pledging to take part, and hundreds more expected to register by the weekend, this is set to be the biggest mass action yet defying the ban on Palestine Action.
While Keir Starmer ignores the demands of his own party members to recognise Israel’s genocide and take action – including sanctions and a full arms embargo – thousands are stepping up where his government refuses to act.
This Saturday could soon see the number of arrests nearly double from the current total of 1,600, setting a new record for the largest mass arrest – an extraordinary misuse of counter-terror and policing resources.
On Sunday, Merseyside police arrested 66 people, including an 83-year-old, on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action at a rally outside the Labour party conference in Liverpool. Two were later dearrested.
Updated
Reuters has a bit more information on the Gaza aid flotilla being approached by a vessel that it said belonged to the Israeli military (see 9.49am BST).
According to Reuters, a video post on the Global Sumud Flotilla’s Instagram page showed the silhouetted outline of what appeared to be a military vessel with a gun turret near the civilian vessels. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage and Israeli officials did not immediately respond to the news agency’s request for comment.
“We continue to sail to Gaza approaching the 120 nautical mile mark, near the area where previous flotillas have been intercepted or attacked,” the flotilla’s organisers said in a statement.
Israel has previously said it will use any means to prevent the boats from reaching Gaza, arguing that its naval blockade is legal as it battles Hamas militants in the coastal territory.
Italy and Spain have deployed naval ships to accompany the flotilla to help with any rescue or humanitarian needs but have said they will not engage militarily. Turkish drones are also following the boats.
However, Italy said its navy would stop following the flotilla once it gets within 150 nautical miles (278km) of Gaza. Spain has told members of the flotilla that its maritime rescue vessel is within range to carry out rescue operations if necessary, but that it will not enter Israel’s exclusion zone as doing so would put the physical integrity of its crew and the flotilla at risk, a government source said.
Updated
Gaza aid flotilla says its lead boats were circled by an Israeli military vessel
The Global Sumud Flotilla said it had been approached by an Israeli military vessel “intimidating” and “damaging our communications system” on Wednesday morning.
In a post on social media, Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, who is on board a boat in the flotilla, said the Israeli military vessel circled its lead boats, Alma and Sirius. He wrote:
An Israeli military vessel just came across our boats intimidating, damaging our communication systems and doing very dangerous manouvers circling our lead boats ALMA and SIRIUS!
Despite the loss of electronic devices, no one has been injured and we KEEP ON GOING to GAZA to break the siege and create a humanitarian corridor!
The Israeli military has not yet commented on the claims.
Updated
Yemen’s Houthi rebels early on Wednesday claimed the attack that left a Dutch-flagged cargo ship ablaze and adrift in the Gulf of Aden, underlining the range of their weaponry and their campaign targeting shipping over the Israel-Hamas war, reports the Associated Press (AP).
The attack on Monday on the Minervagracht was the most serious assault in months by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden, which is some distance from the Red Sea where they have sunk four vessels since November 2023.
The attack also comes as Israel engages in a new ground offensive targeting Gaza City as efforts to reach a ceasefire again hang in the balance. Meanwhile, the Middle East also remains on edge after the United Nations reimposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme. The Iranian-backed Houthis separately threatened to “employ all means and instruments available” to target several US oil firms, reports the AP.
The Houthis fired a cruise missile that targeted and struck the Minervagracht, Houthi military spokesperson Brig Gen Yahya Saree said.
Saree accused the ship’s owners, Amsterdam-based Spliethoff, of violating “the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine”. Initially, the US Navy-overseen Joint Maritime Information Centre said the Minervagracht had no ties to Israel, but a note on Tuesday said the centre was “reviewing vessel affiliations for possible links to Israel.”
The attack injured two mariners on board the Minervagracht, whose 19-member crew hailed from the Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka and Ukraine. They were forced to evacuate the ship after the strike inflicted substantial damage.
Spliethoff said on Wednesday it was working with “international authorities and salvage experts to safeguard and secure the vessel.” A European naval force operating in the region, known as Operation Aspides, said on Tuesday the Minervagracht was on fire and adrift after the crew’s rescue.
Spliethoff said in a statement:
We would again like to express our deepest concern over this week’s incident which was a direct attack on our innocent seafarers and a breach of the right of free navigation.
Australian government ‘deeply concerned’ about safety of its citizens on board Gaza flotilla
The Australian government has said it is “deeply concerned” about the safety of its citizens on board a flotilla to Gaza, with expectations the boats could be intercepted by Israeli forces as early as Wednesday afternoon Australian time.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has said they have been in contact with six Australians confirmed to be on flotilla consisting of more than 40 ships.
Government officials have made representations to the Israeli government, over concerns Australians will be detained or arrested by the Israel Defense Forces.
Australia’s assistant minister for foreign affairs, Matt Thistlethwaite said:
I’m deeply concerned by the alleged drone attacks on the Global Sumud Flotilla and the risks to the safety of Australians and other passengers onboard.
Australia calls on all parties to respect international law and international humanitarian law, and to refrain from any unlawful or violent act against the flotilla.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, with more than 500 people including politicians, lawyers and Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, is aiming to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver aid.
Late morning on Wednesday AEST, Guardian Australia spoke to Juliet Lamont, an Australian documentary film-maker, on a boat in the flotilla.
She told Guardian Australia the spirits of those on board are positive:
I think people feel pretty calm. And because everybody is really, really concerned about what’s happening in Palestine every single day, it really kind of pales in significance.
I’m a film-maker, there’s teachers here, there’s a bus driver, like we’re just ordinary people that have been forced by our governments in action to do this. We’re not radicals … we’ve got baby food and medicine. So it’s just a real blight on our world leaders that we’ve been forced to do this.
Surya McEwen, another Australian on board, said many in the flotilla have done extensive non-violence training and are prepared if their ships are intercepted. He said:
We’re trying to be as calm and as organised and as careful as we possibly can to make it the least dangerous scenario as it could possibly be.
We’re very experienced in de-escalation and communicating in ways that are non-threatening… but we’re resolved to keep going to Gaza, if there’s any way to do so without being attacked.
The Australian government has also made representations to nations including Spain, Italy and Greece for their support for Australians on board.
Israel military to close last remaining route from southern Gaza to the north
The Israeli military said it will close on Wednesday the last remaining route for residents of southern Gaza to access the north, as it presses its offensive on Gaza City.
The military’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X:
Al-Rashid Street will be closed to traffic from the southern sector area at 12:00 (0900 GMT).
Movement southward will be allowed for those who were unable to evacuate Gaza City. At this stage, the [Israeli military] permits free movement southward without inspection.
In figures reported less than two weeks ago, the UN said that more than a quarter of a million people had been displaced from Gaza City in the previous month. Tens of thousands more have been forced to flee makeshift homes and shelters daily in the face of a new Israeli offensive, it added.
Meanwhile, Hamas has said it will review the outline of Donald Trump’s Gaza plan presented in Washington on Tuesday, as leaders across the Middle East and elsewhere voiced support for the proposal, which comes after almost two years of relentless violence.
In Israel, media and politicians broadly welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement, made at a joint press conference with Trump, that he supported the 20-point plan, which meets many of Israel’s principal demands.
Trump has said Hamas has “three or four days” to respond to the plan or face the consequences. Speaking to reporters as he left the White House on Tuesday, Trump said Israeli and Arab leaders had accepted the proposal and “we’re just waiting for Hamas”.
More on this in a moment, but first, here are some other developments:
Australia has been accused of emboldening Israeli atrocities in Gaza by allowing Israel to effectively act with impunity, with only tepid critiques from the federal government. “Israel’s extreme war of vengeance has proved a grave threat to the very survival of Palestinians, as well as endangering Israeli hostages and the future of Israel’s own security,” international law expert Ben Saul told the National Press Club on Wednesday.
As Gaza’s humanitarian crisis grows, some women say they are being exploited by local men promising food, money, or other aid in exchange for sexual interactions. Six women detailed their experiences to the Associated Press, each speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from their families or the men.
The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said on Telegram that the death toll from Israel’s military campaign had risen to 66,097 deaths and 168,536 injuries since 7 October 2023. It said on Wednesday that 42 deaths and 190 injuries were recorded in the past 24 hours, though victims remain under rubble and in streets that emergency crews have been unable to reach.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the attack that left a Dutch-flagged cargo ship ablaze and adrift in the Gulf of Aden. This attack was their most serious assault in the Gulf of Aden since November 2023. The Houthis fired a cruise missile at the Minervagracht, injuring two mariners.
The international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza said on Wednesday that several of its boats were approached by unidentified vessels, some navigating without lights. The Global Sumud Flotilla said in post on Telegram that the vessels have departed, and participants implemented security protocols in anticipation of a possible interception.
Updated
