Summary
We are now closing the blog. Here is a round-up of events today:
The British government has formally sanctioned two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, following their conduct over the war in Gaza. The UK will join Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other nations in freezing the assets and imposing travel bans on Israel’s national security minister Ben-Gvir, and finance minister Smotrich.
Ben-Gvir expressed defiance to the UK government’s decision to impose sanctions on him and Smotrich. In a statement, Ben-Gvir said: “We survived Pharaoh, we will also survive Keir Starmer. I will continue to work for Israel and the people of Israel without fear or intimidation!”
Israel has deported Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg after she was detained along with other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat. Thunberg accused Israel of “kidnapping us in international waters and taking us against our will to Israel”. She said she was flying to Sweden via France.
Israeli troops killed at least 17 Palestinians trying to reach food distribution sites on Tuesday morning, local health authorities in Gaza said.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his cabinet on Thursday to discuss hostage talks, The Times of Israel reports. Netanyahu says there has been “significant progress” in hostage talks. “It’s too early to raise hopes,” he said in a video statement, “but we are working tirelessly right now, and all the time. I hope we will be able to move forward.”
The US no longer wholeheartedly endorses an independent state for Palestinians, US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, told Bloomberg News in an interview published on Tuesday.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory says Israel’s attacks in Gaza amount to “war crimes” and “the crime against humanity of extermination.”
The United States and Israel are seeking to turn nuclear talks into a “strategic trap” for Iran, Iranian lawmakers said in a statement on Tuesday, days before a planned sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks.
Ehud Olmert, Israel’s prime minister between 2006 and 2009, said Trump should summon Netanyahu to the White House and, facing the cameras, tell the Israeli leader: “Bibi: enough is enough”. Olmert said: “This is it. I hope he [Trump] will do it.”
More than 300 Foreign Office staff have been told to consider resigning after they wrote a letter over fears the government had become complicit in Israel’s alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Sport in Gaza is on the brink of collapse, Asaad al-Majdalawi, vice president of the Palestinian Olympic committee, said. He told Al Jazeera that Gaza’s entire sporting infrastructure is on the brink of collapse.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists taking part in a convoy crossed the Tunisian border on Tuesday into Libya, aiming to keep heading eastwards until they break Israel’s blockade on the Palestinian territory, the AFP reports.
In a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said that Hamas “must hand over its weapons” and called for the deployment of international forces to protect “the Palestinian people”.
The international charity ActionAid UK has welcomed the UK government’s sanctions on two senior Israeli government officials, but urged for “much more” action as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is “deteriorating by the day”.
Hannah Bond, co-CEO of ActionAid UK, said there is “no justification for not taking further action immediately”, adding:
Until the government halts all arms exports to the Israeli government, the UK risks complicity in these atrocities.
There is no more time to waste: the UK must use every diplomatic lever available to it now to bring about a permanent end to the violence, release the hostages, let humanitarian supplies into Gaza and ensure accountability for all breaches of international humanitarian law.
Here are some images coming to us over the wires:
UK sanctions on Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have been imposed in a “personal capacity”, Downing Street said.
A No 10 spokesman said:
These sanctions apply to the individuals in their personal capacities, not their ministries and departments.
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich do not speak for all Israeli people … and have a long history of dangerous extremist and inflammatory views.
As the Israeli ambassador to the UK has said in recent interviews, their statements in their ministerial capacities do not even represent government policy.
Their agenda and actions undermine the interests of Israeli people, including security, many Israelis see this.
So, today, with our international partners, we have announced measures against those ministers in a personal capacity.
The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions targeting individuals and charities that it said were prominent financial supporters of the Palestinian groups Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Reuters reports.
The US Treasury Department said the individuals and groups targeted were funding Hamas’ military wing under the pretence of doing humanitarian work, in Gaza and internationally.
Those sanctioned included the Gaza-based Al Weam Charitable Society, the Turkey-based Filistin Vakfi, the El Baraka Association for Charitable and Humanitarian Work, which is based in Algeria, the Netherlands-based Israa Charitable Foundation and the Associazione Benefica La Cupola d’Oro, based in Italy, the department said in a statement.
The five individuals targeted on Tuesday were leaders associated with the groups, it said.
US harbours doubts about Palestinian state - Ambassador
The US no longer wholeheartedly endorses an independent state for Palestinians, US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, told Bloomberg News in an interview published on Tuesday.
“Unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture, there’s no room for it,” Huckabee told the outlet.
He added that those probably won’t happen “in our lifetime”.
When he was asked if a Palestinian state remains a US policy goal, he said: “I don’t think so.”
Updated
More than 300 Foreign Office staff have been told to consider resigning after they wrote a letter over fears the government had become complicit in Israel’s alleged war crimes in Gaza.
It is the fourth internal letter from staff about the offensive in Gaza, which started in October 2023 in response to Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel.
In their letter of 16 May the staff, from embassies around the world and at various levels of seniority, questioned the UK’s continued arms sales and what they called Israel’s “stark … disregard for international law”.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has elaborated on the UK government’s decision to impose sanctions on two Israeli ministers.
“We are sanctioning the two ministers who have used horrendous extremist language,” Lammy said, adding that he would “encourage the Israeli government to disavow and condemn that language”.
Asked whether the UK would encourage Mr Netanyahu to sack the ministers, Lammy said: “The Israeli government will make their own determination.”But from the UK’s perspective, he said: “We have to be clear that we act when we see these egregious individuals encouraging abuses of human rights in this way.”
Updated
'Significant progress' made in hostage talks - Netanyahu
After UK sanctions on two Israeli ministers, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there has been “significant progress” in hostage talks.
“It’s too early to raise hopes,” he said in a video statement, “but we are working tirelessly right now, and all the time. I hope we will be able to move forward.”
Pressure is mounting on Israel to reach a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza after nearly two years of fighting.
54 hostages remain in Gaza, of whom about 31 are thought to be dead. As the war rages on, the chance of their continuing survival diminishes.
Dr Einat Yahana, a psychologist with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, says that more than 38% of family members of hostages suffer from extreme fatigue, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and depression.
Meanwhile, over 50,000 Palestinians have perished in Gaza since the war began after the 7 October attacks.
Foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said: “There has recently been certain progress. In light of past experience, I don’t want to overstate it at this point.
“But we are interested in reaching a deal, which will include a ceasefire.”
Updated
Israel PM to host fresh round of hostage talks on Thursday
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his cabinet on Thursday to discuss hostage talks, The Times of Israel reports.
Israeli officials describe “tentative progress” in talks with Hamas over a hostage release/ceasefire deal.
Updated
Aid convoy reaches Libya on route to Gaza
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists taking part in a convoy crossed the Tunisian border on Tuesday into Libya, aiming to keep heading eastwards until they break Israel’s blockade on the Palestinian territory, the AFP reports.
The “Soumoud” convoy, meaning “steadfastness” in Arabic, embarked from Tunis on Monday morning. The convoy includes 14 buses and 100 other vehicles, carrying hundreds of people.
Convoy members were heard chanting “Resistance, resistance” and “To Gaza we go by the millions” in a video posted on the organising group’s official Facebook page. Henchiri also told Jawhara FM radio channel the convoy plans to remain in Libya for “three or four days at most” before crossing into Egypt and continuing on to Rafah.
Organisers have said Egyptian authorities have not yet provided passage to enter the country, but Henchiri said the convoy received “reassuring” information. Organisers said the convoy was not bringing aid into Gaza, but rather aimed at carrying out a “symbolic act” by breaking the blockade on the territory described by the United Nations as “the hungriest place on Earth”.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said the war in Gaza hurt his “whole body” when accepting an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester on Monday.
Snippets from the City boss’s speech have been circulating on social media.
“Let me be clear, it’s not about ideology. It’s not about whether I’m right, or you’re wrong. It’s just about the love of life, about the care of your neighbour.
“Maybe we think that we see the boys and girls of four years old being killed by the bomb or being killed at the hospital because it’s not a hospital anymore. It’s not our business.
“We can think about that. It’s not our business. But be careful. The next one will be ours. The next four- or five-year-old kids will be ours. Sorry, but I see my kids, Maria, Marius and Valentina. When I see every morning since the nightmare started the infants in Gaza, and I’m so scared.”
Updated
Greta Thunberg accuses Israel of kidnapping her
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg accused Israel of “kidnapping us in international waters and taking us against out will to Israel” after security forces intercepted a boat carrying humanitarian aid bound for Gaza.
“This is yet another intentional violation of rights that is added to the list of countless other violations that Israel is committing,” Thunberg, 22, told reporters on arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris after being deported from Israel, stressing that her own experience was “nothing compared to what the Palestinians are going through”.
Updated
Far-right Israeli ministers say they will survive Keir Starmer following UK sanctions
Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has expressed defiance to the UK government’s decision to impose sanctions on him and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.
In a statement, Ben-Gvir said: “We survived Pharaoh, we will also survive Keir Starmer. I will continue to work for Israel and the people of Israel without fear or intimidation!”
He went on to compare the UK’s decision to the 1939 UK policy paper limiting Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine.
Smotrich also calls the decision “a white paper”.
“Britain has already tried once to prevent us from settling the cradle of our homeland, and we will not allow it to do so again,” he continues. “We are determined to continue building.”
Updated
Britain to formally sanction Israeli ministers
The British government will formally sanction two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, following their conduct over the war in Gaza, the Times reported on Tuesday.
The UK will join Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other nations in freezing the assets and imposing travel bans on Israel’s national security minister Ben-Gvir – a West Bank settler – and finance minister Smotrich.
Last month, the government suspended free trade talks with Israel for pursuing “egregious policies” in the illegally occupied West Bank and Gaza, summoned its ambassador, and announced further sanctions against West Bank settlers.
UK foreign minister David Lammy, who called Israel’s recent offensive “a dark new phase in this conflict,” has previously condemned comments by Smotrich on the possible cleansing and destruction of Gaza and relocation of its residents to neighbouring countries.
In the Commons, Lammy accused Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “planning to drive Gazans from their homes into a corner of the Strip to the south and permit them a fraction of the aid that they need”.
“Minister Smotrich even spoke of Israeli forces ‘cleansing’ Gaza, ‘destroying what’s left,’ of resident Palestinians ‘being relocated to third countries,’” Lammy said. “We must call this what it is. It is extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous. And I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
Reacting to the sanctions, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar said the decision to sanction its ministers was “outrageous,” adding that he would discuss the matter with Netanyahu next week to “decide on our response to this unacceptable decision.”
Updated
We’ve been reporting on the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and my colleague Emma Graham-Harrison, reporting from Jerusalem, writes that Israeli troops killed at least 17 Palestinians trying to reach food distribution sites on Tuesday morning.
The GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Israeli military said it was aware of reports of injuries after it fired warning shots towards “suspects” in the Wadi Gaza area whom its troops deemed a threat. “The warning shots were fired hundreds of meters from the aid distribution site, prior to its opening hours,” a spokesperson said. The military said the numbers released by local health authorities did not align with the information they had collected.
Read more of Emma’s excellent reporting here…
Here are some images coming to us over the wires:
Iranian lawmakers accuse US and Israel of planning nuclear talks 'trap'
The United States and Israel are seeking to turn nuclear talks into a “strategic trap” for Iran, Iranian lawmakers said in a statement on Tuesday, days before a planned sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks.
“The US is not serious in negotiations at all. It has set the goal of talks as imposing its demands and has adopted offensive positions that are diametrically opposed to Iranians’ inalienable rights,” the statement from parliamentarians said.
US President Donald Trump highlighted on Monday that the two sides remained at odds on the issue of uranium enrichment in Iran, which Iranian lawmakers say is a non-negotiable part of the country’s nuclear programme.
While Trump said the next round of talks would take place on Thursday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said it was planned to take place on Sunday in Oman.
Iran is to share a counterproposal to a US offer for a nuclear deal, which it says is not acceptable considering its position on enrichment and lack of detail on the lifting of sanctions, Reuters reports.
“The only acceptable deal is one that permanently lifts all sanctions with the aim of achieving economic benefits for Iran,” lawmakers added in their statement.
Summary of the day so far...
Good afternoon,
Here’s a summary of today’s stories developing in Gaza and around the Middle East.
Israel have deported Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg after she was detained along with other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat. “Greta Thunberg is departing Israel on a flight to France,” Israel’s foreign ministry said on its official X account.
Trump should summon Netanyahu to the White House and, facing cameras, tell the Israeli leader: “‘Bibi: enough is enough’”, Ehud Olmert, Israel’s prime minister between 2006 and 2009, tells AFP. “This is it. I hope he [Trump] will do it. There is nothing that cannot happen with Trump. I don’t know if this will happen. We have to hope and we have to encourage him.”
Sport in Gaza on the brink of collapse says VP of Palestinian Olympic committee. Asaad al-Majdalawi, vice president of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, tells Al Jazeera that Gaza’s entire sporting infrastructure is on the brink of collapse. “Every major component of Gaza’s sports system has been hit,” al-Majdalawi told Al Jazeera. “The Olympic Committee offices, sports federations, clubs, school and university sports programmes – even private sports facilities have been targeted. It’s a comprehensive assault.”
The president of the European parliament has been in “constant contact” with Israeli authorities over the MEP Rima Hassan, who was detained after naval forces intercepted an aid ship bound for Gaza. Hassan, a French MEP of Palestinian origin, who belongs to the radical left France Unbowed party, was on board the Madleen, which was carrying a symbolic amount of food and aid for Gaza, when it was intercepted by Israeli forces.
Palestinian president tells French President Emmanuel Macron to support demilitarisation of Hamas Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said that Hamas “must hand over its weapons” and called for the deployment of international forces to protect “the Palestinian people.”
An independent United Nations commission says Israel’s attacks in Gaza amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. “Israel has obliterated Gaza’s education system and destroyed over half of all religious and cultural sites in the Gaza Strip — part of a widespread and relentless assault against the Palestinian people in which Israeli forces have committed war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination.”
On Tuesday the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, wrote on X that US navy ships had travelled through the Red Sea and its Bab el-Mandeb strait “multiple times in recent days” without facing Houthi attacks.
“These transits occurred without challenge and demonstrate the success of both Operation ROUGH RIDER and the President’s Peace Through Strength agenda,” Hegseth wrote ahead of facing Congress for the first time since sharing sensitive military details of America’s military campaign against the Houthis in a Signal chat.
It is unclear how the Houthis will respond now that an attack has come from the sea, rather than the air, from the Israelis.
Meanwhile, a wider, decade-long war in Yemen between the Houthis and the country’s exiled government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, remains in a stalemate.
Updated
After rockets were reportedly fired from northern Gaza at southern Israel, the IDF have issued an evacuation warning for the area of the launch.
“The IDF is operating with great force in the areas where you are located to destroy the capabilities of terror organisations. The IDF will respond firmly to every terror act or rocket attack,” the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee, says on X.
Civilians have been instructed to head for “known shelters” in Gaza City.
Greta Thunberg seen on plane ahead of reported flight to France
Greta Thunberg has been pictured onboard a flight to France after accepting deportation.
However, several peace activists who accompanied her to Gaza have refused deportation and are currently being detained. Their case is due to be heard by the authorities.
The pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) - which was operating the yacht - said at around 1am that the group were “expected to be moved to the Ramleh detention facility unless they agree to leave immediately”.
The rights group added: “We continue to demand the immediate release of all volunteers and the return of the stolen aid. Their detention is unlawful and a violation of international law.
Updated
Ten Palestinians were killed on Tuesday by Israeli shelling and gunfire across Gaza.
The Wafa news agency reports that four paramedics were killed by Israeli fire while performing their humanitarian duties in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City.
Three others were killed by bombing in the Ma’an area, east of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza. Another three lost their lives in Jabalia al-Balad, in the north.
Since October 7, 2023, 54,880 citizens have been killed by Israel, most of them women and children.
The president of the European parliament has been in “constant contact” with Israeli authorities over the MEP Rima Hassan, who was detained after naval forces intercepted an aid ship bound for Gaza.
Hassan, a French MEP of Palestinian origin, who belongs to the radical left France Unbowed party, was on board the Madleen, which was carrying a symbolic amount of food and aid for Gaza, when it was intercepted by Israeli forces.
The European parliament president Roberta Metsola was in “constant contact” with Israeli and political group leaders “to ensure the safety and security” of Hassan and all those accompanying her, a statement from the institution said.
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Tuesday that the French consul had been able to see six French nationals arrested by 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,” he wrote on X without identifying the citizens.
Leaders of three European parliamentary groups, including Hassan’s Left colleagues, the Greens and the Socialists published an open letter on Monday calling for the release of the nine people on board the Madleen. “While we recognise that humanitarian aid must be delivered through secure and co-ordinated channels, the desperation behind this civil initiative shows the failure of the international community, including of the European Union,to ensure safe, sustained and sufficient access to life-saving aid for over two million people trapped in Gaza.
Hamas has condemned an Israeli attack that killed three paramedics in Gaza as a “war crime.”
“Targeting those who aid victims represents an unprecedented level of brutality and criminality, and reveals the occupation’s efforts to stifle all means of survival and rescue in Gaza,” the statement published on Telegram said.
The group called on the international community and the United Nations to take action, urging them “to stop the occupation’s crimes, hold its fascist leaders accountable, and salvage the credibility of the international system”.
Sport in Gaza on the brink of collapse says VP of Palestinian Olympic committee
Asaad al-Majdalawi, vice president of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, tells Al Jazeera that Gaza’s entire sporting infrastructure is on the brink of collapse.
“Every major component of Gaza’s sports system has been hit,” al-Majdalawi told Al Jazeera. “The Olympic Committee offices, sports federations, clubs, school and university sports programmes – even private sports facilities have been targeted. It’s a comprehensive assault.”
“This is not just loss – it’s extermination,” al-Majdalawi says. “Each athlete was a community pillar. They weren’t numbers. They were symbols of hope, unity, and perseverance. Losing them has deeply wounded the Palestinian society.”
UN commission accuses Israel of war crimes
An independent United Nations commission says Israel’s attacks in Gaza amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“Israel has obliterated Gaza’s education system and destroyed over half of all religious and cultural sites in the Gaza Strip — part of a widespread and relentless assault against the Palestinian people in which Israeli forces have committed war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination,” the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory says in a report.
Israel continues to deny it is guilty of war crimes and is perpetrating a genocide on Gazans.
Palestinian president tells Macron to support demilitarisation of Hamas
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said that Hamas “must hand over its weapons” and called for the deployment of international forces to protect “the Palestinian people”, France announced on Tuesday.
In a letter addressed on Monday to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who will co-chair a conference on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians this month, Abbas outlined his plan for peace in the Middle East.
“Hamas will no longer rule Gaza and must hand over its weapons and military capabilities to the Palestinian Security Forces,” wrote Abbas.
He said he was “ready to invite Arab and international forces to be deployed as part of a stabilisation/protection mission with a (UN) Security Council mandate.”
The conference at UN headquarters later this month will aim to resurrect the idea of a two-state solution - Israel currently controls large parts of the Palestinian territories.
“We are ready to conclude within a clear and binding timeline, and with international support, supervision and guarantees, a peace agreement that ends the Israeli occupation and resolves all outstanding and final status issues,” Abbas wrote.
“Hamas has to immediately release all hostages and captives,” Abbas added.
In a statement, the Elysee Palace welcomed “concrete and unprecedented commitments, demonstrating a real willingness to move towards the implementation of the two-state solution.”
Macron has said he is “determined” to recognise a Palestinian state, but also set out several conditions, including the “demilitarisation” of Hamas.
Updated
Reacting to the seizure of Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg’s “symbolic” aid flotilla, my colleague Owen Jones argues that the incident exposes Israel’s genocidal intent in Gaza.
Jones writes that Israel’s blockade satisfies a UN definition of genocide, which states that a genocide has occurred when actions deliberately inflict on a group “conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
Jones points out that the aid blockade, the killing of aid workers, and the decimation of Gaza’s agricultural land have contributed to meeting the UN’s definition of genocide.
“The Madleen did not make it to Gaza’s shores. Yet its crew exposed an obscenity that has repulsed western citizens, who will one day force their governments to cease their complicity, which is why, in the end, Israel will lose…”
Read more here…
Updated
Israel says activist Greta Thunberg is leaving country on flight to France
Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of the Middle East.
Israel on Tuesday said Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg was leaving the country on a flight to France, after she was detained along with other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat and taken to a Tel Aviv airport for deportation.
“Greta Thunberg is departing Israel on a flight to France,” Israel’s foreign ministry said on its official X account, along with two photos of the activist on board a plane.
The activist group departed Italy on 1 June aboard the Madleen carrying a symbolic amount of food and supplies for Gaza, whose population is at risk of famine. Israeli forces intercepted the boat in international waters on Monday and towed it to the port of Ashdod.
“The passengers of the ‘Selfie Yacht’ arrived at Ben Gurion airport to depart from Israel and return to their home countries,” the Israeli foreign ministry said on X. “Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority.”
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the group operating the Madleen, said all 12 campaigners were “being processed and transferred into the custody of Israeli authorities”.
“They may be permitted to fly out of Tel Aviv as early as tonight,” it said on social media.
In other news …
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has said Hamas “must hand over its weapons” and called for deployment of Arab and international forces to “provide protection to the Palestinian people”, the Elysee announced Tuesday. In a letter addressed on Monday to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who will co-chair a conference on the two-state solution, Abbas said he was “ready to invite Arab and international forces to be deployed as part of a stabilisation/protection mission with a Security Council mandate.”
Israel has attacked docks in Yemen’s rebel-held port city of Hodeidah, targeting facilities that are key to aid shipments to the country. Late on Monday, Israel had issued warnings online for Yemenis to evacuate from Ras Isa, Hodeidah and al-Salif ports. The Israeli military said in a statement on Tuesday: “The port is used to transfer weapons and is a further example of the Houthi terrorist regime’s cynical exploitation of civilian infrastructure in order to advance terrorist activities.”
Environmental charity Greenpeace said that the Madleen, the aid ship transporting Greta Thunberg and other activists, was “illegally seized in international waters by Israeli forces” and called for the “immediate release” of its crew. It also called for “unhindered delivery of aid” and an “end to the illegal occupation of Palestine”.
The BBC reports that Palestinians in Gaza say they were fired on by Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen once again as they visited the aid distribution centres run by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Monday.
Trump should summon Netanyahu to the White House and, facing cameras, tell the Israeli leader: “‘Bibi: enough is enough’”, Ehud Olmert, Israel’s prime minister between 2006 and 2009, tells AFP. “This is it. I hope he [Trump] will do it. There is nothing that cannot happen with Trump. I don’t know if this will happen. We have to hope and we have to encourage him.”
Updated
