Israel / Palestine

A senior Hamas official said Tuesday the group was no longer interested in truce talks with Israel and urged the international community to halt Israel’s “hunger war” against Gaza. “There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in the Gaza Strip,” Basem Naim told AFP.

The reported Israeli proposal to deliver humanitarian supplies through hubs controlled by the military would be a breach of the core principles of neutral, impartial and independent aid delivery, the UN said on Tuesday.

The UN Secretary-General is alarmed by reports of Israeli plans to expand ground operations and prolong its military presence in Gaza, a spokesperson for António Guterres said on Monday.

The UN Secretary-General has warned that the two-State solution for Israel and Palestine is nearing collapse, urging world leaders to take bold, irreversible steps to preserve hopes for lasting peace.

The UN's top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has begun hearings for an opinion on Israel's legal duty to allow aid to Palestinians and to co-operate with the UN's Palestinian aid agency, Unrwa – both of which Israel has barred in Gaza.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached unprecedented levels, with more than two million people – mostly women and children – trapped, starving and desperate, as no aid has been allowed in for the past 50 days. The UN relief coordination office, OCHA, said on Tuesday that this marks the longest period without aid or commercial supplies entering the Strip since the conflict began in October 2023.

Hamas has formally rejected Israel's latest ceasefire offer, saying it is prepared to immediately negotiate a deal that would see the release of all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Israel's defence minister has said troops will remain in so-called security zones they have established by seizing large areas of Gaza even after an end to the war. … Israel would continue its six-week blockade of humanitarian aid to pressure Hamas to release hostages, he said, despite the UN warning of "devastating" consequences.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has decried an announcement made by French President Emmanuel Macron that France could acknowledge a Palestinian state by June, saying it would be a "prize" for terrorism.   

In a joint statement, the heads of the UN’s aid agencies warned that “we are witnessing acts of war in Gaza that show an utter disregard for human life,” with Israeli displacement orders forcing hundreds of