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Andrew Sparrow
Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat chief, urged UK prime minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday to name Donald Trump to encourage him to make use of his affect to dam Israel’s plans for a “full occupation” of Gaza.
In an announcement, Davey mentioned:
[Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu’s newest proposals for the occupation of all of Gaza are totally horrifying.
If realised, they’ll solely wreak but extra destruction on Gazans – whereas gravely endangering the lives of the hostages nonetheless held in Hamas’ captivity.
Keir Starmer wants to choose up the telephone to President Trump forward of the Israeli safety cupboard’s assembly tomorrow, and get him to do the best factor – by inserting real stress on Netanyahu to drop these proposals. Solely renewed diplomacy can finish the struggling in Gaza and get the hostages house.
Fairly than sitting on its fingers, the UK authorities wants to indicate management on this second.
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The Palestine Pink Crescent Society (PRCS) mentioned on Wednesday afternoon that Israeli troopers had “focused” its headquarters in Khan Younis with an artillery shell.
In a submit on X, PRCS wrote:
Breaking – Palestine Pink Crescent: The Israeli occupation forces have focused the eighth flooring of the PRCS headquarters in Khan Younis with an artillery shell.
The Guardian has been unable to independently confirm the report.
ShareCaitlin Cassidy
The College of Sydney has eliminated a Palestinian flag hanging exterior a tutorial’s workplace after accusing him of breaching its new flag coverage.
The 13-page flag coverage, revised in June and previously known as flag tips, units out the college’s necessities for flying and displaying flags and utilizing college flagpoles. Underneath the coverage, “unapproved flags” should not be flown completely, together with flags that signify illegal actions, are inconsistent with college values, signify a political get together or are thought-about to be “in any other case unsuitable”.
Dr David Brophy, a senior lecturer in fashionable Chinese language historical past, arrived on campus on Tuesday to seek out his flag, which had been hanging from an exterior window of a big campus constructing, had been taken.
Previous to this, he had obtained an e mail from the dean of the School of Arts and Social Sciences, Prof Lisa Adkins, advising him the college was “conscious of a flag” they believed he had displayed on the outer wall of the A18 Brennan MacCallum constructing.
A Palestinian flag was hanging from Dr David Brophy’s workplace window on the College of Sydney earlier than it was eliminated this week. {Photograph}: David Brophy/Fb
“We take into account that the continued show of the flag is inconsistent with clause 2.8(1) of the Coverage which confirms that unapproved flags might be displayed in such areas on a short lived foundation solely,” Adkins wrote on 26 June.
“To this finish, we require you to take away the flag from the outer wall of the constructing by 4 August 2025. Ought to the flag not be eliminated by this time, it is going to be eliminated by Central Operations workers and can be handled as misplaced property.”
The coverage notes flags should not be flown from college infrastructure with out approval from the model group, and that “no construction or fixture could also be hooked up to any constructing to permit a flag to be displayed with out approval”.
Employees will take away flags which might be “unapproved”, thought-about “inappropriate, harmful or offensive” or contravene “any college coverage”, the coverage notes. A breach of the principles might be thought-about as misconduct.
Adkins famous in her e mail to Brophy that if he wished to proceed to show the flag he might achieve this in a “non-shared indoor house”, or apply for approval to show the flag exterior.
ShareWilliam Christou
The household of Khamis al-Ayyad, a Palestinian American who died final week on account of an Israeli settler assault within the occupied West Financial institution, has referred to as for an investigation into his loss of life, amid a rising variety of US residents killed within the territory.
Ayyad, a 40-year-old father of 5 and Chicago resident, died from smoke inhalation on Thursday after Israeli settlers attacked the city of Silwad, exterior Ramallah, setting houses and automobiles on fireplace. Ayyad fainted whereas attempting to place out the fires, his brother mentioned, and died on the best way to the hospital.
He was the most recent in a string of Palestinian Individuals to have died within the West Financial institution: 5 US residents have been killed there since 7 October 2023, and Ayyad was the second to die in July alone.
To date, nobody has been held accountable for any of the deaths.
Haleema Ayyad holds her son’s picture after he died after an assault by Israeli settlers within the city of Silwad close to Ramallah, within the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution. {Photograph}: Ammar Awad/Reuters
“The federal government ought to shield residents, that is what’s written on the American passport. Why do they do nothing relating to their very own residents who reside within the West Financial institution?” mentioned Ayyad’s brother, Anas al-Ayyad, 39.
Anas al-Ayyad mentioned that he had contacted the US embassy, who promised him they’d look into his brother’s loss of life.
In an announcement to the Guardian, a spokesperson for the US state division acknowledged the loss of life of a US citizen in Silwad and mentioned they had been offering consular help to the household.
Members of the US Home and Senate referred to as for the Trump administration to stress Israel to hold out an investigation and guarantee accountability for the loss of life of Ayyad and the opposite Individuals killed by settlers within the West Financial institution.
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Up to date at 03.48 EDT
Indonesia will convert a medical facility on its at the moment uninhabited island of Galang to deal with about 2,000 injured residents of Gaza, who will return house after restoration, a presidential spokesperson mentioned on Thursday, based on Reuters.
Muslim-majority Indonesia has despatched humanitarian support to Gaza after Israel began an offensive in October 2023 that Gaza well being officers say has killed greater than 60,000 Palestinians (the Gaza well being ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants).
“Indonesia will give medical assist for about 2,000 Gaza residents who grew to become victims of warfare, those that are wounded, buried beneath particles,” the spokesperson, Hasan Nasbi, informed reporters, including that the train was not an evacuation.
Indonesia plans to allocate the ability on Galang island, off its island of Sumatra and south of Singapore, to deal with injured Gaza residents and quickly shelter their households, he mentioned, including that no one lived round it now. The sufferers could be taken again to Gaza after that they had healed, he mentioned.
Hasan didn’t give a timeframe or additional particulars, referring inquiries to Indonesia’s international and defence ministries, which didn’t instantly reply to Reuters’ requests for remark.
The plan comes months after president Prabowo Subianto’s provide to shelter injured Palestinians drew criticism from Indonesia’s high clerics for seeming too near US president Donald Trump’s suggestion of completely transferring Palestinians out of Gaza.
In response to Trump’s suggestion, the international ministry of Indonesia, which backs a two-state resolution to resolve the Center East disaster, mentioned on the time it “strongly rejects any try and forcibly displace Palestinians”.
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Just one.5% of Gaza cropland left for ravenous Palestinians as a result of Israel’s warfare, UN says
Nina Lakhani
Israel’s destruction of Gaza has left ravenous Palestinians with entry to only one.5% of cropland that’s accessible and appropriate for cultivation, based on new figures from the UN.
That is down from 4% in April, based on the Meals and Agriculture Group (FAO), suggesting Israel has continued to focus on Palestinian farmland since initiating an entire blockade in early March, severely limiting support from coming into the Gaza Strip, the place 2 million starved individuals are trapped.
Earlier than the battle, Gaza was a thriving agricultural hub, the place farmers and strange Palestinians cultivated all kinds of fruits, greens, nuts and grains for native consumption.
Based on the FAO, agriculture accounted for round 10% of the Gaza Strip’s financial system, and greater than 560,000 individuals, or 1 / 4 of the inhabitants, had been a minimum of partially supported by agriculture and fishing.
Israel has focused meals sources – orchards, greenhouses, farmland and fishers – for the reason that starting of its siege on Gaza in October 2023.
By 28 July 2025, Israel had broken 86%, the equal of virtually 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres), of farmland within the Gaza Strip – up from 81% in April, the FAO mentioned. Whereas slightly below 9% of cropland remains to be bodily accessible, only one.5% – the equal of 232 hectares – is each accessible and never broken by the Israeli offensive.
“Gaza is now on the point of a full-scale famine. Individuals are ravenous not as a result of meals is unavailable, however as a result of entry is blocked, native agrifood programs have collapsed, and households can not maintain even probably the most fundamental livelihoods,” mentioned FAO director-general Qu Dongyu. “We urgently want secure and sustained humanitarian entry and instant help to revive native meals manufacturing and livelihoods – that is the one option to forestall additional lack of life. The proper to meals is a fundamental human proper.”
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Up to date at 03.12 EDT
EU evaluation finds ‘important obstructive elements undermine humanitarian operations in Gaza’
The humanitarian state of affairs in Gaza continues to be very extreme, an EU official informed Reuters after the EU’s international coverage and humanitarian arms up to date member international locations late on Wednesday on the standing of an settlement reached with Israel final month on boosting humanitarian entry to Gaza.
The official mentioned on Thursday that there have been some constructive developments relating to gas supply, the reopening of some routes, and an upward development within the variety of each day vehicles coming into the territory and the restore of some important infrastructure.
Vans loaded with humanitarian support certain for the Gaza Strip wait on the Rafah border gate, between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. {Photograph}: Mohamed Hossam/EPA
Nevertheless, the official added that “important obstructive elements proceed to undermine humanitarian operations and support supply to Gaza, notably the dearth of a secure working atmosphere to permit the distribution of support at scale”.
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Up to date at 03.00 EDT
Israel’s safety cupboard anticipated to satisfy tonight to log out plans for expanded Gaza operation
Israel’s safety cupboard is anticipated to satisfy on Thursday night and log out on plans for an expanded operation regardless of reported critical misgivings from senior army officers.
Yesterday, the Israeli army put elements of Gaza Metropolis and Khan Younis beneath new enforced displacement orders. The transfer comes amid fears that the nation’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is getting ready to order the total occupation of the Palestinian territory later this week.
Israeli on-line newspaper, the Instances of Israel, citing numerous Hebrew media studies, added that the cupboard is anticipated to approve “a phased plan to overcome huge new areas of the Gaza Strip, probably over 5 months, newly displacing round 1,000,000 Palestinians”. Moreover, it might intention to destroy Hamas and stress the group to launch all remaining hostages, the publication reported.
Public broadcaster Kan additionally reported that mediators Egypt and Qatar had been pressuring Israel, by way of the US, to not implement the plan, whereas additionally urging Hamas to renew negotiations.
In different developments:
The humanitarian state of affairs in Gaza continues to be very extreme, an EU official informed Reuters after the EU’s international coverage and humanitarian arms up to date member international locations late on Wednesday on the standing of an settlement reached with Israel final month on boosting humanitarian entry to Gaza.
Israel’s destruction of Gaza has left ravenous Palestinians with entry to only one.5% of cropland that’s accessible and appropriate for cultivation, based on new figures from the UN. That is down from 4% in April, based on the Meals and Agriculture Group (FAO), suggesting Israel has continued to focus on Palestinian farmland since initiating an entire blockade in early March.
On Wednesday, Gaza’s well being ministry reported that 5 extra individuals had died from hunger within the coastal strip, which has been plunged right into a devastating starvation disaster owing to Israel’s full block on support coming into earlier this yr.
Jordan reported, on Wednesday, that an support convoy of 30 vehicles that had left for Gaza had been attacked by militant Jewish settlers on coming into Israel. After the assault, the second in days, Jordan accused Israel of failing to behave to stop repeated assaults.
Naomi Klein and Angela Davis are amongst dozens of worldwide students and writers who’ve signed a letter to the Guardian calling on the UK authorities to reverse the ban on Palestine Motion. Signatories from main tutorial establishments around the globe additionally say they’re “particularly involved” concerning the ban’s potential influence on universities throughout Britain and past.
The UK prime minister Keir Starmer has been urged by Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat chief, to name Donald Trump to encourage him to make use of his affect to dam Israel’s plans for a “full occupation” of Gaza. In an announcement, Davey mentioned: “[Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu’s newest proposals for the occupation of all of Gaza are totally horrifying.”
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