Hamas and other Palestinian factions have agreed to a document setting out a plan for their disarmament in Gaza, in what United States President Donald Trump has called “a monumental step” towards peace and security.

Al Jazeera has received a copy of Thursday’s agreement, which stipulates that the precise disarmament roadmap must be prepared within 14 days, with possible extensions subject to the approval of an international verification body, and the agreement of all parties.

“These negotiations were difficult and hard, and we tried to reach the best possible formula that was achievable,” Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s negotiating delegation, told Al Jazeera.

However, Hamad said that Hamas would not implement any part of the agreement if Israeli forces failed to fulfil their obligations. The official said disarmament depended on Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and progress on reconstruction in the Palestinian territory.

There has been no comment yet from Israel.

Trump framed the agreement as a success for the Board of Peace, the body established to oversee Gaza’s governance.

“This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday. “At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks.”

The copy of the agreement obtained by Al Jazeera says that the disarmament process will begin with the entry of a National Committee and the International Stabilisation Force to Gaza. The National Committee will then oversee the “inventory and storage” process, with the international verification committee observing, and the Palestinian factions participating.

The disarmament process is also tied to the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. It also adds that no weapons should be handed over to Israel or any non-Palestinian body, and that the National Committee be the sole force holding on to the weapons in Gaza.

A Board of Peace official confirmed that Hamas and other armed factions would hand over their weapons to a National Committee set to administer Gaza. The official said weapons held by the police would be transferred first, followed by the decommissioning of heavy weapons. All military activity in Gaza would have to stop under the plan, though the official said the process will take time to implement.

Trump framed the disarmament – which he said would take place in phases – as part of the “ceasefire” deal he brokered in October to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and devastated the Palestinian enclave.

Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire, killing more than 1,200 Palestinians since it came into effect, seizing more territory, and continuing to restrict the movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza. Six more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza on Thursday, including two children.

Trump said Israel would withdraw from Gaza and be replaced by an International Stabilization Force working with a “new Palestinian police force” once disarmament was complete.

“Under this agreement, Gaza will finally be in the hands of a new Palestinian government that serves its PEOPLE,” Trump added.

Hamas leaders have been in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, since late last week discussing the ceasefire deal with mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkiye. An unnamed Hamas official was quoted earlier on Thursday as saying that the talks were “positive” and “making progress”.

Egypt will soon host more talks in Cairo involving mediators from Egypt, the US, Qatar and Turkiye to secure commitments to the second phase of the ceasefire roadmap, according to Egypt’s A-Qahera News. The broadcaster, citing an informed Egyptian source, said Hamas and other Palestinian factions had officially approved the proposal, which includes the deployment of international forces and the start of work by the National Committee.

However, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another armed group in Gaza, said reports of an agreement between the factions and Israel were inaccurate, adding that it had reservations about the wording being circulated.

Hamas had announced on July 6 the dissolution of the body it led that had governed Gaza for nearly two decades. (Al Jazeera)

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he has directed Israel’s military to take over 70% of Gaza’s territory.

During an interview at a conference in the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu said that Israel is “tightening” its grip on Hamas. “We are now in 60% of the territory of the Gaza Strip. We were at 50%. We moved to 60%,” he said. “My directive is to move to — take it step by step — first of all 70. Let’s start with that.” As Netanyahu spoke, the audience called for him to take over all of Gaza’s territory.

In late April, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued maps to international aid groups that showed the military already controlling approximately 64% of Gaza. 

The seizure of more of Gaza would force approximately 2 million Palestinians into a shrinking fraction of the coastal enclave’s shattered territory.

Under a October 2025 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Israeli forces withdrew to a demarcation line known as the “yellow line” that left them in roughly 53% of Gaza.

On Tuesday, Hamas accused Israel of moving the line, saying this “constitutes an explicit and ongoing undermining of the ceasefire agreement, a serious violation of its provisions, and an exposed attempt to impose new facts on the ground by force, with the aim of entrenching military control over the Strip and undermining any real chance of stabilizing the situation or making de-escalation efforts succeed.”

Both Israel and Hamas are supposed to be abiding by the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement, which went into effect in October. But progress on the plan, which was promoted by President Donald Trump, has stalled, risking a scenario in which Gaza’s territory becomes permanently divided.

Nickolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian diplomat who serves as the official in charge of implementing the agreement, warned earlier this month that without progress, the yellow line could turn “into a fence or wall, a permanent separation of Gaza.”

Mladenov acknowledged a reality on the ground in Gaza in which “civilians are still being killed” and “families live in fear” of Israeli airstrikes.

Israel has repeatedly carried out strikes in Gaza since the ceasefire, accusing Hamas of violating it by rearming and rebuilding its forces. Those strikes have killed more than 850 people in Gaza since the ceasefire began, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Public Health. Earlier this month, Israel assassinated Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas’ military wing. Eleven days later, Israel assassinated his successor in a subsequent strike.

“We vowed to eliminate everyone who led the October 7 massacre, and that is what will be done: They are all condemned to death everywhere,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday on social media.

Hamas has also refused to disarm or decommission its weaponry, Mladenov said, a key element of the ceasefire plan upon which much of the future of Gaza rests. Israeli forces are supposed to gradually withdraw from occupied territory in Gaza after Hamas disarms and when an international security force secures parts of the enclave.

Though some countries have signaled a willingness to contribute to the security force, there is no clear timeline for its deployment. And in the absence of progress on the ceasefire agreement, Israel has gradually seized more of Gaza, entrenching its hold on the devastated territory. (CNN)

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The Israeli Navy on Monday began to intercept the activist mission sailing to the Gaza Strip to challenge Israel’s naval blockade, just weeks after a previous flotilla was thwarted and two of its activists were detained.

More than 50 vessels departed from the port in Marmaris, Turkey, last week in what the organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla described as the final leg of their journey to Gaza’s shores.

It is reported that Sri Lankan participant Sameera Mahboobdeen is part of the fleet, and her fate is unknown. 

Naval commandos boarded the first of Global Sumud Flotilla’s vessels at sea off the coast of Cyprus, a livestream showed on Monday, which then abruptly ended.

By noon, six vessels had been intercepted.

“Military vessels are currently intercepting our fleet and (Israeli) forces are boarding the first of our boats in broad daylight,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said on X.

“We demand safe passage for our legal, non-violent humanitarian mission.”

Turkey condemned Israel’s interception of the flotilla, stating it “constitutes a new act of piracy.”

“Israel must immediately cease its intervention and unconditionally release the detained flotilla participants,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said, adding that “the process is being closely monitored in cooperation with other countries.”

Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that his country’s embassies in Israel, Turkey, and Cyprus have asked Israel to ensure the safety of the Italian citizens on the flotilla.

Earlier, Israel warned the “participants in this provocation to change course and turn back immediately.”

“Once again, a provocation for the sake of provocation: another so-called ‘humanitarian aid flotilla’ with no humanitarian aid,” the Foreign Ministry posted on X. The Israeli military declined to comment on the ongoing operation.

Israel has previously dismissed the flotillas as publicity stunts, after their organizers rejected calls to transfer the small amount of symbolic aid they had been carrying with them to Israel or international organizations to be taken into the Strip and distributed via official channels.

The Global Sumud Flotilla will be the third initiative in a year aiming at breaking an Israeli blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza, which has suffered severe shortages of food, water, medicine, and fuel since the Palestinian terror group invaded Israel in October 2023, sparking two years of war in the coastal enclave.

The flotilla is being led by Turkish aid organization IHH, which is designated in Israel as a terror organization and which organized the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla to Gaza.

Israeli forces intercepted the second flotilla in international waters off Greece on April 30 and sent most of the 175 activists to Europe, but arrested two of them, who were held for 10 days before being deported. 

Organizers said the latest efforts involve a regrouped fleet following Israel’s interception, joined by additional boats. Nearly 500 activists from 45 countries are said to be taking part.

Previous efforts to breach the blockade have also failed. The last time an activist boat succeeded in reaching the strip was in 2008. (Newswire/ Times of Israel)

The Israeli Navy has begun to intercept the activist mission sailing to the Gaza Strip to challenge Israel's naval blockade. pic.twitter.com/YXeSwxPDOd

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 18, 2026

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Civil society groups, political representatives and activists in Sri Lanka on Wednesday (13) called for urgent public and diplomatic support to ensure the safety of Sri Lankan participant Sameera Mahboobdeen and other members of a humanitarian mission set to sail towards Gaza from Turkey on Thursday (14).

The appeal was made by the Free Palestine Movement – Sri Lanka (FPM), which said the Global Sumud Flotilla, expected to include more than 50 vessels, aims to deliver medical supplies and humanitarian assistance to Gaza amid ongoing conflict and restrictions on the territory.

Speaking at a press conference in Colombo, FPM representatives urged the government and the public to remain engaged on the safety of Sri Lankan participants, saying the mission involves significant risks as it attempts to reach Gaza by sea.

They also referred to past flotilla incidents in which vessels were intercepted in international waters, highlighting concerns over the security of those taking part.

Several speakers, including political representatives and activists, called on authorities to ensure support for Mahboobdeen in the event of any interception and to facilitate her safe return.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Mujibur Rahman and other participants stressed the importance of public awareness and government involvement in safeguarding Sri Lankan nationals involved in the mission.

The group also criticised aspects of Sri Lanka’s foreign engagement related to Israel, while reiterating their broader call for attention to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is scheduled to depart from Turkey on Thursday (14). (Newswire)

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Israeli authorities have used access to water as a weapon against Palestinians, systematically depriving people in Gaza of water in a campaign of collective punishment, according to a report released by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). 

MSF urges the Israeli authorities to immediately restore water for people at the required levels in Gaza. Israel’s allies must use their leverage to pressure Israel to stop impeding humanitarian access, including water infrastructure needs. 

The deliberate denial of water to Palestinians is an integral part of Israel’s genocide. MSF’s report, Water as a Weapon: Israel’s Destruction and Deprivation of Water and Sanitation in Gaza, documents how the Israeli authorities’ repeated weaponisation of water is not an isolated act, but part of a recurrent, systematic and cumulative pattern. It is occurring alongside the direct killing of civilians, the devastation of health facilities, and the flattening of homes, forcing mass displacement. Together, they constitute a deliberate infliction of destructive and inhumane conditions on Palestinians in Gaza.

“Israeli authorities know that without water life ends, yet they have deliberately and systematically obliterated water infrastructure in Gaza, whilst consistently blocking water-related supplies from entering,” says Claire San Filippo, MSF emergency manager.

“Palestinians have been injured and killed simply trying to access water,” says San Filippo. “This deprivation, combined with dire living conditions, extreme overcrowding, and a collapsed health system, creates a perfect storm for the spread of diseases.” 

Israel has destroyed or damaged nearly 90 per cent of water and sanitation infrastructure in Gaza, including desalination plants, boreholes, pipelines, and sewage systems. MSF teams have documented the Israeli military shooting at clearly identified water trucks or destroying boreholes that were a lifeline for tens of thousands of people. Violent incidents have often occurred as water was being distributed to people, injuring Palestinians and aid workers, and damaging equipment.  

“My grandson was in Nuseirat, in July [2025]. He went to get some drinking water,” says Hanan, a Palestinian woman in Gaza City. “He was standing in line with other kids, and they [the Israeli forces] killed him. He was 10 years old… Getting water is not supposed to be dangerous.” 

The cumulative effect of the water scarcity engineered by Israeli authorities is that it simply is not possible to provide people with sufficient water. After the local authorities, MSF is the largest producer and a main distributor of drinking water in Gaza, yet between May and November 2025, one in every five of our water distributions ran dry as our trucks were unable to carry sufficient water for all the people who required it. Israeli military displacement orders have locked our teams out of areas where we had provided water to hundreds of thousands of people, leading to essential services stopping and the loss of lifesaving infrastructure.

Israeli authorities have hindered the entry of essential water and sanitation materials into Gaza. Since October 2023, electricity, fuel, and supplies like generators, their spare parts, and engine oil – critical to power water treatment and distribution – have been cut or tightly restricted. One-third of our requests to bring in critical water and sanitation supplies have been rejected or left unanswered. These supplies include water desalination units, pumps, chlorine and other chemicals to treat water, water tanks, insect repellent, and latrines. Many of the items that were approved by the Israeli authorities were then subsequently turned away at the border.

“We need water,” says Ali, a Palestinian displaced and living in a camp in Deir Al-Balah. “It does not make sense. It’s like we are asking the world for the essentials of life.”

The consequences of this deprivation of access to water are far-reaching on people’s health, hygiene, and dignity, particularly for women and people with disabilities. Access to basic hygiene, including clean water, soap, diapers, and menstrual hygiene products, has become extremely difficult. People are forced to dig holes in the sand as toilets, which flood and contaminate the surroundings and groundwater with faeces.

The lack of access to water and hygiene, coupled with life in dire and undignified conditions like overcrowded tents and makeshift shelters, also leads to increases in diseases, including respiratory infections, skin diseases, and diarrhoeal diseases. Skin diseases comprised nearly 18 per cent of MSF general healthcare consultations in 2025, while between May and August 2025, we found that nearly 25 per cent of people had experienced gastrointestinal illness in the previous month. 

About MSF- 

MSF is the largest producer of drinking water in the Gaza Strip after the local authorities. In March 2026, through gradual improvements despite the extremely restricted conditions, MSF produced or distributed over 5.3 million litres of water in Gaza each day, the equivalent of the minimum needs of over 407,000 people – one in five inhabitants of the Strip. During the month of March, MSF distributed over 100 million litres: that is 1,507 km of 20-litre jerrycans lined up, the equivalent of stretching from Riyadh to Amman, or London to Rome. 

Full report: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/israel-must-stop-using-water-weapon-collective-punishment-gaza (Newswire)

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Representing Sri Lanka, Sameera Mehboobdeen has departed the country to join the Global Sumud Flotilla – Spring Mission for Gaza 2026, an international effort aimed at breaking the siege in Gaza.

The flotilla, which first set sail last year, brings together thousands of activists from nearly 100 countries. 

Its mission is to deliver essential food, medicine, and humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip, defying the blockade imposed by Israeli forces.

Mehboobdeen’s participation was highlighted at a media briefing held on Monday (20) at the Embassy of Palestine in Sri Lanka, organized by the Free Palestine Organization. 

The event expressed solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and support for Mehboobdeen’s courageous journey, with a candle lighting ceremony.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is seen as a symbol of international solidarity, with volunteers risking their safety to challenge restrictions and deliver aid.

“We wish victory for the struggle for a Free Palestine and pray for strength, courage, and the safe return of Sister Sameera Mehboobdeen,” Government MP Najith Indika said, participating in the event. (Newswire)

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The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has lodged a formal denunciation with Sri Lankan authorities against Israeli-American soldier Jake Burkons, citing evidence of his involvement in the destruction of civilian infrastructure during military operations in Gaza.

According to HRF, Burkons, a dual national of Israel and the United States (Texas), served in Company D of the 603rd Combat Engineering Battalion, part of the Israeli army’s 7th Armoured Brigade. 

He reportedly enlisted voluntarily after the events of October 7, 2023, and was later deployed to Gaza, where HRF investigators documented his participation in operations they classify as war crimes.

The rights group stated that Burkons is currently present in Sri Lanka, traveling after his deployment. 

In light of the allegations, HRF urged Sri Lankan authorities to take legal action consistent with international humanitarian law, stressing that states have a duty to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute individuals suspected of grave breaches.

“The presence of such individuals on their territory engages their responsibility to act,” HRF emphasized.

The foundation also noted that Burkons’ case reflects a broader pattern of conduct by members of the 603rd Combat Engineering Battalion and other units operating in Gaza, underscoring the need for accountability mechanisms to address alleged violations.

Full statement:

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has formally filed a denunciation with the competent authorities in Sri Lanka concerning Israeli-American soldier Jake Burkons, based on evidence of his involvement in war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.

Jake Burkons, a dual national of Israel and the United States (Texas), served in Company D of the 603rd Combat Engineering Battalion, part of the 7th Armoured Brigade of the Israeli army. 

He voluntarily enlisted following the events of 7 October 2023 and was subsequently deployed to Gaza, where he took part in military operations extensively documented by HRF investigators.

A Battalion of Systematic Destruction

The 603rd Combat Engineering Battalion has emerged, through extensive documentation, as a central operational unit in the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure across Gaza. While nominally tasked with engineering functions such as mine clearance and fortification, its activities in practice have consisted of the systematic demolition of civilian areas.

HRF has documented at least 65 controlled demolitions carried out by the battalion between October 2023 and mid-2025. These operations targeted residential buildings, mosques, agricultural land, and industrial facilities. The unit has also been implicated in attacks on hospitals and in the unlawful detention and ill-treatment of civilians.

These actions form part of a broader pattern of conduct aimed at rendering large parts of Gaza uninhabitable and facilitating territorial fragmentation, including through the creation of military corridors such as the so-called “Morag Axis” in southern Gaza.

Direct Involvement of Jake Burkons

HRF’s investigation has established Jake Burkons’ direct connection to at least one incident of unlawful destruction in Khan Younis in October–November 2025.

Burkons himself published visual evidence on his social media accounts showing his presence inside Gaza, including in Khan Younis and Rafah. In one instance, he is seen holding a detonation cable inside a destroyed civilian building alongside fellow soldiers, indicating active participation in a controlled demolition. 

In another, he shared footage of such a demolition operation, geotagged to Khan Younis and marked with his company’s insignia.

Controlled demolitions are highly methodical operations requiring prior entry into buildings, placement of explosives, and withdrawal under secure conditions. As such, they are incompatible with active combat scenarios and strongly indicate the absence of immediate military necessity. Under international humanitarian law, such destruction of civilian property is unlawful when not justified by concrete and direct military advantage.

Legal Qualification of the Acts

The acts documented in relation to Jake Burkons and his unit may constitute multiple war crimes under international law, including:

• Extensive destruction of property not justified by military necessity;
• Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects;
• Attacking or bombarding undefended buildings and civilian areas.

The available evidence indicates that the targeted structures did not meet the criteria of military objectives at the time of their destruction. Their demolition appears instead to have been carried out as part of a broader policy of territorial control and forced displacement.

Presence in Sri Lanka and Legal Action

HRF has established that Jake Burkons is currently present in Sri Lanka, where he has been travelling following his deployment.

In light of the seriousness of the allegations and the existence of credible evidence linking him to war crimes, the Hind Rajab Foundation has submitted a formal denunciation to the Sri Lankan authorities, urging them to take appropriate legal action in accordance with their obligations under international law.

States have a duty to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute individuals suspected of committing grave breaches of international humanitarian law. The presence of such individuals on their territory engages their responsibility to act.

Towards Accountability

The case of Jake Burkons is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of conduct by members of the 603rd Combat Engineering Battalion and other units operating in Gaza. 

HRF continues to monitor, document, and pursue legal action against individuals implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Accountability is not optional. It is a legal obligation.

The Hind Rajab Foundation will continue to work with national and international partners to ensure that perpetrators of international crimes are identified, exposed, and brought before competent judicial authorities. (Newswire/ Hind Rajab Foundation)

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The Israeli military has killed at least 20 Palestinians in attacks across Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “powerful” strikes following an exchange of gunfire in southern Rafah, during which one Israeli soldier was wounded.

The attacks on Tuesday marked the most significant flare-up in violence since a ceasefire brokered by United States President Donald Trump came into effect in the war-devastated territory on October 10.

Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, accused Israel of violating the truce and said it would postpone the planned handover of the body of a missing captive.

In a statement, it also warned that any Israeli escalation “will hinder search, digging, and retrieval operations of the bodies, which will lead to a delay in recovering the bodies” of the remaining 13 captives in Gaza.

In Washington, DC, US Vice President JD Vance insisted that the truce was still holding despite the attacks and the claims of violations by both sides.

“That doesn’t mean that there aren’t going to be little skirmishes here and there,” Vance told reporters on Capitol Hill.

“We know that Hamas or somebody else within Gaza attacked an [Israeli] soldier. We expect the Israelis are going to respond, but I think the president’s peace is going to hold despite that.”

Hamas has denied any involvement in the attack in Rafah.

‘Mayhem, panic’

In Gaza, medical sources told Al Jazeera that the victims of Tuesday’s attacks included four people killed in a strike on a residential building in the Sabra neighbourhood of northern Gaza City, and five others in southern Khan Younis.

The sources said that at least 50 others have been wounded.

In the Sabra neighbourhood, efforts to rescue Palestinians trapped in the rubble continued through the night, with workers using their bare hands to dig through the debris.

Medics said the wounded included women and children.

The attacks came after Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying the prime minister had ordered the military to “carry out powerful strikes” in Gaza.

The statement did not give a specific reason for the attacks, but it was followed by a statement from Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, who blamed Hamas for the attack in Rafah. Katz pledged that the group would “pay a heavy price” for the alleged attacks on Israeli soldiers.

The Associated Press news agency, citing two unnamed US officials, said that Israel had notified Washington before launching the latest strikes on Gaza.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said that Israel has killed at least 94 Palestinians in attacks since the ceasefire came into effect, and is continuing to heavily restrict the flow of aid to those who desperately need it. (Al Jazeera)

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Israel says all 20 living hostages have been released by Hamas to the Red Cross.

According to Israel, the last 13 surviving hostages have been released by Hamas and are on their way to Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.

Of the 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, 20 were believed to still be alive. 

A first group of seven was released earlier today and is back in Israeli territory, while the remains of the 28 others are expected to be transferred later today.

Live video showed a convoy of five Red Cross vehicles carrying the remaining hostages leaving Khan Younis in southern Gaza, to the cheers of onlookers and surrounded by Hamas officers. 

Hamas had pledged to release the hostages by today in exchange for 250 prisoners serving life sentences and more than 1,700 Palestinians detained after the group’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.

More than 67,000 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive on Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Large swaths of the enclave have been destroyed, and famine has been declared in part of northern Gaza. (NBC News)

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Hamas has released seven Israeli captives into the custody of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as the hotly anticipated first phase of a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza unfolds.

Cheers broke out in Israel, where tens of thousands of people had gathered to watch public screenings of the handovers on Monday, as television channels announced that the captives were with the ICRC.

Officials involved in the operation confirmed that the seven captives were now in the custody of the Red Cross, the Reuters news agency reported. There was no immediate information on their condition.

The DPA news agency reported that the captives would be transferred to the Israeli military base of Re’im for medical checks, showers and clothing changes.

Families would be reunited with their loved ones before the captives were flown to hospitals for further treatment.

‘A new path’

Under the deal, Hamas will release the 20 living Israeli captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, many without charge.

An official involved in the exchange told Reuters that all the Palestinian prisoners due to be released had boarded buses at Israeli prisons.

Speaking on Sunday, government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said Israel anticipates all 20 captives would be returned early on Monday.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Monday that the remaining 13 living captives will be released at 07:00 GMT in the central Gaza Strip.

A Hamas source earlier told Al Jazeera Arabic that the captives had been moved to three locations in the enclave in advance of their transfer to the ICRC.

Once Israel has confirmed all its captives are inside Israeli territory, it will begin releasing Palestinian prisoners, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

The prisoners include 250 Palestinians serving life sentences. Imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, whose release Palestinians have long sought, will not be among them, Israel has said.

Some prisoners will be released in the occupied West Bank, where their relatives have been instructed by Israel not to hold celebrations or speak to the media.

Israel is also preparing to receive the bodies of 28 captives confirmed to have died in captivity, Bedrosian said.

Speaking in a televised address on Sunday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped the captives’ release would be a moment of unity for the country, despite controversy over his handling of the war.

“This is an emotional evening … because tomorrow, our children will return to our borders,” said Netanyahu, quoting a biblical verse. “Tomorrow is the beginning of a new path – a path of rebuilding, a path of healing and, I hope, a path of united hearts.”

Some of the families of captives have criticised Netanyahu, accusing him of prioritising military victory over their release. On Saturday, when the United States envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, praised Netanyahu’s leadership at a rally in Tel Aviv, many in the crowd booed.

‘Trump’s show’

The planned exchange comes three days after the Israeli government approved the first phase of a deal aimed at ending the war in Gaza, and just as US President Donald Trump, who spearheaded the agreement, visits Israel before a summit in Egypt.

Trump left for Israel from the Joint Base Andrews near Washington, DC, on Sunday afternoon, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and CIA chief John Ratcliffe accompanying him on Air Force One.

“This is going to be a very special time,” said Trump before boarding the flight. “Everybody’s cheering.”

On board Air Force One, Trump told reporters that the captives may be released “a little early”, that his relationship with Netanyahu was good, and that Qatar deserved credit for the role it had played in mediating the ceasefire.

“The war is over. You understand that,” he added.

Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan, because the network is banned in Israel, said: “It is Trump’s show.”

“He will be arriving in Israel, meeting with the families of captives, addressing the Knesset, and then going to Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, where he has summoned the leaders of more than 20 countries.”

As part of the Trump-led ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces have withdrawn from parts of Gaza, including Gaza City and other northern areas, although they still control more than half of its territory.

Palestinians returning to the combat zones they were displaced from have found widespread devastation, or “wastelands” where their neighbourhoods once stood, Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili reported from Gaza City.

Humanitarian aid has begun to trickle into the enclave as part of the ceasefire, with dozens of trucks arriving on Sunday. But distribution remains slow for a population that has endured months of extreme deprivation, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said.

“People are not waiting only for food, but also for tents, mobile shelters, solar panels and desperately-needed medical equipment and medicines – items largely unavailable for the past two years,” Khoudary said from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. “Most people have lost their savings, have no access to bank accounts, and are completely dependent on humanitarian aid to survive.”

Leaders to convene in Egypt

The Gaza summit, scheduled for Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, will be cochaired by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

More than a dozen world leaders are expected to attend, including United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said neither he nor Iran’s president would accept an invitation to the summit because they could not “engage with counterparts who have attacked the Iranian People”, in reference to the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities earlier this year.

Although Israel and Hamas said they would not participate, Cairo has hailed the summit as a “historic” event that will seek “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East”.

Egypt said a “document ending the war in the Gaza Strip” is also expected to be signed at the summit.

‘Hard work’ to come

Despite the ceasefire progress, many details about the second phase of the deal, which is still to be negotiated, need to be ironed out, including the exact makeup of a post-war administration for Gaza and the fate of Hamas.

The second phase is expected to involve a phased Israeli withdrawal, Hamas’s disarmament, the establishment of new security and governance arrangements, and reconstruction.

“After the big day tomorrow for Trump, after the release of the hostages … then comes the hard work,” Adnan Hayajneh, professor of international relations at the University of Qatar, told Al Jazeera. “If you look at the situation in Gaza, it’s like an earthquake happened … There’s no government, there’s no schools, there’s nothing there.”

US Vice President JD Vance appeared to acknowledge on Sunday that the road to stability would be difficult. “It is going to take consistent leverage and consistent pressure from the president of the United States on down,” he told US broadcaster CBS.

In a separate interview with ABC, Vance said the 200 US soldiers reportedly being sent to Israel to monitor the ceasefire are not intended to have a combat role and will not deploy to Palestinian territory.

“The idea that we’re going to have troops on the ground in Gaza, in Israel, that that is not our intention, that is not our plan,” Vance said. (Al Jazeera)

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United States President Donald Trump says Hamas and Israel have agreed on the first phase of his plan for a ceasefire in the war on Gaza and an exchange of captives.

“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.

“ALL the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel withdraw their troops to an agreed upon line,” he added.

Mediator Qatar said that more details of the agreement would be announced at a later date.

“The mediators announce that tonight an agreement was reached on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid. The details will be announced later,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari wrote on X.

The announcement came hours after Trump said negotiations were going “very well” and that he may travel to the Middle East later this week.

“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday,” he told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

Senior officials from Qatar, Turkiye, Egypt and the US joined the delegations in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday, the third day of the talks, as the mediators pressed the two sides to resolve their differences over Trump’s 20-point proposal.

The first phase of the plan calls for a ceasefire and the release of 48 Israeli captives held in Gaza, including 20 who are believed to be alive, and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Hamas has submitted its list of detainees to be freed as part of the proposed swap.

Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer – a close aide of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – were participating in the negotiations on Wednesday, Israeli and Palestinian sources said.

Also joining the discussions was the prime minister of longstanding key mediator Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

The Hamas delegation includes leaders Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, two negotiators who survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar’s capital Doha that killed five people last month.

In a statement released late Wednesday, senior Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq said the group welcomes the participation of Qatar’s prime minister and Turkiye’s intelligence chief, alongside Egypt’s intelligence chief, in the current round of talks.

He said their involvement gives the negotiations “a strong boost” towards achieving positive results on ending the war and facilitating a prisoner exchange.

A delegation from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) armed group is also set to arrive in Egypt to participate in the indirect talks, according to a statement from the group.

The PIJ is the smaller of the two main Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip and is currently holding some Israeli captives.

For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the mediated negotiations had made “a lot of headway” and that a ceasefire would be declared if they reached a positive outcome.

Israeli attacks continue

Even as the talks progressed on Wednesday, Israel continued its attacks on Gaza. At least eight Palestinians were killed across Gaza over the previous 24 hours, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Wednesday. At least 61 others were injured in attacks, it said.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said in a statement on Wednesday that Israel carried out 271 air and artillery strikes over the past five days despite calls from the US to stop the bombardment. The attacks targeted densely populated areas and shelters for displaced people across the enclave, killing 126 civilians, including women and children – with 75 of them in Gaza City alone.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that just 14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functioning, and only a third of 176 primary care facilities work.

Hanan Balkhy, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said Gaza has been struggling with “dire shortages” of electricity, clean water and medicine, as well as broken equipment and damaged infrastructure in those health facilities still working.

“Some facilities have been hit and rehabilitated and hit once more,” she said.

Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed more than 67,000 people, according to health authorities, and has destroyed large swaths of land in the enclave where almost all two million residents have been forcibly displaced. (Al Jazeera)

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Israeli forces have boarded and taken control of several ships that are part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which had been attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, and that had garnered global attention as one of the biggest naval aid missions to the Palestinian enclave.

The flotilla – which in all includes more than 40 civilian boats and about 500 activists – was intercepted by Israeli forces late on Wednesday, with activists on board detained and taken to Israel.

Israel had previously said that it would do whatever it takes to stop the Gaza-bound flotilla, claiming the volunteers were trying to “breach a lawful naval blockade” – a claim that goes against international law.

Israel has blockaded Gaza to varying degrees since Hamas took control of the Strip in 2007. Gaza’s residents have largely been trapped in the territory since then, with the entry of food, goods and aid strictly controlled by Israel.

Here is what to know.

What happened to the flotilla on Wednesday?

Israel intercepted a flotilla of boats carrying humanitarian aid, according to statements from the flotilla organisers.

They reported that Israeli naval forces boarded the vessels about 70 nautical miles (130km) off the coast of Gaza, cutting communications and jamming signals as the flotilla neared the blockaded enclave.

In total, at least 13 vessels that are part of the flotilla have been intercepted at sea.

Saif Abukeshek, spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla, said more than 201 people from 37 countries were on board these boats. This included 30 participants from Spain, 22 from Italy, 21 from Turkiye and 12 from Malaysia, among others.

“We have around 30 ships that are still fighting their way away from the military vessels of the occupation forces trying to reach to the shores of Gaza. They are determined,” he added.

Those are now 85km (46 nautical miles) from Gaza’s coast, according to the flotilla organisers.

The flotilla’s progress across the Mediterranean had already drawn international attention, and the arrests of activists on board sparked protests in cities including Rome, Buenos Aires and Istanbul on Wednesday night.

Earlier in the day, activists described shadowy encounters with unlit boats and drones tailing the convoy, heightening tensions on board.

“On Wednesday … at around 8:30pm [17:30 GMT], multiple vessels of Global Sumud Flotilla – notably Alma, Surius, Adara – were illegally intercepted and boarded by Israeli Occupation Forces in international waters,” a flotilla statement said.

“Prior to illegally boarding the ships, it appears as though the Israeli naval vessels intentionally damaged ship communications, in an attempt to block distress signals and stop the livestream of their illegal boat boarding.”

Despite carrying only a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid, the flotilla had pressed forward with its mission to establish a maritime corridor into Gaza, where nearly two years of Israel’s war have left the population facing an acute humanitarian crisis.

How did Israel respond?

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a video showing a woman in military uniform speaking by phone, introducing herself as a representative of the Israeli navy.

In the call, she warns the flotilla that it is nearing a restricted, blockaded area and explains that any aid for Gaza must be sent “through the established channels”.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also said that activists on board the Gaza aid flotilla will be deported once the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur concludes on Thursday.

“Reports suggest more interceptions are expected,” Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Doha, said.

“Israeli soldiers have boarded the ships and detained many of the activists on board. Those detained would normally go through a legal process, but Israel is currently under near-total shutdown because of the Yom Kippur holiday,” she added.

“That means courts and prisons are not functioning, creating a limbo for the activists if they are detained.”

A video published by Israel’s Foreign Ministry showed Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate campaigner, sitting on a deck with soldiers around her.

“Several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port,” the ministry said on X. “Greta and her friends are safe and healthy.”

Since 2009, Israel has formally enforced a naval blockade it says is necessary to prevent weapons from being smuggled in. Israeli authorities have also alleged that some flotilla organisers are connected to Hamas, a claim the activists strongly reject as unfounded. Israel has yet to present any evidence to prove its claims.

What else do we know about the current flotilla?

The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail in late August 2025, departing from ports in Spain and Italy before stopping in Greece and Tunisia as it made its way across the Mediterranean.

The mission began with more than 50 vessels representing at least 44 countries, carrying hundreds of international volunteers, activists and lawmakers. Among them are 24 Americans, including several military veterans, according to the organisers.

On board were symbolic yet significant amounts of humanitarian cargo, including food, medical supplies and other essentials for Gaza’s population.

Activists reported several hostile encounters at sea, including suspected drone attacks near Malta and Crete, which left some vessels damaged and forced to withdraw. By the time the flotilla neared the eastern Mediterranean, 44 ships remained in the convoy.

International attention grew as the flotilla pressed on. Spain and Italy both deployed naval vessels to monitor its progress and offer assistance if required, while governments across Europe and beyond urged restraint from all parties. (Al Jazeera)

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President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, addressing the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urged world leaders to work together to secure a safer future for the next generation.

Expressing deep concern over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, the President appealed for the unhindered delivery of aid, the release of hostages by all parties, and the full implementation of agreements reached through the United Nations and other stakeholders.

“I believe every country represented here will join me in rejecting war. There is no country that wishes for war,” Dissanayake said. He stressed the need for strong international pressure to end the violence and loss of life.

He outlined Sri Lanka’s efforts to combat the international drug trade, urging world leaders to strengthen cooperation, tighten laws against traffickers, restrict cross-border movements, and expand rehabilitation programs.

On corruption, the President described it as a force that undermines democracy and development, stressing that Sri Lanka has already embarked on reforms to root it out.

Dissanayake said Sri Lanka is pursuing the vision of “A Thriving Nation – A Beautiful Life” through ethical governance, poverty eradication, digitalization, environmental sustainability, and stronger education and healthcare systems.

Full speech

Madam President, Mr. General Secretary, honoured invitees and distinguished delegates, 

Allow me, Madame Annalena Baerbock, representing the beautiful country of Germany, to begin my speech by offering my warmest congratulations to you on being elected the President of the 80th session of this organisation, formed with the noble aim of bringing about a just and lasting peace among the nations of the world.

I would also like to use this opportunity to express my country’s appreciation to His Excellency Philemon Young for the exceptional leadership he provided during the 79th session. We are gathered here today to plan the future path of this organisation, which has worked tirelessly for eight decades to bring about a world of peace. 

It is my honour to address this August Assembly for the first time as the President of Sri Lanka.

As representatives of nations, we all bear the responsibility to work towards fulfilling the aspirations of our people. The decisions we make now will impact people across the world and play a decisive role in the future of this planet, our common home. 

Distinguished delegates, 

Our decisions will have a very important impact on our future. Poverty, a tragedy as old as human civilisation, has accompanied humankind on its journey through time. For centuries, countries across the world have faced this painful and relentless struggle. Poverty and problems stemming from it are also casting an oppressive shadow on our future. This assembly must pay special attention to eradicate extreme poverty. I believe our conscience dictates us to do so. 

Distinguished delegates, 

For centuries, many countries in the world are struggling against poverty. Poverty is a terrible enemy with many faces. Even as we gather here in the countries we represent, including in my own, children are suffering from hunger. A child’s right to education is an internationally accepted fundamental right.

This right is enshrined in the constitutions of most of our nations. Yet, across the world, poverty has denied this right to hundreds of thousands of children. In a world which boasts of its technological advances, how can there be children without access to education? Education is the foundation of every great nation.

It is the most vital factor deciding one’s future. We firmly believe that investment in education is an investment in global progress. Many developing countries are constrained in their struggle against poverty by indebtedness.

Low-income countries allocate twice as much on debt servicing than on education or healthcare. 

Our people and our countries are caught in debt traps. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development pledges to leave no one behind and to reach the last first. The Agenda acknowledges the most critical challenge before the world is the challenge to end poverty. 

I would also like to recall the decisions taken at the Global Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995. 

However, wars and political upheavals and the COVID pandemic have obstructed the fulfilment of these hopeful agendas. I propose to you that the time has come to accept that inequality and poverty are a global catastrophe and we should act accordingly. 

Madam President, esteemed guests, 

Drugs and organised crimes linked to drugs have become a serious concern to this world. This has been acknowledged in the World Drug Report 2025 published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The drug problem is a complex issue affecting millions of people globally. The market for drugs and the related criminal organisations are creating issues globally. Drug cartels are turning entire states into their hunting grounds. They pose a major threat to global health and politics and eventually global well-being as well. 

While Sri Lanka is taking effective steps to address this challenge, I respectfully request all of you to join in the effort to implement the global agenda on drugs and crime. 

I bring to your notice the need to implement the law strictly against these drug traffickers and prevent drug traffickers from taking refuge in our countries and also to set up rehabilitation centres for rehabilitation purposes.

Madam President, honoured guests, 

We regard corruption as an epidemic causing widespread harm to broad swathes of society. We believe corruption to be an obstruction for development, a decisive threat to democracy and global well-being and also a cause for poverty. Let me remind you that fighting corruption is dangerous, but not fighting corruption is even more dangerous.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 was a remarkable victory for the people of the world. Civilisational achievements were never accomplished overnight. They were all results of unwavering efforts and sacrifices. And the struggle against corruption is also a difficult one. We must take the necessary steps here. The first step may be difficult, but if the courageous first step we take is correct, a thousand steps will follow. That is what I believe. 

Madam President, delegates, be brave. All the rest will follow.

Sri Javaharlal Nehru has once stated so. I represent a small island of nearly 22 million people. Sri Lanka’s population is about 0.30 of the global population. It is true that we are small in size and in numbers, yet we have begun the struggle against corruption for the future generations of our country and the world. I propose that an integral part of the culture of all UN member countries should be to fight against corruption. 

Madam President, 

I feel confident that all of you will join me in condemning war. There is no nation in the world that desires a war. The result of a war is a tragedy wherever it happens. We all know that. Even now, many countries of the world are experiencing the pain of that tragedy. As a country that lived through a three-decade war, we know well the futility of war. No one who sees the pain and the suffering of parents, spouses and children of the victims of war would never dream of another war.

We have witnessed these painful sights with our own eyes. Even as suffering caused by conflict has reached unprecedented levels, the international community has become reduced to bystanders. 

Opportunistic power politics has turned the lives of children and innocent civilians into a game. No one has the right to inflict pain and suffering on another to enhance one’s own power. The duty of a ruler is not to destroy lives but to protect them. 

We are deeply distressed by the ongoing catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. Gaza has been turned into an open prison full of pain and suffering, echoing with the cries of children and the innocent civilians. The United Nations Organisation and all related parties must work towards an immediate ceasefire, enable adequate humanitarian aid to these areas and to ensure the release of hostages of all parties. We recognise the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to their own state.

We also believe that legal, security and humanitarian concerns of Israel and Palestinian people need to be acknowledged. 

Sri Lanka reiterates the importance of early implementation of the UN General Assembly resolutions regarding a two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders. The time has come for the international community to stop being a mere spectator and to move decisively to end the suffering of millions. 

Religious extremism and racism have been major causes of wars and conflicts, bringing suffering to millions of people. Although a century has passed since the abolition of slavery, the poison of racism still lingers in many places. Extremist and racist ideas are as deadly as epidemics. We must ask ourselves how these extremist and racist ideas survive like sparks under the ashes in a world that has witnessed so many advances on so many fronts. 

I believe that we must awaken our conscience to oppose racism and religious extremism in protection of human rights and freedoms. We must be brave enough to speak up for peace. We must not be afraid to speak up against war. We must be afraid to speak up for war. In a world where millions of children die of hunger, we spend millions on weapons. When tens of millions die of inadequate health facilities, hundreds of millions are spent on futile wars. When hundreds of thousands of children are denied the right to an education, millions are spent on invading another’s land. 

If every inch of this world can be turned into peaceful communities, what a wonderful world would it be. As a country that suffered the horrors of war for decades, where families still weep in remembrance of their loved ones, we have a duty to make that heartfelt proposal. 

I would like to remind you that at the last election, the people of Sri Lanka decided in favour of a centuries-old dream. A legislature has been established according to that decision, reflecting the ethnic and religious diversity of the country.

A parliament has been established with women and other marginalised communities in representation. We believe that the duty of legislatures is to develop the country and the people, not to develop themselves. And we have established that idea. 

Madam President, distinguished guests, 

Our people have chosen light over darkness. They have given their approval to realise the vision of a thriving nation, a beautiful life. To fulfil this historic mandate, we have focused on establishing non-corrupt administration, poverty eradication, and digitalisation. And we have also placed great emphasis on education health as well. We are moving towards these goals step by step. Digital democracy is one of our aims.

Ensuring that every person and every country can enjoy the opportunities of the digital age is a global challenge. If we succeed in our task, we will be able to open doors to technology, accelerate development, and to strengthen governance. If we fail, technology will turn into one more force, worsening inequality, insecurity, and injustice.

The digital gap between states that can and cannot establish access to digital tools is clear. An even greater gap is being created in relation to artificial intelligence. Sri Lanka and many other developing nations in Asia and also many other nations are facing challenges in using AI as a development tool due to the inadequate infrastructure facilities.

Madam President, distinguished delegates, 

I ask the international community to work together and we have to develop a dignified society, a dignified world. I present this August assembly a proposal to set up a neutral sovereign Artificial Intelligence zone. We must build a new and better world, a world which represents the dignity of humankind. You as members of this assembly must be the architects of that better world. 

As President Harry Truman stated on the occasion of founding the United Nations, in your hands rests our future. We must not act in fear or under compulsion, but with hope for a better and more secure world.

Today we must commit ourselves not to lead the world to another disaster, but to make it a better place for the next generation. 

I have dreams and expectations for my country. Similarly, you have dreams and expectations for your countries. My dream is to ensure that my people are rich and they have happiness. I believe that you too have such dreams. We must try to achieve these dreams not in competition with each other, but by working arm in arm, peace, dignity, and equality on a healthy planet. That is the motto of the United Nations organisation. Therefore, let us become the true healers of the world. (Newswire) 

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A United Nations inquiry has found that Israel’s war on Gaza is a genocide, a landmark moment after nearly two years of war.

Navi Pillay, chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, made the announcement of the UN inquiry to Al Jazeera on Tuesday.

“We’ve identified the president [Isaac Herzog], the Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and the former minister of defence [Yoav Gallant] based on their statements and the orders that they’ve given,” Pillay said in an interview.

“Because these three individuals were agents of the state, under the law, the state is held responsible. So we say it’s [the] state of Israel that has committed genocide,” she added.

According to the report, the Commission found that along with the statements made by the Israeli officials, there was “circumstantial evidence” that led to their findings of genocidal intent.

“The Commission concludes that the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” the report found.

However, Israel’s ambassador to Geneva slammed the report’s findings and referred to it as “scandalous”, “fake”, and a “libellous rant”. (Al Jazeera)

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Spain has announced sweeping measures against Israel, including a total arms embargo, with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez saying the move is aimed at “stopping the genocide in Gaza” and “supporting the Palestinian population”.

“There is a difference between defending your country and bombing hospitals or starving innocent children,” Sanchez, one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, said in a speech posted from his official X account.

“This is an unjustifiable attack on the civilian population. Sixty thousand dead, two million displaced, half of them children. This is not self-defence … it is the extermination of a defenceless people.”

Central to the package, unveiled on Monday, is a royal decree law that will be approved by Spain’s cabinet and later ratified by parliament. The measure formalises what has been in effect since October 2023: a ban on the purchase and sale of weapons, ammunition and military equipment to Israel.

Spain will also prohibit ships carrying fuel for the Israeli army from docking at its ports, deny airspace access to aircraft transporting defence material, and bar entry to individuals “directly involved in genocide, human rights violations and war crimes” in Gaza, a restriction that could apply to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his government.

Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have been issued an arrest warrant for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), but several European leaders have faced criticism for refusing to execute the ICC warrant. The United States, the closest ally of Israel and its main military funder, has even slapped sanctions on ICC prosecutor Karim Khan.

Other steps include banning imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and Sanchez pledging 10 million euros ($11.7m) in new funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and a total of 150 million euros ($176m) in humanitarian aid for Gaza by 2026.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned Spain’s measures as “anti-Semitic” and accused Sanchez’s socialist government of leading a “hostile anti-Israel line, with uncontrolled and hateful rhetoric”.

Israel’s leaders have often conflated criticism of its human rights violations and abuse against Palestinians with anti-Semitism. Similar charges were levelled against French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in August after they announced recognition of the Palestinian state and called for an end to the war in Gaza.

Israel also announced it would bar two Spanish ministers from entering the country.

Madrid swiftly rejected the allegations, summoning its ambassador in Israel back for consultations. Spain’s Foreign Ministry said it “strongly rejects the false and slanderous accusations of antisemitism made by the Israeli government” and that it would “not be intimidated in its defence of peace, international law and human rights”.

“The measures relating to the inhumane situation in Gaza and the West Bank, announced today by the President of the Spanish Government, reflect the majority opinion of Spanish society and are adopted within the framework of its sovereignty and in line with its defence of peace, human rights and international law,” the ministry added.

Spain formally recognised a Palestinian state in May 2024, joining a handful of European nations to do so. (Al Jazeera)

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The world’s leading genocide scholars’ association has passed a resolution saying that the legal criteria have been met to establish Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, its president said on Monday.

Eighty-six percent of those who voted among the 500-member International Association of Genocide Scholars backed the resolution declaring: “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in Article II of the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)”.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli foreign ministry. Israel has in the past strongly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide and says they are justified as self defense. It is fighting a case at the International Court of Justice in the Hague that accuses it of genocide.

Israel launched its assault on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, after fighters from Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in control of the territory, attacked Israeli communities, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages.

Since then, Israel’s military action has killed 63,000 people, damaged or destroyed most buildings in the territory and forced nearly all its residents to flee their homes at least once. A global hunger monitor relied on by the United Nations says parts of the territory are now suffering a man-made famine, which Israel also denies.

In Gaza, Hamas welcomed the resolution: “This prestigious scholarly stance reinforces the documented evidence and facts presented before international courts,” said Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office.

The resolution “places a legal and moral obligation on the international community to take urgent action to stop the crime, protect civilians, and hold the leaders of the occupation accountable,” he said.

Since its founding in 1994, the genocide scholars’ association has passed nine resolutions recognizing historic or ongoing episodes as genocides.

The 1948 U.N. Genocide Convention, adopted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews by Nazi Germany, defines genocide as crimes committed “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”.

It requires all countries to act to prevent and stop genocide.

Criminal acts comprising genocide include killing members of the group, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, creating conditions calculated to destroy them, preventing births, or forcibly transferring children to other groups.

The three-page resolution adopted by the scholars calls on Israel to “immediately cease all acts that constitute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza, including deliberate attacks against and killing of civilians including children; starvation; deprivation of humanitarian aid, water, fuel, and other items essential to the survival of the population; sexual and reproductive violence; and forced displacement of the population.“

The resolution also states that the Hamas attack on Israel which precipitated the war constituted international crimes.

“This is a definitive statement from experts in the field of genocide studies that what is going on on the ground in Gaza is genocide,“ the association’s president, Melanie O’Brien, a professor of international law at the University of Western Australia who specializes in genocide, told Reuters.

Sergey Vasiliev, a professor of international law at the Open University in the Netherlands who is not a member of the association, told Reuters the resolution showed that“this legal assessment has become mainstream within academia, particularly in the field of genocide studies.“

Several international rights groups and some Israeli NGOs have already accused Israel of committing genocide. Last week hundreds of U.N. staff at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk wrote to ask him to explicitly describe the Gaza war as an unfolding genocide, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters. (NBC/ Reuters)

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The Free Media Movement of Sri Lanka has unequivocally condemned the killing of journalists in Gaza and the suppression of Palestinian voices.

Issuing a statement, the Free Media Movement said this is the true face of the media repression carried out by the Israeli government amid the genocide of the Palestinian people. 

“We call upon the entire global community to recognize and stand against both the mass killings that go beyond any genuine need for national security or counter-terrorism, and the media repression intended to silence the voices of the Palestinian people who have become victims of this genocide,” it added. 

Full statement: 

Five journalists reporting to the Al Jazeera news service have been brutally killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City. Among them was the world-renowned reporter Anas al-Sharif. He and the other journalists were killed in a targeted drone strike while reporting in a tent near Al-Shifa Hospital. This indicates that the attack was a deliberate and premeditated atrocity.

The Free Media Movement of Sri Lanka extends its deepest respect to these fellow journalists who revealed the truth about the genocide of the Palestinian people taking place in the Gaza Strip. We mourn their loss. Furthermore, in a context where foreign journalists are banned from entering Palestine, the killing of journalists working there is intended to silence the voices of people who are victims of genocide. We strongly condemn this.

According to CPJ reports, since October 2023, the number of journalists killed in Palestine has reached 186. The BBC, AP, and AFP have issued a joint statement highlighting the severe difficulties faced by their reporters, noting that they do not have enough food to survive. The BBC, in a special report, revealed that three of its freelance employees and their families had gone without food for days.

This is the true face of the media repression carried out by the Israeli government amid the genocide of the Palestinian people. We call upon the entire global community to recognize and stand against both the mass killings that go beyond any genuine need for national security or counter-terrorism, and the media repression intended to silence the voices of the Palestinian people who have become victims of this genocide. (Newswire)

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Germany will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza “until further notice,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced Friday, in a strikingly quick response by one of Israel’s strongest international backers to a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet to take over Gaza City.

The move by Germany, which has previously stopped short of tougher lines against Israel’s government taken by some of its European Union allies, appeared likely to further isolate Israel in the wake of the controversial military takeover plan that has been decried by the United Nations and supporters of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

In a statement, Merz emphasized that Israel “has the right to defend itself against Hamas’ terror” and said that the release of Israeli hostages and purposeful negotiations toward a cease-fire in the 22-month conflict “are our top priority.”

He said Hamas must not have a role in the future of Gaza.

“The even harsher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, approved by the Israeli Cabinet last night, makes it increasingly difficult for the German government to see how these goals will be achieved,” he added.

“Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice.” (AP)

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Families of the hostages still being held in Gaza led widespread protests on Thursday against the Israeli government’s plans to “control” the territory, demanding instead an end to the war and a release of all the remaining captives.

Members of government also castigated the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan, with his military chief of staff concerned that his troops would be too depleted, and opposition leader Yair Lapid claiming the human and financial price of maintaining a hold over all of Gaza would be too steep after almost two years of fighting. (France24)

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Israel’s security cabinet has approved Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to occupy Gaza City, located in the north of the Palestinian enclave, according to news reports.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has yet to publicly confirm the plan, which is a major escalation in the war-torn Palestinian territory and was first reported by the news site Axios on Friday.

Axios reporter Barak Ravid quoted the Prime Minister’s Office as saying: “The Political-Security Cabinet approved the Prime Minister’s proposal to defeat Hamas. The [Israeli military] will prepare to take over Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones”.

Ravid, citing an unnamed senior Israeli official, continued that Israel’s goal is to “evacuate all Palestinian civilians from Gaza City to the central camps and other areas by October 7”.

“A siege will be imposed on the Hamas militants who remain in Gaza City, and at the same time, a ground offensive will be carried out in Gaza City,” Ravid wrote on X.

Shihab Rattansi, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Washington, DC, said Israel’s move to occupy Gaza has been “telegraphed for several days now”.

“Donald Trump has all but greenlit whatever Benjamin Netanyahu wants to do. He said it would be up to the Israelis,” he said.

On Thursday, Netanyahu said Israel would “take control of all Gaza” in a television interview with US outlet Fox News.

Netanyahu also said in the interview that Israel doesn’t want to be “a governing body” in Gaza and would hand over responsibility to an unspecified third party.

“We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to govern it,” he said.

This followed reports in Israeli media earlier this week that the Israeli leader would imminently announce plans to fully occupy the entirety of the Gaza Strip.

“The decision has been made [to occupy Gaza],” Israel’s Channel 12 news outlet reported on Monday, quoting an unnamed senior official in Netanyahu’s office. (Al Jazeera)

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