Israel-Gaza latest: Former Israeli PM says blocking of aid to Gaza ‘very close to a war crime’

‘Ridiculously inadequate’ aid allowed into Gaza will keep population ‘barely surviving’, aid organisation says

Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) has decried the small amount of aid being allowed in was a “smokescreen” to pretend the blockade was over.

Pascale Coissard, MSF emergency coordinator in Khan Younis accused Israel of making aid a “tool to further Israeli forces’ military objectives”.

“The Israeli authorities’ decision to allow a ridiculously inadequate amount of aid into Gaza after months of an air-tight siege signals their intention to avoid the accusation of starving people in Gaza, while in fact keeping them barely surviving,” he said.

MSF pointed out that before October 2023, the UN reported that 500 aid trucks were entering Gaza each day, and said the current authorisation of 100 trucks a day was “woefully inadequate”.

Rachel Clun21 May 2025 09:46

After phone call, Israel agrees to let in aid from United Arab Emirates

Israel has allowed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza following a phone call between the two nations.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, spoke with Israeli foreign affairs minister Gideon Sa’ar over the phone to secure the deliveries, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

During the call the deputy prime minister stressed the importance of “ensuring the urgent, sustainable, safe, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian, relief, and medical assistance to the brotherly Palestinians in the Strip”.

Following the discussion the UAE said Israel agreed to allow an urgent delivery of aid.

“The aid will address the food needs of approximately 15,000 civilians in the Gaza Strip in the initial phase,” the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Rachel Clun21 May 2025 09:31

Former Israeli PM claims current action in Gaza 'is very close to a war crime'

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has claimed that what Israel "is doing now in Gaza, is very close to a war crime".

Olmert, who was prime minister between 2006 and 2009, said that it was "a war without a purpose - a war without a chance of achieving anything that can save the lives of the hostages."

Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday, he added: "From every point of view, this is obnoxious and outrageous.

"We are fighting the killers of Hamas, we are not fighting innocent civilians," he said. "And that has to be clear."

His comments came as Israel allowed some aid to begin to return to Gaza following an 11-week blockade, and after Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would take full control of the territory.

Rachel Clun21 May 2025 08:58

WHO head urges better access to healthcare in Gaza

The WHO director-general has pleaded for the remaining healthcare facilities in Gaza to be protected, with several medical facilities, incuding three hospitals, included in the evacuation zone announced by Israel on Tuesday.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Kamal Adwan Hospital was closed due to nearby hostilities while the Indonensian Hospital remains accessible.

“Al-Awda, the last functioning hospital in North Gaza, is overwhelmed and at risk of closure due to insecurity and access constraints,” he said.

Ghebreyesus added that eight primary care centres, nine medical points and one non-functioning hospital were in evacuation zones announced in southern Gaza on Monday.

“Intensified Israeli ground operations and new evacuation orders in Gaza are stretching the health system beyond the breaking point,” he said.

“Even if health facilities are not attacked or forced to evacuate, hostilities and military presence obstruct patients and staff from accessing care, and WHO from resupplying hospitals, which can quickly make them non-functional.”

He continued: “We’ve seen this too many times — it must not be allowed to happen again. WHO urges for the immediate protection of health care. Hospitals must never be militarised or targeted. Ceasefire!”

Rachel Clun21 May 2025 08:46

In pics: Israel continues its offensive on Gaza

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar21 May 2025 08:30

EU to review ties with Israel amid 'catastrophic' Gaza situation

Last night, news emerged that the EU will review its ties with Israel due to the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza, according to the bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas.

Kallas said a "strong majority" of the ministers meeting in Brussels favoured such a review of the agreement with Israel, known as an association agreement, in light of events in Gaza.

The review is backed by 17 of 27 EU members, and would focus on whether Israel is complying with a human rights clause in the agreement.

Ms Kallas told reporters: "The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The aid that Israel has allowed in is of course welcomed, but it's a drop in the ocean. Aid must flow immediately, without obstruction and at scale, because this is what is needed.”

But the Israeli foreign ministry dismissed the critique by Ms Kallas: "We completely reject the direction taken in the statement, which reflects a total misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel is facing," it said in an X post late on Tuesday.

Alex Croft21 May 2025 08:10

Trump wants Israel to 'wrap up' Gaza offensive – report

US president Donald Trump is reportedly “frustrated” by the ongoing war in Gaza and wants Benjamin Netanyahu to end the offensive.

"The president is frustrated about what is happening in Gaza. He wants the war to end, he wants the hostages to come home, he wants aid to go in and he wants to start rebuilding Gaza," one White House official told Axios.

White House sources told NBC News that the idea had been discussed with Libya’s leadership and is being seriously considered.

In exchange, the Trump administration would release billions of dollars of funds to Libya that the US froze more than a decade ago.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar21 May 2025 08:00

Oil prices surge amid reports of Israel preparing to strike Iran

Oil prices jumped today after reports suggested Israel is making preparations to possibly strike Iranian nuclear facilities.

Multiple US sources told CNN that the Trump administration has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.

The US officials cautioned the broadcaster that it was not clear that Israeli leaders had made a final decision.

The "chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility has gone up significantly in recent months,” said another person familiar with US intelligence on the issue.

“And the prospect of a Trump-negotiated US-Iran deal that doesn’t remove all of Iran’s uranium makes the chance of a strike more likely.”

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar21 May 2025 07:58

Children among 20 killed Wednesday morning - medics

Several children are among more than 20 people killed by Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday morning, medical sources in Gaza have said.

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, 11 were killed and 13 injured in an attack on the Nabhan family home in Jabalia al-Balad, in northern parts of the strip.

Three children were among five killed when a house was bombed in Deir al-Balah, in the centre of the strip.

Seven more were killed in southern parts of Gaza, around Khan Younis.

Wafa also reports that Israel has demolished several buildings west of the town of Beit Lahia, in the north of the enclave.

Alex Croft21 May 2025 07:43

UK minister: ‘Israel has gone beyond self defence’

Steve Reed has described the situation in Gaza as “intolerable” and said Benjamin Netanyahu is making things worse, not better.

The environment secretary doubled down on Sir Keir Starmer’s condemnation of the Israeli prime minister, calling for him to halt renewed hostilities.

Speaking to Sky News, he said: “We are working closely with our allies and there are other allies as well who are trying to apply pressure on the Netanyahu government.”

And he added: “This has gone beyond self defence on the part of Israel, this is an attack that we can no longer tolerate.”

Alex Croft21 May 2025 07:27