logo
At least 1,060 Iranians killed during 12-day war with Israel, regime says – Middle East crisis live

At least 1,060 Iranians killed during 12-day war with Israel, regime says – Middle East crisis live

The Guardian08-07-2025
Update:
Date: 2025-07-08T08:30:53.000Z
Title: Opening summary
Content: Hello and welcome to the Guardian's continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
Israel's defence minister has laid out plans to force all Palestinians in Gaza into a camp on the ruins of Rafah, in a scheme that legal experts and academics described as a blueprint for crimes against humanity.
As reported by the Guardian's Emma Graham-Harrison, Israel Katz said he has ordered Israel's military to prepare for establishing a camp, which he called a 'humanitarian city', on the ruins of the city of Rafah. It would involve Palestinians going through 'security screening' before entering, and once inside would not be allowed to leave.
Eventually, the entire population of Gaza would be housed there, and Israel aims to implement 'the emigration plan, which will happen', Haaretz newspaper reported.
Elsewhere, Iran's government has said at least 1,060 people have been killed in the war with Israel. Officials say that this figure could rise to 1,100, given how badly some people are wounded.
This figure comes from Saeed Ohadi, the head of Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, who spoke in a televised interview on late Monday (7 July) – according to AP News.
As the outlet reports, Iran downplayed the effects of Israel's 12-day bombardment of the country, which decimated its air defences, destroyed military sites and damaged its nuclear facilities. However, since a ceasefire agreement was reached on 24 June, Iran slowly has been acknowledging the breadth of the destruction, though it still has not said how much military material it lost.
In other developments:
Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir calls on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw from talks with Hamas. As Times of Israel reports, he said: 'We should not negotiate with those who kill our soldiers. They should be crushed to pieces, starved to death, and not resuscitated with humanitarian aid that gives them oxygen.'
The Israeli military says five soldiers were killed in an attack in northern Gaza, while health officials in the Palestinian territory say 18 people were killed in Israeli strikes.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Palestinian state recognition is a one shot opportunity for Starmer – but what does he want to achieve?
Palestinian state recognition is a one shot opportunity for Starmer – but what does he want to achieve?

The Independent

time9 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Palestinian state recognition is a one shot opportunity for Starmer – but what does he want to achieve?

Keir Starmer will go into his emergency cabinet meeting this week under immense political pressure to change government policy and recognise a Palestinian state. The question which will be troubling the prime minister though will not be whether he wants to recognise Palestine as a country, but determining when formal recognition will have maximum effect. The problem is that recognising a state is a one-time move. Unlike a Brexit agreement or a trade deal, there is no going back to rework some of the details further down the line – with this, there is no room for error. That means for Sir Keir to do it he has to be sure it will achieve the goals he wants. The issue will be whether solving a political problem is more important than using it to achieve peace. Current policy The current policy is to support a two-state solution and to recognise a Palestinian state as part of the peace process - without specifying when this would be. Sir Keir has gone further and said in a strongly worded statement on Thursday that a Palestinian state is 'an inalienable right' of the Palestinian people. For some this was taken as a strong hint that he is edging closer to actual formal recognition. The reason it is important is that once a state is formally recognised, it gains diplomatic status and can in theory be recognised by international bodies – so the move would not be purely symbolic. Added to that, the UK's historic status as the former colonial power which effectively created the modern state of Israel through the Balfour Declaration gives recognising a Palestinian state added symbolic weight. Political pressure President Emmanuel Macron's decision on Friday to announce that France would be the first G7 country to recognise Palestinian statehood has ramped up pressure on Sir Keir to follow suit. Already his cabinet is split over the issue, with figures like justice secretary Shabana Mahmood and deputy prime minister Angela Rayner pushing for recognition, while others like chancellor Rachel Reeves are more sceptical of an early move. Recognition is backed by a clear majority in the Labour Party though, and Jeremy Corbyn's new party on the left – which has made Israel- Palestine its primary policy area – adds even more pressure. With more than 200 MPs from nine different parties signing a letter backing the proposition there is also clearly an appetite for it in Westminster. But weighing on the other side is Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), which is a group made more powerful by the need within Labour to repair the damage of the antisemitism which was allowed to flourish under Corbyn's leadership. It also has the support of a number of senior cabinet members. LFI backs a two-state solution and eventual recognition of a Palestinian state but warns that if the UK goes for recognition early, it will waste an opportunity to maximise the effect. All about Trump Over the weekend minister James Murray pointed out that 140 countries have recognised a Palestinian state, but it has had no effect on the peace process. There is a sense that it will destroy what is left of the UK's dwindling influence with Israel, although given Benjamin Netanyahu's attitude to international criticism that ship may have already sailed. The problem is that US secretary of state Marco Rubio was very critical of France's statement last week, and there was speculation that Starmer did not want to broach the recognition question until he had his bilateral with Donald Trump in Scotland out of the way first. But the UK government now seems to understand that the only way to get Israel back in line and for the peace process to restart is for Trump's administration to force everyone's hand. There is a danger that if he goes ahead with recognition of a Palestinian state, he may lose that last bit of influence he has on the White House. But in the end Sir Keir is a prime minister respected abroad but losing control at home. He may decide that the political problems recognition solves domestically are worth doing it even if it has little or no impact on the peace process.

Israel announces 'tactical pause' in fighting - as Jordan and UAE start Gaza aid drops
Israel announces 'tactical pause' in fighting - as Jordan and UAE start Gaza aid drops

Sky News

time22 minutes ago

  • Sky News

Israel announces 'tactical pause' in fighting - as Jordan and UAE start Gaza aid drops

Israel has begun limited pauses in fighting in three areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day to address the worsening humanitarian situation. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was halting military operations in Muwasi, Deir al Balah and Gaza City, from 10am to 8pm local time (8am to 6pm UK time) until further notice, beginning on Sunday. In a statement, the IDF said it would also establish secure routes to help the UN and aid agencies deliver food and other supplies. Israel's announcement of what it calls a "tactical pause" in fighting comes after it resumed airdrops of aid into Gaza. While the IDF reiterated claims there is "no starvation" in Gaza, it said the airdrops would include "seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food to be provided by international organisations". Palestinian sources confirmed that aid had begun dropping in northern Gaza. Meanwhile, two Jordanian air force planes and a United Arab Emirates aircraft have carried out three airdrops, delivering 25 tonnes of food and basic necessities into the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would continue to allow the entry of humanitarian supplies "whichever path we choose", and it was making progress on both fighting and negotiations. "We will continue to fight, we will continue to act until we achieve all of our war goals - until complete victory," he said. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the temporary pause in fighting "is essential but long overdue". He added: "This announcement alone cannot alleviate the needs of those desperately suffering in Gaza. We need a ceasefire that can end the war, for hostages to be released and aid to enter Gaza by land unhindered. "Whilst airdrops will help to alleviate the worst of the suffering, land routes serve as the only viable and sustainable means of providing aid into Gaza. These measures must be fully implemented and further barriers on aid removed. The world is watching." 1:06 Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza from the start of March. It then reopened aid centres with new restrictions in May, but said the supply had to be controlled to prevent it from being stolen by Hamas militants. On Saturday, reports referencing US government data said there was no evidence Hamas had stolen aid from UN agencies. The IDF's international spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, described such reports as "fake news" and said Hamas thefts have been "well documented". 3:49 Airdrops 'expensive and inefficient' It comes as the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said as of Sunday, 133 people have died from malnutrition-related causes, including 87 children. 1:19 They include a five-month-old girl who weighed less than when she was born, with a doctor at Nasser Hospital describing it as a case of "severe, severe starvation". Zainab abu Habib was brought into the paediatric department at the hospital on Friday, already dead. She weighed more than 3kg at birth, her mother Esraa abu Habib said, but her weight was less than 2kg at the end. Health workers have also been weakened by hunger, with some putting themselves on IV drips so they can keep treating badly malnourished patients. By Sally Lockwood, Sky correspondent, in Jerusalem It's already too late for many, but aid is being prioritised in a way not seen for months. For some of Gaza's children it is already too late. Five-month-old Zainab abu Habib is one of the latest babies to die of malnutrition, weighing less than when she was born. Israel still maintains there's no starvation in Gaza, but horrifying images of skeletal children have caused outrage around the world. It seems Israel is now bowing to international pressure with a distinct shift in their position on aid in the last 24 hours. The Israeli air force carried out an airdrop of seven pallets of food into northern Gaza overnight and foreign nations including the UAE and Jordan are expected to begin the same imminently. But airdrops are fraught with problems. Images circulating on social media show the chaos and desperation of people fighting over packets of food. Airdrops are dangerous, not targeted and often fall into the wrong hands. They can only carry a few tonnes of food aid, compared to five trucks which can carry around 100 tonnes of lifesaving assistance, according to NGOs. Israel has also announced safe routes for ground convoys, making it less likely that aid trucks would be hit by Israeli strikes. Just hours after this announcement I was sent images from the World Food Programme of their trucks entering at the Rafah crossing. They tell me 54 trucks of wheat flour have made it into Gaza so far today. Welcome progress but it's still a fraction of the 500-600 trucks a day the UN says is needed to feed Gaza's population - and it still needs to reach those in urgent need. A third measure announced by Israel is tactical pauses in fighting in three areas - Mawasi, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City to allow aid distribution in these densely populated neighbourhoods. It does feel like the flow of aid is now being prioritised in a way we haven't seen for months. But it's already too late for many and it needs to be rolled out with urgency. A third of the population haven't eaten for days, according to the World Food Programme. There is no time to waste. On Friday, Israel said it would allow foreign countries to airdrop aid into Gaza - but the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has warned this will not reverse "deepening starvation". 2:10 UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini described the method as "expensive" and "inefficient", adding: "It is a distraction and screensmoke. A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will. "Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need." UNRWA has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt waiting for permission to enter Gaza, he added. 1:17 MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned on Friday that 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, and said the lack of food and water on the ground was "unconscionable". The UN also estimates Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food, the majority near the militarised distribution sites of the US-backed aid distribution scheme run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. were "under examination". The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has also previously disputed that these deaths were connected with its organisation's operations, with director Johnnie Moore telling Sky News: "We just want to feed Gazans. That's the only thing that we want to do."

Netanyahu claims there is ‘no starvation in Gaza' in extraordinary denial of growing hunger crisis
Netanyahu claims there is ‘no starvation in Gaza' in extraordinary denial of growing hunger crisis

The Independent

time39 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Netanyahu claims there is ‘no starvation in Gaza' in extraordinary denial of growing hunger crisis

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that accusations that Israel is conducting a campaign of starvation in Gaza are a 'bold faced lie', in an extraordinary denial of the growing humanitarian crisis in the enclave. As the Israeli leader attended a Christian conference in Jerusalem, he said: 'There is no policy of starvation in Gaza and there is no starvation in Gaza. ' He added that Israel had 'enabled the amount (of aid) required by international law to come in" and claimed Hamas "steals this humanitarian aid and then accuses Israel of not supplying it'. Netanyahu was speaking at a conference on Sunday hosted by adviser to US President Donald Trump and prominent evangelical pastor Paula White, according to the Times of Israel. His latest claims fly in the face of warnings from humanitarian organisations, who say that starvation and malnutrition has reached a critical point in Gaza. The World Health Organisation declared on Tuesday that malnutrition is on a 'dangerous trajectory' in the Gaza Strip, with 63 deaths in July. Around one in five small children in Gaza City are now acutely malnourished, according to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa). The UN has said that the hunger crisis is 'entirely preventable' and accused Israel of the 'deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health and humanitarian aid'. At the start of March, Israel implemented a total aid blockade in Gaza for 11 weeks, preventing humanitarian aid from entering the area. In May, the American-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) assumed control of aid distribution in Gaza, which was previously controlled by the UN. The new mechanism limits food distribution to a small number of hubs under guard of armed contractors. Since the change, hundreds of Palestinians have been shot dead while attempting to get aid. Hamas has denied stealing aid from collection sites and a recent USAID internal report said there was no evidence of systematic looting of supplies. Israel's military on Monday suspended its daily operations between 10am and 8pm in parts of central and northern Gaza, promising to open aid corridors to let food and medical supplies in after international pressure. However, within hours of this so-called 'humanitarian pause', Israeli forces resumed air raids which killed 63 people, according to Gaza health authorities. Save the Children 's director for the Middle East, Ahmad Alhendawi, said on Sunday that these temporary pauses in fighting were not sufficient to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The regional director said in a statement: 'Any increase in the entry of aid via land crossings has the potential to help people survive, primarily children, thousands of whom are otherwise facing their final days after nearly five months of total siege on the entry of all assistance. 'But just how lifesaving these pauses will be depends on how long they continue and the extent to which Israeli authorities facilitate safe and logistically feasible conditions for the delivery of assistance to starving children and families. 'The stage of malnutrition and starvation many people across Gaza are facing means one or even a few days of food aid will not be enough to bring them back from the brink of death. Malnutrition can be prevented, malnutrition can be treated – and we know how to do it. Malnourished people, especially children, need sustained access to diverse food, nutrition supplements, and sometimes specialist medical care, to reverse the damage that can be undone.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store