
Israeli air strikes in Gaza Strip leave at least 25 dead, health officials say
The Israeli army did not respond to requests for comments about the latest shootings.
Those killed in the strikes include four people in an apartment building in Gaza City among others, hospital staff and the ambulance service said.
The strikes come as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a standstill after the US and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, throwing the future of the talks into further uncertainty.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday his government was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with Hamas.
His comments came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic.
Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks alongside the US, said the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when.
The United Nations (UN) and experts have said that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition.
While Israel's army says it is allowing aid into the enclave with no limit on the number of trucks that can enter, the UN says it is hampered by Israeli military restrictions on its movements and incidents of criminal looting.
The Zikim crossing shootings come days after at least 80 Palestinians were killed trying to reach aid entering through the same crossing.
The Israeli military said at the time its soldiers shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians who posed a threat and that it was aware of some casualties.
Israel is facing increased international pressure to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
More then two dozen Western-aligned countries and more than 100 charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war, harshly criticising Israel's blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out.
The charities and rights groups said even their own staff were struggling to get enough food.
For the first time in months Israel said it is allowing airdrops, requested by Jordan.
A Jordanian official said the airdrops will mainly be food and milk formula.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote in a newspaper article on Saturday that the UK was 'working urgently' with Jordan to get British aid into Gaza.
Aid group the World Central Kitchen said on Friday it was resuming limited cooking operations in Deir al-Balah after being forced to halt due to a lack of food supplies.
It said it is trying to serve 60,000 meals daily through its field kitchen and partner community kitchens, less than half of what it has cooked over the previous month.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
7 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
ANDREW PIERCE: How humiliating! Starmer could lose seat to Corbyn ally
After his disastrous first 12 months in No 10, most polls already point to Sir Keir Starmer losing the next general election. But will he forfeit his Commons seat as well? That indignity looks increasingly likely thanks to the efforts of his predecessor as Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who was expelled from the party last May. Over the past week, Jezza's newly launched rival party has set up shop in Holborn & St Pancras, the north London constituency held by Starmer since 2015. More worrying for the PM is the candidate who will contest the seat for Corbyn's party at the next election: Andrew Feinstein, the pro-Palestinian activist who ran as an independent in the constituency last year. He secured an astonishing 19 per cent of the vote, slashing Starmer's majority from 28,000 to just 11,000. Next time round, with the resources of Corbyn's party behind him, Feinstein is likely to fight an even more effective campaign. And his supporters are confident it will take him all the way to Westminster. PS Whispers from the Westminster cloisters: Keir Starmer has fallen out with his Commons Chief Whip, Sir Alan Campbell. I'm told Campbell was unhappy when Starmer and his sidekick Morgan McSweeney suspended York MP Rachael Maskell from the Labour Party for rebelling over benefits cuts. Prime Ministers seldom prosper when they argue with their Chief Whips – and Campbell is nobody's fool. He was hardly known for his charm and good manners when it came to his successor Margaret Thatcher, but it seems former PM Ted Heath was just as rude to his staff. Lord Patten remembers being summoned to Heath's Piccadilly apartment in the mid-1970s. Patten and his colleagues arrived at 9am but Heath did not appear until 10am – in a kimono. 'About 1pm, his housekeeper comes in with a silver tray with a bottle of Chablis, a plate of lobster salad, and some brie and camembert,' recalls Patten, who hadn't even been offered a coffee. 'As Heath tucked in, he asked: 'Have you had anything to eat, boys?' We said: 'No, Ted, we haven't.' He said, 'Aww, you must be very hungry then.' That was it.' Jets on a wing and a prayer Labour's commitment to hike defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035 will include the purchase from US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin of 12 F-35 stealth jets, which can carry nuclear warheads. So how much will they cost? Cue this answer from defence minister Maria Eagle: 'Prices will be identified during contract negotiations.' No wonder the defence procurement budget is in such a mess. Tory culture spokesman Nigel Huddleston can't be accused of not being on top of his, er, brief at the lower end of the arts. His brother-in-law was a member of all-male strip troupe the Chippendales, and even stripped off at the Tory MP's wedding in 1999. Sadly, he no longer provides that kind of entertainment. As Nigel says: 'They retire young in that line of work.' On his Rosebud podcast, former MP Gyles Brandreth says he was proud to watch his MP daughter Aphra in a Commons debate she initiated: 'Watching her speaking was moving, and she was brilliant. What was interesting was the subject... potholes!' Political leaders like to bask in the reflected glory of giving awards to rock stars, but Noddy Holder, lead singer of Slade, has gone one better than Sirs Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart and Paul McCartney. He's been offered a token Lordship... from the Monster Raving Loony Party.


Reuters
7 minutes ago
- Reuters
UN urges Australia to step up climate action
SYDNEY, July 28 (Reuters) - The United Nations climate chief has called on Australia to set an ambitious 2035 emissions target and accelerate its clean energy transition, warning a failure to act risks eroding living standards and regional stability. Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said Australia should "go for what's smart by going big". "Don't settle for what's easy. Bog standard is beneath you," he said at a Smart Energy Council event in Sydney. Australia faces scrutiny for backing new fossil fuel projects while seeking to co-host the UN COP31 climate summit with the Pacific next year. The centre-left Labor government, which took power in 2022 with a mandate to reduce carbon emissions, cleared the country's largest gas plant to run until 2070 in May – a decision that critics said called into question Australia's commitment to tackling climate change. Australia is also among the highest polluting countries per capita due to its coal power generation. Consultancy Wood Mackenzie has projected Australia is set to fall far short of its target of 82% renewable generation by 2030 due to state-level rollbacks, grid connection delays and inadequate investment. Stiell said the country's 2035 emissions reduction target, due in September, would be a 'defining moment' that could send a message that 'this country is open for clean investment, trade, and long-term partnerships'. Australia also had the opportunity to become a global leader in renewables and that 'doubling down on clean energy is an economic no-brainer', he said. He warned that a lack of action would erode living standards and destabilise Australia's neighbours in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, which were more susceptible to rising sea levels and extreme weather. 'This is the moment: to get behind a climate plan that doesn't just write that vision into policy – but delivers in spades for your people,' Stiell said.


Sky News
27 minutes ago
- Sky News
PM to hold talks with Trump today - but will have to walk a fine diplomatic line
Gaza and transatlantic trade are set to dominate talks between Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer when the pair meet in Scotland later. Downing Street said the prime minister would discuss "what more can be done to secure the ceasefire [in the Middle East] urgently", during discussions at the president's Turnberry golf course in Ayrshire. Talks in Qatar over a ceasefire ended on Thursday after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams. 13:22 Mr Trump blamed Hamas for the collapse of negotiations as he left the US for Scotland, saying the militant group "didn't want to make a deal… they want to die". Sir Keir has tried to forge close personal ties with the president - frequently praising his actions on the world stage despite clear foreign policy differences between the US and UK. The approach seemed to pay off in May when Mr Trump announced the agreement of a trade deal with the UK that would see several tariffs lowered. The two leaders are expected to discuss this agreement when they meet, with the prime minister likely to press the president for a lowering of outstanding tariffs on imports such as steel. 3:31 Prior to the visit, the White House said the talks would allow them to "refine the historic US-UK trade deal". That comes hot on the heels of the US reaching an agreement with the EU, which Mr Trump described as the "biggest dal ever made". This will see 15% tariffs imposed on most European goods entering America, despite the president previously threatening a 30% levy. 1:30 Extracting promises from the president on the Middle East may be harder though. Despite some reports that Mr Trump is growing frustrated with Israel, there is a clear difference in tone between the US and its Western allies. As he did over the Ukraine war, Sir Keir will have to walk a diplomatic line between the UK's European allies and the White House. On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state in September, the first member of the G7 to do so. That move was dismissed by Mr Trump, who said it "doesn't carry any weight". 0:45 The UK, French and German leaders spoke over the weekend and agreed to work together on the "next phase" in Gaza that would see transitional governance and security arrangements put in place, alongside the large-scale delivery of aid. Under pressure from members of his own party and cabinet to follow France and signal formal recognition of Palestine, Sir Keir has gradually become more critical of Israel in recent months. On Friday, the prime minister said "the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel's disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible". Government sources say UK recognition is a matter of "when, not if" - but it's thought Downing Street wants to ensure any announcement is made at a time when it can have the greatest diplomatic impact. 1:19 Cabinet ministers will be convened in the coming days, during the summer recess, to discuss the situation in Gaza. The UK has also been working with Jordan to air drop supplies, after Israel said it would allow foreign countries to provide aid to the territory. Donald Trump's trip to Scotland comes ahead of his second state visit to the UK in September. Downing Street says Ukraine will also likely be discussed in the meeting with both men reflecting on what can be done to force Russia back to the negotiating table. After the meeting at Turnberry, the prime minister will travel with the president to Aberdeen for a private engagement.