Trump envoy arrives in Israel amid rising death toll of Palestinians seeking aid
At least 91 Palestinians were killed and more than 600 wounded while attempting to get aid in the past 24 hours, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
This includes 54 people killed in shootings in a deadly incident in northern Gaza near the Zikim crossing on Wednesday, the ministry said.
The toll is expected to rise further as many of those killed or wounded were brought to isolated, smaller hospitals in northern Gaza and have not yet been counted.
The Israeli military said Palestinians surrounded aid trucks and the Israeli military fired warning shots into the crowd, but that it is not aware of any injuries stemming from Israeli fire.
A security official said the gunfire came from within the crowd and altercations between Palestinians attempting to access aid.
Mr Trump's special envoy Mr Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday afternoon.
He is expected to speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and a possible ceasefire, according to an official.
This is the first meeting between Mr Witkoff and Mr Netanyahu since both Israel and the US summoned their negotiation teams home from Qatar one week ago.
Mr Witkoff said at the time Hamas's latest response 'shows a lack of desire' to reach a truce.
Hamas started the war with its attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023, in which militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others.
It still holds 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive.
Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians.
The ministry operates under the Hamas government.
The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
In Jerusalem, about 50 people, including families of some of the approximately 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, demonstrated on Thursday in front of Mr Netanyahu's office calling for an end to the war.
Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza, but aid workers say much more is needed.
The Israeli defence body in charge of co-ordinating humanitarian aid in Gaza said 270 trucks of aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, and 32 pallets of aid were airdropped into the Strip.
That amount is far lower than the 500 to 600 trucks per day that aid organisations say are needed.
The international community has heaped criticism on Israel over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
International organisations said Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years, but that recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for two-and-a-half months, mean that the 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza'.
German foreign minister Johann Wadephul was due in Israel later on Thursday on a two-day trip that will also take him to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Germany, traditionally a particularly staunch ally of Israel, has been increasingly critical recently of Israel's actions in Gaza.
It has insisted that Israel must do more to increase aid supplies and pushed for a ceasefire.
Berlin has not joined major allies France, Britain and Canada in saying it will recognise a Palestinian state in September.
But in a statement ahead of his departure on Thursday, Mr Wadephul underlined Germany's position that a two-state solution is 'the only way' to ensure a future in peace and security for people on both sides.
'For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state stands rather at the end of the process. But such a process must begin now. Germany will not move from this aim. Germany also will be forced to react to unilateral steps,' Mr Wadephul said without elaborating.
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24 minutes ago
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How Edinburgh Book Festival found itself in the culture wars
At about the time Noel and Liam were getting ready to kiss and make up last year the EIBF found itself embroiled in controversy over sponsorship, a row which more than a year on has expanded to include funding and platforming. But how did we get here? And, perhaps more importantly, where does the festival go in the future? Read More: The controversy goes back to a longstanding sponsorship arrangement between the festival and Baillie Gifford, an investment management firm based in Scotland's capital. The company came under scrutiny due to its ties to the fossil fuel industry, as well as to companies operating in the occupied Palestinian territories. In 2023, climate activist Greta Thunberg cancelled a scheduled appearance at the book festival as she accused Baillie Gifford of 'greenwashing' in their sponsorship of the festival, which she said allowed them and other companies "the social licence to continue operating". 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Baillie Gifford and the festival agreed to end their sponsorship The company says it is a "small investor" in three companies "that have been identified as having activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories", and that only 2% of its funds are invested in companies related to fossil fuels. Fossil Free Books has said the 2% figure equates to between £2.5bn and £5bn, while Arts Workers for Palestine Scotland said Ballie Gifford holds investments in which advertises accommodation in the occupied West Bank; Cemex, which previously operated factories in the occupied territory through a subsidiary and has been accused of supplying materials for barricades and border walls; and Cisco Systems which provides services for the [[Israel]]i military. In May last year, the Edinburgh International Book Festival announced it would be ending its partnership with Baillie Gifford but made clear they had only done so due to "intolerable" pressure and the risk of the festival being disrupted. Allan Little, chair, said: 'Our team cannot be expected to deliver a safe and sustainable festival this August under the constant threat of disruption from activists. This was a pragmatic response to that reality. 'Funding for the arts is now in a perilous position and we should all be clear that without the support of our partners and donors, the future of festivals like ours – and all of the benefits these events bring to authors and readers alike – is in jeopardy." The activists had therefore succeeded in their goal but at the potential cost, according to the EIBF, of the festival itself. In June though, The Herald revealed that [[Edinburgh]]-based author Sir Ian Rankin had agreed to become a major financial backer of the event alongside fellow author Jenny Colgan, additional funding from the Scottish Government, and money from the People's Postcode Lottery. So, controversial sponsor gone but the book festival remains – everybody's happy, right? Well, not quite. The one-off funding from the Scottish Government, amounting to £300,000 to help the festival pay for its long-running schools programme for the next three years, proved controversial. The announcement of the funding came just weeks after Liz Lloyd, Nicola Sturgeon's former chief of staff, was appointed as director of the festival. Read More: There is a key distinction here in that while the announcement was made after the appointment, the decision on funding was made long beforehand, ministers taking the decision on March 28 and Ms Lloyd not being appointed until May. Nonetheless Lothian Conservative MSP Sue Webber told the Daily Record: "SNP ministers should come clean on how this funding was awarded and if there was any lobbying from former colleagues who were once at the heart of the nationalist government.' While there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing, the injection of further public money brought further controversy to the festival. After all, many asked, why should the taxpayer foot the bill for a sponsorship lost because of targeting by activists? The counter-argument, of course, would be to ask why a cultural institution liked the Edinburgh International Book Festival needs a controversial corporate sponsor in the first place. There was criticism, too, from the anti-woke brigade who felt that the festival was insufficiently open to debate on various culture war issues. One given example was a lack of invite for Susan Dalgety and Lucy Hunter Blackburn, who edited the gender critical tome The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht, released in May 2024. The narrative was that a bestseller about and by Scots was not being given a platform, which could only be for ideological reasons. The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht could accurately be described as such given it debuted at number three on the Sunday Times Bestsellers List, though it dropped off of there pretty quickly and by the imperfect science of Amazon rankings is probably now selling 250-300 copies per month in its various formats a little over a year after its release, a respectable if not earth-shattering number. It might be tempting to suggest that both the climate campaigners and the gender critics are a small but passionate bunch capable of creating noise beyond their numbers, but then they'd both get very angry, which is probably why no-one has suggested that. The closest anyone has come is Edinburgh East and Musselburgh MP Chris Murray who told The Herald: "It's getting pelters because people think it's either too woke or not woke enough, or that it's taking money from a big business or the public sector. 'And actually, I think we need to take a step back and remember what the book festival is for; the book festival is supposed to be a festival of, fundamentally, ideas.' Thankfully organisers can expect things to calm down a bit this year, with the headline event of the festival the launch of [[Nicola Sturgeon]]'s memoirs, dealing with Brexit, Covid, Boris Johnson, Alex Salmond and the independence campaign. No-one and nothing likely to get people worked up in there, surely? When it comes to the matter of sponsorship and invites there is, clearly, a line to be drawn somewhere. The author Val McDermid accused those protesting Baillie Gifford on the grounds of climate and Israel of 'virtue signalling', saying: "No-one is saying that Baillie Gifford is white than white. But there is no such thing as a clean sponsor." That may well be true, but where does one draw the line? It's fair to say most festivals would accept sponsorship from Coca-Cola, which operates in the occupied West Bank, but probably wouldn't from Elbit Systems which produces weapons for the Israeli military. On the same subject, Viktor Orbán's government banned the group Kneecap from entering Hungary for the Sziget Festival due to the Irish rap trio's comments on Palestine but Chappell Roan will headline despite saying U.S support for Israel was 'genocidal'. If the Hungarian Prime Minister writes a bestseller should he be invited to the EIBF next year as Sturgeon, Rachel Reeves and Ed Miliband have been? Benjamin Netanyahu is a published author, should he be invited? Yanyha Sinwar, the deceased Hamas leader, wrote a novel in 2004 – what about him? To move it away from the Middle East, most would agree there should be a platform for diverse opinions but also that a festival which is partially publicly funded shouldn't provide a platform for, say, holocaust deniers. In all matters of contention a line has to be drawn somewhere, and those on the wrong side of it will be unhappy. The challenge for the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and others like it, would appear to be how to keep as many as possible on the right side.
