Middle East: Arab nations decry Israel's new Gaza City plan – DW – 08/09/2025
Here are the latest developments about Israel and the crisis in the Middle East on Saturday, August 9, 2025.
The United Kingdom says it will commit another £8.5 million ($11.4 million; €9.8 million) to United Nations aid projects for Gaza, as warnings of widespread hunger in the 2.1-million population territory grow louder.
Development Minister Jenny Chapman said the money would "help address urgent need" in Gaza, but only if Israel allowed the region to be "flooded with aid."
"It is unacceptable that so much aid is waiting at the border — the UK is ready to provide more through our partners, and we demand that the government of Israel allows more aid in safely and securely," Chapman said.
"The insufficient amount of supplies getting through is causing appalling and chaotic scenes as desperate civilians try to access tiny amounts of aid," she added.
The money, to be delivered through the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), is part of a £101 million UK commitment to the Palestinian territories this year.
Gaza's Hamas-run civil defense agency said at least 10 people were killed across the Palestinian territory on Saturday, including civilians who were waiting to collect aid.
At least six of them were killed and 30 were wounded after Israeli troops targeted civilians assembling near an aid point in central Gaza, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP news agency.
Strikes also hit areas in central Gaza, resulting in multiple casualties, Bassal added.
Thousands of Palestinians congregate daily near food distribution points in Gaza that have faced almost-daily reports of Israeli forces targeting those waiting to collect aid.
In July,Israel eased strict curbs on aid to Gaza that have caused shortages of food, medicine and fuel, among other essential supplies. But aid agencies, like the UN's World Food Program, say they are delivering "a fraction of what's needed."
Multiple Arab and Muslim countries have described Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City as a "dangerous escalation."
Some 20 countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, said the plan constituted "a flagrant violation of international law."
In a joint statement, the mostly-Muslim nations accused Israel of "an attempt to entrench the illegal occupation and impose a fait accompli... in contravention of international legitimacy."
The plan, proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and approved by Israel's Security Cabinet early Friday, will see Israel launch a new military offensive to seize the largest city in the Palestinian territory.
It also requires that Gaza be ruled by an "alternative civil administration that is neither the militant group Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority."
The plan has been widely condemned; even Israel's army chief has warned against it.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after talks in Egypt that Muslim nations should unite in opposition to Israel's planned seizure.
We're tracking the latest developments in Israel'swar in Gaza, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing strong opposition from Arab and Muslim nations over his plan to seize Gaza City.
Aid agencies say the amount of aid reaching the Palestinian territory is still inadequate, as the United Kingdom commits to millions more for United Nations relief efforts.
Reports also suggest that Israel is attacking Gaza residents waiting at aid points. Gaza's Hamas-run civil defense says several people were killed and 30 were injured in an attack on an aid distribution center in central Gaza.
We'll also bring you reactions to Germany's decision to halt defense exports to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip.
Some members of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union have expressed disagreement with the decision to partially halt arms sales to Israel.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
an hour ago
- Int'l Business Times
Plastic Pollution Treaty Talks In Disarray
Attempts to finalise a landmark treaty combating plastic pollution descended into disarray on the penultimate day on Wednesday as dozens of countries rejected outright the latest draft text, leaving the talks in limbo. With some 30 hours left to seal a deal among the 184 countries gathered at the United Nations in Geneva, states lined up to slam the proposed text put forward by talks chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso. The larger bloc of more ambitious countries blasted the dearth of legally-binding action, saying that the draft text was the lowest common denominator and would reduce the treaty to a toothless waste-management agreement. But oil-producing states from across the aisle said that the text went too far for their liking, crossing their red lines too and not going far enough in reducing the scope of what the treaty should be about. The talks towards striking an international, legally-binding instrument on tackling plastic pollution opened on August 5. Five previous rounds over the past two and a half years failed to seal an agreement, including a supposedly final round in South Korea late last year. However, countries seem no further forwards in finding a consensus on what to do about the ever-growing tide of plastic rubbish polluting land, sea and human health. With a day left to go, Ecuadoran diplomat Vayas presented a new draft -- but matters quickly unravelled as the text was savaged from all quarters. Panama said that the goal was to end plastic pollution, not simply to reach an agreement. "This text is about closing a wound... but the text presented here makes that wound fatal and we will not accept it," their negotiator said, adding: "It is not ambition: it is surrender." The EU said it was "not acceptable" and lacked "clear, robust and actionable measures", while Kenya decried that there were "no global binding obligations on anything", meaning it "does not have any demonstrable value". Tuvalu, speaking for 14 Pacific small island developing states, said the draft risked producing a treaty "that fails to protect our people, culture and ecosystem from the existential threat of plastic pollution". Britain called it a text that drives countries "towards the lowest common denominator", while Norway added simply: "It's not delivering on our promise... to end plastic pollution." Bangladesh said the draft "fundamentally fails" to reflect the "urgency of the crisis", saying that it did not address the full life cycle of plastic, health, toxic chemical ingredients or reliable implementation. "This is, as such, without ambition entirely." A cluster of mostly oil-producing states calling themselves the Like-Minded Group -- including Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran -- want the treaty to focus primarily on waste management. Kuwait, speaking for the club, said the text had "gone beyond our red lines", insisting: "Without consensus, there is no treaty worth signing. "This is not about lowering ambition: it's about making ambition possible for all." Saudi Arabia said that there were "many red lines crossed for the Arab Group", and reiterated calls for the scope of the treaty to be defined "once and for all". Environmental non-governmental organisations following the talks closely also blasted the draft. The proposed text "is a gift to the petrochemical industry and a betrayal of humanity", said Greenpeace delegation chief Graham Forbes. The World Wide Fund for Nature slammed the draft text, calling it a "devastating blow" to people suffering from the impact of plastic pollution. The Center for International Environmental Law delegation chief David Azoulay said it "all but ensures that nothing will change" and would "damn future generations". While 15 percent of plastic waste is collected for recycling, only nine percent is actually recycled. Nearly half, or 46 percent, ends up in landfills, while 17 percent is incinerated and 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes litter. Global plastic production in one year AFP More than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items AFP Nearly half of all plastic waste ends up in landfills, while 17 percent is incinerated and 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes litter AFP States lined up to slam the proposed text put forward by talks chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso AFP
DW
an hour ago
- DW
EU plan to penalize Israel still stalled amid famine warning – DW – 08/13/2025
A proposal to restrict Israeli access to some EU funds over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is going nowhere for now. Germany is among those blocking the move. Two weeks after the European Commission laid out a plan to impose first-of-their-kind penalties on Israel, the proposal remains stalled due to disagreements among the bloc's members. Germany is among the hold-outs asking for more time to review, European Union (EU) diplomats told DW. Without Berlin's backing, the plan is unlikely to advance. "Humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels, with famine unfolding before our eyes," the EU's executive warned on Tuesday. In a bid to pressure Israel to change course, it proposed barring Israeli startups from accessing part of a pot of EU research funding known as "Horizon Europe" in late July. That marked a shift in the EU's approach: the first time the bloc moved to back a year and a half of critical words with action. "With its intervention in the Gaza Strip and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe, including thousands of civilian deaths and rapidly rising numbers of spreading extreme malnutrition specifically of children, Israel is violating human rights and humanitarian law and thus is in breach of an essential principle of the EU-Israel cooperation," the European Commission wrote in its proposal on July 28. Belgium's foreign minister Maxime Prevot had floated August 13 as a possible date for adoption if consensus was reached, but EU sources told DW there was little shift in positions at a virtual meeting of EU ministers on Monday. That means for now, there's no green light. To kick in, the EU plan needs support from a so-called qualified majority of the bloc's 27 member states, a system under which more populous countries' views carry most weight. Israel's foreign ministry called Brussels' proposal to restrict funds "regrettable," and claimed any such punitive measures would only serve to "strengthen Hamas" — something the bloc refutes. The stall in EU action has drawn outrage from campaigners and human rights watchdogs, which have long accused the bloc of failing to use potential leverage. "The fact that the EU cannot even agree on the smallest step is a disgrace. The bar is on the floor, and yet the EU and some EU countries are still managing to trip over it," Oxfam's Bushra Khalidi told DW. The internal divisions keeping action on pause are nothing new. Ever since the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, the bloc has been united in its condemnation of the militant group — classed as a terrorist organization by the EU — and in its call for the release of Israeli hostages. But that's where the unity ends. Every word in every statement on Europe's ties with Israel has been fiercely debated ever since. The schism among EU members now centers on whether and how to respond to an EU review which found Israeli actions in Gaza — from restricting aid entry to targeting journalists — likely amount to a breach of the deal that governs EU-Israel trade and ties. In a leaked letter seen by DW, Israel blasted the EU investigation as a "moral and methodological failure" based on biased evidence, but the bloc sticks by its findings. Now Spain, often seen as a fierce critic of the Israeli government, is calling for the entire EU-Israel pact to be suspended. Other EU members including the Netherlands and Sweden — traditionally seen as less critical of Israel — want to freeze the trade element of the deal. The move would make it more difficult and expensive for Israeli firms to export to the EU, Israel's top trading partner. Germany on the other hand views itself as having a historic responsibility toward Israeli security, due to its Nazi past and its systemic murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust. Though Berlin is holding out on the first EU-level measures, Chancellor Merz announced last week that Germany would halt exports of arms "that can be used in the Gaza Strip"by Israeli forces, signalling a shift in tone. The EU says its priority is get aid flowing into Gaza in the face of a deepening humanitarian crisis — and after threatening sanctions, the bloc announced what appeared to be a breakthrough last month. "Significant steps have been agreed by Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip," EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said a July 10 statement on the so-called "common understanding" — which Germany also helped broker. But weeks on, many EU capitals say this falls far short. With proposals for action caught in institutional deadlock, EU officials continue their words of condemnation. "I call for the immediate release of all Israeli hostages by Hamas & Islamic Jihad," EU crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib said on August 3, adding that she also calls "on Israel to end its starvation of Gaza and to allow for an effective delivery of humanitarian aid at scale."
DW
4 hours ago
- DW
What Ukrainians expect of the Putin-Trump summit – DW – 08/13/2025
Are Ukrainian experts and politicians optimistic about the upcoming talks between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska? Or do they doubt there will be a real breakthrough? Soon after the August 15 meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska was announced, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put out a video warning against excluding his country from the talks: "Any decisions made against us, any decisions made without Ukraine, are decisions made against peace. They will not work." Many Ukrainians share this view, according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) in late July and early August. "Ukrainians remain open to negotiations and making difficult decisions," Anton Hruschezkyj of KIIS told DW. "The absolute majority, however, continues to reject demands for [Ukrainian] surrender." According to the survey, 76% of Ukrainians reject Russia's "peace plan" and the idea of making concessions to Russia. At the same time, 49% oppose the US peace plan that entails security guarantees for Ukraine from European countries but not from the US, recognizes Crimea as part of the Russian Federation, maintains Russian control over Ukraine's occupied territories, and lifts sanctions against Russia. Ukrainians do not rule out that the upcoming negotiations between Putin and Trump, which will not have Ukrainian or European representatives present, will be aimed at forcing Ukraine to capitulate. "The Russians never changed their negotiating stance and will not do so as long as they do not suffer serious military and political defeats," Volodymyr Horbach of the Ukrainian Institute for Northern Eurasia Transformation (INET) told DW. The fact that Trump is talking to Putin without first pressuring Russia to change its stance shows that this approach is doomed to failure, Horbach says. "The Russians will stick to their position and want to offer a ceasefire in return for Ukraine's de facto surrender, in other words, fulfilling Russian demands. So calling this concessions is very naive," Horbach said. The analyst does not regard the upcoming Putin-Trump talks as a disaster, but says they signal an "alarming trend" as Trump is "legitimizing Russian war criminal Vladimir Putin, which is unacceptable to Ukraine and Europe." Horbach said he sees "no possibility of implementing any real, practical outcomes of these negotiations in the context of the Ukrainian-Russian war. The proposals that Putin may make will satisfy neither Ukraine nor the European Union." He added that "Trump will have to maneuver, he will not be able to force Ukraine and its European partners to accept Putin's terms." Ukraine was in a similar situation in March 2025, says Dmytro Levus, who heads the Ukrainian Meridian Social Research Center. At the time, Donald Trump believed that the war could be quickly ended by negotiating with Russia and enforcing a peace agreement based on Ukraine's surrender. Lifting sanctions on Russia, however, proved impossible, as most of them had been imposed by the Europeans, Levus said. He believes that after this Alaska meeting, the US and Russia will once again have to face reality — Ukrainian forces continue defending their country and Ukrainian's European partners will not unconditionally accept and implement any deal agreed between Putin and Trump. "Ukraine's position, as stated by Zelenskyy, is clear and correct: the [Ukrainian] constitution does not allow for the ceding of [Ukrainian] territory," Levus told DW. "That is why I do not expect anything meaningful to come out of the Alaska meeting." Iryna Herashchenko, one of the leaders of Ukraine's opposition European Solidarity Party, says the Putin-Trump meeting represents a challenge for the entire international security system. She explains that it would signal to the whole world that violence can go unpunished if Russia, the aggressor, is rewarded for its attack on Ukraine, for annexing parts of the country and for committing war crimes. That is why Herashchenko says recognizing Russian occupation is a red line that must not be crossed. "This would pave the way for new wars, not only in our region," Herashchenko said on Telegram. "That is why all negotiations should be conducted with the participation of Ukraine and the EU, with strict security guarantees, international monitoring, and provisions for sanctions." Anything else would not bring peace, but only lead to new war. Danylo Hetmantsev of Ukraine's rulingServant of the People party takes a more positive view of the upcoming talks, saying the summit will finally reveal Russia's stance. "If there are once again attempts at 'diplomatic maneuvering' instead of productive negotiations at the meeting, this will likely lead to the imposition of tough American sanctions, including on Russia's allies, who will have to pay for supporting the aggressor, which they will not like," Hetmantsev said on Telegram. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video At the same time, Ukrainian experts do not rule out that the US will once again try blackmailing Ukraine into accepting unacceptable conditions after the Putin-Trump summit. Kyiv-Mohyla Academy lecturer and Ukrainian Prism think tank researcher Oleksandr Kraiev believes that Trump could threaten to halt arms deliveries to Ukraine. "But [weapons] deliveries are already sporadic and unsystematic, so it won't be as much of a shock as when Trump first announced something like this," Kraiev told DW. He believes the summit will be purely held for the "sake of talks," as neither side has any real idea of how the war should end. "There could be a joint statement on continuing the talks, but that's all," Kraiev said.
