UK, 24 nations urge 'permanent ceasefire' to Gaza war in joint plea
"We urge the parties and the international community to unite in a common effort to bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire," the grouping added in the communique.
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Trump ally says Israeli military will 'take Gaza down like we did Tokyo and Berlin'
US Senator Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that Israel is preparing to intensify its military campaign in Gaza, comparing the strategy to Allied operations on Tokyo and Berlin at the end of Second World War. 'What we're talking about today is a change in strategy. I think President (Donald) Trump has come to believe, and I certainly come to believe there's no way you're going to negotiate an end of this war with Hamas,' Mr Graham told NBC in an interview. 'Hamas is a terrorist organisation who is chartered to destroy the State of Israel. They're religious Nazis. They hold Israeli hostages.' Mr Graham, from South Carolina, said that Israel has concluded that dismantling Hamas is the only way to ensure its security. 'If they're going to do in Gaza what we did in Tokyo and Berlin – take the place by force, then start over again, presenting a better future for the Palestinians, hopefully having the Arabs take over the West Bank and Gaza,' he said. 'I think going forward … you're going to see a change in tactics, a full military effort by Israel to take Gaza down,' he said. On Thursday, Mr Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas' latest response to ceasefire proposals showed a 'lack of desire' to reach a truce. Mr Witkoff said Washington will look at 'alternative options,' without elaborating. Mr Trump told reporters on Sunday that Israel would have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after moves by Israel to pull out of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with the Hamas militant group. Mr Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying they had suddenly 'hardened' up on the issue. 'They don't want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision,' he said the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland.
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Thailand, Cambodia to hold peace talks after more border clashes
Thailand and Cambodia's leaders will meet in Malaysia for peace talks on Monday, as the countries clashed for a fourth day in a deadly border dispute. At least 34 people have been killed and more than 200,000 displaced as the countries, both popular tourist destinations, fight over a smattering of contested border temples. Bangkok announced on Sunday (July 27) that acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet will meet for talks mediated by Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim, who chairs the ASEAN regional bloc of which Thailand and Cambodia are members. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. Anwar said the expected talks were to focus on an immediate ceasefire between the two fighting neighbours. "They (government representatives of Cambodia and Thailand) have asked me to try and negotiate a peace settlement," the Bernama national news agency quoted Anwar as saying late Sunday. "I'm discussing the parameters, the conditions, but what is important is (an) immediate ceasefire," the Malaysian premier said. Cambodia has not commented on the planned talks, which are due to begin at 3pm (0700 GMT). US President Donald Trump, who spoke to both leaders late Saturday, said they had agreed to "quickly work out" a ceasefire. Trump has threatened both nations with eye-watering levies in his global tariff blitz unless they agree to independent trade deals. "When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!" he wrote on social media. Fresh artillery clashes erupted on Sunday morning near two long-contested ancient temples in the frontier region between northern Cambodia and northeast Thailand which has seen the bulk of the fighting. 'Didn't feel safe' Cambodian defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said Thai forces began attacking areas around the temples at 4.50am. "We rushed to leave the house this morning," said 61-year-old Thai border resident Maefah, rearranging bin bags of her family's belongings in the back of a truck stopped at a petrol station in Surin province. "All of my neighbours have already left. And we didn't feel safe to stay any longer," she said, declining to give her surname. The regular thump of artillery rattled windows in the Cambodian town of Samraong, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the front line, AFP journalists said. Thai army deputy spokesman Ritcha Suksuwanon said Cambodian forces began firing artillery around 4am as the two sides battled for control of strategic positions. With the conflict enflaming nationalist sentiments, Thailand issued a warning to its own citizens to "refrain from any kind of violence, whether in speech or action" against Cambodian migrants living in the country. Ceasefire calls Cambodia's Hun Manet on Sunday said his country "agreed with the proposal for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between the two armed forces". After Trump's call, Phumtham said he had agreed in principle to enter a ceasefire and start talks. But on Sunday each side blamed the other again for undermining peace efforts. The Thai foreign ministry accused Cambodian forces of firing shells into civilian homes in Surin province. "Any cessation of hostilities cannot be reached while Cambodia is severely lacking in good faith," the ministry said. Meanwhile Cambodia's defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata denied that its forces fired first and accused Thailand of "deliberate and coordinated acts of aggression". The border dispute erupted into combat on Thursday with jets, tanks and ground troops battling in the rural border region, marked by a ridge of hills surrounded by wild jungle and agricultural land where locals farm rubber and rice. Thailand says eight of its soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed, while Cambodia has confirmed eight civilian and five military deaths. The conflict has forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand's border regions, and 80,000 have been driven from their homes in Cambodia. The Cambodian government has also accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions, while Bangkok has accused Phnom Penh of targeting hospitals.
The National
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After months of deadly blockade, Israeli voices demanding that aid enters Gaza grow louder
Israel's decision to implement daily 'humanitarian pauses' in Gaza has triggered a familiar and unsettling cycle in Israeli public discourse. Each time the military allows even a modest respite for the besieged strip, fierce domestic backlash follows. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir described the decision as a 'spit in the face of our soldiers' and a 'surrender to Hamas's deceitful campaign'. Eylon Levy, a social media personality and former spokesman in the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wrote on X: 'Let's be clear what just happened here. International pressure on Israel encouraged Hamas to reject a ceasefire and get a 'humanitarian pause' instead – without giving up a single hostage.' Regardless, the plan appears to be in place and Israel's military said on Sunday that the pauses will be in effect daily in Al Mawasi, Deir Al Balah, and Gaza city, from 10am (0700 GMT) to 8pm (1700 GMT) until further notice. UN agencies, including UNRWA, are expected to monitor food distribution. In the lead-up to the announcement, many in Israel deflected blame for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, pointing fingers at the UN or Hamas. This persistent refusal to acknowledge the depth of suffering in Gaza has drawn criticism, even from former supporters of Israel abroad. Meanwhile, some critics within the country have begun labelling the siege itself as a military failure. For the first time, however, a mainstream Israeli news channel broke rank. After many months of not showing the suffering of Gazan civilians, Channel 12 this week aired a report that showed crowds of desperate people scrambling for food at aid distribution sites. A Hebrew-speaking contributor spoke about calling Gazans who told him of 'nothing going into their mouths for entire days'. Israeli commentator Shaiel Ben-Ephraim said he could not 'even begin to explain how big' the report was. 'For years, Channel 12 and mainstream Israeli news would cover Palestinian suffering occasionally. Then after October 7, they just stopped. No one wanted to see it. That played a massive role in the dehumanisation of Palestinians and facilitation of genocide,' he wrote in a post on X. In the days since, a growing number of Israelis, many of them staunch defenders and not from its activist left wing, made similar arguments. Commentator Haviv Rettig Gur, who had rejected international warnings of catastrophic hunger in Gaza, acknowledged on a recent podcast: 'We are very close to real, actual, desperate hunger in Gaza … It's hard to convince Israelis of that because literally everything said to them for 22 months on this topic has been a fiction … We need to wake them up.' Fears about Gaza's humanitarian situation entering mainstream Israeli discourse is a major development for a country in which 64.5 per cent of the public has so far been 'not concerned' about it, according to a poll by a major think tank in May. In the same month, another poll found that 82 per cent of respondents supported the expulsion of Palestinians from the strip. It remains to be seen whether this willingness to acknowledge Palestinian civilian suffering will last. Polling shows that Israelis have been against the war for some time, but the vast majority of the opposition is based on concern for hostages in the strip, the safety of soldiers and anger that Mr Netanyahu is continuing the campaign for his political survival. How Israeli society and politics react to the daily 'pauses' ahead will give important signs.
