UK ready to sanction top Israelis over ‘intolerable' Gaza offensive
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, condemned 'monstrous' calls from Israeli cabinet ministers for Gaza to be cleansed, describing the comments as repellent and extremist.
He said Israel's refusal to allow thousands of aid lorries into Gaza was an 'affront to the values of the British people' and accused Binyamin Netanyahu's government of 'isolating Israel from its friends and partners around the world'.
The government is drawing up plans with other countries to impose sanctions on Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, and Israel Katz, the defence minister, among others.
Lammy's comments represent Britain's
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
End Israel's weaponisation of Gaza aid, 100 humanitarian groups say
More than 100 organisations have signed a joint letter calling on Israel to stop the "weaponisation of aid" into Gaza, as "starvation deepens".Humanitarian groups, including Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), say they are increasingly being told they are "not authorised" to deliver aid, unless they comply with the stricter Israeli risk being banned if they "delegitimise" the state of Israel or do not provide detailed information about Palestinian denies there are restrictions on aid and says the rules, introduced in March, ensure relief work is carried out in line with Israel's "national interests". According to the joint letter, most major international non-governmental organisations (NGO) have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies since 2 say Israeli authorities "have rejected requests from dozens of non-governmental organisations to bring in lifesaving goods", citing the new rules. More than 60 requests were denied in July groups' inability to deliver aid has "left hospitals without basic supplies, children, people with disabilities, and older people dying from hunger and preventable illnesses", the statement Carroll, CEO of American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera), said: "Anera has over $7 million worth of lifesaving supplies ready to enter Gaza – including 744 tons of rice, enough for six million meals, blocked in Ashdod just kilometers away".The new guidelines introduced in March update the framework for how aid groups must register to maintain their status within Israel, along with provisions that outline how their applications can be denied or registration can be rejected if Israeli authorities deem that a group denies the democratic character of Israel or "promotes delegitimisation campaigns" against the country."Unfortunately, many aid organisations serve as a cover for hostile and sometimes violent activity," Israel's Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli told the Agence France-Presse news agency."Organisations that have no connection to hostile or violent activity and no ties to the boycott movement will be granted permission to operate," added Khalidi, Oxfam Policy Lead, said Israel had rejected more than $2.5m (£1.8m) of goods from entering added: "This registration process signals to INGOs that their ability to operate may come at the cost of their independence and ability to speak out." The warning comes as Israel steps up its bombardment of Gaza City, in preparation for a plan to take control of the says it will provide humanitarian aid to civilian populations "outside the combat zones", but has not specified whether that aid would be delivered by the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).Israel says the system is necessary to stop Hamas stealing aid, an accusation Hamas UN this month reported that 859 Palestinians had been killed near GHF sites since May, a figure the GHF the joint statement, Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza, said that the "militarised food distribution scheme has weaponised starvation". The secretary-general of MSF, Chris Lockyear, told the BBC that GHF was a "death trap", and the humanitarian situation in Gaza was "hanging on by a thread". Hamas's 2023 attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel, with 251 seized and taken into Gaza as offensive has since killed nearly 62,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. It says that 235 people including 106 children have also died due to starvation and malnutrition.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Trump-Putin summit live: US president threatens ‘severe consequences' if Putin does not agree to Ukraine ceasefire
Donald Trump has threatened Vladimir Putin with 'severe consequences' if the Russian leader does not agree to a ceasefire after crunch talks in Alaska this week. The US president did not say what these would be, but has previously threatened Moscow with harsh sanctions if it did not agree to a truce in Ukraine. It comes after Volodymyr Zelensky said Mr Trump told European leaders he supports a ceasefire and the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine and discussed America's willingness to 'take part' in this. The Ukrainian president was speaking after a virtual meeting with Mr Trump and other European leaders, as Kyiv presses its case on the US president ahead of the landmark meeting on Friday. 'All the partners demonstrated one voice, one desire, and one principle. The same principle and the same vision. This is an important step forward,' he added. Zelensky said Putin has demanded Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk, but vowed Ukraine would 'never leave' the Donbas and warned Putin's troops could use it as a spring board for a future invasion. Trump praises 'very good call' with European leaders US president Donald Trump said he would rate his call with Sir Keir Starmer and European leaders as a 10. Asked if it was his decision not to invite Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Mr Trump said: 'No, just the opposite. 'We had a very good call, he was on the call, President Zelensky was on the call. I would rate it a 10, you know, very, very friendly.' He added: "It was always going to be, I was going to meet with President Putin, and then after that, I'm going to call the leaders and President Zelensky, I'm going to call President Zelensky, and then I'll call, probably, in that order, the leaders. 'There's a very good chance that we're going to have a second meeting which will be more productive than the first, because the first is I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing." Mr Trump described the war as "Biden's war", adding: "This war would have never happened if I were president. But it is what it is, and I'm here to fix it." Alexander Butler14 August 2025 04:00 'Severe consequences' if Putin doesn't agree to stop war, warns Trump There will be 'severe consequences' if Vladimir Putin does not agree to a ceasefire following crunch talks in Alaska, Donald Trump warned. Mr Trump was "very clear" in a virtual meeting Wednesday with European leaders that the US wants to achieve a ceasefire at the upcoming US-Russia summit in Alaska, French President Emmanuel Macron said. In the same meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, he told the group that Putin 'is bluffing' ahead of the planned meeting with Mr Trump. Mr Putin, Mr Zelensky said, "is trying to apply pressure ... on all sectors of the Ukrainian front" in an attempt to show that Russia is "capable of occupying all of Ukraine." Alexander Butler14 August 2025 03:00 Europe rallies behind Ukraine after talks with Trump EU leaders have rallied behind Ukraine after praising a 'very good call' with US president Donald Trump ahead of his landmark summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Finland's President Alexander Stubb said the next few days and weeks could be decisive in the Ukraine peace process. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was a "very good call". "Today Europe, the US and NATO have strengthened the common ground for Ukraine. "We will remain in close coordination. Nobody wants peace more than us, a just and lasting peace." German chancellor Friedrich Merz described the meeting with Trump as "constructive" and said that "important decisions" could be made in Anchorage, but stressed that "fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests must be protected" at the summit. Alexander Butler14 August 2025 02:00 Zelensky tells Trump that Putin is 'bluffing' and does not want peace ahead of crunch Ukraine summit Zelensky tells Trump Putin is 'bluffing' and does not want peace ahead of summit It has been reported that the US and Russia have discussed the Israeli occupation of Palestine as a model for a future agreement with Ukraine Alexander Butler14 August 2025 01:00 Ukraine, US, European leaders discuss venue for follow-up meeting after Trump-Putin summit Leaders of the US, Ukraine and Europe discussed possible locations for a follow-up meeting between US president Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump said on Wednesday there was a 'very good chance' of Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky meeting after his crunch summit with the Russian leader in Alaska on Friday Possible locations include cities in Europe and the Middle East, according to sources close to the matter. Alexander Butler14 August 2025 00:01 Watch: Trump warns of 'severe consequences' if Russia doesn't stop Ukraine war Holly Evans13 August 2025 23:09 Inside the remote military base where Trump and Putin will hold historic summit Inside the remote military base where Trump and Putin will hold historic summit Leaders will meet in Anchorage facility home to some 32,000 people Alexander Butler13 August 2025 23:00 When Trump and Putin go head to head in Alaska, who wins? Even by Donald Trump 's standards, his pre-match assessment of how his bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart would play out was bullish. 'We're going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin,' he told a news conference at the White House. 'And at the end of that meeting – probably in the first two minutes – I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made. Cos that's what I do – I make deals.' It's typical Trump: boastful, bereft of meaning and utterly unconvincing. On Friday, when Trump welcomes the Russian president to talks in Alaska, like a python eyeing a particularly plump suckling piglet, Putin will squeeze the spirit out of him, and then eat him for breakfast, as he has on each and every occasion when this tragically unevenly matched pair have had cause to interact. When Trump and Putin go head to head, who wins? Friday's summit in Alaska between the two leaders to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine will show that it is the cunning former KGB officer who understands the art of the deal, says Sean O'Grady Holly Evans13 August 2025 22:41 Putin appears ready to test new missile as he prepares for Trump talks Russia appears to be preparing to test its new nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered cruise missile, according to two US researchers and a Western security source, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin readies for talks on Ukraine with US President DonaldTrump on Friday. Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and Decker Eveleth of the CNA research and analysis organisation, based in Virginia, reached their assessments separately by studying imagery taken in recent weeks until Tuesday by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm. They agreed the photos showed extensive activity at the Pankovo test site on the Barents Sea archipelago of Novaya Zemlya, including increases in personnel and equipment and ships and aircraft associated with earlier tests of the 9M730 Burevestnik (Storm Petrel). 'We can see all of the activity at the test site, which is both huge amounts of supplies coming in to support operations and movement at the place where they actually launch the missile,' Lewis said. Alexander Butler13 August 2025 22:30 69 per cent of Ukrainians favour negotiated end to war, poll finds A Gallup poll released last week found that 69 per cent of Ukrainians favour a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible. But polls also indicate Ukrainians do not want peace at any cost if that means significant concessions. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Alexei Fadeev earlier said Moscow's stance had not changed since last year. As conditions for a ceasefire and the start of talks, Putin had demanded Ukraine withdraw its forces from four regions that Russia has claimed as its own but does not fully control, and formally renounce plans to join NATO. Holly Evans13 August 2025 22:16
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Pauline Hanson rips into Albo for 'betraying' the values of Australians - and why the PM has made the world 'more dangerous'
has accused Anthony Albanese of emboldening terrorists after a senior Hamas extremist praised his decision to recognise the state of Palestine. On Wednesday, Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Youssef praised the Australian Prime Minister 's 'courage' in recognising the state of Palestine, a move the senior West Bank leader said vindicated the October 7 attacks. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, who opposes recognition without making security guarantees for Israel, said the endorsement should 'send a chill down your spine'. 'Albanese has handed a propaganda victory to terrorists,' the Senator posted to social media on Thursday morning. 'He's rewarded violence. And he's betrayed the values we stand for, freedom, democracy, and loyalty to our allies. 'Every time weak leaders appease extremists, the world becomes more dangerous. And Australians pay the price. This isn't leadership. It's surrender.' Youssef, who has been arrested several times by Israel, said recognition by countries like Australia had proven Hamas' armed resistance had raised its diplomatic heft. 'We believe that the escalation of armed resistance, including the operations carried out on October 7, has significantly contributed to highlighting the suffering of the Palestinian people and the injustice they face,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'Resistance has proven to be an effective means to break the siege and bring the Palestinian cause back to the international discussion table.' It contradicts claims by Mr Albanese that Hamas would oppose Australia's decision to recognise Palestine as a step towards a two-state solution. On Tuesday - the day after Mr Albanese announced Australia would recognise Palestine at an upcoming UN General Assembly meeting - he said Hamas would be 'totally opposed' to recognition. 'Hamas don't support two states, they support one state,' he told Channel Seven's Sunrise program. In a statement, Mr Albanese said the decision would 'further isolate Hamas' and relied on assurances made by the Palestinian Authority, the governing body in the West Bank. Ms Hanson added the endorsement by Youssef posed a threat to Australia's security, claiming it would embolden domestic extremists. 'I believe that we have fundamentalist terrorist cells in Australia, that is going to give them some confidence in what they stand for, the radicalisation that is happening in this country,' she told Sky News. 'You lay down ground rules first and say: "This is what we want". 'You don't give them what they want and then hope they're going to get a democratic government, that Hamas will give up their weapons, they'll hand over their hostages and the bodies of the dead and the dying and make an agreement.' Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Michaelia Cash said Mr Albanese should 'hang his head in shame' after being praised by Hamas. 'All Australians should be appalled at the massive propaganda victory Mr Albanese has handed Hamas on a platter,' she said. On Thursday morning, Albanese told reporters he would 'not be a cheer squad for Hamas' and cast doubt on Youssef's statement, claiming he has been imprisoned in Israel since October 2023 and has no way of communicating. 'What that should be is a warning to the media to be very careful about the fact that Hamas will engage in propaganda, because what is happening is that the international community are united about isolating Hamas, about supporting a peaceful way forward,' he said. He urged the media not to 'repeat Hamas's propaganda.' Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has said the Coalition would revoke Palestinian recognition if elected in three years. 'The Coalition would have never made this call and we do not agree with it,' Ms Ley said in a statement on Tuesday. Australia is set to recognise the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September along with Canada, France and the UK.
