The British government will formally sanction two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, following their conduct over the war in Gaza, the Times reported on Tuesday.
The UK will join Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other nations in freezing the assets and imposing travel bans on Israel’s national security minister Ben-Gvir – a West Bank settler – and finance minister Smotrich.
Last month, the government suspended free trade talks with Israel for pursuing “egregious policies” in the illegally occupied West Bank and Gaza, summoned its ambassador, and announced further sanctions against West Bank settlers.
UK foreign minister David Lammy, who called Israel’s recent offensive “a dark new phase in this conflict,” has previously condemned comments by Smotrich on the possible cleansing and destruction of Gaza and relocation of its residents to neighbouring countries.
In the Commons, Lammy accused Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “planning to drive Gazans from their homes into a corner of the Strip to the south and permit them a fraction of the aid that they need”.
“Minister Smotrich even spoke of Israeli forces ‘cleansing’ Gaza, ‘destroying what’s left,’ of resident Palestinians ‘being relocated to third countries,’” Lammy said. “We must call this what it is. It is extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous. And I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
Reacting to the sanctions, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar said the decision to sanction its ministers was “outrageous,” adding that he would discuss the matter with Netanyahu next week to “decide on our response to this unacceptable decision.”
We’ve been reporting on the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and my colleague Emma Graham-Harrison, reporting from Jerusalem, writes that Israeli troops killed at least 17 Palestinians trying to reach food distribution sites on Tuesday morning.
The GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Israeli military said it was aware of reports of injuries after it fired warning shots towards “suspects” in the Wadi Gaza area whom its troops deemed a threat. “The warning shots were fired hundreds of meters from the aid distribution site, prior to its opening hours,” a spokesperson said. The military said the numbers released by local health authorities did not align with the information they had collected.
Read more of Emma’s excellent reporting here…
Here are some images coming to us over the wires:
The United States and Israel are seeking to turn nuclear talks into a “strategic trap” for Iran, Iranian lawmakers said in a statement on Tuesday, days before a planned sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks.
“The US is not serious in negotiations at all. It has set the goal of talks as imposing its demands and has adopted offensive positions that are diametrically opposed to Iranians’ inalienable rights,” the statement from parliamentarians said.
US President Donald Trump highlighted on Monday that the two sides remained at odds on the issue of uranium enrichment in Iran, which Iranian lawmakers say is a non-negotiable part of the country’s nuclear programme.
While Trump said the next round of talks would take place on Thursday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said it was planned to take place on Sunday in Oman.
Iran is to share a counterproposal to a US offer for a nuclear deal, which it says is not acceptable considering its position on enrichment and lack of detail on the lifting of sanctions, Reuters reports.
“The only acceptable deal is one that permanently lifts all sanctions with the aim of achieving economic benefits for Iran,” lawmakers added in their statement.
Good afternoon,
Here’s a summary of today’s stories developing in Gaza and around the Middle East.
-
Israel have deported Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg after she was detained along with other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat. “Greta Thunberg is departing Israel on a flight to France,” Israel’s foreign ministry said on its official X account.
-
Trump should summon Netanyahu to the White House and, facing cameras, tell the Israeli leader: “‘Bibi: enough is enough’”, Ehud Olmert, Israel’s prime minister between 2006 and 2009, tells AFP. “This is it. I hope he [Trump] will do it. There is nothing that cannot happen with Trump. I don’t know if this will happen. We have to hope and we have to encourage him.”
-
Sport in Gaza on the brink of collapse says VP of Palestinian Olympic committee. Asaad al-Majdalawi, vice president of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, tells Al Jazeera that Gaza’s entire sporting infrastructure is on the brink of collapse. “Every major component of Gaza’s sports system has been hit,” al-Majdalawi told Al Jazeera. “The Olympic Committee offices, sports federations, clubs, school and university sports programmes – even private sports facilities have been targeted. It’s a comprehensive assault.”
-
The president of the European parliament has been in “constant contact” with Israeli authorities over the MEP Rima Hassan, who was detained after naval forces intercepted an aid ship bound for Gaza. Hassan, a French MEP of Palestinian origin, who belongs to the radical left France Unbowed party, was on board the Madleen, which was carrying a symbolic amount of food and aid for Gaza, when it was intercepted by Israeli forces.
-
An independent United Nations commission says Israel’s attacks in Gaza amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. “Israel has obliterated Gaza’s education system and destroyed over half of all religious and cultural sites in the Gaza Strip — part of a widespread and relentless assault against the Palestinian people in which Israeli forces have committed war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination.”
On Tuesday the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, wrote on X that US navy ships had travelled through the Red Sea and its Bab el-Mandeb strait “multiple times in recent days” without facing Houthi attacks.
“These transits occurred without challenge and demonstrate the success of both Operation ROUGH RIDER and the President’s Peace Through Strength agenda,” Hegseth wrote ahead of facing Congress for the first time since sharing sensitive military details of America’s military campaign against the Houthis in a Signal chat.
It is unclear how the Houthis will respond now that an attack has come from the sea, rather than the air, from the Israelis.
Meanwhile, a wider, decade-long war in Yemen between the Houthis and the country’s exiled government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, remains in a stalemate.
After rockets were reportedly fired from northern Gaza at southern Israel, the IDF have issued an evacuation warning for the area of the launch.
“The IDF is operating with great force in the areas where you are located to destroy the capabilities of terror organisations. The IDF will respond firmly to every terror act or rocket attack,” the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee, says on X.
Civilians have been instructed to head for “known shelters” in Gaza City.
Greta Thunberg has been pictured onboard a flight to France after accepting deportation.
However, several peace activists who accompanied her to Gaza have refused deportation and are currently being detained. Their case is due to be heard by the authorities.
The pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) – which was operating the yacht – said at around 1am that the group were “expected to be moved to the Ramleh detention facility unless they agree to leave immediately”.
The rights group added: “We continue to demand the immediate release of all volunteers and the return of the stolen aid. Their detention is unlawful and a violation of international law.
Ten Palestinians were killed on Tuesday by Israeli shelling and gunfire across Gaza.
The Wafa news agency reports that four paramedics were killed by Israeli fire while performing their humanitarian duties in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City.
Three others were killed by bombing in the Ma’an area, east of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza. Another three lost their lives in Jabalia al-Balad, in the north.
Since October 7, 2023, 54,880 citizens have been killed by Israel, most of them women and children.
The president of the European parliament has been in “constant contact” with Israeli authorities over the MEP Rima Hassan, who was detained after naval forces intercepted an aid ship bound for Gaza.
Hassan, a French MEP of Palestinian origin, who belongs to the radical left France Unbowed party, was on board the Madleen, which was carrying a symbolic amount of food and aid for Gaza, when it was intercepted by Israeli forces.
The European parliament president Roberta Metsola was in “constant contact” with Israeli and political group leaders “to ensure the safety and security” of Hassan and all those accompanying her, a statement from the institution said.
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Tuesday that the French consul had been able to see six French nationals arrested by Israeli authorities last night. “One of them has agreed to leave voluntarily and should return today. The other five will be subject to forced deportation proceedings,” he wrote on X without identifying the citizens.
Leaders of three European parliamentary groups, including Hassan’s Left colleagues, the Greens and the Socialists published an open letter on Monday calling for the release of the nine people on board the Madleen. “While we recognise that humanitarian aid must be delivered through secure and co-ordinated channels, the desperation behind this civil initiative shows the failure of the international community, including of the European Union,to ensure safe, sustained and sufficient access to life-saving aid for over two million people trapped in Gaza.
Hamas has condemned an Israeli attack that killed three paramedics in Gaza as a “war crime.”
“Targeting those who aid victims represents an unprecedented level of brutality and criminality, and reveals the occupation’s efforts to stifle all means of survival and rescue in Gaza,” the statement published on Telegram said.
The group called on the international community and the United Nations to take action, urging them “to stop the occupation’s crimes, hold its fascist leaders accountable, and salvage the credibility of the international system”.
Asaad al-Majdalawi, vice president of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, tells Al Jazeera that Gaza’s entire sporting infrastructure is on the brink of collapse.
“Every major component of Gaza’s sports system has been hit,” al-Majdalawi told Al Jazeera. “The Olympic Committee offices, sports federations, clubs, school and university sports programmes – even private sports facilities have been targeted. It’s a comprehensive assault.”
“This is not just loss – it’s extermination,” al-Majdalawi says. “Each athlete was a community pillar. They weren’t numbers. They were symbols of hope, unity, and perseverance. Losing them has deeply wounded the Palestinian society.”
An independent United Nations commission says Israel’s attacks in Gaza amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“Israel has obliterated Gaza’s education system and destroyed over half of all religious and cultural sites in the Gaza Strip — part of a widespread and relentless assault against the Palestinian people in which Israeli forces have committed war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination,” the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory says in a report.
Israel continues to deny it is guilty of war crimes and is perpetrating a genocide on Gazans.
Palestinian president tells Macron to support demilitarisation of Hamas
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said that Hamas “must hand over its weapons” and called for the deployment of international forces to protect “the Palestinian people”, France announced on Tuesday.
In a letter addressed on Monday to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who will co-chair a conference on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians this month, Abbas outlined his plan for peace in the Middle East.
“Hamas will no longer rule Gaza and must hand over its weapons and military capabilities to the Palestinian Security Forces,” wrote Abbas.
He said he was “ready to invite Arab and international forces to be deployed as part of a stabilisation/protection mission with a (UN) Security Council mandate.”
The conference at UN headquarters later this month will aim to resurrect the idea of a two-state solution – Israel currently controls large parts of the Palestinian territories.
“We are ready to conclude within a clear and binding timeline, and with international support, supervision and guarantees, a peace agreement that ends the Israeli occupation and resolves all outstanding and final status issues,” Abbas wrote.
“Hamas has to immediately release all hostages and captives,” Abbas added.
In a statement, the Elysee Palace welcomed “concrete and unprecedented commitments, demonstrating a real willingness to move towards the implementation of the two-state solution.”
Macron has said he is “determined” to recognise a Palestinian state, but also set out several conditions, including the “demilitarisation” of Hamas.
Reacting to the seizure of Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg’s “symbolic” aid flotilla, my colleague Owen Jones argues that the incident exposes Israel’s genocidal intent in Gaza.
Jones writes that Israel’s blockade satisfies a UN definition of genocide, which states that a genocide has occurred when actions deliberately inflict on a group “conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
Jones points out that the aid blockade, the killing of aid workers, and the decimation of Gaza’s agricultural land have contributed to meeting the UN’s definition of genocide.
“The Madleen did not make it to Gaza’s shores. Yet its crew exposed an obscenity that has repulsed western citizens, who will one day force their governments to cease their complicity, which is why, in the end, Israel will lose…”
Read more here…
Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of the Middle East.
Israel on Tuesday said Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg was leaving the country on a flight to France, after she was detained along with other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat and taken to a Tel Aviv airport for deportation.
“Greta Thunberg is departing Israel on a flight to France,” Israel’s foreign ministry said on its official X account, along with two photos of the activist on board a plane.
The activist group departed Italy on 1 June aboard the Madleen carrying a symbolic amount of food and supplies for Gaza, whose population is at risk of famine. Israeli forces intercepted the boat in international waters on Monday and towed it to the port of Ashdod.
“The passengers of the ‘Selfie Yacht’ arrived at Ben Gurion airport to depart from Israel and return to their home countries,” the Israeli foreign ministry said on X. “Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority.”
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the group operating the Madleen, said all 12 campaigners were “being processed and transferred into the custody of Israeli authorities”.
“They may be permitted to fly out of Tel Aviv as early as tonight,” it said on social media.
In other news …
-
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has said Hamas “must hand over its weapons” and called for deployment of Arab and international forces to “provide protection to the Palestinian people”, the Elysee announced Tuesday. In a letter addressed on Monday to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who will co-chair a conference on the two-state solution, Abbas said he was “ready to invite Arab and international forces to be deployed as part of a stabilisation/protection mission with a Security Council mandate.”
-
Israel has attacked docks in Yemen’s rebel-held port city of Hodeidah, targeting facilities that are key to aid shipments to the country. Late on Monday, Israel had issued warnings online for Yemenis to evacuate from Ras Isa, Hodeidah and al-Salif ports. The Israeli military said in a statement on Tuesday: “The port is used to transfer weapons and is a further example of the Houthi terrorist regime’s cynical exploitation of civilian infrastructure in order to advance terrorist activities.”
-
Environmental charity Greenpeace said that the Madleen, the aid ship transporting Greta Thunberg and other activists, was “illegally seized in international waters by Israeli forces” and called for the “immediate release” of its crew. It also called for “unhindered delivery of aid” and an “end to the illegal occupation of Palestine”.
-
The BBC reports that Palestinians in Gaza say they were fired on by Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen once again as they visited the aid distribution centres run by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Monday.
-
Trump should summon Netanyahu to the White House and, facing cameras, tell the Israeli leader: “‘Bibi: enough is enough’”, Ehud Olmert, Israel’s prime minister between 2006 and 2009, tells AFP. “This is it. I hope he [Trump] will do it. There is nothing that cannot happen with Trump. I don’t know if this will happen. We have to hope and we have to encourage him.”
