Defying the already fragile terms of Gaza’s October ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has instructed the military to expand its hold over the enclave to 70% of the territory. "We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60% of the territory in the strip," he said at a conference in an occupied West Bank settlement, according to a video broadcast by Israel's Channel 12 network. He said Israeli forces had been holding 50% of Gaza under the ceasefire arrangements, before adding: "My directive is…

Israel says it has killed Hamas's newly installed armed wing commander in Gaza, only days after killing his predecessor, as it ramps up military pressure in the enclave and broadens its campaign in Lebanon. The Israeli military said Mohammad Odeh was killed in an operation in Gaza tomorrow. Hamas has not issued an official statement, though a message from Odeh's family said he was killed alongside his wife and son. Gaza health officials said six people were killed in the same Israeli strike, including at least one woman, and…

International condemnation mounted after Israel’s far-right security minister released a video showing Gaza-bound flotilla activists pinned to the ground and mocked, as two detainees later said they were physically assaulted while in custody. The police treatment of the group, carried out under the authority of Itamar Ben-Gvir, prompted criticism not only from Western governments but also from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the United States, Israel’s closest ally. The activists had been attempting to bring…

Outrage spread across Western capitals after Israel’s far-right security minister released a video showing Gaza-bound flotilla activists pinned to the ground, a scene that quickly deepened into a diplomatic row when two detainees later alleged they were physically assaulted in custody. The handling of the activists by police officers operating under Itamar Ben-Gvir’s authority also prompted criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and from the United States, Israel’s staunchest ally. The activists had been…

One of Hamas's highest-ranking figures is reported dead after Israel said it struck him in an air attack, marking what would be the most senior killing of a Hamas official since the October US-backed ceasefire deal intended to stop the war in Gaza. In Gaza City, witnesses said mosques had announced the death of Izz al-Din al-Haddad. If confirmed, he would be the most senior Hamas official killed by Israel since the ceasefire agreement reached in October with US backing, which was supposed to bring the fighting in Gaza to a…

Ireland’s Taoiseach has denounced the Israeli military’s interception of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in international waters earlier this week, calling the operation unacceptable. Speaking in Athlone, Micheál Martin said the incident could not go unanswered. "I want to condemn the seizure of the flotilla in what appears to be international waters, it's not acceptable. "I think the international community have to call it out and we will be raising it at European level. It is understood that seven Irish citizens, among the 175…

Amid the wreckage of Gaza, Palestinians are turning the debris of war into the groundwork for recovery, crushing shattered concrete and twisted metal to repave streets destroyed during Israel's ⁠two-year assault in what they hope will be the first visible step toward restoring their battered cities. The effort, led by the United Nations Development Programme, comes as momentum fades behind US President Donald Trump's Gaza plan, which was intended to build on an October Israel-Hamas ceasefire by ramping up aid and launching a…

At least three people were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said, in the latest attack to hit the enclave despite a ceasefire meant to halt the fighting. Medics and witnesses said the strike hit a busy area of Gaza City near a position where local police had been deployed to guard a bank. In a statement, Gaza's interior ministry said the strike targeted a police patrol. Reuters has previously reported that Israel has stepped up attacks on Gaza's Hamas-run police force, which the militant…

Rebuilding Gaza will cost an estimated $71bn, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, underscoring the scale of the destruction as European leaders weigh both aid and pressure on Israel. Speaking in Brussels during a series of meetings focused on the Palestinian issue, Ms Kallas said the estimate had been developed after months of talks with the World Bank and the United Nations. The EU is bringing together countries that have committed to backing a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, alongside a donor…

A fresh burst of Israeli fire has killed at least six Palestinians, among them two children, in separate incidents across Gaza, local health officials said, adding another strain to the fragile US-brokered ceasefire. In Gaza City, four people, including a young child, were killed when a strike hit a police vehicle, according to the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. The ministry said one of those killed was a police officer and that nine bystanders were wounded, some of them critically. Farther north, near Jabalia, three-year-old…