The satellite was designed and manufactured by Iranian engineers, according to reports.
A Russian rocket has put an Iranian communications satellite into space, according to Iranian state media, in the latest achievement for an aerospace programme that has caused consternation among some Western governments.
“The Nahid-2 communications satellite was launched from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome using a Soyuz rocket,” Iranian state television said on Friday.
Weighing 110kg (240lb), the satellite was designed and manufactured by Iranian engineers, the broadcaster added.
Western governments have long expressed concern that technological advances made in Iran’s space programme could also be used to upgrade its ballistic missile arsenal.
Nuclear talks
The launch was announced shortly before nuclear talks between Iran and Britain, France and Germany began in Istanbul.
The meeting, which began on Friday morning, is the first since Israel’s mid-June attacks on Iran, which led to a 12-day conflict and the intervention on Israel’s behalf of the United States, which attacked Iranian nuclear sites.
In December, Iran announced it had put its heaviest payload to date into space, saying it used a domestically manufactured satellite carrier.
In September, Iran said it had put the Chamran-1 research satellite into orbit using the Ghaem-100 carrier, which is produced by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aerospace division.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman tells Al Jazeera direct talks with Cambodia are priority as deadly clashes continue.
Thailand has called for a peaceful resolution to deadly border fighting with Cambodia, saying it prefers to settle the matter through bilateral dialogue while leaving the door open to potential involvement from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) if necessary.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said on Friday that the situation on the ground had improved slightly although clashes that first broke out on Thursday had resulted in casualties. “The fighting is continuing since yesterday although the situation today seems to be a little bit better from yesterday,” he said.
The 818km (508-mile) border between the two neighbours has long been a source of tension and rivalry, as they both dispute demarcations drawn in 1907, during French colonial rule in Cambodia.
Nikorndej said Thailand has long tried to reach out to the Cambodian government in the hopes of easing long-standing tensions, which have periodically resulted in skirmishes. “We have always insisted we want to resolve this matter peacefully through bilateral mechanisms. … Very unfortunately, the Cambodian side has not reacted positively.”
While Thailand insists it has the tools to resolve the issue bilaterally, it has not ruled out future mediation by regional partners. “Our doors have always been open to talks. … We are still waiting for positive reactions from the Cambodian side,” Nikorndej said.
On possible third-party mediation, he added: “It’s a bit too premature for me right now to say that we are ready for any mediation, … but if we are going to talk about anyone to step in and help, countries in ASEAN … would be best suited.”
Malaysia, which currently chairs ASEAN, has reached out to both sides. Nikorndej confirmed that talks were held on Thursday with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to discuss potential regional engagement.
On Friday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said his country had supported a ceasefire proposal put forward by Anwar but Thailand withdrew its backing to the plan after initially accepting it. There was no immediate reaction by the Thai government.
At least 13 Thai civilians and one soldier have been killed and 45 people have been wounded, including women and children, as fighting continues along the disputed frontier. “We are defending our territorial integrity and the Thai people,” Nikorndej added. Cambodia has reported one death on its side.
Nikorndej said the Thai military came under direct fire, which contributed to the current escalation. In response, the government has opened evacuation shelters, deployed medical teams and distributed aid to civilians displaced by the clashes.
Cambodia has alleged that Thailand first opened fire on Thursday, igniting the fighting.
Cambodia first took the contentious border issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1963. In 2011, Cambodia again went to the ICJ in relation to the Preah Vihear Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The ICJ ruled in Cambodia’s favour and handed it control of the immediate area around the temple in 2013.
However, the court did not address any of the other disputed areas, especially those within the “Emerald Triangle”, a shared border region between Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, where troops also frequently clash.
Thailand has refused to acknowledge the ICJ’s jurisdiction in this issue. Tensions have simmered until this year’s acute escalation.
France defended its decision to recognise Palestinian statehood amid domestic and international criticism on Friday, including against the charge that the move plays into the hands of Hamas.
President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September, the most powerful European nation to announce such a move.
Macron’s announcement drew condemnation from Israel, which said it “rewards terror”, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it “reckless” and said it “only serves Hamas propaganda”.
Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Israel, quipped that Macron did not say where a future Palestinian state would be located.
“I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called “Franc-en-Stine”, he said on X.
Hamas itself praised the French initiative, saying it was “a positive step in the right direction toward doing justice to our oppressed Palestinian people”.
But French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Friday argued that Macron’s initiative went against what the militant group wanted.
“Hamas has always ruled out a two-state solution. By recognising Palestine, France goes against that terrorist organisation,” Barrot said on X.
With its decision, France was “backing the side of peace against the side of war”, Barrot added.
Domestic reactions ranged from praise on the left, condemnation on the right and awkward silence in the ranks of the government itself.
‘Counter-productive’, ‘pointless’
The leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), Jordan Bardella, said the announcement was “rushed” and afforded Hamas “unexpected institutional and international legitimacy”.
On the other side of the political spectrum Jean-Luc Melenchon, boss of the far-left France Unbowed party, called Macron’s announcement “a moral victory”, although he deplored that it did not take effect immediately.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, a right winger whose relationship with Macron is tense, declined on Friday to give his opinion, saying he was currently busy with an unrelated “serious topic” linked to the “security of French people on holiday”.
But the vice president of his party, Les Republicains, Xavier Bellamy, blasted the decision as possibly “counter-productive” or, at best, “pointless”.
The move risked “endangering Israeli civilians” as well as “Palestinian civilians who are victims of Hamas’s barbarism”, he said.
Bellamy said that Macron’s move was a departure from the president’s previously set conditions for recognition of Palestine, which included a Hamas de-militarisation, the movement’s exclusion from any future government, the liberation of all Israeli hostages in Gaza and the recognition of Israel by several Arab states.
“None of them have been met,” he said.
While France would be the most significant European country to recognise a Palestinian state, others have hinted they could do the same.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced he would hold a call on Friday with counterparts in Germany and France on efforts to stop the fighting, adding that a ceasefire would “put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state”.
Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all announced recognition following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, along with several other non-European countries.
Once France follows through on its announcement, a total of at least 142 countries will have recognised Palestinian statehood.
Sir Keir Starmer is facing pressure to immediately recognise Palestinian statehood after France made a commitment to do so within months and a group of MPs called on the prime minister to do the same.
Labour and Lib Dem MPs on the foreign affairs committee argued that statehood is an “inalienable right” that should “not be made conditional”.
But their two Tory colleagues said it should only happen as part of a long-term political solution to the conflict in the Middle East, echoing the Labour government’s position.
Sir Keir is due to hold an emergency call with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz later today, amid warnings of mass starvation in Gaza.
In a statement on Thursday evening, condemning “unspeakable and indefensible” conditions in Gaza, Sir Keir said statehood was an “inalienable right”.
He reiterated his call for a ceasefire in the conflict, adding this would “put us on a path” towards recognising a Palestinian state.
He has previously said the UK should reserve recognition for when it would have the “greatest impact” – without specifying when this would be.
Most countries – about 139 in all – formally recognise a Palestinian state, although many European nations – and the United States – say they will only do so as part of moves towards a long-term resolution to the conflict.
Spain, Ireland and Norway formally took the step last year, hoping to exert diplomatic pressure to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.
At the United Nations (UN), representatives of Palestine currently have limited rights to participate in UN activity, and the territory is also recognised by various international organisations, including the Arab League.
Sceptics argue recognition would largely be a symbolic gesture unless questions over the leadership and extent of a Palestinian state are addressed first.
Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday, former UK Foreign Office boss Lord McDonald argued recognition itself “doesn’t really amount to very much,” adding that a Palestinian state lacked defined borders or an “agreed government”.
“It would incense the Israelis, it would incense the Americans, and people would ask well where’s the beef, what’s the follow-up, and the follow up is very difficult to deliver,” he said.
Palestinian officials have welcomed France’s decision, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said statehood would be “a launch pad to annihilate Israel”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the move “reckless”.
In their report, MPs on the foreign affairs committee acknowledged that the Israeli government “is not listening to the UK,” and was only “sporadically” listening to the United States, by far its most significant military backer.
‘Never a perfect time’
The report urges the government to recognise Palestinian statehood “while there is still a state to recognise”.
“An inalienable right should not be made conditional,” the report adds.
“The government cannot continue to wait for the perfect time because experience shows that there will never be a perfect time.”
That section of the report was backed by all six Labour MPs who voted, including chairwoman Dame Emily Thornberry, and the two Liberal Democrats on the committee.
It was not endorsed by its two Conservative members, Aphra Brandreth and Sir John Whittingdale, who said the UK should only back the move as part of a wider two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
It is not unusual for select committees to be split on controversial issues but they will normally try to speak with one voice.
The Tory MPs on the foreign affairs committee made an unsuccessful attempt to change the report to reflect their views, arguing that recognition should accompany the release of hostages taken by Hamas in October 2023, and the creation of Palestinian authorities without Hamas supporters.
Around 60 MPs reportedly called for the UK to immediately recognise Palestinian statehood in a letter earlier this month, with London major Sir Sadiq Khan also making the call on Wednesday.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said recognising Palestinian statehood was a Labour manifesto commitment but added that it needed to “happen in way that would be empowering and that delivers the long-term peace Palestine needs”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “The UK should be leading on this, not falling behind.
“Recognise the independent state of Palestine now and take the lead on securing a two-state solution and a lasting peace.”
Other parties have also called for recognition, with the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn urging the prime minister to “do the right thing and Green co-leader Carla Denyer describing the step as “the bare minimum”.
Aid distribution call
The MPs’ report comes after the UK and 27 other countries condemned the “drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians” seeking food and water in Gaza.
Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the countries’ statement, saying it was “disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas”.
In the rest of their report, which was endorsed unanimously, the MPs called for a UN-led system to distribute aid in Gaza, replacing the controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in place since May.
They also said the UK should justify how “allowing indirect exports” of British parts for F-35 fighter jets used by Israel complies with the UK’s obligations under international law.
The UK says it does not export the parts directly to Israel, but rather to manufacturing centres abroad as part of a global programme, and it cannot prevent Israel from obtaining the components.
Half a century after the establishment of relations between China and the EU, and against a backdrop of deteriorating transatlantic relations, the European Union and China held their 25th summit in Beijing. It is worth noting that the summit could not have been held elsewhere, as Chinese President Xi Jinping had refused an invitation to travel to Brussels.
Expectations were low, but the summit yielded more substantial results than expected, most likely due to the shadow cast by the current US administration and its bullish foreign policy.
Beyond the usual rhetoric about commitment to the relationship, respect for the principles of the United Nations and the rules-based international order, results revolved around three main axes: global challenges, trade relations and current geopolitical issues.
Global challenges
Both parties expressed a commitment to cooperation and joint leadership in the face of global challenges. This included environmental issues, which even warranted the publication of a joint press release, as well as a shared commitment to multilateralism in an international context that is particularly hostile to it.
With regard to the environment, both China and the EU have placed special emphasis on reducing emissions, as well as increasing financial contributions for this purpose and protecting biodiversity.
While this first area saw a notable degree of agreement between China and the EU, the same cannot be said for issues of trade and geopolitics.
Trade relations
President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, issued a strong warning about the need “rebalance” the EU-China trade relationship: “As our co-operation has deepened, so have imbalances”, she said. Specifically, she referred to the need to reduce the EU’s extremely high trade deficit with China, which reached €300 million in 2024.
In addition to existing tensions arising from the deficit, disagreements have recently emerged regarding the imposition of tariffs on certain products by each of the parties. These include levies imposed by the PRC on European pork and brandy, which are largely considered to be a retaliation against the EU’s decision to impose tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles in October 2024.
The EU, and the G7, have made efforts to reduce dependency on China, which Xi criticised directly: “Boosting competitiveness should not rely on building walls or barriers, as decoupling and severing supply chains will only result in self-isolation”, he said.
Despite tensions, there were also modest signs of progress – a tentative deal was struck to lift restrictions on Chinese exports of rare earth minerals to Europe, which had been in place since April 2025.
Geopolitical issues
Restrictions on Chinese exports of rare earth minerals to Europe and tariffs imposed on electric vehicles are actually closely linked to the third of the major issues addressed at this summit: geopolitics. This is an area where disagreement between China and the EU has angered the Chinese government – more so than trade matters.
However, unlike the United States, the EU has not opted for a policy of decoupling from Beijing, but rather for one of maintaining relations and derisking.
Indeed, the European Union, like the US, fears that China may use its growing technological capabilities to project influence, interfere in other states, launch cyberattacks or control systems. Electric vehicles could become a very useful tool for these purposes.
However, disagreements on international security between Europe and China do not end there. On the contrary, they have repeatedly clashed in recent years over the conflict in Ukraine, which von der Leyen described as the “determining factor” in EU-China relations.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU has viewed China’s refusal to condemn Russia’s actions with considerable displeasure. It has also criticised China’s ambivalence regarding the positions of Ukraine and Russia and, above all, the economic, political and military support provided by Beijing to the Russian Federation.
This already prompted action from the EU in early 2024, in the form of sanctions against Chinese companies for supplying Russia with components for the manufacture of weapons.
Read more:
Beijing’s ‘plausible deniability’ on arms supply is quickly becoming implausible — and could soon extend to Iran
Unfortunately, the summit has not brought the two parties any closer to agreement on this issue. It therefore seems unlikely that European efforts to convince China to pressure Russia into agreeing to a ceasefire will bear fruit. The tensions make sense if we consider that this is where certain core differences between the EU and China converge – specifically their conflicting models of international relations, and longstanding views on human rights.
Limited results
Although the summit generated more results than many commentators expected, not all of them have been positive. Cooperation between the two powers has been rhetorically reinforced, but the meeting mainly served to once again underscore the enormous distance that separates Beijing from Brussels. For now, it seems that even the threat of the Trump administration’s foreign policy cannot bring them any closer.
Just when it seemed that Europe’s moral failure over Gaza was complete, the head of state of one EU country has stood up with a powerful message of moral clarity. King Philippe of Belgium, whose direct political statements are rare,condemned the grave humanitarian abuses in Gaza as “a disgrace to humanity”.
In a televised address to mark Belgium’s national day on 21 July, Philippe said: “I stand with all those who denounce the grave humanitarian abuses in Gaza, where innocent civilians, trapped in their enclave, are dying of hunger and being killed by bombs.” The monarch said he fully supported the calls of the UN secretary general, António Guterres, to end “this unbearable crisis”. From the royal palace in Brussels, the king added: “The current situation has dragged on for far too long. It is a disgrace to humanity.”
After a weekend in which at least 100 people across Gaza were killed as they sought food and water – violence that elicited no formal EU response – the monarch’s message stood out. He spoke of a recent meeting with Rami Elhanan and Bassam Aramin – two fathers, one Israeli and one Palestinian, who had each lost a daughter in earlier outbreaks of violence in the Middle East. “They have put aside any desire for revenge and have chosen to transform their pain into a message of peace,” he said. “It is always human dignity that is at stake.”
The king’s speech resonated beyond Belgium. The Dutch national broadcaster NOS openly questioned why King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands had not made a similar statement.
As a constitutional monarch, Philippe has limited formal powers. His two annual addresses – on Belgium’s national day and Christmas Eve – are reviewed by the prime minister before broadcast. But this year’s remarks stood in sharp contrast to the federal government and the prime minister, Bart De Wever, a Flemish nationalist. His party, the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), Belgium’s largest, includes several outspoken defenders of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. De Wever has resisted calls to impose sanctions on Israel. He even questioned whether Belgium would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, as international law would require if the Israeli prime minister were to visit the country.
Transcending domestic politics, Philippe issued a broader call to action: “Europe must assert its leadership even more strongly. It must stand as a bulwark against – and a worthy alternative to – the brutal power struggles we are witnessing today.”
Given the EU’s intolerable silence on Israel’s war crimes, human rights violations and the deepening humanitarian catastrophe, it was a relief to hear at least one head of state speak the truth out loud. EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels last week failed to take action against Israel, prompting an accusation of“cruel and unlawful betrayal” of Palestinians from Amnesty International. Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France would recognise Palestinian statehood in September, while important, remains symbolic in the absence of any economic, financial or diplomatic sanctions.
The king, who was speaking just days after an audience with humanitarian organisations working in Gaza, highlighted the failure to uphold international law. “For decades, international law was the cornerstone upon which states could rely,” he said. “Today, that is being openly called into question. But when international law is trampled, the whole world suffers. Unpredictability and violence are then given free rein.”
King Philippe records his annual televised address for this year’s national day. Photograph: Didier Lebrun/AP
While praising collective efforts to meet challenges such as the climate crisis, digital transformation and defence cooperation, Philippe urged EU leaders to “remain true to our values: democracy, justice and the rule of law”. In a political landscape increasingly dominated by realpolitik, here was a voice insisting on the ethical foundations of the European project.
The Belgian king has a consistent record of opposing discrimination and upholding human rights. After a deadly terror attack on the Jewish museum in Brussels in 2014, he made an official visit to the site. In 2015, he invited a large delegation of rabbis and Jewish community leaders to the palace after the dismantling of Islamist terrorist cells in Brussels and Verviers.
His moral stance has deep roots in the Belgian monarchy. His great-grandmother Queen Elisabeth was recognised by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. During the second world war, she used her position as queen mother to intervene on behalf of Jews facing deportation. According to Yad Vashem, “these interventions by a member of a royal family in Europe on behalf of Jews were unparalleled”.
Since its independence in 1830, Belgium has granted full civil rights to Jews – except during the years of Nazi occupation. Those rights, including freedom of religion, expression and the press, are enshrined in the Belgian constitution.
More recently, in 2022, Philippe undertook his first visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the former Belgian colony that was founded and brutally exploited by his ancestor Léopold II. While visiting DRC, the king expressed his “deepest regrets” for the suffering inflicted by Belgian colonialism. “The colonial regime itself was based on exploitation and domination,” he said. It was “marked by paternalism, discrimination and racism”.
The fact that Philippe’s defence of international law and his remarks on the suffering in Gaza felt like news shows how timid Europe’s elected leaders have been. He was saying only what they should have said months ago.
Of course, his remarks won’t end the war. But they should remind Europe – and the world – that silence in the face of injustice amounts to complicity. And that in times of political cowardice, a constitutional monarch can still be a moral leader.
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UK, France and Germany call for immediate end to ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Gaza and demand Israel lifts restrictions on aid
The UK, France and Germany have issued a statement saying the Gaza “humanitarian catastrophe must end now” They have called on Israel to “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid”.
“The humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza must end now,” a joint statement reads. “Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable.”
More to follow …
Key events
Summary
Here is a recap of today’s main developments:
The UK, France and Germany have issued a statement saying the Gaza “humanitarian catastrophe must end now”. They have called on Israel to “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid”. The joint statement also calls on all parties to bring about an immediate ceasefire, for an unconditional release of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas.
Gazais on the brink of running out of the specialised therapeutic food needed to save the lives of severely malnourished children, United Nations and humanitarian agencies say. Salim Oweis, a spokesperson for Unicef in Amman, Jordan, told Reuters supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a crucial treatment, would be depleted by mid-August if nothing changed.
Médecins Sans Frontières(MSF)said on Friday that a quarter of all young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women screened at its clinics in Gaza last week were malnourished, blaming Israel’s “policy of starvation”. MSF said that “rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have tripled in the last two weeks alone”, AFP reports.
Qatar and Egypt, in partnership with the US, have affirmed their commitment to continue efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, according to a joint statement reported by Reuters. Qatar’s foreign ministry also referred to Thursday’s pause on negotiations to hold consultations as a “natural matter” given the complexity of the talks. Both countries said there had been some progress in the latest round of talks.
Israeli army radio, citing a military official, reported that Israel would allow foreign countries to parachute aid into Gaza starting on Friday, Reuters reports.
UN secretary general António Guterres on Friday criticised the international community for turning a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinians starving in the Gaza Strip, calling it a “moral crisis that challenges the global conscience.”
The death toll from Israeli military operations in Gaza has reached 59,676, according to the latest update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. In the past 24 hours alone, 89 people were killed and 467 were injured, the ministry said in its daily report.
Ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel are expected to resume next week, AFP reports.Hamas official, Bassem Naim said on Friday that he was told an Israeli delegation would depart for consultations early next week.
Israel, with its US allies, is now considering alternative options to bring its hostages home, end Hamas’ rule in Gaza, and secure lasting peace for Israel, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, Reuters reports.
Donald Trump has said Hamas “did not want to make a deal” on a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza. Referring to Hamas leaders, Trump said: “I think they will be hunted down”.
A Hamas official on Friday accused US envoy Steve Witkoff of distorting reality after he announced Washington’s withdrawal from Gaza truce talks and accused the group of blocking a deal. Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim said: “The negative statements of the US envoy Witkoff run completely counter to the context in which the last negotiations were held, and he is perfectly aware of this, but they come to serve the Israeli position.”
Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday his country cannot accept “carnage and famine” in Gaza, criticising Israel but stating that Italy was not ready to recognise the state of Palestine. He added that the recognition of a Palestinian state must occur simultaneously with the recognition of Israel by the new entity.
Israeli forces have arrested more than 200 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank over the past three months, according to a statement from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
France’s plan to formally recognise a Palestinian state runs counter to the stance held by Palestinian militant group Hamas, Paris said Friday. “Hamas has always ruled out a two-state solution. By recognising Palestine, France goes against that terrorist organisation,” foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X.
Donald Trump on Friday dismissed French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September. “What he says doesn’t matter,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’s a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for “urgent collective action by states” to end the suffering in Gaza.
As ceasefire negotiations have stalled, the organisation’s president Mirjana Spoljaric released a strongly worded statement, condemning “political hesitation”. She called for the resumption of “rapid, unimpeded and impartial” aid deliveries, the unconditional release of all remaining hostages and allowing the ICRC to resume visits to Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention.
The statement adds:
Every minute without a ceasefire risks civilian lives. The level of suffering inflicted on civilians because of warfare conducted indiscriminately and the extreme deprivation of the essentials for survival is abhorrent.
People are being relentlessly killed in hostilities and while attempting to get food. Children are dying because they do not have enough to eat. Families are being forced to flee again and again in search of safety that does not exist. The ICRC has more than 350 staff on the ground in Gaza, many of whom are also struggling to find enough food and clean water.
This tragedy must end now – immediately and decisively. Every political hesitation, every attempt at justification of the horrors being committed under international watch will forever be judged as a collective failure to preserve humanity in war.
Germany ‘prepared to increase pressure’ on Israel, but did not give details
Germany, which joined the UK and France in calling on Israel to immediately lift aid blocks in Gaza, has traditionally been a particularly staunch ally of Israel in Europe.
But Berlin, too, has sharpened its tone recently, the Associated Press reports, describing the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza as unacceptable and pushing for greater humanitarian aid. But it still appears to favour trying to influence Israeli officials by direct contact.
The German government said in a statement on Friday that it is in a “constant exchange” with the Israeli government and other partners on issues that include a ceasefire in Gaza and the need to drastically improve humanitarian aid. It said it is “prepared to increase the pressure” if there is no progress, but didn’t elaborate on how.
Israeli officials have said they believe Hamas is still interested in a ceasefire deal but accused the militant group of “trying to squeeze every possible advantage, provoking and appeasing all the extremist factions within Gaza”, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The publication quoted an official as saying that Hamas demands to release prisoners in exchange for hostages who have died was “outlandish”.
The report comes as negotiations were effectively stalled when the US and Israel recalled their negotiators from Doha on Thursday.
Julian Borger is a senior international correspondent who has reported for the Guardian in the US, the Middle East, eastern Europe and the Balkans. He has written this analysis on growing pressure on the UK’s Keir Starmer to pick a side now Macron has announced France will recognise Palestine as a state:
Emmanuel Macron’s declaration, announced in typically dramatic fashion on social media late on Thursday night, draws a bright line between the paths followed by the US and France over the Gaza war, and significantly raises the pressure on the UK, Germany and other G7 powers to pick a side.
Macron, Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz held what Starmer described as an “emergency call” on Friday, to coordinate positions. It led to a joint call for Israel to lift its food blockade immediately, an immediate ceasefire and release of hostages held by Hamas. But there was no apparent shift in Merz and Starmer’s position on recognition.
Merz’s government said it had “no plans to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term”.
Starmer stuck to his position that statehood would only come as part of a sequence of coordinated steps towards peace.
“Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I am unequivocal about that,” the prime minister said. “But it must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis.”
UK prime minister says recognising Palestinian statehood should be part of ‘pathway’ to peace
British prime minister Keir Starmer said recognising Palestinian statehood should be part of a “pathway” to peace amid mounting pressure on the UK to follow France.
In a statement released after he and the leaders of France and Germany restated their calls for a ceasefire, Starmer said:
The appalling scenes in Gaza are unrelenting.
The continued captivity of hostages, the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel’s disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible.
Alongside our closest allies, I am working on a pathway to peace in the region, focused on the practical solutions that will make a real difference to the lives of those that are suffering in this war.
That pathway will set out the concrete steps needed to turn the ceasefire so desperately needed, into a lasting peace.
Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I am unequivocal about that.
But it must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis.
This is the way to ensure it is a tool of maximum utility to improve the lives of those who are suffering – which of course, will always be our ultimate goal.
Qatar and Egypt, in partnership with the US, have affirmed their commitment to continue efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, according to a joint statement reported by Reuters.
Qatar’s foreign ministry also referred to Thursday’s pause on negotiations to hold consultations as a “natural matter” given the complexity of the talks. Both countries said there had been some progress in the latest round of talks.
The joint statement also calls on all parties “to bring an end to the conflict by reaching an immediate ceasefire” and urges Hamas to agree the “unconditional release of all hostages”.
“The most basic needs of the civilian population, including access to water and food, must be met without any further delay,” the statement continues.
It adds: “The disarmament of Hamas is imperative, and Hamas must have no role in the future of Gaza.”
“Threats of annexation, settlements and acts of settler violence against Palestinians undermine the prospects for a negotiated two-state solution,” the statement continues.
UK, France and Germany call for immediate end to ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Gaza and demand Israel lifts restrictions on aid
The UK, France and Germany have issued a statement saying the Gaza “humanitarian catastrophe must end now” They have called on Israel to “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid”.
“The humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza must end now,” a joint statement reads. “Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable.”
More to follow …
Peter Beaumont
Peter Beaumont is a senior international reporter who has reported extensively from conflict zones including Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Ukraine. He is the former Jerusalem correspondent of the Guardian and has written this analysis on Israel and starvation in Gaza.
Israel is pursuing an extensive PR effort to remove itself from blame for the starvation and killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is responsible.
As dozens of governments, UN organisations and other international figures have detailed Israel’s culpability, officials and ministers in Israel have attempted to suggest that there is no hunger in Gaza, that if hunger exists it is not Israel’s fault, or to blame Hamas or the UN and aid organisations for problems with distribution of aid.
The Israeli effort has continued even as one of its own government ministers, the far-right heritage minister, Amichai Eliyahu, appeared to describe an unapologetic policy of starvation, genocide and ethnic cleansing that Israel has denied and said is not official policy.
Amid evidence of a growing number of deaths from starvation in Gaza, including many child deaths, and shocking images and accounts of malnutrition, Israel has tried to deflect blame for what has been described by the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) as “man-made mass starvation”.
That view was endorsed in a joint statement this week by 28 countries – including the UK – which explicitly blamed Israel. “The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,” the statement said. “The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazan’s of human dignity.
“We condemn the drip-feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.”
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A third of people in Gaza ‘not eating for day’ amid ‘astonishing desperation’, UN ‘s World Food Programme says
Almost a third of people in Gaza are “not eating for days”, the United Nations food aid agency, the World Food Programme, has told the AFP news agency, saying the crisis has reached “new and astonishing levels of desperation”.
“Nearly one person in three is not eating for days. Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment,” the WFP said. It has previously warned of a “critical risk of famine” in Gaza.
It said that 470,000 people are expected to face “catastrophic hunger” – the most critical category under the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase classification – between May and September this year.
“Food aid is the only way for people to access any food as food prices are through the roof,” the WFP said. “People are dying from lack of humanitarian assistance.”
US forces killed an Islamic State group leader in a raid in Syria’s Aleppo province on Friday, the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The raid resulted “in the death of senior ISIS leader, Dhiya Zawba Muslih al-Hardani, and his two adult ISIS-affiliated sons,” CENTCOM said in a statement, using an acronym for the jihadist group.
“These ISIS individuals posed a threat to US and Coalition forces, as well as the new Syrian government,” it said, adding that three women and three children were at the location that was raided and were unharmed in the operation, AFP reports.
The Islamic State group rose out of the chaos of the Syrian civil war to seize swathes of territory there and in neighbouring Iraq over a decade ago.
It has since suffered major defeats in both countries, but the United States still periodically targets the jihadist group’s remnants with raids or strikes to prevent it from resurging.
France’s highest court ruled on Friday that an arrest warrant for former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was invalid as it was issued when he was still in office, but said a new warrant can now be issued as he is no longer a sitting head of state, Reuters reports.
French investigating magistrates had issued the warrant in November 2023 following a French investigation into chemical weapons attacks in the Syrian city of Douma and Eastern Ghouta district in August 2013 that killed more than 1,000 people.
Then-President Assad’s government denied using chemical weapons during the country’s civil war that broke out in 2011. Assad was toppled in December last year by Islamist rebels whose leader is now the interim president.
The Court of Cassation’s decision overturns one made by the Paris Court of Appeal, which had ruled last year that the warrant was valid. Prosecutors, who would need to ask police to carry out the warrant, had challenged its validity.
The Court of Cassation said in a statement:
“The arrest warrant issued at a time when this person was the head of state of Syria is therefore invalid … However, an arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity can now be issued since this person no longer holds the position of Head of State.”
UN chief criticises international community’s ‘lack of compassion’ for Palestinians in Gaza
UN secretary general António Guterres at a press conferece in June. Photograph: Manon Cruz/Reuters
UN secretary general António Guterres on Friday criticised the international community for turning a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinians starving in the Gaza Strip, calling it a “moral crisis that challenges the global conscience”, AFP reports.
“I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community – the lack of compassion, the lack of truth, the lack of humanity,” Guterres said in a speech via videolink to Amnesty International’s global assembly.
Hamas says US accusations over Gaza deal failure ‘run counter’ to talks
A Hamas official on Friday accused US envoy Steve Witkoff of distorting reality after he announced Washington’s withdrawal from Gaza truce talks and accused the group of blocking a deal.
“The negative statements of the US envoy Witkoff run completely counter to the context in which the last negotiations were held, and he is perfectly aware of this, but they come to serve the Israeli position,” said Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim in an interview with AFP.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East.
The humanitarian crisis inside Gaza deepens as Médecins Sans Frontières has said a quarter of Gaza’s young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women screened at its clinics in Gaza last week were malnourished, AFP reports.
The head of the main UN agency serving Palestinians has said his frontline staff are fainting from hunger, as the number of people dying of starvation in Gaza continued to rise.
It comes as Emmanuel Macron has announced France will recognise Palestinian statehood, saying he hoped it would bring “lasting peace” to the Middle East.
Macron announced the decision on X on Thursday evening and published a letter sent to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, confirming France’s intention to become the first major western power to recognise a Palestinian state.
The move prompted angry responses from Israel, while Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said it was’ “reckless”. It was welcomed by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Stay with us as we follow the developments.
Key events
Gaza running out of specialised food to save malnourished children, UN agencies say
Gazais on the brink of running out of the specialised therapeutic food needed to save the lives of severely malnourished children, United Nations and humanitarian agencies say.
“We are now facing a dire situation, that we are running out of therapeutic supplies,” Salim Oweis, a spokesperson for Unicef in Amman, Jordan, told Reuters on Thursday, saying supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a crucial treatment, would be depleted by mid-August if nothing changed.
“That’s really dangerous for children as they face hunger and malnutrition at the moment,” he added.
Oweis said Unicef had only enough RUTF left to treat 3,000 children. In the first two weeks of July alone, Unicef treated 5,000 children facing acute malnutrition in Gaza.
Nutrient-dense, high-calorie RUTF supplies, such as high-energy biscuits and peanut paste enriched with milk powder, are critical for treating severe malnutrition.
“Most malnutrition treatment supplies have been consumed and what is left at facilities will run out very soon if not replenished,” a World Health Organization spokesperson said on Thursday.
Gaza ceasefire talks expected to resume next week as Israel studies Hamas response, Egypt’s Al Qahera news says
Gaza ceasefire talks are expected to resume next week following Israel’s review of the response by Palestinian Hamas militants, Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said on Friday, citing an Egyptian source.
Al Qahera said the Israeli delegation left one day after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled the negotiating team for consultations, Reuters reports.
Close Israeli ally the United States also recalled its delegation from the talks for consultations on Thursday, with US envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of failing to act in good faith in the talks.
Hamas said it was surprised by Witkoff’s remarks, adding that the group’s position had been welcomed by mediators and had opened the door to reaching a comprehensive agreement.
Iranian and European diplomats have met in Istanbul to embark on the latest drive to unpick the deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear programme, AP reports.
Representatives from Britain, France and Germany gathered at the Iranian consulate building on Friday for the first talks since Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June, when US bombers struck nuclear-related facilities.
The talks are centred on the possibility of reimposing sanctions on Iran that were lifted in 2015 in exchange for Iran accepting restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear programme.
European leaders have said the reinstating of sanctions will start by the end of August if there is no progress on containing Iran’s nuclear programme.
Gaza is starving. So are its journalists.
Jodie Ginsberg
CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists
‘These are not the usual risks faced by reporters in conflict: a stray bullet, a landmine, ambush. This is something else.’ Photograph: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images
In May, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wrote about the desperate situation facing journalists in Gaza, who were having to report while dangerously hungry. My colleagues documented the gnawing hunger, dizziness, brain fog and sickness all experienced by an exhausted Palestinian press corps already living and working in terrifying conditions. Eight weeks later, that desperate situation is now catastrophic.
Several news organizations are now warning that their journalists – those documenting what is happening inside Gaza – will die unless urgent action is taken to stop Israel’s deliberate refusal to allow sufficient food into the territory. “Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks, but none of us can recall seeing a colleague die of hunger,” an association of journalists from the Agence France-Presse wrote in a statement on Monday. “We refuse to watch them die.” Two days later, the Qatari broadcast network Al Jazeera said its journalists – like all Palestinians in Gaza– were “fighting for their own survival” and warned: “If we fail to act now, we risk a future where there may be no one left to tell our stories.”
You can read the full article here:
An internal US government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of US-funded humanitarian supplies, Reuters reports.
The analysis, which has not been previously reported, was conducted by a bureau within the US Agency for International Development and completed in late June.
It examined 156 incidents of theft or loss of US-funded supplies reported by US aid partner organisations between October 2023 and this May.
It found “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from US-funded supplies, according to a slide presentation of the findings seen by Reuters.
The findings challenge the main rationale that Israel and the US give for backing a new armed private aid operation.
A State Department spokesperson disputed the findings, saying there is video evidence of Hamas looting aid, but provided no such videos.
The spokesperson also accused traditional humanitarian groups of covering up “aid corruption.”
UK foreign secretary David Lammy said on Friday the deteriorating situation in Gaza was “indefensible”, repeating calls for a ceasefire, Reuters reports.
“The sight of children reaching for aid and losing their lives has caused consternation over much of the world. And that is why I repeat my call today for a ceasefire,” Lammy said in a joint news conference with the Australian defence minister in Sydney.
“The deteriorating situation we’ve seen in Gaza over the last few weeks is indefensible.”
Keir Starmer said he would hold an “emergency call” on Friday with France and Germany on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, urging a ceasefire and steps towards Palestinian statehood.
“The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible,” the UK prime minister said. “We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe.”
France’s plan to formally recognise a Palestinian state runs counter to the stance held by Palestinian militant group Hamas, Paris said on Friday, AFP reports.
“Hamas has always ruled out a two-state solution. By recognising Palestine, France goes against that terrorist organisation,” foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X, a day after President Emmanuel Macron said France would recognise Palestinian statehood in September.
We have more from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The medical charity said that “rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have tripled in the last two weeks alone”.
It blamed Israel’s “policy of starvation”, AFP reports.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East.
The humanitarian crisis inside Gaza deepens as Médecins Sans Frontières has said a quarter of Gaza’s young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women screened at its clinics in Gaza last week were malnourished, AFP reports.
The head of the main UN agency serving Palestinians has said his frontline staff are fainting from hunger, as the number of people dying of starvation in Gaza continued to rise.
It comes as Emmanuel Macron has announced France will recognise Palestinian statehood, saying he hoped it would bring “lasting peace” to the Middle East.
Macron announced the decision on X on Thursday evening and published a letter sent to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, confirming France’s intention to become the first major western power to recognise a Palestinian state.
The move prompted angry responses from Israel, while Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said it was’ “reckless”. It was welcomed by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio lauded Pakistan’s role in “global and regional peace” in his first meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday, the Foreign Office (FO) said.
The deputy prime minister arrived in Washington, DC, on Thursday night, on the second leg of his eight-day visit to the US. He had arrived in New York on Monday to attend “high-level signature events” of Pakistan’s United Nations Security Council (UNSC) presidency, including a conference on Palestine.
A statement issued by the FO today said that Dar held his first meeting with Rubio. The two have previously talked over the telephone.
The FO said Rubio acknowledged Pakistan’s “everlasting sacrifices in the war on terror”.
“Pakistan has always played a positive role in global and regional peace,” the FO quoted the US secretary of state as saying.
The FO said that detailed discussions were held on bilateral relations and potential cooperation in various sectors.
“Discussions were held on promoting bilateral trade and economic relations, cooperation in important sectors, including investment, agriculture, technology [and] minerals. Counter-terrorism and regional peace were also discussed.”
FM Dar paid tribute to the efforts of President Donald Trump and the US leadership in promoting global peace, adding that their role and efforts regarding the recent Pakistan-India tension were “commendable”.
“Pakistan and the US seek further expansion and stability in bilateral relations,” he said.
The FO said FM Dar was optimistic about the positive progress in the ongoing trade dialogue between the two countries
“Pakistan is an attractive destination for the American business community and investors. The two countries have a common approach and interests regarding regional peace. The Pakistani community in the US is playing a bridge role between the two countries,” the FO quoted him as saying.
Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to promoting bilateral relations and working together in various fields
Dar is also scheduled to speak at the US think tank, The Atlantic Council, “sharing Pakistan’s perspective on regional and global issues as well as the future of Pak-US relations.”
Upon arrival in the US capital, FM Dar was received by Ambassador of Pakistan to the US Rizwan Saeed Sheikh and senior embassy officials.
Dar’s visit comes as Pakistan holds the presidency of the UNSC this month. Pakistan assumed the UNSC presidency for July, marking its first presidency since 2013. Islamabad began its current two-year term as a non-permanent member in January 2025 and will serve through the end of 2026.
Addressing a reception hosted by Pakistan’s Mission in New York on Wednesday, Dar called for an inclusive dialogue and cooperative diplomacy over confrontation amid growing turbulence across the world.
The deputy PM asserted that Pakistan’s leadership has been guided by “these very principles in both deliberations and concrete actions taken during its tenure”.
The UNSC unanimously adopted Pakistan-sponsored Resolution 2788, calling for the strengthening of international mechanisms to settle disputes through peaceful means.
Dar also announced Pakistan was seeking a seat at the UN Human Rights Council for the 2026-2028 term, with the Asia-Pacific Group endorsing its candidacy. Pakistan last held the membership from 2020 to 2023.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has arrived in Washington DC, where he is scheduled to meet his US counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at the Department of State.
They will discuss important facets of Pak-US relations exploring ways and means to strengthen bilateral ties, with a particular focus on promoting trade, investment and economic cooperation, state-run media Radio Pakistan reported.
The deputy prime minister is also scheduled to speak at the US think tank, The Atlantic Council, sharing Pakistan’s perspective on regional and global issues as well as the future of Pak-US relations.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to US Rizwan Saeed Sheikh and senior embassy officials received Dar at the train station in the US capital.
Reciprocal tariff: Pakistan officials to meet Trump administration, Bloomberg reports
During his week-long visit, Dar attended high-level signature events of Pakistan’s UN Security Council (UNSC) presidency in New York, while he met UN Secretary General António Guterres, on the sidelines of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, as well.
A day ago, Bloomberg, quoting US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce as saying, reported that a Pakistani delegation will soon meet the administration of US President Donald Trump in a bid to reach an agreement on a trade deal.
In a US Department of State press briefing on Wednesday, Bruce said she will attend the meeting between the Pakistani delegation and US officials.
Islamabad is looking forward to the 29% reciprocal tariffs to be lifted that the Trump administration levied initially, Bloomberg said. The South Asian country has proposed to increase imports of soybeans and cotton, while it already is the second-largest buyer of US cotton by value, after China. Whereas, Pakistan’s biggest export destination is the United States.
Bilateral ties between Pakistan and US have improved in recent times, with Trump’s holding a rare meeting with Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House.
The FO stated on July 19 that FM Dar’s visit is an indication of Pakistan’s increasing importance in both its relations with the US and the global landscape.
Moreover, in order to complete a trade agreement, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has also visited the United States and met with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington recently to advance economic cooperation, as per the Ministry of Finance.
Reuters last week reported that the negotiations, focused on reciprocal tariffs, are part of a broader push to reset economic ties at a time of shifting geopolitical alignments and Pakistan’s efforts to avoid steep US duties on exports.
