Category: 2. World

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 7 (Reuters) — Developing nations participating in the BRICS summit on Monday brushed away an accusation from U.S. President Donald Trump that the bloc is “anti-American,” as he threatened them with additional 10% tariffs.

Trump’s threat on Sunday night came as the U.S. government prepared to finalize dozens of trade deals with a range of countries before his July 9 deadline for the imposition of significant “retaliatory tariffs.”

“Tariffs should not be used as a tool for coercion and pressuring,” Mao Ning, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said in Beijing. The BRICS advocates for “win-win cooperation,” she added, and “does not target any country.”

South Africa, which was slapped with 30% tariffs that were later suspended pending trade talks, reaffirmed that it is “not anti-American,” trade ministry spokesman Kaamil Alli said, adding that talks with the U.S. government “remain constructive and fruitful.”

A Kremlin spokesman said Russia’s cooperation with the BRICS was based on a “common world view” and “will never be directed against third countries.”

India and Brazil, which is hosting the BRICS gathering, did not immediately provide an official response to Trump.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told reporters that he would only comment after wrapping up the summit. His opening remarks to BRICS leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro on Monday focused on the environmental and public health issues on the summit’s official agenda.

A Brazilian diplomat who was not authorized to comment officially said Trump’s threat underscored the importance of the BRICS group to give developing nations a way to argue for fair and effective global ground rules on topics such as trade.

Many BRICS members and many of the group’s partner nations are highly dependent on trade with the United States.

New member Indonesia’s senior economic minister, Airlangga Hartarto, who is in Brazil for the BRICS summit, is to the U.S. on Monday to oversee tariff talks, an official told Reuters.

Malaysia, which was attending as a partner country and was slapped with 24% tariffs that were later suspended, said that it maintains independent economic policies and is not focused on ideological alignment.

Multilateral diplomacy

With forums such as the G7 and G20 groups of major economies hamstrung by divisions and Trump’s disruptive, opens new tab “America First” approach, the BRICS group has presented itself as a haven for multilateral diplomacy amid violent conflicts and trade wars.

In a joint statement released on Sunday afternoon, leaders at the summit condemned the recent bombing of member nation Iran and warned that the rise in tariffs threatened global trade, continuing its veiled criticism, opens new tab of Trump’s tariff policies.

Hours later, Trump warned he would punish countries seeking to join the group.

The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as members.

Saudi Arabia formally accepting an invitation to full membership, but is participating as a partner country. More than 30 nations have expressed interest in participating in the BRICS, either as full members or partners.

Reuters reporting by Manuela Andreoni and Lisandra Paraguassu Editing by Brad Haynes and Hugh Lawson

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Civilians in Gaza face deadly violence, starvation as critical supplies run low

OCHA warns that amid ongoing hostilities and attacks, more Palestinians in Gaza were reportedly killed over the weekend while attempting to access food. Partners report that several hospitals are overwhelmed, as they saw a surge in patients injured while seeking aid.

A recent assessment by the World Food Programme (WFP) shows that nearly one in three people is not eating for days, placing more people at risk of starvation.

WFP’s Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Carl Skau, visited Gaza city last week to speak with families and assess the humanitarian situation. Skau described the situation as the worst he has ever seen.

“It’s hard to find words to describe the level of desperation I have witnessed,” he said. “People are dying just trying to get food.” One mother told him she had gone to a kitchen hoping to find a hot meal and fainted there – there was nothing to eat, and she went home without anything for her children. Another father he met had lost 25 kilos in the past two months.

OCHA reiterates that in the face of massive and ever-increasing humanitarian needs, the Israeli authorities must open all available crossings, fully facilitate humanitarian access inside Gaza, and protect civilians – in line with their obligations under international humanitarian law. 

Meanwhile, for the fourth straight month, the Israeli authorities have not allowed any fuel to enter Gaza. Virtually all of the UN’s remaining fuel has been allocated to life-saving efforts. Service providers such as hospitals have been rationing supplies, but this cannot sustain critical operations for much longer.

The absence of accessible fuel means no ambulances, no electricity for hospitals, and no clean water. Fuel is a lifeline in Gaza, and Israeli authorities must allow this commodity to enter without further delay.

Today, the UN and partners working in telecommunications warned that Gaza could suffer from an Internet blackout imminently due to the shortage of fuel.

Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities issued another displacement order yesterday for parts of Khan Younis – for the second time in two days. More than 50,000 people were estimated to be in the areas slated for displacement, which also include more than a dozen displacement sites, hospitals, ambulance centres, water wells, reservoirs and other life-saving operations.

Since the ceasefire ended in March, more than 700,000 people have been displaced – often more than once, with no safe place to go. Overcrowding is particularly acute in Al Mawasi and other coastal areas.

Yesterday, the UN Population Fund said that amid food scarcity and soaring malnutrition, women continue to bear an immense burden of finding food to feed their families. Most women report depression or suffer from nightmares and anxiety. 

Meanwhile, inside Gaza, humanitarian teams continue their efforts to coordinate movements with the Israeli authorities. Yesterday, Israeli authorities denied three out of eight coordination attempts, hindering these teams’ ability to carry out critical operations. 

The UN calls for immediate, unimpeded humanitarian access so that aid can reach people across Gaza, including in the north.

#Syria

UN, humanitarian partners committed to support Lattakia wildfires response 

OCHA says that following devastating wildfires in the governorate of Lattakia on Syria’s west coast, the UN and its humanitarian partners are ready to support the response led by the interim authorities.

In a statement yesterday, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Adam Abdelmoula, commended the extraordinary courage and dedication of firefighters and first responders. “We are steadfast in our commitment to support local authorities and provide timely, principled assistance to all affected communities, ensuring that urgent needs are addressed swiftly and effectively,” he said.

UN teams are on the ground conducting urgent assessments to determine the scale of the disaster and to identify the most immediate humanitarian needs.

In the past week, wildfires have scorched wide swathes of forested and agricultural land across 60 communities in northern rural Lattakia, damaging civilian infrastructure and disrupting essential services. Hundreds of families have been forced to flee their homes.

Though efforts to contain the fires continue, progress is being hindered by high winds, droughts, rugged terrain, and the presence of unexploded ordnance.

#Sudan

UN Relief Chief stresses urgent need to access besieged El Fasher

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said on Friday that he held a series of calls last week on an urgent humanitarian pause for besieged El Fasher, in Sudan’s North Darfur state.

In a social media post, Fletcher warned that civilians there are cut off from aid and at risk of starvation, stressing that every day without access costs lives. “Let us work,” he called. 

OCHA warns that those who remain in El Fasher face extreme shortages of food and clean water, while markets have been repeatedly disrupted. Most water infrastructure in the area has either been destroyed or rendered non-functional due to lack of maintenance and fuel to run generators.

An assessment by humanitarian partners and local authorities found that 38 per cent of children under 5 at displacement sites in El Fasher are suffering from acute malnutrition – including 11 per cent with severe acute malnutrition. The breakdown of water and sanitation services, combined with low vaccination coverage, has sharply increased the risk of disease outbreaks.

North Darfur has been an epicentre of clashes since the onset of Sudan’s conflict more than two years ago. Since April 2023, an estimated 782,000 people have been displaced from El Fasher town and the nearby Zamzam displacement camp, according to the International Organization for Migration. Just in April and May of this year, nearly 500,000 people were displaced from El Fasher town and Zamzam. About three quarters of the camp’s population fled to locations across Tawila, where the UN and partners have scaled up humanitarian assistance.

Elsewhere in Darfur, cholera is on the rise. Last week, humanitarian partners reported more than 300 suspected cases, including over two dozen deaths, in South Darfur state alone. So far this year, more than 32,000 suspected cases have been reported across Sudan by local authorities. Conflict and collapsing infrastructure continue to drive the spread of the disease and impede response efforts. More resources are urgently needed to curb the outbreak.

The humanitarian situation in other parts of the country also remains critical, with increased insecurity in the Kordofan region and West Darfur state.

Humanitarian needs continue to far outpace available resources. The 2025 response plan seeking US$4.2 billion to assist 21 million of the most vulnerable people across Sudan is just over 21 per cent funded, with $896 million received to date. The reprioritized plan – which targets the most critical needs of 18 million people – requires $3 billion.

OCHA once again calls on all parties to protect civilians and enable safe and sustained humanitarian access. We also urge donors to step up their support. Without additional and timely funding, the lives of millions of people in Sudan will continue to hang in the balance. 

#Myanmar

Earthquake survivors need sustained support

Communities in Myanmar remain in crisis just over 100 days since two powerful earthquakes struck the country on 28 March. The earthquakes were the latest in a cascade of shocks – including ongoing conflict and seasonal flooding – that have shattered lives, destroyed homes and eroded any sense of safety.

On the earthquake response, humanitarian partners have delivered aid to 1 million people, reaching 57 per cent of the target population so far. While the response is transitioning from emergency response to early recovery, significant humanitarian needs remain unmet, and sustained assistance is critical.

Relief efforts for the earthquakes are hampered by funding shortfalls and access constraints. Of the $275 million required for the response, only half of that has been received to date. For the shelter response, the consequences have been especially devastating: Less than 5 per cent of shelter needs have been met due to lack of funding.

Access limitations further limit the ability of aid workers to reach those in need. Humanitarian partners must be granted safe and sustained access to affected communities – wherever and whoever they are.

With communities still struggling to recover from the earthquakes, monsoon rains have started, and the risk of renewed flooding threatens to push already vulnerable communities deeper into crisis. In 2024 alone, an estimated 1 million people were affected by floods in Myanmar – many in the same regions now reeling from earthquake damage. Without urgent investment in preparedness and action to mitigate the risks, the window to prevent further suffering could soon close.

At the same time, the unilateral ceasefires announced during the earthquake expired on 30 June without renewal, resulting in a further escalation of violence. Attacks in multiple states and regions have resulted in reports of death, injury and displacement. The UN continues to call for all parties to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.

#Haiti

New arrivals put mounting pressure on critical services in Belladère

OCHA warns that essential services in the Haitian town of Belladère – on the border with the Dominican Republic – are coming under growing strain as more people seek shelter there, including displaced families and deported migrants.

Nearly half of the more than 121,000 Haitians deported from the Dominican Republic in 2025 have crossed through the town of Belladère – placing severe pressure on already overstretched reception facilities on the Haitian side of the border.

During a joint mission led by OCHA late last month, alongside UN agencies and their partners working in protection, teams witnessed the growing challenges that families and unaccompanied children are facing as they arrive at the border.

The situation remains particularly dire for vulnerable groups. OCHA met a pregnant 14-year-old who has been trying to reconnect with her family for the past three months while staying in an overcrowded facility for unaccompanied children.

Belladère is also hosting families displaced by violence in the nearby commune of Mirebalais. The UN and its humanitarian partners are providing hot meals, cash assistance, protection services, and medical supplies, but the scale of needs continues to outpace available resources.

Immediate priorities include expanding capacity at reception sites, ensuring the protection of unaccompanied and separated children, and strengthening support for vulnerable deported migrants and displaced families.

Severe underfunding continues to hamper the humanitarian response. Haiti’s 2025 humanitarian response plan is the least funded humanitarian plan globally: More than halfway through the year, less than $75 million has been received – just 8 per cent of the $908 million needed. This severely limits humanitarian partners’ efforts to scale up life-saving assistance in high-risk areas like Belladère.*

OCHA continues to work closely with national authorities, UN agencies and humanitarian partners to protect and assist vulnerable communities at the border, ensuring that even in the most difficult circumstances, the right to safety and dignity remains central to the humanitarian response in Haiti.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Haiti with urgent support.

#Ukraine

Humanitarians rush aid to survivors of latest attacks

OCHA says that drones and strikes have killed and injured dozens of civilians in both urban and front-line areas of Ukraine in recent days.

Authorities report that 30 civilians were killed and another 175 injured following strikes across Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia, as well as front-line locations. At least seven children are among the casualties. Homes and schools were also damaged.

Humanitarian organizations provided immediate assistance, including hot meals and emergency shelter material. They also distributed hygiene items and shelter kits, and offered mental health and psychosocial support.

Israel attacked Iran just days before Tehran and Washington were to meet for a new round of nuclear talks.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said he believes Tehran can resolve its differences with the United States through dialogue, but trust would be an issue after US and Israeli attacks on his country.

“I am of the belief that we could very much easily resolve our differences and conflicts with the United States through dialogue and talks,” Pezeshkian told US right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson in an interview conducted on Saturday and released on Monday.

His remarks came less than a month after Israel launched its unprecedented June 13 bombing campaign against Iran, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists.

The Israeli attacks took place two days before Tehran and Washington were set to meet for a new round of nuclear talks, stalling negotiations that were aimed at reaching a deal over Iran’s atomic programme.

A week later, in separate attacks on June 21, the US also bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

Iranian state media said on Monday that the death toll from the 12-day war had risen to at least 1,060.

Pezeshkian blamed Israel, Iran’s archenemy, for the collapse of talks with the US.

“How are we going to trust the United States again?” he asked.

“How can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks, the Israeli regime will not be given the permission again to attack us?”

Iran’s president also accused Israel of attempting to assassinate him during the June attacks.

“They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed,” Pezeshkian told Carlson in response to a question on whether he believed Israel had tried to kill him.

“It was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel. I was in a meeting … they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks from Persian into English.

On June 16, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also did not rule out plans to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying it would “end the conflict” after reports emerged at the time that US President Donald Trump had vetoed the move.

While a ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been in place since June 24, during the interview with Carlson, Pezeshkian accused Netanyahu of pursuing his “own agenda” of “forever wars” in the Middle East and urged Trump not to be drawn into war with Iran by the Israeli leader.

Netanyahu is visiting Washington on Monday for talks at the White House.

“The United States’ president, Mr. Trump, he is capable enough to guide the region towards peace and a brighter future and put Israel in its place. Or get into a pit, an endless pit, or a swamp,” Pezeshkian said.

“So it is up to the United States president to choose which path.”

Trump said he expected to discuss Iran and its nuclear ambitions with Netanyahu, praising the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as a tremendous success.

On Friday, he told reporters that he believed Tehran’s nuclear programme had been set back permanently, although Iran could restart efforts elsewhere.

The Iranian president has said that Israel attempted to assassinate him by bombarding an area in which he was holding a meeting.

“They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed,” Masoud Pezeshkian told the US media personality Tucker Carlson in response to a question on whether he believed Israel had tried to kill him. Carlson’s interview, conducted via an interpreter and released on Monday, is one the first interviews the Iranian president has given with western media since the 12-day war fought between Israel and Iran last month.

“It was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel. I was in a meeting … they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks from Farsi, without specifying whether the alleged attempt was during the recent war.

Donald Trump has already said he blocked the Israelis from trying to assassinate the 86-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who remained in hiding for nearly three weeks. He attended a religious ceremony in Tehran at the weekend that was greeted with excitement and relief by government loyalists. He had previously made three video appearances looking pale, if defiant.

A move to kill Pezeshkian, elected last summer, would be a qualitatively different step by Israel and underline the extent to which it was not seeking just to weaken Iran’s military leadership and cadre of nuclear scientists, but to destroy the political leadership as well. At times during the 12-day war Trump spoke in favour of regime change, but seemed to back off as the campaign persisted. He now talks in terms of securing a permanent deal with Iran, but the detail of what the US is willing to offer Iran is light.

Israel claims it killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists to deliver a major blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions during the 12-day war. It says it has, with the US, wiped out Iran’s three main nuclear sites.

Pezeshkian and the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, have shown little restraint in being seen in public, attending funerals in Iran as well as travelling abroad. Pezeshkian went to a summit in Azerbaijan, while Araghchi has been to Brazil, Egypt and Moscow.

Pezeshkian also told Carlson: “We did not start this war and we do not want this war to continue in any way.”

He insisted his slogan for his presidential campaign had been to create internal national unity and to foster friendship with Iran’s neighbours.

During the interview with Carlson, Pezeshkian said his country has “no problem” restarting nuclear talks, provided that trust can be re-established with the US.

“We see no problem in re-entering the negotiations,” he said.

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“There is a condition … for restarting the talks. How are we going to trust the United States again? We re-entered the negotiations, then how can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks the Israeli regime will not be given the permission again to attack us?”

He denied that Iran had been involved in a campaign to assassinate Trump.

Asked if the International Atomic Energy Agency, the nuclear inspectorate, would be allowed to return to Iran, Pezeshkian replied: “We still do not know the extent of the damage caused to the nuclear sites. Access is currently not possible because they have been severely affected. Once access is restored, we can consider inspections. The IAEA’s silence in the face of these attacks, which are contrary to international law, has sown mistrust among the Iranians.”

AFP contributed to this report

The US is set to take the Syrian Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) off its list of foreign terrorist organisations on Tuesday, according to a state department memo.

The group led a rebel offensive in December that toppled the Assad regime, which had ruled Syria for 54 years. Its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is now the country’s interim president.

HTS, also known as al-Nusra Front, was previously al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria until al-Sharaa severed ties in 2016.

In recent months, Western countries have sought to reset relations with Syria – which has faced heavy sanctions aimed at the old regime.

In late June, President Trump signed an executive order to formally end US sanctions against the country, with the White House saying the move was intended to support its “path to stability and peace”.

It added it would monitor the new Syrian government’s actions including “taking concrete steps toward normalising ties with Israel” as well as “addressing foreign terrorists” and “banning Palestinian terrorist groups”.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said the move would “lift the obstacle” to economic recovery and open the country to the international community.

On Friday, Syria said it was willing to cooperate with the US to reimplement a 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel.

Over the weekend, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited Syria – the first government minister to do so in 14 years.

He met with al-Sharaa and announced an additional £94.5m support package – aimed at supporting longer-term recovery and countries helping Syrian refugees.

The UK earlier lifted sanctions on Syria’s defence and interior ministries.

Ninety percent of Syria’s population were left under the poverty line when the Assad regime was ousted after 13 years of devastating civil war.

Al-Sharaa has promised a new Syria, but there are concerns within the country about how the new government is operating – with some suspicious of his radical past.

Only one female government minister has been appointed to date – and al-Sharaa has made almost every other appointment directly.

There have also been multiple violent attacks against minority groups in recent months.

In March, hundreds of civilians from the minority Alawite sect were killed during clashes between the new security forces and Assad loyalists. In April there were deadly clashes between Islamist armed factions, security forces and fighters from the Druze religious minority. And in June at least 25 people were killed in a suicide attack on a church in Damascus.

United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was slapping 25 per cent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, in his first letters to trading partners ahead of a deadline to reach a deal with Washington.

Trump had said on the weekend that starting from today, he would send a first batch of up to 15 letters to countries informing them that he would reimpose harsh levies that he had postponed in April.

In near-identically worded letters to the Japanese and South Korean leaders, Trump said the tariffs would apply from August 1 because their trading relationships with Washington were “unfortunately, far from reciprocal”.

Trump warned the countries, both key US allies in East Asia, of an escalation if they responded to the new US tariffs.

But he also said he was ready to modify levies “downwards” if Japan and South Korea changed their trade policies.

Later, Trump also announced the US will impose 25pc tariffs on Malaysia and Kazakhstan, 30pc on South Africa and 40pc on Laos and Myanmar in letters posted on Truth Social.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Sunday that he “won’t easily compromise” in trade talks with Washington.

Trump originally announced sweeping tariffs on world economies on what he called “Liberation Day” on April 2, claiming the United States was being “ripped off”. Amid market turmoil, Trump then suspended the initial tariffs for 90 days, a deadline that expires on Wednesday.

But the Trump administration has said that the duties will not “boomerang” back until August 1, apparently extending the deadline despite denials from officials.

While the Trump administration has signalled hopes of striking dozens of deals by early July — at one point boasting of “90 deals in 90 days” — there have been limited results so far.

Washington has unveiled pacts with only Britain and Vietnam, while the US and China agreed to temporarily lower tariff levels on each other’s products that earlier reached three digits.

Later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that 12 other countries will also receive letters about the new tariffs.

“President Trump will also sign an executive order today delaying the July 9 deadline to August 1, so that the reciprocal tariff rates or these new rates … will be going out the door within the next month and those countries continue to negotiate with the US,” she said during a press briefing.

She added that “in the effort of transparency”, the letter will continue to be posted to Truth Social.

When asked about which other countries would receive letters, Leavitt told reporters to “keep your eyes on Truth Social”.

‘Change their tune’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there would be a number of deals coming up.

“We are going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours,” Bessent told CNBC in an interview today. “We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals.”

There was no immediate response from the White House on whether Trump would formally extend the Wednesday deadline for the tariffs to snap back.

Asked about Trump’s letters, Bessent said these would inform partners of the tariff rate their products face when trading with the US unless they want to “come back and try to negotiate”.

Bessent told CNBC that he would “be meeting with my Chinese counterpart sometime in the next couple of weeks”. The two sides have so far held high-level talks in Geneva and London. But Washington and Beijing’s pause on tit-for-tat tariffs is due to expire in mid-August.

On whether he was disappointed in the number of trade deals achieved so far, Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro maintained that he is “happy with the progress we’ve had”.

“Every country that we run a major deficit with is fully engaged,” he told CNBC.

Trump has also threatened another 10pc tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of “Anti-American policies” after they slammed his duties at a summit.

For now, partners are still rushing to avert Trump’s tariffs altogether.

The European Commission said that EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had a “good exchange” with Trump on trade when the pair spoke on Sunday.

Tracking the ship attacked in the Red Sea on Sundaypublished at 14:42 British Summer Time 7 July

14:42 BST 7 July

Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify journalist

Image source, MarineTraffic

A Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, Magic Seas, came under attack on Sunday in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen. In the last hour the Houthi rebel group has claimed responsibility.

The attack involved small arms fire, self-propelled grenades and missiles – tactics previously used by Houthis against commercial shipping passing along the Yemeni coastline.

Vanguard Tech, a maritime risk company, said fire and flooding caused the crew to abandon ship. All 22 people onboard are now safe, according to the EU Naval Force, which was involved in the rescue.

The last recorded position of Magic Seas – according to vessel tracking site MarineTraffic- was sent at 17:00 local time (15:00 BST) on Sunday, and showed it west of the Yemeni port of Hudaydah.

Magic Seas had started its journey from Zhuhai in China on 11 June, and its tracking data showed its recorded destination as the Suez Canal, with no onwards details.

Since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, the Houthis have regularly launched missiles at Israel and attacked ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The Magic Seas is owned by Allseas Marine. A second bulk carrier affiliated with this company is currently docked at Ashdod in Israel, according to MarineTraffic data. Vanguard Tech has identified two further ships linked to Allseas Marine that visited Israeli ports in April and June last year.

“These factors put the Magic Seas at an extreme risk of being targeted,” Vanguard said.

BBC Verify has contacted Allseas Marine for comment.