Exclusive: 12 prominent organisations sign open letter criticising lack of humanitarian access Twelve of Israel’s most prominent human rights organisations have signed an open letter accusing the country of failing to comply with the international court of justice’s (ICJ) provisional ruling that it should facilitate access of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The court in The Hague made a number of …

Letter to attorney general and state prosecutor demands action to stop ‘explicit calls to commit atrocious crimes’ A group of prominent Israelis has accused the country’s judicial authorities of ignoring “extensive and blatant” incitement to genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza by influential public figures. In a letter to the attorney general and state prosecutors, they demand action to stop …

The Israeli military and Hamas have agreed to extend the truce for a seventh day. The truce was expected to expire at 3pm AEST but in the final minutes, both sides have agreed to extend the truce for at least one more day. Hamas said it had agreed to extend the truce with Israel in Gaza for a seventh day. …

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, as he warned that the bombarded Gaza Strip was becoming a “graveyard for children.” “The unfolding catastrophe makes the need for a humanitarian ceasefire more urgent with every passing hour,” he told reporters at the UN headquarters. “The parties to the conflict — and, indeed, the international …

Gaza is becoming a “graveyard for children,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, calling for an urgent ceasefire in the enclave, where Palestinian health authorities said the death toll from Israeli strikes had exceeded 10,000. Both Israel and the Hamas militants who control Gaza have rebuffed mounting international pressure for a ceasefire. Israel says hostages taken by Hamas …

Palestinians in besieged Gaza crowded into hospitals and schools on Monday, seeking shelter and running low on food and water. More than a million people have fled their homes ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion aimed at destroying Hamas after its fighters rampaged through southern Israel. As the enclave’s food, water and medicine supplies dwindled, all eyes were on …

Egypt has called for humanitarian relief to be provided to Palestinian civilians inside the Gaza Strip and says it is directing international aid flights to Al Arish airport near its border with the enclave. The Rafah crossing between Sinai and Gaza remained open, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, adding that Egypt had asked Israel to avoid targeting the Palestinian …

As Israel’s military sent phone messages telling Palestinians to leave some areas of Gaza after Saturday’s deadly Hamas raid, Mohammad Brais did not know where to seek safety from an assault that residents expect to be the worst they have ever faced. “Where should we go? Where should we go?” the 55-year-old father asked. He had fled his home near a possible …

Backed by a barrage of rockets, Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing dozens and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday. A stunned Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza, with its prime minister saying the country is now at war with Hamas and vowing to inflict an “unprecedented price.” In an …

There are fears of a “secondary disaster” in Turkey and Syria as hundreds of thousands of homeless earthquake victims are forced to live without shelter, water, fuel and electricity. The death toll jumped again to 20,000 — surpassing the Fukushima earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011. The World Health Organisation warned that survivors could lose their lives …