Israel-Palestine conflict

More than a dozen governments have condemned Israel after its forces fired in the direction of a diplomatic delegation near the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army said its soldiers fired “warning shots” after the foreign diplomats, who included representatives of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Russia and China, deviated from a previously agreed-on route.

“[Israeli] soldiers operating in the area fired warning shots to distance them away,” Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

No one was injured in the incident.

Here are some of the reactions from political leaders to the incident:

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney

The Israeli ambassador has been summoned to Global Affairs to see the minister and explain. We expect a full investigation and we expect an immediate explanation of what happened. It’s totally unacceptable, it’s some of many things that are totally unacceptable that’s going on in the region.

UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Hamish Falconer

Today’s events in Jenin are unacceptable. I have spoken to our diplomats who were affected. Civilians must always be protected, and diplomats allowed to do their jobs. There must be a full investigation, and those responsible should be held accountable.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin

I am deeply shocked and horrified that the [Israeli forces] today opened fire on a group of diplomats visiting the town of Jenin. Thankfully, nobody was killed or injured.

I unreservedly condemn this aggressive, intimidatory and violent act. This is not and must never be a normal way to behave.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani

We ask the government of Israel to immediately clarify what happened. The threats against diplomats are unacceptable.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp

Diplomats should be able to do their work, and threatening them is unacceptable. I have called the Dutch representative in the Palestinian territories and our ambassador to Israel and am relieved that the delegation is unharmed. We condemn the shooting, have requested clarification from the Israeli authorities and are considering further steps.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot

A visit to Jenin, in which one of our diplomats was participating, was fired upon by Israeli soldiers. This is unacceptable. The Israeli ambassador will be summoned to explain. Full support to our agents on site and their remarkable work in trying conditions.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen

This is a very serious and condemnable incident. I have spoken with the Finnish diplomat who was present at the situation. We demand an explanation from Israel about the situation.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen

It is unacceptable that Israel has fired shots near foreign diplomats. It has no place anywhere and is completely unacceptable.

The Danish head of mission in Ramallah was among the diplomats and is fortunately safe. In light of the seriousness of the situation, I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon the Israeli ambassador so that we can get an official explanation.

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot

I was shocked to learn that the Israeli army opened fire on 20 diplomats today, including a Belgian colleague. Fortunately, he is fine. These diplomats were on an official visit to Jenin, coordinated with the Israeli army, in a convoy of 20 clearly recognisable vehicles. Belgium is asking Israel for a convincing explanation.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide

I condemn the attacks by [the Israeli military] against a group of diplomats in Jenin today. Diplomatic and consular staff enjoy a special status under international law and must be protected. These actions constitute a clear violation of international law and are deeply unacceptable.

Portugal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Portugal condemns the attack by the Israeli army on the diplomatic delegation in the Jenin refugee camp, West Bank. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs … expressed its solidarity with the Portuguese ambassador who was part of the delegation and will take the appropriate diplomatic measures.

Germany’s Federal Foreign Office

The Federal Foreign Office strongly condemns this unprovoked fire. We can count ourselves lucky that nothing more serious occurred.

The group was travelling in the West Bank in the course of its diplomatic work and in coordination with the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli army. The role of diplomats as independent observers on the ground is indispensable and in no way represents a threat to Israeli security interests.

The Israeli government must immediately investigate the circumstances and respect the inviolability of diplomats.

Slovenia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs

Slovenia joins EU partners in condemning the gunfire that threatened foreign diplomats at Jenin camp.

Such intimidation violates the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations and is utterly unacceptable. We expect a prompt, transparent Israeli investigation, full accountability and guarantees of safe, unhindered access for all diplomatic missions.

Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates

This is a clear violation of international law and international humanitarian law, and a crime that contravenes all diplomatic norms.

The Ministry’s official spokesperson, Ambassador Dr Sufyan Qudah, affirmed the kingdom’s absolute rejection and strong condemnation of this targeting, which constitutes a violation of diplomatic agreements and norms, particularly the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which defines the procedures and controls governing diplomatic work and grants immunities to diplomatic missions.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The state of Qatar strongly condemns the Israeli occupation forces for opening fire on an international diplomatic delegation during its visit to the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, and considered as a violation of international laws, conventions, and diplomatic norms.

Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

We condemn in the strongest terms the opening of fire by Israeli soldiers on a group of diplomats, including an official from the Turkish Consulate General in Jerusalem, during their visit to the city of Jenin.

This attack, which endangered the lives of diplomats, is yet another demonstration of Israel’s systematic disregard for international law and human rights. The targeting of diplomats constitutes a grave threat not only to individual safety but also to the mutual respect and trust that form the foundation of inter-state relations.

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Arab Republic of Egypt emphasises its absolute rejection of this incident, which violates all diplomatic norms, and calls upon the Israeli side to provide the necessary clarifications regarding the circumstances of this incident.

Uruguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Israeli ambassador in Montevideo to clarify the incident.

Uruguay urges the Israeli government to investigate this incident and take the necessary measures to ensure the protection and allow the operations of diplomatic personnel accredited to the State of Palestine.

Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Israeli military justified the action by stating that the diplomatic delegation had invaded an ‘unauthorised area’. However, there is no record of this occurring or of any officer approaching the delegation to verbally warn them in a timely manner.

What happened violates the provisions of Article 29 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which establishes the inviolability of diplomatic agents. All States Parties to the aforementioned Convention, including Israel, are obliged to respect it.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will request the Israeli embassy in Mexico to provide the clarifications warranted by the case.

British police say Mo Chara displayed a flag of Lebanon’s Hezbollah at a concert.

A member of the Irish rap band Kneecap has been charged with a “terrorism” offence in the United Kingdom for waving a flag of the armed Lebanese group Hezbollah at a concert in November 2024 in London.

Liam O’Hanna, whose stage name is Mo Chara, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on June 18, charged under the Terrorism Act, British police said on Wednesday.

Kneecap has been vocal in its support for the Palestinian cause since the October 7, 2023-led Hamas attacks and Israel’s devastating war on Gaza, equating the struggles of the Irish under British colonial rule to that of Palestinians under that of Israel.

Pro-Palestinian chants are a regular fixture in their gigs. The band says they have been targets of a smear campaign for calling out Israel’s genocidal war.

KNEECAP STATEMENT:

Since our statements at Coachella — exposing the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people — we have faced a coordinated smear campaign.

For over a year, we have used our shows to call out the British and Irish governments’ complicity in war crimes.… pic.twitter.com/mBojb5QBOP

— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 25, 2025

The Belfast trio is also well known for its political and satirical lyrics and use of symbolism associated with the Irish Republican movement, which seeks to unite Northern Ireland, currently part of the UK, with the Republic of Ireland.

More than 3,600 people were killed during three decades of violence in Northern Ireland during “The Troubles” involving the Irish Republican Army (IRA), pro-British Loyalist militias and the UK security forces.

Kneecap takes its name from a brutal punishment, which involved being shot in the kneecaps, that was meted out by paramilitary groups to informers and drug dealers.

The band has been praised for invigorating the Irish-language cultural scene in Northern Ireland, where the status of the language remains a contested political issue in a society still split between Protestant British Unionists and Catholic Irish Nationalist communities.

It has also been criticised for lyrics laden with expletives and drug references.

Kneecap came under intense scrutiny and criticism last month during their performance at the music festival Coachella in California when they projected the words “F*** Israel. Free Palestine.” on stage.

“The Irish not so long ago were persecuted by the Brits, but we were never bombed from the f****** skies with nowhere to go! The Palestinians have nowhere to go – it’s their f****** home and they’re bombing them from the sky. If you’re not calling it a genocide what the f*** are you calling it?” read the words projected by Mo Chara.

Kneecap came under renewed scrutiny at the start of this month when UK intelligence said they would investigate comments made by the rap group about UK and Middle East politics.

They were reported to police over footage from a 2024 concert in which a band member appeared to say: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” Footage from another concert, in 2023, appears to show a member of the trio shouting “Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah” – the UK considers both to be “terrorist” organisations.

In response, Kneecap said it had “never supported Hamas or Hezbollah,” and accused “establishment figures” of taking comments out of context to “manufacture moral hysteria” because of the band’s criticism of Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.

Several Kneecap gigs have been cancelled as a result of the controversy, and some British lawmakers have called on organisers of June’s Glastonbury Festival to scrap a planned performance by the group.

Israel is facing condemnation from some of its strongest allies over its increasing aggression in Gaza.

The UK is cancelling new trade talks and the EU is reviewing old agreements, while both are imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

The two powers say they cannot stand by while Israel expands military operations, increases air strikes and starves Palestinians in Gaza with its total blockade.

But critics are asking why they did not step in before.

Will the new measures be imposed?

And most importantly: Will any of this change the reality on the ground for the Palestinians?

Presenter:

Folly Bah Thibault

Guests:

James Moran – Former EU ambassador to Egypt and Jordan

Yossi Mekelberg – Senior consulting fellow at Chatham House

Zaid Belbagi – Managing partner of Hardcastle Advisory and political commentator

Supreme Court finds no factual basis for Ronen Bar’s dismissal, highlighting irregularities and lack of formal hearing.

Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that the government’s decision to fire domestic security chief Ronen Bar was “unlawful”, marking the latest twist in a bitter power struggle between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the country’s justice system.

The top court “ruled that the government’s decision to terminate the head of the Shin Bet’s tenure was made through an improper and unlawful process,” its ruling said on Wednesday.

It also said that Netanyahu had a conflict of interest in moving to get Bar fired, as the Shin Bet was also conducting a probe into alleged ties between the prime minister’s close aides and Qatar.

The two men have traded accusations and barbs over deep-seated security failures surrounding the Hamas-led October 7 attack.

Netanyahu first said he would fire Bar due to a breakdown in “trust”, suggesting it was linked to October 7, which then led to the Gaza war. But Bar said Netanyahu’s decision was motivated by a series of events between November 2024 and February 2025.

In the unclassified part of the court submission, Bar said Netanyahu had told him “on more than one occasion” that he expected Shin Bet to take action against Israelis involved in anti-government demonstrations, “with a particular focus on monitoring the protests’ financial backers”.

The Shin Bet head also said he had refused to sign off on a security request aimed at relieving Netanyahu from testifying at an ongoing corruption trial in which he faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of public trust.

The court said the decision to dismiss Bar was made without “a factual basis” and without giving him a formal hearing before firing him, according to a report by the Times of Israel.

Wednesday’s ruling noted “irregularities” in the process that led to Bar’s sacking, as well as “a disregard for fundamental principles regarding internal security.”

The Israeli cabinet voted to dismiss Bar in March, triggering mass protests and accusations of autocratic pursuits by the far-right government.

The High Court of Justice halted the decision until a hearing could be held. Several groups, including opposition politicians, had filed petitions with the court against the government’s decision.

In April, the government revoked the decision to fire Bar a day after he said he would step down.

Following Bar’s decision to quit the job, Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling said that “this announcement puts an end to the [legal] procedure.”

Israeli soldiers were captured on video firing towards a group of foreign diplomats on a visit to Jenin in the occupied West Bank, forcing them to run to their vehicles and flee the area. The military claims the group deviated from an “approved route” and the shots were only a “warning.”

At least 52 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, medical sources told Al Jazeera, as pressure mounts on Tel Aviv to allow significant humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave to avert a looming famine.

Israeli air strikes and tank fire continued to pound the besieged territory on Wednesday. Among those killed were at least eight people in Gaza City, two people in central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp and two people in the Maghazi camp in central Gaza, according to Al Jazeera reporters in Gaza.

The attacks come after Israel began allowing dozens of humanitarian trucks into Gaza on Tuesday, but the aid has not yet reached Palestinians in desperate need.

Jens Laerke, the spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian agency, said no trucks were picked up from the Gaza side of Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis, in southern Gaza.

Israel announced that 93 aid trucks had entered Gaza from Israel following an 11-week blockade.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum explained that most of those trucks had only received military clearance to enter the Palestinian side of the crossing.

“They are still stuck at the border crossing. Only five trucks have made it in,” Abu Azzoum said, adding, “This could be another sign of the systematic obstruction of aid in Gaza.”

Aid groups have said that the amount of aid that Israel is allowing is not nearly enough, calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts a “smokescreen to pretend the siege is over”.

“The Israeli authorities’ decision to allow a ridiculously inadequate amount of aid into Gaza after months of an air-tight siege signals their intention to avoid the accusation of starving people in Gaza, while, in fact, keeping them barely surviving,” said Pascale Coissard, the emergency coordinator in Khan Younis for Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF.

The Israeli military body that oversees humanitarian aid to Gaza said trucks were entering Gaza on Wednesday morning, but it was unclear if that aid would be able to continue deeper into Gaza for distribution.

A few dozen Israeli activists opposed to Israel’s decision to allow aid into Gaza while Hamas still holds Israeli captives attempted to block the trucks carrying the aid on Wednesday morning, but were kept back by Israeli police.

Israel is facing growing international pressure over its renewed offensive on Gaza.

The United Kingdom has suspended talks with Israel on a free trade deal, and the European Union said it will review a pact on political and economic ties over the “catastrophic situation” in Gaza. Britain, France and Canada have threatened “concrete actions” if Israel continues its offensive.

Pope Leo on Wednesday also appealed for Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

“I renew my fervent appeal to allow for the entry of fair humanitarian help and to bring to an end the hostilities, the devastating price of which is paid by children, the elderly and the sick,” the pope said during his weekly general audience in Saint Peter’s Square.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday urged world leaders to take immediate action to end Israel’s siege on Gaza, issuing the appeal in a written statement during a visit to Beirut, where he is expected to discuss the disarmament of Palestinian factions in Lebanon’s refugee camps.

“I call on world leaders to take urgent and decisive measures to break the siege on our people in the Gaza Strip,” Abbas said, demanding the immediate entry of aid, an end to the Israeli offensive, the release of detainees and a full withdrawal from Gaza.

“It is time to end the war of extermination against the Palestinian people. I reiterate that we will not leave, and we will remain here on the land of our homeland, Palestine,” Abbas said.

Since the war began in October 2023 following the Hamas attack that killed 1,139 people in southern Israel, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed 53,573 people and wounded 121,688 others.

The UK has suspended trade talks, while France and Canada have threatened action if Israel continues to starve and bomb Palestinians in Gaza. So, is the tide turning on foreign support for Israel, or is this all just PR? Soraya Lennie takes a look.

Just when you thought Eurovision had reached peak absurdity – with its glitter-drenched cliches, outlandish lyrics, and performances that make your local karaoke night look refined – it sank even lower in 2025. This year, Israel not only participated amid its ongoing assault on Gaza and international law, it nearly won.

In the lead-up to the contest, activists across Europe called for Israel’s exclusion. Seventy-two former Eurovision contestants signed an open letter demanding that Israel – and its national broadcaster, KAN – be banned. Protests, petitions, and campaigns swept across the continent, urging the contest to uphold its supposed values of “European unity and culture” rather than spotlight a state accused of systematically starving and bombing a captive population of two million.

But Eurovision did not listen.

Instead, it handed the stage to 24-year-old Yuval Raphael – a survivor of Hamas’s October 7 attack on the Nova Music Festival – who won the public televote in most countries and placed second overall, edged out only because, unlike the public, most professional juries preferred Austria’s entry.

Understandably, Israel’s surprising near-victory triggered a wave of backlash. With populations that have been most vocal in their criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza – such as Ireland – supposedly giving the highest marks to Raphael, widespread accusations of vote-rigging emerged. National broadcasters in Spain and Belgium filed formal complaints with the European Broadcasting Union, demanding an investigation into potential manipulation of the televoting system. Meanwhile, The Intercept’s audio analysis revealed that Eurovision organisers had muted audience booing and chants of “Free Palestine” during Raphael’s live performance.

In the aftermath of this year’s contest, the calls for Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision are louder than ever before. Clearly, for many across Europe who love Eurovision – whether for its camp, spectacle, or nostalgic charm – but who also care about international law and Palestinian lives, Israel’s continued inclusion is a moral failure.

And yet, I believe Israel belongs in Eurovision and should stay in the competition going forward. Here’s why.

For one thing, Israel’s continued participation would reflect the reality of European policy. Despite growing public outrage, many European leaders have been unwavering in their support for Israel throughout its devastating campaign in Gaza. While countries like Spain and the Republic of Ireland have called for a reassessment of the European Union’s relationship with Israel, for most of Europe, it’s been business as usual.

In February 2025, despite mounting pressure from human rights groups, European foreign ministers met with their Israeli counterpart and insisted that “political and economic ties remain strong”. A few months later, seven EU countries issued a joint statement calling for an end to what they described as a “man-made humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.  But without action, these words rang hollow.

Europe is also divided on whether it would honor the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Spain indicated they would comply. The United Kingdom, as usual, hedged, saying only that it would “comply with legal obligations under domestic and international law”. Meanwhile, Hungary, under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, flatly refused to enforce the warrant. And among Europe’s largest players – France, Germany, and Italy – the response has ranged from evasive to outright dismissive. France claimed Netanyahu enjoys immunity since Israel isn’t an ICC member; Italy said arresting him would be “unfeasible”; and Germany’s newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz even vowed to find “ways and means” for Netanyahu to visit.

Given how European leaders have shown far more enthusiasm for cracking down on Palestine solidarity activists than holding Israel accountable, it feels only fitting that Israel continues to sing and dance on the ruins of Palestinian lives – hand in hand with its European friends.

But this alliance isn’t just political. Those who are promoting it suggest it’s also cultural, and even “civilisational”.

Many Western intellectuals have long cast Israel as an outpost of European values in a supposedly savage region. After October 7, this narrative was renewed with fresh urgency. French public intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy, while insisting he is a “militant defender of human rights”, framed Israel – apartheid and all – as a moral beacon when compared to the usual “others”: Russians, Turks, Chinese, Persians, and Arabs. Their imperial ambitions, he argued, pose a far greater threat to “civilisation” than Israel’s “policy of colonising the West Bank”. He even praised Israel’s “moral fortitude” and supposed concern for civilian life in Gaza – words that have not aged well after 19 months of pure carnage.

American commentator Josh Hammer’s book, Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West, is even more explicit. For him, Israel is the West’s “agent” in a region plagued by violence and Islamic “terrorism”. Those who support Palestinian rights are, in his words, “anti-American, anti-Western jackals”. UK commentator Douglas Murray echoes the same civilisational framing in the book On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization, calling Israel a bulwark of good in a world of evil.

Israeli leaders have adopted this language, too. Netanyahu declared shortly after October 7 that “Israel is fighting the enemies of civilisation itself”, urging the West to show “moral clarity”. According to this world view, Israel doesn’t just defend itself – it defends the entire Western civilisation.

All this may sound far removed from a song contest. But Eurovision has always been more than sequins and key changes. It’s a projection of “Europeanness” – and “Europe,” as a concept, has always been political. It’s built on a colonial legacy that imagined Europe as enlightened, orderly, and rational – defined in opposition to the supposedly backward, emotional, and irrational non-European “other”.

This legacy justified colonial conquests and the violent suppression of anti-colonial uprisings. Massacres were cast as the price of restoring order; ethnic cleansing, a civilizing mission. Today, that same narrative lives on in how the West frames Israel – as a beleaguered democracy standing bravely against barbarism.

So when people call for Israel to be banned from Eurovision over this year’s vote-rigging allegations, I can’t help but note the irony: that its genocidal campaign in Gaza didn’t cross a red line for Europe – but cheating in a song contest just might.

If Eurovision were to expel Israel now, it would be the harshest penalty the continent has ever imposed on the nation – and it would be not for mass killing, but for meddling with pop music.

And so, yes – I believe Israel should stay in Eurovision.

After all, Europe and Israel deserve each other.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Students at a Columbia University graduation ceremony booed the school’s acting president, Claire Shipman, for her role in cracking down on pro-Palestinian protests. Earlier this month she allowed New York City police to arrest 78 protesters in the school’s library.

Washington, DC – Top United States diplomat Marco Rubio has suggested his country’s “engagement” is what led Israel to allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza after a months-long blockade on food, medicine and other basic supplies.

At a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, Democrat Jeff Merkley pressed Rubio, a Republican, about his stance on Israel’s blockade, which spurred fears of imminent famine in the Palestinian territory.

The secretary of state replied that the US is happy to see humanitarian assistance start to enter the territory.

“Ultimately, I don’t think you would have seen the events of the last couple days without our engagement and the engagement of others,” Rubio said.

Israel allowed several aid trucks to enter Gaza on Monday, and United Nations officials have said that around 100 more were cleared to reach the territory on Tuesday.

But that quantity still represents a fraction of the daily needs of Gaza’s population, which numbers over 2.1 million people.

“Israel remains a strong ally. We’re supportive,” Rubio continued. “We understand why for their security Hamas cannot exist. We are also very happy to see that they have allowed aid to begin to flow, and we hope that that will continue.”

Several Western countries, including close partners of Israel, have recently decried the Israeli siege on Gaza. On Monday, the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada said in a joint statement that they were “horrified” by Israel’s military escalations in Gaza and its blockade on humanitarian aid.

They threatened to pursue “concrete actions” like sanctions if Israel continued to expand its military assault.

The administration of US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has remained staunchly pro-Israel, but experts say recent moves from the White House signal a growing gap between the US and Israel.

For example, Trump did not include Israel as a stop in his recent trip to the Middle East. He has also initiated diplomatic talks with Iran and declared a ceasefire with Yemen’s Houthi group — both of which are adversaries of Israel in the region.

The Houthis, for instance, continue to launch missiles and drones at Israel in a show of support for the Palestinians in Gaza.

Still, over the past three months, the US has refused to directly criticise Israel’s decision to prevent food and medicine from reaching Gaza.

But last week, at a stop in the United Arab Emirates, Trump indicated he wanted to get the situation in Gaza “taken care of”.

“A lot of people are starving. There’s a lot of bad things going on,” he said.

Also last week, in an interview with the BBC, Rubio said he was “troubled” by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher also told the BBC on Tuesday that as many as 14,000 children in Gaza are at risk of dying in the next 48 hours if food does not reach them.

Last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over possible war crimes in Gaza, including the use of starvation as a method of war.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel would only allow a “basic quantity of food” into the Palestinian territory to stave off international pressure.

“Our best friends in the world – senators I know as strong supporters of Israel – have warned that they cannot support us if images of mass starvation emerge,” he said, according to the publication Haaretz.

The Gaza Government Media Office said on Tuesday that at least 58 Palestinians have died of malnutrition over the past 80 days.

At Tuesday’s Senate hearing, Rubio appeared to acknowledge that more aid needs to reach the Palestinians in Gaza.

“I understand your point that it’s not in sufficient amounts,” Rubio told Merkley. “But we were pleased to see that decision was made.”

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy slammed the Israeli government for expanding its war on Gaza, calling comments made by its government as ‘repellent’ and ‘monstrous’. The UK also said it was pausing free trade negotiations with Israel.

The United States says a new Israeli-approved organisation – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – is the key to resolving the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, but it already is receiving its fair share of criticism.

The GHF says it is going to start operations before the end of May. United Nations officials and humanitarian groups say it will not have the ability to deal with the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza as a result of Israel’s two-month-long blockade.

Instead, the aid groups that have been working in Gaza point out that they have the capacity to bring in food and other humanitarian supplies – if only Israel would let them.

So what is the GHF, and why is the situation in Gaza so desperate? Here’s everything you need to know:

What is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?

Officially independent, the GHF is an Israeli- and US-backed body that plans to distribute aid in the Gaza Strip.

One in five people in Gaza currently face starvation due to the Israeli blockade of food and aid while 93 percent are experiencing acute food shortages, according to a UN-backed assessment released last week.

Under increasing international pressure to allow in aid, Israel has sought to find a solution that it says prevents aid from falling into the hands of the Palestinian group Hamas. Humanitarian organisations say the vast majority of food and other supplies reaches Gaza’s civilian population and is not diverted to fighters.

The GHF will be overseen by Jake Wood, a US military veteran who ran Team Rubicon, an organisation that distributed humanitarian aid during natural disasters.

What’s the plan for delivering the aid?

Through the GHF, Palestinians in Gaza would receive a “basic amount of food”.

The initial plan was announced last Wednesday with a timeline of about two weeks before it was up and running.

It’s still unclear how the GHF will be funded, but the foundation says it will set up “secure distribution sites” to feed 1.2 million people in Gaza before expanding to feed every Palestinian in the territory.

It says it will coordinate with the Israeli military while security would be provided by private military contractors.

Why is the GHF being criticised?

The GHF initiative has been widely panned by aid groups and the UN.

The UN and humanitarian aid agencies say they already have the means to distribute desperately needed aid and alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. The GHF, on the other hand, is seen by critics as a way of politicising aid and not having the experience or capacity to bring aid to more than two million people.

The GHF “restricts aid to only one part of Gaza while leaving other dire needs unmet”, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said at the Security Council last week. “It makes aid conditional on political and military aims. It makes starvation a bargaining chip. It is cynical sideshow. A deliberate distraction. A fig leaf for further violence and displacement.”

The UN and aid groups say the GHF plan violates basic humanitarian principles.

“We are concerned by the proposed aid mechanism for Gaza and are deeply worried that it will not allow for humanitarian aid to be distributed in a manner consistent with core humanitarian principles of impartiality, humanity, and independence,” a statement from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said. “The ICRC cannot work under any mechanism that doesn’t allow us to uphold the principles and our modalities of work.”

Eleven humanitarian and human rights organisations signed a statement in which they “unequivocally reject the establishment” of the GHF, calling it:

“A project led by politically connected Western security and military figures, coordinated in tandem with the Israeli government, and launched while the people of Gaza remain under total siege. It lacks any Palestinian involvement in its design or implementation.”

That lack of Palestinian involvement, coupled with Israel’s approval for the project and the planned presence of the Israeli military “on the perimeter” of the distribution sites, according to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, raises Palestinian suspicions that the establishment of the GHF will give even more power to Israel over aid distribution in Gaza.

Why is aid not reaching Gaza?

Israel is blocking it.

Israel began preventing the entry of all food and other humanitarian supplies into Gaza on March 2 during a ceasefire, which it unilaterally broke on March 18.

Even before the blockade, Israel restricted the amount of aid that could come in, and some Israeli protesters also blocked and destroyed aid.

The situation has reached dire levels with the World Food Programme saying 70,000 children need urgent treatment for “acute malnutrition”.

How would the GHF displace Palestinians?

The UN said the GHF would weaponise aid by threatening the mass displacement of Palestinians.

Initial aid distribution sites would operate only out of southern and central Gaza, which the UN warned could lead to the displacement of Palestinians in northern Gaza as they are forced to move south for food and other aid.

“Humanitarian aid should not be politicized nor militarized,” the ICRC statement said. “This erodes the neutrality required to ensure assistance is delivered based solely on need, not political or military agendas.”

The initiative has also been labelled by many in the humanitarian sector as insufficient.

“Even if implemented, the plan’s proposed aid volumes fall short of the immense scale of needs in Gaza,” according to the ICRC. “The level of need right now is overwhelming, and aid needs to be allowed to enter immediately and without impediment.”

Gaza currently has 400 distribution points, and the ability and know-how to distribute aid effectively exists. With only a few distribution points under the GHF, people may be forced to walk long distances and carry heavy rations.

“The Problem is Not Logistics,” the statement from the 11 humanitarian groups read. “It Is Intentional Starvation.”

Enough. We demand rapid, safe, and unimpeded access to starving civilians in Gaza.

We have a plan. We have thousands of trucks of food at the border. Let us in. Let us work.https://t.co/J55f8shIEU pic.twitter.com/bTmcAMbG0e

— Tom Fletcher (@UNReliefChief) May 16, 2025

People with disabilities or who are injured would struggle to navigate the terrain and reach distribution points. The roads in Gaza have been badly damaged over the past 19 months of war, and the intensity of Israel’s latest military operation in Gaza is only making things more difficult for Palestinians there.

Furthermore, the GHF’s assertions that it is independent and transparent have been criticised by aid groups.

“Despite branding itself as ‘independent’ and ‘transparent,’ the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation would be wholly dependent on Israeli coordination and operates via Israeli-controlled entry points, primarily the Port of Ashdod and the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing,” the statement by the 11 aid groups read.

While Hanan Salah, Human Rights Watch’s associate director for the Middle East and North Africa, didn’t comment specifically on the GHF, she said allowing “a basic amount of food” into the Gaza Strip was “complicity in using starvation as a method of warfare”.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan criticised the government at a press conference on Tuesday, which was called to address comments he made in an interview where he accused the government of killing “babies as a hobby”.

The UN says 100 aid trucks were approved Tuesday to enter Gaza Tuesday, far below the 600 needed daily. Despite Israel easing a 2.5-month blockade, aid remains stalled. Medicine sits unused in Jordan as Gaza faces worsening hunger and critical shortages.

The leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada have “strongly opposed” the expansion of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, threatening to “take concrete actions” if Israel does not cease its onslaught and lift restrictions on aid supply to the Palestinian enclave.

In a statement released on Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said they also oppose settlement expansions in the occupied West Bank. Settler violence has surged in the occupied West Bank as the world’s focus has remained on Gaza. Nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands displaced in Israeli raids.

The statement comes weeks after the Netherlands urged the European Union (EU) to review a trade agreement with Israel as the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has intensified its bombardment of Gaza amid an aid blockade in place since March 2.

Western countries backed Israel’s right to self-defence when Netanyahu’s government launched a devastating offensive in Gaza on October 7, 2023. That offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians and turned vast swathes of Gaza into rubble.

On Tuesday, the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that Israel has the right to defend itself, but its current actions go beyond proportionate self-defence.

So what steps might Western countries take against Israel, and has Israel’s latest Gaza onslaught forced them to change their position? Here is what you need to know:

What did the UK, France and Canada say?

The countries’ three leaders criticised Israel’s renewed Gaza offensive, while describing the “human suffering” of Palestinians in the coastal enclave as “intolerable”.

They also said that Israel’s announcement of letting some aid in was “wholly inadequate”.

“If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response,” the leaders’ statement said.

“The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law.

“We condemn the abhorrent language used recently by members of the Israeli Government, threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate. Permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law.”

The three Western leaders said that while they supported Israel’s right to defend itself following Hamas’s attack on October 7, “this escalation is wholly disproportionate”.

“We will not stand by while the Netanyahu Government pursues these egregious actions,” they said.

On Tuesday, the UK announced it would suspend trade talks with Israel over the Gaza war. It also imposed sanctions on settlers and organisations backing violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Israel’s conduct in its war on Gaza and the government’s support for illegal settlements is “damaging our relationship with your government”, said British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

My joint statement with @EmmanuelMacron and @MarkJCarney on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. pic.twitter.com/76vYpB42xf

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 20, 2025

Amid intense international pressure, Israeli authorities on Monday cleared nine aid trucks to enter Gaza, where harsh restrictions on food and aid have sparked accusations that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war.

However, the United Nations’ relief chief Tom Fletcher called the entry of the trucks a “drop in the ocean”, adding that “significantly more aid must be allowed into Gaza”.

Fletcher on Tuesday warned that 14,000 Palestinian babies were at risk of dying in the next 48 hours if aid doesn’t reach them – a figure he called “utterly chilling”. Some half a million people in Gaza, or one in five Palestinians, are facing starvation due to the Israeli blockade.

Starving Palestinians have resorted to eating animal feed and flour mixed with sand, highlighting acute suffering among the 2.3 million people in Gaza.

The UN humanitarian office’s spokesman Jens Laerke said on Tuesday that about 100 more trucks have been approved by Israel to enter Gaza.

Shifting their focus to the occupied West Bank, the leaders of the UK, France and Canada said they opposed all attempts to expand Israeli settlements, as they are “illegal and undermine the viability of a Palestinian state and the security of both Israelis and Palestinians”.

“We will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions,” they said.

Yara Hawari, co-director of Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network, says the statement by the UK, Canada, and France is “reflective of states wanting to backtrack and try and cover up their complicity”, highlighting that the situation in Gaza is the “worst that it has ever been” and that “the genocide is reaching new levels of cruelty and inhumaneness”.

“They can point to the statement and say, you know, well, we did … stand up against it,” Hawari told Al Jazeera, adding that none have stopped arms sales to Israel.

Hawari specifically referenced the UK’s role, saying it was “particularly complicit in this”. “There are reports coming out every day on how many weapons have been transferred from the UK to Israel over the course of the last 19 months,” she said.

What else have Western nations said?

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said on Tuesday that her country will push for EU sanctions against Israeli ministers because of insufficient steps to protect civilians in Gaza.

“Since we do not see a clear improvement for the civilians in Gaza, we need to raise the tone further. We will therefore now also push for EU sanctions against individual Israeli ministers,” Stenergard said in a statement.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot demanded that Israel’s “blind violence” and blockade of humanitarian assistance must come to an end.

On Monday, 24 countries, overwhelmingly European ones, issued a joint statement saying Israel’s decision to allow a “limited restart” of aid operations in Gaza must be followed by a complete resumption of unfettered humanitarian assistance.

It was signed by the foreign ministers of countries including Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the UK.

Meanwhile, the European Union’s top diplomat, Kallas, has decided to order a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a free trade deal between the two regions.

Kallas told Al Jazeera that the Netherlands earlier this month had sought review of the Association Agreement, particularly Article 2 – which states that both parties must respect human rights.

The move has been backed by other member states, including Belgium, France, Portugal and Sweden.

Robert Patman, a professor of international relations at the University of Otago in New Zealand, says the recent criticism emanating from Western capitals was in part due to public pressure.

“I think there’s a sense that in liberal democracies, they can’t ultimately be indifferent to public concern about the situation … I think another factor is a perception among many countries that [US President Donald] Trump himself is getting impatient with the Netanyahu government,” he told Al Jazeera.

Patman explained that with many countries in the Global South having experienced colonialism before, they were quicker than the West to condemn Israel’s actions.

“They have a history of having to struggle for their own political self-determination, and given that experience, they can empathise with the Palestinians who’ve been denied the right,” he said.

How has Israel responded?

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday criticised Carney, Macron and Starmer following their joint statement.

“By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on 7 October while inviting more such atrocities,” he posted on X.

By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottowa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more…

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 19, 2025

Meanwhile, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich lashed out at the three leaders, saying his country “will not bow its head before this moral hypocrisy, antisemitism, and one-sidedness”.

In a post on X, Smotrich accused the three countries of “morally aligning themselves with a terrorist organisation”.

In particular, Smotrich took issue with the three countries saying they are “committed to recognising a Palestinian state”.

“They have gone so far as to seek to reward terrorism by granting it a state,” he said.

Netanyahu’s government and his far-right coalition partners have been vocal against the realisation of a sovereign Palestinian state despite broad international support for the so-called two-state solution.

What is ‘Operation Gideon’s Chariot’?

This major ground offensive, launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip on Sunday, came after days of intense bombardment that killed hundreds of Palestinians.

Since Sunday, more than 200 people have been killed in a relentless wave of strikes.

Major hospitals, including the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, have been rendered nonoperational after attacks by Israeli forces. Medical professionals said it could lead to the deaths of thousands of sick and wounded people.

With the backing of Israel’s lethal air force, the operation is targeting both southern and northern Gaza.

The Israeli military said the offensive was launched to expand “operational control” in the Gaza Strip. Israel says its campaign also aims to free the remaining captives held in Gaza and defeat Hamas.

However, Netanyahu has been repeatedly criticised by segments of Israeli society, including captives’ families, for failing to prioritise their return. He has also rejected Hamas’s offers to end the war and free the captives.

How will the Western actions impact Israel, and what’s next?

Andreas Krieg, senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, said that the threats from the UK, France and Canada against Israel set a precedent for other Western governments to emulate.

“While it will not have a direct impact on Israel’s behaviour on the ground, it widens the boundaries of discourse internationally and makes it easier for other governments to openly stand against Israeli atrocities,” he told Al Jazeera.

“Key to a change of behaviour in Israel, however, remains the United States,” he said. The US supplies the bulk of arms to Israel as well as providing diplomatic cover at the United Nations.

“Yet, there is a tangible erosion of consensus at play internationally as to the perception of Israel, which taints Israel increasingly as a rogue actor,” Krieg said.

Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, told Al Jazeera that the “number one” thing the three countries could do was impose an arms embargo on Israel. “The UK has taken some measures to suspend some arms exports. It’s not enough. It has got to be full and comprehensive,” he said.

Zomlot also said that the states should act to ensure that “war criminals” were “held accountable”. “They must absolutely support our efforts at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice,” he said.

Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant face ICC arrest warrant for war crimes, but some European nations have said that they won’t arrest them.

Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, questioned how the threatened sanctions would be targeted.

“Targeting whom? You need to impose sanctions on the state. It’s not about the prime minister. This is the entire government enterprise,” she told Al Jazeera.

Krieg from King’s College London says the reputational damage will affect Israel far beyond the current war in Gaza.

“It will be difficult to build consensus in the future around the narrative that Israel is an ‘ally’ because it is ‘the only democracy in the Middle East’,” he told Al Jazeera.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Israel’s Gaza aid “totally and utterly inadequate.” Only five aid trucks have entered Gaza since Monday. Britain, France and Canada have threatened “concrete actions” against Israel if it does not stop it offensive in Gaza.

It also imposes new sanctions, targeting illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The British government says it will suspend new free trade negotiations with Israel due to its military conduct in the war on Gaza, where hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in recent days under bombardment and as a new ground offensive has been launched.

The United Kingdom also announced on Tuesday that it was imposing sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The actions came a day after the UK, France and Canada condemned Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza and assaults and raids in the West Bank.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer ramped up his pointed criticism of Israel on Tuesday, saying the level of suffering by children in Gaza was “utterly intolerable” and repeated his call for a ceasefire.

The Labour government has been heavily criticised at home for not saying or doing enough in support of Palestinians under constant fire and facing starvation in besieged Gaza. Stop the War demonstrations continue to draw thousands of protesters weekly.

Settler violence against Palestinians, backed by the Israeli army, has surged in recent months, as the military also carries out daily raids in the territory.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK’s existing trade agreement is still in effect, but new discussions cannot be undertaken with an Israeli government pursuing “egregious policies” in Gaza and the West Bank.

Lammy said the persistent cycle of violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank demanded action. In addition to previous sanctions imposed, the UK  was now imposing sanctions on another “three individuals, two illegal settler outposts and two organizations supporting violence against the Palestinian community”, he added.

“The Israeli government has a responsibility to intervene and halt these aggressive actions,” Lammy said. “Their consistent failure to act is putting Palestinian communities and the two-state solution in peril.”

Israel quickly denounced the UK decision: “Even prior to today’s announcement, the free trade agreement negotiations were not being advanced at all by the current UK government,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry called the UK sanctions “unjustified and regrettable.