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.
Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, at Nasser Hospital, in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza Strip [Hatem Khaled/Reuters]
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.
(Al Jazeera)
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.
Tea is the most popular drink in the world other than water. It beats out coffee and beer, which hold second and third place.
May 21 is designated as International Tea Day by the United Nations, marking the significance and value of the drink globally, not just economically but culturally too.
Tea plays a meaningful role in many societies. From Tibetan po cha to a good old English breakfast brew, tea is considered a unifying and hospitable beverage.
While the exact origins of tea are unknown, it is believed to have originated in northeast India, northern Myanmar and southwest China, according to the UN. There is evidence that tea was consumed in China 5,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest beverages in the world.
How to say tea around the world
Across the globe, nearly all words for tea can be derived from the root words “cha” or “te”.
In many parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the word for tea is derived from cha.
In Mandarin: 茶 (chá)
In Arabic: شاي (shāy)
In Turkish: çay
In Hindi: चाय (chāi)
In Western Europe, many countries use some derivative of te. For example, “tea” was introduced into the English language as a result of trade routes in the East. The word was taken from China, where it was pronounced “te” in the Hokkien dialect.
In English: tea
In French: thé
In Spanish: té
In German: tee
Who produces the most tea globally?
The tea plant is usually grown in tropical and subtropical climates where its cultivation and processing support the livelihoods of millions of people.
According to the latest data from the Tea and Coffee Trade Journal‘s Global Tea Report, China produces nearly half of the world’s tea (48 percent). India is the second largest producer, accounting for 20 percent of world production, followed by Kenya (8 percent), Turkiye (4 percent) and Sri Lanka (3 percent).
The rest of the world accounts for 17 percent of tea production globally.
(Al Jazeera)
How much tea is consumed daily worldwide?
According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), world tea consumption reached 6.5 million tonnes in 2022, growing from previous years.
Consumption in China, the largest consumer of tea, reached 3 million tonnes in 2022, representing 46 percent of global consumption.
India, the second largest consumer, accounted for a share of nearly 18 percent at 1.16 million tonnes in 2022, followed by Turkiye with 250,000 tonnes, Pakistan with 247,000 tonnes and Russia with 133,000 tonnes.
According to the FAO, tea consumption expanded by 2 percent in 2022 compared with 2021 and further increased in 2023.
However, tea consumption in countries in Europe and North America has been declining due to increasing competition from other beverages while for Russia, tea imports have been negatively impacted by the war in Ukraine.
Five odd teas around the world
To mark this year’s International Tea Day, here are five somewhat unusual teas from around the world and how to make them:
Butter tea (po cha)
Found in: Tibet and other Himalayan regions
What’s odd?: It’s in the name. Made with yak butter, black tea and salt, butter tea is broth-like. Apparently, there is a tradition where the host will refill your cup with butter tea until you refuse or until they stop filling it, signalling it’s time for you to leave.
Kombucha – is it tea?
Found in: China, Japan and the Koreas
What’s odd?: Kombucha is considered a tea. It’s a fermented tea made using a jelly-like SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast). Kombucha fans often name their SCOBYs, treat them like pets and pass them to friends like family heirlooms.
Butterfly pea flower tea
Found in: Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam
What’s odd?: It is known as blue tea because of its colour, which then changes to purple when lemon juice is added. It’s caffeine free and made from a concoction of floral petals from the blue pea flower.
Baobab leaf tea
Found in: sub-Saharan Africa
What’s odd?: Baobab leaf tea is traditionally used in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa as a mild herbal remedy and nutritional drink.
Unlike most herbal teas, which are often floral or fruity, baobab leaf tea has a mildly earthy or even slightly bitter taste, a bit like spinach water.
Guava leaf tea
Found in: Philippines, Central America, Africa
What’s odd?: The tea is made from the leaves of the guava tree, which have an earthy flavour. In Philippine culture, it is said to have medicinal benefits for soothing stomach aches and bathing wounds.
The announcement comes weeks after the army made gains in and around the capital city to push back the RSF.
Sudan’s army has announced it has cleared the state of Khartoum of rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after weeks of intensive battles, with the civil war now in its third year.
The General Command of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) said in a statement on Tuesday that the state – which comprises the capital Khartoum, its twin city Omdurman, and the city of Khartoum North (Bahri) – is now “completely free of rebels”.
“We also renew our pledge to our people to continue our efforts until every inch of our country is liberated of every rebel, traitor, and agent,” said the SAF, headed by Sudan’s de facto leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
This comes after Sudan’s army secured a number of victories in battles in and around the capital in March, including the recapturing of the presidential palace and major urban centres that culminated in taking back the Khartoum airport from the RSF, headed by General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo.
In late March, al-Burhan had declared “Khartoum is free” hours after the recapture of the key airport, although smaller battles were ongoing with RSF militias in pockets around the state.
Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan said intense battles raged in recent days in southern Omdurman’s Salha area, which was the last remaining major RSF stronghold and home to one of the group’s largest military bases.
“The army had been making gradual advances in the Salha area in the past few days until it was able to take control of the area completely from the RSF in the early hours of Tuesday morning,” she said.
“The army also said it was able to recover weapons and ammunitions that were used by the paramilitary, including drones and jamming systems.”
After more than two years of devastating civil war that has gradually attracted foreign funding and weapons, control of Sudan remains torn between the two generals and their allies.
The SAF dominates the north and the east – including the smallest state by area, but most populous, Khartoum – along with some central areas, while the RSF holds most of western Sudan, including most of Darfur.
Where the RSF has been forced back on the ground, it has been trying to inflict damage with drone strikes, including those that have targeted energy infrastructure in both Khartoum and Port Sudan.
Fighting has also been ongoing in el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in western Sudan, as well as some key supply lines in Kordofan.
More than 12 million people have been forcibly displaced by the war so far, with tens of thousands killed and many exposed to ethnicity-based violence.
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.
(Al Jazeera)
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.
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.
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.
Displaced Palestinians flee from Khan Younis, Gaza, amid the ongoing Israeli military offensive in the area, on Monday, May 19, 2025. [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo]
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.
Palestinian mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli army airstrike at the morgue of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah on May 20, 2025. [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo]
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.
Relatives of journalist Mohammed Amin Abu Dhaka, who was killed in Israeli attack on the town of Abasan al-Kebira, mourn after the body is taken from Nasser Hospital for funeral in Khan Yunis on May 20 [Hani Alshaer/Anadolu Agency]
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.
Sudan’s devastating war is now entering its third year, and the conflict is far from over.
The United Nations has called this the most devastating humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world.
Killings, rapes and famine are affecting millions of people. What will happen to the people of Sudan if things don’t change? And why is this crisis being mostly ignored by the international community?
Presenter: Stefanie Dekker
Guests: Elbashir Idris – Political affairs analyst Bayadir Mohamed-Osman – Activist and poet Omer Elnaiem – Head of UNHCR Africa content hub
Negotiations between Washington and Tehran looking shaky as Iran resists US negotiator Witkoff’s ‘red line’.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has derided demands from the United States that it halt nuclear enrichment as negotiations between the two countries hang in the balance.
“Saying things like ‘We will not allow Iran to enrich uranium’ is nonsense. No one [in Iran] is waiting for others’ permission,” said Khamenei in a speech reported by the country’s semi-official Mehr News Agency on Tuesday.
He added that he did not know whether talks would “bring results”.
Since mid-April, Washington and Tehran have held four rounds of Omani-mediated talks aimed at getting Iran to limit its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
However, repeated clashes between the pair have thrown the next round of negotiations, which the news agency Reuters said were expected to take place in Rome at the weekend, into doubt.
US President Donald Trump ditched the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed by Iran and world powers during his last term in office. Intent on striking a new deal since his return to power in January, he has revived his “maximum pressure” approach against Iran, warning last week that talks needed to “move quickly or something bad is going to happen”.
Tehran confirmed on Tuesday that it has received and is reviewing a US proposal, but Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi had said the previous day that talks would fail if Washington insisted that Tehran refrained from domestic enrichment of uranium, which the US says is a possible pathway to developing nuclear bombs.
Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal but below the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. It has repeatedly insisted its programme is for peaceful purposes and is “non-negotiable”.
However, US negotiator Steve Witkoff has dubbed the continuation of the programme a “red line”. On Sunday, he reiterated that the US “cannot allow even 1 percent of an enrichment capability”.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that a deal ensuring Iran would not have nuclear weapons was “within reach”.
However, he underlined, Iran would continue enriching uranium “with or without a deal”.
In addressing the talks regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, our U.S. interlocutors are naturally free to publicly state whatever they deem fit to ward off Special Interest groups; malign actors which set the agendas of at least previous Administrations.
The European Union has lifted all sanctions on Syria. The decision follows Donald Trump’s recent announcement than the US would also lift sanctions, as Syria’s new government looks to rebuild the country.
An Israeli air strike on the Musa bin Nusair School in Gaza City has killed at least a dozen Palestinians, including children and a pregnant woman. The school had been sheltering forcibly displaced families.
Sanctions were levied during the rule of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.
European Union countries have given a green light to lifting all economic sanctions on Syria in a bid to help the war-torn country recover after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, according to diplomats speaking to news agencies.
Ambassadors from the EU’s 27 member states struck a preliminary agreement for the move, which should be formally unveiled by foreign ministers meeting in Brussels later on Tuesday, diplomats said, noting that the final decision is up to ministers.
This follows an announcement by the United States last week that it is lifting sanctions on Damascus.
Reporting from the EU headquarters, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra described the reported agreement to lift the sanctions as a “really significant” development.
“It’s first of all an acknowledgement that the EU recognises the authority which is operating now in Syria, and that there need to be more financial transactions to pave the way for the creation of financial stability and improve the living standards of the people in Syria,” he said.
Sanctions were levied during the rule of al-Assad in 2012 and 2013 and concern the transport, energy and the banking sectors, Ahelbarra said.
The country’s new leadership has urged the West to ease the restrictions to help Syria recover from years of despotic rule and civil war.
EU diplomats told AFP the agreement should see sanctions cutting Syrian banks off from the global system and freezing central bank assets lifted.
But diplomats said the bloc was intending to impose new individual sanctions on those responsible for stirring ethnic tensions, following deadly attacks targeting the Alawite minority.
Other measures targeting the al-Assad regime and prohibiting the sale of weapons or equipment that could be used to repress civilians were set to remain in place.
The latest move from the EU comes after its first step in February, suspending some sanctions on key Syrian economic sectors.
Officials said those measures could be reimposed if Syria’s new leaders break promises to respect the rights of minorities and move towards democracy.
Dagalo, who leads the rival Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, also announces a government as war ravages Sudan.
Sudan’s army chief and de facto head of state, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has appointed former United Nations official Kamil Idris as prime minister as part of changes to his sovereign council as the nation’s civil war grinds on into its third year.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed, critical infrastructure has been destroyed and more than 12 million people have been displaced as a result of the war, which shows no signs of stopping as vying leaders seek to consolidate their power.
“The chairman of the sovereignty council issued a constitutional decree appointing Kamil El-Tayeb Idris Abdelhafiz as prime minister,” a statement from Sudan’s ruling Transitional Sovereignty Council read on Monday.
Idris, a career diplomat, spent decades at the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organisation and was its director general from 1997 to 2008.
He also held various roles in Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and used to serve in the country’s permanent mission to the UN.
Idris, whose higher education was in international law and international affairs, also ran as an independent candidate in Sudan’s presidential election in 2010 against longtime military ruler Omar al-Bashir, who was later ousted in a 2019 coup.
The new prime minister replaces veteran diplomat Dafallah al-Haj Ali, who was appointed by al-Burhan less than a month ago as acting premier.
On Monday, al-Burhan also added two women to the council.
The military leader reappointed Salma Abdel Jabbar Almubarak and named Nowara Abo Mohamed Mohamed Tahir to the governing body.
The al-Burhan-led military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have been at war for more than two years after the two generals failed to agree on a plan to integrate their forces.
As al-Burhan tried to form an army-led government, Dagalo also announced the formation of a rival administration last month, shortly after signing a charter with allies in Kenya’s Nairobi.
The army, which holds areas in the central, eastern and northern parts of Sudan, has managed to claim some military victories in recent months, including taking control of the capital, Khartoum.
The RSF, which holds most of the western region of Darfur and some areas in the south with its allied militias, has been striking Port Sudan repeatedly this month to devastating effect.
Meanwhile, a worsening humanitarian crisis continues to engulf Sudan.
International organisations and some countries have warned of the risks of further escalating the conflict, including in cities like el-Fasher in Darfur that have served as humanitarian aid hubs.
The offensive comes on the back of a more than two-month total blockade on Gaza after Israel decided to unilaterally end a ceasefire with Hamas in March.
Israel has come under increasing international pressure, including from its staunch allies in the United States government, to agree to a ceasefire and allow aid into Gaza.
Here’s everything you need to know about Israel’s latest ground assault:
What is Operation Gideon’s Chariots, and why did it begin now?
Operation Gideon’s Chariots is a major ground offensive launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip that comes after air attacks killed hundreds of Palestinians in recent days and further debilitated Gaza’s healthcare network. With the backing of Israel’s lethal air force, the operation is targeting both southern and northern Gaza.
The assault began as the second day of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas ended on Saturday in Doha. Israel tends to intensify operations and attacks during such negotiations. It said this latest offensive is exerting “tremendous pressure” on Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched this latest assault as US President Donald Trump concluded his Middle East tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates but did not stop in Israel.
Hundreds of displaced Palestinians wait outside a charity kitchen in Gaza City to receive limited food rations on May 18, 2025 [Haitham Imad/EPA]
What are Israel’s stated objectives for this assault?
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 and has also rejected Hamas’s offers to end the war and free the captives.
A week before the start of the operation, quotes were leaked of Netanyahu speaking about the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza outside the Gaza Strip.
“We are destroying more and more homes. They have nowhere to return to,” Netanyahu said in closed-door testimony made to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. “The only inevitable outcome will be the desire of Gazans to emigrate outside of the Gaza Strip.”
What has happened in Gaza since the offensive began?
Since Sunday, the day Israel confirmed the operation, at least 144 people have been killed in a relentless wave of strikes. At least 42 people died in the heavily bombarded northern part of the Strip, according to medical sources. Five of those killed were journalists.
In southern Gaza, at least 36 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in Israeli air strikes on a tent encampment of displaced Palestinians in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis governorate, according to medical sources.
But the lead-up to the operation also included heavy attacks.
In the past week, Israel has attacked more than 670 places in Gaza and claimed all were “Hamas targets” located both above and beneath the ground. Israel has been accused of disproportionately targeting civilians in Gaza, including displaced families. At least 370 Palestinians were killed over five days.
Since the start of the war in October 2023, at least 53,339 Palestinians have been killed and 121,034 wounded, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
The severity of the recentattacks has many Palestinians expressing fears on social media that their latest posts may be their last.
On Monday, the Israeli military issued forced evacuation orders for Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, warning of an “unprecedented attack”.
What is Israel targeting?
Israel said it is targeting Hamas targets, a claim that has been increasingly challenged by human rights groups and experts as its more than 19-month war on Gaza continues.
Among the sites hit are hospitals, a recurring target for the Israeli military in Gaza. Muhammad Zaqout, the director general of hospitals in Gaza, described the tactic as part of “Israel’s systematic measures against hospitals”.
On Sunday, the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza was rendered nonoperational after it was besieged by Israeli forces. Medical professionals said it could lead to the deaths of thousands of sick and wounded people.
The situation was described as “catastrophic” by Marwan al-Sultan, the director of the facility, who also called on international organisations to push for the safety of medical teams.
Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza’s Jabalia and European Gaza Hospital in southern Gaza have also been bombed.
In recent days, Israel said it has killed Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip, Mohammad Sinwar, the brother and successor of the late Yahya Sinwar. It also reportedly killed another Sinwar brother, Zakaria Sinwar, a university lecturer, and three of his children in an air strike on central Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office says some aid would be allowed into Gaza to avoid famine [File: Marton Monus/Reuters]
How has Hamas responded?
On Sunday, Hamas released a statement calling the attacks on displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis a “brutal crime” and a flagrant violation of international laws and norms.
The group also placed blame on the US for backing Israel.
“By granting the terrorist occupation government political and military cover, the United States administration bears direct responsibility for this insane escalation in the targeting of innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip, including children, women, and the elderly,” Hamas said.
Family members mourn loved ones killed in an Israeli attack on the al-Saftawi region at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on May 18, 2025 [Khames Alrefi/Anadolu]
What is the current humanitarian situation inside Gaza?
Basic humanitarian supplies, including food, fuel, medical aid and vaccines for children, have been blocked by Israel from entering the Strip. More than 90 percent of the population has been displaced since the war began on October 7, 2023. Many Palestinians have been displaced multiple times with some people being forced to relocate 10 times or more.
Israel has refused the entry of any aid since March 2. International actors and agencies have been pressing hard for Israel to resume the distribution of aid to Gaza to little effect.
“Two months into the latest blockade, two million people are starving, while 116,000 tonnes of food is blocked at the border just minutes away,” said World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaking at the opening of the annual World Health Assembly.
One in five Palestinians in Gaza is currently facing starvation, while 9,000 children, who are most vulnerable to Israel’s continued food blockade, have been hospitalised for acute malnutrition since the start of the year, according to the United Nations.
Late on Sunday, Netanyahu announced that some food would be allowed into the Gaza Strip in a much needed reprieve for the local population.
“Israel will allow a basic amount of food for the population to ensure that a hunger crisis does not develop in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Netanyahu said on Monday that the move was motivated by pressure from Israel’s allies.
It is unclear when the border will open to allow in aid.
What’s the status of the ceasefire talks?
The latest round of talks started on Saturday, and by the end of Sunday, there had been little progress.
Talks are set to continue this week.
Israel and Hamas both claimed the talks began without conditions.
“The Hamas delegation outlined the position of the group and the necessity to end the war, swap prisoners, the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and allow humanitarian aid and all the needs of the people of Gaza back into the Strip,” Taher al-Nono, the media adviser for Hamas’s leadership, told the Reuters news agency.
The criticism of Israel is increasing.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “alarmed” by Israel’s expanded offensive in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire.
Germany, one of Israel’s foremost backers, expressed deep concern over the offensive.
Its Federal Foreign Office said in a statement: “A large-scale military offensive also entails the risk that the catastrophic humanitarian situation for the population in Gaza and the situation of the remaining hostages will continue to deteriorate and that the prospect of an urgently needed long-term ceasefire fades.”
After the offensive was confirmed, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called for the “immediate, massive and unhampered” resumption of aid into Gaza.
Even before the offensive, international pressure on Israel was growing.
The leaders of Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, Spain and Norway released a joint statement on what they called a “man-made humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place before our eyes in Gaza”.
Tom Fletcher, the UN’s humanitarian chief, has called for decisive action to prevent genocide in Gaza.
He criticised the US-Israeli joint plan to replace international aid mechanisms in Gaza as a “waste of time”. More than 160,000 pallets of aid are “ready to move” at the border, he said, but are being blocked by Israel.
Volker Turk, the UN’s human rights chief, said on Friday that Israel’s bombing campaign is intended to bring about a “permanent demographic shift in Gaza” and is in “defiance of international law”.
Tom Fletcher has called for decisive action to prevent genocide and called the US-Israeli aid distribution plan a “waste of time” [Denis Balibouse/Reuters]
What’s the status of the ceasefire talks?
