The International Court of Justice dismissed Sudan’s case accusing the United Arab Emirates of enabling genocide in Darfur by supplying the paramilitary forces with weapons. The ICJ said it lacked jurisdiction, rejecting Sudan’s request for emergency measures and ordered the case be removed from its docket.
Published On 5 May 20255 May 2025
US President Donald Trump says he wants to work with his Turkish counterpart to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
United States President Donald Trump says he has had a “very good and productive” telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and they have discussed a wide range of topics, including how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, Syria and Israel’s war on Gaza.
During the call on Monday, Trump said Erdogan had invited him to visit Turkiye and he had extended an invitation for the Turkish leader to visit Washington, DC. No dates were announced.
A readout of the call from the Turkish presidency confirmed Erdogan invited Trump for a visit.
The Republican president, who described his relationship with Erdogan as “excellent” during his first tenure at the White House, said the two countries would cooperate on ending the war in Ukraine.
“I look forward to working with President Erdogan on getting the ridiculous but deadly, War between Russia and Ukraine ended – NOW!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform.
NATO member Turkiye has sought to maintain good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbours since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has twice hosted talks aimed at ending the war.
“Noting that he supports President Trump’s approach toward ending wars, President Erdogan expressed appreciation for the efforts exerted to maintain the negotiation process with Iran and stop the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Turkiye’s Directorate of Communications said in a statement posted on X.
Erdogan also raised the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza, warning that its humanitarian crisis had reached a “grave level”, the directorate said.
The Turkish president also stressed the importance of the “uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid and the urgent end to this tragic situation”.
On neighbouring Syria, Erdogan reaffirmed Turkiye’s commitment to preserving its territorial integrity and restoring lasting stability.
He said US efforts to ease sanctions on Syria and its new government would help move that process forward and contribute to regional peace.
Regarding bilateral ties, Erdogan said Ankara remained committed to strengthening cooperation with Washington, particularly in the defence sector.
Trump is due to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next week.
Israel's army is calling up tens of thousands of reservists to expand operations in Gaza.
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I am no stranger to political repression and censorship. I have lived in Germany for five years now, and as a Palestinian journalist involved in pro-Palestinian advocacy, I have experienced repeated harassment at the hands of the German authorities.
My husband, a German citizen, and I, an American citizen, have grown accustomed to being held for hours at a time, subjected to invasive interrogations about our travels, and having our belongings thoroughly searched without clear justification. But we were shocked to find out that these tactics, designed to intimidate and deter, have now been taken up by the United States to target Palestinians amid the ongoing genocide.
I always knew that citizenship offered only limited protection, especially when dissent is involved. But deep down, I still believed that freedom of speech, the right to speak without fear, meant something in my country of birth.
I was wrong. The harassment we endured on March 24 upon arriving in the US shattered that illusion. Our Palestinian identity, our political work, our family ties – all of it makes us permanent targets, not just in Germany, but now in the US, too.
Prior to departure, while we were at our gate in Frankfurt airport, four agents approached me and identified themselves as officers from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). They said they were specifically looking for my husband, who had just stepped aside to buy water and juice for our sons.
“We just want to make sure your ESTA visa is in order,” one of them said.
They took his passport, flipping through it and photographing every single page while one of them stayed on the phone, relaying information. They asked about our visit to Gaza in 2022, after seeing the Rafah border stamp.
“Where did you go in Gaza?” one agent asked.
“Khan Younis,” my husband replied.
“Where does your family live now?”
“All over,” he said. “They’re living in tents across the Strip, you know, because of the war.”
“What did you do while you were there?”
“Visited family,” he answered.
It was clear we were targeted. I did not see any other passengers undergoing a similar check. This meant that either DHS was actively researching passengers before their departure to the US, or – even more troubling – the German authorities were communicating directly with DHS to flag the background and political activity of “suspect” travellers.
Upon arrival at Newark airport in New Jersey, my husband and I were separated and individually interrogated, each of us still holding a sleeping child. The men questioning us did not identify themselves; I believe they were DHS agents, not border police.
They first asked me about the purpose of my trip and my travel to Gaza. They wanted to know who I had met in Gaza, why I had met them, and whether anyone I encountered was affiliated with Hamas. At one point, an officer deliberately became ambiguous and instead of referencing Hamas, asked if “anyone from [my] family was a part of the government in Gaza”.
At one point, they asked whether I experienced violence from Israeli soldiers, to which I responded: “Israeli soldiers weren’t in Gaza in 2022.”
“Did anyone in your family experience violence during this war?”
“Yes,” I responded. “Fifty were killed.”
“Were any of them Hamas supporters?” was the response I received.
As if political affiliation could justify the incineration of a family. As if children, elders, mothers, reduced to numbers, must first be interrogated for their loyalties before their deaths can be acknowledged.
They knew I was a journalist, so they demanded to know the last article I had written and where it was published. I told them that it was a piece for Mondoweiss about the abduction of Mahmoud Khalil, in which I also warned about the dangers of the Trump administration’s policies. This seemed to heighten their scrutiny. They demanded my email address, my social media accounts, and jotted down my phone number without explanation.
Then they took our phones. When I asked what would happen if I refused, they made it clear I had no choice. If I did not comply, my phone would still be taken from me, and if my husband did not comply, he would be deported.
When they finally returned our electronics, they issued a chilling warning to my husband: “You have been here seven times without an issue. Stay away from political activity, and everything will be fine.”
Subsequently, I was advised by legal counsel not to attend any demonstrations, not even by myself, during our stay. Our movements, our words, and even our silences were under watch, and anything could be used against us.
What happened to us was not random; it was intentional. It was meant to scare and intimidate us. Whether it is in Germany, in the US, or elsewhere, the goal of these tactics is the same: to make us feel small, isolated, criminalised, and afraid. They want us to doubt the worth of every word we write, to question every protest we join, to swallow every truth before it reaches our lips. They want us to forget the people we have lost.
Fifty members of our family were murdered in the US-backed genocide in Gaza. Fifty souls, each with their own dreams, laughter, and love, extinguished under the roar of bombs and the silence of the world. Our family’s story is no different from thousands of others – stories that vanish from headlines but live forever in the hearts of the survivors.
They expect us to carry this unbearable weight quietly, to bow our heads and continue living as if our world were not ripped apart. But we do not bow.
And that is why they fear us; they fear a people who refuse to disappear. Palestinians who dare to speak, to organise, to simply bear witness are marked as dangerous.
I was warned that speaking about our experience at the airport would make the next encounter even harsher, even more punishing. But we must remember: there is nothing this state can do to us that can compare to what is being done to the people of Gaza. Our passports are only paper. Our phones are only metal and glass. These are things they can confiscate, things they can break. But they cannot take away our voices, our memories, and our commitment to justice.
On our way out, the officers asked my husband one last question: “What do you think of Hamas? Are they good?”
He responded: “My concern is fighting a genocide that has taken the lives and freedom of my family and my people. Anything else, I am not interested in answering.”
That should be all of our concern. Nothing should distract us from the urgent, undeniable truth: a people are being slaughtered, and our responsibility is to stand with them.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
Top UN court says it does not have authority to rule on case accusing UAE of arming rebel Rapid Support Forces paramilitary.
The top United Nations court has dismissed a case brought by Sudan accusing the United Arab Emirates of breaching the genocide convention by arming and funding the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan’s deadly civil war.
The International Court of Justice said on Monday that it “manifestly lacked” the authority to continue the proceedings and threw out the case.
While both Sudan and the UAE are signatories to the 1948 genocide convention, the UAE has a carveout to the part of the treaty that gives The Hague-based court jurisdiction.
In March, Sudan asked the ICJ for several orders, known as provisional measures, including telling the UAE to do all it can to prevent the killing and other crimes targeting the Masalit people in Darfur.
The UAE called the filing a publicity stunt and, in a hearing last month, argued the court had no jurisdiction.
“The case is baseless both legally and factually. The UAE is not involved in the war, and this case is yet another attempt by the Sudanese Armed Forces, one of the warring parties, to distract from its own responsibility,” Reem Ketait, a senior official at the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement ahead of the decision.
Sudan descended into a deadly conflict in mid-April 2023 when long-simmering tensions between its military and rival paramilitary forces broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions.
Both the Rapid Support Forces and Sudan’s military have been accused of abuses.
The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula and a US ally, has been repeatedly accused of arming the RSF, something it has strenuously denied despite evidence to the contrary.
More to follow.
“There was a belief that people living within Israel would be safe.”
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Before the war, my life was simple. Like many young women in Gaza, I carried within me a mixture of ambition and anxiety. My dream was to graduate from the Islamic University with honours and become a writer. My fear was that the constant attacks and instability in Gaza would somehow impede my pursuit of education and a writing career.
However, I never imagined that everything I knew – my home, my university, my friends, my daily routine and my health – could vanish, leaving me struggling to keep going.
When the war began, we thought it was just another short round of fighting – one of the many escalations we had grown used to in Gaza. But something about this time felt different. The explosions were closer, louder, and lasting longer. We soon realised that this nightmare was not going to end; it was only going to get worse.
On December 27, 2023, we received our first “evacuation order”. There was no time to think. We had just begun gathering a few belongings when the sound of bombing grew louder. The upper floors of the building we lived in were being targeted.
We fled the building in a hurry, carrying only a small bag. My father was pushing my grandmother in her wheelchair, while I held my younger brother’s hand and ran into the street, not knowing where we were going.
The neighbourhood looked like a scene from the horrors of the Day of Judgement: people were running, screaming, crying, and carrying what remained of their lives.
Night fell, and we found temporary shelter at a relative’s house. Sixteen of us slept in one room, without privacy or comfort.
In the morning, we made the difficult decision to take refuge in one of the displacement camps declared a “humanitarian zone”. We owned almost nothing. The weather was bitterly cold, water was scarce, and we had only a few blankets. We washed, cleaned, and cooked using primitive methods. We lit fires and prepared food as if we had gone back to the Stone Age.
Amid all of this, we received the news: our home had been bombed.
I refused to believe what I had heard. I sat and cried, unable to comprehend the tragedy. My father’s goldsmith workshop was on the ground floor of the building, so when it was destroyed, we did not just lose walls and a roof – we lost everything.
The days passed slowly and heavily, wrapped in longing and misery. I lost contact with most of my friends, and I no longer heard the voices that used to fill my days with warmth. I would check in on my closest friend, Rama, whenever I had a brief chance to connect to the internet. She lived in northern Gaza.
On January 15, 2024, my friend Rawan sent me a message. It did not reach me immediately. It took days because of the communications blackout.
The words were simple, they shattered me from the inside: “Rama was martyred.”
Rama Waleed Sham’ah, my closest friend at university. I could not believe it. I read the message over and over again, searching for a different ending, a denial. But the truth was silent, harsh, and merciless.
I didn’t get to say goodbye. I didn’t hear her last words, I didn’t hold her hand, or tell her “I love you” one last time. I felt as though I was breathing without a soul.
While I was still processing that grief, I received even more devastating news: on February 16, 2024, my father’s entire extended family – all his cousins, their wives, and their children – were killed. I saw my father break in a way I had never seen before. His grief was so deep that words could not describe it.
Then, death knocked on our door.
On June 8, 2024, we had just moved from our tent to a rented apartment, trying to start our lives over, when the Israeli army surrounded the area. I was the first to see the tank slowly moving up the street. I panicked and ran towards my father, shouting. But I didn’t reach him. In that moment, a missile struck the building we were in. All I saw was thick smoke and dust filling the air.
I didn’t know if I was alive or not. I tried to say the shahada, and by the grace of God, I managed to do so. Then I started screaming, calling for my father. I heard his voice faintly from a distance, telling me not to go out because the drone was still bombing.
I took a few steps, then lost consciousness. All I remember is that they carried me down the building and covered me with a blanket. I was bleeding. I would regain consciousness for a few seconds, then lose it again.
The ambulance could not reach our street because the tank was at the entrance. My mother, my sister, and I bled for two hours until some young men from the area managed to find a way to get us out. They carried me in a blanket to the ambulance. The paramedics started bandaging my wounds right there in the middle of the street, in front of everyone.
All the way, I heard their whispers, saying that I was between life and death. I heard them, but I could not speak.
When I reached the hospital, they told me that I had sustained injuries to my head, hands, legs, and back. The pain was unbearable, and my mother’s absence added to my fear. I was rushed in for an emergency surgery.
I survived.
After leaving the hospital, I had to go back for dressing changes. Each visit was a painful experience. I would choke every time I saw the blood. My father, who accompanied me every time, would try to ease these visits, telling me, “You will be rewarded, my dear, and we will get through all of this.”
I fell into a deep depression, suffering from both physical and emotional pain. I felt as though I was drowning in an endless spiral of sorrow, fear, and exhaustion. I no longer knew how to breathe, how to continue, or even why.
We had no roof to shelter under. Finding food was a struggle. The painful memories of loved ones who had passed haunted me. The fear that my family and I could lose our lives at any moment made me feel utterly helpless. I felt everything was screaming that I could not go on.
Yet, in the darkness of despair, I continued to live, day after day. I was in pain, but I lived.
I went back to reading – whatever books I could find. Then, when my university announced it would resume lectures online, I signed up.
My hand was still broken, wrapped in a cast, and I could barely use it. My mother helped me, holding the pen at times and writing down what I dictated. My professors understood my situation and supported me as much as they could, but the challenges were many. I struggled to access electricity and the internet to charge my phone and download lectures. Sometimes, I would lose exams due to power outages or poor network, and I would have to postpone them.
Still, I kept going. My physical condition gradually started to improve.
Today, we are still living in a tent. We struggle to secure the most basic needs, such as clean water and food. We are experiencing famine, just like everyone else in Gaza.
When I look at the scars of war etched into my body and memory, I realise that I am no longer the same person. I have found within myself a strength I never knew existed.
I have found a path through the rubble, meaning in the pain, and a reason to write, to witness, and to resist despite the loss. I have made the decision to stay alive, to love, to dream, to speak.
Because, quite simply, I deserve to live, just like every human being on earth.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
‘It’s a boy!’ Israeli soldiers have filmed themselves blowing up a building in Gaza for a ‘gender reveal’,
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Israel’s political and military leaders have approved plans to expand the Gaza offensive and take over aid deliveries to the devastated and starving enclave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet unanimously approved plans to call up reservists and put the Israeli military in charge of food and other vital supplies to the 2.3 million people suffering under its blockade of the Palestinian territory.
Newswires reported unnamed Israeli officials suggesting that the plans include the “conquest” and occupation of the entire Gaza Strip.
The expanded offensive “could go as far as seizing the entire enclave”, the Reuters news agency reported.
“The plan will include, among other things, the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories, moving the Gaza population south for their protection,” a source told the AFP news agency.
The source added that Netanyahu “continues to promote” United States President Donald Trump’s plan for the voluntary departure of Palestinians from the enclave.
The plan also includes the possibility of Israel taking over the provision of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The Israeli government has rejected claims from aid groups that famine is stalking the enclave, despite having blocked the entrance of all supplies on March 2 –16 days before it resumed its war against Hamas.
Citing an unnamed Israeli official, The Times of Israel said the plan would involve “international organisations and private security contractors [handing] out boxes of food” to families in Gaza.
Israeli soldiers would provide “an outer layer of security for the private contractors and international organisations handing out the assistance”, the outlet said.
Earlier, the Israel Hayom newspaper and The Times of Israel cited sources as saying the plan would include the occupation of Gaza.
The revelations have stirred significant tension inside Israel.
Netanyahu again asserted that the goal was to “defeat” Hamas and bring back several dozen captives held in Gaza.
However, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an Israeli campaign group, said in a statement on Monday that the plan is “sacrificing” those still held in the Palestinian territory.
Heated disagreements also reportedly erupted during the cabinet meeting between the political and military echelons.
Army chief Eyal Zamir reportedly warned that Israel could “lose” the captives in Gaza if it pushed ahead with a full-blown military offensive.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that, as Israel has done in the past two months, it should continue to block all food, water, medicine, fuel and other aid from entering Gaza to starve the population.
He also advocated for “bombing food warehouses and generators” so there are no more supplies and electricity is fully cut off.
But Zamir warned this would “endanger” Israel as it would expose the country to even more allegations of violations of international law.
“You don’t understand what you are saying. You are endangering us all. There is an international law, we are committed to it. We cannot starve the Strip, your statements are dangerous,” Samir said, according to Israel’s national broadcaster, Kan.
In an interview with Israeli Army Radio, opposition leader Yair Lapid questioned Netanyahu’s decision to mobilise tens of thousands of reservists, saying the prime minister was calling up troops and extending their service without setting a goal for the operation.
Another opposition figure, Yair Golan, said Netanyahu was only trying to save his government from collapsing as the plan “serves no security purpose and does not bring the release of the hostages closer”.
Ben-Gvir was reportedly the only member of the Security Cabinet who opposed the plan for Israel to bypass existing aid routes by international organisations.
Israel reportedly plans to use US security contractors to control the flow of aid into Gaza.
However, the plan is not expected to come into effect immediately, as Israeli officials believe there is enough food in Gaza for now, even as Palestinians are starving to death.
The Israeli plans also envisage the establishment of a new “humanitarian zone” in southern Gaza that would work as a base for aid.
The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), a forum that includes United Nations agencies, said on Sunday that Israeli officials were seeking its consent to deliver aid through what it described as “Israeli hubs under conditions set by the Israeli military, once the government agrees to re-open crossings”.
In a statement, the HCT said such a plan would be dangerous and would “contravene fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.
The coalition said the UN would not participate in this scheme as it does not adhere to the global humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality.
The humanitarian organisations said their teams “remain in Gaza, ready to again scale up the delivery of critical supplies and services: food, water, health, nutrition, protection and more”.
They urged world leaders to use their influence to lift the blockade so that “significant stocks” waiting at the border could be delivered.
In February 2024, more than 100 Palestinians were killed when Israeli soldiers opened fire on desperate Palestinians waiting for trucks delivering food, in what has become known as the “flour massacre“.
The Israeli military acknowledged that it had coordinated the convoy with private contractors, rather than the UN or other humanitarian aid organisations with experience delivering food aid safely.
The US military also tried to build a $230m floating pier in May 2024, as an alternative way to deliver aid to Gaza. But the trouble-prone structure was closed months later, after only bringing in the equivalent of about one day’s worth of pre-war food deliveries.
Five people were killed in March 2024 in one of several efforts to deliver food by air drops. Humanitarian groups have said that airdrops are not able to replace the quantities needed to deliver food to more than 2 million people living in Gaza.
Yemen's Houthi rebels vow to keep firing missiles at Ben Gurion airport to impose a ‘full aerial blockade’ on Israel.
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Dozens of people are already dead from starvation as Israel bars trucks with food and aid.
Starvation now threatens the people of Gaza due to Israel’s blockade.
Food and vital supplies are running out across the Gaza Strip.
Yet Israel is calling up 60,000 more reservists to intensify military action.
So why is this happening?
Presenter: Neave Barker
Guests:
Olga Cherevko – Spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza City
Sami Al-Arian – Professor of public affairs and director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University
Neve Gordon – Professor of international law at Queen Mary University of London
ISRAEL has vowed to hit back hard against the Houthis after they bombed its main airport with a missile on Sunday morning.
Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation against the Houthis and “their Iranian terror masters”, and it was officially approved by the security cabinet.
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On X, Netanhyayu said that Israel would strike back “at a time and place of our choosing”.
And in a video message, he warned: “This isn’t a one-and-done, but there will be some big hits.”
He also reminded the world that Israel had punished the Houthis in the past – and would do again in the future.
Israel is said to be rethinking its policy of not striking Houthi targets in Yemen, adopted at the request of President Trump.
The Iranian-backed Houthis launched a devastating strike on the Ben Gurion Airport on the outskirts of the capital Tel Aviv.
Chilling video captured the moment the ballistic missile soared through the sky before exploding as it hit the ground.
A huge plume of black smoke billowed high into the sky.
At least eight people were injured by the attack, according to officials, but no one was killed.
Passengers in the terminal were sent into panic and air traffic was suspended for up to an hour.
Some European and US airlines have cancelled flights to the airport for the next few days.
Many had only recently begun to resume services to Israel after the Gaza ceasefire, which put an eight-weeks pause on the fighting.
The Israeli Defence Force said that it made several attempts to intercept the missile, but was unable to do so.
They are now investigating the incident with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to hold talks over the attack at 3pm local time today.
Israel’s powerful Iron Dome is responsible for thwarting enemy missiles before they hit.
Operators across the country work around the clock to fend off relentless attacks and the consistent threat of bombardment from Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
An IDF commander told The Sun last month that the Iron dome has a 96 per cent success rate, so Sunday’s failure will be closely scrutinised.
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The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack straight away, and the IDF confirmed it came from Yemen.
Sunday strike and the incoming retaliation mark a major escalation between Israel and the Houthis in both Yemen and Iran.
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz insisted Iran must be held responsible.
The former defence minister said on X: “This is not Yemen, this is Iran. It is Iran that is firing ballistic missiles at the State of Israel, and it must bear responsibility.
“The Israeli government must wake up.”
Meanwhile, Israel has begun calling up tens of thousands of reservists to “intensify and expand” its military action in Gaza.
The IDF said it was “increasing the pressure” with the aim of returning hostages held in Gaza and defeating Hamas militants.
The Security Council was expected to approve the intensification of the war when it met on Sunday.
THE Houthi rebels have spent months terrorising the Red Sea by launching persistent missile and drone attacks on vessels and warships – but who are they?
The Shia militant group, which now controls large swaths of Yemen, spent over a decade being largely ignored by the world.
However, since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, they sprung from relative obscurity to holding roughly £1trillion of world trade hostage – turning one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes into an active warzone.
Their warped battle cry is “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam”.
Why are they attacking ships?
After the October 7 massacre, Houthis began launching relentless drone and missile attacks on any ships – including warships – they deem to be connected with Israel in solidarity with their ally, Hamas.
In reality, they targeted commercial vessels with little or no link to Israel – forcing global sea traffic to largely halt operations in the region and sending shipping prices around the world soaring.
The sea assaults added to the carnage in the Middle East tinderbox as intense ripples from Israel’s war in Gaza were felt across the region – with Iran accused of stoking the chaos.
The Houthi chiefs pledged their Red Sea attacks would continue until Israel stopped its offensive in Gaza.
The group’s chiefs have previously said their main targets are Israel, and its allies the US and Britain.
And despite repeated threats from the West and joint US and UK strikes blitzing their strongholds in Yemen – Iran’s terror proxy appears undeterred.
The UK and US have hit Houthi bases as recently as this month after the terror group once again targeted boats in the shipping lane.
Israel has also hammered the group with airstrikes, reportedly hitting oil storage tanks at the port in Al Hudaydah.
Ship hit by two drones near Malta on Friday; NGO blames Israel for attack.
An international NGO that intends to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea has said it was in talks with Malta’s government about allowing a vessel to enter Maltese waters to repair damage caused by a drone attack.
The ship named Conscience, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), suffered damage to its front section including a loss of power when it was hit by two drones just outside Maltese territorial waters in the central Mediterranean early on Friday, the NGO said on Sunday.
The coalition, an international non-governmental group, said Israel, which has blockaded and bombarded Gaza, was to blame for the incident.
#FreedomFlotilla Press statement 04-05-2025 : “we received a very welcome update from the government of Malta@MaltaGov, with a stated intent to provide logistical supports and potential repairs to our ship, the ‘Conscience’….’ (read more…)https://t.co/PVk6qjJsM3
— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) May 4, 2025
The Conscience, which set off from Tunisia, had been waiting to take on board some 30 peace activists from around the world before trying to sail to Gaza in the eastern Mediterranean. The ship had been seeking to deliver aid including food and medicines to the besieged enclave, where aid groups warn people are struggling to survive following a two-month total blockade by Israel.
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg said she was in Malta and had been planning to board the ship as part of the flotilla.
Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday that Malta was prepared to assist the ship with necessary repairs so that it could continue on its journey, once it was satisfied that the vessel held only humanitarian aid.
Coalition officials said on Sunday that the ship was in no danger of sinking, but that they wanted to be sure it would be safe from further attacks while undergoing repairs, and able to sail out again.
Earlier on Sunday, the coalition had accused Malta of impeding access to its ship. Malta denied the claim, saying the crew had refused assistance and even refused to allow a surveyor on board to assess the damage.
“The FFC would like to clarify our commitment to engagement with [Maltese] authorities to expedite the temporary docking of our ship for repairs and surveyors, so we can continue on the urgent humanitarian mission to Gaza,” the coalition said in a statement later in the day.
A Malta government spokesman said its offer was to assist in repairs out at sea once the boat’s cargo was verified to be aid.
Coalition officials said the surveyor was welcome to board as part of a deal being negotiated with Malta.
Israel halted humanitarian aid to Gaza two months ago, shortly before it broke a ceasefire and restarted its war against Hamas, which has devastated the Palestinian enclave and killed more than 51,000 people.
Another NGO ship on a similar mission to Gaza in 2010 was stopped and boarded by Israeli troops, and nine activists were killed. Other such ships have similarly been stopped and boarded, with activists arrested.
Hamas issued a statement about the incident off Malta, accusing Israel of “piracy” and “state terrorism”.
Country on high alert since MI5 warning last year about ‘potentially lethal’ Iran-backed activities.
The United Kingdom has arrested eight men, including seven Iranian nationals, as part of two investigations regarding alleged threats to national security.
London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed the arrests on Sunday, saying five men, including four of the Iranian nationals, were detained on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act” while the other three are being held under national security legislation introduced in 2023 to counter the actions of hostile states.
In the first operation, which took place on Saturday, counterterrorism police arrested four Iranians along with the other individual, whose nationality was still being established, in London, Swindon and the Greater Manchester area in relation to “a suspected plot to target a specific premises”.
The five men were aged 29 to 46. The four Iranians were arrested under the Terrorism Act while the fifth man was detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.
“This is a fast-moving investigation,” Metropolitan Police counterterrorism chief Dominic Murphy said, adding that police were exploring “various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter”.
In the second operation, which took place on the same day, counterterrorism police arrested three Iranian nationals aged 39, 44 and 55 in London under the National Security Act, which gives law enforcement greater powers to disrupt “state threats”, including foreign interference and espionage.
The Metropolitan Police said on Sunday that the three London arrests were “not connected to the arrest of five people yesterday”.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the threats as “serious”, saying the government was working with police and intelligence agencies to “keep the country safe”.
The arrests were made amid heightened concerns about Iranian operations on UK soil after the head of Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence service said last year that the UK had uncovered 20 Iran-backed plots posing “potentially lethal threats” since 2022.
In 2023, an Austrian national was convicted of carrying out “hostile reconnaissance” against the London headquarters of Iran International, a broadcaster that is critical of Iran’s government.
The following year, a British journalist of Iranian origin who worked for Iran International was stabbed in London.
In February a former British soldier was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of spying for Iran.
Iran has repeatedly rejected suggestions that it has been behind plots to attack the UK.
In March, Tehran summoned the British ambassador in response to the accusations and conveyed a formal protest.
And in October, Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei accused the UK of hosting “terrorist” groups that promote violence.
Researchers say Israel’s worst wildfires were exacerbated by non-native trees that Israel has been planting for decades.
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Israel has repeatedly bombed Syria it says to protect the Druze minority from violence by pro-government forces, a stance the Syrian Druze community rejects. Syrian forces have reached an agreement with Druze leaders to improve security, ending days of fighting.
Published On 4 May 20254 May 2025
UN special rapporteur discusses pressure to cancel her role, threats of arrest in Germany, and ongoing Gaza catastrophe.
Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, talks to Al Jazeera following her controversial reappointment. She discusses Germany’s threats of arrest and cancelled university events. Albanese also argues that Israel’s actions in Gaza, including the blockade of aid and rejection of UN oversight, violate the UN Charter. Despite being labelled “anti-Semitic” and accused of supporting “terrorism”, she denies all allegations and says the real issue is the suppression of critical voices.
Israeli soldiers and settlers have harassed a Palestinian activist featured in a recent BBC documentary that has received praise for shedding light on the plight of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
As the world’s attention has been fixed on Israel’s 18-month war on Gaza, settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem have spiked, forcing Palestinians to flee their homes. A lack of Israeli police action has further emboldened settlers, who cite the Torah in claiming rights over Palestinian lands.
Issa Amro, who was featured in The Settlers documentary made by British-American journalist and broadcaster Louis Theroux, released footage online showing how armed soldiers and settlers raided his house in Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
Amro said police also threatened him with arrest and told him not to file a complaint in what he said is another instance of apartheid imposed by Israel in the West Bank. Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have accused Israel of practising apartheid in occupied territory.
Amro added on Sunday that the Israeli settlers who attacked him a day earlier told him United States President Donald Trump backed them. The settlers felt “emboldened because of the Trump administration’s blind support”, the activist said.
Theroux said he and his team have remained in regular contact with Amro.
. @Issaamro who featured in The Settlers has posted videos of his latest harassment by settlers and soldiers. Our team has been in regular contact with him since the documentary and over the last 24 hours. We are continuing to monitor the situation. https://t.co/asEWKkVX5h
— Louis Theroux (@louistheroux) May 4, 2025
The BBC documentary, a follow-up to Theroux’s 2012 film The Ultra Zionists, reflects on how the situation has evolved in occupied Palestinian territory.
While conducting interviews with Palestinian and Israeli figures, the documentary explored how the settler population has grown significantly and how new military outposts and Israeli infrastructure have expanded across Palestinian territories, often with direct state support.
It delves into the religious and ideological motivations behind the Israeli expansion, which has led to mass displacement of Palestinians and violent clashes, and it questions the legality and morality of the occupation as courts rule that it undermines international laws and norms.
“You bring Jewish families [to the occupied West Bank], you live Jewish life, and this will bring light instead of darkness. And this is how the state of Israel was established, and this is what we want to do in Gaza,” Daniella Weiss, a key member of the Israeli settler movement for decades, says in the documentary.
Weiss, who has enjoyed support from a number of Israeli rabbis as well, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “happy” about the settler expansion. Netanyahu has opposed the Palestinian sovereignty over Gaza and occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Settlers are Israeli citizens who live on private Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They now number more than 700,000. All Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.
Settlements and their expansions are seen as the biggest hurdle in the realisation of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel.
The United Nations General Assembly last year called on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territory. This came months after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the Israeli presence in Palestinian territory is ‘”unlawful”.
Theroux himself was harassed as well when making part of the documentary in Hebron when Israeli soldiers approached him and tried to make him leave the area.
The harassment of Amro comes shortly after Hamdan Ballal, the Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was attacked by Israeli settlers in his home in the West Bank village of Susya.
Armed and masked settlers vandalised his home and vehicle in late March and injured Ballal. While receiving treatment in an ambulance, Israeli soldiers blindfolded and arrested the filmmaker, who was later released without charge.
Like the harassment of Amro on Saturday, that attack was also seen as retaliation for the documentary’s international acclaim and its efforts to show the struggles of Palestinians in the West Bank.
The incidents have also further highlighted the dangers faced by journalists and filmmakers under Israeli occupation at a time when Israel has killed more than 200 media workers in the Gaza Strip.
A roundup of some of last week’s events.
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More than 3,500 children below the age of five years “face imminent death by starvation”, Gaza’s Government Media Office (GMO) has said, adding that some 70,000 children are being hospitalised in the enclave due to severe malnutrition amid more than two months of total Israeli blockade.
“Under this systematic blockade, more than 3,500 children under the age of five face imminent death by starvation, while approximately 290,000 children are on the brink of death,” the GMO statement on Telegram said on Sunday.
“At a time when 1.1 million children daily lack the minimum nutritional requirements for survival, this crime is being perpetrated by the ‘Israeli’ occupation using starvation as a weapon, amid shameful international silence,” it added.
At least 57 Palestinians have starved to death, causing global outrage, but that has failed to convince Israel to allow entry of aid into the enclave of 2.3 million people.
A shortage of food and supplies has driven the territory towards starvation, according to aid agencies. Supplies to treat and prevent malnutrition are depleted and quickly running out as documented cases of malnutrition rise.
The price of what little food is still available in the market is unaffordable for most in Gaza, where the United Nations says more than 80 percent of the population relies on aid.
Aid groups and rights campaigners have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.
Israel, for its part, insists the blockade is necessary to pressure Hamas to release the captives it still holds. Of the 59 captives still in Gaza, 24 are believed to be alive.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 52,495 Palestinians and wounded 118,366, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The GMO updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.