Key events
In response to the Israeli Cabinet’s decision to establish 22 new settlements, Israeli NGO Peace Now tells the Guardian that the annexation of the occupied territories and expansion of settlements is Israel’s “central goal.”
The Cabinet’s decision to establish 22 new settlements—the most extensive move of its kind since the Oslo Accords, under which Israel committed not to establish new settlements—will dramatically reshape the West Bank and further entrench the occupation.
At a time when both the Israeli public and the international community are calling for an immediate end to the war, the government is making clear—again and without restraint—that it prefers deepening the occupation and advancing de facto annexation over pursuing peace.”
A detailed analysis of the newly announced settlements will be published shortly.
Bethan McKernan
My colleague Bethan McKernan has written about her time as the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent.
Three days before Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, I was helping friends who live in Gaza City gather armfuls of guava in their orchard in Beit Hanoun, in the north of the Strip, when something strange happened.
Hamid and Rania* had bought the small plot the year before. It was overgrown, but over the changing seasons they’d worked hard on their expensive acquisition. I called it the secret garden, a tiny oasis in the midst of the dry, dirty misery of Gaza.
As well as guava, there were apple, fig, lemon, orange and olive trees. The couple planted grapefruit and pomegranate saplings, and dug vegetable beds for tomatoes, herbs and spices. Rania also put in yellow and red chrysanthemums in flowerpots made out of stacks of worn-out car tyres.
Read more about Bethan’s experiences here…
Human rights groups and anti-settlement NGOs say a slide towards at least de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank has quickened since the war in Gaza began following Hamas’s attack on Israel back in October 2023.
“The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: the annexation of the occupied territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal,” the Peace Now group said in a statement.
They added that the move “will dramatically reshape the West Bank and further entrench the occupation”.
In an announcement, Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Yoel Smotrich, preemptively defended the move, arguing: “We have not taken a foreign land, but the heritage of our ancestors.”
Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, delivered an emotional address to the security council.
He broke down in tears as he described the suffering of Palestinian children and the ongoing war in Gaza. He slammed his fist on the table, pausing his speech, and told the summit: “I have grandchildren, I know what they mean to their families.”
It has been 600 days since the war in Gaza began, killing more than 54,000 Palestinians
Arwa Mahdawi
A picture says a thousand words. And the imagery slowly seeping out of Gaza tells a story that many politicians and media figures are still doing their best to ignore or obfuscate.
Israel kills thirteen Palestinians in overnight strikes
Israeli strikes killed at least 13 Palestinians overnight in Gaza, the Associated Press reports.
According to local hospitals, Four were killed in a strike on a car in Gaza City late Wednesday, and another eight, including two women and three children, were killed in a strike on a home in Jabaliya. A strike on a built-up refugee camp in central Gaza killed one person and wounded 18.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants are embedded in populated areas.
Here’s a reminder of what the World Food Programme has said about the desperate humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.
The WFP says 100% of people in Gaza face acute levels of food insecurity; 70,000 children in the region are expected to require urgent treatment for acute malnutrition; $265 million is needed for WFP operations in Gaza and the West Bank from March to August 2025, and famine threatens people across the region as violence intensifies, border crossings remain closed and food is dangerously scarce.
The WFP calls on the prioritisation of civilians by allowing adequate aid into Gaza immediately.
More information is available on their website.
Photograph: Hatem Khaled/Reuters
Responding to the chaos surrounding distributing aid in Gaza, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) say they are concerned that new aid mechanisms will prevent humanitarian aid to be delivered in the region in a way that conforms to established humanitarian principles like independence, impartiality and humanity.
In a statement on Thursday an ICRC spokesperson said:
The ICRC cannot work under any mechanism that doesn’t allow us to uphold those principles and our modalities of work. The ICRC and other humanitarian organizations have decades of experience in distributing aid safely and with dignity.
Humanitarian aid should not be politicized nor militarized. This erodes the neutrality required to ensure assistance is delivered based solely on need, not political or military agendas.
The level of need in Gaza right now is overwhelming, and aid needs to be allowed to enter immediately and without impediment. Aid must reach those who need it most, irrespective of where they are in Gaza, safely and with dignity.
The ICRC remains committed to responding to the humanitarian needs in Gaza, provided this can be done in line with its core humanitarian principles. The ICRC manages and distributes humanitarian supplies directly to conflict-affected persons or together with our partners, so we can verify where items go. Our deliveries of aid into Gaza are conducted in full transparency with all relevant authorities. Given the immense need for humanitarian assistance on the ground, we urgently call on authorities to speed up the process to deliver life-saving aid and to help facilitate a safe environment for delivery.”
“We’re not leaving areas we’ve conquered” says Israeli finance minister
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has voiced his disapproval of the new US proposal for a phased ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas.
“I object to giving a lifeline to Hamas,” Smotrich tells Radio 103FM. “Hamas is in distress. The new [Israeli-backed] system for handing out aid cuts off Hamas from the residents.
“We’re not leaving areas we’ve conquered,”
IDF strikes on Gazan refugee camp kill 19, health ministry says
A series of “major” Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Bureij refugee camp have killed 19 people, bringing today’s death toll to at least 37, Al Jazeera reports.
This is a developing story. More to follow.
Ahmed Moor
In his 1971 novel The Day of the Jackal, Frederick Forsyth renders a rich plot to assassinate Charles de Gaulle, the French president. The conspirators are pied-noirs, the term used to describe Frenchmen born in Algeria during the colonial occupation there. They grieve De Gaulle’s exit from north Africa, which they regard as a betrayal. Unable to remain in the former colony, they return home – dejected and emasculated – and murderous. In many ways, the pied-noirs regard themselves as being more French than the French…
Here’s some background information on the conflict in the West Bank courtesy of the Associated Press:
Israel has already built well over 100 settlements across the territory that are home to some 500,000 settlers. The settlements range from small hilltop outposts to fully developed communities with apartment blocks, shopping malls, factories and public parks.
The West Bank is home to three million Palestinians, who live under Israeli military rule with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centres. The settlers have Israeli citizenship.
Israel has accelerated settlement construction in recent years — long before Hamas’ October 7 attack ignited the war in Gaza — confining Palestinians to smaller and smaller areas of the West Bank and making the prospect of establishing a viable, independent state even more remote.
The top United Nations court ruled last year that Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and called on it to end, and for settlement construction to stop immediately. Israel denounced the non-binding opinion by a 15-judge panel of the International Court of Justice, saying the territories are part of the historic homeland of the Jewish people.
During his first term, President Donald Trump’s administration broke with decades of U.S. foreign policy by supporting Israel’s claims to territory seized by force and taking steps to legitimize the settlements. Former President Joe Biden, like most of his predecessors, opposed the settlements but applied little pressure to Israel to curb their growth.
Katz: Settlement expansion ‘a step towards reinforcing our eastern axis’
Driven by Defence Minister Israel Katz and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, the decision will look to renew illegal settlement activity in northern Samaria and build new settlements on the Jordan Valley border.
Defence minister Katz, whose critics have accused him of using genocidal language directed at civilians in Gaza, said:
The decision to establish 22 new settlements in the West Bank strengthens our presence in the area and affirms our commitment to ensuring security for the population centres of Israel,” Katz said. “It is a step toward reinforcing our eastern axis and addressing ongoing security challenges.
Opening summary
Welcome to our ongoing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East
Israel has authorised 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of outposts already built without government authorisation, its defence minister has said.
Israel Katz said the settlement decision “strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria,” using the biblical term for the West Bank, “anchors our historical right in the Land of Israel, and constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism.”
Israel has already built well over 100 settlements across the territory that are home to some 500,000 settlers.
We’ll be bringing you more on this shortly. In other developments:
