The Catholic Church pontiff made his most explicit criticism yet of Israel’s conduct in extracts from an upcoming book. Pope Francis delivers a speech during a mass on the occasion of the World Day of the Poor in St Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, November 17, 2024 [AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino] Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine whether Israel is committing genoc

Khan Younis, Gaza – What does it mean to be hungry for months? In Gaza, where more than 43,000 of us have been killed by Israel’s bombardment and ground invasions – and many more thousands are lost, feared dead, under the rubble – we have been punished with hunger now for more than a year. In war, survival becomes the only focus, and hunger is a constant reminder of that. We have been forced to be

UN aid chief warns of ‘gravest crimes’ committed in Israel’s war on Gaza Joyce Msuya tells UN Security Council that the ‘daily cruelty we see in Gaza seems to have no limits’. Palestinians mourn by the body of a relative killed in overnight Israeli strikes on the al-Mawasi cafeteria in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, on Tuesday [Bashar Taleb/AFP] The United Nations’s humanitarian aid chief told a mee

At least 40 killed in Gaza as Israeli drone attacks ‘safe zone’ café Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza calls on international organisations to protect the facility from attacks by Israeli forces. A Palestinian man carries the body of a youth killed in an Israeli strike on the al-Mawasi cafeteria in the southern Gaza Strip late on Monday [Bashar Taleb/AFP] At least 40 Palestinians have been kil

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered preparations for the annexation of the occupied West Bank ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump taking office in January 2025. In a statement on Monday, Smotrich voiced his hope that the new administration in Washington will recognise Israel’s push for “sovereignty” over the occupied territory. In addition to his finance portfolio