The United Nations has launched its 2026 appeal for aid by asking for just half the amount it says it needs, despite humanitarian needs globally being at an all-time high. The international institution appealed for $23bn on Monday, while acknowledging that, due to a plunge in donor funding, the figure would shut out tens of millions of people in urgent need of help.
Israel has announced it will reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in the next few days as part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. According to the World Health Organization, at least 16,500 sick and wounded people need to leave Gaza for medical care. However, the border will only open in one direction: for Palestinians to exit. Since the ceasefire began, at least 347 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 889 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
But, for more than 50,000 fans in the San Mames stadium in the northern city of Bilbao on Saturday, the focus of attention was squarely on two teams who won't be there: the Palestine and Basque Country national football teams. The streets of Bilbao were packed with Palestinian flags, with supporters of both clubs united by a shared cause. Money raised from the match went to Doctors Without Borders , and the entertainment before the players crossed the white line comprised a mix of the two cultures.
Speaking at the opening session of Shura council, Qatar's legislative council, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani accused Israel of violating the 11-day-old ceasefire. We reiterate our condemnation of all Israeli violations and practices in Palestine, particularly the transformation of the Gaza Strip an area unfit for human life (and) the continued violation of the ceasefire, he said. It is unfortunate that the international community remains incapable of enforcing respect when it comes to the tragedy of the Palestinian people.
Many Palestinian people have faced starvation and have had to endure extreme hunger as the UN and other organisations have faced massive logistical obstacles including widespread looting, Israeli bombardments, Israel's administrative restrictions and bureaucracy and infrastructure damaged by Israeli attacks within Gaza. Aid agencies said, in line with the terms in the ceasefire agreement, that they were preparing to flood Gaza with food and other essential supplies.
October 7, 2023, is a date that will forever haunt Israel. The events of that day were grisly: Hamas carried out a vile attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 Israelis and taking another 251 hostage. But Hamas's attack soon led to far greater atrocities, with Israel's retaliation against Hamas devolving into a prolonged war of unimaginable savagery in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu started the war in Gaza without any realistic vision of how to end it.
Majed Bamya, the Palestinian Deputy Permanent Observer to the UN, lives with his wife and children in the Regency Towers on the Upper East Side, where three-bedroom apartments go for up to $11,000 per month, the Washington Free Beacon reported. The swanky 34-story building on East 63rd Street, just minutes from Central Park, boasts a 24-hour doorman, a fitness center and a roof terrace, according to the description of the site, which is owned by Carlyle Property Management.
After repeatedly informing students that they could leave the lecture hall at any time, Kao projected six photographs depicting scenes of protests for Palestine, and began to describe the Israeli assault on Gaza as it had transpired in recent weeks, from his own perspective. He told students that he had been spending his weekends learning about Gaza and the Israeli assault.
I have been in Ireland since Friday, it is very difficult to wake up without the sound of the drones, shelling and bombing. I have friends, colleagues, family members there that I know are still suffering and they want to be evacuated, but it is difficult. I am here, but my heart and soul is there.
More than 100 years after the Balfour Declaration backed the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and 77 years after the creation of Israel in the British Mandate of Palestine, the United Kingdom is set to formally recognise a Palestinian state. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to make the announcement on Sunday, two days before the start of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA),
The EU executive has called for a suspension of free trade with Israel and sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Ursula von der Leyen had already floated the proposal to suspend the trade parts of the EU-Israel association agreement last week as the European Commission faced intense pressure for greater action amid criticism that it was not using its economic leverage to influence the Israeli government.
When I walk into the emergency ward of al-Shifa Hospital, I feel like I am back in October 2023, when the shocking number of wounded and dead brought in would overwhelm us every day. I see daily dozens of children, elderly, women and men rushed into the hospital with horrific injuries; many would be missing a limb or an eye.
According to Gaza's health ministry, more than 63,000 people have been killed in the territory the majority of them civilians with the true toll likely far higher. UN-backed experts have confirmed parts of Gaza, much of which has been reduced to rubble, are now in a man-made famine. In response, a growing number of academic bodies are now distancing themselves from Israeli institutions.
RTÉ put out a statement on Thursday (11 September) warning it might take this action saying, "Ireland's participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza." The statement referred to a meeting of the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) that took place in July. It said a number of members had "raised concerns" about Israel taking part given the ongoing situation in Gaza.
'Despite operating in Israel's system of apartheid, and therefore benefiting from it, the vast majority of Israeli film production & distribution companies, sales agents, cinemas and other film institutions have never endorsed the full, internationally-recognized rights of the Palestinian people,' the website's FAQ page states.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, the most ambitious and largest maritime mission to try to reach Gaza to date, set sail from various ports at the end of August. It comprises nearly 1,000 participants, including the Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, the former mayor of the Spanish city Barcelona Ada Colau, and the Irish actor Liam Cunningham. The flotilla, which is defined as a fleet of ships under one command, was warmly received during a stopover in Tunisia on Sunday.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
In light of the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, and in response to the violence perpetrated by Israel in violation of international law, given its international obligations, including the duty to prevent any risk of genocide, Belgium had to take strong decisions to increase pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas terrorists. This is not about sanctioning the Israeli people but about ensuring that their government respects international and humanitarian law and taking action to try to change the situation on the ground.
In an overcrowded clinic in central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, Samar Abu Ajwah clutched her frail newborn as he burst into weak sobs. Eyad has been diagnosed as malnourished, weighing only 1.9kg (4.2lb). He needs milk, and we are appealing for help from people who can afford it because we cannot, Abu Ajwah, who also suffers from malnutrition caused by Israel's punishing blockade of humanitarian aid, told Al Jazeera.
The Palestinian girl is one of tens of thousands of children facing malnutrition in Gaza as Israel's man-made famine deepens with the Israeli military stepping up its assault on Gaza City. Mai's mother, Nadia Abu Arar, says her child was once lively and joyous, but she is now fighting for her life after drastically losing weight. The doctors told me that she isn't suffering from any disease or from any past condition.
