Key events
Will Israel’s shift on aid be enough to ease hunger?
In a statement, the Israeli army said it coordinated its decisions with the UN and international organisations to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip”.
There was no immediate official response from the UN or non-governmental aid agencies operating in Gaza.
Humanitarian chiefs are deeply sceptical that air drops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the deepening hunger crisis facing Gaza’s more than two million inhabitants.
But the British prime minister Keir Starmer backed the idea, vowing to work with Jordan to restart air drops. The United Arab Emirates said it would resume air drops “immediately”.
A number of Western and Arab governments carried out air drops in Gaza in 2024, when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective.
“Air drops will not reverse the deepening starvation,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. “They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians.”
Israel’s military insists it does not limit the number of trucks going into Gaza, and alleges that UN agencies and relief groups are not collecting aid once it is inside the territory.
But humanitarian organisations accuse the army of imposing excessive restrictions, while tightly controlling road access within Gaza.
Australian prime minister accuses Israel of ‘clearly’ breaching international law
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese says, has accused Israel of a breach of international law in blocking aid into Gaza, saying “you can’t hold innocent people responsible” for the actions of Hamas, and warning that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is “losing support” internationally.
“Quite clearly it is a breach of international law to stop food being delivered which was a decision that Israel made in March,” Albanese told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
But Albanese says Australia has no plans to imminently recognise a Palestinian state, Anthony Albanese says, cautioning further steps must be met for a two-state solution despite growing pressure inside his Labor party for the government to follow through on its long-held commitment.
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Israel military says it carried out an aid airdrop in Gaza
The Israeli military also said Sunday that it had carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages of aid with flour, sugar and canned food.
Food experts have warned for months of the risk of famine in Gaza, where Israel has restricted aid because it says Hamas siphons off goods to help bolster its rule.
Images emerging from Gaza in recent days of emaciated children have fanned global criticism of Israel, including by close allies, who have called for an end to the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it has spawned.
On Telegram, the Israeli military announced it “carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip”.
The military said these humanitarian steps were being allowed alongside its offensive against Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza.
Israel has faced growing international condemnation over the deepening hunger crisis in Gaza, after imposing a total blockade on Gaza on 2 March. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume.
The decision to loosen the flow of aid came as the Palestinian civil defence agency said more than 50 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, some as they waited near aid distribution centres.
Israel intercepts boat carrying activists trying to deliver aid to Gaza
A boat carrying activists and journalists has been intercepted by Israeli troops while attempting to transport aid to Gaza on Saturday, with a pro-Palestinian group claiming the crew have been subjected to “unlawful” detention.
The Handala, led by the activist group the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was roughly 50km from the Egyptian coast and 100km west of Gaza when intercepted, an online tracking tool set up to plot the ship’s course showed.
In a post on X, the Israeli foreign ministry said its navy had stopped the boat from “illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza”.
“The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe,” the post read. “Unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts.”
Two Australians including journalist Tania “Tan” Safi and human rights activist Robert Martin were among 21 activists on board the ship, the group said in a statement, as well as two Al Jazeera reporters and French politicians Emma Fourreau and Gabrielle Cathala.
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Israel military announces ‘tactical pause’ in three areas of Gaza
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East crisis.
The Israeli military says it will begin a “tactical pause” in fighting in three areas of Gaza as part of steps to address a worsening humanitarian situation.
The military said it would halt activity in Muwasi, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City from 10am to 8pm local time every day until further notice, beginning on Sunday.
The military said it was not operating in those areas but there had been fighting and strikes in each in recent weeks. In a statement, the military said it would also designate secure routes to help aid agencies deliver food and other supplies to people across Gaza.
The announcement that the military would pause some fighting comes after months of experts’ warnings of famine amid Israeli restrictions on aid.
International criticism, including by close allies, has grown as several hundred Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks while trying to reach food distribution sites.
We’ll bring you updates on this story and other Middle East news throughout the day.