By US charges Hamas leaders over 7 October attack
As we just mentioned, the United States has announced criminal charges against Hamas’ top leaders over their roles in planning, supporting and perpetrating the 7 October attack in southern Israel.
The charges against Yahya Sinwar, the militant group’s chief, and at least five others accuse them of orchestrating the attack, which killed 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.
That attack triggered an Israeli assault on Gaza that has killed more than 40,800 Palestinians and laid waste to much of the territory.
The seven-count criminal complaint includes charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation, conspiracy to murder US nationals and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, resulting in death.
It also accuses Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah of providing financial support and weapons, including rockets, and military supplies.
US attorney general Merrick Garland said:
As outlined in our complaint, those defendants – armed with weapons, political support, and funding from the government of Iran, and support from [Hezbollah] – have led Hamas’s efforts to destroy the state of Israel and murder civilians in support of that aim.
The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’s operations. These actions will not be our last,” Garland said. “Yahya Sinwar and the other senior leaders of Hamas are charged today with orchestrating this terrorist organisation’s decades-long campaign of mass violence and terror – including on October 7th.
The complaint names six defendants, three of whom are dead. The living defendants are Sinwar, who is believed to be in hiding in Gaza; Khaled Meshaal, who is based in Doha and heads the group’s diaspora office; and Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon.
Key events
Closing summary
We’re pausing our live coverage for the day. These were the main developments:
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UK prime minister Keir Starmer has defended his government’s partial suspension of arms exports to Israel, saying the move is “a legal decision”. He said Monday’s announcement to suspend 30 of 350 arms exports licences did not signify a change in UK support for Israel’s right to self-defence, and that the UK’s allies “understand” the move.
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The United States has announced criminal charges against Hamas’ top leaders over their roles in planning, supporting and perpetrating the 7 October attack in southern Israel. The charges against Yahya Sinwar, the militant group’s chief, and at least five others accuse them of orchestrating the attack, which killed 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.
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The US has said it is time to “finalise” a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the Gaza war, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to bow to pressure. Washington will work “over the coming days” with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar “to push for a final agreement,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
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However, an Israeli far-right minister has stepped up pressure on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire aimed at securing the release of hostages. National security minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for an end to indirect talks with Hamas, which Israel has accused of executing six hostages whose bodies were found in a Gaza tunnel last week.
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The main United Nations agency for Palestinians says it is making good progress in rolling out a polio vaccine to children in Gaza, but called for a permanent ceasefire in the 11-month war to ease humanitarian suffering. UNRWA said that three days into the campaign in areas of central Gaza around 187,000 children have received the vaccine. The campaign will move to other areas of the enclave in the second stage.
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The Gaza health ministry says that at least 40,861 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants, now nearing its 12th month.
UK defends partial suspension of arms sales to Israel
UK prime minister Keir Starmer has defended his government’s partial suspension of arms exports to Israel, saying the move is “a legal decision”.
He said Monday’s announcement to suspend 30 of 350 arms exports licences did not signify a change in UK support for Israel’s right to self-defence, adding the UK’s allies “understand” the move.
Starmer told MPs:
This is a difficult issue, I recognise that, but it’s a legal decision, not a policy decision.
We will of course stand by Israel’s right to self-defence but it’s important that we are committed to the international rule of law.
The partial ban covers items that could be used in the current conflict in Gaza including fighter aircraft, helicopters and drones but not parts for advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets.
Starmer also denied that the move indicated a spilt with the United States.
On Monday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said London had informed Washington of its move before it was announced.
Today, Starmer told MPs:
We have talked this through with our allies, they understand, they have a different legal system, that is the point they have made.
Here are some of the latest images from photographers on the ground in Gaza:
Following the IDF statement on James Kirby in the previous post, the UK government has released the following statement:
The death of James and his fellow aid workers was horrific and our thoughts remain with their families.
Attacks on aid workers are never justified and we remain fully committed to their protection as they support some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
There must be an immediate ceasefire to protect civilians and aid workers, secure the release of all hostages and ensure much more aid gets into Gaza.
Israel must guarantee the protection of aid workers, and ensure a tragedy like this cannot happen again.
We reported earlier on today’s memorial for the British man working for World Central Kitchen, who was killed in Gaza.
Speaking ahead of the service, his cousin Louise Kirby said the families of those who died had not received contact from the UK Government or Israeli embassy since the deaths.
They also have not had any information on whether a “credible, independent investigation is taking place”, or the results of any investigation if it has already taken place, she added.
A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy has now issued this statement:
This incident was a tragic mistake and we express our deepest sorrow to James Kirby’s family, the other bereaved families, including those of John Chapman and James Henderson, and the entire World Central Kitchen team, who were doing such vital work in extremely challenging circumstances.
As outlined by the IDF’s Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism (FFAM) in the in-depth independent investigation, conducted following the incident, a serious failure was made due to a mistaken identification as well as errors in decision-making.
In light of this, a brigade fire support commander and brigade chief of staff were dismissed.
Once again, we express our deepest condolences and sorrow to the families of the bereaved and the WCK team.
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan greeted Egypt’s leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi today as he arrived in Ankara to seal their mended ties.
After a decade of frosty relations, the two leaders said they had turned over a “new leaf” in ties in February, when Erdoğan visited Cairo.
Erdoğan said at the time he would never speak to “anyone” like Sisi, who in 2014 became president of the Arab world’s most populous nation.
But relations between the two men have warmed over the past two years, their interests aligning on several issues – most notably the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The nations are viewed as key to brokering a peace deal in Gaza.
The day so far
It’s just gone 2pm in Gaza. Here are the day’s main developments so far:
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The United States has announced criminal charges against Hamas’ top leaders over their roles in planning, supporting and perpetrating the 7 October attack in southern Israel. The charges against Yahya Sinwar, the militant group’s chief, and at least five others accuse them of orchestrating the attack, which killed 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.
-
The US has said it is time to “finalise” a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the Gaza war, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to bow to pressure. Washington will work “over the coming days” with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar “to push for a final agreement,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
-
However, an Israeli far-right minister has stepped up pressure on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire aimed at securing the release of hostages. National security minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for an end to indirect talks with Hamas, which Israel has accused of executing six hostages whose bodies were found in a Gaza tunnel last week.
-
The main United Nations agency for Palestinians says it is making good progress in rolling out a polio vaccine to children in Gaza, but called for a permanent ceasefire in the 11-month war to ease humanitarian suffering. UNRWA said that three days into the campaign in areas of central Gaza around 187,000 children have received the vaccine. The campaign will move to other areas of the enclave in the second stage.
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The Gaza health ministry says that at least 40,861 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants, now nearing its 12th month.
The Associated Press reports that Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris — and the first Jewish person married to a nationally elected US leader — said he is “gutted” after the killing of American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.
AP says:
Speaking Tuesday at a vigil for the hostages at his synagogue in Washington, Emhoff said, “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Hersh and his parents, or about the five others and their families.” He added: “This is hard. I feel raw. I’m gutted.”
Emhoff, who stands to become the nation’s “first gentleman” if Harris is elected president in November, has emerged as a prominent administration liaison to the Jewish community and a voice in countering antisemitism, particularly in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. About 1,200 people, including at least 40 Americans, were killed in the assault, and about 250 more were taken hostage.
An Israeli far-right minister has stepped up pressure on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire aimed at securing the release of hostages, AFP reports.
National security minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for an end to indirect talks with Hamas, which Israel has accused of executing six hostages whose bodies were found in a Gaza tunnel last week.
He wrote on the social media platform X:
A country whose six hostages are murdered in cold blood does not negotiate with the killers, but ends the talks, stops the transfer of fuel and electricity, and crushes them until they collapse.
Ben Gvir, along with far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, are key members of Netanyahu’s coalition government and have steadfastly opposed ceasefire talks, insisting that continuing the war in Gaza is the only way to destroy Hamas.
The Gaza health ministry says that at least 40,861 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants, now nearing its 12th month.
The toll includes 42 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also list 94,398 people as wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on 7 October.
