Israel eyes ethnic cleansing of Gaza as mediators renew ceasefire push

Israel is considering sending a senior delegation to Doha for talks on a Gaza ceasefire deal, Israel's Channel 12 news reported.

The channel said that the negotiations will focus on a comprehensive deal and not a partial one.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel would let Palestinians leave the Gaza Strip, as the military prepares a broader offensive in the territory.

Israel is seeking to fully occupy Gaza and ethnically cleanse the territory as part of a devastating military assault that has killed over 60,000 Palestinians since October 2023.

Israel is in talks with South Sudan on expelling Palestinians from Gaza to the East African country, sources familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Israel is attempting to ethnically cleanse Gaza amid its devastating military assault on the enclave, where some 2 million Palestinians live.

Denmark will take part in airdropping humanitarian aid over Gaza, in an operation coordinated by Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, Danish media reported Tuesday.

"We have decided to participate in an airdrop over Gaza," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told public broadcaster DR.

"There is currently an open window until the end of August, during which Israel has allowed access to its airspace," he added.

He noted that the method was "by no means an optimal way to deliver emergency aid".

"It is a kind of emergency solution but it is also where we are now," the minister said.

The United Arab Emirates and Jordan had requested Denmark's assistance, news agency Ritzau reported.

The supplies will be dropped from a C-130 aircraft that will fly over the Gaza Strip once or twice before August 22, according to Lokke, who did not give details about the size of the Danish contribution.

Egypt said Tuesday it was working with fellow Gaza mediators Qatar and the United States to broker a 60-day ceasefire as part of a renewed push to end the Gaza war.

"We are working very hard now in full cooperation with the Qataris and Americans," Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters during a press conference in Cairo.

"The main objective is to go back to the original proposal -- to have a ceasefire for 60 days, with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions."

"We are talking with Hamas, with the Israelis and pushing for a deal" based on a recent US plan, Abdelatty said.

Spain has evacuated 44 wounded or ill children from war-torn Gaza along with about 100 of their relatives over the past several months, the government said Tuesday.

Four separate evacuation missions were carried out in coordination with international organisations and allied nations, Spain's migration ministry, which led the operations, said in a statement.

The children and their families have been relocated across Spain to receive medical treatment, it added.

Those brought to Spain will be eligible to apply for asylum.

Migration Minister Elma Saiz said the operations demonstrated that "solidarity and international cooperation save lives".

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government has been among the most vocal critics in the European Union of Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza.

Britain, Canada, Australia, and their European allies said on Tuesday that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza had reached "unimaginable levels" and called on Israel to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave.

"Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation," the foreign ministers of the countries said in a joint statement published by Britain.

"We call on the government of Israel to provide authorisation for all international NGO aid shipments and to unblock essential humanitarian actors from operating," the statement said.

The statement was signed by 27 partners including Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, and the European Union.

Argentine President Javier Milei is helping to launch a $1 million initiative to improve diplomatic relations between Israel and several Latin American countries at a time when Israel is facing intense international criticism over its operations in Gaza.

The Isaac Accords, funded by money from the Genesis Prize that Milei received two months ago in Jerusalem, will increase ties between Israel, Uruguay, Panama and Costa Rica, according to the Genesis Prize announcement on Tuesday.

Argentina, under Milei, already has solid ties with Israel. His posture stands in contrast to most of Latin America- where Bolivia and Colombia have severed ties with Israel and other countries have recalled their ambassadors.

The new initiative’s name is a nod to the Abraham Accords, which recognized bilateral relations between Israel and several Arab states starting in 2020, during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first administration.

In 2026, the Isaac Accords plans to expand to Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and possibly El

Salvador, according to the organizers, the American Friends of the Isaac Accords.

Milei was awarded the Genesis Prize in Jerusalem on June 12 in recognition of his support for Israel, especially when many countries and international organizations, including the United Nations, have condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Milei is among the greatest supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government when it comes to world leaders, as Israel faces growing isolation over its bombardment and invasion of Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023. 

France on Tuesday condemned "the heavy toll paid by local journalists" in Gaza and called on the Israeli authorities to guarantee "safe and unhindered access" for international media.

On Sunday, five Al Jazeera journalists were killed in an Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City. Among the victims was Anas al-Sharif, a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent aged 28.

A freelance reporter was also killed in the strike that targeted the Al Jazeera team.

Condemning the strike, the French foreign ministry said that the journalists were targeted while "carrying out their reporting duties".

"Journalists must never be targeted," Pascal Confavreux, a spokesman for the French foreign ministry, said in a statement, adding that they were protected by international humanitarian law.

International journalists "must be able to operate freely and independently to document the reality of the conflict", Confavreux added.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, members of the international press have not been allowed to work freely in the Palestinian territory.

Only a few hand-picked media outlets have been allowed to enter, embedded with the Israeli army, and their reports are subject to military censorship.

Almost 200 journalists have been killed in the war, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

International news agencies Agence France-Presse (AFP), Associated Press (AP) and Reuters as well as the BBC in July called on Israel to allow journalists in and out of Gaza.

The UN Security Council will meet on Tuesday at 14:00 GMT to discuss the situation in the Middle East, with Ambassador Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, expected to address correspondents afterwards, news agency Reuters reported.

The session follows ongoing regional tensions and is scheduled to conclude by 15:00 GMT. 

A senior Hamas delegation was due in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials on efforts by mediators to secure an elusive ceasefire in Gaza, two Palestinian sources told AFP on Tuesday.

Together with Qatar and the United States, Egypt has been involved in mediation between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas that has failed to secure a breakthrough since a short-lived truce earlier this year.

Upon Egypt's invitation, the Hamas delegation led by the group's chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya "is expected to arrive in Cairo today (Tuesday) or tomorrow morning", the source told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.

The source said the delegation was scheduled to meet Egyptian officials on Wednesday to "discuss the latest developments" in "ceasefire negotiations and prisoner exchange" that would include the release of hostages held in Gaza.

Another Palestinian source familiar with the negotiations confirmed the Cairo meeting was planned, and told AFP that "mediators are working to formulate a new comprehensive ceasefire agreement proposal."

Such a proposal could include "a 60-day truce followed by negotiations for a long-term ceasefire, and a deal for the exchange of all Israeli captives -- both living and deceased -- in one batch", said the source.

The European Union, Britain and Japan on Tuesday called for urgent action to stop "famine" in the Gaza Strip.

"The humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels. Famine is unfolding before our eyes," a joint statement signed by the EU's top diplomat and foreign ministers from 24 countries, including Canada and Australia.

"Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation," they said.

UN-mandated experts have warned that Gaza is slipping into famine while international organisations have for months condemned the restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on aid distribution in Gaza.

The ministers and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also demanded Israel "provide authorisation for all international NGO aid shipments and to unblock essential humanitarian actors from operating".

Seventeen European Union countries signed the statement, including France, the Netherlands and usually pro-Palestinian countries such as Ireland and Spain.

Notably absent was Germany, Israel's staunch supporter in the EU, despite its drastic move to halt the export of military equipment to Israel last week.

A Syrian government soldier was killed on Tuesday in clashes with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northern governorate of Aleppo, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported, citing the Defence Ministry.

In March, the SDF reached an agreement with Syria’s interim government to join state institutions as part of efforts to reunify a country fractured by 14 years of civil war.

The deal was intended to pave the way for the SDF, which controls around a quarter of Syria, and regional Kurdish governing bodies to reintegrate with Damascus.

However, the accord did not define how the SDF would merge with Syria’s central armed forces. The SDF has previously insisted that its fighters must join as a bloc, while Damascus has pushed for them to enlist individually.

The Defence Ministry on Tuesday called on the SDF to honour the accord and cease attacks on government forces, warning that “the continuation of these actions will lead to new consequences”, according to SANA.

On Saturday, a government source told SANA that Damascus would not take part in planned meetings with the SDF in Paris.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s efforts to reunite Syria under his government are complicated by the country’s diverse sectarian and ethnic make-up.

The Council of Europe urged its member states on Tuesday to halt deliveries of weapons to Israel if they could be used for human rights violations.

Michael O'Flaherty, the Council's commissioner for human rights, said member states should do "their utmost to prevent and address violations of international human rights" in the conflict.

"This includes applying existing legal standards to ensure that arms transfers are not authorised where there is a risk that they may be used to commit human rights violations," he said, in a statement.

It was also "essential to intensify efforts to provide relief to those affected by the conflict, by supporting efforts to ensure unhindered access for humanitarian assistance and by pressing for the immediate release of hostages", O'Flaherty said.

The call by the Council -- a human rights organisation representing 46 states -- comes shortly after Germany said it would halt delivery to Israel of some weapons that could be used in Gaza as part of Israeli plans to take control of Gaza City.

O'Flaherty said the Council had taken note of this and other government initiatives, and also of contributions by some national human rights structures in raising awareness.

"However, more needs to be done, and quickly," he said.

Several world leaders have condemned Israel's decision to widen the Gaza war.

Israel's defence minister on Tuesday reprimanded the country's military chief over appointments made without his approval, as tensions simmered between the military and the executive ahead of a planned expansion of the war in Gaza.

A statement from the defence minister Israel Katz's ministry said that deliberations conducted by chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir on military appointments "took place... without prior coordination or agreement" with the minister.

The statement added that this was "in violation of accepted procedure" and that Katz therefore "does not intend to discuss or approve any of the appointments or names that were published."

In an army statement published shortly afterwards, Zamir responded that he was "the sole authority authorised to appoint officers from the rank of colonel upwards".

"The chief of staff makes the appointment decisions -- after which the appointment is brought to the minister for approval," the statement added.

Tensions have been simmering for two weeks between the chief of staff and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government over the next steps in the military operation in Gaza, aimed at freeing the remaining hostages and defeating Hamas.

Iranian police arrested as many as 21,000 “suspects” during the country’s 12-day war with Israel in June, a law enforcement spokesperson said on Tuesday, according to state media.

Following Israeli air strikes that began on 13 June, Iranian security forces launched a campaign of mass arrests, increasing their street presence through checkpoints and encouraging “public reports”, whereby citizens were urged to report anyone they deemed suspicious.

“There was a 41% increase in calls by the public, which led to the arrest of 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war,” police spokesperson Saeid Montazerolmahdi said. He did not specify what the suspects were accused of, though Tehran has previously alleged that some individuals passed information that may have aided Israeli attacks.

The Israel-Iran conflict has also prompted an accelerated rate of deportations of Afghan migrants allegedly residing illegally in Iran, with aid agencies reporting that local authorities had accused some Afghans of spying for Israel.

“Law enforcement rounded up 2,774 illegal migrants and discovered 30 special security cases by examining their phones. Two hundred and sixty-one suspects of espionage and 172 people accused of unauthorised filming were also arrested,” Montazerolmahdi said.

He did not clarify how many of those detained had since been released.

The spokesperson added that police handled more than 5,700 cases of cybercrimes during the war, including online fraud and unauthorised withdrawals, describing cyberspace as “an important battlefront.”

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reported that 100 Palestinians were killed and 513 injured in the past 24 hours.

This brings the total death toll from Israel's devastating war in the enclave since 7 October 2023 to 61,599, with injuries reaching 154,088.

Since 18 March 2025, casualties have reached 10,078 deaths and 42,047 injuries.

Among those killed in the ongoing struggle for their livelihood, 31 died and 388 were wounded in the last 24 hours, raising the total deaths in this context to 1,838, with more than 13,409 injured.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Gaza City have intensified in recent days, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet approving plans to expand the war there.

The Israeli government has not provided an exact timetable on when its forces would enter the area, but according to the civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal, air strikes on Gaza City have been increasing for the past three days.

Bassal said the residential neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra have been hit "with very heavy airstrikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings".

"For the third consecutive day, the Israeli occupation is intensifying its bombardment," said the spokesman.

"The Israeli occupation is using all types of weapons in that area -- bombs, drones, and also highly explosive munitions that cause massive destruction to civilian homes," he added.

Bassal said that at least 24 people had been killed across Gaza on Tuesday, including several casualties caused by strikes on Gaza City.

"The bombardment has been extremely intense for the past two days. With every strike, the ground shakes. There are martyrs under the rubble that no one can reach because the shelling hasn't stopped," said Majed al-Hosary, a resident in Zeitoun.

Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported that five Palestinians, including two children, have died from famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours.

This raises the total number of hunger-related deaths since 7 October 2023 to 227, with 103 of those being children.

Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham has claimed that Israel’s military intelligence established a specialised unit aimed at justifying attacks in Gaza, including the killing of journalists.

"After October 7, a team called the ‘Legitimization Cell’ was established in AMAN," Abraham wrote on X.

He explained that intelligence personnel sought information to provide “legitimisation” for the army’s actions in Gaza, such as failed Hamas attacks, the use of human shields, and exploitation of civilians.

A key task was to allegedly identify Palestinian journalists who could be depicted in the media as Hamas operatives disguised as reporters.

Abraham said the unit aimed to "whitewash the killing of all other journalists" by casting doubt, but "entire days were invested in this matter, and they found nothing".

His remarks come after the killing of five Al Jazeera journalists by Israeli forces, including prominent Al Jazeera Arabic reporter Anas al-Sharif.

Full post translated into English:

After October 7, a team called the "Legitimization Cell" was established in AMAN.

Intelligence personnel searched for information to provide "legitimization" for the army's actions in Gaza- failed Hamas launches, use of human shields, exploitation of the civilian population, all the things you’re familiar with.

A primary mission of the Legitimization Cell was to find Gazan journalists who could be portrayed in the media as Hamas operatives in disguise. They actively went through journalists and searched. Entire days were invested in this matter, and they found nothing. Why look for a journalist in disguise? As I understand it, because it provides media "legitimization" for the existing killing of journalists in general.

After all, it’s enough to present one hospital as a Hamas headquarters, and you can paint the destruction of the entire healthcare system in the same light. One failed shot where Hamas hit civilians, and then, who knows, maybe all civilian deaths are on Hamas?

Sowing doubt as a method to justify atrocities. Identifying a journalist as an operative in disguise whitewashes the killing of all other journalists. The army killed four journalists in Gaza last night. It admitted that the target was Anas al-Sharif. In the past two years, al-Sharif has been doing systematic, courageous journalistic work, reporting to the entire world about the destruction of his people. This, while most Israeli journalism has normalized mass murder, starvation, and destruction, betraying its profession. The betrayal continues now in headlines reporting al-Sharif’s death, fully adopting the [Israeli army] spokesperson’s statement.

The army presented documents claiming al-Sharif joined Hamas in 2013 when he was 17. A journalist who doesn’t question the [Israeli army] spokesperson’s statements at this stage, after countless lies, is simply failing in their duty. But even if we assume it’s true, it doesn’t matter. By that logic, the vast majority of journalists in Israel, if there’s some document showing they served in the army or did reserve duty at some point, would be legitimate targets for elimination.

His location was known for months. Why kill him now? On the eve of plans to conquer Gaza City? The answer is clear. I think Israel killed Anas al-Sharif simply because he was a journalist. The documents were the means. For the same reason they actively searched for journalists who could be presented as Hamas operatives, to provide "legitimization" for the killing of journalists in general— about 230 journalists we’ve killed in Gaza since October 7. And for the same reason international media is prevented from entering Gaza: so that the crimes are seen less.

אחרי השבעה באוקטובר באמ"ן הוקם צוות שכונה "תא לגיטימציה". אנשי מודיעין שחיפשו מידע שיעזור להעניק "לגיטימציה" למעשי הצבא בעזה - שיגורים כושלים של חמאס, שימוש במגנים אנושיים, ניצול האוכלוסייה האזרחית, כל מה שאתם מכירים.

משימה עיקרית של תא הלגיטימציה הייתה למצוא עיתונאים עזתים…

— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) August 11, 2025

Since dawn, Israeli forces have arrested 19 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Media Office (ASRA) reported.

According to ASRA and Arab media, detentions took place in Am’ari, Bethlehem, El-Bireh, and Hebron, with additional arrests in Qalqilya, Salfit, and Jenin.

Among those detained are the mother and sister of a Palestinian suspect linked to a shooting near the illegal West Bank settlement of Kedumim in January, ASRA stated.

Israeli opposition chief Yair Lapid on Tuesday backed calls for a general strike in solidarity with hostages still held in Gaza.

"Strike on Sunday," Lapid posted on X, saying even supporters of the current government should take part and insisting it was not party political.

Sunday is the first day of the working week in Israel.

"Strike out of solidarity. Strike because the families have asked, and that's reason enough. Strike because no one has a monopoly on emotion, on mutual responsibility, on Jewish values."

Lapid's post followed a call on Sunday by around 20 parents of hostages still held by the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip for a strike.

On Monday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main representative group for relatives, backed the idea.

The group has been pressing the leaders of Israel's main trade union federation, Histadrut, to join in but it decided against doing so.

Instead, it said it would support "workers' solidarity demonstrations", the Forum said.

"Allow a citizens' strike, from the grassroots to the top. Allow everyone to take a day off on Sunday to follow the dictates of their conscience," the Forum added in a statement.

"The moment has come to act, to take to the streets," it said, adding "675 days of captivity and war must end".

The group again accused the government of sacrificing the remaining hostages "on the altar of an endless, aimless war".

Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund- the largest in the world- has posted a profit of 698 billion Norwegian kroner ($68.2bn) for the first half of the year, just a day after announcing plans to cut ties with Israeli asset managers and partially divest over the war on Gaza.

The fund recorded a 5.7 percent return between January and June, driven by strong stock market performance, "particularly in the financial sector", CEO Nicolai Tangen said.

On Monday, it confirmed the termination of contracts with asset managers handling Israeli investments following an urgent review, alongside partial divestment linked to the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The move came after criticism of the fund’s holdings in an Israeli company that supplies parts for fighter jets used in Gaza.

The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, reported Tuesday that Israeli forces demolished the home of Palestinian resident Mohammad Izzat Subh in Silwad, east of occupied West Bank's Ramallah, after cordoning off the area and barring residents’ access.

Elsewhere, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed also reported that settlers bulldozed Palestinian land near Mikhmas, north of Jerusalem, and stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque’s courtyards under Israeli police protection, performing Talmudic rituals.

Israeli forces also arrested Jamal Abdullah Abu Toyour, Director-General of Jerusalem’s Awqaf and Religious Affairs, in a pre-dawn raid on his Ramallah home.

Israel's new offensive in Gaza City could take weeks to start, leaving the door open for a ceasefire, unnamed officials told news agency Reuters, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would get underway "fairly quickly" and end the war with Hamas' defeat.

Two officials who were said to be at a security cabinet meeting on Thursday to approve the plan told Reuters that the evacuation of civilians from affected areas may only be completed by the start of October, giving time for a deal to be pursued.

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that would have included the release of half the hostages still in Gaza ended last month in a deadlock, with major gaps still between both sides.

The mediators, Egypt and Qatar, have not given up on reviving negotiations, according to an Arab diplomat who said Israel's decision to broadcast its new Gaza City offensive plan may not be a bluff, but it also serves to bring Hamas back to the negotiating table.

The diplomat said that there was a new willingness from Hamas to engage in constructive talks toward a ceasefire after they had seen Netanyahu's seriousness about taking all of Gaza.

The plan raised international alarm over the harm it could bring to the shattered enclave, where a hunger crisis has worsened. 

The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip has published the names of the 238 journalists and media workers killed by Israeli forces since the start of the Gaza war.

The list was released Tuesday morning following the killing of prominent Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif in a targeted strike on a tent in Gaza City on Sunday night. 

Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa were also killed in the attack, which was described by many as a systematic silencing of the voices of media professionals.