Live: UK halts trade deal talks with Israel, summons ambassador over Gaza

Acute malnutrition in the Gaza Strip is being used as a "weapon of war" through the blockade imposed by Israel on the Palestinian territory, the NGO Medecins du Monde (MDM), also known as Doctors of the World, warned on Tuesday.

After 18 months of war, the Gaza Strip has reached malnutrition levels "comparable to those observed in countries facing protracted humanitarian crises spanning decades" such as Yemen or Nigeria, the organisation said in a report.

Based on data from six health centres it runs in Gaza, MDM points to a link between rising malnutrition rates and declining aid volumes entering the Palestinian territory.

In November, for example, a peak in child malnutrition of 17 percent was observed, a period which coincides with a significant reduction in the inflow of humanitarian aid. Israeli authorities have closed the crossings since 2 March.

"We are not witnessing a humanitarian crisis, but a crisis of humanity and moral bankruptcy with the use of hunger as a weapon of war," says Jean-Francois Corty, president of MDM.

"The inaction of third-party states that have the means to pressure the Israeli authorities to lift this deadly siege is unacceptable and could be considered complicity under international law," he continued.

A group representing more than 550 former senior officers in the Israeli military and intelligence agencies has called on US President Donald Trump to use his visit to the region to secure the release of captives and end the war in Gaza.

The Commanders for Israel Security asked the US leader in a letter to “end the death and suffering of innocents, launch a Hamas-free ‘morning after’ for the Strip, and pave the way for a regional security coalition that includes Israel”.

The war in Gaza “no longer serves Israel’s national objectives”, the letter said.

“If continued, the war, as well as the aggressive annexation policy on the West Bank, challenges regional stability. Most important, as you have correctly noted, it risks the lives of our hostages," it added.

Rights groups and NGOs are dragging the UK government to court on Tuesday, accusing it of breaching international law by supplying fighter jet parts to Israel's war on Gaza.

Supported by Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and others, the Palestinian rights association Al-Haq is seeking to stop the government's export of UK-made components for Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets.

Israel has used the American warplanes to devastating effect in Gaza and the West Bank, and the head of Amnesty UK said Britain had failed to uphold its "legal obligation... to prevent genocide" by allowing the export of key parts to Israel.

The new Labour government suspended around 30 licences following a review of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law, but the partial ban did not cover British-made parts for the advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets.

It is not clear when a decision could be made following the four-day hearing at London's High Court, the latest stage in a long-running legal battle.

Good morning, Middle East Eye readers,

Here are some of the latest updates on Gaza and across the region:

• Palestinian journalist Hassan Eslaih was killed in an Israeli raid on the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis while receiving treatment. The Government Media Office condemned the killing of the journalist, calling it an "assassination." Eslaih's killing brings the death toll among Gaza journalists to 215. Another Palestinian was killed during the attack.

• Save the Children said that nearly every child in Gaza is now at risk of famine, noting that there is food, water and medical aid ready to go at the border.

• Turkish-American Twitch streamer Hasan Piker said he was held by US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) at Chicago’s O’Hare airport and questioned for nearly two hours about his views on Trump and Israel’s war on Gaza.

• Israeli forces resumed air strikes on Gaza after the US-Israeli captive Edan Alexander’s release, killing at least 39 people across the Strip on Monday.

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

- Israel killed 42 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip in air strikes on Monday, health officials said. 

- Edan Alexander, a dual Israeli-American national who is a soldier in the Israeli forces, was released from captivity by Hamas. The agreement to release him was brokered by the Trump administration and regional mediators, largely sidestepping Israel. 

- Israel is sending a negotiating team to Doha, Qatar on Tuesday for further discussions on reaching a ceasefire and captive-swap deal in Gaza, the Times of Israel has reported.

- Israel has asked judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to withdraw arrest warrants against its prime minister and defence minister while the ICC reviews Israeli challenges to its jurisdiction over the conduct of the Gaza war.

- The entire population of Gaza faces a critical risk of famine, with half a million people facing starvation, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said, calling this a major deterioration since its last report in October.

Israel is sending a negotiating team to Doha, Qatar on Tuesday for further discussions on reaching a ceasefire and captive-swap deal in Gaza, the Times of Israel has reported.

This comes of the heels of the release of US-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander on Monday.

Hamas expressed a willingness to keep engaging diplomatically, and said talks can bring about results where the military option cannot. 

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that any negotiation will have to take place "under fire" as he continues to pummel Gaza from the air and seal off large parts of the Strip.

US President Donald Trump is setting up shop in the oil-rich Gulf. His wares are high-tech weaponry, AI chips and nuclear technology.

Because Trump's focus will be on business deals when he arrives in the Gulf on Tuesday, his visit is being framed as economic, above geopolitical. But Trump's transactional approach to foreign policy also underscores a deeper truth about the current world order. 

His visit will start on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, followed by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.  

Read more: Normalisation with Israel has all been struck from the agenda for this trip

A letter signed by former senior figures in the Israeli security sphere is calling on US President Donald Trump to sidestep Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and work to release the remaining captives in Gaza. 

The letter, dated Sunday, says it is written on behalf of more than 550 members of Commanders for Israel's Security, which describes itself as a non-partisan group of former officials. 

"Our approach to you represents the view of the vast majority of Israelis. Some 70% of the public, to be precise," the letter to Trump said. 

"We share your view that military power alone does not resolve conflicts nor does it secure long-term stability. The time for diplomacy is long overdue," it added.

"The Gaza war no longer serves Israel's national objectives. With every passing day, it undermines that which had been accomplished by our successors and their brave troops. Most important, as you have correctly noted, it risks the lives of our hostages."

"Given your long-stated objective of ending wars, your unmatched popularity among Israelis, and your proven care for the hostages, we look up to you with the hope that your visit marks a turning point," the letter concluded. 

More than 30 California State University (CSU) students are on a hunger strike to protest against Israel’s blockade of food and water going into Gaza, which has placed the enclave's population at "critical risk" of famine.

In a video released on Sunday, the students said that the hunger strike was growing across campuses: “It’s day seven of the CSU hunger strike for Gaza. We remain steadfast in our struggle for a free Palestine. This has grown to other campuses across California and the nation. We call on every student to use their voice, their body, their collective power to make this genocide inescapable for our administrations.”

Read more: The students are also calling for divestment from companies that provide weapons to Israel

Israeli Knesset member Moshe Tur-Paz criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday via a post on X, suggesting that perhaps being an American is safer than just being Israeli, given it was the US President Donald Trump who helped secure the release of Israeli-American dual national Edan Alexander from Hamas captivity. 

"Did I make a mistake? A few years ago I gave up my American passport. What nonsense!" Tur-Paz wrote.

"It's true that I had no choice because a member of Knesset must give up his foreign citizenship, but now what if they kidnap me? Will I wait for Trump to release me?"

"So Edan, welcome back," he added. "We are happy that you are here. And we are ashamed that we didn't bring you here. Netanyahu. Learn."

The BBC has been accused of "political censorship" as it faces increasing pressure to broadcast a film it commissioned about Palestinian doctors working in Gaza.

Over 600 prominent figures from the arts and media, including British film director Mike Leigh, Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon and Lindsey Hilsum, the international editor of Channel 4 News, have signed an open letter calling on the corporation to release Gaza: Medics Under Fire, which has been ready for broadcast since February.

The letter, sent to BBC director general Tim Davie on Monday, criticises the BBC for withholding the documentary, which tells the stories of Palestinian doctors working in Gaza under Israeli bombardment, despite months of editorial reviews and fact-checking. 

Read more: Other well-known signatories to the letter include the actors Miriam Margolyes, Harriet Walter, Maxine Peake and Juliet Stevenson

The al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, released a photograph on Monday shortly after releasing the US-Israeli captive Edan Alexander to the International Committee of the Red Cross. 

Alexander, standing in the middle next to a Red Cross representative and alongside three members of the Brigades, is shown to be in relatively good health after 19 months of captivity. 

The 21-year-old was freed in a deal negotiated with the Trump administration.

💥First picture of a freed Edan Alexander pic.twitter.com/KI06BMGYAv

— Noga Tarnopolsky נגה טרנופולסקי نوغا ترنوبولسكي (@NTarnopolsky) May 12, 2025

Edan Alexander, a dual Israeli-American national who is a soldier in the Israeli forces, was released from captivity in Gaza on Monday.

He had been held since 7 October 2023. 

The agreement to release him was brokered by the Trump administration and regional mediators, largely sidestepping Israel. 

Alexander was handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Khan Younis at 6:30pm local time, and has since crossed over into Israel. 

"We affirm that serious and responsible negotiations achieve results in the release of prisoners," Hamas said in a statement. "Continuing the aggression, however, prolongs their suffering and may even kill them.

"We urge the Trump administration to continue its efforts to end this brutal war waged by the war criminal Netanyahu against children, women, and defenseless civilians in the Gaza Strip." 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump on Monday for his assistance in securing the expected release of US-Israeli captive Edan Alexander.

"The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his assistance in securing the release of Israeli soldier Edan Alexander," said a statement from Netanyahu's team, after meeting in Jerusalem with US envoy Steve Witkoff and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

A source close to Hamas told AFP the handover of US-Israeli captive Edan Alexander, who has been held in Gaza since October 2023, would "most likely" take place after 14:00 GMT on Monday.

"The Red Cross has been informed of the scheduled time and specific location for the handover of the Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander. The handover will most likely take place after 5pm (1400 GMT) today, and the location is expected to be in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip," the source said.

Reporting by AFP.