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

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.

Documents published on the ICC website late on Sunday also show Israel has asked the court to order the prosecution to suspend its investigation into crimes in the Palestinian Territories.

The documents are dated 9 May and signed by Israeli Deputy Attorney General Gilad Noam.

The ICC issued arrest warrants on 21 November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity since 7 October 2023.

The judges had withdrawn the arrest warrant for al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in February following credible reports of his death.

The entire population of Gaza faces a critical risk of famine, with half a million people facing starvation, a global hunger monitor said on Monday, calling this a major deterioration since its last report in October.

The latest assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysed a period from 1 April to 10 May this year and projected the situation until the end of September, according to a summary of its key findings.

Israel has sealed off the Gaza Strip since early March when it resumed its devastating military campaign on the enclave.

The IPC analysis found that 1.95 million people, or 93 percent of the population in the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave, are living through high levels of acute food insecurity, including 244,000 experiencing the most severe, or "catastrophic", levels.

IPC's October analysis had said 133,000 people were in the "catastrophic" category.

The IPC analysis projected that 470,000 people, or 22 percent of the population, would fall into the catastrophic category by the end of September, with over a million more at "emergency" levels.

"Urgent action is needed to save lives and avert further starvation, further deaths and a descent into famine," it said.

The IPC, in a brief accompanying its latest analysis, said a plan announced on 5 May  by Israeli authorities for delivering aid was "estimated to be highly insufficient to meet the population’s essential needs".

A security source told Channel 12 news that troops have not been instructed to hold their fire in the Gaza Strip.

A Hamas source had said earlier that Israel would pause military operations in Gaza for the handover of US-Israeli captive Edan Alexander.

“Adjustments have been made for the release, but the army continues with normal operations,” the source says, according to the network.

The Kan broadcaster also says that there is no ceasefire in Gaza, but military activity across the Strip is being limited to ensure the safe exit of Alexander today.

The Israeli military estimates that American-Israeli captive Edan Alexander will be handed over to the Red Cross within the next hour, Israel’s Maariv news site reported.

The military has stationed its tanks and armoured carriers near the expected handover site east of Khan Younis in case of emergency, according to Maariv.

Upon his arrival, Alexander will undergo an initial medical examination at the Reim base, speak with a psychologist and Shin Bet investigators, shower, and then be transferred by Air Force helicopter to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

At least 29 Palestinians have been killed and 94 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours, the enclave’s health ministry said in a statement on Telegram.

Four bodies of people killed in previous Israeli attacks were also recovered over the past day, it added.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 52,862 people and wounded 119,648 others since 7 October 2023, the ministry said.

At least 2,749 Palestinians were killed and 7,607 others wounded since Israel broke the ceasefire on March 18 this year, it added.

A Hamas source told AFP on Monday that mediators informed the Palestinian group that Israel would pause military operations in Gaza for the handover of US-Israeli captive Edan Alexander.

"Hamas was informed that at exactly 9:30 am, Israel began halting its reconnaissance, drone, and warplane flights, as well as combat operations, to create a safe corridor for the transfer and handover of Edan," the source said.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) has described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as a crisis “beyond imagination”.

“Air strikes, blockades, and starvation continue, with tens of thousands killed and injured,” Unrwa said in a post on X.

“Displaced families face collapsing infrastructure, sewage overflows, and empty markets. The siege must be lifted to ensure vital humanitarian and commercial supplies reach Gaza."

The humanitarian crisis in #Gaza is beyond imagination.

Air strikes, blockades, and starvation continue, with tens of thousands killed and injured. Displaced families face collapsing infrastructure, sewage overflows, and empty markets.

The siege must be lifted to ensure vital… pic.twitter.com/lQEEbZW86R

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) May 11, 2025

Hamas will release on Monday Israeli-American captive Edan Alexander, believed to be the last surviving US captive held by the Palestinian group in Gaza, a spokesperson for the Hamas armed wing said.

Alexander, 21, was born and raised in New Jersey and was serving in the Israeli army when he was captured by Hamas in October 2023.

US-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, held captive in Gaza since October 2023, will "most likely" be released on Monday or Tuesday, a source close to Hamas told AFP.

"Most likely, Edan will be released today or tomorrow, Tuesday, but this requires securing field conditions," the source said, adding that Hamas had demanded that American envoys ensure a "halt to all Israeli military operations... to create a safe corridor" for his transfer to the Red Cross.

The source said the Palestinian group had decided not to hold a public ceremony for the handover. 

The death toll from Israeli attacks on a school-turned-shelter in northern Jabalia and a mosque in central Nuseirat has risen to at least 17 people in Gaza since the early hours of this morning, Al Jazeera reported, citing medical sources.

Good morning, Middle East Eye readers,

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

• Israel’s attacks on Sunday killed at least 40 people in Gaza, according to medical sources. Al Jazeera reported that at least 16 people, including a child, have been killed since the early hours of Monday morning.

• Hamas has confirmed that it will be releasing the Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander as an encouraging step towards a return to ceasefire talks in the war-torn enclave.

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel did not commit to any ceasefire or Palestinian prisoners' release with Hamas, but only to a safe corridor that would allow Israeli-American captive Edan Alexander's release, a statement from Netanyahu's office said early on Monday. 

  Netanyahu said negotiations for a possible deal would continue "under fire, during preparations for an intensification of the fighting."

• US captives envoy Adam Boehler said in a post on X that he is travelling with Alexander’s mother, Yael, for her reunion with her son.

• In a post on his social media site, Truth Social, Trump hailed the efforts of mediators Qatar and Egypt and said Alexander’s release was a “step taken in good faith towards the United States” to “put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones”.

• Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel fully endorses Trump’s plan to get humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Our live coverage from Gaza will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are some of the day's key developments:

• Gaza’s Ministry of Health says at least 19 people have been killed and 81 injured in the past 24 hours as Israel continues its bombardment of the besieged enclave.

• The latest figures bring the overall death toll since 7 October 2023 to 52,829, with 119,554 others wounded in the ongoing assault.

• Hamas has announced that Israeli-American soldier Idan Alexander will be released, following recent contacts between the group and the US administration.

• Steve Witkoff, the United States’ special envoy to the Middle East, says Israeli-American solider, Edan Alexander, who is being held in Gaza is expected to be freed on Monday following what he called an extended and complex negotiation process.

• Tensions appear to be rising between the US and Israel over the direction of the war in Gaza. According to Israel’s Channel 12, Witkoff, told families of Israeli captives that Israel is prolonging the conflict.

• At least 1,500 Palestinians in Gaza have lost their eyesight since the war began, according to the head of Gaza’s Eye Hospital.

• New footage circulating in Palestinian media appears to show undercover Israeli forces "executing" a Palestinian man in Nablus in the occupied West Bank while his hands were raised.

• Pope Leo XIV called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the delivery of emergency aid into the besieged enclave and the release of captives.  

• Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Simon Harris, has called for a formal review of the European Union’s partnership agreement with Israel, citing serious concerns over human rights violations in Gaza.

Washington has denied negotiating directly with Hamas over the release of dual national Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American soldier held in Gaza.

Steve Witkoff, the US envoy to the Middle East, told Breitbart on Sunday that the talks have remained indirect. “We're talking to [Hamas] indirectly through people, and indirectly is not necessarily the best way to negotiate,” he said. “Talking to a terrorist group? I might do it if the president allowed me... but it doesn’t feel to me like something that we belong doing right now.”

“They need to show [the Trump administration] a sign they are prepared to act in a positive and proactive way... that leads to a long-term, durable peace,” he added.

Hamas earlier announced it was in contact with Washington about Alexander’s release, linking it to broader efforts for a ceasefire, opening crossings, and securing humanitarian aid for Gaza.

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has offloaded all its shares in Israel’s Paz Oil Company, citing its operations in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The world’s largest wealth fund announced the divestment on Sunday, pointing to Paz’s role in supplying fuel infrastructure to the settlements as the reason. “This is a clear violation tied to activities in the occupied Palestinian territories,” the fund stated, referencing the stricter ethical guidelines introduced in August 2023 by its Council on Ethics.

The fund had already dumped shares in Israeli telecoms giant Bezeq in September under the same revised criteria.

Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October, several European firms have cut ties with companies operating in occupied Palestinian territories.

Tensions appear to be rising between the US and Israel over the direction of the war in Gaza. According to Israel’s Channel 12, Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy, told families of Israeli captives that Israel is prolonging the conflict.

“We want to bring the hostages home, but Israel is not willing to end the war. Israel is prolonging it despite the fact that we don’t see where else we can go and that an agreement must be reached,” Witkoff reportedly said during the meeting, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Sunday.

Still, he struck a hopeful tone: “There is currently an opportunity window that we hope Israel and all the mediators will take advantage of. We are putting pressure on all the mediators and doing everything we can to bring the hostages home.”

NBC News, meanwhile, reported that the relationship between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump “has become strained,” citing sources familiar with US-Israel discussions.