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

The UN's rights chief has called for the world to end Israel's "catastrophe" in Gaza.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the total Israeli blockade on aid was pushing towards a collapse of critical life-saving support in the enclave

"There must be concerted international efforts to stop this humanitarian catastrophe from reaching a new unseen level," Volker Turk said in a statement. 

"Israel appears to be inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence as a group in Gaza".

Israel released from detention on Tuesday a medic held since a deadly Israeli attack on ambulances in southern Gaza on 23 March.

"The occupation forces have just released medic Asaad Al-Nsasrah, who was detained on March 23, 2025, while performing his humanitarian duty during the massacre of medical teams in the Tel Al-Sultan area of Rafah Governorate", the Palestine Red Crescent Society said in a statement.

Israel rejected on Tuesday accusations by rights group Amnesty International that it was committing "genocide" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, dismissing the claims as "baseless lies".

"The radical anti-Israel organisation Amnesty has once again chosen to publish baseless lies against Israel," the foreign ministry said in a statement to AFP, arguing that Israel is "fighting to defend itself against Hamas."

The advocacy group the Palestinian Prisoners Club notes these arrests form part of broader attempts to suppress Palestinian media coverage of the conflict, with journalists facing particularly harsh treatment in detention.

• Rising journalist detentions: Israeli forces have detained 49 Palestinian journalists since 7 October 2023, following today's arrest of Ali Al-Samoudi from Jenin.

• Documented arrests:

  • 177 journalists detained since conflict began (per Prisoners Club records)

  • 19 currently held under administrative detention without charge

  • Latest administrative detainees: Samer Khuwaira and Ibrahim Abu Safiyya

• Systematic targeting:

  • Daily arrests and workplace harassment of journalists

  • Deadly attacks on Gaza journalists continuing. As of 29 April , 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists in a preliminary investigation showed at least 176 journalists and media workers were killed by Israel

  • Social media activity used as grounds for "incitement" charges by Israel

• Prison conditions:

  • Reports of starvation, medical neglect and torture

  • Gaza journalists held under "Unlawful Combatant" law

  • Some cases of enforced disappearance

• International appeal:

  • Rights groups urged to intervene more forcefully

  • Calls for protection of press freedom

  • Demand to end systemic abuses in detention centers

Earlier this month, two British Labour MPs were denied entry to Israel and deported. They had planned to visit the occupied Palestinian territories. It was national news and provoked a minor diplomatic spat.

A week later, two more parliamentarians, independent MP Shockat Adam and Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George, actually got into Israel and toured the occupied Palestinian territories.

They returned to Britain just over a week ago with stories of being confronted by armed Israeli settlers, of being questioned by Israeli police on Adam's religion - and of witnessing settlers intimidating Palestinians.

Few British newspapers or television channels paid any interest or reported on the trip. 

Now, though, the Israeli settler movement is in the headlines. This is thanks to a new BBC documentary entitled The Settlers, which aired on Sunday night.

Read more: The Settlers: Louis Theroux takes an unflinching look at the Israelis intent on stealing the West Bank

Gaza's Ministry of Education reported on Tuesday that at least 14,784 students have been killed and 24,766 wounded across Palestinian territories since 7 October 2023 by Israel.

• Breakdown of casualties:

  • Gaza: 14,649 student deaths and 23,936 injuries

  • West Bank: 135 student deaths, 830 injuries, and 724 arrests

• Education staff casualties:

  • 880 teachers and administrators killed

  • 4,247 educators injured

  • Over 193 education staff arrested in West Bank

• School infrastructure damage:

  • 352 public schools severely damaged (111 completely destroyed)

  • 180 Unrwa and government schools bombed

  • 20 higher education institutions damaged (60 university buildings destroyed)

  • 146 West Bank schools and 8 universities vandalised

• Access to education crisis:

  • 788,000 Gaza students denied schooling

  • Widespread psychological trauma reported

  • Unrwa schools in Jerusalem facing imminent closure

The director general of Gaza’s health ministry has told Al Jazeera Arabic that 18 hospitals across the territory are now entirely out of service, as Israel continues to target medical infrastructure.

“The occupation makes hospitals and health centres a primary target,” he said, warning of the mounting toll on the besieged enclave’s already battered health system.

He noted that women and children made up half of those killed today, while around 350,000 patients suffering from chronic illnesses have been left without access to care.

Unrwa Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has accused Israeli authorities of detaining more than 50 of the agency’s staff since the start of the assault on Gaza, including doctors and teachers.

Speaking on Tuesday, Lazzarini said the detainees were subjected to “horrific and shocking” mistreatment -ranging from beatings and abuse to being used as human shields. He added that many were forced into confessions under duress.

“These are violations of international law,” Lazzarini said, demanding an independent investigation and justice for the victims.

He also raised alarm over the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, revealing that around 3,000 trucks loaded with food and medical aid remain stuck outside the Strip. Israel’s continued closure of border crossings is stopping supplies from reaching those in desperate need, he said, warning that some aid is already spoiling while hunger spreads.

“We urgently call for the lifting of the siege,” he added, stressing the need to ensure life-saving support reaches civilians.

The Jerusalem governor’s office has condemned Israel’s closure of the Jerusalem Fund and Endowment, calling the move a deliberate attempt to erode Palestinian life in the occupied city.

In a statement, the office described the shutdown - ordered by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir - as “an aggressive step” aligned with the broader Israeli policy of weakening Palestinian presence in East Jerusalem.

It rejected claims that the fund was linked to the Palestinian Authority, calling the accusation “groundless.”

“The fund is only conducting social, humanitarian, and charitable work, and has no connection to any political activity,” the statement read.

Set up in 2014, the Jerusalem Fund and Endowment is a nonprofit founded by Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem to support local communities and help them endure life under occupation.

At least 13 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes across Gaza today, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

In the north, two people died in separate attacks on Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood, while another two were killed in Beit Hanoon.

Further south, Israeli air raids hit Khan Younis this morning, killing three people.

Overnight strikes in nearby al-Mawasi claimed six more lives, including several children.

Casualties continue to mount as Israeli bombardment shows no sign of letting up.

• South Africa opens second day of ICJ arguments: Zane Dangor, director-general of South Africa's Department of International Relations, launched Tuesday's proceedings at the International Court of Justice with strong condemnation of Israel's actions.

• Key accusations presented: In his opening statement, Dangor made several critical allegations:

  • "Under the world's watchful eye, Palestinians are being subjected to atrocity, crimes, persecution, apartheid and genocide."

  • "While we watch, the gaze of Palestinians is directed squarely at the international community."

• Claims of Israeli exceptionalism: The South African representative argued:

  • We wish to emphasise the impunity with which Israel is inflicting these harms. Israel continues to act with impunity as it does enjoy some form of exceptionalism from accountability to international law and norms.

  • Any country or entity which seeks to hold Israel accountable for its inhumane and unlawful actions is subject to countermeasures and sanctions from which the UN and this court has not been spared.

• Focus on Unrwa controversy: Dangor connected recent attacks on the UN agency to broader political aims:

  • "In this context, the UN and Unrwa is one of the latest casualties of Israel."

  • "Unrwa is being attacked to deny the inalienable old right of the return of Palestinian refugees, the restitution of their land and homes appropriated since 1948, and [to] further [Israel's] apartheid policy."

  • "The attacks also imperil the existence of Palestinians as a group."

At least 11 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip since dawn, Al Jazeera Arabic reports.

The bombardment targeted several areas across the enclave, continuing a relentless military campaign that has left widespread destruction and mounting casualties.

Rescue crews are still searching through the rubble as strikes persist in multiple locations.

Middle East Eye will be bringing you live updates on the court proceedings as they come. Here is what to expect from today: 

• Hearings resume at The Hague: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) begins its second day of hearings at 08:00 GMT. Over five days, the court will examine Israel's legal duties in occupied Palestinian territories, including Gaza and the West Bank.

• Global input on humanitarian crisis: A panel of 15 judges will hear testimony from at least 40 nations and organisations. The proceedings aim to produce an advisory opinion on Israel's humanitarian obligations toward Palestinians, as Gaza enters its 51st day under near-total aid blockade.

• UN request triggers review: The UN General Assembly referred this matter to the ICJ in 2023 after Israel barred UNRWA from operating in territories under its control.

• Parallel genocide case continues: These hearings are distinct from South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. In January 2024, the court ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts by ensuring humanitarian access, but the UN reports Israel has permitted no aid into Gaza since March 2, exacerbating famine risks. Israel rejects these allegations.

Israeli forces detained five Palestinians from Jenin early Tuesday, including a journalist, following multiple overnight raids, reported the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Journalist Ali Samoudi, who reports for Al-Quds newspaper, was arrested after Israeli troops stormed his home in the Al-Zahraa neighbourhood.

Three others - Shaima Abu Ghali, Durgham Al-Saadi and Baha Al-Saadi - were seized from the city’s eastern neighbourhood, while Ya’rab al-Sakran was taken from Al-Marah.

Arrests like these have become a near-daily occurrence in the occupied West Bank, particularly in Jenin, where Israel continues to intensify its military operations.

An Israeli air strike overnight killed at least four Palestinians, including three children, in an attack targeting a refugee camp near Khan Younis, local officials reported.

Ambulances rushed at least 40 wounded people to the Nasser Medical Complex following the strike, medics at the scene said.

The camp housed families who had already fled earlier bombardments and fighting in other parts of the Gaza Strip.

This latest attack comes amid ongoing Israeli bombardment, which has pushed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into overcrowded shelters across the besieged enclave.