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

A total of 219 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed and at least 430 wounded in Israeli attacks since 7 October 2023, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, as reported by the Wafa news agency. The group said the death toll included 30 women.

The syndicate accused the Israeli army of pursuing a systematic policy of targeting journalists and their families. It said 685 relatives of Palestinian media workers have also been killed during the same period.

Around 1,000 journalists in Gaza are experiencing repeated displacement, the group added.

Ben Cohen, co-founder of American ice cream company Ben & Jerry, has called on Americans to speak out against starvation in Gaza.

“We are expected to be good Americans and look the other way as Israel prevents food, water, and medicine from reaching the remaining people of Gaza,” Cohen said in a post on X.

“Israel is literally starving them to death… We must speak out and demand a change in policy. We can’t be complicit in starving kids to death.”

Cohen was arrested last week during a Senate hearing for protesting against Gaza's war and "starving kids" in the war-torn enclave.

We are expected to be good Americans and look the other way as Israel prevents food, water, and medicine from reaching the remaining people of Gaza. Israel is literally starving them to death…We must speak out and demand a change in policy. We can’t be complicit in starving kids…

— Ben Cohen (@YoBenCohen) May 18, 2025

Good morning Middle East Eye readers, 

Here are some of the latest updates from the Israeli war on Gaza, now in its 590th day: 

• Israeli attacks killed at least 17 Palestinians in Gaza since the early hours of this morning, according to Al Jazeera, citing medical sources. Some 30 air raids hit Khan Younis in the past hour.

• Medical sources say Israeli forces have killed 151 Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, according to a report by Al Jazeera Arabic.

• Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney’s office said the leader “stressed the imperative of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza” during his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in the Vatican City on Sunday.

• The head of the US and Israel-backed charity that plans to take over aid distribution in Gaza says the Israeli announcement “marks an important interim step”. The UN refuses to work with the charity over the concerns of impartiality.

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has again called for a lasting ceasefire, the unconditional release of Israeli captives, and the “free flow of humanitarian aid” into Gaza, and expresses concern over the situation in the occupied West Bank. “Annexation is illegal...Settlements are illegal," he said.

• Yemen’s Houthi rebels promise to launch more attacks on Israel over the “escalation against the Gaza Strip and the aggression against Yemen”.

• More than 100,000 red-clad protesters have rallied in the Dutch city of The Hague, calling for the Netherlands to end support for Israel.

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning. 

Here are the day's key developments:

• Israel announced a large-scale ground invasion across Gaza, deepening fears of further mass civilian casualties in the battered territory.
• The Israeli military issued forced displacement orders to Palestinian civilians in central-eastern Gaza.
• The death toll in Gaza since dawn on Sunday rose to at least 144, according to medical authorities.
• Israel will allow a "basic amount" of humanitarian aid into Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
• The chief of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said a "gruesome milestone" has been reached as the death toll of Unrwa workers killed in Gaza passed 300.
• Israeli authorities forced a Palestinian man to demolish his own home in the Shu'fat refugee camp, north of occupied East Jerusalem.

An Israeli air strike has killed a Palestinian woman in a tent housing displaced people on Al-Barakah Street in central Gaza's Deir el-Balah, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

Several others were injured in the attack.

Israel will allow a "basic amount" of humanitarian aid into Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu's office has said.

"Due to the need to expand the fighting, we will introduce a basic amount of food to the residents of Gaza to ensure no famine occurs," the Israeli prime minister's office said.

This comes more than two months after Israel imposed a total blockade on the besieged enclave.

Israeli officials have reportedly said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet humanitarian aid will resume in Gaza, according to Israeli media reports.

Israel has blockaded the besieged enclave for over two months.

Israeli authorities have forced a Palestinian man to demolish his own home in the Shu'fat refugee camp, north of occupied East Jerusalem.

Israeli soldiers claimed the building had no permit, Wafa news agency has reported.

Meanwhile, east of Bethlehem in the Rabi'a area, settlers forced Palestinians to leave their land at gunpoint, according to Wafa.

The death toll in Gaza since dawn on Sunday has risen to 144, according to medical authorities in the besieged enclave.

The chief of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, also said a "gruesome milestone" has been reached as the death toll of Unrwa workers killed in Gaza passed 300.

"The vast majority of staff were killed by the Israeli Army with their children & loved ones: whole families wiped out," Phillippe Lazzarini said.

"Several were killed in the line of duty while serving their communities. Those killed were mostly UN health workers & teachers, supporting their communities."

An Israeli attack on a refugee camp in southern Gaza's al-Mawasi has killed at least three people, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

Many Palestinians are reportedly evacuating to western Gaza amid a series of Israeli air strikes.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for “the immediate respect and protection of civilians by all parties during increased military operations”.

The Israeli military has issued forced displacement orders to Palestinian civilians in central-eastern Gaza.

Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee designated multiple neighbourhoods in the area as red zones. "This is a final and preemptive warning before the attack," he said in a post on X.

"We will attack with extreme force every area used to launch rockets."

An Israeli strike has killed two people in al-Faluja area of Jabalia camp in northern Gaza, according to local media.

Israeli aircraft reportedly bombed the home of the Labad family, killing two relatives and wounding others.

At least 140 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air attacks on the Gaza Strip since dawn, Al Jazeera has reported.

Israel has announced a large-scale ground invasion across Gaza, deepening fears of further mass civilian casualties in the battered territory.

According to the military, troops from its Southern Command are now conducting operations on the ground in both northern and southern areas of the enclave, backed by intense aerial bombardment.

The escalation marks one of the most extensive phases of the war to date, as Israeli forces push deeper into densely populated zones where hundreds of thousands remain trapped under siege.

With its air force providing cover, Israel has intensified its campaign despite growing international outrage over the civilian toll and the destruction of vital infrastructure, including hospitals and schools.

A delegation of Italian lawmakers and members of the European Parliament (MEP) travelled to the Rafah crossing on Egypt’s border with Gaza on Sunday, calling for the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid and denouncing Europe’s inaction as Israel’s war continues to devastate the enclave.

“Europe is not doing enough - nothing to stop the massacre,” said MEP Cecilia Strada, speaking to AFP from the sealed crossing, one of the last potential gateways for aid into the besieged territory of 2.4 million people.

Walter Massa, president of the NGO Associazione Ricreativa Culturale Italiana, added: “It’s a closed border through which aid hasn’t passed for months. We can hear bombs and explosions just 12km from where we stand.”

Israeli authorities, who manage the flow of aid through coordination with Egypt, have kept crossings shut since 2 March. The blockade has been widely criticised by humanitarian organisations and observers.

Despite global outcry, Israel resumed its military assault on Gaza on 18 March, shattering a two-month lull in fighting.

Protesters held banners that read “Stop genocide now”, “End the illegal occupation”, and “Stop arming Israel”. Toys were laid on the ground in symbolic solidarity with Gaza’s children, as shown in photos shared by Massa.

Hamas has strongly condemned Israel for what it called as a deliberate and coordinated attack on Palestinian journalists, calling it part of an “ongoing campaign of persecution and killing” aimed at silencing media voices in Gaza.

The group identified the five journalists killed in Israel’s latest round of air strikes as Aziz al-Hajjar, Nour Qandil, Abdul Rahman al-Abadlah, Khaled Abu Saif and Ahmed al-Zinati.

According to Hamas, “their homes and tents were bombed at dawn today, leading to their martyrdom, along with their children and families, in a complex crime that embodies the brutality of this fascist entity”.

It added that Israel's actions reflect a systematic effort to wipe out independent reporting from Gaza, where journalists have continued to document the devastating impact of the war.

“The fact that the world remains paralysed in the face of these crimes - committed for months in full view of the international community - is reprehensible,” the statement said.

Since 7 October 2023, Israeli assaults have killed over 230 Palestinian journalists and media professionals in Gaza, marking the bloodiest period on record for the press in any conflict.