7h ago 08.11 EST UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, insisted on Wednesday that deporting people from occupied territory was strictly prohibited, after US president Donald Trump’s proposal for the United States to take over Gaza and resettle its people. “The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law and must be protected by all states, as the international court of justice recently underlined afresh. Any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited,” Türk said in a statement. Share
8h ago 07.40 EST UN human rights office says Trump’s Gaza plan would breach international humanitarian law Any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory breaches international law, the UN human rights office (UNHR) said on Wednesday, in reference to Donald Trump’s claim that the US would take over the Gaza Strip and forcibly resettle the Palestinian population elsewhere. “It is crucial that we move towards the next phase of the ceasefire, to release all hostages and arbitrarily detained prisoners, end the war and reconstruct Gaza, with full respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” said the UNHR in a statement to Reuters. “Any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited,” it continued. Share
8h ago 07.35 EST UK prime minister: Palestinians ‘must be allowed home, allowed to rebuild’ on way to two-state solution Speaking in parliament in London, the British prime minister Keir Starmer has said Palestinians “must be allowed home.” Starmer was responding to a question from Liberal Democrat Ed Davey, the leader of the third largest party in the House of Commons, and told lawmakers: The most important issue on the ceasefire is, obviously that it’s sustained, and we see it through the phases. And that means that the remaining hostages come out, and the aid that’s desperately needed gets into Gaza at speed and at the volumes that are needed. I have from the last few weeks two images fixed in my mind. The first is the image of Emily Damari reunited with her mother, which I found extremely moving. The second was the image of thousands of Palestinians walking, literally walking through the rubble, to try to find their homes and their communities in Gaza. They must be allowed home. They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild, on the way to a two state solution. Starmer did not mention US president Donald Trump by name, nor did he respond to Davey’s suggestion that he should reassure lawmakers that “our concerns on these dangerous statements from the president will be communicated to the White House directly and firmly.” Share
8h ago 07.23 EST In a statement, Israel’s Nachala Movement has responded to Donald Trump’s comments by saying “we must hurry” to settle Gaza. Reuters reports the far-right group posted to social media saying “We must hurry and establish settlements throughout the Gaza Strip. No part of the land of Israel should be left without Jewish settlement. If an area remains desolate, it may be captured by enemies.” Israeli settler leader Daniella Weiss has previously stated that thousands of Jewish settlers are ready to move to Gaza. Share
8h ago 07.11 EST Christy Cooney Donald Trump has called for a “verified peace agreement” with Iran that would allow the country to “peacefully grow and prosper”. “I want Iran to be a great and successful Country, but one that cannot have a Nuclear Weapon,” he said on his Truth Social platform. “Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens, ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED.” Trump continued: “I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper. “We should start working on it immediately, and have a big Middle East Celebration when it is signed and completed. God Bless the Middle East!” During his first term, Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal, which had been agreed with Iran by the US, the UK, France, China, Russia, and the EU. The deal limited Iran’s nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions, but faced widespread opposition on the American right. Share Updated at 12.14 EST
8h ago 07.08 EST The UN’s high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, has told AFP that Donald Trump’s comments proposing the US “take over” Gaza were “surprising”. “It’s something very surprising, but we have to see what it means in concrete terms,” Grandi said in Brussels, adding that it was difficult to comment on such a “sensitive issue”. Trump said the US would “take over” Gaza and “own it”, effectively publicly endorsing the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians after Israel has spent months bombing the densely populated territory in a military campaign which has killed tens of thousands, and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. View image in fullscreen General view of the rubble of houses and buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. Photograph: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters Share Updated at 07.10 EST
9h ago 06.53 EST Andrew Sparrow John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, has condemned President Trump’s plans for Gaza as “unacceptable and dangerous”, saying there “must be no ethnic cleansing”. In a post on Bluesky he said: After months of collective punishment and the death of over 40,000 in Gaza, any suggestion Palestinians should be removed from their home is unacceptable and dangerous. There must be no ethnic cleansing. Only a proper two state solution will bring lasting peace.” And Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s former first minister, whose parents-in-law were trapped in Gaza for a number of weeks in 2023 after the 7 October Hamas massacre tiggered war, has also described President Trump’s plan as “ethnic cleansing”. In a post on social media commenting on what Trump said during his White House press conference, Yousaf said: Why is it a living hell? Who bombed it, killing tens of thousands of people, including children, and reduced Gaza to rubble? Also, what Trump calls “permanent resettlement” is what the rest of the world should call ethnic cleansing. Gaza belongs to the people of Gaza. Period.” Share
9h ago 06.41 EST German foreign minister says Gaza expulsion would be unacceptable German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said on Wednesday that the Gaza Strip belongs to Palestinians, and their expulsion would be unacceptable and contrary to international law, reports Reuters. “The civilian population of Gaza must not be expelled and Gaza must not be permanently occupied or repopulated,” Baerbock said in a statement. “It is clear that Gaza – like the West Bank and East Jerusalem – belongs to the Palestinians. They form the basis for a future Palestinian state.” “It would also lead to new suffering and new hatred,” said Baerbock in a statement, adding: “There must be no solution over the heads of the Palestinians.” Share
9h ago 06.25 EST Hamas says Trump plan to take over Gaza will pour ‘oil on the fire’ Hamas on Wednesday condemned a proposal by US president Donald Trump to “take over” and “own” Gaza, saying it will fan the flames of Middle East violence. Hamas said in a statement that the proposal “aiming for the United States to occupy the Gaza Strip” was “aggressive to our people and cause, won’t serve stability in the region and will only put oil on the fire”. Share