Israel’s plan to seize Gaza City and take full security control of the enclave has drawn global condemnation. Sir Keir Starmer has been told to “sit this one out” after he urged Israel to reconsider its decision. Follow the latest below.
Friday 8 August 2025 22:00, UK
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Thanks for following our live coverage today. We’ll be back with any breaking news.
Until then, here’s a brief overview of what’s been happening in the last 24 hours:
As aid drops continue into Gaza, humanitarian groups insist the level reaching Palestinians is still not enough.
Here, our international correspondent Diana Magnay reports from one of the planes dropping aid into the territory.
Donald Trump is yet to offer any official word on Israel’s updated plans for Gaza, but he is currently in front of the world’s media at the White House hosting the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Trump’s top peace negotiator Steve Witkoff is in attendance, as is US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Watch live at the top of this page. We’ll also let you know here if Trump makes any comment on the Middle East.
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) says it has managed to deliver less than half of its aid target into Gaza since 27 July.
In an update on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, the WFP said 266 of its trucks were turned away at crossing points in the last 12 days, 31% of which had initially been approved by Israeli authorities.
It also said that only 60 of its aid truck drivers have been vetted and approved by the Israeli military to date, and that more are urgently needed.
Calling for at least 100 trucks to enter Gaza each day, the WFP said the current the amount of food going into the enclave is “a fraction of what’s needed”.
It comes as the UN reports starvation and malnutrition in Gazaare at the highest levels ever since the war began almost two years ago, with a “worst-case scenario of famine” unfolding in the enclave.
The Palestinian mission to the United Nations says Israel’s “nefarious actions and plans” must be immediately stopped.
In a letter to the UN Security Council, it says: “No one should be complicit in what is clearly an attempt to annihilate Palestinian existence in Palestine, to destroy the two-state solution and impose Greater Israel.”
The UN Security Council is due to meet in a rare weekend session tomorrow to discuss Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City.
There’s been no shortage of scepticism over Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City.
Adding to that chorus is military analyst Colonel Simon Diggins, who outlined to our presenter Jonathan Samuels why Israel’s mission will be so difficult.
Israel’s defence minister has hit out at countries that “condemn and threaten sanctions” over its plans to seize Gaza City.
Writing on X, Israel Katz says critics won’t “weaken our resolve” to defeat Hamas, insisting the militant group “still poses a threat to Israel’s security”.
“Gone are the days when Jews did not defend themselves,” Katz says. “This is the time for leadership to make decisions.”
The United Nations Security Council will meet in a rare weekend session tomorrow to discuss Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City, three diplomatic sources have told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
Riyad Mansour, who represents Palestine at the UN, said earlier that several countries had requested the meeting, which is reportedly due to begin at 7pm UK time.
The Council’s schedule on its website says a meeting is planned to discuss “the situation in the Middle East”.
France and Canada have joined the chorus of countries condemning Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza City.
Jean-Noel Barrot, foreign minister in Paris, says the plan will “worsen an already catastrophic situation” inside the enclave.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the plan was “wrong” and will put the lives of Israeli hostages still in Gaza at greater risk.
Iran has joined the long list of nations condemning Israel’s plan for expanded military operations in Gaza.
Its foreign ministry says the decision, approved by Israel’s security cabinet this morning, is another indication of its “specific intent to commit genocide in occupied Palestine”.
Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran “strongly condemns” the plan, which he says will cause the forced displacement of all Gaza City’s residents.
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