Skip next section WATCH – Expert says blocking Palestinian statehood benefits Hamas
09/08/2025September 8, 2025WATCH – Expert says blocking Palestinian statehood benefits Hamas
The UN General Assembly will take up the issue of recognizing a Palestinian state on Tuesday. 147 of the 193 member nations do already – Britain, France, Canada, Australia and Belgium plan to.
DW asked Michael Lynk, former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, what concrete benefits Palestinians will gain when more nations recognize their statehood.
Expert says blocking Palestinian statehood benefits Hamas
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Skip next section Qatar reportedly tells Hamas to ‘respond positively’ to latest US ceasefire offer
09/08/2025September 8, 2025Qatar reportedly tells Hamas to ‘respond positively’ to latest US ceasefire offer
Qatar is pressuring the Palestinian militant group Hamas to “respond positively” to the latest US-brokered deal aimed at securing a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed official briefed on the talks.
“The Qatari prime minister pressed Hamas to respond positively to the latest American proposal, conveyed through mediators and aimed at securing a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza,” the official was quoted as saying.
A senior Hamas official, quoted by the Associated Press, called it a “humiliating surrender document,” but the militant group said it would keep negotiating.
US President Donald Trump has warned that it was the group’s “last chance.”
https://p.dw.com/p/50BQZ
Skip next section Four Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, army says
09/08/2025September 8, 2025Four Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, army says
Four Israeli soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army said, with another one being severely injured in the Jabalya area of the enclave.
The incident occurred early Monday, according to the Israeli army, when three or four militants attacked a tank, resulting in the tank catching fire and killing the soldiers inside.
This brings the tally of Israeli soldiers killed in the war in Gaza to 904.
https://p.dw.com/p/50BDD
Skip next section Gaza City residents should ‘leave now,’ Israeli PM Netanyahu warns
09/08/2025September 8, 2025Gaza City residents should ‘leave now,’ Israeli PM Netanyahu warns
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stark warning to Gaza City residents, urging them to evacuate immediately ahead of a planned ground assault by Israeli forces.
“Our forces are gathering and getting ready for entering the city of Gaza,” Netanyahu said, adding that those living in the city need to leave it as soon as possible.
“You have been warned!”
The Israeli leader also referenced Israel’s air force strikes on high-rise buildings in Gaza City, describing them as a “preview” of the upcoming operation.
https://p.dw.com/p/50BC1
09/08/2025September 8, 2025Abbas condemns ‘targeting of Palestinian and Israeli civilians’ after Jerusalem shooting
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas “condemned any targeting of Palestinian and Israeli civilians” following a Jerusalem shooting in which at least six Israelis were killed, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Abbas heads the Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority based in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
“The Palestinian Presidency reiterated its firm stance rejecting and condemning any targeting of Palestinian and Israeli civilians, and denounced all forms of violence and terrorism, regardless of their source,” the statement read.
Abbas said that “security and stability in the region cannot be achieved” without ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and what he described as “acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip.”
He also called for Palestinians to have “an independent and sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1980, a move unrecognized by most countries in the world.
https://p.dw.com/p/50AfY
Skip next section Israeli police detain East Jerusalem resident after bus shooting
09/08/2025September 8, 2025Israeli police detain East Jerusalem resident after bus shooting
Israeli police said they had detained a man they suspected of involvement in preparing the shooting at a Jerusalem bus stop that killed at least six people Monday morning.
The two alleged attackers were shot dead at the scene.
The third person linked to the shooting is a resident of East Jerusalem, according to Israeli police.
https://p.dw.com/p/50AaN
Skip next section UN rights chief condemns ‘genocidal rhetoric’ and ‘mass killing’ in Gaza
09/08/2025September 8, 2025UN rights chief condemns ‘genocidal rhetoric’ and ‘mass killing’ in Gaza
The United Nations’ human rights chief, Volker Türk, called for countries to help “end the carnage” in the Gaza Strip and accused Israeli officials of “dehumanization” of Palestinians.
Türk heads the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
“Israel’s mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza [is] … shocking the conscience of the world,” Türk said, while also pointing to the “starvation of civilians” and “killing of journalists” in Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian enclave.
“I am horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric and the disgraceful dehumanization of Palestinians by senior Israeli officials,” he said.
He called for countries to “stop the flow to Israel of arms that risk violating the laws of war.”
“We need action now, to end the carnage,” Türk said.
In response to the comments, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Daniel Meron, accused Türk of spreading “libelous rhetoric” against Israel.
https://p.dw.com/p/50AM6
Skip next section Spanish government rejects ‘antisemitism’ accusation
09/08/2025September 8, 2025Spanish government rejects ‘antisemitism’ accusation
Spain dismissed Israel’s accusation that it had engaged in “antisemitism” amid a growing diplomatic rift between the two countries.
“The Spanish government categorically rejects the false and slanderous accusation of antisemitism on the part of the Israeli government toward Spain,” it said.
Spain called for a two-state solution to the conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories and for an “end to the humanitarian blockade of Gaza.”
The statement comes on the heels of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s announcement that weapons shipments to Israel would be barred from entering Spanish ports.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar lashed out at Spain after the announcement, accusing Sanchez on X of trying “to divert attention from serious corruption scandals through a continuous anti-Israel and antisemitic campaign.”
Israel also imposed entry bans on Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz and Youth Minister Sira Rego.
Besides barring weapons in transit to Israel from Spanish ports, Sanchez’s government imposed an arms embargo on Israel and banned vessels carrying fuel for the Israeli military from passing through Spain.
Spain is among the EU states that has voiced the most criticism of Israel’s offensive in Gaza and recognized Palestinian statehood in 2024 alongside three other European countries.
https://p.dw.com/p/50AGC
Skip next section Israel’s military says it has struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
09/08/2025September 8, 2025Israel’s military says it has struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that warplanes from the air force attacked several Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley region in eastern Lebanon.
The IDF said it had struck military camps belonging to Hezbollah’s “Radwan Force” that it said were being used to conduct training and preparation for terror operations targeting Israel.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported seven strikes in the Mermel region.
The attack comes after Lebanon’s government said last month that it would begin implementing a plan to disarm Hezbollah, without disclosing details.
Lebanon’s Cabinet said it had asked the country’s military to bring all arms under state control by the end of the year.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia said it would resist calls for its mandated disarmament, threatening a new “civil war.”
https://p.dw.com/p/50A5Q
Skip next section Israel bars Spain’s deputy PM from entering country
09/08/2025September 8, 2025Israel bars Spain’s deputy PM from entering country
Israel has banned Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz from entering the countryImage: Ignacio Lopez Isasmendi/ZUMA Press Wire/picture alliance
Israel‘s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has announced sanctions on Spain in response to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s announcement that weapons shipments to Israel would be barred from entering Spanish ports.
Saar accused Spain’s government of “pursuing a hostile anti-Israel policy” and said it was using rhetoric “dripping with hatred.”
Saar said that with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Diaz, would be barred from entering Israel.
Israel’s top diplomat said that the country was cutting relations with her, accusing her of antisemitism.
https://p.dw.com/p/509hz
Skip next section Death toll in East Jerusalem attack rises
09/08/2025September 8, 2025Death toll in East Jerusalem attack rises
Israel‘s emergency services confirmed the deaths of five people, following an attack at a major intersection in East Jerusalem.
The Magen David Adom emergency service said four people died at the scene, while another victim died at hospital.
Of the injured, seven were in a serious condition, having sustained gunshot wounds.
Local media reported that two attackers boarded a bus and opened fire.
The last deadly mass shooting attack took place in October 2024, when two Palestinians from the West Bank opened fire on a major boulevard and light rail station in the Tel Aviv area.
Seven people were killed and many others were wounded in that attack.
Since the war in Gaza broke out, there has been a surge in violence in the occupied West Bank and Israel.
There have been incidents in which Palestinian militants have attacked and killed Israelis in Israel and the West Bank, while there has also been a rise in deadly settler violence against Palestinians.
Israeli forces break up funeral of Palestinian activist
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Skip next section Deaths reported, multiple people injured in East Jerusalem shooting
09/08/2025September 8, 2025Deaths reported, multiple people injured in East Jerusalem shooting
Israel’s emergency services said at least four people have been killed and multiple others injured in a shooting attack in East Jerusalem.
“At 10:13 am (0713 GMT), reports were received… about approximately 15 injured, apparently from gunfire, at the Ramot Junction on Yigal Yadin Street in Jerusalem,” a statement by Magen David Adom said.
According to police, two attackers were “neutralized” shortly after the shooting began.
Local media reported that two attackers entered a bus and then opened fire.
https://p.dw.com/p/508qx
Skip next section Spain banning weapons shipments to Israel via ports
09/08/2025September 8, 2025Spain banning weapons shipments to Israel via ports
Spain‘s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a ban on Israel-bound ships and planes carrying weapons from using Spanish ports.
Sanchez said vessels transporting fuel for Israel’s military would also be under the embargo as part of efforts to pressure Israel’s government.
“We hope that they will serve to add pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to alleviate some of the suffering that the Palestinian population is enduring,” Sanchez said in an address aired on local TV.
Spain will also ban anyone who has participated directly in what Sanchez qualified as “genocide” from entering the country.
Netanyahu’s government has faced increasing international pressure, with calls among a growing number of EU countries for sanctions over Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
While Germany hasn’t backed such a move, in August, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Berlin would not approve weapons exports to Israel for use in the Gaza Strip “until further notice.”
This marked a major change of course for Germany, which has been one of Israel’s staunchest international allies.
https://p.dw.com/p/508mn
Skip next section WATCH — Thousands flee Gaza City to ‘humanitarian safe zone’
09/08/2025September 8, 2025WATCH — Thousands flee Gaza City to ‘humanitarian safe zone’
Thousands of people are fleeing from Gaza City, as dozens have been killed in multiple airstrikes over the weekend. The Israeli army is expanding its offensive with the country’s prime minister insisting that the operation is necessary to defeat Hamas.
Thousands flee Gaza City to ‘humanitarian safe zone’
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https://p.dw.com/p/508Ul
09/08/2025September 8, 2025Israel’s defense chief threatens total destruction of Gaza City if Hamas doesn’t surrender
Israeli warplanes targeted the Al-Ruya residential building after warning residents to evacuateImage: Mohammed Skaik/TheNews2/IMAGO
Israel‘s Defense Minister Israel Katz issued an ominous warning in a post on social media.
“Today, a powerful hurricane will strike in the skies of Gaza City, and the roofs of the towers of terror will shake,” Katz said on X.
Katz said it was “the last warning” to Hamas and demanded they release hostages being held in the Palestinian territory and lay down arms.
The Defense chief threatened the destruction of Gaza and that Hamas would be “obliterated” if this did not happen.
Over the weekend Israel issued so-called “evacuation warnings” to residents of certain areas in Gaza City to move to humanitarian zones to the south of Gaza as it presses on with an offensive to capture it.
A high-rise building was struck and Katz shared footage of the multi-story structure collapsing after the strike.
Israel’s military said that civilians had received advanced warnings, but international organizations have called out the danger civilians are under any time they move within Gaza.
More than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The UN considers the ministry’s figures to be reliable and independent studies suggest the death toll to be underreported.
https://p.dw.com/p/508ik