The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has said he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders.

    The UN’s humanitarian office says that 40 percent of Gaza’s population, or more than 900,000 people, have been internally and forcibly displaced in the last two weeks amid Israel’s military operations in the north and south of the Palestinian territory.

    US President Joe Biden says the ICC prosecutor’s request is “outrageous”, reiterating his support for Israel, and some US lawmakers have threatened to move against the court.

    Meanwhile, Israeli army air attacks on Jabalia and Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza have killed 18 Palestinians in recent hours.

    At least 35,562 people have been killed and 79,652 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s attack is 1,139, with dozens still held captive.

    ‘Very little’ UK humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, watchdog says

    The majority of UK-provided humanitarian aid is

    still being blocked by Israel from entering Gaza, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) has said in a report published on Tuesday.

    “While the UK has significantly increased aid to Gaza in response to the crisis it’s clear that very little is reaching those who urgently need it,” said Tamsyn Barton, the aid watchdog’s Chief Commissioner.

    She added that “ineffective” diplomatic attempts to improve humanitarian access to Gaza shows “how fragile the system underpinning international humanitarian law is”.

    The ICAI report said that many items, including stone fruit, were rejected as “dual use”, meaning items that “might benefit Hamas or be used as a weapon”.

    The UK government has contributed an additional £70 million ($89m) in humanitarian funding to Palestine since October last year, when the current conflict broke out.

    UN’s Middle East peace envoy reiterates call for talks

    Tor Wennesland, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, spoke to the UN Security Council a short while ago and called on all sides in the Israel-Palestine conflict to re-enter negotiations.

    “If talks do not resume, I fear for the worst for the beleaguered and terrified civilians in Rafah, for the hostages held in unimaginable conditions for more than 225 days, and for an overstretched humanitarian operation that remains on the brink inside the Strip,” Wennesland said.

    He said the new Palestinian government, led by Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, and including eight ministers from Gaza “represents an important opportunity to support tangible steps towards unifying Gaza and the occupied West Bank politically, economically, administratively.”

    The devastation and misery over the past seven months shows Palestinians and Israelis cannot wait any longer to establish a “viable political horizon to end the conflict and establish a two-State solution”, he added.