Middle East: Israel launches Deir al-Balah ground offensive – DW – 07/21/2025
It is the first time Israel has launched a ground offensive in Deir al-Balah in the 21 months since it began its attacks in the region in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attacks.
On Sunday, the Israeli military warned of imminent action against Hamas fighters in the area. An army spokesman called on residents to leave the area in a post in Arabic on X.
The Israeli military continues "to operate with intensity to eliminate terrorists and to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the area and is expanding its activities into new areas," the army said in a statement. "For your safety, immediately evacuate southward toward Al-Mawasi."
Situated in the southwest of the embattled area, Al-Mawasi was designated by Israel as a "humanitarian zone" earlier in the war. However, Israel has since attacked there multiple times, with its military saying it was targeting Hamas facilities.
Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned the mass displacement order had dealt "yet another devastating blow" to the Gaza Strip.
Initial estimates indicated that between 50,000 and 80,000 people were in the area when Sunday's order was given, including some
30,000 people sheltering in 57 displacement sites, OCHA said in a statement.
Israel has launched a ground offensive in Deir al-Balah, a city in central Gaza.
This comes after the Israeli military warned of imminent action against Hamas fighters in the area and issued evacuation orders.
Follow along as DW brings you the latest reports, explainers and analysis on developments across the Middle East.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
DW
33 minutes ago
- DW
Middle East: No German plans to recognize Palestine soon – DW – 07/25/2025
After France announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood, Germany said it still supported a two-state solution but saw other priorities regarding the situation in the Palestinian territories. DW has more. France's decision to formally recognize Palestinian statehood continues to garner worldwide attention. However, Berlin said it has no short term plans to follow in Paris' footsteps The US and Israel are the strongest critics, while the move was hailed in the Middle East and by European countries that have already taken the step. Meanwhile, a Reuters report suggests a USAID analysis found no massive theft of Gaza of Britain, France and Germany have called on Israel to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid into Gaza, warning of a "humanitarian catastrophe." The joint appeal comes after French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to recognize a Palestinian state and followed a call between Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. In it, they demanded an immediate ceasefire and warned that "withholding essential humanitarian assistance" is unacceptable — though the statement broke no new diplomatic ground. The three leaders said they are ready to take further action to support both a ceasefire and a political process toward lasting security and peace in the region, but did not specify what steps they might take. Macron's announcement has revealed divisions among the European trio — known as the E3 — over how to address the humanitarian crisis and bring the Israel-Hamas war to an end. While all three countries support a Palestinian state in principle, Germany has said it has no immediate plans to follow France's lead. Macron intends to formalize the recognition at the UN General Assembly in September. Britain also has not joined the move. On Friday, 221 members of the UK Parliament signed a letter urging recognition. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video US President Donald Trump has dismissed the decision by France's Emmanuel Macron to recognize a Palestinian state as pointless. "What he says doesn't matter," Trump told reporters at the White House. "He's a very good guy, I like him, but that statement doesn't carry weight." Trump told reporters Trump's response came after the French president's announcement yesterday that his country planned to formally recognize the State of Palestine in September at the UN General Assembly. Israel will once again allow foreign aid to drop over Gaza, sources told media outlets on Friday, as pressure on Israel mounts to end the hunger crisis in the besieged enclave. "Humanitarian aid air drops on the Gaza Strip will resume in the upcoming days. They will be managed by the UAE and Jordan," an unnamed Israeli official told the French AFP news agency. The Israeli army radio also reported the news, with an unnamed military official suggesting air drops could start as early as Friday. DW spoke to several regional experts to find out why France is now moving to recognize Palestinian statehood. France has traditionally played a diplomatic role in the Middle East. But as Donald Trump has increasingly sidelined Europe, France has been pushing for Europe to take a more independent position from the US on the international stage. As well as the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calls from some members of the Israeli Knesset to annex the West Bank have also increased the pressure. Michael Stephens, a Senior Associate Fellow at the UK-based RUSI think tank, told DW there was concern that if a Palestinian state isn't recognized now, "there may not be a Palestine left to recognize." France, along with Saudi Arabia, had been planning to co-host a UN conference on the two-state solution, hoping to encourage European states to recognize Palestine, and for some Arab states to normalize relations with Israel. The conference is now set to start on Monday after strikes by Israel and the US forced it to be rescheduled. Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), told DW that French President Emmanuel Macron's comments are intended to build momentum for more European countries to recognize Palestine before the United Nations General Assembly in September. "What the French are doing is they are giving other countries effectively two months to also come on board," Lovatt said. Quentin de Pimodan, international adviser at Greece-based Research Institute for Europeans and American Studies, said Macron is aiming to present a "common front" for a political solution ahead of the UN assembly. Hamas and Egyptian sources suggested on Friday that negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza would resume next week, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yet again accused Hamas of being the "obstacle" to a hostage release deal. "Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff got it right. Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal," Netanyahu said in a statement on X, adding that Israel and the US were "now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas's terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region." Both Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump recalled their negotiating teams from Qatar, where talks were being held earlier this week. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Hamas' latest response to the negotiations showed a "lack of desire" for a truce. Meanwhile, Hamas official Bassem Naim was cited by the Associated Press news agency as saying on Friday he was told an Israeli delegation would depart for talks early next week. An-unnamed Egyptian source also told the state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV that talks will resume next week. Egypt and Qatar have been mediating a ceasefire throughout the 22-month war. France's highest court on Friday annulled a French arrest warrant, issued before his ouster, against Syria's ex-president Bashar Assad over deadly 2013 chemical attacks. The Court of Cassation ruled there were no exceptions to presidential immunity, even for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, presiding judge, Christophe Soulard, added that, as Assad was now no longer president after he was toppled in December, 'new arrest warrants can have been, or can be, issued against him' and as such the investigation into the case could continue. Iran has held "frank and detailed" nuclear talks with Germany, France and Britain on last month's war with Israel, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Friday. In a post on X, Iran's deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in the talks, Tehran criticized the three countries' stances regarding the Israel-Iran war, which erupted when Israel struck nuclear and military infrastructure in Iran and killed much of its military brass, sparking strikes on Israel from Iran. Friday's talks also discussed the prospect of lifting the sanctions on Iran, as well as the snapback mechanism, which allows the swift reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran under the 2015 nuclear agreement if it violates its nuclear commitments. "It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue," Gharibabadi said. The United Nations' nuclear watchdog has expressed optimism regarding Iran's decision to allow its inspectors to visit the country. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said a visit to Iran could take place "within weeks," adding that it could pave the way for UN inspectors' return to the country. "If we do not return soon, there would be a serious problem, because this is an international obligation of Iran," Grossi told reporters during a visit to Singapore. "I am encouraged by what I have been hearing from Tehran in the sense that they want to re-engage with us." Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi had announced Tehran's decision earlier this week. The UN delegation will not have access to nuclear sites in the country, Gharibabadi said, adding the visit's aim would be to reestablish relations between the IAEA and the country. Iran had suspended its cooperation with the UN agency earlier this year, blaming the IAEA in part for Israeli and US attacks on its nuclear facilities in June. The nuclear watchdog had issued a resolution saying Tehran was in violation of its non-proliferation obligations, one day before Israel launched its strikes. After condemnation from the US and Israel, France has defended its decision to recognize Palestinian statehood in September, refuting the argument that it would help the militant group Hamas. "Hamas has always rejected the two-state solution," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X. "By recognizing Palestine, France is going against that terrorist organization." France was "backing the side of peace against the side of war," Barrot argued. US and Israeli officials argued that France's recognition of Palestinian statehood would benefit Hamas, which has welcomed the French plans. DW spoke with Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), about the prospects of other European countries following in France's footsteps to recognize Palestinian statehood. Lovatt suggested that Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and maybe Portugal could be the next European countries to recognize Palestine as an independent state. Germany, as one of the staunchest supporters of Israel in the EU, is unlikely to change its position, he added. "Well, never say never, but I think the Germans have made it very clear that they will be amongst the last to recognize the State of Palestine," he told DW. "The German position is they will do so as the outcome of a two-state solution. That is a very distant prospect and I don't imagine the French move changing that calculation." So far, over a dozen European states recognize Palestine as an independent state, including, most recently, Spain, Ireland and Norway. Lovatt said the most significant nation would be the UK. He said if France could get the United Kingdom on board, it could unlock support for the recognition of a Palestinian state beyond the continent. For instance, "Australia and Canada, which have increasingly aligned themselves with London and Paris on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Following France's announcement that it plans to recognize Palestinian statehood later this year, Germany said on Friday it has no such plans in the short term. In a statement, the German government stressed it "remains convinced that only a negotiated two-state solution will bring lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians." But it reiterated that its position that recognizing Palestinian statehood is "one of the final steps" for a two-state solution, stressing that "Israel's security is of paramount importance to the German government." Germany said it was helping create the conditions for Palestinian statehood, including support for the Palestinian Authority. It added that it agreed with France, the UK and its regional partners on the importance of the two-state solution "regardless of the well-known differences of opinion on the question of the right time for recognition." Berlin went on to list what it considers more pressing priorities for the time being, including an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, including German nationals, and the disarming of Hamas. "Israel must immediately and drastically improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and provide the suffering civilian population with urgently needed supplies in a humane manner," the statement read. Germany also said that "there must be no further step towards the annexation of the West Bank," after a vote in the Knesset backed the annexation of the Palestinian-occupied territory. The French NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has accused Israel of deliberately starving the Palestinians in Gaza as a weapon of war, warning that its own staff in the enclave were themselves struggling to find sufficient food. In a statement released on Friday, the MSF reported that one out of every four children between the ages of six months and five years old, as well as one out of every four pregnant and breastfeeding women, were malnourished in the devastated enclave. Since May 18, the number of people enrolled for malnutrition treatment has quadrupled, whereas rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have tripled in the last two weeks. "This is not just hunger — it is deliberate starvation, manufactured by the Israeli authorities," the statement read. "The weaponization of food to exert pressure on a civilian population must not be normalized." The organization also lambasted the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) over the nearly daily deaths of Palestinians shot by Israeli authorities near its distribution centers. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "What we are seeing is unconscionable; an entire people being deliberately cut off from food and water, all while the Israeli forces commit daily massacres as people scramble for scraps of food at distribution sites," says Amande Bazerolle, MSF head of emergency response in Gaza. "Any shred of humanity in Gaza has been wiped out in the ongoing genocide." The report noted that the scarcity of food "is no longer about what people can afford. There is barely any food available in most of the strip." Meanwhile, Reuters interviewed United Nations and humanitarian agency representatives, who said the enclave was on the brink of running out of the specialized therapeutic food needed to save the lives of severely malnourished children. Salim Oweis, a spokesperson for UNICEF in Amman, Jordan told Reuters that supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a crucial treatment, would be depleted by mid-August if nothing changed. An analysis within the US government found no evidence supporting Israeli and US claims that the Palestinian militant group Hamas was systematically stealing US-funded humanitarian supplies. The US and Israel have backed a new armed private aid operation under the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The operation has seen around 1,000 Palestinians seeking food supplies shot and killed by Israeli forces near the GHF militarized distribution site. The analysis was conducted by a bureau within the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and made public via an exclusive report by the Reuters news agency. It was completed in late June, examining 156 incidents of theft or loss of US-funded supplies reported between October 2023 and May of this year. Reuters cited a US State Department spokesperson as disputing the findings, saying there is video evidence of Hamas looting aid but stopping short of providing such evidence. Israel insists it is committed to allowing in aid but that it must control it to prevent theft by Hamas. The UN World Food Program estimates that a quarter of Gaza's over 2 million Palestinians face famine-like conditions, while thousands suffer from acute malnutrition. World Health Organization officials and doctors in the enclave report that children and others are dying of starvation. Israel blames Hamas for the crisis, which has intensified since Israel intensified its blockade on Gaza in March, followed by making the GHF the sole distributor of aid in the enclave in May, replacing UN-led humanitarian aid distributors. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video France's plans to recognize Palestinian statehood were met with widespread approval in the Middle East. The Saudi Foreign Ministry called it a "historic decision," calling on other countries to follow in France's "positive" steps and "adopt serious positions that support peace and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people." France and Saudi Arabia cohost a ministerial United Nations meeting on Palestinian statehood next week. Jordan's Foreign Ministry also expressed appreciation for the decision, describing it as "a step in the right direction toward the realisation of the two-state solution and the end of the occupation." Palestinians also welcomed the move. Senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh said it "reflects France's commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people's rights to self-determination and the establishment of our independent state." The militant group Hamas, which Israel, the United States, the European Union and others designated as a terrorist organization, said the move would do "justice to our oppressed Palestinian people and support their legitimate right to self-determination." Spain, an EU member which recognized Palestinian statehood last year, also welcomed the move. "Together, we must protect what Netanyahu is trying to destroy. The two-state solution is the only solution," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, an outspoken critic of Israel's offensive in Gaza. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The US and Israel are so far the strongest opponents of France's decision to formally recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the plans on Thursday. According to a tally by the French AFP news agency, it would bring the number of countries that now recognize or plan to recognize Palestinian statehood to at least 142. France would be the first G7 power to do so. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a "reckless decision." "This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7," Rubio wrote on X. Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, left 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians. Around 250 more were abducted and taken hostage in Gaza. Israel's subsequent war has so far killed over 59,000, according to the health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave. The UN considers the figures reliable. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move "rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became." "A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel - not to live in peace beside it," he said.
DW
3 hours ago
- DW
Thailand declares martial law in 8 Cambodia border regions – DW – 07/25/2025
Thailand has declared martial law in eight districts near its border with Cambodia as deadly fighting enters its second day, with no signs of it easing up. DW has the fighting near the Thailand-Cambodia border is entering its second day, with deadly clashes breaking out. The UN Security Council is to hold a behind closed doors emergency meeting on the crisis, due to commence at 1500 ET (1900 GMT). On Thursday, Thailand's military said it carried out airstrikes on the Cambodian side of the border after it said the Cambodian army launched artillery shells over the Thai border. But will it escalate into a full-on war? DW's David Hutt explains the background to the border dispute, and whether the crisis will get worse. This blog will bring you the latest on the situation, as well as news, videos and DW analysis on the crisis.
Int'l Business Times
3 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
UK, France, Germany Say Gaza 'Humanitarian Catastrophe Must End Now'
The leaders of Britain, France and Germany said Friday the "humanitarian catastrophe" in the Gaza Strip "must end now", as the war-ravaged Palestinian territory faces a deepening crisis. "We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and urgently allow the UN and humanitarian NGOs to carry out their work in order to take action against starvation," they said in a joint statement released by Berlin. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that "the most basic needs of the civilian population, including access to water and food, must be met without any further delay". "Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable," they said. "Israel must uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law." More than 100 aid and human rights groups warned this week that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza after more than 21 months of war. Israel has rejected accusations it is responsible for the deepening crisis in Gaza, which the World Health Organization has called "man-made". Israel placed the Gaza Strip under an aid blockade in March, which it only partially eased two months later while sidelining the longstanding UN-led distribution system. The European leaders also stressed that "the time has come to end the war in Gaza. "We urge all parties to bring an end to the conflict by reaching an immediate ceasefire." "We stand ready to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political process that leads to lasting security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region," they said. Starmer had earlier said he would hold an "emergency call" on Gaza Friday with Macron and Merz. Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered the conflict with its October 7, 2023 attack in Israel. The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has so far killed 59,676 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
