Updates: Israel advances plan to seize Gaza City, kills 81 people in Strip

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Abdullah left Gaza for treatment in Turkiye – it was too late for him, but his sister fights on. Read more on their story here.

Israel begins planned Gaza City assault as it calls up 60,000 reservists – watch this video to learn more.

Israel approves illegal settlement plan that would split occupied West Bank – read more here.

Stay up to date with our latest coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza here.

• Israel says it has begun a new offensive to seize Gaza City and forcibly displace about one million residents, carrying out widespread attacks that killed dozens of Palestinians and unveiling plans to call up tens of thousands of army reservists.
• Hamas has denounced the Israeli military’s assault on the city, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu of disregarding international mediators’ efforts to reach a ceasefire.
• The US has imposed new sanctions on International Criminal Court officials over the court’s investigation into Israeli war crimes in Gaza, drawing criticism from rights groups and the UN.
• World leaders have condemned Israel’s approval of the so-called E1 settlement expansion project in the occupied West Bank, saying the plan will sever the Palestinian territory and effectively destroy hopes for a two-state solution.

Protests at the Microsoft campus calling for the tech giant to cut its business ties with Israel immediately have now been ongoing for two days.

A spokesperson for the Redmond Police Department in the US confirmed that several protesters have been arrested.

Microsoft late last week said it was tapping a law firm to investigate allegations reported by The Guardian that the Israeli military used Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform to store phone call data obtained through the mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

“Microsoft’s standard terms of service prohibit this type of usage,” the company said in a statement posted Friday, adding that the report raises “precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review”.

The company said it will share the findings after law firm Covington & Burling completes its review.

The promised review was insufficient for the employee-led No Azure for Apartheid group, which for months has protested Microsoft’s supplying the Israeli military with technology used for its war on Gaza.

St George’s monastery was built more than 1,500 years ago. Armed Israeli settlers have attempted to set fire to this holy site on at least five different occasions in the last month alone.

Israeli settlers have also set up illegal outposts around the church’s historic lands.

People say it is part of a larger plan to forcibly expel Palestinian Christians from the area and obliterate the historic and Christian identity in Palestine.

The latest attack came in the form of Israeli authorities imposing taxes on church-owned properties.

Watch the full report here:

The International Criminal Court (ICC) says it “deplores” today’s US sanctions against two of its judges and two deputy prosecutors.

“These sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all regions,” the ICC said in a statement.

“They constitute also an affront against the Court’s States Parties, the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world.”

The ICC also said it “stands firmly behind its personnel and victims of unimaginable atrocities” while pledging to “continue fulfilling its mandate, undeterred … and without regard to any restriction, pressure or threat”.

“The Court calls upon States Parties and all those who share the values of humanity and the rule of law to provide firm and consistent support to the Court and its work carried out in the sole interest of victims of international crimes,” it said.

Our colleagues at AJ+ have interviewed veteran Palestinian journalist Shuruq As’ad on the double standards shown by Western media outlets amid Israel’s war on Gaza.

More than 200 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed since the Israeli offensive began, making it the deadliest conflict for the press ever recorded.

AJ+’s Anna Kook spoke with As’ad about how when the media delegitimises Palestinian voices, it not only distorts the truth – it helps justify genocide. See more in the video below.

Nearly 270 Palestinian journalists have been killed since Oct. 7, making this the deadliest conflict for the press. @annakook spoke with veteran journalist Shuruq As’ad, who says delegitimizing Palestinian voices distorts truth and helps justify genocide. pic.twitter.com/56ozBqfUl9

— AJ+ (@ajplus) August 20, 2025

Supporters of Turkish football side Fenerbahce have unfurled a banner reading “Stop the genocide in Gaza! Free Palestine!” in the stands during their UEFA Champions League playoff round match against Portuguese side Benfica.

In 2023, Scottish football club Celtic were fined $19,000 because its fans waved Palestinian flags during a Champions League game.

Belgium has reiterated its opposition to US sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), warning that the measures undermine efforts to uphold justice and accountability.

“Belgium once again strongly regrets the new sanctions imposed by the United States against judges and deputy prosecutors of the International Criminal Court,” Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on X.

“As with previous sanctions, Belgium reaffirms its unwavering support for the ICC, its independence and its staff,” he added.

Prevot stressed that the ICC is a “cornerstone” of the rules-based international order, serving justice for victims of the gravest crimes on behalf of 125 states parties across all continents.

“Undermining the Court weakens our collective ability to combat impunity, uphold human dignity, and deliver accountability where national systems fail,” he said.

Majed Esleem, a displaced Palestinian, tells Al Jazeera that Gaza City “has been reduced to dust”.

“There is no form of life if we wish to return,” he says. “We can’t find water or homes, we can’t even live in tents.”

See more in our video below.

Let’s bring you up to speed on the latest developments:

• Israel continues to intensify its attacks on Gaza City, with a military spokesperson saying the first stages of its assault on the city has begun.
• At least 72 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s bombardment of the Strip since dawn, including more than two dozen aid seekers.
• The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says nearly one in every three Palestinian children in Gaza City is now malnourished as Israel continues to block the free flow of humanitarian aid to the enclave.
• The US has announced new sanctions against International Criminal Court officials in the Trump administration’s latest punitive measure against the court since it issued arrest warrants for Israeli officials.

The fluorescent lights of Adana City Training and Research Hospital cast harsh shadows across Hamed Abu Zerka’s gaunt face as he stands beside his six-month-old daughter’s hospital bed.

The 34-year-old’s weathered hands tremble as he adjusts Habiba’s blanket.

Abdullah, his four-and-a-half-year-old son, died on Tuesday morning in this same room, his small body finally succumbing to the malnutrition that had been slowly consuming him for months as Israel laid siege to Gaza.

The family became emblems of the Israel-imposed famine on Gaza’s 2.1 million people when a video of Abdullah went viral weeks ago, the clearly malnourished child screaming in hunger, asking for food, as his mother wept helplessly.

Their story captured international attention and prompted the medical evacuation that brought them to Turkiye, which seemed like salvation – but came too late for Abdullah.

Basma Abu Zerka, 30, sits in the corner holding a small bundle of her son’s clothes. She speaks little, crying silently.

“We lost our child. We’re living through tremendous pain,” Hamed says, his voice raw.

Read the full story here.

The UN has expressed opposition to Israel’s plans to expand settlement units in the West Bank, calling the E1 scheme something that “will drive a stake through the heart of the two-state solution”.

“We stand against all settlement activity in the occupied territories which we view as illegal under international law,” Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres, told reporters in New York.

Dujarric expressed concern over the Israeli military’s intensified operations in Gaza City, which he said would “create another mass displacement of people who’ve been displaced repeatedly” since the war began.

He also said the UN views the ICC as “a key pillar of international criminal justice” amid new US sanctions against the court. “We’re very concerned about the decisions taken to further hit ICC officials with sanctions under the order that came out from the United States,” Dujarric said.

“The decision imposes severe impediments on the functioning of the office of the prosecutor and respect for all the situations that are currently before the court.”