Israel

Our International Editor Lindsey Hilsum reacts to the events in Israel and Gaza, and what it means for the wider Middle Eastern region

We speak to Ahmad Muna, who’s from a prominent Arab family in East Jerusalem, and helps run his family business, the Educational Bookshop.

He told us that the failure to see the assault coming was down to the arrogance of the current government.

Israel is no stranger to crises on its streets. Apart from the wars of 1967 and 1973 there were the bus bombs during the second intifada, and what seemed like the constant spectre of terror. 

More details are emerging of the attack which it’s thought more than 260 died. 

We speak to Yosi Shnaider. Six of his relatives – among them his cousin Shiri Bibes and her nine-month-old baby – are thought to have been captured and taken to Gaza.

We talk to Mkhaimar Abusada, a Professor of Politics at Al-Azhar University, who’s in Gaza.

Hamas is threatening to execute one captured Israeli for every civilian house bombed without pre-warning. This as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel’s retaliation against Hamas has only just begun and it will change the Middle East. 

We spoke to Oren Marmorstein, deputy ambassador and charge d’affaires at Israel’s embassy in the UK.

The Freedom Theatre is a cultural centre in the Jenin camp – and its artistic director, Ahmed Tobasi, was born and raised there.

At least eight Israelis have been injured after a Palestinian attacker rammed his car into a crowded bus stop in Tel Aviv, before stabbing people at random.

A 21-year-old Palestinian medic has been killed in Gaza today near the Israeli border. She is reported to have been shot in the chest, with dozens of other people injured by live fire. In recent weeks more than a hundred Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops, including two journalists. Despite the dangers, one woman has…

The United Nations is holding a special session of its top human rights body tomorrow to discuss the killing of scores of demonstrators by the Israeli Defence Forces at the Gaza border fence. Today another country followed the United States by opening its embassy in Jerusalem.

While hundreds of Palestinians are mourning their dead, life for most Israelis has largely been unaffected by the Gaza protests. And support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline stance against unrest in the enclave remains strong.

The UN Security Council has held an emergency meeting following the deadly violence in Gaza which coincided with America opening its new embassy in Israel in Jerusalem. US Ambassador Nikki Haley said it would be a mistake to blame the deaths on the embassy moving from Tel Aviv to the city which Palestinians view as…