Israel would not have been able to sustain its wars across the Middle East without the United States’s significant financial backing of more than $21bn since October 2023, according to a pair of new reports.

A summary of the extent of the death and damage during the Gaza war

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world should not be “intimidated” by Israel and its creeping annexation of the occupied West Bank, as the nearly two-year-long Israeli offensive in Gaza intensified yesterday, killing at least 51 people.

The pledge reflects growing cultural opposition to Israel’s actions. Rights groups and United Nations experts have repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide since the conflict with Hamas escalated nearly two years ago. Palestinian rights advocates have urged global celebrities to use their platforms to amplify the humanitarian crisis.

Netanyahu said Israel intended to take military control of the entire strip despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating almost two-year-old war.

At least 14,000 babies in Gaza could die within 48 hours if more aid does not reach the starving communities, the UN warned yesterday, as Israel stepped up its military offensive to take control of “all of the Strip”.

Strikes kill 52 more; WHO chief says 2 million 'starving'

The Government of Bangladesh demanded that Israel immediately cease all military operations

Netanyahu becomes the first foreign leader to meet with Trump in the US capital since the president unveiled sweeping levies on multiple countries

The renewed offensive shattered a relative calm that had pervaded since truce took hold mid-January.

"Every death would have and could have been avoided had Hamas accepted the 'bridge' proposal that SE Witkoff offered last Wednesday," says a State Department spokesperson

The White House confirmed that Israel consulted US President Donald Trump's administration before launching the wave of strikes

Intensified Israeli airstrikes on Gaza yesterday killed dozens on the eve of the first anniversary of its offensive in the besieged territory that has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians and left the enclave in ruins.

The US’ need for a highly measured, or even lack of response from Israel cannot be overstated.