Middle East crisis

Political situation in Israel
Netanyahu hopes to avoid testifying in trial

Benjamin Netanyahu's lawyer has asked the court to postpone the prime minister's testimony in the corruption trial against him, reports AFP. The lawyer, Amit Hadad, states that Netanyahu cannot testify right now due to "regional and global developments".

According to the schedule, Netanyahu was to testify in the trial sometime in the next two weeks. The lawyer says that all the prime minister's waking hours are spent dealing with issues related to diplomacy and security.

US President Donald Trump has called the trial a "witch hunt" and has asked the country's judiciary to drop the case.

Gaza war
Israel stops emergency aid after alleged theft

Israel has stopped the entry of emergency aid into Gaza for two days, reports AP. The decision is justified by the desire to prevent Hamas from seizing it.

In recent days, images have emerged showing armed and masked people riding in trucks carrying emergency aid. According to Israel, these are Hamas members stealing the emergency aid. However, the council of local clan leaders states that these are people protecting the trucks, and that the aid has not been delivered to Hamas.

Hamas denies any involvement.

56 killed in Gaza – several were waiting for emergency aid

The Civil Defense in Gaza states that 56 people were killed by Israeli troops on Thursday, reports AFP. At least six of them were killed while waiting for emergency aid, according to spokesman Mahmud Bassal.

The death toll from today's events, which the IDF has not commented on, has been raised from a previous estimate of 35, writes the Times of Israel.

During an EU meeting in Brussels, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the situation in Gaza "a catastrophic genocide".

At the same time, he called on the Union to immediately suspend its cooperation with Israel.

EU: Talks on the agreement with Israel continue

Several countries in the EU want the Union to take a tougher stance against Israel. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is calling on the EU to immediately suspend the association agreement with Israel due to the situation in Gaza.

– There is no sense in us having introduced 18 sanctions packages against Russia for the attack on Ukraine, but not being able to suspend the agreement with Israel, he says according to TT.

On Thursday evening, all 27 member states released a communiqué after discussions on the Middle East in Brussels, in which they, among other things, demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

At the same time, they state that discussions on whether Israel has violated the agreement with the EU are continuing.