Photos: Palestinians in Gaza continue to endure harsh conditions

UK’s Starmer says concerned about Putin being on ‘Board of Peace’

The United Kingdom’s PM Keir Starmer ‍says he “obviously” had concerns about Vladimir Putin being on Donald Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace”. Trump ​said on Wednesday that Putin ‍had accepted his invitation to join the initiative, but the Russian leader ‍said the ⁠invitation was only under consideration. “I obviously have concerns about Putin being on a Board of Peace,” Starmer said. “He is waging ‌war on a European country. They’re raining down bombs on Ukraine. “We mustn’t let the ‌events of the last week or ‌so deflect from the ⁠focus. We need to work with the Americans. It’s going to be allies ‌and others to defend and support Ukraine in a conflict which is ‍not of their making.”

Pro-Palestine activist on hunger strike says he will begin refusing water

A pro-Palestine activist on hunger strike plans to start refusing fluids as well as food, telling Al Jazeera that he hopes his “drastic action” pressures the government into engaging with his protest demands. Umer Khalid, a Palestine Action-linked remand prisoner, stopped eating 13 days ago. He is currently receiving fluids with electrolytes, sugars and salts but said he will stop drinking altogether from Saturday. While the body can survive for weeks without food, dehydration is certain to have fatal consequences in a far shorter time. The escalation comes days after three other hunger-striking remand prisoners affiliated with Palestine Action ended their protests, claiming victory.

Remand prisoner Umer Khalid, 22, is protesting against what he calls Britain’s complicity in Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza as he demands immediate bail [Courtesy of Khalid’s family]

UN says reopening Rafah crossing would boost aid flow into Gaza

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that reopening the Rafah crossing would facilitate the movement of cargo and people, unders coring that additional access points are critical to expanding humanitarian operations in Gaza.“We have seen the media reports. As we said before, we hope to see Rafah re-open soon to enable the movement of cargo and people,” OCHA’s spokesperson in Gaza, Olga Cherevko, was quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency. Her remarks came after the head of Gaza’s new transition committee announced that the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would reopen next week for two-way travel. Cherevko underlined that the opening would significantly increase the amount of aid entering Gaza. “Reinstating the movement of cargo via Rafah crossing would increase the volume of humanitarian supplies entering Gaza, which in turn would expand the scale-up of the humanitarian response,” she said.