Donald Trump was upbeat about Gaza ceasefire talks as he hosted Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. The Israeli leader said Israel was working "very closely" with the US to identify countries that would be willing to accept displaced Palestinians. Follow the latest.
Tuesday 8 July 2025 12:28, UK
We'll be pausing our coverage on the war in Gaza and the Middle East for now - but we'll be back later with any major updates as Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli president, continues his visit to the US.
In the meantime, you can scroll back through this live page for all the latest from today.
Progress has been made on a Gaza ceasefire deal, an Israeli official has said.
Speaking today, Israeli minister Zeev Elkin, who sits in Netanyahu's security cabinet, said that there was "a substantial chance" a ceasefire will be agreed.
"Hamas wants to change a few central matters, it's not simple, but there is progress," he told Israel's public broadcaster Kan on Tuesday.
The new push by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators to halt fighting in the battered enclave has gained pace since Sunday when both sides began indirect talks in Doha and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set out to Washington.
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who played a major role in crafting the ceasefire proposal, will also travel to Doha this week to join discussions there.
The ceasefire proposal envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely.
Hamas has long demanded an end to the war before it would free remaining hostages - but Israel has insisted it will not agree to end the fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas dismantled.
Debris, burnt cars and damaged buildings are just some of the images emerging from Gaza City today after an overnight Israeli strike.
White House officials are urging both sides to quickly seal an agreement that would bring about a 60-day pause in the fighting, send aid flooding into Gaza and free at least some of the remaining hostages held in the territory.
Iran did not request a meeting with the US to resume nuclear talks, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has said, according to state media.
Yesterday, Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that Iran wanted to restart negotiations (see post at 6.43am).
Iran hasn't confirmed the move, but its president told US broadcaster Tucker Carlson he believed his country can resolve differences with the US through dialogue.
It was also reported that Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff would meet with Iranian diplomats "later this week".
Sexual violence should not be accepted as a tool of war in any conflict around the world, the First Lady of Israel Michal Herzog has said.
Speaking to Sky's Gareth Barlow, Herzog said the report by the Dinah Project, which was partly funded by the British government and alleges Hamas used systematic sexual violence during the 7 October attack in 2023 and since, was handed to her today by a "courageous group of women", most of them international legal experts.
"It has demonstrated the systematic use of sexual violence as a tool of war on 7 October and since on hostages in Gaza," she said.
"It proves that at six different sites in the south of Israel, the same pattern was used by the Hamas terrorists - this is not freedom fighting, this is sheer violence.
"This is the use of sexual violence which should not be accepted as a tool of war in any conflict around the world."
She said this was the most "concise report" so far since the beginning of the war and included the testimonies of first responders, victims and the hostages that were returned to Israel.
Herzog added the next step was taking this evidence to the "next level" and "using judicial tools that are known to the international community to bring justice to victims of sexual violence".
A new report alleges systematic sexual violence by Hamas during the 7 October attacks in 2023.
The findings by the Dinah Project are based on first hand testimony from 15 of the returned hostages from Gaza.
The report urges both Israeli and international legal action.
As we've been reporting, Donald Trump has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu - but this isn't the first time he's received such a nomination.
In June, Pakistan formally recommended the US president for the prestigious award, citing his "decisive diplomatic intervention", following the latest conflict between India and Pakistan earlier this year.
What did Pakistan say?
Pakistan said Trump helped in "averting a broader conflict between the two nuclear states" that would have had "catastrophic consequences for millions of people in the region and beyond".
"At a moment of heightened regional turbulence, President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi," the Pakistani government said in a statement.
But things declined very quickly...
Just a day later, the same government condemned Trump for the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities and said the strikes "constituted a serious violation of international law".
In a call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed his concern that the bombings had targeted facilities that were under the safeguards of the IAEA.
What does Trump make of all of this?
In his inaugural address, Donald Trump said his "proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier" and over the years he has alluded to wanting the Nobel Peace Prize.
He has mentioned the award a number of times in interviews, speeches and campaign rallies and in the final months of his 2024 campaign would complain about Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, saying the former president did not deserve it.
"If I were named Obama, I would have had the Nobel Prize given to me in 10 seconds," he said.
Last month in a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: "They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize.
"It's too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me."
A vessel has sustained significant damage and is under "continuous attack" west of Yemen's Hodeidah port, in the Red Sea, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reports.
The merchant vessel was attacked by five rocket propelled grenades and has lost all propulsion.
It is surrounded by small craft and is under "continuous attack", the UKMTO says.
During the course of the war, a number of vessels have been attacked in the Red Sea, with Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis claiming responsibility for many of them.
Attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to reroute to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
Iran is ready to resume talks with the US over the future of its nuclear programme, its president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has said.
In an interview with the US broadcaster Tucker Carlson, Pezeshkian said his country's nuclear infrastructure was "severely damaged" by the US strikes on his country.
He added that Iran can resolve its differences with the US through dialogue, but trust would be an issue after US and Israeli attacks.
"I am of the belief that we could very much easily resolve our differences and conflicts with the United States through dialogue and talks," he said.
During the interview, Pezeshkian also accused Israel of attempting to kill him during a strategic meeting of Iranian officials.
"Yes, they did try and acted accordingly but they failed," he said in response to a question on whether he believed Israel had tried to kill him.
Pezeshkian did not provide details about the assassination attempt.
An attack against the IDF in northern Gaza that killed five Israeli soldiers also injured 14 others, two of them seriously, the military has said in an update.
An Israeli security official said explosive devices were detonated against the soldiers during an operation in the Beit Hanoun area in northern Gaza.
In a statement, Benjamin Netanyahu sent his condolences for the deaths, saying the soldiers fell "in a campaign to defeat Hamas and to free all of our hostages".
The deaths bring the number of IDF soldiers killed since the war began in October 2023 to 888.
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