Israel has said it will keep blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, as it vowed to force Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages from the 7 October attacks.

The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said: “Israel’s policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population.”

Just ahead of the Passover holiday, nearly 1,000 current and former Israel Air Force pilots and personnel published a letter demanding an end to the war for sake of hostage release. The letter was brief but bold: It argued that continuation of the war will not achieve its aims, endangers the lives of hostages, innocent civilians and soldiers, and that only a deal can bring the hostages back.

It's heartening to think that the Israeli people are driving a movement against the war. But there's a troubling element to this call to end it. If the hostages' fate is the only argument for ending the military assault on Gaza, what happens if the government finally does reach a deal to release most or all of those remaining in captivity? Very little in the latest petitions suggests that the Israeli public wants to stop the war for its own sake; Israelis might seize on the call to "flatten Gaza" once "bring them home" is out of the way

MALE, Maldives — The Maldives announces it is banning the entry of Israelis to the luxury tourist archipelago in “resolute solidarity” with the Palestinian people.

President Mohamed Muizzu ratifies the legislation shortly after it is approved by parliament today.

“The ratification reflects the government’s firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people,” his office says in a statement.

Israel has bombed the last functioning hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, killing a child who asphyxiated from a lack of oxygen and leaving sick and wounded Palestinians on the street with nowhere to go for treatment.

An active-duty serviceman in the US army is openly following a proscribed neo-Nazi terrorist group on social media, one that has vowed to recruit soldiers in preparation for a so-called race war.

Experts say examples like this shows how under Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon is allowing extremism to go unchecked.

In February, the Department of Defense issued a memo halting a major counter-extremism initiative rooting out white nationalists and far-right influences among servicemen, citing that it was not in line with Donald Trump’s executive orders. Since, the efficacy of rooting out the far right within the ranks remains unclear.

A legal advocacy group on Monday asked the US court of international trade to block Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on foreign trading partners, arguing that the president overstepped his authority.

The lawsuit was filed by the Liberty Justice Center, a legal advocacy group, on behalf of five US businesses that import goods from countries targeted by the tariffs.

“No one person should have the power to impose taxes that have such vast global economic consequences,” Jeffrey Schwab, Liberty Justice Center’s senior counsel, said in a statement. “The Constitution gives the power to set tax rates – including tariffs – to Congress, not the President.”

The president of El Salvador said in a meeting with Donald Trump in the White House on Monday that he would not order the return of a Maryland man who was deported in error to a Salvadorian mega-prison.

“The question is preposterous,” Nayib Bukele said in the Oval Office on Monday, where he was welcomed by Trump and spoke with the president and members of his cabinet. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I’m not going to do it.”

He added: “I don’t have the power to return him to the United States,” and said he would not release the man, Kilmar Abrego García, into El Salvador either. “I’m not very fond of releasing terrorists into the country.”

The European Union will increase its financial support for the Palestinian Authority with a three-year package worth around 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion), the European Commissioner responsible for the Middle East told Reuters in an interview published Monday.

The EU is the biggest donor to the Palestinian Authority, pledging 400 million euros in 2024, and EU officials hope the PA may also one day take responsibility for Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas comes to an end.

BEIRUT/AMMAN, April 14 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia plans to pay off Syria's debts to the World Bank, three people familiar with the matter said, paving the way for the approval of millions of dollars in grants for reconstruction and to support the country's paralysed public sector.

The plans, which have not been previously reported, would be the first known instance of Saudi Arabia providing financing for Syria since rebels toppled former leader Bashar al-Assad last year.

Syria has around $15 million in arrears to the World Bank which must be paid off before the international financial institution can approve grants and provide other forms of assistance.

Israeli authorities prevented thousands of Christians from the West Bank from attending Palm Sunday services in Jerusalem.

According to Wafa news agency, Israeli forces blocked thousands of worshippers travelling from the West Bank from entering Jerusalem. Regulations require Palestinians to obtain special permits to enter religious sites in the Old City, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Access to the city was severely restricted, with only a limited number of Christians - mostly residents of Jerusalem and Palestinian citizens of Israel - able to attend services in the Old City.

The US has demanded control of a crucial pipeline in Ukraine used to send Russian gas to Europe, according to reports, in a move described as a colonial shakedown.

US and Ukrainian officials met on Friday to discuss White House proposals for a minerals deal. Donald Trump wants Kyiv to hand over its natural resources as “payback” in return for weapons delivered by the previous Biden administration.

Talks have become increasingly acrimonious, Reuters said. The latest US draft is more “maximalist” than the original version from February, which proposed giving Washington $500bn worth of rare metals, as well as oil and gas.

Shoshana Strook, the daughter of the Israeli government’s far-right ‘Minister of Settlement and National Missions’ Orit Strook, has filed a formal complaint with Italian police accusing her parents and one of her brothers of sexually assaulting her for years.

In a social media statement, Shoshana Strook wrote of her alleged ordeal:

Hi, after a long period of doubts, extreme emotional states, and a lot of guilt, I wanted to share that I experienced sexual abuse by both of my parents and also by one of my brothers.

In addition, memories have surfaced in which I hit three of my younger brothers. I’m currently in Italy and recently filed a report with the police.

Many memories have been coming up lately, but it’s becoming too overwhelming. I hope to find a place where I can find some relief.

Orit Strook is a fanatical supporter of Israel’s illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land and has pushed and amplified the extremist Netanyahu government’s narrative, including disproven claims of sexual violence on 7 October 2023, which the regime has used as justification for its genocide and other crimes in Gaza. She has also opposed attempts to agree a ceasefire.