Middle East crisis live: US backs Israel’s stance on Unrwa at ICJ hearing

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At least 12 people including children were killed overnight in Gaza by Israeli strikes, hospital workers said on Wednesday, reports the Associated Press (AP).

The strikes come after more than two dozen people were killed earlier this week in Gaza City and Beit Lahiya.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) has more on the evidence given by Josh Simmons at the ICJ hearing (see 9.34am)

Simmons, from the US state department legal team, told the judges that Israel has “ample grounds” to question Unrwa’s impartiality.

“Given these concerns, it is clear that Israel has no obligation to permit Unrwa specifically to provide humanitarian assistance,” he said.

“Unrwa is not the only option for providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza,” he added.

US official tells ICJ there are 'serious concerns’ over Unrwa impartiality

A US official on Wednesday told the international court of justice (ICJ) there were “serious concerns” about the impartiality of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa).

ICJ judges are holding a week of hearings to help them formulate an advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations towards UN agencies delivering aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

“There are serious concerns about Unrwa’s impartiality, including information that Hamas has used Unrwa facilities and that Unrwa staff participated in the 7 October terrorist attack against Israel,” said Josh Simmons from the US state department legal team, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Israel banned all cooperation with Unrwa’s activities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank earlier this year, and claims the agency has been infiltrated by Hamas, an allegation that has been fiercely contested.

Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said a fourth round of nuclear talks with the United States, mediated by Oman, would be held in on Saturday in Rome.

“The next round of negotiations will take place in Rome,” the foreign minister said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Araghchi said Iranian officials would also meet on Friday with representatives from the UK, France and Germany – all parties to the 2015 nuclear deal.

US starts giving evidence at the ICJ

There is now a live feed from the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where the US is giving evidence (see 8.52am). You may need to refresh the blog to see it.

Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel

An Iranian man convicted of espionage and intelligence cooperation with Israel was executed on Wednesday, Iranian state media reported.

Entangled in a decades-long shadow war with Israel, Iran has put to death many individuals it accuses of having links with Israel’s the Mossad intelligence service and facilitating the latter’s operations in the country, notably assassinations or acts of sabotage meant to undermine its nuclear programme, reports Reuters.

According to Iran’s judiciary media outlet Mizan, the defendant identified as Mohsen Langarneshin was accused of involvement in several cases, including the death of a Revolutionary Guards colonel in 2022.

“During his two years as a spy (…) he was responsible for important actions, including supporting terrorist operations and being present at the scene of the assassination of Sayad Khodai,” state media said. It said the defendant also provided operational support for an attack on an industrial centre in Isfahan, affiliated with the Ministry of Defence.

The state media reports said Langarneshin had confessed to the charges. Reuters was not able to reach a representative for comment.

Earlier this week, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi accused Israel of seeking to derail Iran-US nuclear talks, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting the idea of limiting Tehran’s uranium enrichment via a deal and pushing for the full dismantlement of its nuclear infrastructure.

The US is scheduled to give evidence at the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague at 10am, local time (9am BST).

Today is the third of five days of proceedings in The Hague that may prove critical to Israel’s future within the world body. The UN’s top court will hear from dozens of nations and organisations in order to draw up an advisory opinion on Israel’s humanitarian obligations to Palestinians more than 50 days into its total blockade on aid entering Gaza.

The UN was the first to address the court on Monday, followed by Palestinian representatives. In total, 40 states and four international organisations are scheduled to participate.

Iran has citicised “threats” by France to reimpose sanctions lifted after a landmark 2015 deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme, local media said on Wednesday, citing a letter sent by the country’s UN mission.

“Resorting to threats and economic blackmail is entirely unacceptable,” said the letter published by Iran’s ISNA news agency, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

It came after French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Monday that his government along with Germany and the UK “will not hesitate for a single second to reapply all the sanctions” lifted a decade ago if European security is threatened by Iran’s nuclear activities.

A Syria war monitor said on Wednesday that two people including a Druze fighter were killed in overnight clashes as sectarian violence spread to a new area near Damascus, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“At least two people including a Druze fighter were killed in clashes between gunmen linked to the authorities and local Druze fighters” in Sahnaya, about 15km (nine miles) south west of the capital, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also reporting “14 wounded and missing”.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that 13 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza on Wednesday morning, with more injured. The casualties are reported to include two girls.

A Wafa correspondent reported that strikes were carried out by Israel in Gaza City and the Nuseirat refugee camp among other locations, and that one fisher was killed by fire from an Israeli gun boat.

Smoke rises to the sky in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, 30 April. Photograph: Ohad Zwigenberg/AP

Defence minister Katz: Israel's goal is 'a clear victory without compromise' over Hamas

Israel’s defence minister, speaking at a Memorial Day ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, has said that Israel’s war goal is “a clear victory without compromise” over Hamas.

Israel Katz said that those in the IDF who had fought and been killed during Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip were carrying out a “sacred commitment … to bring home all the kidnapped men and women, both the living and the dead.”

Katz said:

This is the ultimate obligation of the state of Israel in the name of mutual responsibility and the unity of the people. It is also our duty to defeat those who slaughtered our citizens on that terrible Sabbath [7 October 2023], and to ensure that enemies of this kind will no longer be near our border and will not pose a threat to the state of Israel. Our goal is a clear victory without compromise.

Recent US strikes on Yemen have killed more than 100 people, Reuters notes. That figure includes 74 at an oil terminal in mid-April in what was the deadliest strike in Yemen under the Donald Trump so far, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.

Rights advocates have raised concerns about civilian killings. Houthi-controlled television said on Monday a US airstrike killed 68 people after striking a detention centre for African migrants in Yemen.

US and UK launch joint strikes on Houthis in Yemen

US and British forces conducted a joint military operation in Yemen on Tuesday, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defence, which said the operation was against a Houthi military target responsible for making drones like those used to attack shipping.

A British statement claimed intelligence analysis identified a cluster of buildings located 24 km (15 miles) south of Yemen’s capital Sana’a that were used by the Houthis to manufacture drones of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

It is the first time the UK military has attacked Yemen since Donald Trump was inaugurated as US president for the second time. US vice-president JD Vance has been vocally dismissive of European defence capabilities. In March he criticised European forces as “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”

Welcome and opening summary …

Welcome to the Guardian’s rolling coverage of the conflict in the Middle East. Here are the headlines …

• The US and UK have carried out strikes on Yemen. The Houthis reported several strikes around the capital, Sana’a, which the group has held since 2014. Other strikes hit around Saada

• UK defence secretary John Healey said “This action was taken in response to a persistent threat from the Houthis to freedom of navigation. A 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fuelling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the UK”

• A British statement said intelligence analysis identified a cluster of buildings located about 24km (15 miles) south of Yemen’s capital that were used by the Houthis to manufacture drones of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

• Overnight Israel claims to have intercepted a drone launched from Yemen

• Israel’s IDF is to begin issuing draft orders to tens of thousands of reservists, officials have said. Reservists will be deployed in Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank, freeing up conscripted troops for duty inside Gaza