US and UK spy chiefs ‘working ceaselessly’ for ceasefire deal
British and American spy chiefs have said they are together “working ceaselessly” for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, in a rare public statement.
MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore and CIA director Bill Burns said the two agencies have “exploited our intelligence channels to push hard for restraint and de-escalation” in the Middle East, PA Media reported.
In a joint article penned for the Financial Times, the spymasters wrote:
Our services are working ceaselessly to achieve a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, which could end the suffering and appalling loss of life of Palestinian civilians and bring home the hostages after 11 months of hellish confinement by Hamas.
The pair said Burns in particular had played a “hands-on role” in negotiations in Egypt, bringing together opposing parties to broker a hostage and ceasefire deal in August.
The UK and US have largely acted in lockstep with their approach to the conflict in Gaza, but this week Keir Starmer’s Government diverted from this approach, announcing it would suspend some arms export licences to Israel.
Reports soon followed of US officials privately warning the British Government against the move, though UK ministers have publicly insisted it has not affected the relationship.
Key events
Israeli soldiers killed an American woman demonstrating against settlements in the West Bank on Friday, according to a witness who said she was shot while posing no threat to Israeli forces and during a moment of calm after clashes earlier in the afternoon.
Two Palestinian doctors said 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi of Seattle was shot in the head. The US government confirmed Eygi’s death but did not say whether the recent graduate of the University of Washington, who was also a Turkish citizen, had been shot by Israeli troops, AP reported.
The White House said it was “deeply disturbed” by the killing of a US citizen and called on Israel to investigate what happened. The Israeli military said it was looking into reports that troops had killed a foreign national while firing at an “instigator of violent activity” in the area of the protest.
The killing came amid a surge of violence in the West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, with increasing Israeli raids, attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis, attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and heavier military crackdowns on Palestinian protests. More than 690 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health officials.
Also Friday, Israeli troops shot and killed a 13-year-old Palestinian girl, Bana Laboom, in her village outside the West Bank town of Nablus, Palestinian health officials said.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that an “initial inquiry indicates” security forces had been deployed to disperse a riot involving Palestinian and Israeli civilians that “included mutual rock hurling.” The security forces had fired shots in the air, the military said.
“A report was received regarding a Palestinian girl who was killed by shots in the area. The incident is under review,” the military added.
The Guardian’s defence and security editor, Dan Sabbagh, is at an event in London featuring MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore and CIA director Bill Burns who – as we reported earlier – have been discussing their joint efforts to ensure a ceasefire in Gaza.
MI6 chief says they decide with CIA who is best placed to take on a spy operation globally – they call it “best athlete model|”. (Presumably that means the US undertakes them most of the time, except when 007 is doing better in a high stakes poker game)
— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) September 7, 2024
You can follow him on X for live updates from that event.
Here are some of the latest images from photographers on the ground in Gaza:
US and UK spy chiefs ‘working ceaselessly’ for ceasefire deal
British and American spy chiefs have said they are together “working ceaselessly” for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, in a rare public statement.
MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore and CIA director Bill Burns said the two agencies have “exploited our intelligence channels to push hard for restraint and de-escalation” in the Middle East, PA Media reported.
In a joint article penned for the Financial Times, the spymasters wrote:
Our services are working ceaselessly to achieve a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, which could end the suffering and appalling loss of life of Palestinian civilians and bring home the hostages after 11 months of hellish confinement by Hamas.
The pair said Burns in particular had played a “hands-on role” in negotiations in Egypt, bringing together opposing parties to broker a hostage and ceasefire deal in August.
The UK and US have largely acted in lockstep with their approach to the conflict in Gaza, but this week Keir Starmer’s Government diverted from this approach, announcing it would suspend some arms export licences to Israel.
Reports soon followed of US officials privately warning the British Government against the move, though UK ministers have publicly insisted it has not affected the relationship.
At least 40,939 Palestinians have been killed and 94,616 others injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, Gaza’s health ministry said on Saturday.
Harriet Sherwood
The launch of a major humanitarian appeal for Gaza by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is being delayed by the BBC, it has emerged.
The corporation said the appeal did not meet all the established criteria for a national appeal, but the possibility of broadcasting an appeal was “under review”. Other channels have agreed to broadcast an appeal.
Insiders at the DEC, the BBC and aid agencies said they were dismayed at the delay. Some have accused the BBC of “blocking” the appeal because the corporation fears a backlash from supporters of Israel in its war with Hamas. One senior NGO figure said that staff were “furious” at the BBC’s position.
The DEC has three criteria for launching an appeal. The scale and urgency of the disaster must merit swift international humanitarian assistance. Agencies must be able “to provide effective and swift humanitarian assistance at a scale to justify a national appeal” and there must be “evidence of existing public sympathy for the humanitarian situation” or “the likelihood of significant public support should an appeal be launched”. It is understood that the second criteria, regarding delivery of aid, is the focus of discussions.
The DEC is an umbrella organisation of 15 leading UK aid charities that raises funds for humanitarian disasters. It publicises its appeals through broadcasts on major networks and adverts in the press.
Pressure grows on US over arms exports to Israel
Patrick Wintour
The UK decision to suspend some arms exports to Israel has bolstered the case for Congress to follow the example of its ally, US campaigners for a ban have said.
The campaigners are pressing the US Senate and the house to pass a joint resolution of disapproval blocking authorisation for an unprecedented $20bn (£15.2bn) weapons sale. The massive transfer was notified to Congress last month when it was in recess.
The US state department has said the UK decision to suspend arms sales has no bearing on US policy since the two countries have separate arms exports control regimes.
The degree of private anger with the US over the UK decision is contested, but one UK Foreign Office source said it was comparable to the US anger when David Cameron as foreign secretary said Israel should not have veto power on recognising Palestinian statehood.
The Biden administration’s anger is likely to increase if the UK decision becomes a potent talking point in the domestic US debates on suspension of arms sales.
Sam Levin
Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old American activist killed while protesting in the occupied West Bank, was remembered by friends and former professors as a dedicated organiser who felt a strong moral obligation to bring attention to the plight of Palestinians.
“I begged her not to go, but she had this deep conviction that she wanted to participate in the tradition of bearing witness to the oppression of people and their dignified resilience,” said Aria Fani, a professor of Middle Eastern languages and cultures at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, which Eygi attended. “She fought injustice truly wherever it was.”
Fani, who had become close with Eygi over the last year, spoke to the Guardian on Friday afternoon, hours after news of her death sparked international outrage. Eygi was volunteering with the anti-occupation International Solidarity Movement when Israeli soldiers fatally shot her, according to Palestinian officials and two witnesses who spoke to the Associated Press. Two doctors told the AP she was shot in the head. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said it was investigating a report that troops had killed a foreign national while firing at an “instigator of violent activity”, and the White House has said it was “deeply disturbed” by the killing and called for an inquiry.
Eygi, who is also a Turkish citizen and leaves behind her husband, graduated from UW earlier this year with a major in psychology and minor in Middle Eastern languages and culture, Fani said. She walked the stage with a large “Free Palestine” flag during the ceremony, Fani said.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and the wider crisis in the Middle East.
At least 13 Palestinians were killed and 15 wounded in Israeli strikes on a school sheltering refugees and a residential building in Gaza, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency reported early on Saturday.
Wafa said at least eight of the dead were in refugee tents at Halima al-Sa’diyya school in Jabalia, northern Gaza, Reuters reports.
The Israeli army said in a statement it had “conducted a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a Hamas command and control centre … embedded inside a compound that previously served as the ‘Halima al-Sa’diyya’ School in the northern Gaza Strip”.
In a separate incident, five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on a residential building in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
In other news:
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Israeli forces battled Hamas-led militants in the Zeitoun suburb of Gaza City, where residents said tanks have been operating for more than a week, as well as in eastern neighbourhoods of Khan Younis and in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, where residents said Israeli forces blew up several houses.
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Residents of Khan Younis and displaced families from Rafah continued to crowd medical facilities, bringing their children to be vaccinated against polio. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said at least 160,000 children received the drops on Thursday in southern areas of Gaza, where medical staffers began the second stage in the huge immunisation campaign.
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The White House said it was “deeply disturbed” by the death of an American woman who, according to Palestinian officials and witnesses, was shot in the head by Israeli troops during a protest against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The White House also called for Israel to investigate her killing, which has caused strong reactions across the international community. The US state department confirmed the death of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, a US-Turkey dual national who was a volunteer peace activist with the anti-occupation International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
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Israeli forces withdrew from the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, after a 10-day raid in which 21 people were killed, according to the Palestinian health ministry. A Reuters witness said the Israeli forces left behind extensive damage to infrastructure. In a statement on Facebook, the Palestinian foreign ministry accused Israel of transferring to the occupied West Bank its brutal destruction in Gaza.
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The UN said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “beyond catastrophic”, with more than a million Palestinians not receiving any food rations in August and a 35% drop in people getting daily cooked meals.