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As uncertainty sweeps through the Middle East, Iraq’s prime minister has been focused on development, travelling to London to negotiate a series of deals on the economy and security.

Yet it is the prospect of stability offered by a ceasefire in Gaza that represents a more valuable prize and it was on this subject that Mohammed Shia’ al Sudani seemed particularly frustrated when he met Sky News at a central London hotel.

He said: “The decision to stop the war is not just up to the Israelis, there are other factors that play a part, like the international community.

“Iraq has been seeking international partners to stop this destructive war, which [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has been trying to lengthen for various reasons, including internal political reasons that interest him. One of which is to embroil the region in all-out war to give him more time in office.”

Iraqi PM’s patience ‘running thin’

Disagreements and misunderstandings continue to bedevil the ceasefire deal and the imprecise wording contained within the agreement suggests that a respite from fighting could be short-lived. It was clear that Mr Sudani’s patience was running thin.

He said: “It’s more than 16 months now, that’s enough, it’s time for the international community to take action. It’s failed to carry its responsibilities in regards to the grave violations of the rules of war in Gaza.

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“Everyone realises that this war, this genocidal war, must stop and that efforts should be made, regionally and internationally, to reconstruct Gaza.”

Sir Keir Starmer does not use words like genocide to describe Israel’s activities in Gaza – but that is a symptom of the West’s failure, said Mr Sudani, to enforce the values they claim to advance.

Frustration over West’s ‘failures’

He said: “It is not only me but everyone is frustrated with the international community, the failure to recognise the rules of war, international law, humanitarian law, principles of human rights, ideals which everybody says they are fighting for but they’re not. All of these things are thrown against the wall.”

Keir Starmer welcomes Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani at 10 Downing Street,
Pic Reuters
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Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the Iraqi PM to Downing Street on Tuesday. Pic Reuters

Mr Sudani told Sky News that he shared his exasperation with Sir Keir when the two men met this week, yet it seems he has not had the opportunity to do the same with US president-elect Donald Trump.

The Iraqi PM said: “There was a phone call to congratulate him because he won the presidential election. It was a positive call, we both expressed our desire to cooperate.”

Read more from Sky News:
Gaza faces huge task of rebuilding
Families of hostages wait for news
Starmer makes surprise visit to Kyiv

Many believe Mr Trump’s re-arrival on the international scene will foster greater instability in the Middle East with his affinity for right-wing Israeli objectives. Furthermore, Mr Trump ordered the killing of key Iranian military leader, Qassem Soleimani, in the Iraqi capital Baghdad during his first term.

Careful not to judge Trump

Yet Mr Sudani was careful not to venture an opinion on Mr Trump.

“This is the choice of the American people, we have to respect their choice, our relations with the US are based on institutions, they’re governed by questions of strategy,” he said.

The Iraqi prime minister performs a political high-wire act, as he tries to maintain relations with Western leaders as well as Tehran, which provides funding and training to a number of militia groups which form part of Iraq’s security forces.

Munitions were routinely fired at Israel by some of these groups as the war in Gaza escalated.

“We’re not embarrassed in any way, we carry out our duties to enforce the law, to maintain security and stability in Iraq and reject all means of violence. We won’t allow any side to dictate the decision between peace and war,” he said.

Mr Sudani says he is in control.

“Yes, yes, certainly.”

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‘Widespread sexual violence’ took place during Hamas’s 7 October attacks, report by Israeli experts says

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'Widespread sexual violence' took place during Hamas's 7 October attacks, report by Israeli experts says

A newly released report led by Israeli legal and gender experts presents detailed evidence alleging “widespread and systematic” sexual violence during the Hamas-led terror attack on 7 October.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of rape and sexual violence

The findings, published by the Dinah Project, argue that these acts amount to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), and assert that “Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war”.

The report draws on 18 months of investigation and is based on survivor testimonies, eyewitness accounts, and interviews with first responders, morgue personnel and healthcare professionals.

According to the Dinah Project, the documented patterns – such as forced nudity, gang rapes, genital mutilation, and threats of forced marriage – indicate a deliberate and coordinated use of sexual violence by Hamas operatives during the attack.

Reported incidents span at least six locations, including the Nova music festival, and several kibbutzim in southern Israel.

A destroyed car near the police station in Sderot, following the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Pic: AP
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A destroyed car near the police station in Sderot, following the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Pic: AP

One section of the report describes victims “found fully or partially naked from the waist down, with their hands tied behind their backs and/or to structures such as trees and poles, and shot”.

At the Nova music festival and surrounding areas, the investigators found “reasonable grounds to believe” that multiple women were raped or gang-raped before being killed.

The report’s findings are consistent with earlier investigations by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Read more:
What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal?

Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza

The UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict previously concluded that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” CRSV took place during the attack.

Pic: AP
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Destroyed vehicles near the grounds of the Supernova electronic music festival. Pic: AP

Significantly, the Dinah Project urges the international community to officially recognise the use of sexual violence by Hamas as a deliberate strategy of war and calls on the United Nations to add Hamas to its list of parties responsible for conflict-related sexual violence.

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The nature and scale of sexual violence on 7 October have been a subject of intense controversy, with some accusing parties of weaponising the narrative for political ends.

This report seeks to confront what its authors call “denial, misinformation, and global silence,” and to provide justice for the victims.

Hamas has denied that its fighters have used sexual violence and mistreated female hostages.

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Israeli soldiers ‘psychologically broken’ after ‘confronting the reality’ in Gaza, UN expert says

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Israeli soldiers 'psychologically broken' after 'confronting the reality' in Gaza, UN expert says

A UN expert has said some young soldiers in the Israeli Defence Forces are being left “psychologically broken” after “confront[ing] the reality among the rubble” when serving in Gaza.

Francesca Albanese, the UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, was responding to a Sky News interview with an Israeli solider who described arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza.

She told The World with Yalda Hakim that “many” of the young people fighting in Gaza are “haunted by what they have seen, what they have done”.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Ms Albanese said. “This is not a war, this is an assault against civilians and this is producing a fracture in many of them.

“As that soldier’s testimony reveals, especially the youngest among the soldiers have been convinced this is a form of patriotism, of defending Israel and Israeli society against this opaque but very hard felt enemy, which is Hamas.

“But the thing is that they’ve come to confront the reality among the rubble of Gaza.”

An Israeli soldier directs a tank at a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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An Israeli soldier directs a tank near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel. Pic: AP

Being in Gaza is “probably this is the first time the Israeli soldiers are awakening to this,” she added. “And they don’t make sense of this because their attachment to being part of the IDF, which is embedded in their national ideology, is too strong.

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“This is why they are psychologically broken.”

Jonathan Conricus, a former IDF spokesman who is now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said he believes the Sky News interview with the former IDF solider “reflects one part of how ugly, difficult and horrible fighting in a densely populated, urban terrain is”.

“I think [the ex-soldier] is reflecting on how difficult it is to fight in such an area and what the challenges are on the battlefield,” he said.

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Ex-IDF spokesperson: ‘No distinction between military and civilians’

‘An economy of genocide’

Ms Albanese, one of dozens of independent UN-mandated experts, also said her most recent report for the human rights council has identified “an economy of genocide” in Israel.

The system, she told Hakim, is made up of more than 60 private sector companies “that have become enmeshed in the economy of occupation […] that have Israel displace the Palestinians and replace them with settlers, settlements and infrastructure Israel runs.”

Israel has rejected allegations of genocide in Gaza, citing its right to defend itself after Hamas’s attack on 7 October 2023.

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‘Israel has shifted towards economy of genocide’

The companies named in Ms Albanese’s report are in, but not limited to, the financial sector, big tech and the military industry.

“These companies can be held responsible for being directed linked to, or contributing, or causing human rights impacts,” she said. “We’re not talking of human rights violations, we are talking of crimes.”

“Some of the companies have engaged in good faith, others have not,” Ms Albanese said.

Read more:
Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza
British surgeons on life in Gaza

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The companies she has named include American technology giant Palantir, which has issued a statement to Sky News.

It said it is “not true” that Palantir “is the (or a) developer of the ‘Gospel’ – the AI-assisted targeting software allegedly used by the IDF in Gaza, and that we are involved with the ‘Lavender’ database used by the IDF for targeting cross-referencing”.

“Both capabilities are independent of and pre-ate Palantir’s announced partnership with the Israeli Defence Ministry,” the statement added.

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Israeli PM nominates Donald Trump for Nobel Peace Prize – as Gaza ceasefire talks continue

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Israeli PM nominates Donald Trump for Nobel Peace Prize - as Gaza ceasefire talks continue

Israel’s prime minister has nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement at a White House dinner, and the US president appeared pleased by the gesture.

“He’s forging peace as we speak, and one country and one region after the other,” Mr Netanyahu said as he presented the US leader with a nominating letter.

Mr Trump took credit for brokering a ceasefire in Iran and Israel’s “12-day war” last month, announcing it on Truth Social, and the truce appears to be holding.

The president also claimed US strikes had obliterated Iran’s purported nuclear weapons programme and that it now wants to restart talks.

“We have scheduled Iran talks, and they want to,” Mr Trump told reporters. “They want to talk.”

Iran hasn’t confirmed the move, but its president told American broadcaster Tucker Carlson his country would be willing to resume cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.

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But Masoud Pezeshkian said full access to nuclear sites wasn’t yet possible as US strikes had damaged them “severely”.

Away from Iran, fighting continues in Gaza and Ukraine.

Mr Trump famously boasted before his second stint in the White House that he could end the Ukraine war in 24 hours.

The reality has been very different; with Russia last week launching what Ukraine said was the heaviest aerial attack of the war so far.

Critics also claiming President Putin is ‘playing’ his US counterpart and has no intention of stopping the fighting.

However, President Trump could try to take credit for progress in Gaza if – as he’s suggested – an agreement on a 60-day ceasefire is able to get across the line this week.

Indirect negotiations with Hamas are taking place that could lead to the release of some of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages and see a surge in aid to Gaza.

America’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is to travel to Qatar this week to try to seal the agreement.

Whether it could open a path to a complete end to the war remains uncertain, with the two sides criteria for peace still far apart.

President Netanyahu has said Hamas must surrender, disarm and leave Gaza – something it refuses to do.

Mr Netanyahu also told reporters on Monday that the US and Israel were working with other countries who would give Palestinians “a better future” – and indicated those in Gaza could move elsewhere.

“If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave,” he added.

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