The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they unfold.
Aid trucks said to start moving toward Gaza from Egypt, after IDF announced ‘humanitarian pauses’
Aid trucks have started moving toward Gaza from Egypt, the Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV reports, after mounting international pressure and warnings from relief agencies of starvation spreading in the enclave.
The Israeli military has said that “humanitarian corridors” will be established starting today for safe movement of United Nations convoys delivering aid to Gazans and that “humanitarian pauses” will be implemented in densely populated areas.
Australian PM: Israel clearly in breach of international law; we won’t imminently recognize Palestinian state
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Israel “quite clearly” breached international law and “decent humanity and morality” by withholding aid from Gaza in March, saying images of starving Gazans “break the heart,” while also calling Hamas terrorists who are holding the Gazan population hostage as well by refusing to release the 50 Israeli and foreign captives it is holding.
In an interview with public broadcaster ABC, Albanese also says Canberra doesn’t plan to “imminently” recognize a Palestinian state, as France has said it will do.
“You need to recognize a Palestinian state as part of moving forward. How do you exclude Hamas from any involvement there? How do you ensure that a Palestinian state operates in an appropriate way which does not threaten the existence of Israel?” he stresses.
“And so we won’t do any decision as a gesture, we will do it as a way forward if the circumstances are met,” he continues. “Is the time right now? Are we about to imminently do that? No, we are not… But we will engage constructively.”
Asked about Israel allowing and conducting airdrops of aid into Gaza, Albanese says it’s “a start,” but more must be done to protect civilians.
“A one-year-old boy is not a Hamas fighter. The civilian casualties and deaths in Gaza are completely unacceptable. It’s completely indefensible,” he says.
“We have rules of engagement and they are there for a reason. They are to stop innocent lives being lost… Quite clearly, it is a breach of international law to stop food being delivered, which was a decision that Israel made in March,” he adds. “International law says that you can’t hold innocent people responsible for what is a conflict.”
In 1st since war began, IDF says it airdropped humanitarian aid into Gaza
The IDF says on Telegram that earlier in the night, it “carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip.”
The military says the move was taken “in accordance with the directives of the political echelon.”
It is the first time Israel airdrops aid into Gaza since the current war began, after previously having only allowed other countries to carry out such operations.
Unusually, the statement is only issued in English, and isn’t featured on its X pages in either Hebrew or English.
דובר צה"ל באנגלית: התחלנו בהצנחת סיוע הומניטרי לעזה – הוצנחו 7 חבילות הכוללות קמח, סוכר ומזון משומר https://t.co/mcVVzPmteH pic.twitter.com/sjyyMvMJiB
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) July 27, 2025
Foreign Ministry says IDF took over activist boat heading for Gaza, everyone is safe
The Foreign Ministry confirms that the Israeli Navy has taken over the Handala activist boat attempting to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, stressing that everyone on board is safe.
In a statement, using the original name of the vessel, the ministry says the forces “stopped the vessel Navarn from illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza.”
“The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe,” it adds.
“Unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts.”
The IDF itself is yet to issue a statement on the matter. Live footage from the vessel earlier showed Navy troops reaching the Handala and boarding it.
Handala is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which also dispatched a previous boat that was stopped, the Madleen, on a mission to reach Gaza.
According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s website, the Handala is carrying 19 activists as well as two Al Jazeera journalists.
The boat will be towed to Ashdod Port by the Navy, and the activists will then be deported from the country.