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Britain warned Israel not to remove its officials from the Gaza ceasefire coordination centre. The dispute underscores how a fragile truce is colliding with wider regional tensions and violence.
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Dubai,UPDATED: Aug 28, 2026 20:44 IST
The United Kingdom has warned against any attempt by Israel to remove British officials from the Gaza ceasefire coordination centre, saying such a move would undermine efforts to implement the peace plan. The warning came after reports that Israel was considering expelling UK officials.
At the same time, an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed three people despite a fragile ceasefire, the UN's maritime agency said thousands of sailors remain stranded in the Persian Gulf because of the Iran war, and Iran condemned the latest US economic measures against it.
The UK government said on Thursday that it remained committed to implementing the 20-point Gaza peace plan and said any move to remove its officials would "undermine shared efforts". The comments came in response to reports that Israel was considering expelling officials from Britain and other European countries from the monitoring centre.
The Netherlands said on Thursday that Israel was removing two Dutch diplomats from the ceasefire centre. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the decision was in response to a Dutch ban on the trade of Israeli products from the occupied West Bank and other "anti-Israel measures".
In Gaza, two brothers and another relative were killed on Friday in an Israeli strike on the family's home outside Khan Younis, according to officials at Nasser Hospital. Israel's military said it was not aware of a strike in Khan Younis.
The three deaths were the latest in Gaza since an October ceasefire deal sought to halt the war between Israel and Hamas, which has lasted for more than two years. While the heaviest fighting has eased, Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes, killing at least 1,303 Palestinians, according to health officials in Gaza. The casualty records maintained by the agency are generally considered reliable, though they do not provide a breakdown of civilians and militants.
The UN's maritime agency said on Friday that 19 seafarers had been killed and at least 6,000 remained stranded on hundreds of ships unable to leave the region since the start of the Iran war on February 28. The Maritime Organisation said there had been at least 70 attacks on international shipping in the Persian Gulf.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez called for practical solutions and renewed cooperation to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Before the war, about 20 per cent of the world's traded oil and natural gas passed through the waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.
Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned a new round of US economic measures, calling them "economic terrorism" and saying Tehran would use all available means to counter them. The ministry said the sanctions violated international law, urged other countries not to implement them, and accused Washington of using the US dollar to pressure other countries into following its policies.
Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States would fully sever Iran from the global economy and warned countries continuing to do business with Tehran of secondary sanctions. The developments on Friday underlined the continuing strain across Gaza, the wider Middle East and key global shipping routes.
With PTI Inputs
- Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Aug 28, 2026 20:44 IST
