The ‘Ulm 5’, including Britons Zo Hailu and Crow Tricks second and third from left (Supplied)
Two Britons are among activists being tried in Germany after targeting an Israeli weapons factory last year
Two British nationals are among five activists who were forcibly brought into a Stuttgart courtroom by police on Wednesday after statements they wished to read were seized from them.
This was the latest escalation in a case that their lawyers have described as a “show trial” and is part of a broader crackdown on those who take direct action for Palestine.
Zo Hailu and Crow Tricks, both British citizens based in Berlin, were arrested last September alongside three others from Spain, Ireland, and Germany following an action at an Elbit Systems facility in Ulm, near Stuttgart.
They are charged with trespass, destruction of property and membership of a criminal organisation, Palestine Action Germany, under section 129 of the German criminal code.
Elbit Systems, which has a growing number of factories across Europe, supplies 85 percent of the drones and land-based military equipment used by the Israeli military.
The company’s site in Ulm was recently revealed to have been exporting targeting equipment to Israel by Irish investigative news site The Ditch.
Ulm 5
Known as the Ulm 5, the activists have been held in pre-trial detention across five separate prisons in south-west Germany for eight months, exceeding Germany’s standard six-month limit.
Last week, without prior warning, the court issued a further 28 hearing dates beyond the 16 originally announced, extending the trial – which began on Monday – to January 2027.
By the time any verdict is reached, they will have spent 16 months in prison.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Lebanese paramedic Mohammed Suleiman squats by the grave of colleague Ali Jaber, 22, who was killed in March by an Israeli strike while on the job, in Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, on April 28, 2026. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
“Israel’s wanton killing of rescue workers and targeting of medical infrastructure in Lebanon has been one of this war’s most brazen features,” Drop Site News noted.
Israeli attacks killed at least seven rescue workers in southern Lebanon on Thursday and Friday in violation of a US-brokered ceasefire, part of what critics say is a pattern of deliberate targeted murders of first responders that mirror the genocidal massacres committed in Gaza.
On Friday, paramedics from the al-Risala Association rushed to the site of an Israeli strike in Deir Qanun al-Nah, Tyre district, that reportedly killed a young girl and the village barber, identified by L’Orient Today as Ali Allameh. As they arrived on the scene, the paramedics were hit by a so-called “double-tap” strike—a follow-up bombing meant to eliminate survivors and first responders—that killed would-be rescuers Ali Abboud, Hussein Kassir, and Ahmad Hariri.
Hariri was also a well-known photojournalist who earlier this week documented an Israeli massacre of 14 people—including four children and 11 members of one family—in Deir Qanun al-Nah.
It is with great sadness that I have to report that Ahmed Hariri, a beloved journalist, paramedic and friend was killed today while carrying out his humanitarian duty attempting to rescue the injured from an Israeli airstrike. He was killed in a barbaric triple-tap attack in Deir… pic.twitter.com/1bTC03huMt
— courtneybonneauimages (@cbonneauimages) May 22, 2026
L’Orient Today reported that Israeli forces bombed two Islamic Health Committee centers in Hanouiyeh overnight Thursday, killing four rescue workers and wounding two others. Earlier on Thursday, an Israeli airstrike near the Tebnine Hospital reportedly killed two people and injured another while damaging all three floors of the facility.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Healthsaid more than 3,100 people have been killed by Israeli attacks since March 2, in addition to the more than 4,000 people, including nearly 800 women and over 300 children, slain in Israel’s 2023-25 attacks on its northern neighbor, where the militant resistance group Hezbollah is based. The dead from the current round of Israeli attacks include nearly 300 women, more than 210 children, and 123 medical and healthcare workers.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says 15 media professionals have also been killed in Lebanon since October 2023. One of them, Al-Akhbar correspondent Amal Khalil, was wounded last month by an Israeli strike while reporting on a previous bombing. Khalil was trapped under rubble, and as Red Cross workers attempted to extricate her, Israeli forces dropped a stun grenade on them as a warning to disperse. They were unable to rescue Khalil, who later died.
Horrifying.
When countries don’t suspend arms sales or trade agreements with countries whose militaries are blatantly committing war crimes (and declaring an intention to commit more crimes), this is the result.
Israel’s continued slaughter of Lebanese first responders comes as World Health Organization (WHO) member states gathered this week in Geneva, where they overwhelmingly backed a declaration of alarm over “the impact of the ongoing war on the Lebanese health systems, including attacks on health facilities and health workers, and the closure of dozens of primary healthcare centers and hospitals.”
The measure, which also called on the WHO to “scale up” support for Lebanon’s health system, passed by a vote of 95-2—with Israel and Honduras against—and 18 abstentions.
“Israeli military action has had unacceptable impacts on civilians and medical care,” the United Kingdom said in an explanation of its vote in favor of the declaration. “The conflict has led to the displacement of over 1 million people and the closure of several hospitals and health facilities. The WHO has reported over 150 verified attacks against healthcare, with over 100 healthcare workers killed.”
Israel’s wanton killing of rescue workers and targeting of medical infrastructure in Lebanon has been one of this war’s most brazen features. For the past five weeks, the relentless Israeli aerial and ground assault has continued despite a nominal ceasefire being announced by President Donald Trump on April 16. Last week, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 45-day extension of the “ceasefire” after holding their third round of direct talks in Washington, of which Hezbollah is not a part. The declaration of a ceasefire has not stopped the Israeli military from continuing its bombardment of Lebanon, mostly in the south and the eastern Bekka Valley.
Rescue teams describe a pattern of repeated Israeli attacks directly targeting their members, often in double—or triple-tap strikes—where after a site is struck, it is struck a second or even third time as emergency crews arrive on the scene.
“We try to be careful and take safety precautions before interventions, like waiting 10 minutes to avoid the double taps,” Abdullah Halal, who leads a Civil Defense rescue team in Nabatiyeh, told Drop Site News.
“But,” the outlet noted, “even those precautions have not always been enough. Last week, Halal lost two of his two colleagues in a double-tap strike.”
Ali Saad, who is with the Lebanese Red Cross, told UN News on Wednesday that his colleagues share coordinates with Israeli forces and other belligerents, but rescue workers are still being targeted.
“This is why the Red Cross volunteers hug each other and say goodbye before every mission,” he said.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
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Nickolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process gives a speech in Davos, Switzerland on January 22, 2026. [Harun Özalp – Anadolu Agency]
A senior Board of Peace official said Thursday that there is “no recovery” in Gaza despite some progress under a ceasefire deal, Anadolu reports.
Nickolay Mladenov, high representative for Gaza, told the UN Security Council that mass destruction, displacement and humanitarian challenges continue to define conditions on the ground.
“When I last appeared before you, the framework for the decommissioning of weapons in Gaza had been agreed among the guarantors and presented to the parties, and I told you the engagement was serious. The first written report on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2803 (2025) of the Board of Peace is now before you,” he said.
Noting that there had been limited but important improvements since the ceasefire took hold, he said, “The guns have largely fallen silent across Gaza for the first time in two years. Every hostage has been returned to their family.”
“The number of people receiving food assistance has risen from 400,000 to roughly 2 million. None of this was inevitable. None of it should be taken for granted,” he added.
Warning against describing the situation as a recovery, Mladenov said, “I will not stand before this Council and call this recovery, because there is no recovery.”
He described the scale of destruction as unprecedented, noting widespread infrastructure collapse across the enclave.
“Some 70 million tons of rubble lie where homes and schools and hospitals used to stand, much of it mixed with unexploded ordnance,” he noted.
Mladenov said more than 1 million people remain without permanent shelter and are living in tents or damaged buildings.
At the same time, unemployment has reached extreme levels, and basic services remain severely degraded, he said.
Although the ceasefire is largely holding, he said it is “holding in a way that is not perfect. There are daily violations.”
He added that continued restrictions and delays are undermining humanitarian access and confidence in the process, stressing that civilians bear the cost of the delay in Gaza.
US deputy UN envoy Tammy Bruce welcomed the report by the Board of Peace. “The United States does have the pleasure of applauding the accomplishments of the Board of Peace over the recent months and the steps toward establishing the Office of the High Representative, the International Stabilization Force, and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza,” she said.
“As we have just heard today, there are still significant challenges to overcome in the reconstruction and rebuilding of Gaza and securing enduring safety, stability, and prosperity,” said Bruce, explaining that challenges can be overcome by working together.
“A future of peace, freedom, personal and economic in the Middle East is in all of our interests. We must work together to make it happen. The United States will continue to work with Israel, its neighbors, and our partners on the Board of Peace to achieve that goal,” she added.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace
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Palestinians inspect the destruction of a residential building belonging to the Abu Shamala family following an Israeli air strike at the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip, Palestine on May 20, 2026. [Moiz Salhi – Anadolu Agency]
A senior UN official said Thursday that a return to full-scale war in the Gaza Strip would have “disastrous consequences” for civilians, while cautioning that worsening violence and illegal Israeli settlement expansion across the occupied Palestinian territory are deepening instability, Anadolu reports.
“As I brief you today, the situation across the Occupied Palestinian Territory is increasingly precarious,” Ramiz Alakbarov, UN deputy special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said at a UN Security Council session to discuss the latest report of the Board of Peace for Gaza.
He said tensions in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, continue to intensify as “settlement expansion, settler-related violence, and incitement continue to drive tensions.”
Turning to Gaza, Alakbarov said momentum generated by the ceasefire has weakened amid delays in implementing UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2803 and continued violence.
“In Gaza, delays in the implementation of UNSCR 2803, alongside daily violence and a continuing humanitarian crisis, have replaced the early momentum following the ceasefire,” he said.
As discussions continue advancing to the second phase of the ceasefire deal, he warned against growing calls for renewed hostilities.
“As talks on advancing to Phase II of the ceasefire continue, calls are emerging in some circles for a resumption of widespread hostilities. This would have disastrous consequences for the population of Gaza,” he said. “Let me be clear: the people of Gaza cannot take more war. This scenario must be avoided at all costs.”
Alakbarov emphasized that the implementation of Resolution 2803 remains urgent. “The implementation of Resolution 2803 cannot wait. All elements of the Comprehensive Plan are interconnected and must be implemented in full.”
He said civilians in Gaza continue to face uncertainty as Israeli strikes occur “on a nearly daily basis, killing dozens.”
Despite limited improvements, humanitarian conditions remain severe, according to Alakbarov.
“The reopening of Zikim crossing in mid-April and a limited increase in the volume of aid are welcome improvements. However, humanitarian operations remain heavily constrained by limited operational crossings, restrictions on critical humanitarian items that Israel considers ‘dual-use,’” he said.
Alakbarov said he witnessed devastation and resilience among Palestinians during a recent visit to Gaza.
Addressing the occupied West Bank, Alakbarov said Israeli authorities advanced plans for more than 640 housing units in Area C and over 1,620 units in the settlement of Pisgat Zeev in East Jerusalem during the reporting period.
He also said five Palestinians, including two children, were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, while 156 others, including 20 children, were injured by Israeli forces or Israeli occupiers.
“Throughout the West Bank, the frequency and severity of settler attacks have significantly increased in 2026, with some 220 Palestinian communities having faced attacks, which are increasingly leading to the displacement of entire communities,” he said.
“We cannot ignore the current alarming trends or their dire implications for Palestinians, Israelis, and the entire region. This is the moment to take urgent steps to reverse these dangerous dynamics,” he added.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
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A screen grab captured from CCTV videos shows Israeli forces attacking ‘Alcyone’ and ‘Girolama’ vessels of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla at Mediterranean Sea, on May 19, 2026. [Global Sumud Flotilla – Anadolu Agency]
At least 87 activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla began a hunger strike on Tuesday in protest against what they described as their abduction by Israel and in solidarity with more than 9,500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
In a post on X, the flotilla said that, for the second time in three weeks, the Israeli army — which it said claims to be “the most moral army” — had abducted their comrades from international waters.
It added: “In protest of their illegal abduction and in solidarity with the over 9,500 Palestinian hostages held in Israeli dungeons, at least 87 flotilla participants have committed to a hunger strike until they are released.”
The Global Sumud Flotilla called for the release of all detainees held by Israeli authorities and urged governments to condemn what it described as an act of piracy.
Late on Tuesday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement that all 430 activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla had been seized and transferred to Israeli vessels.
It said: “All 430 activists have been transferred to Israeli ships and are on their way to Israel, where they will be able to meet their consular representatives.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the Global Sumud Flotilla crisis operations room said the Israeli army had “illegally intervened against all flotilla ships in international waters and detained the activists”.
It added that the last vessel intercepted was the Lina al-Nabulsi.
According to the statement, the flotilla consists of 50 ships carrying 428 activists from 44 countries, including 78 Turkish participants.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
