The Gaza truce is fragile and strictly time-limited but it is, for now, holding. Fighting ceased at 7am local time and is set to last four days. In that period, Hamas has agreed to free at least 50 of the hostages it seized during the attack on October 7. Israel, in turn, is to free Palestinian prisoners. Both will take place in stages. T
his pause in the fighting will allow for vital aid to enter Gaza, where Palestinian civilians have been caught up in the war and a humanitarian crisis is unfolding. Early this morning, trucks containing fuel and other urgent supplies were seen entering the Strip through the Rafah crossing from Egypt.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, currently on a visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, announced an additional £30 million of funding from the UK to support vital aid. This comes as a fourth UK aircraft containing humanitarian aid landed in Egypt to be sent to Gaza.
What does not seem likely at this stage is a more permanent ceasefire. For any hope of that, Hamas must release every one of the 240 men, women and children it kidnapped last month.
Stars back our appeal
Academy Award-winners and West End stars Kate Winslet and Dame Judi Dench have joined forces to back the Evening Standard’s Winter Survival Appeal, calling on Londoners to “come together” and donate generously to “help those in desperate need” this Christmas.
We have partnered with Comic Relief, which has already pledged £500,000, to kick off our fund. The money raised will fund charities in the capital and across the country, which support people struggling to afford basic necessities amid the cost-of-living crisis. A donation of £20could provide a duvet and pillow to a young person helping them to sleep at night. If you can, please head to comicrelief.com/wintersurvival and donate.
HMV’s homecoming
Move over, American candy shops: HMV is back. The iconic British music retailer returns to Oxford Street with a bang following a four-year absence. Customers and passers-by can expect live performances and much else as the chain celebrates its homecoming to the shop it first opened in 1921.
The store is to be transformed into the largest entertainment outlet in London, with a purpose-built performance floor to draw renowned artists, harking back to the times it welcomed the likes of Kyle Minogue, the Spice Girls and Blur.
HMV’s return is only part of a broader story of renewal for what is still Europe’s busiest shopping street, where plenty of retailers are eager to open. There is more than a little hope for Oxford Street’s future.
