Israel-Palestine live: Running Account
Hamas says one of its members killed in Israeli strike in Tyre, south Lebanon.![]()
The media office focused particularly on the plight of Palestinian in the northern half of the Gaza Strip, where it said that more than 700,000 people are "suffering from a clear war of starvation."
"According to what was announced, the ship’s load does not exceed the load of one or two trucks, and it will take days [to arrive]," the statement read. "It is not yet known where it will dock and how it will reach the Gaza coast, and in addition to that it will be subject to inspection by the occupation army."
Maarouf called for aid convoys to be brought in by land through the known crossings of Rafah or Kerem Shalom, and proposed the activation of the Mintar/Karni, Shujaiya and Beit Hanoun crossings.
"The international community must act urgently, before it is too late, to save those who are dying of hunger," the statement said.
25 minutes ago
Al Jazeera reports that an Israeli air strike targeting an Unrwa aid distribution centre in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip killed four people.
31 minutes ago
Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, headed to the country's Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) to express his support for the police officer accused of shooting and killing a Palestinian teenager during clashes in East Jerusalem last night.
The police claimed that Rami Hamdan al-Halhouli shot fireworks "directly" at security forces in the area, but video footage shows him shooting in the air.
Ben Gvir lambasted the DIPI's questioning of the officer.
“It is outrageous to me that the Department of Internal Police Investigations even dared to invite the fighter here for questioning, it is shameful and disgraceful,” he said, accompanied by the officer's lawyers.
He added that he has previously reinstated police officers suspended by the DIPI, and that he will give his support to the questioned officer, claiming he and his colleagues were “doing exceptional work”.
In response, Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara ordered Ben Gvir to cease his involvement in the case, warning that his actions constitute “illegal interference”.
53 minutes ago
The number of Palestinians killed by Israel's war on Gaza has risen to 31,272, according to Gaza's health ministry.
Additionally, 73,024 people have been wounded.
1 hour ago
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant reportedly proposed Majed Faraj, the head of the Palestinian Authority's intelligence apparatus, as a potential candidate to temporarily manage the Gaza Strip.
Faraj, a close associate of the PA's President Mahmoud Abbas, has a close working relationship with Israel. He is also in charge of coordinating with Israel's Shin Bet security agency, the CIA, as well as other international intelligence bodies.
He is also considered to be one of the PA figures who could replace Abbas as Palestinian president.
According to Israel's public broadcaster, Kan, Gallant's proposal came in closed-door meetings amid fears that Hamas is regaining a foothold in the Gaza Strip by reportedly taking control of the humanitarian aid entering the enclave.
Al Jazeera, quoting Israeli media, said that Faraj already started working on building an armed force in the south of the Gaza Strip, comprised of families that do not endorse Hamas. The unit will allegedly be tasked with managing aid deliveries from the south to the north of Gaza.
2 hours ago
Hamas said one its members, Hani Mustafa from the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh, was killed in the Israeli strike on a car in the Lebanese southern city of Tyre.
Local media says a Syrian worker who was passing by on his motorcycle was also killed in the strike. Four others were injured.
3 hours ago
US President Joe Biden is getting hammered in the Democratic primaries. Though he has no opposition, nearly 400,000 primary voters across multiple states have abandoned him, choosing “uncommitted” instead.
The protest movement began in the critical swing state of Michigan, where more than 100,000 voters made a statement against Biden’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza. In subsequent primaries, hundreds of thousands more followed suit: in Minnesota alone, 20 percent of voters said they were uncommitted.
Many Democrats disapprove of this war and the president who is supporting it. Countrywide, 57 percent of Americans are unhappy with Biden’s handling of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and 67 percent want a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Fifty-two percent say the US should halt arms shipments to Israel until current hostilities cease; among those who voted for Biden in 2020, that number increases to 62 percent.
Even a majority of American Jews (50 percent) favour a permanent ceasefire, according to recent polling.
Biden is already paying the price for being out of sync with the Democratic base. He has to do something, and fast - otherwise, this could snowball into an avalanche. This is how movements begin and surefire candidacies fall apart.
READ MORE: Why US humanitarian aid plan is a sham
3 hours ago
The European Union is preparing a 7.4 billion euro ($8.08bn or £6.33bn) package aimed at supporting Egypt's economy amid fears that neighbouring conflicts in Gaza and Sudan could further exacerbate the difficult economic situation in the country and raise immigration pressure on Europe, the Financial Times reported.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Cairo on Sunday with the prime ministers of Greece, Italy and Belgium to finalise and announce the agreement.
3 hours ago
Israeli police identified the Palestinian who stabbed two Israeli security forces members at the "tunnels" checkpoint near Bethlehem as Muhammad Abu Hamed, a 15-year-old boy from the town of al-Khader.
The police did not give an update on his condition after they shot him.
3 hours ago
An Israeli drone targeted a car in Lebanon's southern city of Tyre, with local media reporting at least one death.
4 hours ago
Israeli forces said they "neutralised" a Palestinian after he allegedly stabbed two Israelis near the "tunnels" military checkpoint near Bethlehem.
Al Jazeera says it is still unclear whether the Palestinian was killed, or whether those stabbed were soldiers or settlers.
5 hours ago
Good morning Middle East Eye readers,
Here are the latest updates:
- An Arab diplomat told the Times of Israel that progress has been made regarding a hostage and ceasefire deal in Qatar, as the outlet claims Doha put pressure on Hamas to accept the new proposals
- The Israeli army bombed several areas across the Gaza Strip overnight, killing many people including 10 in Deir al-Balah
- As least four Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids across the West Bank
- The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, accused Israel of using starvation 'as a war arm' in Gaza
- Lebanon's Hezbollah said two of its members were killed in the latest Israeli strike near Baalbek, deep into Lebanese territory
11 hours ago
Hello MEE readers.
Tuesday saw the arrival of much-needed aid to Gaza, including a shipment that arrived from the United Nations and Morocco, which used the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to enter Gaza — the first time the crossing was used for allowing aid into Gaza after five months of war.
Hezbollah launched around 100 rockets towards Israel and the occupied Golan Heights in retaliation to a deadly Israeli strike near the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek.
Israeli warplanes then struck the area again, saying it hit two command centres near Baalbek.
Here's what else you need to know from today:
Two lawsuits were announced today regarding the ongoing crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech at US universities. Columbia University was sued over its decision to ban its chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace. And a group of faculty sued the University of Pennsylvania in an attempt to stop a congressional probe seeking all materials regarding pro-Palestine activity on campus.
Israeli police shot dead a 13-year-old boy in East Jerusalem who was holding up a firework. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir praised the incident.
US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said that Washington believes the path to peace "does not lie in smashing into Rafah". Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would press forward with its military campaign and "finish the job" in Rafah.
UN officials have welcomed the opening of a maritime aid corridor into Gaza, but warned that it was no substitute for a land route to get humanitarian assistance into the enclave. UK foreign secretary David Cameron echoed similar sentiments, calling on Israel to open more land routes into Gaza.
The French daily newspaper Liberation came under fire for publishing a cartoon that mocks fasting Palestinians in Gaza searching for food.
A Turkish shipment of humanitarian aid stuck at Israel’s Ashdod port left for Gaza earlier this week, diplomatic sources and a UN spokesperson told MEE.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem suspended prominent Palestinian academic Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian after she said that it was time to "abolish Zionism".
12 hours ago
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN refugee agency for Palestine (Unrwa), said that the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in Gaza is higher than the total number of children killed in all conflicts around the world for the past four years.
More than 12,300 Palestinian children have been killed since October last year, while the rest of the world say 12,193 children killed in all conflicts taking place around the world from 2019 to 2023.
12 hours ago
The New York Civil Liberties Union, in collaboration with Palestine Legal, filed a lawsuit against Columbia University on Tuesday for the suspension of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) chapters.
“For decades, Columbia students have been at the forefront of speaking out against segregation, war and apartheid and SJP and JVP sit squarely in this tradition," Palestine Legal senior staff attorney Radhika Sainath said.
“Universities must abide by their own rules and may not punish student groups speaking out for Palestinian rights in the moment when they are most essential – even if donors and lobby groups complain."
Columbia University, based in New York City, suspended the student groups in November.
To read the full story, click below.