Israel-Palestine live: Patients dying at al-Shifa hospital amid Israeli blockade
Thousands of Palestinians trapped inside plead for food, water and medical care
27 minutes ago
Israeli forces have set fire to residential buildings near al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, according to the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.
"In several incidents, Israeli forces set fire to homes while occupants were inside, preventing evacuation or fire extinguishing," it said in a statement on X.
"We urge the Secretary-General of the UN and the Commissioner of the EU to intervene immediately, demanding that Israel cease its serious violations against civilians in Gaza City, including burning residential buildings and forcibly displacing residents towards southern Gaza."
1 hour ago
A 34-year-old Israeli captive held in Gaza has died due to "lack of medicine and food", according to the Hamas movement's armed wing.
1 hour ago
At least 19 people were killed in the Israeli attack on an aid distribution point earlier Saturday, according to the latest death toll released by the local health ministry in Gaza.
"They were waiting for aid trucks at the Kuwait roundabout" when they were hit by "Israeli occupation army tank fire and shells", the ministry said in a statement.
The deaths are the latest in a series of attacks on Palestinian civilians attempting to receive food and other desperately needed relief supplies.
1 hour ago
Thousands of anti-government demonstrators have gathered in Tel Aviv calling for elections. Protests have been ongoing for months, as Israelis have become increasingly frustrated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the war on Gaza and the situation with the Israeli captives held in the beseiged enclave.
Today, some of the protesters blocked a major highway.
2 hours ago
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will travel to Washington on Sunday for an official visit, where he will meet with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.
3 hours ago
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it was aware of a new security incident near Yemen, where Houthis have been launching attacks on cargo and military vessels.
UKMTO says that the incident took place 23 nautical miles (42km) west of Mocha in Yemen.
4 hours ago
The Palestinian Health in Ministry in Gaza said Israeli fire on Saturday killed nine people and wounded dozens more as they waited for aid in the northern part of the besieged enclave.
"At least nine martyrs and dozens injured by Israeli occupation army tank fire and shells. They were waiting for aid trucks at the Kuwait roundabout" on the outskirts of Gaza City, a health ministry statement said.
Israel's military said it was looking into the report.
5 hours ago
Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz labelled the United Nations an 'anti-Israel' body after the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visited the Rafah crossing on Saturday.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Katz accused Guterres of blaming Israel for the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza and said the UN Chief did not condemn Hamas for allegedly stealing aid going into the besieged enclave.
5 hours ago
Heavy artillery shelling and aerial bombardment have continued to rock the area near al-Shifa Hospital in west Gaza City as Israeli ground forces continue a deadly military raid there for six days.
Homes in the vicinity of the hospital have been raided by troops and later set ablaze after residents were either arrested or forced to flee south.
Smoke was seen rising from several buildings on Saturday, as captured by MEE correspondent Mohammed al-Hajjar.
6 hours ago
Israel's continuing war on Gaza has devastated the territory, exceeding even the 1948 Nakba in terms of the numbers of dead, injured and missing.
But while the Nakba shaped Palestinian identity, today, people across historic Palestine are not acting accordingly. While Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are clearly outraged by the scenes coming out of Gaza, I believe they have more to contribute to stopping the current conflict.
Ending this war and rebuilding the Gaza Strip's social and physical infrastructure is not just about Gaza; it is about all Palestinians. If Gaza is gone, there will be no Palestine.
Before the war, some people rightly argued that the Nakba had never ended. Israel has been gradually ethnically cleansing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank through illegal evictions, home demolitions, arrests, settler violence and army raids. Today, all of these things are happening at an accelerated pace.
Historically, Gaza has been at the epicentre of uprisings and disruptions to the status quo in Palestine. Israeli leaders' desire to see Gaza "sink into the sea" reflects this, as does Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish's musing that Gaza is "the most capable among us of disturbing the enemy’s mood and his comfort".
Gaza has been more resistant to ethnic cleansing than the occupied West Bank due to its unique location, population density and the absence of a direct Israeli presence, beyond the siege. But on 7 October, Israeli leaders saw an opportunity to get rid of Gaza forever - and they are doing it.
Read more: If Gaza is gone, there will be no Palestine by Mohammed Mourtaja
7 hours ago
A long line of blocked relief trucks on Egypt's side of the border with the Gaza Strip where people face starvation is a moral outrage, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during a visit to the Rafah crossing on Saturday.
It was time for Israel to give an "ironclad commitment" for unfettered access to humanitarian goods throughout Gaza, said Guterres, who also called for the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza.
The UN would continue to work with Egypt to "streamline" the flow of aid into Gaza, he added.
Reporting by Reuters
7 hours ago
Israeli forces have killed at least 72 Palestinians and wounded 114 more over the past 24 hours in seven "massacres", according to the Palestinian health ministry.
This brings the Palestinian death toll in over five months to more than 32,142, with over 74,412 wounded and an estimated 8,000 missing and presumed dead.
More than 70 percent of the victims are children and women, according to health officials.
7 hours ago
At least five wounded Palestinians, who were receiving treatment at al-Shifa Hospital, have died due to the lack of medical care, food and water amid an ongoing Israeli raid, the health ministry said on Saturday.
"The besieged medical teams and patients are appealing to UN institutions and the international community to intervene urgently to save their lives," the ministry added.
8 hours ago
Israeli forces killed and wounded many Palestinians gathered to collect aid in Gaza City on Saturday, according to local media reports.
Dozens of injured people were brought to the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital after the attack.
9 hours ago
North Sinai's governor, Mohamed Shousha, said 7,000 aid trucks are waiting to deliver aid into Gaza.
Shousha said in a statement that Israel's inspection rules had delayed the flow of aid into Gaza.
His statement comes as he is pictured accompanying UN Chief Antonio Guterres, who is expected to visit the border area later in the day.