Gaza City - Global pulse News
  • Israeli forces step up barrage throughout Gaza, in the middle of strong combating

    Israeli forces step up barrage throughout Gaza, in the middle of strong combating

    By Nidal al-Mughrabi

    CAIRO (Reuters) – Israeli forces pounded Rafah and other locations throughout the Gaza Strip and participated in close-quarter fight with fighters led by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, homeowners and Israel’s armed force stated.

    Citizens stated the Israelis appeared to by attempting to finish their capture of Rafah, the city on the enclave’s southern edge that has actually been the focus of an Israeli attack considering that early Might.

    Tanks were requiring their method into the western and northern parts of the city, having actually currently caught the east, south and centre. Israeli forces fired from aircrafts, tanks and ships off the coast, requiring a new age of displacement from the city, which had actually been safeguarding more than a million displaced individuals, the majority of whom have actually been required to get away once again.

    The Israeli armed force stated on Friday its forces were carrying out “accurate, intelligence-based” actions in the Rafah location, where soldiers were associated with close-quarter fight and had actually situated tunnels utilized by militants. It likewise reported actions somewhere else in the enclave.

    Some homeowners stated the rate of the Israeli raid has actually been sped up in the previous 2 days. They stated noises of surges and shooting showing strong battling have actually been nearly non-stop.

    More than 8 months into the war in Gaza, Israel’s advance is now concentrated on the 2 last locations its forces had yet to storm: Rafah on Gaza’s southern edge and the location surrounding Deir al-Balah in the centre.

    “The whole city of Rafah is a location of Israeli military operations,” Ahmed Al-Sofi, the mayor of Rafah, stated in a declaration brought by Hamas media on Friday.

    “The city endures a humanitarian disaster and individuals are passing away inside their camping tents since of Israeli barrage,” he included.

    Sofi stated there was no medical center operating in the city, which staying homeowners and displaced households did not have the minimum of their everyday requirements of food and water.

    Palestinian and UN figures reveal that less than 100,000 individuals might have stayed in the far western side of the city, which had actually been safeguarding majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million individuals before the Israeli attack started in early Might.

    The military implicated Hamas of utilizing Palestinian civilians as human guards, an accusation Hamas rejects.

    “The soldiers situated inside a civilian house big amounts of weapons concealed in closets, consisting of grenades, dynamites, a launcher and anti-tank rockets, ammo, and arms,” the armed force stated in a declaration late on Thursday.

    Hamas’ armed wing stated on Thursday its fighters had actually struck 2 Israeli tanks with anti-tank rockets in the Shaboura camp in Rafah, and eliminated soldiers who attempted to get away through the streets. There was no Israeli instant talk about the Hamas claim.

    In close-by Khan Younis, an Israeli air campaign on Friday eliminated 3 individuals, consisting of a dad and child, medics stated.

    In parallel, Israeli forces continued a brand-new push back into some Gaza City suburban areas in the north of the enclave, where they combated with Hamas-led militants. Citizens stated the army forces had actually damaged numerous homes in the heart of Gaza City on Thursday.

    Later Friday, an Israeli air campaign on a primary roadway in Gaza City eliminated 4 Palestinians, medics stated.

    Israel’s ground and air project was set off when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, eliminating around 1,200 individuals and taking more than 250 captives, according to Israeli tallies.

    The offensive has actually left Gaza in ruins, eliminated more than 37,400 individuals, according to Palestinian health authorities, and left almost the whole population homeless and destitute.

    (Reporting and composing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Modifying by Peter Graff)

  • A usually jubilant Muslim vacation advises households in Gaza of war’s penalizing toll

    A usually jubilant Muslim vacation advises households in Gaza of war’s penalizing toll

    DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Last summer season, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip commemorated the Muslim vacation of Eid al-Adha the method it’s expected to be: with big household banquets, meat shown those less lucky, and brand-new clothing and presents for kids.

    However this year, after 8 months of ravaging war in between Israel and Hamas, numerous households will consume canned food in suppressing camping tents. There’s barely any meat or animals at regional markets, and no cash for vacation deals with or provides — just war, cravings and torment, without any end in sight.

    “There is no Eid this year,” stated Nadia Hamouda, whose child was eliminated in the war and who ran away from her home in northern Gaza months back and is remaining in a camping tent in the main town of Deir al-Balah. “When we hear the call to prayer, we sob over those we lost and the important things we lost, and what has actually occurred to us, and how we utilized to live in the past.”

    Muslims around the globe will commemorate the four-day Eid al-Adha, the Banquet of the Sacrifice, early in the week. It honors the Prophet Ibrahim’s determination to compromise his kid, Ismail, as stated in the Quran. In the Jewish and Christian customs, Abraham is contacted us to compromise his other kid, Isaac.

    Gaza was impoverished and separated even before the war, however individuals still handled to commemorate by hanging up vibrant designs, unexpected kids with deals with and presents, and buying meat or slaughtering animals to show those less lucky.

    “It was a genuine Eid,” Hamouda stated. “Everybody enjoyed, consisting of the kids.”

    Now much of Gaza remains in ruins and the majority of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians have actually left their homes. After Hamas’ surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7, in which Palestinian militants eliminated some 1,200 individuals and took another 250 captive, Israel released an enormous air and ground attack.

    The war has actually eliminated over 37,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. It has actually ruined the majority of Gaza’s farming and food production, leaving individuals reliant on humanitarian help that has actually been held up by Israeli constraints and the continuous combating.

    United Nations firms have actually alerted that over a million individuals — almost half the population — might experience the greatest level of hunger in the coming weeks.

    In early May, Egypt closed down its crossing into the southern Gazan city of Rafah after Israel recorded the Palestinian side of it, sealing the only path for individuals to get in or leave the area. That implies essentially no Palestinians from Gaza will have the ability to make the yearly Hajj expedition that precedes the Eid.

    Ashraf Sahwiel, who was amongst numerous countless Palestinians who ran away from Gaza City previously in the war and is likewise residing in a camping tent, has no concept when or if he’ll have the ability to return.

    “We don’t even understand what took place to our homes or whether we’ll have the ability to reside in them once again, or if it’s even possible to restore,” he stated.

    Abdelsattar al-Batsh stated he and his household of 7 haven’t consumed meat given that the war started. A kg (2 pounds) of meat expenses 200 shekels (around $50). A live sheep, which might be purchased for as low as $200 before the war, now costs $1,300 — if it’s even offered.

    “Today, there is just war. No cash. No work. Our homes have actually been ruined. I have absolutely nothing,” al-Batsh stated.

    Iyad al-Bayouk, who owns a now-shuttered livestock farm in southern Gaza, stated extreme lacks of both animals and feed due to Israel’s blockade have actually increased rates. Some regional farms have actually been developed into shelters.

    Mohammed Abdel Rahim, who has actually been safeguarding in a structure in an empty livestock farm in main Gaza for months, stated the farm-turned-shelter was especially bad in the winter season, when it smelled like animals and was plagued with bugs. As the heat embeded in, the ground dried, making it more manageable, he stated.

    Abdelkarim Motawq, another displaced Palestinian from northern Gaza, utilized to operate in the regional meat market, which did vigorous service ahead of the vacation. This year, his household can just manage rice and beans.

    “I want I might work once again,” he stated. “It was a hectic season for me, throughout which I would bring cash home and purchase food, clothes, nuts, and meat for my kids. However today there’s absolutely nothing left.”

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    Khaled reported from Cairo.

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    Follow AP’s protection of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

  • UN Palestine help firm states all 36 shelters in Gaza’s Rafah empty

    UN Palestine help firm states all 36 shelters in Gaza’s Rafah empty

    The UN’s Palestinian help firm on Sunday stated all 36 of its shelters in the southern Gaza city of Rafah are “empty” due to Israel’s continuing military operation.

    The United Nations Relief and Functions Company for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) composed on the social platform X that “countless households have actually been required to leave.”

    It stated 1.7 countless Gaza’s 2.2 million homeowners are now displaced in the main city of Khan Yunis and surrounding locations.

    “The humanitarian area continues to diminish,” the firm included.

    Help companies have actually consistently alerted that there is no safe location in the Gaza Strip in the middle of Israel’s continuous operations in the area, which started in the consequences of the October 7 attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

    The most recent advance by Israeli forces in Rafah has actually drawn in substantial global criticism, with help companies approximating that around 1 million civilians had actually taken sanctuary in the southern city, on the border to Egypt.

    The UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently purchased Israel to instantly stop its operations in Rafah, however Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s federal government has actually up until now stopped working to follow the judgment.

    Israel states Rafah is the last fortress of Hamas fighters in Gaza, with a few of the staying Israeli captives from the October 7 attacks thought to be in the network of tunnels under the city.

  • UNRWA stops operate in Rafah, moves to Khan Younis

    UNRWA stops operate in Rafah, moves to Khan Younis

    The United Nations Relief and Functions Firm for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has actually suspended its operate in Rafah after the Israeli army got in the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip.

    “UNRWA needed to stop health and other vital services in Rafah,” the UN company’s chief Philippe Lazzarini composed on social networks platform X on Saturday night.

    The help company is now working from the city of Khan Younis north of Rafah and from the main Gaza Strip. “In Khan Younis we rebooted operations in spite of damage to all our centers,” Lazzarini composed.

    A representative for the company validated to dpa on Saturday night that UNRWA personnel had actually left Rafah and were continuing their operate in Khan Younis.

    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued their operation in Gaza’s Rafah on Saturday in spite of comprehensive worldwide criticism.

    Israel considers Rafah the last fortress of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which set off the present dispute in Gaza after eliminating numerous civilians in Israel in the October 7.

    A number of Israel’s allies, nevertheless, have actually adamantly opposed a military attack into in Rafah due to the high variety of civilians having protected there from battling in other places in the seaside location. A number of them have actually because left Rafah once again.

    According to the UNRWA chief, there are presently 1.7 million individuals in Khan Younis in the south of the seaside location and in the main Gaza Strip.

    UNRWA started to slowly resume its operate in Khan Younis following the withdrawal of the Israeli army in April and is now mainly supplying services there.

    Formerly, the company’s work concentrated on Rafah. Lazzarini stated all 36 of the help company’s shelters there are now empty.

    UNRWA stated countless displaced individuals are now living in the middle of debris and in damaged help company centers in the Jabalia refugee camp after the Israeli army just recently withdrew from the town in the north of the Gaza Strip.

  • Israel verifies its forces remain in main Rafah in broadening offensive in the southern Gaza city

    Israel verifies its forces remain in main Rafah in broadening offensive in the southern Gaza city

    JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli armed force has actually verified that its forces are running in main parts of Rafah in its broadening offensive in the southern Gaza city.

    The armed force stated in a declaration Friday that its soldiers in main Rafah had actually discovered Hamas rocket launchers and tunnels and took apart a weapons storage city of the group.

    Israel introduced its ground attack into the city on Might 6 and has actually generally been running in its eastern districts and near to the border with Egypt. Today, it likewise moved into the city’s western district of Tel al-Sultan, where heavy clashes with Hamas fighters have actually been reported by witnesses.

    Friday’s declaration did not define where in main Rafah the operations were occurring, however previous declarations and witness reports have actually indicated raids in the Shaboura refugee camp and other websites near the town hall.

    More than 1 million Palestinians have actually left the city given that the attack started, spreading around southern and main Gaza..

  • Three-quarters of Gaza marked as IDF evacuation zones, BBC discovers

    Three-quarters of Gaza marked as IDF evacuation zones, BBC discovers

    More than three-quarters of Gaza’s area have actually been designated as evacuation zones by the Israeli military considering that the war versus Hamas started in October, an analysis by BBC Arabic has actually discovered.

    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has actually released evacuation orders to Gazans considering that Israel introduced a military project on 7 October in reaction to a cross-border attack that day by Hamas, in which about 1,200 individuals were eliminated and 252 individuals were hijacked. The Israeli reaction has actually eliminated more than 35,000 individuals in Gaza up until now, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

    The BBC’s analysis reveals the cumulative locations designated as evacuation zones total up to 281 sq km (108 sq miles). That is the equivalent of 77% of Gaza’s area.

    The IDF has actually informed BBC Arabic that its evacuation guidelines are securing civilians by directing them to more secure locations.

    The UN and other help firms firmly insist that there are no safe locations for Gaza’s approximated 2 million civilians. They have actually likewise questioned the viability of an IDF-designated “humanitarian zone” in the area.

    Because the start of the war, the IDF has actually released lots of evacuation cautions impacting numerous locations of Gaza as part of its military operations versus Hamas.

    By mid-May, just less than a quarter of Gaza’s area was not designated as an evacuation zone.

    Map

    [BBC]

    Gaza is a largely inhabited enclave, around 41km (25 miles) long and 10km broad, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on one side and enclosed from Israel and Egypt at its borders.

    On 7 October, the very first day of the dispute, the IDF directed civilians in various parts of Gaza to look for shelter, before it introduced its very first air campaign.

    Later On in October, the IDF informed civilians in the north, consisting of Gaza City, and main locations to relocate to south of the Wadi Gaza riverbed.

    The IDF revealed brand-new evacuation zones in November that included more of main Gaza and parts of the south.

    At the start of December, the IDF started providing evacuation maps where Gaza was divided into blocks to offer more exact guidelines, after coming under worldwide pressure.

    In December and January, evacuation cautions were broadened even more to the south to consist of the city of Khan Younis and surrounding locations.

    In early April, the IDF restored cautions not to go back to the northern parts of Gaza.

    In Might, nearly half of the city of Rafah was contributed to the evacuation zones, as the IDF ground soldiers advanced into southern Gaza from the east.

    Civilians were all at once prompted to relocate to an “broadened humanitarian location” extending from al-Mawasi, simply north of Rafah, to the close-by areas of Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah.

    The IDF likewise just recently required individuals around Jabalia and Beit Lahia in northern Gaza to leave to shelters in western Gaza City, as it began fresh operations versus Hamas in the 2 locations.

    MapMap

    [BBC]

    None of the IDF’s evacuation guidelines considering that October have actually discussed when evacuation zones will be safe once again, or when locals will have the ability to return to their homes.

    The BBC looked for a reaction from the IDF on the scale of the evacuation zones.

    The IDF repeated that the evacuation cautions existed to safeguard civilians, however it did not particularly resolve our findings.

    “The IDF is dedicated to worldwide law and runs appropriately,” a declaration sent out to the BBC stated.

    Approximately 1.7 million individuals have actually been displaced throughout the Gaza Strip, the bulk several times, according to the UN’s Palestinian refugee firm, Unrwa.

    Getting Away Rafah

    On 7 Might, Israel took the Gazan side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, after IDF soldiers advanced into the location.

    The military purchased civilians to leave eastern Rafah for their own security before introducing the offensive.

    About 1.5 million displaced civilians had actually been safeguarding in Rafah before then, according to the UN.

    Unrwa reported that more than 810,000 Palestinians had actually gotten away since Monday, as Israeli tanks pressed into the city.

    In one satellite image recorded on 8 Might, a location in main Rafah which was when hectic with camping tents for displaced individuals looked deserted.

    MapMap

    [BBC]

    The IDF has actually been directing civilians towards the “broadened humanitarian location” in al-Mawasi, a narrow seaside strip of farming land that was very first designated as a “humanitarian zone” in October.

    The broadened zone now determines 60 sq km.

    The IDF stated the location consists of “field healthcare facilities, camping tents and increased quantities of food, water, medication and extra materials”.

    A satellite image recorded on 8 Might reveals what seems a brand-new field healthcare facility which has actually been built in Deir al-Balah.

    Aerial images of Deir al-Balah hospitalAerial images of Deir al-Balah hospital

    [BBC]

    The UN has actually questioned the concept of directing civilians to al-Mawasi.

    “Al-Mawasi, in specific, is a location that is a great deal of sand and desert,” Louise Wateridge, interactions officer of Unrwa informed BBC Arabic.

    The IDF’s designated humanitarian locations had actually restricted facilities and materials, she included.

    Fidaa Alaraj, a co-ordinator for the charity Oxfam in Gaza, states the humanitarian circumstance is worsening in al-Mawasi.

    “It is extremely crowded… Camping tents are all over and are now right on the beach front,” she described.

    “There is likewise insufficient food, water and fuel to walk around,” she included.

    Ms Alaraj, a Palestinian from northern Gaza, stated she had actually been displaced numerous times considering that the start of the war herself.

    BBC Arabic spoke with other Palestinians who had actually been required to move numerous times currently.

    A displaced female from Rafah stated there was neither water nor electrical energy when she showed up in al-Mawasi.

    Hamdan informed BBC Arabic that he had actually been displaced 4 times considering that the dispute started.

    “We concerned al-Mawasi and might not discover camping tents. And the ones that were readily available were extremely pricey. There are no toilets and we needed to bury barrels underground to utilize them as toilets.”

    “This is pricey, and life is extremely challenging. There is no health at all,” he included.

    Extra reporting by Lamees Altalebi and Paul Cusiac

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  • Funeral for security guard killed in Gaza

    Funeral for security guard killed in Gaza

    The funeral of a security guard killed in an Israeli air strike has taken place in Bristol.

    James Kirby, 47, was one of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers killed in the attack on 1 April, including two other Britons.

    Around 400 mourners gathered at St Mary Redcliffe church on Wednesday to pay their respects to Mr Kirby.

    His best friend Brendan Forbes said: “It’s quite hard to quantify the magnitude of what has happened to such a great guy.”

    Part of WCK’s security team, Mr Kirby was killed when Israeli armed drones fired munitions through three marked vehicles in the aid convoy as it left one of the group’s warehouses in Deir al-Balah, south of Gaza City.

    The charity said the convoy had just unloaded more than 100 tonnes of food aid brought from overseas.

    Britons John Chapman, 57 and James “Jim” Henderson, 33, also died in the attack and have since been repatriated.

    Mr Forbes had been friends with Mr Kirby since they were Army cadets, aged 13.

    “I’ve known him as a best friend, I’ve known him as an impeccable soldier,” he said.

    “Even when we left the Army we worked together as carpenters on building sites.

    “He’s my brother.

    “He was also the kind of guy that would read the room really well and he would bring you in.

    “Out of a room of 100 people he would make you feel like you were the only one,” he added.

    “I think that’s why he has so many friends.”

    Brendan Forbes in a suit, standing outside the funeral

    “We were incredibly close. We were breaking bread every week,” said Brendan Forbes [BBC]

    “Wherever James was, Bristol was,” added My Forbes.

    “Everyone knew where Bristol was when they spoke to Kirbs.”

    He said their last conversation was when Mr Kirby was at the airport on his way to Gaza.

    “I was more than happy that he was certain that he was on a good job.”

    A flower arrangement saying 'son'A flower arrangement saying 'son'

    Family flowers were laid outside the church [BBC]

    On Tuesday, ahead of the funeral, Mr Kirby’s mother, Jacqui, described him as , “a remarkable man”.

    She added: “I will miss him beyond measure and cannot comprehend a future without his presence.”

    ‘Amazing guy’

    Another friend attending the funeral, Veiner Gaston, described Mr Kirby as “a good friend” and “a brother” who was always there for him.

    The two became friends after spending six months working together in Afghanistan.

    “He was an amazing guy. There was never a dull moment with him.

    “He would make you feel special,” he said, adding: “He never asked anyone for anything.”

    Mr Gaston said: “It’s been hard without him.”

    He added that his friend was “quite excited” about going to help the people of Gaza.

    “It made him happy, helping people.”

    Veiner Gaston in a grey suit standing outside the funeralVeiner Gaston in a grey suit standing outside the funeral

    Veiner Gaston said Mr Kirby “would make everyone smile” [BBC]

    Canon Dan Tyndall, the vicar of St Mary Redcliffe, who led the service, said: “As James served the world and his country in life, I hope what we’re going to do is serve James in his death.”

    He explained people were joining the live stream of the funeral from around the world.

    “We need to do what we can to celebrate the life and to mourn the loss of someone who gave his life in the service of the country and in the service of wider humanity.”

    Canon Tyndall encouraged people to light a candle whilst watching the service online, explaining there would be seven candles lit on the alter for each of the aid workers who were killed.

    “Those candles will then go on from here to the next funeral next week and the third one next week.”

    They will then be distributed to the seven families of the aid workers who died.

    “We’re trying to reinforce the notion that light is stronger than darkness and that love is stronger than hate,” he added.

    Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

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  • Palestinians across the Middle East mark their original ‘catastrophe’ with eyes on the war in Gaza

    Palestinians across the Middle East mark their original ‘catastrophe’ with eyes on the war in Gaza

    JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinians across the Middle East on Wednesday are marking the anniversary of their mass expulsion from what is now Israel with protests and other events across the region at a time of mounting concern over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

    The Nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe,” refers to the 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel before and during the war surrounding its creation in 1948.

    More than twice that number have been displaced within Gaza since the start of the latest war, which was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. U.N. agencies say 550,000 people, nearly a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, have been newly displaced in just the last week, as Israeli forces have pushed into the southern city of Rafah and reinvaded parts of northern Gaza.

    “We lived through the Nakba not just once, but several times,” said Umm Shadi Sheikh Khalil, who was displaced from Gaza City and now lives in a tent in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah.

    The refugees and their descendants number some 6 million and live in built-up refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In Gaza, they are the majority of the population, with most families having relocated from what is now central and southern Israel.

    Israel rejects what the Palestinians say is their right of return, because if it was fully implemented it would likley result in a Palestinian majority within Israel’s borders.

    PAINFUL MEMORIES

    The refugee camps in Gaza have seen some of the heaviest fighting of the war. In other camps across the region, the fighting has revived painful memories from earlier rounds of violence in a decades-old conflict with no end in sight.

    At a center for elderly residents of the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Amina Taher recalled the day her family’s house in the village of Deir al-Qassi, in what is now northern Israel, collapsed over their heads after being shelled by Israeli forces in 1948. The house was next to a school that was being used as a base by Palestinian fighters, she said.

    Taher, then 3 years old, was pulled from the rubble unharmed, but her 1-year-old sister was killed. Now she has seen the same scenes play out in news coverage of Gaza.

    “When I would watch the news, I had a mental breakdown because then I remembered when the house fell on me,” she said. “What harm did these children do to get killed like this?”

    Daoud Nasser, also now living in Shatila, was 6 years old when his family fled from the village of Balad al-Sheikh, near Haifa. His father tried to return to their village in the early years after 1948, when the border was relatively porous, but found a Jewish family living in their house, he said.

    Nasser said he would attempt the same journey if the border were not so heavily guarded. “I would run. I’m ready to walk from here to there and sleep under the olive trees on my own land,” he said.

    NO END TO WAR

    The latest war began with Hamas’ rampage across southern Israel, through some of the same areas where Palestinians fled from their villages 75 years earlier. Palestinian militants killed some 1.200 people that day, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostage.

    Israel responded with one of the heaviest military onslaughts in recent history, obliterating entire neighborhoods in Gaza and forcing some 80% of the population to flee their homes.

    Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants in its count. The U.N. says there is widespread hunger and that northern Gaza is in a “full-blown famine.”

    Israel says its goal is to dismantle Hamas and return the estimated 100 hostages, and the remains of more than 30 others, still held by the group after it released most of the rest during a cease-fire last year.

    Israeli troops pushed into Rafah last week. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has portrayed the city on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt as Hamas’ last stronghold, promising victory.

    But the militants have regrouped elsewhere in Gaza, even in some of the hardest-hit areas, raising the prospect of a prolonged insurgency.

    The fighting in Rafah has made the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing — Gaza’s main cargo terminal — mostly inaccessible from the Palestinian side. Israel’s capture of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt has forced it to shut down and sparked a crisis of relations with the Arab country. Aid groups says the loss of the two crossings has crippled efforts to provide humanitarian aid as needs mount.

    In a statement on Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry accused Israel “distorting the facts” and condemned its “desperate attempts” to blame Egypt for the continued closure of the crossing. Egyptian officials have said the Rafah operation threatens the two countries’ decades-old peace treaty.

    Shoukry was responding to remarks by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who said there was a “need to persuade Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing to allow the continued delivery of international humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

    Egypt has played a key role in months of mediation efforts aimed at brokering a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and the release of hostages. The latest round of talks ended last week without a breakthrough.

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    Sewell reported from Beirut and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press reporter Wafaa Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip.

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    Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

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  • Israel orders new evacuations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah as it prepares to expand operations

    Israel orders new evacuations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah as it prepares to expand operations

    RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Saturday as it prepared to expand its operation, saying it was also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped.

    Fighting is escalating across the enclave with heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of Rafah, leaving the crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and forcing more than 110,000 people to flee north.

    Israel’s move into Rafah has so far been short of the full-scale invasion that it has planned.

    The United Nations and other agencies have warned for weeks that an Israeli assault on Rafah, which borders Egypt near the main aid entry points, would cripple humanitarian operations and cause a disastrous surge in civilian casualties. More than 1.4 million Palestinians — half of Gaza’s population— have been sheltering in Rafah, most after fleeing Israel’s offensives elsewhere.

    Army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, told Palestinians in Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya cities and the surrounding areas to leave their homes and head to shelters in the west of Gaza City, warning that people were in “a dangerous combat zone” and that Israel was going to strike with “great force.”

    Heavy fighting is underway in northern Gaza, where Hamas appeared to have once again regrouped in an area where Israel has already launched punishing assaults. Battles erupted this week in the Zeitoun area on the outskirts of Gaza City, in the northern part of the territory. Northern Gaza was the first target of the ground offensive. Israel said late last year that it had mostly dismantled Hamas in the area.

    At least 19 people, including eight women and eight children, were killed overnight in Central Gaza in three different strikes that hit the towns of Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al Balah, according to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah and an Associated Press journalist who counted the bodies.

    Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. Much of Gaza has been destroyed and some 80% of Gaza’s population has been driven from their homes.

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    Mednick reporter from Tel Aviv and Magdy reported from Cairo

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  • UN Security Council demands investigation into mass graves in Gaza

    UN Security Council demands investigation into mass graves in Gaza

    The UN Security Council on Friday called for an investigation into mass graves discovered near health facilities in the Gaza Strip.

    Graves containing several hundred bodies were found near the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in recent weeks.

    Last month the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which cited the Palestinian civil defence, said some bodies had bound hands.

    Hospitals and other medical establishments are entitled special protections under international humanitarian law.

    The Israeli side has said accusations that Israeli forces had buried the bodies of Palestinians were unfounded. Israeli soldiers had merely examined the graves in search of Israeli hostages, officials said.

    “The UN Security Council calls for immediate, independent, thorough, comprehensive, transparent and impartial investigations into mass graves discovered at the Nasser and Al Shifa medical facilities in Gaza,” a statement from Britain’s UN mission said.

    “There needs to be accountability for violations of international law.”

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  • Battles in east Rafah as Israel reopens key Kerem Shalom aid crossing

    Battles in east Rafah as Israel reopens key Kerem Shalom aid crossing

    There has been heavy fighting and bombardment near the southern Gaza city of Rafah, as Israel said the key Kerem Shalom crossing had reopened for aid.

    The Israeli military said troops had killed Hamas fighters in eastern Rafah as part of a “precise” counterterrorism operation. Hamas also reported battles.

    Earlier, the military said lorries had arrived at Kerem Shalom, which was shut after a rocket attack on Sunday.

    However, a UN agency said no supplies had entered through the crossing yet.

    The UN had expressed alarm on Tuesday over what it called Israel’s “choking off” of Gaza’s two main aid arteries, after Israeli troops took full control of the Palestinian side of the nearby Rafah crossing with Egypt.

    Meanwhile, negotiations on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal have resumed in Cairo, with the US saying it believed a revised Hamas proposal could lead to a breakthrough.

    And the Israeli military played down the significance of the US government’s decision to halt a shipment of powerful bombs over concerns that Israel was about to launch a major offensive on Rafah city.

    Seven months into its war with Hamas in Gaza, Israel has insisted victory is impossible without taking Rafah.

    But with more than a million displaced Palestinians taking refuge there from the fighting elsewhere, the UN and Western powers have warned that an all-out assault could have devastating humanitarian consequences.

    Plumes of smoke from Israeli air strikes were seen over Rafah and heavy gunfire was heard on Wednesday, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said troops were continuing a limited offensive in eastern areas.

    An IDF statement said they had “eliminated terrorists and uncovered terrorist infrastructure, as well as underground shafts in several locations” during several encounters over the past day. They were also carrying out raids on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing, it added.

    The IDF also said aircraft had struck more than 100 “terror targets” throughout Gaza over the past day.

    Residents of Rafah reported intense bombardment overnight and video footage on Wednesday morning showed people searching through the rubble of a building destroyed in one of the strikes.

    “We are in a safe area according to the army’s map – an area without operations,” neighbour Reda al-Najili told Reuters news agency.

    “We were sitting when suddenly the explosion happened. Our neighbour’s house was gone, and our house was all damaged internally. In the house there are only civilians. Women died. Those who were injured were all children.”

    He added: “My message to the world is – please look [at what’s happening] to us. We are people who just want to live, we don’t want any problems. We have withstood more than we should, get us out, let this war be over.”

    Palestinian medics also said seven members of one family, including five children, were killed in an overnight strike on a home in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, in the north of the territory.

    Gaza evacuation map

    [BBC]

    Also on Wednesday morning, the IDF announced the reopening of Kerem Shalom for humanitarian aid.

    “Trucks from Egypt carrying humanitarian aid, including food, water, shelter equipment, medicine and medical equipment donated by the international community are already arriving at the crossing,” it said.

    “After a thorough security inspection by the security personnel… the equipment will be transferred to the Gazan side of the crossing.”

    The military also said the recently reopened Erez crossing with northern Gaza was continuing to operate.

    However, the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa – which is the largest humanitarian organisation in Gaza – reported that it had not received any Gaza aid via Kerem Shalom or Rafah, which remains closed.

    “We’re not receiving any aid into the Gaza Strip, the Rafah crossing area has ongoing military operations – there have been continued bombardments in this area throughout the day,” said Scott Anderson, senior deputy director of Unrwa affairs in Gaza.

    “No fuel or aid has entered into Gaza Strip and this is disastrous for the humanitarian response.”

    File photo showing Egyptian aid lorries queuing at the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza (25 April 2024)File photo showing Egyptian aid lorries queuing at the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza (25 April 2024)

    (File photo) The Israeli military said aid lorries from Egypt were already arriving at the Kerem Shalom crossing [EPA]

    Kerem Shalom is the key entry point for aid into Gaza, but Israel closed it on Sunday after four Israeli soldiers were killed by rockets launched by Hamas from the area of the Rafah crossing, according to the Israeli military.

    Another six projectiles were fired at Kerem Shalom from the Rafah area on Tuesday, but no casualties were reported.

    The second attack happened hours after Israeli tanks rolled into the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing

    UN Secretary General António Guterres said he was “disturbed and distressed” by the Israeli military activity in Rafah.

    He also warned that the closure of both Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings was “especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation” and demanded that they be reopened immediately.

    Mr Guterres urged Israel and Hamas to “spare no effort” to agree a ceasefire, warning that the fate of the entire region was facing a “decisive moment”.

    On Monday, Israel declared that a three-phase proposal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages approved by Hamas was unacceptable.

    The White House spokesman, John Kirby, said a revised text Hamas had since put forward suggested remaining gaps could “absolutely be closed”.

    Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s cross-border attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 252 others were taken hostage.

    More than 34,840 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

    A deal agreed in November saw Hamas release 105 hostages in return for a week-long ceasefire and some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Israel says 128 hostages are unaccounted for, 36 of whom are presumed dead.

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  • Biden Team Sees Narrow Window for Deal on Cease-Fire and Hostages in Gaza

    Biden Team Sees Narrow Window for Deal on Cease-Fire and Hostages in Gaza

    WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and his national security team see a narrow window to finally seal an agreement that would at least temporarily halt the war in the Gaza Strip and possibly end it for good even as they deflect pressure from college campus protests to abandon Israel in its fight against Hamas.

    Several factors converging at once have renewed the administration’s hopes that it can break through the stalemate in the next week or two. Biden’s team wants to capitalize on the successful defense of Israel from Iranian attack, rising public pressure in Israel to free the hostages, and Saudi eagerness for a new diplomatic and security initiative.

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    The window may be short. The president’s advisers are pressing for a cease-fire deal before Israel can begin its long-threatened assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, an operation with the potential for many civilian casualties that could thwart any short-term chances of peace. But administration officials have gone down this road before over the past several months, repeatedly expressing optimism only to see the chances for a deal collapse.

    The administration is testing its proposition with a renewed push in the region. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, where he promoted a new “extraordinarily generous” offer by Israel, which signaled that it is now willing to accept the release of fewer hostages in the first stage of an agreement, 33 instead of 40.

    Sameh Shoukry, the foreign minister of Egypt, which appears set to host a new round of talks in Cairo starting Tuesday, said he was “hopeful” about the latest cease-fire proposal, saying it “has taken into account the positions of both sides.”

    Blinken’s Saudi hosts are eager to finalize a separate deal that would include a security agreement with the United States and civilian nuclear assistance as well as diplomatic recognition of Israel, which diplomats believe could be a transformative moment for a region that long ostracized the Jewish state. As part of that deal, however, the Saudis insist that Israel commit to a concrete plan for an eventual Palestinian state within a certain deadline, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has adamantly rejected.

    Eyeing the political calendar in Washington, the Saudis want to move in the next couple of weeks in hopes of generating bipartisan support in the Senate before the November election, in which former President Donald Trump could reclaim his office. If Trump is in the White House, the chances of Democrats in the Senate voting for a deal with Saudi Arabia could vanish, according to officials and analysts.

    But the Saudis could hardly proceed if Israel is mounting a major assault on Rafah, adding extra impetus to the cease-fire talks. Biden followed up a Sunday call with Netanyahu with calls Monday to President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, whose governments have served as intermediaries with Hamas in the talks.

    “The Israelis seem to be softening their posture, and the Saudis seem to have put their offer of normalization on the table, and Hamas is sounding more positive,” said Martin S. Indyk, a two-time ambassador to Israel and former special Middle East peace envoy. “So it’s looking better than it has for several weeks.”

    The wild card remains Yehia Sinwar, the Hamas leader living in hiding in Gaza, who has blocked a deal for a cease-fire and hostages. The Americans and Israelis are not in direct contact with Sinwar and are relying on the Qataris and Egyptians to communicate with Hamas leaders outside Gaza who then communicate with Sinwar, officials said, complicating their ability to analyze his intentions.

    “If Sinwar is ready for a deal, it will happen,” said Dennis B. Ross, a longtime Middle East negotiator now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “I suspect the administration believes if Israel does Rafah, nothing will be possible. The problem is if Sinwar has hostages, they are still a card he sees himself holding” and he may “choose to play” it.

    American officials continued to ratchet up the pressure on Hamas on Monday. “The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a cease-fire is Hamas,” Blinken said in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

    In Washington, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said that “in recent days there has been new progress in talks and the onus is indeed on Hamas. There is a deal on the table and they need to take it.”

    As if the diplomatic Rubik’s Cube were not intricate enough, though, a new wrinkle in recent days has threatened to further complicate the U.S. efforts. Israeli officials are worried that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials stemming from the conduct of the war in Gaza.

    The White House rejected any move to do that. “We do not support it,” Jean-Pierre said. “We don’t believe that they have the jurisdiction.”

    Another looming deadline comes May 8 when the administration is required to certify to Congress whether Israel is complying with American and international law in its use of U.S.-provided arms. Reports in recent days by Reuters and Politico have indicated that lawyers inside the U.S. government are skeptical, at least, that such a certification could be made.

    The intensifying diplomacy comes as American college campuses have erupted in anger over the war in Gaza and Biden is dogged during his travels by protesters accusing him of supporting genocide. The president has expressed support for the free speech of peaceful protesters while condemning antisemitism against Jewish students, who in some cases have been targeted.

    While Biden’s campaign strategists in Wilmington, Delaware, worry about the implications of discontent on the political left among young voters he needs to win reelection, his national security aides try to tune out the noise to find the right combination of moves that they think will halt the war temporarily and, they hope, even permanently.

    “Clearly the president feels a sense of urgency,” said Steven A. Cook, a senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

    And so do some of his partners overseas. Cook just returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia, where he said he found leaders eager to finalize their deal with the United States. “The Saudis were very upfront,” he said. “This is make or break, this is the moment.”

    c.2024 The New York Times Company

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  • Mass Graves of Hundreds Uncovered in Gaza Sound Alarm

    Mass Graves of Hundreds Uncovered in Gaza Sound Alarm

    A view of destruction after Israeli forces withdrawal from the Gaza Strip’s largest health complex, Al-Shifa Hospital and its surroundings in Gaza City, Gaza on April 21, 2024. Credit – Mahmoud Issa — Anadolu via Getty Images

    Mass graves with hundreds of bodies were discovered last weekend at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, prompting serious concerns about war crimes, according to the OHCHR, the U.N.’s human rights office.

    Much remains unknown about the victims, but the discovery of the bodies comes after Israeli troops ended their two-week operation at Al-Shifa Hospital in early April. The hospital, which was once the main tertiary facility in the region before Oct. 7, has since been reduced to “an empty shell.” Troops also similarly raided Nasser Hospital, claiming that their intelligence showed Hamas was holding hostages in the medical center.

    “Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law. And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees and others who are hors de combat [out of combat or action] is a war crime,” said Volker Türk, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. Attacks on hospitals are one of six grave violations the U.N. Security Council monitors and reports. Hospitals can lose their special protections, however, if “they are used by a party to the conflict to commit, outside their humanitarian functions, an ‘act harmful to the enemy,’” according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. What constitutes an act that is harmful to the enemy is not defined under international humanitarian law. However, the Red Cross does list “the placing of a medical establishment or unit in proximity to a military objective with the intention of shielding it from enemy’s military operations” as an example.

    Read More: The Struggle to Save Lives Inside Gaza’s Hospitals

    Türk has called for an independent investigation into the matter, and reiterated his support for an immediate ceasefire. The European Union backed his call for an independent probe into the mass graves on Tuesday.

    “Among the deceased were allegedly older people, women and wounded, while others were found tied with their hands…tied and stripped of their clothes,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. Shamdasani, shared that local health authorities in Gaza have also reported that some 30 Palestinians were buried in two graves in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital. At least 12 victims have been identified, though identification was not possible for others.

    Col. Yamen Abu Suleiman, Director of Civil Defense in Khan Younis, told CNN that some of the bodies were possibly “buried alive or executed” and that most of them were decomposed. Some family members also told CNN that they had been unable to locate the remains of their loved ones after Israeli troops attacked the hospital.

    Nadav Shoshani, a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Force, called the claim that Israeli troops buried Palestinians in mass graves “misinformation.”

    “The grave in question was dug — by Gazans — a few months ago. This fact is corroborated by social media documentation uploaded by Gazans at the time of the burial,” he tweeted on April 24. “Any attempt to blame Israel for burying civilians in mass graves is categorically false and a mere example of a disinformation campaign aimed at delegitimizing Israel.” Shoshani added that military personnel had examined the corpses buried near Nasser Hospital to make sure that there were no hostages or missing people among the victims. He says all remains were “respectfully returned to their place.” Gazan authorities affirm that graves were previously dug before the Israeli military arrived, but allege that troops added bodies to the grave site. TIME has not independently verified the claims about the cause of death of individuals.

    More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, and another 77,368 people have been injured in Gaza, per the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health.

    The White House has expressed concern over the matter. “We want answers,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during a press conference on Wednesday. “We want to see this thoroughly and transparently investigated.”

    Contact us at letters@time.com.



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  • Dozens of Palestinians killed in Gaza as Hamas official vows to ‘break’ Israel

    Dozens of Palestinians killed in Gaza as Hamas official vows to ‘break’ Israel

    By Nidal al-Mughrabi

    GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli forces fought Palestinian militants in the north and centre of the Gaza Strip on Friday as Khaled Meshaal, a senior official in Gaza’s ruling Hamas movement, said its six-month-old battle with Israel would “break the enemy soon”.

    Most Israeli troops have been pulled out of Gaza in preparation for an assault on the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering, but fighting has continued in various areas.

    Residents of Al-Nusseirat camp in central Gaza said dozens were dead or wounded after Israeli bombardment from air, land and sea that had followed a surprise ground offensive on Thursday, and that houses and two mosques had been destroyed.

    Health officials said earlier that six people had been killed in strikes on the camp, and around 70 wounded, including three Palestinian journalists.

    In Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said at least 25 people had been killed and several wounded in an Israeli air strike on a house in Al-Daraj neighbourhood. Gaza’s health ministry said 89 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli military strikes in the space of 24 hours.

    The Israel military (IDF) said it was pursuing “a precise intelligence-based operation” against militants and their infrastructure in central Gaza.”Over the past day, IDF fighter jets struck over 60 terror targets in the Gaza Strip, including underground launch posts, military infrastructure and sites in which armed terrorists operated,” a military statement said. “In parallel, IDF artillery struck terrorist infrastructure in the central Gaza Strip.”

    Meshaal spoke at an event in Doha, Qatar, to mourn members of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh’s family killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Wednesday.

    “This is not the final round,” he said. “It is an important round on the path of liberating Palestine and defeating the Zionist project.”

    At least 33,545 Palestinians have now been killed since the Israeli offensive began, Gaza’s health ministry said, with most of the 2.3 million population displaced and much of the enclave laid to waste.

    The war began when Hamas led an attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage. Around 130 are still being held incommunicado in Gaza, Israel says.

    (Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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  • IDF launches renewed operation in central Gaza Strip

    IDF launches renewed operation in central Gaza Strip

    Israeli forces launched a fresh deployment in the central Gaza Strip in the early hours of Thursday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.

    The announcement referred to “a precise, intelligence-based operation to eliminate terrorist operatives and strike terrorist infrastructure in central Gaza.”

    Israeli combat jets had struck targets above and below the ground before the IDF ground forces moved in, it added.

    The military said that its troops had “identified an armed terrorist who exited a terror tunnel shaft adjacent to IDF troops and entered a military structure.” A combat jet targeted him as he approached the IDF troops.

    Several rocket launcher ramps had been found, and the Israeli navy had fired on several targets in the area, it said.

    Emergency workers in the area reported that at least five Palestinians had died in a residential block in the Nuseirat Camp for refugees, which lies south-west of Gaza City.

    In Gaza’s south, six people were killed in Rafah in a suspected airstrike by Israeli forces on the city on the Egyptian border, Palestinian paramedics in the area reported.

    An IDF spokesman declined to comment on the specific incident, but said that in response to the “barbaric attacks” by Palestinian militant organization Hamas, “the IDF is operating to dismantle Hamas military and administrative capabilities.”

    He added: “In stark contrast to Hamas’ intentional attacks on Israeli men, women and children, the IDF follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.”

    A key Hamas financier was also killed in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip, the IDF said.

    Nasser Yakob Jabber Nasser “was responsible for financing a significant part of Hamas’ military activities in Rafah,” the military said. Last December, he transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hamas, it added.

    More than 1 million refugees are crowded into Rafah. Despite international warnings, Israel is planning a military operation there to dismantle what Israel claims are the last Hamas battalions.

    According to the Hamas-controlled health authorities, more than 33,500 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war triggered by the Hamas-led attacks on Israel more than six months ago. More than 76,000 Palestinians have been injured. The numbers do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

    In the attack by Hamas and other Palestinian militants on the Israeli border area on October 7, more than 1,200 people were killed and, according to Israeli media, over 250 people were abducted to the Gaza Strip.

    Earlier this week, the IDF withdrew the bulk of its forces from parts of southern Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nevertheless insists that a ground assault on the remaining intact Hamas forces in Rafah is imminent, despite international calls for it to be called off.

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  • Gaza war at six-month mark with no end in sight

    Gaza war at six-month mark with no end in sight

    With the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza reaching the six-month mark after tens of thousands of deaths, there is no immediate end in sight to the hostilities.

    Negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas are continuing in Cairo, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is coming under increasing pressure both internationally and at home.

    Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities on Saturday evening to protest against Netanyahu’s government and demand more concerted efforts to secure the release of the hostages abducted by Hamas.

    An airstrike by Israeli forces on an aid convoy in the past week provoked outrage from some of Israel’s most solid international allies.

    A delegation from the Palestinian militant group Hamas plans to travel to Cairo on Sunday for negotiations over a possible ceasefire, but these talks have faltered in recent weeks.

    The war began on October 7 last year, when hundreds of terrorists, mainly from Hamas but also from other militant groups based in Gaza, flooded across the heavily guarded border and massacred people in nearby communities and at a music festival.

    Some 1,200 people in Israel were killed, and 250 people were taken hostage back to Gaza. Since then, dozens have been released, and a few others have been found dead or freed by the Israeli army.

    The unprecedented attack triggered a massive campaign of Israeli airstrikes, followed by a military ground offensive that began just weeks later in the north and has moved through every major town except Rafah in the very south.

    According to Hamas authorities in Gaza, more than 32,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks so far.

    Palestinians inspect the damage at al-Shifa Hospital complex, following a two-week military operation by the Israeli army in Gaza City. Omar Ishaq/dpa

    Palestinians inspect the damage at al-Shifa Hospital complex, following a two-week military operation by the Israeli army in Gaza City. Omar Ishaq/dpa

    Palestinians, injured during an Israeli bombing, receive treatment while laying on the floor of the Nasser Hospital. Ahmed Zakot/dpaPalestinians, injured during an Israeli bombing, receive treatment while laying on the floor of the Nasser Hospital. Ahmed Zakot/dpa

    Palestinians, injured during an Israeli bombing, receive treatment while laying on the floor of the Nasser Hospital. Ahmed Zakot/dpa

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  • Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital in ruins after two-week Israeli raid

    Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital in ruins after two-week Israeli raid

    Israel’s military has pulled out of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City after a two-week raid that has left most of the major medical complex in ruins.

    Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said dozens of bodies have been found and locals said nearby areas were razed.

    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had killed 200 “terrorists”, detained hundreds more and found weapons and intelligence “throughout the hospital”.

    The IDF said it raided al-Shifa because Hamas had regrouped there.

    The two-week operation saw intense fighting and Israeli air strikes in nearby buildings and the surrounding area.

    Wards were attacked because Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives were using them as a base, the IDF said, accusing them of fighting inside medical departments, setting off explosives and burning hospital buildings.

    Images published following the Israeli withdrawal showed Palestinians walking near the charred main buildings with chunks of wall missing and carrying bodies wrapped in blankets. Graphic photos showed corpses partially exposed on the churned ground.

    The health ministry said dozens of bodies, some decomposed, had been found in and around the medical complex which was now “completely out of service”.

    A doctor told AFP news agency more than 20 bodies had been recovered, some crushed by withdrawing vehicles.

    A spokesperson for Gaza’s Hamas-run civil emergency service said Israeli forces had used bulldozers to dig up the grounds of the complex and exhume buried bodies.

    The Hamas government media office said Israeli forces had killed 400 Palestinians in al-Shifa and the surrounding area, including a female doctor and her son, who was also a doctor. Israel has not yet commented.

    The IDF said its troops killed 200 “terrorists” and detained more than 900 people, of whom more than 500 were subsequently found to be affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – which Israel, the UK and other countries proscribe as terrorist organisations. The suspects had been transferred to the intelligence services for further interrogation, it added.

    The IDF said “forces found large quantities of weapons, intelligence documents throughout the hospital, encountered terrorists in close-quarters battles and engaged in combat while avoiding harm to the medical staff and patients”.

    An IDF spokesman said more than 6,000 people had been in the hospital complex, mostly civilians, at the start of the raid.

    Palestinians carry dead body at shifa
    Palestinians say numerous bodies were found after the Israeli forces withdrew [Reuters]

    The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday night that 21 patients had died, with patients moved multiple times and held without medical care.

    Patient Barra al-Shawish told Reuters news agency that the Israeli troops had allowed in a “very small amount of food”. “No treatment, no medicine, nothing, and bombing for 24 hours that didn’t stop and immense destruction in the hospital,” he said.

    Some of the patients were being moved to al-Ahli hospital, about 3km (1.8 miles) to the south-east, a medic at al-Shifa told Reuters.

    Gaza’s hospitals have been a main focus of the current war, with thousands of Palestinians seeking shelter from Israeli bombardment in their grounds and Israeli forces storming the facilities because they say Hamas fighters are present there.

    Israel has long accused Hamas of using civilian health infrastructure as a cover to launch its operations, which the group denies.

    Two weeks ago, it took hundreds of Israeli forces just a few hours to approach and enter the Gaza Strip’s largest hospital. That was in marked contrast to their first controversial raid there in November, when it took several weeks for large numbers of tanks and vehicles backed by heavy air strikes to close in on the site.

    For supporters of the Israeli military this has been evidence of the gains it has made during the war and its tactical success, launching a surprise attack on the enemy to strike it hard. An IDF spokesman previously referred to the operation as “one of the most successful of the war so far” because of the intelligence gleaned as well as numbers killed and detained.

    However, some commentators suggest the second al-Shifa raid highlights flaws in Israel’s military strategy for the war. They argue that it shows the ease with which Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters were able to regroup after Israel pulled its forces out of northern Gaza and the urgent need to come up with a convincing post-war plan to govern the territory.

    al shifaal shifa

    The hospital and large parts of surrounding residential areas have been destroyed [Reuters]

    On Monday the Gaza health ministry appealed for international help to restart medical care at Nasser hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The biggest hospital in southern Gaza has been out of action since the Israeli military stormed it in February.

    The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. About 130 of the hostages remain in captivity, at least 34 of whom are presumed dead.

    More than 32,800 Palestinians have been killed and 75,000 injured in Gaza since Israel launched its military campaign, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. It says 70% of those killed were women and children.

    Map showing key buildings at al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza CityMap showing key buildings at al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City

    [BBC]

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  • Top UN court orders Israel to allow food and medical aid into Gaza

    Top UN court orders Israel to allow food and medical aid into Gaza

    The UN’s top court has unanimously ordered Israel to enable the unhindered flow of aid into Gaza in order to avert a famine.

    The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Israel must act “without delay” to allow the “provision… of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”.

    This follows warnings that famine could hit Gaza within weeks.

    Israel has called allegations it is blocking aid “wholly unfounded”.

    It has also denied allegations of genocide lodged at the ICJ by South Africa and has blamed the UN for problems with the distribution of aid.

    The latest ruling by the court in The Hague comes after South Africa asked it to bolster an order issued to Israel in January to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza.

    Although orders issued by the ICJ are legally binding, the court lacks the power to enforce them.

    Last week, a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Global Initiative, which is run by the World Food Programme and others, warned that a “catastrophic” situation was developing.

    It said that all of the 2.2 million people in Gaza were “facing high levels of acute food insecurity” and that famine was projected to hit the north of the territory before the end of May.

    In its ruling, the ICJ said Gaza was “no longer facing only a risk of famine” but “famine is setting in” and that, according to UN observers, 31 people, including 27 children, had already died of malnutrition and dehydration.

    It also noted comments by Volker Türk, the UN’s high commissioner for human rights, who said last week that the “situation of hunger, starvation and famine” was “a result of Israel’s extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, displacement of most of the population, as well as the destruction of crucial civilian infrastructure”.

    The court said Israel must “take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full co-operation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale… of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”.

    The aid most needed included food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, and clothing as well as hygiene products and medical supplies, it said.

    The ruling also said Israel must ensure “its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza” under the Genocide Convention.

    Recent months have seen long queues of aid trucks repeatedly forming as they wait to enter Gaza from Egypt, and accusations levelled at Israel that it is subjecting the deliveries to complex and arbitrary checks.

    In a filing last week, Israel asked the ICJ not to issue the latest order, saying South Africa’s allegations were “wholly unfounded in fact and law” and “morally repugnant”.

    It has also dismissed the broader case being brought against it under the Genocide Convention as “baseless”.

    Israel has further said that Hamas takes much of the aid that enters Gaza and accused the UN of failing to distribute what is left to the civilian population.

    The current conflict began after the 7 October attack, which saw Hamas-led gunmen storm across the border into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 others hostage.

    Of those taken, about 130 remain unaccounted for, at least 34 of whom are presumed dead.

    Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,552 people. Earlier this month, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that, of those killed, more than 25,000 were women and children.

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  • Health workers in Gaza are ‘scared’ they’ll be trapped in Israel’s path

    Health workers in Gaza are ‘scared’ they’ll be trapped in Israel’s path

    • Healthcare providers in Gaza fear Israel’s continuing combat operations.

    • Israel’s counteroffensive, following Hamas’ attacks, has led to over 32,000 Palestinian deaths.

    • Despite shortages, Rafah’s field hospital has accommodated nearly 30,000 patients since January.

    Healthcare providers are fearful of what may happen if they come across Israeli troops as their combat operations expand to the crowded city where over half of Gaza’s population has fled.

    “We see a huge number of health workers being detained, sometimes completely from their families, their organization is unclear about their whereabouts,” recalled Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, a World Health Organization representative for the West Bank and Gaza, during a Center for Strategic and International Studies event on Monday.

    “A lot of health workers — specifically in the north, but all over — they’re scared,” he said. “They’re scared to operate.”

    Peeperkorn has visited Gaza on numerous occasions since Israel ordered civilians to evacuate to the south, specifically to the city of Rafah, back in October. Many medical workers decided to stay in Northern Gaza as some patients could not be evacuated.

    Israel’s army invaded Gaza in the wake of Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists killed an estimated 1,200 Israelis. Since then, the Israeli counteroffensive has killed over 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

    The Israeli Defense Force has made gains in northern Gaza, which has faced the greatest level of destruction during the conflict.

    “What I’ve seen in Gaza, witnessed, that I think I hear from so many humanitarian workers, is, in that sense, unparallelled,” Peeperkorn said.

    Only 12 hospitals in Gaza are partially functional as of March.

    Dr. Zawar Ali, who is the medical advisor for the IMC field hospital located in Rafah, established the hospital in the beginning of January. Since the hospital opened, Ali said it has taken in almost 30,000 patients.

    Ali said the field hospital has faced numerous shortages from communication equipment to medical supplies.

    “From a health perspective the needs are diverse,” he said. “It’s not just the trauma but also the noncommunicable diseases that have not been addressed because of the lack of medications.”

    On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to pursue a ground offensive in Rafah, the city on Gaza’s southwestern border where 1.4 million Palestinians have fled the fighting, against the White House’s advisement.

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  • Diplomats discuss further aid delivery by sea for Gaza Strip

    Diplomats discuss further aid delivery by sea for Gaza Strip

    Experts and diplomats from 36 countries along with representatives of international aid organizations met in Cyprus on Thursday to discuss further aid deliveries by sea for the war-torn Gaza Strip.

    Cypriot Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos said the focus was on logistical issues for transport by freighter from the Cypriot port of Larnaca to Gaza.

    A fund is to be set up for this purpose, Kombos told journalists. “The aim is to increase aid deliveries to Gaza as much as possible,” he said.

    However, no specific decisions were made during the consultations, according to official Cypriot sources. The participants would inform their governments about the discussions in the coming days, and there will be another meeting soon.

    A freighter with around 500 tons of relief supplies is currently in the port of Larnaca ready for departure. It will leave in the next few days, a Cypriot government spokesman told dpa.

    This would be the second aid delivery by sea. On Saturday, a ship belonging to an aid organization delivered around 200 tons of aid. Larnaca is about 400 kilometres from the Gaza Strip.

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