Live blog: 'Close as we have ever been' to Gaza truce deal — US

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

1546 GMT — Israel and Hamas are close to reaching a ceasefire in Gaza, a White House official has said.

"There is a good proposal before both sides, and they need to both accept that proposal so we can get this in place.

"We are as close as we think we have ever been," National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told the reporters.

The US believes that both sides "need to do a final bit of work" to get to a conclusion, he added.

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1702 GMT — Israel's Gaza attacks have created serious environmental crisis: Experts

Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza has created an environmental catastrophe that threatens both immediate and long-term health risks for Palestinians, according to experts and recent reports.

A report by the Netherlands-based organisation PAX for Peace titled "War and Garbage in Gaza" paints a grim picture of the territory's waste management crisis.

According to the report, at least 225 waste collection sites of varying sizes dot Gaza, but Israeli military operations have damaged collection vehicles and blocked access to disposal areas.

The result is hundreds of thousands of tons of solid waste accumulating in streets and fields.

1653 GMT — Hamas leader's killing risks 'wider conflict', Islamic bloc chair warns

The "heinous" killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh risks tipping the Middle East into "wider conflict", the chair of a Saudi-based bloc has said.

The comments from Gambian Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara came as a senior Iranian official said during the same meeting that the Islamic republic would need to defend itself from Israel, which it blames for Haniyeh's assassination last week in Tehran.

Iranian and Palestinian officials called for Wednesday's gathering of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, saying the body needed to respond to the killing of the Hamas political leader.

"This heinous act serves only to escalate the existing tensions potentially leading to a wider conflict that could involve the entire region," said Tangara, whose country currently chairs the OIC.

1647 GMT — WHO chief says agency sending more than 1M polio vaccines to Gaza

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the UN agency is sending more than one million polio vaccines to Gaza.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference that the vaccines will be administered in the coming weeks.

"The detection of polio in wastewater in Gaza is a tell-tale sign that the virus has been circulating in the community, putting unvaccinated children at risk," said Tedros.

1644 GMT — Yemen's Houthis say they targeted Contship Ono ship, two US destroyers in Red Sea

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement has said that it had targeted a ship identified as the Contship Ono with ballistic missiles in the Red Sea, as well as two US destroyers heading northwards in the waterway.

1556 GMT — Egypt asks its airlines to avoid Tehran airspace for three hours on Thursday

Egypt instructed all of its airlines to avoid Iranian air space for a three-hour period in the early morning on Thursday amid tension between Israel and Iran.

The NOTAM, a safety notice provided to pilots, said the instruction would be in effect from 0100-0400 GMT.

"All Egyptian carriers shall avoid overflying Tehran (Flight Information Region) FIR. No flight plan will be accepted overflying such territory," the notice said, referring to the three-hour period provided.

1535 GMT — Tension with Lebanon ‘may escalate into war,’ Israel’s defence minister says

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has warned that the escalating tension along the border with Lebanon may deteriorate into a war.

“As things stand, (Hezbollah leader Hassan) Nasrallah may drag Lebanon into paying extremely heavy prices. They can’t even imagine what might happen,” Gallant said as he attended a drill simulating a conflict in Lebanon.

“This may also deteriorate into a war. It’s not theoretical, it’s real,” he added in statements cited by The Times of Israel newspaper.

1530 GMT — Iran's response to Hamas leader's killing will happen at right time, acting foreign minister says

Iran's response to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran will take place "at the right time and in the appropriate shape", Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has said in a statement.

Iran and Palestinian group Hamas accuse Israel of carrying out Haniyeh's assassination on July 31. Israel has not claimed or denied responsibility.

1408 GMT — Türkiye submits declaration to top UN court to join South Africa's genocide case against Israel

Türkiye has submitted a declaration to the UN’s highest court saying that it is joining South Africa's genocide case against Israel.

The Turkish delegation including Turkish Ambassador in The Hague Selcuk Unal and Justice and Development (AK) Party Istanbul lawmaker Cuneyt Yuksel submitted Türkiye’s file to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Türkiye thus became a party to the genocide case, joining Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, and Spain, who have also joined South Africa, which first filed the case last December.

1401 GMT — WHO says polio vaccine campaign hurt by lack of Gaza ceasefire

The World Health Organisation is working on a polio vaccination campaign for Gaza after the virus was detected there, officials have said, although the absence of a ceasefire in Israel's war on the enclave presents multiple roadblocks.

"We need a ceasefire, even a temporary ceasefire to successfully undertake these campaigns. Otherwise, we risk the virus spreading further, including across borders," said Hanan Balkhy, regional WHO Director.

Balkhy also pointed out the risk of the development of antimicrobial resistance within Gaza, and the possibility of such strains spreading into other countries.

1355 GMT — International community must stop 'genocide' in Gaza: Fidan

The international community must act to stop 'genocide' in Gaza; there is a need to put pressure on Israel and its supporters, Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan has said.

1332 GMT — Iran will never remain silent in the face of aggression, president says

Iran will never remain silent in the face of aggression against its interests and security, President Masoud Pezeshkian told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, state media has reported, amid an increase in regional tensions following the killing in Tehran last week of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

1309 GMT — Israeli air strikes kill several Palestinians in Khan Younis

Hospital authorities have said that two Israeli air strikes have killed at least eight people in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

The first strike hit a house in a refugee camp in the city's west, killing three people, according to Nasser Hospital, where the bodies were taken.

A second strike hit tents for displaced people in the Absa area east of Khan Younis, killing five.

1220 GMT — Israel calls for ‘Palestinian self-management’ in occupied West Bank

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called for "Palestinian self-management" in the occupied West Bank with security and foreign affairs under Israel's control.

“The election of Yahya Sinwar as the leader of Hamas must send a clear message to the world that the Palestinian issue is now completely controlled by Iran and Hamas,” Katz claimed in a statement on X.

“The solution is Palestinian self-management in Judea and Samaria (occupied West Bank), allowing them to manage their own lives,” Katz said.

“Israel must maintain control over security and foreign affairs to prevent the establishment of another Iranian-Islamist extremist stronghold and enable Palestinians to manage their internal affairs,” he claimed.

1156 GMT — Hamas to continue Gaza ceasefire negotiations under Sinwar: Group leader

Hamas will continue Gaza ceasefire negotiations after the selection of Yahya Sinwar as its new political chief, a group leader has said.

"The negotiations were managed by the leadership, and Sinwar was not far from the negotiation process. He was part of its details,” Osama Hamdan said.

“The negotiation process will continue,” Hamdan affirmed.

“The problem was not Hamas, but Israel, (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, and the US, which was not sincere in its mediation or in its attempt to push for a ceasefire.

1024 GMT — Protesters bust Israeli court hearing on Palestinian abuse case

Protesters have disrupted an Israeli Supreme Court hearing about a shadowy military facility where Israel held Palestinian detainees throughout the war in Gaza.

The protesters yelled "Shame!" as the attorney for many Israeli human rights groups argued that the Sde Teiman facility should be closed permanently over repeated allegations of detainee abuse.

An Associated Press investigation into the facility, as well as others by rights groups, found detainees endured abysmal conditions there.

The Israeli military said on July 29 that it detained nine soldiers for questioning following allegations of "substantial abuse" of a detainee at Sde Teiman, located in southern Israel.

1023 GMT — US-led air strikes target Houthi-controlled territory

Yemen's Houthis have said a United States-led coalition carried out two air strikes in territory controlled by the Iran-backed armed group.

The region is bracing for a potential counterattack by Iran and its allies following the assassination of senior Hamas and Hezbollah figures in Beirut and Tehran, in strikes attributed to Israel.

The Houthis' military media office said the strikes occurred in the Taiz province without providing further detail.

There was no immediate comment from the US military.

1004 GMT — Palestinian death toll in Israel's war on Gaza climbs to 39,677

The Israeli army has killed 24 more Palestinians in attacks across Gaza, taking the overall death toll since October 7 last year to 39,677, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.

A ministry statement added that some 91,645 others have been injured in the assault.

"Israeli forces killed 24 people and injured 110 others in two 'massacres' against families in the last 24 hours," the ministry also said. "Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them," it added.

0904 GMT — Israel detains 26 Palestinians; nearly 10,000 arrested since Oct 7

The Israeli army has detained 26 more Palestinians in military raids across the occupied West Bank, prisoners' affairs groups said.

According to a joint statement for the Commission of Detainees' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society, the new arrests bring the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since October last year to 10,000, including those who were released after being arrested.

The statement noted that the figure doesn't include those arrested from Gaza whose numbers are estimated to be in the thousands.

0652 GMT — Israel targets Gaza's Beit Hanoon with fresh evacuation orders

The Israeli military has issued new orders for an area in northern Gaza, calling on the Palestinians to again leave the territory that was heavily bombed at the start of the war some 10 months ago.

The military said it would respond to a Hamas rocket attack from the Beit Hanoon area the day before and urged residents to relocate to Gaza City, large areas of which have been destroyed.

Beit Hanoon, which is close to the border, was one of the first targets of the massive bombardment and ground invasion launched after Hamas's October 7 attack.

0633 GMT — Casualties in Israeli overnight raids across Gaza

Several Palestinians were killed and injured in overnight raids across Gaza as the Israeli onslaught entered its day 306, Wafa news agency has reported.

A Palestinian, his wife and son were killed and others injured in an Israeli air strike on a residential home in eastern Gaza City.

Israeli military vehicles, meanwhile, opened fire on homes in eastern Al Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza, injuring a number of Palestinians.

Gun boats also opened fire on the western areas of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza. Warplanes struck areas in the cities of Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, while the army shelled western areas of Rafah, southern Gaza.

2133 GMT — Iran, Israel 'should not escalate this conflict': Blinken

Both Iran and Israel should avoid escalating conflict in the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, in his most direct wording toward US ally Israel, which has created possibility of a larger war in the region after back-to-back assassinations in Iran and Lebanon.

"No one should escalate this conflict. We've been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran. We communicated that message directly to Israel," Blinken told reporters.

Blinken said Gaza prisoner swap-ceasefire negotiations have reached final stage and it is critical that parties work to finalise agreement as soon as possible.

Blinken added that everyone in the region should understand that further attacks only perpetuate conflict, instability, insecurity for everyone.

2038 GMT — Hezbollah hails Hamas' Sinwar on becoming new negotiator

Lebanon's Hezbollah has congratulated Yahya Sinwar on becoming Hamas' new political chief, saying it shows Israel's goals in assassinating his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, have failed.

Sinwar will replace Ismail Haniyeh, chief of Hamas' political bureau and lead peace negotiator, who was assassinated by Israel in Tehran after he attended the swearing-in ceremony of Iran's new president on July 31.

Iran has pledged to avenge Haniyeh's assassination by Netanyahu's government in a retribution Israel and its main backer US awaits.

By choosing him as the group's chief Hamas "is sending a strong message to the occupation (Israel) that Hamas continues its path of resistance", a senior Hamas official told AFP news agency.

2017 GMT — Smotrich calls for assassination of Nasrallah

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

"Israel should not respond to Nasrallah; Israel should eliminate Nasrallah," Smotrich, the leader of the Religious Zionism party, wrote on X.

The post came in response to a speech by Nasrallah in which he vowed a "significant and effective" response to Israel's assassination of prominent Hezbollah figure Fuad Shukr.

2009 GMT — Israel FM calls to assassinate new Hamas chief Sinwar

Israel's foreign minister has called to "swiftly eliminate" Yahya Sinwar, who was appointed by Hamas as the group's new political leader, replacing Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated by Israel in Tehran last week.

"The appointment of arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar as the new leader of Hamas, replacing Ismail Haniyeh, is yet another compelling reason to swiftly eliminate him and wipe this vile organisation off the face of the Earth," Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on social media site X.

For our live updates from Tuesday, August 6, 2024, click here.