Live blog: Biden presses Netanyahu for Gaza ceasefire – White House

Thursday, July 25, 2024

1846 GMT — United States President Joe Biden has pressed for a ceasefire to the 9-month-old war in Gaza in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Vice President Kamala Harris due to meet the Israeli leader later in the day.

They were the first face-to-face talks for the two men since Biden travelled to Israel days after Israel started its brutal war on Gaza after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, hugged Netanyahu and pledged American support.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said gaps remain between Israel and the Hamas but "we are closer now than we've been before."

"Both sides have to make compromises," Kirby said.

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said: "I think the message from the American side in that meeting will be that we need to get this deal over the line."

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1820 GMT — Bodies of 5 hostages retrieved from Gaza, Israeli army claims

The Israeli army claimed to have retrieved the bodies of five hostages from Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The military launched a surprise attack in the city after issuing immediate evacuation orders for residents in its eastern neighbourhoods.

At least 129 people have since been killed and over 400 others injured in the area, which was previously designated as a “safe zone” for displaced people by the Israeli army.

A joint statement by the army and the Shin Bet domestic security service said the bodies of the hostages were located in Khan Younis.

According to the statement, the five were killed during a Hamas attack into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and their bodies were taken to Gaza.

1813 GMT — Humanitarian situation in Gaza 'total disaster': UN chief

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza while reiterating a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza is a total disaster," Guterres said as he listed two reasons.

"First, a military campaign that has the highest level of killing and destruction that I remember in any other military campaign since I am Secretary General, anywhere in the world,” he said. “The second reason is because the level of humanitarian aid is totally out of proportion with the needs.”

1754 GMT — Hezbollah targets military base in northern Israel with drones

Hezbollah used drones to target Israeli troops at their military base in northern Israel, resulting in casualties.

In a statement, the Lebanon-based group said it launched an "aerial attack using a squadron of precision-guided drones on the artillery position of Battalion 411 in Neve Ziv of the 288th Fire Brigade."

Hezbollah added that the attack “targeted the positions and deployments of Israeli officers and soldiers, hitting its targets accurately and causing confirmed casualties.”

1753 GMT — Turkish foreign minister blasts Netanyahu supporters

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan condemned those applauding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the US Congress, branding them as endorsers of a "bloody criminal."

Those who applauded Netanyahu have gone down in history as supporters of a "bloody criminal," marking the complete collapse of moral standards witnessed by all humanity, Hakan Fidan said on X.

Despite war crimes in Gaza, Netanyahu received a standing ovation from US lawmakers when he came to address a joint session of Congress, seeking to garner support for his deadly war on Gaza.

The comments come amid an escalation of Israeli forces bombardment of Gaza, where the death toll has approached the grim figure of 40,000. The Israeli war has resulted in a humanitarian crisis, with millions of Palestinians losing their homes and forced to flee.

1550 GMT — Harris condemns flag burning, Hamas graffiti at protest in Washington

United States Vice President Kamala Harris joined Democratic and Republican leaders in condemning protesters who burned American flags and sprayed pro-Hamas graffiti outside Washington's Union Station on Wednesday, describing the acts as unpatriotic and abhorrent.

The protests coincided with a speech to Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Before he spoke, protesters marched near the US Capitol building, condemning US military aid to Israel as the brutal war on Gaza is ongoing.

Following Netanyahu's speech, some of the demonstrators gathered in front of Union Station. They hoisted American flags outside the iconic train station, burned American ones and spray painted the words "Hamas is coming" and "Free Gaza" on a large monument.

Harris, the Democrats' presidential candidate, said in a statement that she condemns any individuals associating with Hamas.

1509 GMT — UAE proposes temporary international mission in post-war Gaza

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said that it is considering deploying a temporary international mission upon an invitation from the Palestinian government to establish order and lay the foundation for a qualified government capable of uniting the occupied West Bank and Gaza under a single, legitimate Palestinian authority.

This proposal was announced by UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al Hashimy in a statement published by the Emirati Foreign Ministry.

The announcement comes amid ongoing Western and Arab discussions about post-war Gaza, which the destructive Israeli war has ravaged for the past ten months.

"The UAE has dispatched 39,756 tons of urgent supplies to the Gaza Strip through 8 ships, 1,271 trucks, and 337 flights," the statement said.

"A return to the status quo before October 7 2023 cannot achieve the desired sustainable peace for both the Palestinians, Israelis, and the wider international community," it added.

The statement said consolidating peace and security and ending the humanitarian suffering "should begin by the deployment of a temporary international mission in Gaza with a formal invitation from the Palestinian government."

1450 GMT — Netanyahu meets Biden, Harris on elusive Gaza deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House for separate meetings Thursday with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on a Gaza ceasefire deal, reflecting the upended political situation in Washington.

The meetings come after Netanyahu vowed "total victory" against Hamas in a fiery speech on Wednesday to the US Congress, and just days after Biden announced his shock exit from the 2024 White House race.

Relations between Biden and Netanyahu are tense over Israel's brutal war on Gaza, despite the US president's continued military and political support.

While Biden says he wants to secure a truce and hostage release deal in his last six months in office, Netanyahu may be tempted to wait to negotiate with his successor instead.

As part of his first White House visit during Biden's presidency, Netanyahu will hold talks with the US leader in the Oval Office at 1 pm local time (1700 GMT), and both will later meet the families of US hostages held in Gaza.

1359 GMT — Houthis vow retaliation after Israeli air strikes near Hudaida

A Houthi response to Israeli air strikes near Yemen's Hudaida is coming, the group's leader declared in a televised speech.

Israeli fighter jets struck Houthi military targets near Yemen's port of Hudaida on Saturday, killing at least nine people and wounding 87, a day after a Houthi drone hit Israeli economic hub Tel Aviv.

"The response is inevitable," Abdulmalik al-Houthi said.

The Ansar Allah's attacks on Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza will continue and not be deterred by the Israeli airstrikes, he added.

"Everything that happens from the side of the Israeli enemy will be more incentive for revenge," al-Houthi said.

1340 GMT — Five rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel amid tension

Five rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel amid growing tensions between Hezbollah and Tel Aviv, according to Israeli media.

Israeli Channel 12 said four rockets were fired on the Shtula settlement near the borders with Lebanon with one rocket hitting a house.

An anti-armour missile also hit a house in the Menara settlement, causing damage, the broadcaster said. No injuries were reported in the rocket fire.

1242 GMT — Hamas killed Israeli soldiers in Gaza ambush

Palestinian resistance group Hamas has said it killed and injured Israeli soldiers in an ambush in southern Gaza.

The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that its fighters had drawn Israeli soldiers into two underground tunnels before detonating them in the Yibna refugee camp in Rafah.

It said several soldiers were killed and injured in the ambush. Hamas said another Israeli soldier was sniped east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. There has been no confirmation from the Israeli army.

1239 GMT — Israel strikes Gaza as military recovers five captive bodies

Israeli strikes hit Gaza, killing and injuring Palestinians according to local medical sources, as the military said it had recovered the bodies of five Israelis taken to Gaza by Hamas members after they were killed on October 7.

A group supporting Israeli hostages still held in the Palestinian territory welcomed the rescue but alleged "sabotage" of efforts to free others. The accusation from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum came with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a visit to Washington.

1213 GMT — Italian PM meets Israeli president, stresses need for immediate truce

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Rome, underlining the importance of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with the release of all hostages.

Meloni also renewed Italy’s commitment to de-escalation in the region, recalling the role played by the Italian contingent at the border with Lebanon through the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and reiterating “the strong concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.”

Meloni also assured that Italy will continue to work toward a "two-state solution" in the Middle East, supporting the US mediation and providing assistance to the Palestinian civilian population, including through the Food for Gaza initiative.

1201 GMT — Families of Israeli hostages slam Netanyahu

Families of Israeli captives in Gaza requested an urgent meeting with Israel’s negotiating team following the delay of its scheduled visit to Qatar for prisoner swap talks with Hamas.

The team was scheduled to travel to the Qatari capital, Doha, but the visit was postponed until next week.

According to Israeli media, the visit was postponed until after a scheduled meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden in Washington.

"A crisis of trust has emerged that requires clarification," the Hostage Family Forum said on X. "For two weeks, the prime minister has refrained from responding to mediators' inquiries regarding the implementation of a (prisoner swap) deal."

1156 GMT — US allowing Netanyahu’s propaganda at Congress 'shameful': Turkish official

Turkish communications director said that it is "shameful" that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is allowed to make propaganda from the US Congress.

"Allowing Netanyahu to spread his propaganda on the floor of the US Congress and letting him call peaceful American protestors all sorts of names is simply shameful," Fahrettin Altun said on X.

“By hosting a politician responsible for committing war crimes, Washington sends the world a message that it cares little to nothing about the lives of innocent civilians,” he added.

Noting that a minority of US politicians protested or confronted Netanyahu’s “despicable speech,” he said his address “was not only full of blatant lies but also hatred for Palestinians.”

Altun added that some American politicians’ complicity in the crimes of the Israeli government for political expediency will have consequences for the US credibility around the world.

1136 GMT — At least 91 Palestinian journalists detained by Israel: NGO

At least 91 journalists have been detained by the Israeli army since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza last Oct. 7, according to a local non-governmental organisation.

Fifty-three journalists remain in detention, including six women journalists, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.

The detained journalists include 16 from Gaza and 17 held without trial or charge under Israel’s policy of administrative detention, it added.

According to the NGO, at least 9,800 Palestinians have been rounded up by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since Oct. 7, 2023.

1052 GMT — Gaza death toll from Israeli assaults reaches 39,175 — ministry

At least 30 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, pushing up the overall death toll to 39,175 since last Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.

A ministry statement added that some 90,403 others have been injured in the assault.

"Israeli forces killed 30 people and injured 146 others in three ‘massacres’ against families in the last 24 hours," the ministry said. "Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them," it added.

0800 GMT — Football fans open Palestinian flag to protest Israel at Paris 2024 Olympics

Football fans unfurled Palestinian flags to protest Israel during a match at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Israel drew with Mali 1-1 in an Olympic football match at Paris' Parc des Princes Stadium as many fans in the stands protested Israel waving Palestinian flags.

Before the kick-off, some sections of the crowd at the stadium booed the Israeli national anthem.

The match was held without major security incidents.

0745 GMT — Hamas slams, refutes Netanyahu’s speech to US Congress

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas strongly criticised allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver a speech at the US Congress, accusing him of "distorting facts" over his war conduct in Gaza.

In a statement, Hamas slammed what it said "giving him an opportunity to polish his face before the world and cover up the mass killings and ethnic cleansing in Gaza," stressing that he is supposed to be handed to the International Criminal Court over his war crimes.

Hamas said Netanyahu used a "degrading propaganda and lies" that he used "as an excuse to commit the most horrific crimes against women, children, and the elderly in Gaza."

Contrary to what Netanyahu claimed on his efforts to return Israeli captives in Gaza, Hamas accused him of thwarting "all efforts aimed at ending the war and concluding a deal to release the prisoners, despite the continuous efforts of mediators."

Hamas also said Netanyahu's vision about the future of Gaza after the end of the war is "mere illusions and fantasies he tries to promote," and that Palestinian people "alone have the right to determine their fate and decide who governs them."

0730 GMT — Israeli army says its air defences intercepted 2 drones fired from Lebanon

The Israeli army said its air defences downed two drones that were fired from Lebanon, and struck areas across southern Lebanon as clashes with Hezbollah continue.

In a statement, the Israeli army said "a suspected aerial object" entered Israeli space and was shot down by the army's air defences over the Bar'am border area.

The incident triggered the activation of the rocket in-coming sirens in the area over fear of falling shrapnel from the interception operation, the military statement added.

In another statement, the army announced intercepting a drone off the coast of Nahariya.

0722 GMT — Israel army says recovered bodies of five hostages held in Gaza

Israeli forces retrieved the bodies of five Israelis held in Gaza after they were killed during Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel, the military said.

It said the bodies of Maya Goren as well as soldiers Tomer Ahimas and Kiril Brodski, along with Ravid Aryeh Katz and Oren Goldin -- military reservists -- had been returned to Israel.

0700 GMT — Israeli army raids several areas across occupied West Bank to arrest Palestinians

The Israeli army early carried out several raids against areas across the occupied West Bank to arrest Palestinians, while 3 Israelis were injured in an attack near Qalqilya city.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that the Israeli army stormed into Tulkarem city, the northern West Bank, raided several homes, and arrested a journalist, identified as Hazem Naser, before its withdrawal from the city.

In the central West Bank, the Israeli army also raided the towns of Kafr Ni'ma, Silwad and Abwein.

More Israeli raids were reported in areas in Nablus and Jenin cities in the northern West Bank.

0611 GMT — Netanyahu, Biden to meet on elusive Gaza deal

Joe Biden will press Benjamin Netanyahu to seal a Gaza ceasefire deal, despite the US president's shock election exit threatening to limit his leverage over the Israeli premier.

Netanyahu will also meet Vice President Kamala Harris -- the likely new Democratic presidential nominee -- at the White House, one day after he gave a speech to the US Congress vowing "total victory" against Hamas.

Relations between Biden and Netanyahu are tense over Israel's brutal war in Gaza, despite the US president's continued military and political support for Washington's key Middle East ally.

2353 GMT — Israeli army says it recovered bodies of 2 hostages

Israeli local media claims Israeli army has recovered the bodies of two hostages who were killed during the October 7 attack last year by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas and were being held in Gaza.

While not elaborating on how and when precisely they were killed, Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily claims Maya Goren and Oren Goldin were killed more than nine months ago and the Israeli army returned their bodies.

The announcement noted that Goren will be buried "next to her husband Avner Goren" who also died in the October 7 events.

A statement from the Nir Yitzhak kibbutz said, "Tonight we were informed of the rescue operation of Oren Goldin, a member of the kibbutz's emergency security squad, who fell on Oct. 7."

2321 GMT — Israel kills several Palestinians in northern Gaza

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech to the US Congress about how Israeli army cares for civilians, an Israeli air strike targeting a gathering in the town of Beit Lahia in the northern part of besieged Gaza killed several Palestinians and wounded many others.

Witnesses told Anadolu Agency that an Israeli aircraft launched the strike on a gathering in the Beit Lahia project area, resulting in numerous casualties.

Israeli artillery also intensified shelling in the Zaytoun, Tel al-Hawa and Shuja'iyya neighbourhoods in Gaza City, they added.

The Gaza Civil Defence said in a statement that an Israeli strike targeted a group of residents in the Beit Lahia project area, without providing further details.

2306 GMT — Israeli opposition leaders slam Netanyahu's speech to US Congress

Israeli opposition leaders sharply criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress. Yair Lapid, the leader of the There Is a Future Party, called the address "disgraceful."

"Disgrace! An hour of talking without uttering the single sentence: 'There will be a kidnapping deal,'" Lapid wrote on X, accusing Netanyahu of failing to address a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Similarly, Deputy Knesset Speaker Evgeny Sova from the opposition Yisrael Beiteinu Party took to X to criticise Netanyahu's leadership.

"He knows how to speak English. To manage the country in the most serious crisis in its history – no," Sova wrote.

Gilad Kariv, a Knesset member from the Labor Party, echoed these sentiments, saying on X that "Netanyahu's rhetorical ability and the applause failed to hide the Prime Minister's incompetence to bring the State of Israel out of the gravest crisis in its history."

"Netanyahu did not say a single substantial thing about the hostage deal, did not commit to a political process, and, as usual, did not take any responsibility for the October 7 failure," he added.

For our live updates from Wednesday, July 24, 2024, click here.