Live blog: Blinken says Netanyahu agrees to 'completing' the peace process

Monday, August 19, 2024

1718 GMT –– US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured him of support for a US proposal to bridge gaps on a Gaza ceasefire.

"In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal. He supports it. It's now incumbent on Hamas to do the same," Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv.

Blinken added that Netanyahu has promised to send an Israeli team to new talks scheduled this week on a ceasefire with Hamas.

Hamas has accused Netanyahu of adding new terms to the previous peace deal, which had approval of the US President Joe Biden.

The Palestinian side wants Israel to immediately end its attack on Gaza and withdraw the occupation forces, a move that can pave the way for exchange of Israeli hostages for the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

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1745 GMT –– Israeli PM says aims to free 'maximum' number living hostages in first Gaza exchange

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he sought to free a "maximum number" of living hostages held in Gaza in the first stage of a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

"I would like to emphasise: The efforts to release a maximum number of living hostages –– already in the first stage of the deal," he said in a video statement released by his office after meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

1742 GMT –– 1 killed as Israeli warplane hits car in southern Lebanon

At least one person was killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon in the evening, the Health Ministry said.

A ministry statement said the strike targeted a car in the town of Deir Qanoun El Ain in the Tyre district.

Several people were also injured in the attack, according to the state-run National News Agency.

No details are yet available about the identity of the victim.

1736 GMT –– Israeli strike targets Hezbollah arms depot in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, security sources say

An Israeli strike in the evening targeted a Hezbollah arms depot in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, two security sources told Reuters.

Hezbollah and other armed groups in Lebanon have been trading fire with Israel in parallel with the Gaza war.

Israeli strikes for the last 10 months have regularly targeted Hezbollah fighters and rocket launch sites, but strikes on arms depots have been rare.

1729 GMT –– Blinken says Washington working with Israeli government on polio vaccination plan

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was concerned about the emergence of polio in Gaza and that Washington was working with the Israeli government on a vaccination plan.

Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv, Blinken said he believes they will be able to move forward with a plan in coming weeks.

1659 GMT –– Scottish government suspends all meetings with Israel

The Scottish government announced that it had suspended all meetings with Israeli ambassadors until "real progress" is made towards peace in Gaza and unimpeded access is granted to humanitarian assistance to the enclave.

In a statement, External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson said the Scottish government would not accept any invitation for a further meeting with Israel until there was real progress on the Gaza conflict.

"This will remain our position until such time as real progress has been made towards peace, unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance is provided and Israel cooperates fully with its international obligations on the investigation of genocide and war crimes," said Robertson.

1643 GMT –– At least 6 civilians killed in fresh Israeli attack in Gaza City

At least six civilians were killed in Israeli bombardment in Gaza City in the evening, the Civil Defence Agency said.

The fatalities occurred when Israeli forces shelled a group of civilians in the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said in a statement.

Several people were also reported killed in an Israeli strike on a house in Al-Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City, the spokesman said, without giving an exact figure.

1535 GMT –– Israel to send negotiators to Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt, Netanyahu tells Blinken

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans to send his negotiating team to Egypt this week for a new round of Gaza ceasefire and prisoner-hostage swap talks.

Netanyahu made the assertion during his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in West Jerusalem early Monday, The Times of Israel newspaper said, citing an Israeli official.

The Israeli delegation will be headed by Mossad chief David Barnea and includes head of Israel's domestic security service Ronen Bar and the Israeli army's hostages file chief Nitzan Alon.

Meanwhile, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN said an Israeli delegation returned from Egypt after holding talks there on the Israeli presence in the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt.

No details were provided by the broadcaster about the talks.

1510 GMT –– Pro-Palestine protests loom ahead of first day of DNC in Chicago

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters are expected to gather outside the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on its opening day to assail the Biden administration's position on Israel as it wages its war on Gaza.

A one-mile march organised by umbrella group March on the DNC was to take place at a park outside the convention arena hours before President Joe Biden addresses the gathering where Democratic delegates will publicly nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as their presidential candidate.

Organisers will continue to negotiate with authorities about extending the march route so that all the protesters can have a chance to walk, said Hatem Abudayyeh, a spokesman for March, comprised of more than 200 groups.

Abudayyeh said he expected tens of thousands of marchers at the 1 pm CDT (1800 GMT) event. The group has its own security, and he does not expect violence from the protesters amid the heavy police and US Secret Service presence around the security perimeter.

Protesters want police not to infringe on their free speech rights, he said.

"That's their only responsibility. We don't need them to keep us safe. We don't need them to protect us, just not to infringe on our rights," Abudayyeh said Monday morning.

1504 GMT –– Canada urges immediate ceasefire, boost in aid to Gaza on World Humanitarian Day

On World Humanitarian Day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for an urgent ceasefire and increased humanitarian aid to Gaza, underscoring the dire need for assistance in the region.

Trudeau reaffirmed Canada's commitment to aiding those in need through partnerships with organisations such as the UN, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and various NGOs.

Addressing the crisis in Gaza, he described the situation as "catastrophic" and emphasised: "One region where humanitarian aid is most needed today is Gaza."

Canada has pledged $165 million in aid for Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Trudeau called for "an urgent ceasefire" and stressed the importance of "the release of hostages, the protection of civilians, and an increased flow of humanitarian aid throughout the region".

1456 GMT –– Saudi, Egyptian foreign ministers discuss efforts to reach Gaza ceasefire

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Egypt held talks in Riyadh to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

An Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement said Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed bilateral relations and regional developments, "especially the situation in Gaza and efforts being made in this regard".

The Egyptian minister arrived in the Saudi capital on Sunday for talks with Saudi officials.

1448 GMT –– Palestinian baby killed in Israeli drone strike in Khan Younis

A Palestinian baby was killed and several displaced women were injured in an Israeli drone strike in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, according to a medical source.

The eight-month baby lost her life when a drone shelled refugee tents in Asdaa area west of Khan Younis, the source told Anadolu.

The attack came one day after the Israeli army expanded its ground offensive in Khan Younis, reaching Hamad residential city in the western part of the city.

1406 GMT –– Israeli air strikes on Yemen's Al Hudaydah Port 'possible war crime': Rights group

Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced last month's Israeli air strikes on Al Hudaydah Port in western Yemen as a "possible war crime".

At least six civilians were killed and over 80 others injured on July 20 when Israeli warplanes struck more than two dozen oil storage tanks and two shipping cranes in the Yemeni port as well as a power plant in the province.

The attacks came one day after a Houthi drone strike killed one Israeli and injured four others in Tel Aviv.

"The attacks appeared to cause disproportionate harm to civilians and civilian objects," the New York-based rights groups said. "Serious violations of the laws of war committed willfully, that is deliberately or recklessly, are war crimes."

1319 GMT –– Hezbollah drone attack kills 1 Israeli soldier, injures another amid escalation

An Israeli soldier was killed and another seriously injured in a Hezbollah drone attack from Lebanon, the military said as tensions continue to escalate along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

A military statement said the drone strike targeted Western Galilee in northern Israel.

According to The Times of Israel newspaper, at least five explosive-laden drones were launched from Lebanon towards Western Galilee.

Lebanese group Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, saying it achieved "direct hits" on Israeli military positions along the border.

1257 GMT –– US secretary of state meets Israeli premier amid ongoing Gaza ceasefire talks

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a three-hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of ongoing efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner-hostage exchange agreement with Hamas.

A statement by Netanyahu's office said the meeting was "positive" and that there was a "good atmosphere".

The US Embassy in Israel released a photo of Blinken and Netanyahu meeting in the Israeli prime minister's office.

"The Prime Minister reiterated Israel's commitment to the updated American proposal for the release of our hostages – which takes into account Israel's security needs, which he strongly insists upon," Netanyahu's office said.

There was no immediate comment yet from the US Department of State on Blinken's talks with Netanyahu.

1241 GMT –– Lufthansa extends suspension of flights to Middle East until August 26

Lufthansa announced that it is extending the suspension of flights to the Middle East crisis region due to security concerns.

A statement from the German flag carrier said all flights to and from Tel Aviv, Iran's capital Tehran, Beirut, Erbil in northern Iraq, and Jordan's capital Amman will remain suspended until August 26, due to heightened tensions.

Lufthansa will not use Iraqi and Iranian airspace during this period, the statement said.

Major international airlines suspended their flights to the region earlier this month, and Lufthansa announced last week that it was extending flight suspensions until August 21.

In line with the Lufthansa Group's decision, scheduled flights to the region by Eurowings, and Swiss, Austrian, and Brussels airlines were also cancelled.

1128 GMT –– Israeli attack kills another journalist in Gaza

Another Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli attack in southern Gaza, bringing the total number of members of the press killed to 169 since October 7 last year, local authorities said.

Palestinian government media office in Gaza identified the new victim as Ibrahim Marwan Muharab, who was killed by Israeli fire while covering a military assault in Khan Younis.

1020 GMT –– UN refugee agency says 207 staff killed in Gaza since October 7

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that 207 of its team members have been killed in Gaza since the outbreak of the Israeli war on October 7.

"207 UNRWA team members have been killed in Gaza since the war began – including in the line of duty," the agency said in a statement on X.

The agency noted that the victims were a diverse group of professionals. "They were engineers, teachers, medical staff. They were humanitarian workers."

In honour of these individuals, UNRWA highlighted their sacrifices on World Humanitarian Day. "On World Humanitarian Day and every day we remember and pay tribute to them all," the statement concluded.

0957 GMT –– Death toll in Israel's war on Gaza surges to 40,139

The Health Ministry in Gaza said that at least 40,139 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory in more than 10 months of Israel's war.

The toll includes 40 killings over the past 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also listed 92,743 people as wounded in Gaza since the Israeli war on the enclave began on October 7.

0940 GMT –– Algerian president pledges to build three hospitals in Gaza

The Algerian president has announced that his country is ready to build three hospitals in Gaza if the land border crossing between Egypt and the enclave is reopened.

Abdelmadjid Tebboune made his statement on Sunday while campaigning for the presidential election scheduled for September 7, according to an Anadolu reporter.

"In case the border between Egypt and Gaza is opened, we will build three hospitals within 20 days," Tebboune said, referring to field hospitals that the Algerian military is capable of constructing.

0854 GMT — Hamas announces return of 'martyrdom operations', claims Tel Aviv attack

Hamas's armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades has claimed responsibility for the attack in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

The man carrying the bomb, which exploded near a synagogue, was killed and a passerby was injured, according to Israeli police at the scene.

In a Telegram post, Hamas said its armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades along with the Al-Quds Brigades, carried out the attack that took place yesterday in the Israeli capital.

The Palestinian resistance group said it would continue to strike in the heart of Israel if the massacres and displacement of Palestinians continue.

The Brigades confirmed that "martyrdom operations" inside the occupied territories will return to the forefront as long as the occupation's massacres, the displacement of civilians, and the continuation of the policy of assassinations continued.

0854 GMT — Colombia halts coal exports to Israel in protest over devastating Gaza onslaught

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that his country is "officially" halting coal exports to Israel, citing the use of Colombian coal in weapons used against Palestinians in Gaza.

"Colombian coal is used to make bombs to kill Palestinian children," Petro said on X, justifying the decision in response to Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza.

The decree, signed by President Petro along with the ministers of foreign affairs, finance, mines, and trade, will come into effect five days after its publication in the official gazette.

Colombia, which exports 5 percent of its total coal production to Israel, has also suspended diplomatic relations with the country, as announced in May, due to Israel's onslaught in Gaza.

0842 GMT — Israeli drone attack in southern Lebanon kills two

Two people were killed in the southern Lebanese town of Houla following an Israeli drone strike, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

The incident was part of an intensifying conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah along the Lebanon-Israel border.

The official Lebanese news agency confirmed the deaths, noting that the drone strike targeted the Aabra area of Houla early in the morning.

In a related escalation, Israeli artillery bombarded the border village of Ayta ash Shab with heavy shelling, while Israeli forces fired machine guns and flares over several southern Lebanese villages near the Blue Line.

0703 GMT — 4 Palestinians shot during Israeli soldiers' raid in West Bank

Four Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces in the northern occupied West Bank, according to witnesses.

Israeli troops entered Nablus city, causing clashes and armed confrontations with Palestinians, eyewitnesses told Anadolu.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement that the raid in Nablus resulted in gunshot wounds, including a critical injury to the head and abdomen, but it is unclear how many of the four were injured with bullet wounds.

It said all the injured were transported to a hospital for treatment.

0647 GMT — Hamas condemns Israel's decision to widen war amid truce talks

Hamas has condemned Israel's decision to escalate military operations in Gaza, accusing Tel Aviv of attempting to gain leverage in ongoing ceasefire and prisoner exchange negotiations.

On Sunday, the Israeli news website Walla cited unnamed political sources as saying: "The Israeli security Cabinet recently instructed the military to intensify its operations in Gaza to strengthen Israel's position in the negotiations."

As of yet, no official Israeli statement has been issued regarding this decision.

In a statement, Izzat al Rishq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, described Israel's decision as "a renewed persistence in its fascist approach against the Palestinians in Gaza" and an "insistence on brutal behaviour targeting defenceless civilians".

He also blamed the international community, particularly the US administration, for its silence and failure to halt what he described as an "ongoing genocide".

0528 GMT — Hamas not to 'derail' Gaza truce push: Blinken tells Israel

Blinken has told Israel that Hamas won't "derail" the push for a Gaza ceasefire.

It is a "decisive moment" in the Gaza ceasefire talks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, describing the latest diplomatic push by Washington to strike a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the war as "probably the best, maybe the last opportunity" to also get the hostages home.

Speaking before he met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the top US diplomat said Washington was also working to ensure that there was no regional escalation amid concerns over a possible attack by Iran on Israel following the assassination of former Hamas politburo leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.

0405 GMT — UN warns of 'unacceptable' level of violence against aid workers

The United Nations has condemned the "unacceptable" level of violence becoming commonplace against humanitarian workers, a record 280 of whom were killed worldwide in 2023.

And it warned that Israel's war in Gaza is potentially fueling even higher numbers of such deaths this year.

"The normalization of violence against aid workers and the lack of accountability are unacceptable, unconscionable and enormously harmful for aid operations everywhere," Joyce Msuya, acting director of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said in a statement on World Humanitarian Day.

"With 280 aid workers killed in 33 countries last year, 2023 marked the deadliest year on record for the global humanitarian community," a 137 percent increase over 2022, when 118 aid workers died, OCHA said in the statement.

2213 GMT — Israel orders army to intensify Gaza onslaught

Israel has decided to escalate its carnage in besieged Gaza to improve its position in Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap talks, an Israeli news website said.

"The Israeli security cabinet recently instructed the military to intensify its operations in Gaza to strengthen Israel's position in the negotiations," Walla reported, citing unnamed political sources.

2237 GMT — Israeli army wounds Palestinian journalist covering Gaza carnage

The Israeli army wounded a Palestinian journalist while she was covering the invasion of northwestern Khan Younis in the southern besieged Gaza.

Israeli occupation forces fired directly at a group of journalists, striking Salma al Qadoumi in the back, witnesses told Anadolu Agency.

2314 GMT — Biden says Gaza ceasefire deal 'still possible'

US President Joe Biden said he believes that a ceasefire in besieged Gaza is "still possible."

The talks are "still underway. We're not giving up. (It's) still possible," Biden told reporters.

2204 GMT — Saudi foreign minister, Blinken discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts

Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire in besieged Gaza in a phone call with his US counterpart Antony Blinken.

The top diplomats discussed "developments in the region, including efforts to end the war on the Gaza Strip and developments in Sudan and Yemen," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

2153 GMT — Hamas informs Türkiye of stalled negotiations with Israel despite US optimism

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas informed Türkiye that despite the US painting a rosy picture of negotiations on reaching a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal, the actual situation is not like that, and Israel did not even respond to the proposals from mediators in the last week's talks.

According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Hamas officials contacted Türkiye over the weekend and provided information about the negotiation process with Israel.

The officials pointed out that although the Americans portrayed the progress of the negotiations in an optimistic manner, this was not actually the case.

According to Hamas, the conditions put forward by Israel have even fallen short of the scenario supported by the UN Security Council on June 10 and the conditions approved by Hamas on July 2.

It stressed that Israel wants Hamas to accept Israel's presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, to control the checkpoints in the Netzarim Corridor and to monitor Palestinians passing from south to north and to veto 100 names from a list of about 300 prisoners that Hamas wants to be released.

Another demand involves the number of Palestinians that Israel wants to be exiled from Gaza and Ramallah. In this context, Israel wants 200 people to leave Palestine.

For our live updates from Sunday, August 18, 2024, click here.