Live blog: Death toll from Israel's strike on Al Mawasi camp rises to 90

Saturday, July 13, 2024

1747 GMT — The death toll from Israeli attack on displaced people in Al Mawasi has risen to 90, half of them women and children, with 300 others injured, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said.

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1929 GMT — Hezbollah claims it struck Israeli military sites near Lebanon’s border

Lebanese group Hezbollah has claimed that it had targeted Israeli military sites and soldiers near the border with Lebanon.

In a statement, the group said it had “targeted a gathering of enemy soldiers near the Hanita site with a Falaq missile, achieving direct hits.”

Hezbollah announced in a separate statement that its fighters had also targeted Israel’s Metual site.

Hezbollah said its attack came in response to an Israeli air strike on Friday that killed one person in the border town of Mari in Hasbaiyya in the Nabatieh province.

1922 GMT — Hamas awaits response from mediators on proposals introduced to Israel: Hamas senior official

Hamas is awaiting a response from mediators on proposals introduced to Israel, the group's deputy leader Khalil al Hayya told Al Jazeera.

1921 GMT — Gaza ceasefire talks stop until Israel shows it is serious: Egyptian sources

Two Egyptian sources have told Reuters news agency that Gaza talks stopped until the Israeli side demonstrates it is serious.

1907 GMT — Qassam commander Deif not killed in Israeli attack: Hamas official

Mohammed Deif, a senior commander of Hamas' armed wing Qassam Brigades, was not killed in an Israeli attack on Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the group's deputy leader Khalil al Hayya told Al Jazeera TV.

"We say to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu that Mohammed Deif is listening to you right now and mocking your lies," Al Hayya said on Saturday.

1844 GMT — Egypt calls on Israel not to obstruct Gaza ceasefire talks: source

Egypt has called on Israel not to obstruct ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations by putting forward new principles that contradict what has been agreed upon, Egypt's Al Qahera News reported, citing a senior source.

Israel is wasting time in formal meetings to lure Israeli public opinion away from reaching a deal, the source added.

1716 GMT — West will keep backing Israel due to Holocaust 'shame': Erdogan

Western powers’ unconditional support for Israel’s deadly offensive on Gaza will continue at the expense of violating their own principles, “influenced in part by the shame” of the Nazi Holocaust, the Turkish president said.

“Except for a few brave souls” there has been little visible Western media reaction to the horrors of a nine-month Israeli offensive on Gaza, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, adding: “They ignored genocide, disregarded the cries of the oppressed.”

Also criticising the Muslim world for falling short of acting against the carnage in Gaza, Erdogan added that not only international organisations but also institutions of the Muslim world have “failed to pass the test on Gaza.”

“While rightfully criticising the Western world for the massacres in Gaza, I believe Muslims also need to hold ourselves accountable,” Erdogan said.

“With a population of over 2 billion, and economic power surpassing trillions of dollars, it is incumbent upon all of us to wonder why the Islamic world cannot influence Israel,” he added.

1636 GMT — Israel's bombing of Al Mawasi camp for displaced complicates ceasefire talks: Egypt

Egypt has condemned Israel's bombing of the Al Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, which is densely populated with displaced people, affirming that it adds “serious complications” to the current Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

Following the Israeli army attack, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry called on Israel to “stop disregarding the lives of innocent civilian citizens and to adhere to the required humanitarian standards in compliance with international law and humanitarian law.”

It condemned the Israeli attack on the displaced Palestinians’ tents in Al Mawasi, emphasizing that “such crimes ... cannot be accepted under any pretext.”

Egypt reiterated that “these ongoing violations against Palestinian citizens add serious complications to current efforts to achieve calm and ceasefire, and increase the humanitarian suffering of Palestinians amid international silence and inability.”

1626 GMT — More pressure needs to be put on Israeli government: President Erdogan

Türkiye has made clear at this week’s NATO summit in Washington, DC that more pressure needed to be put on Tel Aviv for peace in the region, said the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“We clearly expressed at the NATO summit the need to put more pressure on the Israeli government. We underlined at every meeting that NATO cannot ignore the Gaza crisis as the consequences would be very severe,” Erdogan said on Saturday in a speech at the National Defence University staff officer graduation ceremony.

“No principles, rules, or red lines of international humanitarian law were observed; in fact, they were intentionally violated,” he added.

“It must be clearly stated: What has been happening in Gaza since Oct 7 is not war, it is not efforts to ensure state security, it is not legitimate defence; it is plainly genocide, the most wretched example of massacre, barbarism, and genocide," he said.

1608 GMT — Palestinian presidency condemns Israel's attack on displaced Palestinians’ tents in Al Mawasi

Israel’s deadly attack on displaced Palestinians’ tents in Khan Younis constitutes a “continuation of its genocidal offensive” on the Palestinians in the embattled Gaza, said the Palestinian presidency.

“The US administration bears responsibility for this heinous massacre, which claimed the lives of hundreds of our children, women, and elderly,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the official spokesperson for President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement quoted by the state’s news agency Wafa.

He added that the US “persists in violating all international legitimacy resolutions by constantly providing financial and military support to this (Israeli) occupation, which commits bloody massacres against our people every day.”

1529 GMT — Egypt rejects use of Rafah border crossing to tighten siege on war-torn Gaza

Egypt's president has warned against using Gaza’s southern Rafah border crossing to tighten the blockade on besieged Gaza.

“Egypt also rejects using the Rafah crossing as a tool to tighten the siege on the Palestinian people in Gaza,” Abdel Fattah el Sisi told a Cairo press conference alongside his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic.

He added that he confirms “Egypt’s position based on the inevitability of achieving an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire at the soonest time and Egypt’s categorical rejection of any form of displacement as well as any attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause,” said the Egyptian presidency.

Sisi also stressed the need to stop Israeli forces from targeting civilians and violent attacks by illegal Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.

1418 GMT — Gaza government accuses Israel of ‘spreading fake news’ to distract from its deadly attack on displaced Palestinians' tents

The Gaza government has said that Israel is “spreading fake news” about targeting Hamas leaders to divert attention from its deadly attack on displaced Palestinians’ tents in Al Mawasi in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.

Israel has practised “a policy of deception repeatedly since the start of its offensive, in an attempt to cover up its failures and crimes against civilians and the displaced, especially among children and women,” the Palestinian Media Office in Gaza said in a statement.

The office also condemned what it called “Israel's use of media deception, spreading fake news, rumours, and lies in an attempt to divert attention from its ongoing crimes against our Palestinian people.”

1256 GMT — 1 more Palestinian journalist killed in Gaza: media office

One more Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli attack in southern Gaza, the Gaza government media office said.

In a statement, the media office said Palestinian journalist Muhammad Manhal Abu Armana was killed in an Israeli bombing of displaced people’s tents in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The new fatality brings the total number of Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza to 159 since October 7, 2023, it added.

1224 GMT — Israeli army reports targeting 2 Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army has said that two Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon were targeted by a drone, claiming they were about to launch missiles at Israel.

In a statement, the army said its forces “detected two Hezbollah members in the Deir Mimas area, Marjayoun District in southern Lebanon preparing to launch missiles towards Israeli territory.”

“Shortly after they were detected, an Israeli drone bombed the two members,” it added.

1215 GMT — Israel's claim of targeting group's leader 'unfounded': Hamas

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has rejected Israeli claims that one of its armed wing's senior commanders was the target of an Israeli air strike on displaced Palestinians' tents in southern Gaza, which killed over 70 people and injured nearly 300 others.

Hamas said in a statement that Israeli media claims it targeted Mohammed Deif, the commander-in-chief of the Qassam Brigades, and a top Palestinian commander in its attack on the Al Mawasi area west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, are "unfounded."

It added that the Israeli media's allegations "come to cover up the scale of the horrific massacre the (Israeli) occupation has committed."

The attack on Saturday morning killed more than 71 Palestinians and injured 289 others, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.

Following the attack, the daily Israel Hayom claimed, without providing any evidence, that the main goal of the airstrike was to eliminate Mohammed Deif.

"It is estimated that there is a high likelihood that Deif was injured in the attack, but military officials are awaiting the outcome," it added.

Meanwhile, Israeli Army Radio also claimed that the attack targeted an "important figure" in Hamas, but the outcome is still unknown.

1201 GMT — 20 Palestinians killed, 20 injured in Israeli attack on mosque in central Gaza

The death toll from an Israeli attack on a mosque in central Gaza has climbed to 20, with more than 20 others injured.

"The number of martyrs in the Al Shati massacre has risen to 20, and there are still a number of wounded in serious condition," Mahmud Basal, spokesperson for the civil defence, told AFP.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Palestinians were seen sifting through the flattened remnants of the makeshift mosque after the deadly strike west of Gaza City.

1116 GMT — Gaza's Nasser hospital no longer able to function: hospital health officials

Palestinian health officials at Nasser Medical Complex, previously the biggest functioning hospital in Gaza, said that the hospital was no longer able to function.

Doctors said they were overwhelmed and could not provide medical healthcare to the large number of casualties because of the intensity of Israel's military offensive and acute shortages in medical supplies.

1104 GMT — Death toll in Gaza from Israeli attacks rises to 38,443

At least 38,443 Palestinians have been killed and 88,481 others injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 7, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

"Armed clashes are still ongoing,” it added.

According to a statement from the Al Qassam Brigades, its fighters "managed to entrap a convoy of tanks into a tight ambush and destroy three Merkava tanks with Yassin 105 shells near the Abu Dhar Al Ghafari Mosque east of Rafah, in southern Gaza Strip."

Hamas's military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, said on Saturday that its fighters destroyed several Israeli military vehicles in southern Gaza.

1103 GMT — Al-Qassam Brigades say it destroyed three Israeli tanks in southern Gaza ambush

Hamas's military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, has said its fighters destroyed several Israeli military vehicles in southern Gaza.

According to a statement from the Al Qassam Brigades, its fighters "managed to entrap a convoy of tanks into a tight ambush and destroy three Merkava tanks with Yassin 105 shells near the Abu Dhar Al Ghafari Mosque east of Rafah, in southern Gaza Strip."

"Armed clashes are still ongoing,” it added.

1001 GMT — Over 90 dead, nearly 300 wounded in Israeli strike on Gaza camp

At least 90 Palestinians have been killed and over 00 others wounded in an Israeli attack targeting displaced persons' camps in southern Gaza.

Health Ministry statement gave an updated "toll of the horrific occupation (Israeli) massacre" at the Al Mawasi camp, up from at least 20 it initially said were killed.

Earlier in a statement, the Health Ministry in Gaza said that “the bodies of 20 Palestinians and over 90 injured arrived at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis after Israeli forces bombed the Al Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip.”

It said in a statement that “the occupation army committed a major massacre by bombing displaced persons camps in the Al Mawasi area in Khan Younis", leaving many casualties, including individuals and officers from the Civil Defense.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that the Israeli army used five heavy missiles to target the Al Mawasi area, which was declared a safe zone by the Israeli forces.

0950 GMT — Hamas official says those killed in Khan Younis were civilians

A senior Hamas official has said an Israeli Army Radio report that a strike on Gaza's Khan Younis had targeted Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif was "nonsense".

"All the martyrs are civilians and what happened was a grave escalation of the war of genocide, backed by the American support and world silence," Abu Zuhri said, adding that the attack showed Israel was not interested in reaching a ceasefire agreement.

0731 GMT — At least three children among several Palestinians killed, injured in series of Israeli air strikes on Gaza

Israeli forces in a series of airstrikes have targeted various areas of Gaza, killing several Palestinians, including three children, and injuring many more.

A medical source told Anadolu Agency that three children were killed and several other people injured when an Israeli warplane bombed the Al-Rai family home in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza.

The source said Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospitals received 10 casualties following an Israeli airstrike on the Nuseirat Camp in central Gaza.

0305 GMT — Forced displacement by Israel repeated throughout Gaza: UN official

The Palestinian Permanent Observer to the UN Riyad Mansour has said the forced displacement by Israel against his people is repeated throughout Gaza.

"We call again, with utmost urgency, on the international community to stop Israel’s slaughter and torment of the Palestinian people," Mansour wrote in an appeal to world leaders.

Mansour emphasised that the "inhumane, illegal, repeated forced displacement of civilians is happening all across Gaza, causing constant turmoil and trauma, especially to children and other vulnerable civilians, including the sick, wounded and disabled."

He said northern Gaza is again under evacuation after Israel forced residents to evacuate for the first time in October.

0252 GMT — UN agency for Palestinians says has funds until end of September

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said it had enough funds to continue operating through September, following a pledging conference for the embattled body where UN chief Antonio Guterres pleaded for help from donors.

"We have worked tirelessly with partners to restore confidence in the agency," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said, after several nations withheld funding following Israeli allegations in January that a number of UNRWA's employees participated in the October 7 operation by Hamas.

Lazzarini said new pledges of funds would help ensure emergency operations until September.

2117 GMT — Netanyahu reportedly going solo on Gaza talks, defying Mossad

Israeli media citing informed sources in Israel have revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is almost alone in steering negotiations on a hostage-prisoner swap deal with Palestinian resistance groups.

Public broadcaster KAN quoted unidentified sources who said Netanyahu is alone in conducting the talks, and he decided to harden his position related to the discussions.

Netanyahu is steering all details of the talks and is focusing on the negotiations more than in the past, they said.

The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said there is fear in Israel that Netanyahu is trying to obstruct the prisoner deal following disagreements between him and Mossad's chief, David Barnea, concerning some of the terms of the ceasefire proposal.

It added that one of the main differences between the Mossad, Israel's general security service, Shin Bet, and Netanyahu is that the security agencies do not agree on a return to fighting unless Hamas breaches any of the deal terms, contrary to Netanyahu who wants to return to fighting in any case.

2109 GMT — US Senator Bernie Sanders calls attention to Gaza

Senator Bernie Sanders has urged the American public not to lose sight of the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, amid the media's focus on the US presidential election.

"While much of the media is focused on the drama of the US presidential election, we must not lose sight of what is happening in Gaza, where an unprecedented humanitarian crisis continues to get even worse," Sanders said in a statement.

Stating that Israel launched a total war against Palestinians, indiscriminately targeting them, Sanders said the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has ignored international law and made life unlivable in Gaza".

"That is why Netanyahu faces possible indictment by the International Criminal Court for his actions," Sanders said.

The independent senator also said the US continues to provide billions of dollars and thousands of bombs and other weapons to support the war in Gaza.

"We, as Americans, are complicit," said Sanders, calling for an end to the US support for "Netanyahu's war".

2108 GMT — Israel kills aid workers in Gaza 'safe zone'

A UK-based aid group said one of its employees in Gaza was killed in an Israeli strike that hit its warehouse located inside an Israeli-declared humanitarian safe zone.

The strike also killed three staffers from other aid groups using the warehouse, the al-Khair Foundation said in a statement.

The warehouse was located in Muwasi, an area on Gaza's Mediterranean coast that is part of a "humanitarian safe zone" where Israel has told Palestinians to take refuge.

2006 GMT — Palestinian groups target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

The Palestinian resistance groups have announced more attacks on Israeli soldiers and vehicles in different areas of besieged Gaza.

In a statement, the Hamas group's Al-Qassam Brigades said its fighters hit two of the Israeli army's Merkava 4 tanks with explosives made of Israeli remnants of war in Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood, southwestern Gaza.

In another statement, Al-Qassam said it struck Israeli troops stationed in the Netzarim Corridor area, established by the Israeli army in central Gaza to separate northern Gaza from the southern parts, with mortar shells.

Meanwhile, the Al-Quds Brigades, of the Islamic Jihad group, also said it struck Israeli troops and vehicles in the Netzarim Corridor area with mortar shells.

For our live updates from Friday, July 12, 2024, click here.