Live blog: Israeli attacks against UNRWA 'must stop' — agency head

Thursday, May 30, 2024

1738 GMT — The head of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has said that Israeli attacks against the agency have to stop.

Philippe Lazzarini said the Israeli war on Gaza "has produced a blatant disregard for the mission" of the UN, including attacks on employees, facilities and operations of the UNRWA.

"These attacks must stop and the world must act to hold the perpetrators accountable," he wrote in an opinion piece published in the New York Times.

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1842 GMT — Hezbollah targets Israeli soldiers with artillery near Lebanese border

Lebanese group Hezbollah has said that it targeted Israeli soldiers with artillery shells near the border.

In a statement, Hezbollah announced that it targeted a deployment of Israeli troops with artillery shells around the Har Addir military site, opposite the Lebanese town of Rmeish.

The Israeli army has not commented on the attack as of 1630 GMT.

1833 GMT — US claims Algeria's proposed resolution on Rafah is not balanced

The US has claimed Algeria's draft UN Security Council resolution to "stop the killing" in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah is not balanced.

"It is imbalanced and it fails to note a simple fact that Hamas is to blame for this conflict," State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.

Algeria is circulating a draft UN Security Council resolution to "stop the killing" in Rafah as Israel intensifies attacks in the densely populated area.

"Algeria will circulate this afternoon a draft resolution on Rafah. It will be a short text, a decisive text, to stop the killing in Rafah," Algeria’s Ambassador to the UN, Amar Bendjama, told reporters after a Security Council meeting on Tuesday.

1815 GMT — US official resigns from USAID over handling of Gaza war

Another Biden administration official has resigned in protest of Washington's handling of Israel's ongoing war on Gaza, according to a report.

Alexander Smith, a contractor with the US international aid agency, USAID, told the UK-based Guardian newspaper that he was offered an ultimatum after preparing a paper on Palestinian child and maternal mortality: resign or be dismissed.

The presentation of his paper at a conference was ultimately cancelled by USAID senior leadership, Smith, a former senior adviser on gender, maternal health, child health and nutrition, told the Guardian. He resigned Monday, ending his four-year tenure at the agency.

"I cannot do my job in an environment in which specific people cannot be acknowledged as fully human, or where gender and human rights principles apply to some, but not to others, depending on their race," he wrote, according to the Guardian.

1805 GMT — Israeli minister threatens to destroy West Bank just like Gaza

The Israeli finance minister has threatened to destroy cities, neighbourhoods and Palestinian camps in the northern occupied West Bank, similar to what the army has done in Gaza.

"Our message to the residents of Tulkarem, the Shuweikha neighbourhood, and (refugee camp) Nour al-Shams, and the city of Qalqilya, we will turn you into destroyed cities as happened in Gaza if … terrorism" is practised against the settlements, Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism wrote on X.

He threatened to "continue to control Judea and Samaria," the biblical term for the occupied West Bank.

1802 GMT — Palestinian killed by Israeli army gunfire in occupied West Bank

A Palestinian has been killed by the Israeli army in al-Bireh in the central occupied West Bank.

“A citizen was martyred after succumbing to critical injuries from live gunfire by the (Israeli) occupation forces to the chest in the city of Al-Bireh,” the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement.

It raises the death toll in the West Bank to 520 Palestinians since Oct. 7, according to figures from the ministry.

1737 GMT — Ready to reach complete truce if Israel stops Gaza war: Hamas

Hamas has informed ceasefire talks mediators that they are ready to reach a "complete agreement" including a comprehensive hostages/prisoners exchange deal if Israel "stops its war and aggression against people in Gaza," a statement from the group said.

1704 GMT — Netanyahu prefers hostages returned as 'corpses': Israeli prisoner

The military wing of the Islamic Jihad has released a video that features an Israeli hostage who said that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prefers to recover prisoners in Gaza as corpses.

"I am in good condition despite the Israeli army trying to kill me several times," Alexander Turfanov said in the video.

Addressing the Israeli public, Turfanov stated, "The government and Netanyahu are lying to you when they say they are working to retrieve us (captives in Gaza) through military pressure, but in reality, they are searching for us to kill us," he said. "They don't want to pay the price to bring us back alive; they prefer to bring us back as corpses."

"I don't want to be the next number of captives killed in Gaza," he said. "You know exactly how many captives have been killed in Gaza by the army."

1620 GMT — French municipalities turn off lights to honour Gaza victims

Several municipalities in France have turned off the lights at their city hall buildings on Wednesday night to honour civilians Israel killed in Gaza.

Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan launched the campaign in response to recent Israeli attacks on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

"The horror of the murderous strikes on Rafah revolts us and touches us to the very depths of our humanity, " Payan said on X, announcing the symbolic gesture to commemorate the victims and urging other municipalities to join.

The mayors of Nantes, Lyon, and Bordeaux also participated in the initiative, turning off the lights at their respective city halls to mourn those killed in Gaza by Israeli attacks, according to local media.

1554 GMT — Communication services cut off in Gaza's Rafah: Palestine

Communication services have been cut off in Rafah in Southern Gaza due to 'the ongoing aggression', Palestinian telecommunications company Jawa has said in a statement.

1432 GMT — Greece calls for ‘thorough investigation’ into Israeli strike on Rafah camp

Greece has called for a "thorough investigation" into the Israeli air strike on a camp for displaced people in Rafah, southern Gaza, that left dozens of people dead on Sunday.

"We call for a thorough investigation which will shed light into the exact circumstances of this attack," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Greece reiterates its call for an immediate ceasefire, respect of humanitarian and international law by all parties, urgent entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and release of all hostages held by Hamas," the statement said.

1427 GMT — Slovenia's government endorses motion to recognise Palestinian statehood

Slovenia’s government has endorsed a motion to recognise Palestine as a state, local media has reported.

The government referred the motion to the National Assembly for final approval, Prime Minister Robert Golob said after the government session, according to the Slovenian Press Agency.

The National Assembly is expected to vote on the motion next week, the agency reported.

1418 GMT — US, Israeli defence chiefs discuss opening of Rafah border crossing

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, have discussed Israel's war on Gaza, the Pentagon has said.

During the telephone call, Austin and Gallant exchanged views on "the need to sustain increased deliveries of humanitarian assistance, and the urgent importance of opening the Rafah Border Crossing for the continued flow of aid," spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.

"Secretary Austin and Minister Gallant also discussed efforts to improve real-time communications between humanitarian providers and the Israeli military," he added.

1400 GMT — Israel war cabinet member's party submits bill seeking early election

The centrist party of Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has said it had submitted a bill to dissolve parliament and hold an early election.

"The head of the National Union Party, Pnina Tamano-Shata, has put forward a bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset. This follows the request of party leader Minister Benny Gantz to move forward in broad agreement to an election before October, a year since the massacre," the party said in a statement.

1350 GMT — Houthis vow to escalate military operations in support of Gaza

Yemen's Houthis will continue their military operations and escalate them "in quality and quantity" in support of Palestinians in Israel's war on Gaza, the Iran-backed group's leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi has said in a televised speech.

The group have been attacking ships in the Red Sea region since November, forcing shippers to re-route cargo to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.

The group later expanded the scope of its attacks to the Indian Ocean and said it would also target any ships heading towards Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea.

1253 GMT — Israeli drone hits school sheltering displaced people in Jabalia

An Israeli drone attack on a school sheltering displaced people in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has resulted in several casualties, according to reports.

Eyewitnesses said that Israeli drones targeted people seeking shelter in the "Falesteen (Palestine) School" in Jabalia after the Israeli army withdrew from parts of the camp, leaving behind casualties.

The number of casualties is yet to be confirmed by the health authorities in Gaza.

1242 GMT — Israeli army to give more weapons to illegal settlers: report

The Israeli army will give more machine guns to the illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank, an Israeli media outlet has reported.

"The Israeli army announced that it will distribute additional long guns (machine guns) in the West Bank," Israeli Channel 7 reported.

"A representative of the Central Command in the Israeli army (not named) announced in a meeting of the Knesset's Judea and Samaria (West Bank) Committee that long guns will also be distributed to residents who are not members of the reserve unit to enhance security," added the channel.

1226 GMT — Israeli air strike on Rafah kills 12 Palestinians: medics

Israeli forces killed at least 12 Palestinians in a dawn air strike on Rafah in southern Gaza and fighting raged in several other areas of the coastal enclave, medics in Gaza have said.

Medical sources in Gaza said the 12 Palestinians, whom it said were civilians, had been killed and an unspecified number of others wounded in an Israeli air strike as they tried to recover the body of a civilian in the centre of Rafah.

Another Palestinian civilian was killed in an air strike on the Al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City in the north of the densely populated enclave, the medics said.

1058 GMT — Gaza death toll rises to 36,224: ministry

At least 36,224 people have been killed in the territory during more than seven months of Israel's war on Gaza, the health ministry in the besieged Palestinian enclave said.

The toll includes at least 53 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 81,777 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war began on October 7 last year.

1038 GMT — Families in Gaza facing unprecedented health emergency: UN

The UN has warned that families in Gaza are confronting an unparalleled health emergency as the Israeli war on the besieged enclave continues for almost eight months.

In a post on X, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) outlined the daily struggles endured by Gazans, saying: "Every day, people go through injuries, trauma, scarce hygiene, the spread of infectious diseases, lack of sufficient food & water, and limited access to medicines & healthcare."

"Families in Gaza are facing an unprecedented health emergency," the agency underlined, calling for a ceasefire.

0859 GMT — Israel orders UNRWA to vacate its headquarters in the Occupied East Jerusalem

The Israel Land Authority has ordered the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) to vacate its headquarters in the occupied East Jerusalem within 30 days, Israeli media reported.

According to the Times of Israel news website, the Israeli Land Authority said UNRWA owes them "a sum of $7,326,711.19 ($7.3 million) for operating on land belonging to Israel without consent for the last seven years."

The measure against UNRWA is seen as being politically motivated, as Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for long sought to dismantle UNRWA from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories.

0811 GMT — Palestinian Red Crescent says 19 of its medical staff killed by Israel since October 7

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the death toll of its medical staff, killed by the Israeli army in line of work in Gaza since October 7, has risen to 19.

The announcement came as it mourned two of its medical staff killed in Rafah on Wednesday when the Israeli army targeted their ambulance.

"PRCS teams were able to retrieve the bodies of para medics Haitham Tubasi and Suhail Hassouna, who were targeted by the Israeli occupation (forces) last night in the Tel Sultan area west of Rafah," said the Red Crescent in a statement.

"With the martyrdom of paramedics Haitham Tubasi and Suhail Hassouna, the number of PRCS staff members killed since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza has risen to 19," the statement said.

0737 GMT — Israeli forces 'categorically' ignoring court orders, killing people, says charity

Israeli forces are "categorically" ignoring the to UN court's orders and killed at least 66 people, including children, in four days of attacks in Rafah, Save the Children, an international non-governmental organisation, said.

"The attacks come less than a week after the @CIJ_ICJ ordered Israel to 'immediately' halt its military offensive in Rafah. Clearly, the orders are being categorically ignored," Save the Children posted on X.

A total of 66 Palestinians were killed, and more than 300 were injured in two separate attacks by the Israeli military on May 26 and May 28 on the tents of displaced Palestinians at a camp in Rafah, despite a decision by the International Court of Justice to cease such attacks.

0635 GMT — Three Israeli soldiers killed in occupied West Bank, Gaza

A total of three Israeli soldiers were killed in two different incidents, the Israeli army said.

Two soldiers succumbed to their wounds from a car-ramming incident in the northern occupied West Bank, and the third was killed in fighting in Gaza.

According to Israeli military figures, at least 642 soldiers have been killed since October 7, 2023.

0407 GMT — Egypt's Sisi calls to ensure Palestinians in Gaza not 'forcibly displaced'

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi urged the international community to ensure Palestinians in Gaza are not displaced from their war-ravaged territory.

"I... call on the international community to immediately provide for long-term humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip and to end the Israeli siege," Sisi told a forum of Arab leaders and Chinese officials in Beijing.

He also urged the international community to "stop any attempt at forcing Palestinians to forcibly flee their land"

0330 GMT — China's Xi Jinping calls for Israel-Palestine peace summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a peace conference on Israel's war on besieged Gaza as he addressed Arab leaders and diplomats at a forum in Beijing.

China is hosting this week Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi and several other Arab leaders for a forum at which discussions on the war in Gaza are expected.

Addressing the delegations, Xi said China supported a "broad-based" peace conference to resolve the conflict. "The Middle East is a land bestowed with broad prospects for development, but the war is still raging on it," Xi said.

"War should not continue indefinitely. Justice should not be absent forever," he added.

0227 GMT — France calls for reforms from Palestinian Authority in perspective of recognising state of Palestine

France called for reforms from the Palestinian Authority to strengthen the possibility of recognising the State of Palestine.

President Emmanuel Macron said France supports "a reformed and strengthened Palestinian Authority."

Macron made the remarks during a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in which he also conveyed his condolences to the Palestinian people following the bombing of a camp for displaced people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday, according to a statement from the Elysee Palace.

2136 GMT — 'All eyes on Rafah' image shared 45M times online

An AI-generated image bearing the words "All eyes on Rafah" has been shared by more than 45 million Instagram accounts since Monday after a deadly Israeli strike at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah burned alive and decapitated around 50 Palestinians, sparking a global outcry.

The image depicts densely packed rows of tents stretching endlessly across a desert landscape overshadowed by mountains, alluding to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled there during Israel's military invasion.

Chilean-US actor Pedro Pascal, top models Bella and Gigi Hadid, who are of Palestinian descent, and French football star Ousm ane Dembele are among the celebrities to have shared it on Instagram.

2130 GMT — Nurse honoured for compassion is fired after referring to Gaza genocide in speech

A nurse has been fired by a New York City hospital after she referred to Israel's war in Gaza as a genocide during a speech accepting an award.

Labor and delivery nurse Hesen Jabr, who is Palestinian American, was being honoured by NYU Langone Health for her compassion in caring for mothers who had lost babies when she drew a link between her work and the suffering of mothers in Gaza.

"It pains me to see the women from my country going through unimaginable losses themselves during the current genocide in Gaza," Jabr said, according to a video of the May 7 speech that she posted on social media. "This award is deeply personal to me for those reasons."

2100 GMT — Israel kills paramedics, Palestinian civilians in Gaza strikes

Israel has killed several Palestinian civilians, including two paramedics, in air strikes on the cities of Gaza and Rafah.

Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that rescue teams and local citizens retrieved several casualties from the rubble of a house belonging to the Al Hatu family near Al-Zahraa School in eastern Gaza City, which was targeted by Israeli warplanes.

"Three more individuals were killed when a house in the Tel al Sultan neighbourhood, west of Rafah, was struck by an Israeli air strike," WAFA said.

Two paramedics were killed in an Israel air strike targeting an ambulance in Rafah city, the Health Ministry in the besieged Palestinian enclave said.

In a statement, the ministry said that two members of the ambulance teams affiliated with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) were killed when their ambulance was heading to evacuate the wounded and deceased people in the Abu al Said roundabout area in Tel al Sultan.

For our live updates from Wednesday, May 29, 2024, click here.