Live blog: Israeli attacks impact 84% of Gaza's health facilities — UNRWA

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

1703 GMT –– Israeli attacks have affected 84 percent of health facilities in besieged Gaza, the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) said.

''Due to continued bombardment and access restrictions, only 4 out of 22 UNRWA health facilities are still operational,'' the UN agency added in a statement on X.

The refugee agency attached images showing the damage incurred by the Sheikh Radwan Health Centre in Israeli attacks in northern Gaza.

The Israeli offensive has left 85 percent of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

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1738 GMT –– US reviewing Hamas response to hostage deal framework, will discuss with Israel on Wednesday: Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the United States was reviewing a response from Hamas to a framework on a deal that would see Hamas release hostages in exchange for an extended pause in fighting in Gaza.

Blinken said at a news conference in Qatar that he would discuss Hamas' response with Israeli officials when he visits the country on Wednesday.

“There’s still a lot of work to do be done, but we continue to believe that an agreement is possible, and indeed essential," Blinken said.

1730 GMT –– Qatar PM says received 'positive' response from Hamas on hostage deal

Qatar's prime minister has said that Hamas delivered a "positive" response to a US-backed proposal to free hostages in return for pausing the Gaza war with Israel.

"We have received a reply from Hamas with regards to the general framework of the agreement with regards to hostages," Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told a news conference in Doha with Blinken.

"The reply includes some comments, but in general, it is positive."

1702 GMT –– Diplomacy underway to provide Yemen's Houthis with 'climb down': US official

Diplomatic efforts are "being made to try and find a climb down for the Houthis that would enable (the) situation to improve and to move away from the kinetic aspect" of the Red Sea crisis, US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking has said.

Lenderking, in recorded comments to the Middle East Institute, also said "We need to see serious de-escalation in Gaza" and that Blinken was working very hard on that.

1657 GMT –– Canada imposes sanctions on top Hamas, Islamic Jihad officials

Canada has imposed sanctions on top Hamas officials including Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif over the Palestinian resistance group's attack on Israel on October 7.

Canada's sanctions target 11 individuals, also including Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders, for the attack and "the threat that Hamas and its affiliates pose to regional security," the Canadian foreign ministry said in a statement.

1644 GMT –– Another Palestinian teenager killed by Israeli army in occupied West Bank

Another Palestinian has been shot dead by Israeli army forces in the occupied West Bank, the Health Ministry said.

A ministry statement identified the victim as Muhammad Suad Abdullah, 18, saying he was killed at the Beit Furik military checkpoint east of Nablus.

According to the official news agency Wafa, Furik was killed by Israeli forces for allegedly attempting to carry out a stabbing attack.

1609 GMT –– Hamas 'strongly condemns' Argentina's Jerusalem embassy plans

Palestinian group Hamas has said it "strongly condemns" Argentinian President Javier Milei after he announced plans to move his country's embassy to Jerusalem.

Hamas said it viewed the move "an infringement of the rights of our Palestinian people to their land, and a violation of the rules of international law, considering Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian land".

1547 GMT –– Gaza health ministry, witnesses say Israeli strike kills 6 securing aid truck

The health ministry in Gaza said Israeli forces have killed six Palestinian police officers, who witnesses told AFP had been securing the passage of an aid truck.

"Six Palestinian police officers killed as a result of the Israeli occupation targeting their vehicle in the Khirbat al Adas neighbourhood in Rafah," a ministry statement said.

1421 GMT –– Argentina plans to move embassy to Jerusalem: Milei

Argentina's President Javier Milei has arrived in Israel and immediately announced a plan to relocate his country's embassy to Jerusalem.

"My plan is to move the embassy to West Jerusalem," the libertarian head of state told Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on the tarmac of the airport near Tel Aviv.

1418 GMT –– Yemen Houthis leader says we will further escalate if attack on Gaza does not stop

The leader of Yemen's Houthis, Abdul Malik al Houthi, has said that the group "will further escalate" if the Israeli attack on Gaza does not stop.

Iran-aligned Houthis have been targeting commercial vessels with drones and missiles in the Red Sea since mid-November, in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in the Israel-Palestine war in Gaza.

1355 GMT –– Israel using hunger as ‘weapon’ against Palestinians in Gaza: UN expert

Israel has been using disproportionate force against civilians and using hunger as a “weapon” in its attacks on Gaza since last October, said a UN special rapporteur on the right to food.

"Israel is clearly and systematically obstructing access to food for all civilians in Gaza," Michael Fakhri told Anadolu news agency.

"UN humanitarian teams reported that reaching everyone in need of food and water in Gaza is almost impossible due to Israel's obstruction of humanitarian aid," he added.

1320 GMT –– 8,000 displaced people evacuated from Gaza hospital: Red Cross

Around 8,000 displaced people have been evacuated from a besieged hospital in Gaza's main southern city of Khan Yunis where they had sought refuge, the Red Cross has said.

"The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is beyond catastrophic," Tommaso Della Longa, spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told reporters in Geneva.

He said the IFRC was told the Al Amal hospital, run by the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS), had been largely emptied following a lengthy siege by Israeli forces.

"Eight thousand internally displaced people who sought refuge in our Palestinian Red Crescent hospital in Khan Yunis... left the hospital yesterday", he explained.

1318 GMT –– Israeli army destroys 2 buildings of Al Aqsa University in Gaza City

The Israeli army has destroyed two buildings of Al Aqsa University, the oldest institution of higher learning in Gaza, according to witnesses.

“Israeli army forces moved into the west of Gaza City and shelled and destroyed two buildings on the university campus,” an eyewitness told Anadolu.

According to an Anadolu reporter, Israeli forces fired at displaced Palestinians who were taking shelter on campus.

1242 GMT –– Israeli premier asks top military officials to seek alternatives to UN agency for Palestinian refugees

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Army Chief Herzi Halevi to propose alternatives to the UN Refugee Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) for providing and transferring aid to Gaza.

According to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN, Netanyahu asked Halevi to put plans not to rely on UNRWA in the near future with regard to all related issues of transferring humanitarian aid into Gaza.

KAN quoted senior officials who said Netanyahu asked Halevi to put his proposals on UNRWA's alternatives by the end of the week.

In recent days, Israel intensified its campaign against the UN agency, with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Monday asking its chief Philippe Lazzarini to resign.

1219 GMT –– Israeli army investigates killing of 12 hostages by tank fire

The Israeli army has launched an investigation into the killing of 12 hostages by a tank fire near the border with Gaza.

At least 12 hostages held by Hamas fighters were killed when an Israeli tank fired two shells at a house at Be’eri settlement on October 7, according to Israeli media.

Army general Yoav Har-Even, who served as head of the military's Operations Directorate, was named to lead an investigation panel into the killings, Haaretz newspaper reported.

0834 GMT –– Israeli war kills at least 27,585 Palestinians: Health Ministry

At least 27,585 people have been killed since Israel began its war on Gaza, the Palestinian health ministry in the besieged enclave said.

The latest toll includes at least 107 deaths over the past 24 hours alone, a ministry statement said, while a total of 66,978 people have been wounded since October 7.

0713 GMT –– Palestinian president, French foreign minister discuss developments in Gaza

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne have discussed the developments in Israel's ongoing offensive on Gaza.

Abbas received Sejourne in Ramallah late Monday and discussed efforts made to stop the Israeli war on Gaza, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

During the meeting, the Palestinian president stressed the importance of increasing humanitarian and medical aid to Gaza under the current situation.

Abbas also told the top French diplomat his categorical rejection to any displacement attempt to Palestinians from Gaza, stressing it as "an integral part of the Palestinian state."

0318 GMT –– Blinken heads to Egypt seeking 'enduring end' to Israel's war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to fly to Egypt as part of a Middle East crisis tour seeking "an enduring end" to the Israel's war on Gaza.

In Cairo, Blinken is scheduled to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, the day after he held talks in Riyadh with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Blinken's diplomatic push has been given fresh urgency with Israeli forces pressing further south towards Rafah, a Palestinian city on the southern border with Egypt where more than half the population of Gaza has taken shelter.

Blinken is hoping to shore up support for a truce deal hashed out in Paris in January, but not yet signed off on by either warring parties.

0251 GMT –– Türkiye cannot remain 'indifferent' to Gaza: Deputy minister

Türkiye will continue to be in solidarity with Palestine, Turkish Deputy Minister of Family and Social Services Yavuz Selim Kiran said.

"The disproportionate and inhumane attack conducted by Israel in the Gaza Strip is deemed unacceptable. We cannot remain indifferent to this situation," Kiran told the 62nd Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD62) at UN Headquarters in New York.

Kiran said that under the auspices of first lady Emine Erdogan, Türkiye stands ready to take action to support children affected by the attacks in Gaza.

0235 GMT — Jordanian air force airdrops urgent aid to northern Gaza in cooperation with Netherlands

The Jordanian and Dutch air forces conducted a second airdrop of urgent aid materials to northern besieged Gaza within 24 hours.

According to a statement by the Jordanian army, the two airdrop missions were carried out with a C-130 aircraft and the aid was delivered to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza.

It said the aid materials included "relief, humanitarian and medical supplies delivered in special boxes equipped with GPS-guided parachutes to ensure their delivery to the designated locations within the required timeframes."

0145 GMT — US military says it conducted strike against two Houthi drones

The US military says that its forces conducted a strike in self-defence against two Houthi drones in Yemen.

"US forces identified the explosive USVs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region," US Central Command said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

0127 GMT — Israeli army's next target is Rafah: defence minister

Israel's defence minister said that the army's next target in besieged Gaza would be the southern city of Rafah, claiming it is the last remaining stronghold of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Yoav Gallant made the statement at a press conference, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported. Gallant said Hamas fighters and leaders are hiding in Rafah.

"We will also reach the areas where we have not yet fought in the centre of the Gaza Strip and in the south, and especially the last remaining [stronghold] of Hamas in Rafah," he said.

0039 GMT — British Columbia minister resigns for Palestine comments

A senior government minister in the Canadian province of British Columbia resigned after saying last week that Israel was founded on a "crappy piece of land," a comment that outraged pro-Palestinian groups.

Selina Robinson, who is Jewish, made the comments during a panel discussion on Thursday and apologised in a public statement on Friday. She said she understood her "flippant comment" diminished the connection Palestinians also had to the land.

British Columbia premier David Eby said Robinson, the province's minister of advanced education, and he jointly decided she should step down after reaching out to many communities that were harmed by her remarks.

2316 GMT — Japan, Italy call for 'calming down' situation in Gaza

The leaders of Japan and Italy have called for "calming down" the situation in besieged Gaza, recognising the critical importance of improving the humanitarian situation in the blockaded enclave.

The appeal was made during a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his visiting Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni in Tokyo, according to a statement from Japan's Foreign Ministry.

"On the situation surrounding Israel and Palestine, recognising the critical importance of improving the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and reviewing the efforts made by the G-7 last year, the two leaders concurred to intensify efforts at this year's G-7 summit toward the immediate release of the hostages, improving the humanitarian situation and calming down the situation," the statement added.

2300 GMT — Bosnian, Croatian journalists pay tribute to murdered colleagues in Palestine

Bosnian and Croatian journalists have gathered in the capitals of Sarajevo and Zagreb to pay tribute to their colleagues killed in Israel's brutal war on besieged Gaza.

The tribute was organised as part of a protest staged by representatives of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) operating in the UK and Ireland and the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate (PJS) simultaneously in Brussels.

Hundreds of journalists lit candles and observed a minute of silence before calling for a ceasefire. Bosnian journalist Borka Rudic said crimes against journalists are unacceptable, and they mourn equally for all colleagues who were killed while reporting from besieged Gaza.

2200 GMT — Brussels journalists call on media organisations to take action against killing of Palestinian colleagues

Hundreds of journalists have staged a protest in Belgium's capital against Israel's killing of their colleagues in besieged Gaza and called on media organisations to take action.

Representatives of the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) operating in the UK and Ireland and the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate (PJS) gathered at Schuman Square, where European Union institutions are located.

They carried banners that said "Freedom for Palestinian journalists," "Israel, stop killing journalists in Gaza" and "Journalists in Gaza, we are with you." The journalists left a cardboard coffin with a press vest in the square and held a moment of silence.

For our live updates from Monday, February 5, click here.