Live blog: Mossad chief to lead Israeli team in Gaza truce talks — report

Thursday, July 4, 2024

1809 GMT — Mossad chief David Barnea is likely to lead Israel's negotiating team in Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap talks with Hamas, public broadcaster KAN has said.

Israeli Channel 12 earlier reported that Netanyahu has agreed to send a negotiating team to engage in ceasefire talks with Hamas.

It, however, did not provide any details when and where the hostage swap and ceasefire talks will take place.

1856 GMT — Protests in Dublin condemn US support for Israel's actions in Gaza

Demonstrators in Dublin denounced the US partnership in what they called "Israel's genocide" in Gaza.

Timed to coincide with US July 4th Independence Day celebrations, the protest targeted a gala event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce at a hotel in the Irish capital.

The gala was attended by Simon Harris, the Irish prime minister.

Organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the demonstration outside the hotel saw protesters carrying signs with messages such as "War Criminals," "Free Palestine," and "10 Children Lose Their Legs Each Day."

1751 GMT — Israel won't end Gaza war until 'all goals achieved': Netanyahu tells Biden

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told US President Joe Biden during a phone call that Tel Aviv will not end the war on Gaza until "all its objectives are achieved."

The conversation came after Israel received Hamas' response to a prisoner exchange and Gaza ceasefire proposal, according to Israeli Channel 12.

Netanyahu informed Biden that Israel would end the war on Gaza after achieving all of its objectives, the broadcaster said.

Netanyahu has previously outlined three goals for the war: eliminating Hamas, securing the release of Israeli captives in Gaza, and ensuring that the Palestinian enclave would not pose a threat to Israel's security.

1737 GMT — 'Real chance' of reaching hostage deal: Israeli official

There is a "real chance" of achieving a deal with Hamas on the release of hostages, a source in the Israeli negotiating team has said.

“The proposal put forward by Hamas includes a very significant breakthrough," said the source, after the Palestinian resistance group presented a revised proposal for a deal, via mediators, to Israel's government.

"It can serve to advance negotiations. There’s a deal with a real chance of implementation. Though The clauses are not easy, they shouldn’t scupper the deal.”

1737 GMT — Israel 'never been closer' to reach prisoner swap deal: Ex-minister

Israel has never been closer to finalizing a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas for months, former War Cabinet Minister Gadi Eizenkot has said.

However, he expressed doubts that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would accept the potential agreement.

Eizenkot, a Knesset member from the opposition National Unity Party, told the Walla news agency that negotiations with Hamas are at their closest point in the past nine months.

His comments followed a report from CNN citing an unnamed Israeli source familiar with the negotiations that Israel and Hamas “appear to be on the brink of a framework agreement for a cease-fire and hostage release deal.”

1717 GMT — Saudi Arabia's Gaza aid threatened by Rafah closure: aid official

Saudi Arabia's main humanitarian agency has said the Israeli closure of Rafah and other crossings into Gaza was hampering its aid efforts to send lifesaving food, some of which was in danger of spoiling.

"We have hundreds of trucks now piling in Rafah because of the closure of Rafah and other corridors. We are facing big restrictions to reach the people of Gaza," said Abdullah al Rabeeah, the head of the state-run King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief).

1714 GMT — Houthis report fresh US-UK air strikes in northwestern Yemen

US and British warplanes launched two air strikes in Yemen's northwestern Hajjah province, the Houthi group has said.

The attacks targeted Bahis area in the province, the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported. No information was yet available about casualties or damage.

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1544 GMT — Norway condemns Israeli decision to 'legalise' settlement outposts

Norway condemns Israel's decision to "legalise" five settlement outposts in occupied Palestinian territory, Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has said.

Israel last week said it was going to legalise five outposts in the occupied West Bank and was advancing plans for constructing further settlements in the territory, among those Palestinians seek for an independent state.

Barth Eide added that Norway found it "totally unacceptable" that Israel had also decided to advance the approval of another 6,016 housing units for settlements in the occupied West Bank.

"Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live their lives in peace and security, with freedom, dignity and equal rights. The two-state solution is the only viable solution," Barth Eide said, referring to Norway's earlier stance.

1515 GMT — Israel approves plans for 5,300 new settlements in occupied West Bank

The Israeli government has approved plans to build nearly 5,300 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank, a monitoring group has said, the latest move in a campaign to accelerate settlement expansion, aiming to cement Israeli control over the territory and prevent the establishment of a future Palestinian state.

The Israeli anti-settlement monitoring Peace Now said the government's Higher Planning Council had approved or advanced plans for 5,295 homes in dozens of settlements across the West Bank.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body that oversees the planning council, referred questions to Netanyahu's office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

1450 GMT — Israeli army controls 26 percent of Gaza's territory: report

The Israeli army has seized control of over one-quarter of Gaza, Haaretz newspaper has reported.

The daily, based on the analysis of satellite photographs and other sources of information, said Israeli army forces are now in control of 26 percent of Gaza's territory.

The army has been expanding bases in the Palestinian enclave, building infrastructure and paving roads, it said.

Haaretz, citing an unnamed senior army officer, said the seized land in Gaza is "an attempt for continuing occupation."

"The military activity provides unexpected gains for supporters of the resettlement of Gaza and setting the stage for creating a new reality: a long-term Israeli control over Gaza,” it added.

1433 GMT — Israeli delegation sent to negotiate hostage deal with Hamas: official

An Israeli government official has said that a delegation has been sent to negotiate a hostage release deal with Hamas.

Under a deal brokered in late November by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, more than 100 of the estimated 240 captives taken to Gaza during an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 were freed in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Since then, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced mounting pressure to secure the release of the 136 hostages who remain in captivity.

1432 GMT — Israel's AG demands 'immediate' closure of Palestinian detention camp

Israel's attorney general has demanded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to close the Sde Teiman desert detention camp “immediately,” according to local media.

Gali Baharav-Miara's request follows a petition by Israeli human rights organisations to the Supreme Court to close the detention camp after local and international reports of widespread abuses against Gazan detainees.

The request “directly contradicts the position of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who publicly called for harsher detention conditions, especially in the Sde Teiman prison,” Maariv newspaper said.

"From the beginning, the facility's purpose was to hold detainees from Gaza for a short period before transferring them to prisons,” Maariv said. However, “due to prison overcrowding and the detainee crisis, there are still detainees in Sde Teiman.”

1415 GMT — Two million Gaza residents suffer food insecurity amid Israeli war: UN

Two million people in Gaza suffer food insecurity amid a devastating Israeli onslaught on the enclave, the World Food Program (WFP) has warned.

Voicing concern about "shrinking operational space for aid agencies" in Gaza, the WFP said the Karam Abu Salem commercial crossing, also known as Kerem Shalom, "isn't accessible due to active conflict."

The UN food body published a video showing quantities of food parcels being packed in its warehouse in Abu Rawash area in central Egypt in preparations for dispatch to "vulnerable families in Gaza."

1258 GMT — Türkiye's Erdogan urges world to increase pressure on Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for increased pressure on Israel to return to the negotiation table for a permanent Gaza ceasefire.

"Israel must be stopped, forced to accept a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and pressure on the Israeli administration must be increased," Erdogan said.

"The ruins in Gaza, under which over 16,000 innocent children lie, are also the wreckage of an international system that has lost its legitimacy," Erdogan added.

1202 GMT — EU condemns Israel’s latest move to expand illegal settlements

The EU has condemned Israel’s latest move to further expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

"The European Union condemns the planned so-called legalisation of five Israeli settlement outposts and the announcement of thousands of new housing units in the occupied West Bank," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Also condemning Israel’s ongoing policies of dispossession in the West Bank, it added: "The ongoing efforts aiming at establishing facts on the ground and risking to lead to a de-facto annexation must stop."

1202 GMT — Death toll rises to 8 after Israeli fighter jets strike Gaza

At least eight Palestinians were killed and several others injured in fresh Israeli air strikes in Gaza, according to local authorities and witnesses.

The Palestinian Civil Defense Agency said its teams recovered the bodies of five people after an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in the al Daraj neighbourhood east of Gaza City, while 15 other Palestinians were injured.

A woman and child were killed and several others injured in another Israeli airstrike in the centre of Gaza City, it added. Artillery shelling also killed one Palestinian and injured three others east of Gaza City, witnesses said.

1140 GMT — Hezbollah vows new strikes on Israel after killing of commander

Senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine has threatened to attack new locations within Israel as part of the group's response to the killing by Israel of a top commander in the group.

"The series of responses continues in succession, and this series will continue to target new sites that the enemy did not imagine would be hit," Safieddine said, speaking at the senior commander's memorial.

Hezbollah fired at least 200 rockets and nearly two dozen drones in retaliation.

1029 GMT — Gaza war death toll at 38,011: ministry

The Health Ministry in Gaza has said that at least 38,011 Palestinians have been killed during nearly nine months of Israeli war in the enclave.

The toll includes at least 58 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 87,445 people had been wounded in Gaza since the war began on October 7.

0940 GMT — Israel striking south Lebanon after Hezbollah rockets

The Israeli military has said it hit targets in south Lebanon, after Hezbollah launched rockets and drones into Israel in response to a senior commander's killing a day earlier.

Israeli forces were "striking launch posts in southern Lebanon", the military said in a statement, after "numerous projectiles and suspicious aerial targets crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory".

Most were intercepted and "fires broke out in a number of areas in northern Israel", it added.

0923 GMT — Hezbollah launches 'explosive drones' at Israeli army positions

Lebanon's Hezbollah has said it launched "explosive drones" at eight Israeli military positions in response to a strike that killed a senior commander of the Iran-backed group.

"As part of the response to the attack and the assassination carried out by the enemy" in southern Lebanon's Tyre area on Wednesday, Hezbollah said in a statement its fighters "carried out an aerial attack with a squadron of explosive drones" targeting Israeli bases across the border area including in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

0859 GMT — Israeli defence minister cites progress in prisoner swap with Palestinians

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said Israel is closer "more than ever" to reaching a prisoner swap deal with Palestinians.

According to the Israeli Channel 12, Gallant told families of captives held in Gaza that the prisoner swap deal is "closer than ever."

The Israeli army public broadcaster KAN said earlier that the Israeli Cabinet will hold on Thursday evening a session to review Hamas's response to the Gaza ceasefire proposal that also includes a prisoner swap deal.

Mediators delivered a response from Hamas to a proposal that would include the release of hostages held in Gaza and a ceasefire in the territory.

0823 GMT — Israeli army says another officer killed in northern Gaza

The Israeli army has announced that one more soldier was killed in Wednesday's fighting in the northern part of Gaza.

The military statement identified the slain soldier as Cpt. Roy Miller, 21, a platoon commander in the army's Givati Brigade's Rotem Battalion.

It added that two other soldiers were seriously wounded in the same incident.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said Miller was killed in fighting in the Shejaiya neighborhood, eastern Gaza City.

0744 GMT –– Israeli shelling continues across Gaza as devastating onslaught enters 272nd day

Israeli forces have continued air strikes and artillery shelling across Gaza as the military onslaught entered its 272nd day.

A number of casualties were reported across the enclave as a result of Israeli strikes on homes and residential areas, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

In eastern Gaza City, four people were killed and eight others injured as Israeli warplanes struck an apartment in al Tuffah neighbourhood.

Medical teams pulled three bodies and 13 injured from under the rubble of a home struck by Israeli warplanes in al Daraj neighbourhood.

Israel shelled the northwestern areas of the Nuseirat refugee camp, and central Gaza, and also targeted areas of Khan Younis and Rafah.

0713 GMT –– Israeli cabinet to consider Hamas ceasefire proposal: source

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a meeting of his security cabinet to discuss proposals from Hamas about a possible ceasefire deal in Gaza, a source in Netanyahu's office has said.

Before the cabinet meets, Netanyahu will have consultations with his ceasefire negotiations team, the source also added.

Separately, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has told families of captives that the prisoner swap deal is "closer than ever", according to a media report.

0658 GMT –– Hamas leader holds talks with Qatar, Egypt, Türkiye on Gaza ceasefire

Hamas has said its chief Ismail Haniya held talks with Qatari, Egyptian and Turkish officials to review developments regarding a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel continues its air and ground attacks for nearly nine months.

In a statement, the group said Haniyeh held "communications with the mediators in Qatar and Egypt regarding the ideas being discussed with them to reach an agreement that would put an end to the brutal aggression faced by our steadfast people in the Gaza Strip."

Haniya also spoke "with officials in Türkiye regarding the recent developments," the readout said, adding that the group has "engaged positively."

0100 GMT –– Nine Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on civilian buildings

Nine civilians were killed, and others were injured in overnight Israeli air strikes on Gaza City.

Five members of the same family, who were brought to the al-Ahli Arab Hospital, were killed in one of the Israeli air strikes on an apartment in central Gaza City.

Paramedics also recovered four bodies in addition to several wounded from under the rubble of an apartment in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood east of Gaza City.

0050 GMT –– Israeli officer killed, 3 seriously wounded in northern Gaza fighting: Military

The Israeli army has announced that one officer was killed and three others were seriously wounded in fighting in northern Gaza.

“Captain Elay Elisha Lugasi, 21, from Kiryat Shmona, a Team Commander in the 75th Battalion and 7th Sa’ar Golani Brigade, was killed during combat in the northern Gaza Strip,” the army said in a statement.

According to the statement, three other soldiers from the battalion were seriously wounded in the same battle.

2052 GMT — US claims to have destroyed 2 Houthi radar sites

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has claimed its forces destroyed two Houthi radar sites in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in the past 24 hours.

CENTCOM said the forces also destroyed two uncrewed surface vessels (USV) in the Red Sea.

"It was determined the radar sites and USVs presented imminent threats to US, coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region," it added.

2044 GMT — Israel kills at least four in Gaza City

Israel has struck a residential building in Gaza City, killing at least four Palestinians and wounding eight.

Gaza Civil Defence issued a statement saying: "Our teams retrieved four martyrs and eight injuries following the targeting of a residential building by Israeli occupation aircraft."

The six-story residential building belongs to the Saad family in the al-Daraj neighbourhood in Gaza City, added the civil defence.

2019 GMT — Israel claims to have killed a senior Hezbollah commander

Israel claimed it killed a senior commander in the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, the second top field leader killed in less than a month, and the group said it retaliated by firing scores of rockets at Israeli military positions near the border.

The Israeli military estimated that around 100 rockets were fired, and said there were no reports of casualties.

2019 GMT — UN struggling to get aid to 250,000 Palestinians who fled Khan Younis

Many of the 250,000 Palestinians that Israel threatened to target if they do not flee from besieged Gaza's second-largest city, Khan Younis, are heading toward already overcrowded areas near the sea where there is not enough water and no toilets, a senior UN official said.

Andrea De Domenico, head of the UN humanitarian office for the occupied Palestinian territories, told reporters that it is "a major challenge" to even bring food to the two main places Palestinians are going: Muwasi, the coastal area designated by the Israeli army as a safe zone, and the nearby city of Deir al Balah.

He stressed that Gaza is unique – "the only place in the world where people cannot find a safe refuge and can't leave the frontline." Even in so-called safe areas, there are bombings, he said in a news conference from Jerusalem.

2000 GMT — Hamas shares new ‘ideas’ on Gaza ceasefire plan with Israel

The Hamas resistance group has said it has sent new "ideas" to Qatari mediators aimed at ending the nearly nine-month Israeli carnage in besieged Gaza.

Israel confirmed that it was "evaluating" Hamas "comments" on a deal to free its hostages in the Palestinian territory and would reply.

Hamas also said that its leader Ismail Haniya conducted calls with Qatari and Egyptian mediators as well as Turkish officials around its ideas to reach the truce deal with Israel.

Meanwhile, a senior State Department official told TRT World that Hamas has delivered a response to Israel concerning Biden’s Gaza ceasefire plan, and the success of these negotiations hinges on PM Benjamin Netanyahu's ability to rally his cabinet's support.

Netanyahu and his far-right allies have so far refused to agree to a full ceasefire.

For our live updates from Wednesday, July 3, 2024, click here.