Live blog: Palestinian families in Gaza have nowhere safe to go — UN

Saturday, July 6, 2024

1851 GMT — The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said families in Gaza are facing dire circumstances with nowhere safe to seek refuge.

“Palestinian families in the #GazaStrip have nowhere safe to go,” said UNRWA on X.

The agency also quoted its spokeswoman in Gaza, Louise Wateridge, in an interview with The New York Times, saying: “It’s an endless cycle of death and displacement.”

“People express here that they are losing hope, they are losing the willpower, faced with another forced displacement and absolutely no certainty of safety,” Wateridge said.

“In terms of people’s ability to move, it’s been eight months of war, people are extremely fatigued, they’re exhausted, they’re malnourished.”

More updates 👇

1815 GMT –– UK seeks balanced position on Israel and Gaza, says new foreign minister Lammy

Britain wants a balanced position on Israel's war in Gaza and will use diplomatic efforts to ensure a ceasefire is reached and hostages held by Palestinian resistance group Hamas are released, its new foreign minister David Lammy said.

Lammy is on a visit to Germany, his first international trip following the Labour Party's thumping victory in Britain's election on Friday.

"The time has come for the United Kingdom to reconnect with the outside world," Lammy said in an interview in Berlin. "I want to get back to a balanced position on Israel and Gaza. We've been very clear that we want to see a ceasefire ... We want to see those hostages out."

1807 GMT — 16 killed in strike on school: Gaza health ministry

The health ministry in Gaza said an Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering killed 16 people.

The ministry, which condemned the strike as an "odious massacre", said another 50 injured were taken to hospital from Al-Jawni school at Nuseirat in central Gaza.

The Israeli military made no immediate comment when approached.

The government's press office in Gaza said there were 7,000 people sheltering at the school.

1737 GMT –– Source close to Hezbollah says Israeli strike kills member in east Lebanon

A source close to Hezbollah said an Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle in eastern Lebanon, killing an official from the Iran-aligned group, with tensions high between the foes.

"A local Hezbollah official" was killed in an "Israeli drone" strike on a vehicle near the eastern city of Baalbek, the source close to the group said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Lebanon's official National News Agency reported one person was killed when an "enemy drone" targeted a vehicle in the Shaat area, around 15 kilometres (nine miles) north of Baalbek.

The area is around 100 kilometres from Lebanon's southern border with Israel.

1733 GMT –– UK police arrest 5 during pro-Palestinian rally in London

Five individuals were arrested during a pro-Palestinian march in London, the first of its kind under the new Labour government.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians since last October and left most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.

The event, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, saw participants assemble at Russell Square and proceed through the city, culminating with speeches near Portcullis House.

The Metropolitan Police, which deployed 700 officers to manage the demonstration, confirmed the arrests.

1713 GMT –– Houthis report fresh US-UK airstrike in western Yemen

US and British warplanes launched an air strike in Kamaran Island in Al-Hudaydah province, the Houthis said.

“American and British aggression aircraft launched an air strike on Kamaran Island,” the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported.

Kamaran is the largest island off Yemen's coast, administratively belonging to the coastal province of Al-Hudaydah.

1543 GMT — Israel strikes Gaza shelter school, kills 14 Palestinians

At least 14 people have been killed in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Al Nuseirat in central Gaza, the official Palestinian news agency said.

1418 GMT — Israeli army kills Palestinian detainees following their release in Gaza

Hours after being released by Israel, Palestinian detainees were killed and several others injured after being targeted with an artillery shell in eastern Rafah, southern Gaza, Anadolu has learned.

A Palestinian survivor who was among those released told the news agency that the Israeli army released approximately 15 Palestinians.

“We were workers securing aid trucks and were arrested four days ago in the Gaza airport area, east of Rafah while awaiting their arrival,” he said.

The released detainee, who chose to remain anonymous, said that “upon reaching the main road in Rafah city, Israeli soldiers fired a shell at us, resulting in the deaths and injuries of approximately seven individuals. The other workers fled the area."

1321 GMT — Hamas demands firm international stance on Israel’s ‘massacres’ against journalists in Gaza

Hamas urged the international community to take decisive action against Israel's targeting of journalists in Gaza, as another five correspondents were killed in the enclave.

In a statement, it condemned the "massacre" perpetrated by Israeli forces, accusing them of disregarding international laws that safeguard journalists and enable them to work in conflict zones.

The group also urged journalists, media professionals, and international media organisations to support Palestinian journalists, provide them with all necessary assistance, and expose Israel's actions.

1227 GMT — Egyptian, Syrian leaders discuss situation in Gaza

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi and Syria's Bashar al Assad discussed the ongoing Gaza war that has persisted for about nine months and the "dangers" posed by the escalating conflict in the region.

In a statement, the Egyptian Presidency announced that Sisi received a phone call from Assad and the two leaders “exchanged views on the dangers of escalation in the region and emphasised the vital necessity to prevent the widening of the conflict zone and to preserve regional security and stability.”

They reiterated “their absolute rejection of attempts to liquidate the Palestinian issue or displace the Palestinians.”

1140 GMT — Hamas clears the way for a possible ceasefire, drops key demand: officials

Hamas has given initial approval for a US-backed proposal for a phased ceasefire deal in Gaza, dropping a key demand that Israel give an up-front commitment for a complete end to the war, a Hamas and an Egyptian official said.

The apparent compromise by the group could help deliver the first pause in fighting since last November and set the stage for further talks on ending a devastating nine-month war.

But all sides cautioned that a deal is still not guaranteed.

1043 GMT — 6 policemen killed in Israeli bombing of Gaza

At least six Palestinian policemen were killed and others injured when Israeli jets bombed their car in Rafah in southern Gaza.

Medical sources told Anadolu news agency that the casualties in the Al Shakoush area in the Saudi neighbourhood, northwest of the city of Rafah, were transferred to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

0825 GMT — Palestinian death toll from Israel's brutal war nears 38,100

At least 38,098 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza since last October, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said.

A ministry statement added that 87,705 other people have also been wounded in the onslaught.

“Israeli attacks killed 29 people and injured 100 others in the last 24 hours,” the statement said.

“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

0720 GMT — Nine of a family killed as Israeli forces attack house in central Gaza

At least 10 Palestinians, including nine members of a family, were killed and several others injured in an Israeli attack targeting central Gaza.

Medical sources said that 10 Palestinians, including a child, were killed and several others injured as Israeli forces targeted a house in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.

The sources added that among the fatalities were nine members of the Jahjouh family, including seven brothers, a woman and a child.

0515 GMT — Israeli air strikes on Gaza refugee camps, UN warehouse kill 11

Israeli air strikes have targeted multiple locations in Gaza City and the refugee camps of Maghazi and Nuseirat in central Gaza, resulting in the killing of at least 11 civilians and injuries to several others, WAFA news agency reported.

Local sources report that nine individuals were killed when Israeli forces bombed a residence and a UNRWA warehouse in the Maghazi and Nuseirat refugee camps.

Additionally, sources confirmed the murder of two civilians as a result of an Israeli air strike on a residential building in Gaza City.

0410 GMT — Talks to free Israeli hostages to start in a 16-day period after first phase: Hamas

A senior Hamas source has said that a revised Gaza truce proposal agreed that talks to release Israeli hostages, including soldiers and remaining men, would start in a 16-day period after the first phase of the agreement.

The source said that the proposal ensures that mediators would guarantee a temporary ceasefire, aid delivery, and withdrawal of Israeli troops as long as indirect talks continue to implement the second phase of the agreement.

2157 GMT — Palestinians in Gaza always on 'survival mode': UNRWA head

The continuous cycle of displacement, constantly being in "survival mode", and despair must stop, the head of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said about atrocities in the besieged Gaza committed by Israel.

"Again & again, the same tragic cycle," Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.

"Earlier this week, the Israeli authorities issued new evacuation orders for people in #Gaza, forcing hundreds of thousands out of Khan Younis & Rafah in the south."

"These evacuation orders — the largest issued since October — impact nearly a quarter of a million people, most of them already displaced, multiple times," he lamented. "People have nowhere to go."

"They desperately search for nonexistent safety, setting up makeshift structures often in the rubble of bombed-out buildings," he said. "The risk of unexploded ordnance (UXO) is spreading."

2127 GMT — Pro-Palestine protest held in Yemen

Hundreds of thousands of protesters in Yemeni cities, including the capital of Sana'a, staged solidarity demonstrations with Gaza.

Demonstrators responded in Sana'a to a call by the Houthi group, chanting slogans in support of the besieged Strip.

Protesters gathered in squares across Yemen after Friday prayers to deliver messages of support.

Banners and posters condemning the attacks and a demand to boycott US and Israeli products were displayed alongside Yemeni and Palestinian flags.

2100 GMT — Israeli army detects rockets fired from Lebanon toward Galilee

The Israeli army said it detected more rockets fired from southern Lebanon toward the Galilee area in northern Israel amid ongoing tension with the Hezbollah group.

Israeli newspaperYedioth Ahronoth cited Israeli army saying ten rockets were fired from southern Lebanon toward the Margaliot settlement.

The newspaper added that the Israeli army responded by targeting rocket launcher sites.

In one of Hezbollah's statements, the group said its fighters fired a barrage of Katyusha rockets toward the Margaliot settlement in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon's southern villages and towns.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN, meanwhile, said two soldiers were injured from the rockets fired on the northern Kiryat Shmona settlement.

For our live updates from Friday, July 5, 2024, click here.