Live blog: Palestinians are starving while the world is watching — UN

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

1833 GMT — The United Nations has warned about "deadly" living conditions in northern Gaza and said Palestinians are "starving while the world watches on."

"For the past month, North Gaza has been under a near-total brutal siege," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said during a news conference, conveying Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Joyce Msuya's, message.

"Israeli military ground operations have left Palestinians without the essentials to survive, forced them to flee for safety multiple times, and cut off their escape and supply routes," according to the message by Msuya.

Noting that "living conditions are deadly" in northern Gaza, she stressed that "civilians are starving while the world watches on. These atrocities must stop."

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1839 GMT — Palestinian killed by Israeli gunfire in central West Bank

A Palestinian youth was killed by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, the Health Ministry said.

In a statement, the ministry said it was informed by the Palestinian Authority's General Authority of Civil Affairs that a young man from the town of Deir al-Ghusun was shot dead by Israeli forces near the illegal settlement of Shilo, north of Ramallah.

The Israeli military confirmed earlier that it had killed a Palestinian, claiming that he had carried out a "shooting attack" at the Shilo intersection.

However, Israel’s ambulance service Magen David Adom said on X that settlers had been wounded in a car-ramming incident at the Shilo intersection in the central West Bank.

It said its paramedics provided medical treatment to two young men, who sustained slight injuries. The statement also mentioned that the driver was neutralized, without providing further details.

1743 GMT — UN signals to Israel: Replacing UNRWA would be your responsibility

The United Nations responded to Israel's decision to cut ties with the Palestinian relief agency (UNRWA) by saying it has no responsibility to replace the agency's operations in Gaza and the West Bank, signalling it was Israel's problem as the occupying power, according to a letter excerpt seen by Reuters.

Under a new law, Israel ended a 1967 cooperation agreement with UNRWA that covered the protection, movement and diplomatic immunity of the agency. The law will also ban UNRWA's operations in Israel from late January. UNRWA has said that its operations in Gaza and the West Bank are now at risk of collapse.

"I would note, as a general point, that it is not our responsibility to replace UNRWA, nor do we have the capacity to do so," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' chef de cabinet, Courtenay Rattray, wrote to a senior Israeli foreign affairs official late on Tuesday.

The mention of responsibility is a veiled reference to Israel's obligations as an occupying power.

1641 GMT — Israel's Netanyahu calls Trump, discusses ''Iranian threat'': PM office

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Donald Trump after his US election victory and discussed the "Iranian threat" to Israel's security, his office said.

"The conversation was warm and cordial. The prime minister congratulated Trump on his election victory, and the two agreed to work together for Israel's security. The two also discussed the Iranian threat," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

1637 GMT — Death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon rises to 3,050

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed at least 37 people and wounded 105, bringing the total to 3,050 deaths and 13,658 others wounded since October 2023, the Lebanese health ministry said.

1628 GMT — Iraq denies talk of Iranian attack on Israel from its soil

The Iraqi government's Council for National Security said that reports about Iraqi territory being used by Iran for attacks on Israel are "false pretexts" aimed at justifying aggression against it, military said.

Iraqi military spokesperson Yahya Rasool's comments came in response to an Oct. 31 Axios report citing Israeli intelligence about a potential Iranian attack from Iraqi territory.

1608 GMT — UN Palestinian agency in 'darkest hour': chief

The UN aid agency for Palestinians is facing its "darkest hour" and requires ongoing support from UN members after Israel decided to ban the organization, its chief said.

"Without intervention by member states, UNRWA will collapse, plunging millions of Palestinians into chaos," the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, told the General Assembly.

Lazzarini called for the world body - which created UNRWA in 1949 - to prevent implementation of the ban on the organization in Israel and occupied Palestinian territories which was approved by the Israeli parliament last month.

Implementation of the law "will have disastrous consequences," Lazzarini added.

"In Gaza, dismantling UNRWA will collapse the UN humanitarian response, which relies heavily on the agency's infrastructure," he continued.

1533 GMT — Israel strikes on Lebanon's Baalbek-Hermel kill 30

Twenty Israeli strikes on Lebanon's Baalbek-Hermel governorate have killed 30 people and wounded 35, governor Bachir Khodr said on X.

1435 GMT — Strike on Beirut's southern suburbs after Israel's evacuation order

A strike hit south Beirut about an hour after Israel issued evacuation orders for three districts of the main Hezbollah bastion, AFP footage showed.

A plume of smoke rose above the capital's southern suburbs, AFPTV footage showed, following the displacement orders by army spokesperson Avichay Adraee in posts on X that included maps of the areas.

1431 GMT — Hezbollah fired about 120 projectiles: Israel

The Israeli military said Hezbollah had fired about 120 projectiles across the border from Lebanon, as an AFP journalist reported hearing interceptions over commercial hub Tel Aviv.

"Approximately 120 projectiles that were fired by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation have crossed from Lebanon into Israel today," the Israeli military says, after sirens sounded in northern and central Israel.

1418 GMT — Thousands ready for combat against Israel — Hezbollah

Hezbollah's chief said his group had tens of thousands of combatants ready to fight, adding that nowhere in Israel was off-limits to attacks.

"We have tens of thousands of trained resistance combatants" ready for action, Naim Qassem said in a speech marking 40 days since his predecessor was killed.

He also said nowhere in Israel would be "off-limits" to the group's attacks. He said the US presidential election results will have no impact on any possible ceasefire deal.

"We don't base our expectations for a halt of the aggression on political developments..." he added.

1400 GMT — Lebanon files complaint against Israel at UN labour body

A Lebanese government minister said his country was filing a complaint against Israel at the UN’s labour organization over the string of deadly attacks involving exploding pagers, saying workers were among those killed and injured.

The explosions in mid-September were widely blamed on Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied involvement. The blasts killed at least 37 people, including two children, wounded more than 3,000 and deeply unsettled even Lebanese who have no Hezbollah affiliation.

Lebanese Labour Minister Moustafa Bayram said he travelled to Geneva to formally file the complaint against Israel at the International Labor Organization, a sprawling UN agency that brings together governments, businesses and workers.

Bayram said the casualty count was even higher than first reported, saying “more than 4,000 civilians fell — between martyrs and injured and maimed — in a few minutes by this attack.”

1328 GMT — Indirect talks on ceasefire possible only if Israel stops attacks: Hezbollah

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said that only developments on the battlefield, not political moves, would bring an end to the hostilities between the Lebanese armed group and the Israeli military.

In a pre-recorded televised address, Qassem said there would be a road to indirect negotiations through the Lebanese state only if Israel stopped its attacks on Lebanon.

1317 GMT — Israel's opposition slams Netanyahu for sacking minister

Opposition leaders from across Israel's political spectrum blasted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for firing his defence minister, saying it threatened national security at a time of war.

At a joint news conference in Jerusalem, they accused Netanyahu of putting his political interests before the country followed his decision the day before to dismiss Yoav Gallant.

"He had the choice between disgrace and war, and he chose disgrace," said former prime minister Yair Lapid, voicing outrage at the move as Israel faces military pressures on multiple fronts.

"Our soldiers cannot trust him. The citizens of Israel cannot trust him. Yesterday the whole State of Israel saw" that, he said of Netanyahu.

1228 GMT — Iran sentences four people to death over charges of spying for Israel

Four people were sentenced to death by a revolutionary court in northwestern Iran over charges of spying for Israel, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Fars said three of the defendants - whose nationalities it did not give - were accused of helping Israel's spy agency Mossad move equipment used in the 2020 assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

1212 GMT — Abbas expects Trump to back Palestinian 'aspirations'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas congratulated Donald Trump on his US presidential election victory, expressing confidence he would support Palestinians' "legitimate aspirations" for statehood.

"We are confident that the United States will support, under your leadership, the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people," Abbas said in a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, reaffirming the Palestinian commitment to "the pursuit of freedom, self-determination and statehood, in accordance with international law."

1126 GMT — Rocket from Lebanon hits near Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel

A rocket fired from Lebanon impacted the Ben Gurion Airport area in central Israel, according to Israeli media.

Israeli Channel 12 said the rocket caused delays in the landing and take-off of flights at the airport, but local media later reported that air activity returned to normal.

Footage published by Israeli media showed a rocket hitting a car in a parking lot in the Ra'anana area in Tel Aviv. No injuries or damage were reported.

1018 GMT — Death toll from the Israeli air strike in Khan Younis rises to 14

The Israeli army launched fresh airstrikes in the Gaza, killing at least 14 people, medical sources said.

Three people lost their lives, including two women, when Israeli fighter jets hit a house in eastern Khan Younis in southern Gaza, a medical source said. Five other people were killed in another strike on a home in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, the source added.

In the northern town of Beit Lahia, five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a home, another medical source said. The source added that another Palestinian was killed and five others were injured in a strike targeting a school sheltering displaced people in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

0859 GMT — US Green Party’s Jill Stein praises Türkiye spearheading effort to halt arms shipments to Israel

Green Party US presidential candidate Jill Stein praised Türkiye’s initiative at the UN seeking to stop arms shipments to Israel.

On Nov. 1, Türkiye, along with 52 other signatories, sent a joint letter to the UN Security Council calling for immediate action to halt the flow of weapons and ammunition to Israel.

Speaking to Anadolu, Stein described the effort as a “wonderful” move to address Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

Stressing that Israel is trying to drag the US into the war in the region, she said: “As this conflict spreads and intensifies, I think we're going to see the resistance really building here.”

“That's why it's so important that we emerge from this election, and we continue to organize and we work together,” she continued, referring to Tuesday’s US presidential election.

0839 GMT — Trump will be tested on claim he can stop war in hours: Hamas

Hamas will judge Donald Trump's new US administration on its actions and policy towards Palestinians, the resistance group said following his election win.

"Our position on the new US administration depends on its positions and practical behaviour towards our Palestinian people, their legitimate rights and their just cause," the group said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that Trump will be tested on his statements that he can stop the war within hours as US president.

"We urge Trump to learn from (President Joe) Biden's mistakes," Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

Trump has reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he wants Israel to conclude the war on Gaza by the time he returns to office, should he win the election, according to media reports.

During his campaign, Trump also repeatedly vowed to end the war between Russia and Ukraine "within 24 hours" if re-elected.

0830 GMT — 8 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza

The Israeli army launched fresh air strikes in Gaza, killing at least eight people, a medical source said.

Three people lost their lives, including two women, when Israeli fighter jets hit a house in eastern Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the source said.

Five other people were killed in another strike on a home in al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, the source added.

Israeli forces also struck a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, injuring six people, including three children, another medical source said.

0658 GMT — Israeli forces continue raid, destroy infrastructure

The Israeli army raided the Jenin city and its refugee camp in the occupied northern West Bank, triggering clashes with Palestinians.

Witnesses told Anadolu that the Israeli army stormed Jenin from several directions and was escorted by bulldozers which embarked on destroying more roads and infrastructure facilities.

0114 GMT — Advocacy organisations in UK express solidarity with Palestine Action group

Ten non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Britain expressed solidarity with the Palestine Action group, which has been protesting at factories and offices of global defence technology company Elbit Systems over arms shipments to Israel.

In a joint statement, the NGOs, including Black Lives Matter UK, Just Stop Oil, CAGE International and Free Political Prisoners noted the actions taken by Palestine Action, saying they reportedly cost Elbit Systems tens of millions of British pounds in losses in the last year alone.

"Every action which disrupts the supply chain of weapons being used in the ongoing genocide (in Gaza) is the moral thing to do and worthy of support. Direct action has never been more necessary," they said.

0007 GMT — Palestinians say US poll outcome unlikely to lessen their plight

Palestinians in Gaza have expressed scepticism that the US presidential election results will bring change to their situation as the enclave continues to endure unrelenting Israeli attacks since October 2023.

Many believe that regardless of the winner, US support for Israel will remain steadfast.

Palestinians expressed despair that a new US president will not be able to stop Israel's genocide in Gaza, which has been going on for more than a year.

Local journalist Abdullah Mikdad told Anadolu that Palestinians believe there will be no change in the US attitude toward Israel, whether the White House is led by Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

"What is important for us is that the next US president comes with a vision to end the Israeli and Arab-Palestinian conflict and work to actually implement the two-state solution," said Mikdad, emphasising that Palestinians want more than empty slogans.

He added that Palestinians want to see a US government that does not fuel conflict in the region but works to end it.

2111 GMT — At least 15 killed in Israeli air strike on central Lebanon: Health Ministry

At least 15 people were killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a building in the town of Barja in the Chouf district in central Lebanon, the Health Ministry reported.

"The Israeli enemy's air strike on Barja has resulted in a preliminary toll of 15 martyrs," the ministry said in a statement.

It added that "rescue operations and the removal of debris are ongoing".

2049 GMT — Israeli army kills seven Palestinians, raids areas in northern West Bank

At least seven Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank, the Health Ministry and witnesses said.

Witnesses said an Israeli drone struck a car in the town of Muthalath al-Shuhada, south of Jenin in the northern West Bank. The Health Ministry confirmed that two people were killed in the attack.

Another Palestinian was killed in an Israeli military raid in Tammoun town in the northern West Bank.

The General Authority for Civil Affairs reported the death of a second citizen in the town of Tammoun, whose identity has not yet been confirmed, as the Israeli army is holding his body.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced in a statement that three Palestinians were killed as a result of the Israeli assault on the town of Qabatiya of Jenin.

For our live updates from Tuesday, November 5, 2024, click here.