Live blog: Gaza aid pier expected to be ready by early May — Israel

Saturday, April 27, 2024

1913 GMT — The Israeli army has said it hoped a pier to deliver aid to Gaza would be ready by early May, as it pushes ahead with its assault on the Palestinian territory.

Israel's more than six-month offensive has triggered a humanitarian crisis and it has faced growing pressure to enable more aid deliveries as the UN warns of imminent famine.

On Thursday, the Pentagon said the US military had begun construction of the pier meant to boost aid deliveries, also saying it was set to be operational in early May.

"We will be working with our partners on this endeavour... in the upcoming weeks, hopefully, to make it fully functional early May," Israeli army spokesman Major Nadav Shoshani told an online briefing.

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2012 GMT — 11 people injured in Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon

At least 11 people, including two Syrian refugees, were injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a house in southern Lebanon on Saturday evening.

Two Syrians were among the injured in the airstrike on the town of Srebbine in the district of Tyre, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency.

Earlier in the day, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes carried out two raids at dawn on the towns of Kafr Shuba and Shebaa in the district of Hasbaiyya, killing a civilian and destroying two houses.

1851 GMT –– Several casualties reported in Israeli air strike on Rafah

Several Palestinians were reportedly killed and injured on Saturday in an Israeli air strike on a house in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

Israeli aircraft targeted a house belonging to the Ashour family in the Nasr neighborhood, resulting in the death and injury of several Palestinians, witnesses told Anadolu news agency. 


The air strike also caused extensive damage to nearby homes, which have been housing a number of displaced individuals, they said. 


The witnesses said that medical and civil defense teams are still conducting rescue operations to extract victims and injured individuals from the rubble of the targeted house. 


Israel insists on launching a ground offensive in Rafah, claiming that it is "the last stronghold of Hamas," despite increasing international warnings of catastrophic repercussions, in light of the presence of about 1.4 million displaced people there.

1736 GMT –– Israeli army says it intercepted ‘suspicious aerial’ object in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army said that it intercepted a “suspicious aerial” object in the Manara area in northern Israel, near the border with southern Lebanon. 


“Air defense fighters intercepted a suspicious aerial object over the Manara area (north),” the army said in a statement. 


"The army also detected a number of anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon towards the Manara area,” it said.

“The army responded to the sources of gunfire.” 


“Air Force jets bombed a military building belonging to the Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon,” the statement said.

1732 GMT –– US State Secretary Blinken to travel to Saudi Arabia next week

US Secretary for State Antony Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia on Monday and Tuesday to meet with regional partners and discuss efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, the State Department said.

"He will discuss the recent increase in humanitarian assistance being delivered to Gaza and underscore the importance of ensuring that increase is sustained," the State Department said in a statement.

"The Secretary will also emphasize the importance of preventing the conflict from spreading and discuss ongoing efforts to achieve lasting peace and security in the region, including through a pathway to an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel."

1702 GMT –– Israeli foreign minister says hostage deal would defer Rafah operation

Israel's foreign minister said that a planned incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah could be suspended should there be a deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

"The release of the hostages is the top priority for us," said Foreign Minister Israel Katz during an interview with local Channel 12 television.

Asked if that included putting off a planned operation to eliminate Hamas battalions in the city of Rafah, Katz answered, "Yes."

He went on to say: "If there will be a deal, we will suspend the operation."

1657 GMT –– Egyptian, Jordanian foreign ministers to attend Arab-US meeting in Riyadh on Gaza situation

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi will participate in a six-party Arab ministerial meeting hosted by Riyadh, joined by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding the situation in Gaza.

“Shoukry heads for the Saudi capital Riyadh Saturday … to participate in the World Economic Forum, in addition to the holding of important ministerial meetings on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian cause,” an Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement said.

In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said that Safadi began a working visit to Riyadh to participate in the special meeting of the World Economic Forum hosted by Saudi Arabia.

It said that the Jordanian foreign minister will also participate “in a ministerial meeting of the six Arab states concerned with monitoring the situation in Gaza, and in a meeting of the six Arab states with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.”

1630 GMT –– Hezbollah says fires drones and guided missiles at Israel

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said it had targeted northern Israel with drones and guided missiles after cross-border Israeli strikes killed three people, including two of its members.

A Hezbollah statement said the group "launched a complex attack using explosive drones and guided missiles on the headquarters of the Al Manara military command and a gathering of forces from the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade".

The border between Lebanon and Israel has seen near-daily exchanges of fire since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began nearly seven months ago.

1628 GMT –– Illegal Israeli settlers attack farmers in occupied West Bank

Illegal Israeli settlers launched attacks targeting Palestinian farmers and residential areas in the occupied West Bank.

“The settler attacks occurred in the Jordan Valley (north), Hebron, and Bethlehem (south),” the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC) and the Palestine news agency Wafa reported.

Later, the Israeli army intervened to demand that the farmers leave their lands on the pretext that it could not protect them from the illegal Jewish settlers.

1626 GMT –– Hamas armed wing releases video of two hostages held in Gaza

The armed wing of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas released a video of two men held hostage in Gaza and seen alive in the footage.

Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum identified the two in a statement as Keith Siegel and Omri Miran who were abducted by fighters during the Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7.

"The proof of life from Keith Siegel and Omri Miran is the clearest evidence that the Israeli government must do everything to approve a deal for the return of all the hostages before Independence Day (on May 14)," the forum said.

"The living should return for rehabilitation, and the murdered should receive a dignified burial."

The latest video comes just three days after Hamas released another video showing hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin alive.

1441 GMT –– 'It is genocide and needs to stop': Northern Ireland first minister on Gaza

The first minister of Northern Ireland has expressed her solidarity with the people of Palestine and said what is happening in Gaza is "genocide and needs to stop."

In an interview with Anadolu news agency, ahead of the National March for Palestine in London, Sinn Fein's Michelle O’Neill said she is proud to be at the rally in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

"It's great to see thousands of people again to be on the streets to call an end to the slaughter of the Palestinian people," she said.

"We're all witnessing in horror, the devastation of Gaza, the devastation of the people of Gaza and it is genocide, and it needs to stop," she underlined.

O’Neill stated that the international community needs to "make it stop."

1415 GMT –– Everyone in Gaza drinking unsafe water: Health Ministry

Everyone living in Gaza is drinking unsafe water, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

"Because of the closure of the public health laboratory and the inability to test drinking water, all citizens of the Gaza Strip are drinking unsafe water that puts their lives at risk,” said the ministry in a statement.

The ministry attributed this to Israel's refusal to allow the use of chlorine or any alternative for treating drinking water.

Also, the accumulation of waste in the streets and the camps could lead to spread of disease, the ministry warned.

On Wednesday, cases of meningitis and hepatitis were detected, the ministry said.

1407 GMT –– 'Cease-fire now': Thousands take to streets in London in solidarity with Gaza

A massive rally was held in London to protest Israeli attacks and demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

Thousands of protesters gathered at Parliament Square to voice solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 34,300 people have been killed by Israeli attacks since October 7.

Carrying Palestinian flags, the protesters called for an immediate cease-fire in the besieged Palestinian enclave and criticized the British government's stance on Israel.

"Free Palestine," "Stop the genocide" and "Rishi Sunak, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide," were some of the many slogans chanted by pro-Palestine protesters during the march that continued toward Hyde Park.

They also criticized Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour Party for his stance on Israel.

Protesters from various anti-Zionist Jewish groups were among the participants in the rally.

Along the march route, a group of pro-Israeli protesters also staged a demonstration, while some pro-Palestine Jewish protesters were carrying banners, that read: "I am openly Jewish and against genocide."

1221 GMT –– British troops may be tasked with delivering Gaza aid, British media says

British troops may be tasked with delivering aid to Gaza from an offshore pier now under construction by the US military, the British media reported. UK government officials declined to comment on the report.

According to the BBC, the British government is considering deploying troops to drive the trucks that will carry aid from the pier along a floating causeway to the shore. No decision has been made and the proposal hasn’t yet reached Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the BBC reported, citing unidentified government sources.

The report comes after a senior US military official said on Thursday that there would be no American “boots on the ground” and another nation would provide the personnel to drive the delivery trucks to the shore. The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, declined to identify the third party.

Britain is already providing logistical support for construction of the pier, including a Royal Navy ship that will house hundreds of US soldiers and sailors working on the project.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has widely been accused of being complicit in Israel's genocidal acts in Gaza by providing Tel Aviv with political and military support.

1202 GMT –– Israeli chief of staff expected to resign: Reports

Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi is expected to "resign in the coming period," local media reported.

After the Monday resignation of the country's head of military intelligence Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, it became clear that all officers responsible for failing to predict the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas would "go home, starting with the Chief of Staff," private broadcaster Channel 12 said.

It said many officers have sought legal representation "in preparation for war investigations."

1135 GMT –– Fresh Israeli strikes kill 8 Palestinian children in Gaza

More than a dozen Palestinians were killed, including eight children, in Israeli bombings Saturday on Gaza, Palestinian media reported.

A house was targeted in the Saudi neighborhood of the southern city of Rafah. At least six Palestinians, including four children, were killed in the attack, Wafa reported. Eight others were injured.

Israel warplanes pounded the Jaradat area east of the Rafah crossing, wounding a number of people, eyewitnesses told Anadolu news agency.

In central Gaza, an airstrike on the Nuseirat camp killed nine Palestinians, including four children, and injured 30 others, according to Palestinian medical sources.

An Anadolu correspondent said that rescue teams recovered four bodies and a number of wounded from under the rubble hours after the Israeli strike on a house in the camp.

A volley of fire also hit the Nuseirat and Bureij camps and destroyed residential squares in the town of Al-Mughraqa in central Gaza, he added.

0954 GMT –– Israeli army detains 20 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army detained 20 more Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

According to a joint statement issued by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, the new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli forces since October 7 to 8,480.

The latest arrests took place mostly in Ramallah, occupied East Jerusalem, Hebron, Nablus, Tulkarem, and Jenin.

During the Israeli arrest campaigns, the Israeli forces physically assaulted and abused Palestinians, while damaging their homes and property, the statement added.

As it has continued to wage its offensive in Gaza since October 7, the Israeli army has also stepped up raids and arrests in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said 491 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since October 7.

0938 GMT –– Abbas, international leaders to hold Gaza talks in Riyadh this week

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and several international officials will be in Riyadh this week for talks aimed at pushing for a peace agreement in Gaza to be held on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting, the WEF's president said.

"We do have the key players now in Riyadh and hopefully the discussions can lead into a process towards reconciliation and peace," Borge Brende said at a news conference in Riyadh, adding that Gaza's humanitarian crisis would be on the agenda.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend the meetings alongside regional leaders including Qatar's prime minister, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Oman's crown prince and Bahraini officials, Brende said.

Egypt's foreign minister, Brende said, would be there to update officials on a round of talks Egyptian negotiators held in Israel on Friday in an effort to restart stalled efforts to end the war in Gaza and return the remaining Israeli hostages.

"There is now a bit of momentum for negotiations on the hostages and also a possible ceasefire," Brende said.

0914 GMT — Death toll in Gaza from ongoing Israeli attacks rises to 34,388

Israeli attacks have killed at least 34,388 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the enclave's Health Ministry.

The tally includes at least 32 deaths in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 77,437 people have been wounded in Gaza since October 7.

0906 GMT — One killed as Israel bombs southern Lebanese towns

At least one Lebanese man has been killed in two Israeli air strikes on the towns of Kafr Shuba and Shebaa in southern Lebanon.

"The Israeli occupation aircraft carried out two raids today at dawn on the towns of Kafr Shuba and Shebaa, which led to the martyrdom of citizen Qasim Asaad in the town of Kafr Shuba and the destruction of two homes," the Lebanese National News Agency reported.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli side on the Lebanese report.

0850 GMT — UK ship sets sail to help building of Gaza aid jetty

A UK ship to house hundreds of US army personnel building a jetty to speed up aid delivery to Gaza has set sail from Greek-administered Cyprus, a UK defence source said.

Royal Navy support ship "Cardigan Bay" will help support the international effort to construct the temporary floating pier, which is set to be completed in early May, according to the Pentagon.

The pier will initially facilitate the delivery of 90 truckloads of international aid a day into Gaza, rising to up to 150 truckloads once fully operational, according to US estimates.

0728 GMT — Israeli forces kill two Palestinians near Jenin

Israeli forces have shot dead two Palestinian men at a military post near the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian media have reported.

Palestinian official news agency Wafa said Israeli forces killed Mustafa Sultan Ahmed, 22, and Ahmed Muham mad Shawahna, 21, at the military post, adding that two others were wounded and hospitalised.

Wafa said Israeli forces withheld their bodies after denying medics access to them.

0513 GMT — Gaza aid from Greek-administered Cyprus resumes after pause following aid worker killings, source says

Aid shipments to Gaza from Greek-administered Cyprus have resumed, a Greek Cypriot source said, with a ship carrying food to the besieged Palestinian enclave after a pause following Israel's killing of seven aid workers.

The World Central Kitchen NGO paused aid to review its activity in the territory after the early April attack, halting the direct shipments into Gaza from Greek-administered Cyprus.

A small cargo vessel left the port of Larnaca on Friday night with aid donated by the United Arab Emirates, a Greek Cypriot source said.

0430 GMT — Several Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Nuseirat camp

Eight Palestinians have been killed and 30 wounded in an Israeli attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Palestinian news agency, WAFA.

It said air strikes targeted a residential home in the camp that killed four Palestinians, including a baby.

In a separate strike on another house in the camp, four additional Palestinians were killed, with at least 30 injured.

0043 GMT — Hamas says studying latest Israeli truce counter-proposal

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has said it has received and was studying the latest Israeli counter-proposal regarding a potential ceasefire in besieged Gaza and the release of captives.

"Today, the Hamas movement received the official Zionist occupation response to the movement's position, which was delivered to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators on April 13," Khalil al Hayya, deputy head of Hamas's political arm in Gaza, said in a brief statement.

"The movement will study this proposal, and upon completion of its study, it will submit its response."

2334 GMT — Israelis rally outside War Cabinet minister's house to demand early elections

Israelis have protested against the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded early elections and a hostage swap deal with the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, according to media reports.

Around 100 Israelis, including relatives of captives held in besieged Gaza, rallied outside the house of War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz in Ras al Ayn in northern Israel.

The daily Times of Israel reported that protesters are calling for the release of the more than 100 captives held in Gaza since October 7, along with the replacement of Netanyahu's government.

"They are also calling on Gantz to resign from the emergency government," it added.

Police were deployed around Gantz's house to contain protesters. Two demonstrators were arrested for "violating public order."

2306 GMT — UN concerned about student arrests in US

The UN human rights office has voiced concern about the detention of hundreds of students during demonstrations in support of Palestine at US universities.

"We're very concerned by the arrests of hundreds of students at US universities, and a number of cases that are quite heavy-handed response by the police to the protests," spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told Anadolu Agency.

Underlining that rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are "fundamental," Laurance said: "Everyone has a right to peacefully protest, and they shouldn't be obstructed in doing so."

He said the office is aware of reports about "antisemitism" and "anti-Islamism" at the protests, adding that they should also be condemned and stopped.

"People have the right to protest and [express their] political views as long as they respect. Their political views, in this case, with respect to what's happening in Gaza, that they're allowed to air their opinion and express their views on the events that are unfolding that which are tragic, we know that," he said.

"They should be entitled to express those views."

2237 GMT — Palestinian National Council accuses US of complicity in Gaza genocide

The Palestinian National Council [PNC] has accused the US of being complicit in the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in besieged Gaza.

"The US … has not implemented what it calls for regarding the two-state solution, nor has it granted Palestine full membership in the United Nations," head of the Council, Rouhi Fattouh, said during the "Parliamentarians for Jerusalem" conference in Istanbul, attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The US vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution on April 18 that demanded Palestine's full membership at the UN.

Fattouh accused the Biden administration of "opening arms depots [to the Israeli army] to kill women and children and to practice starvation and thirst" in Gaza.

He said, in return, "Our people value the positions of President Erdogan and the supportive Turkish people towards the Palestinian cause and its just rights."

''No one can expect Türkiye to remain silent about the genocide the Palestinians have been subjected to in Gaza for the past 203 days,'' he added.

2225 GMT — Yemenis gather in several cities in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza

Yemenis have organised vigils and demonstrations to condemn the discovery of mass graves in besieged Gaza and to show solidarity with Palestinians facing an Israeli onslaught since October.

Hundreds gathered in the government-controlled city of Taiz after Friday prayers in response to calls by activists to support Palestinians in the besieged enclave, according to Anadolu Agency.

Ten of thousands participated in a demonstration in the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa to condemn Israeli "crimes" in besieged Gaza.

Participants waved Palestinian flags and banners condemning "the crimes and massacres of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."

2200 GMT — Israel destroyed 70% of northern Gaza water wells: Beit Lahia mayor

The Israeli army has destroyed 70 percent of water wells in the northern besieged Gaza amid its ongoing onslaught against the enclave.

Beit Lahia Mayor Alaa Al-Attar told Anadolu Agency that the army also destroyed 50 percent of sewage pumps in northern Gaza.

"The Israeli army destroyed all agricultural crops in the town [Beit Lahia], which is considered the primary food basket for the Strip," said Al-Attar.

He noted that marketplaces were destroyed by the army in addition to more than 80 kilometres of water and sewage pipelines in the town.

2135 GMT — Netanyahu hinders reaching truce deal: Israeli official

An Israeli official has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not having a desire to strike a deal with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on a ceasefire in besieged Gaza.

"Netanyahu does not want to reach an agreement at all, he creates difficulties and puts obstacles," Israeli public broadcaster KAN quoted the unnamed official.

The official said it is possible to reach an agreement with Hamas within days but Netanyahu requested a review of a comprehensive deal, contrary to the Egyptian offer to hinder reaching a deal.

For our live updates from Friday, April 26, click here.