Live blog: Türkiye urges more pressure on Israel

Sunday, July 14, 2024

1626 GMT –– Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that Israel sees Hamas accepting conditions on a ceasefire as "weakness, surrender," which hinders reaching a deal and is "highly dangerous," stressing the need to put more pressure on Israel.​​​​​​​

"Whenever there's a positive and constructive atmosphere (on a possible ceasefire), Israel and (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu end up committing new massacres. They appear to enter negotiations only as a propaganda tool, showing no real intention for peace," Fidan said during a joint news conference with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, who is visiting Türkiye.

Saying that his meeting with Al Saud also addressed regional issues and beyond, including Sudan, Yemen and achieving an urgent and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, Fidan added: "We sincerely desire a permanent ceasefire and an end to the bloodshed in Gaza. Thus, we have consistently provided strong support for the negotiation processes underway."

More updates 👇

1732 GMT –– At least 15 killed in Israeli attack on UN-run school

At least 15 people were killed in Israeli bombardment of a UN-run school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza, according to local authorities.

Some 80 other people were injured in the Israeli attack that targeted the Abu Oreiban School run by the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in the Nuseirat refugee camp, Gaza's government media office said.

According to witnesses, several children and women were among the victims.

1651 GMT –– Palestinians queue for hours under sun to get drinking water: UN agency

Every morning, Palestinians queue for hours under the burning sun to fill their bottles and jerrycans with drinking water amid an Israeli war on the enclave, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said.

"Many of them have to walk long distances carrying heavy weights in the summer heat," the UN agency said.

"This exhausting routine repeats again and again in Gaza," it added.

1609 GMT –– Saudi Arabia renews call for 'immediate' ceasefire in Gaza amid Israeli war

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan renewed his country's call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and access to humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave.

Speaking during a joint press conference in Istanbul with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Farhan emphasised the importance of achieving an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians suffering from dire humanitarian conditions.

The top Saudi diplomat said that Israel was "systematically obstructing" access to humanitarian aid into the enclave.

Farhan also underlined the importance "of establishing a genuine and effective path to achieve a political horizon for solving the conflict in Palestine by reviving the two-state solution."

1404 GMT –– UK Foreign Secretary visits Israel, occupied West Bank

The new British foreign secretary called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during a visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, his second international trip since Labour's resounding victory in elections earlier this month.

David Lammy said the ongoing war in Gaza is "intolerable" and stressed in meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leadership that Britain wants to assist with diplomatic efforts "securing a ceasefire deal and creating the space for a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution."

Lammy met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He will meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday. During his visit, Lammy will also meet with families of hostages currently being held in Gaza who have ties to the UK. He called for the release of all hostages and a dramatic increase in the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

Lammy demanded Israel halt settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and said that the Palestinian Authority needs to be "reformed and empowered."

1348 GMT –– Houthis report fresh US-UK air strike in northwestern Yemen

US and British warplanes launched a fresh air strike in Hajjah province in northwestern Yemen, the Houthi group said.

The attack targeted the Baha'is area in the province, the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah television reported.

No details were provided about casualties or damage.

There was no comment yet from the US or Britain on the Houthi claim.

1328 GMT –– Palestinians recover 21 bodies from rubble in Gaza

Civil defence teams have retrieved the bodies of 21 Palestinians from the rubble following Israeli air strikes in Gaza.

A medical source said six victims were recovered following an Israeli strike in the southern city of Rafah and their bodies were transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

Three more bodies were pulled from under the rubble west of Gaza City, the Civil Defence Agency said in a statement.

Ten more victims were retrieved by civil defence teams in Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood southwest of Gaza City, medical sources said.

Residents also recovered the bodies of two people following an Israeli air strike near the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to witnesses.

1256 GMT –– 1 soldier killed, 3 injured in Israeli strike on Damascus: Syrian media

A Syrian soldier was killed and three others were injured in an Israeli air strike in the capital Damascus, according to state media.

The state news agency SANA, citing a military source, said the attack targeted a number of military sites and a residential building in Kafr Sousa of Damascus.

The attack was staged from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights and Syrian air defence systems intercepted some Israeli missiles, SANA said.

The Israeli army confirmed that it had targeted Syrian air defence sites following the launch of two drones towards the port city of Eilat in southern Israel.

1247 GMT –– Several dead or wounded in Israeli air strike on school in central Gaza, health officials say

Several Palestinians were killed or wounded in an Israeli air strike that hit a school in central Gaza, health officials said.

The Gaza Media Office has so far put the death toll at 12 people killed, adding that the school was housing displaced people.

1213 GMT –– West Bank Palestinians stage general strike to protest deadly Israeli strike in Gaza

Palestinians staged a general strike in several cities in the occupied West Bank in protest of a deadly Israeli strike on a "humanitarian zone" in southern Gaza.

At least 90 people were killed and nearly 300 others injured in a strike that targeted the Al Mawasi area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Saturday.

The Israeli army claimed that the attack targeted Mohamed Deif, the commander of Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, and his deputy.

According to an Anadolu news agency reporter, shops and businesses closed in Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Jenin and Qalqilya in protest of the Israeli attack.

1149 GMT –– No intelligence confirming Hamas commander's death: Israeli media

The Israeli army does not have intelligence confirming the death of the commander of Hamas' armed wing in southern Gaza, Israel's Army Radio said.

At least 90 people were killed and nearly 300 others injured in a strike that targeted the Al Mawasi area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Saturday.

The Israeli army claimed that the attack targeted Mohamed Deif, the commander of Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, and his deputy.

"Until now, no new intelligence information has been received to confirm Deif's assassination," the radio said, citing Israeli security sources. "We are still waiting for more information to clarify the attack's results," it added.

1104 GMT –– Israel arrests 30 more Palestinians in West Bank raids

At least 30 more Palestinians were rounded up by Israeli forces in military raids in the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners' affairs groups.

The raids targeted the cities of Ramallah, occupied East Jerusalem, Hebron, Qalqilya, Tulkarm, Jenin, and Jericho, the Commission of Detainees' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

"The detainees were subjected to abuse, severe beatings, and threats against their families, in addition to widespread acts of sabotage and destruction of citizens' homes," the statement said.

The new arrests brought to 9,655 the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023, according to Palestinian figures.

1026 GMT — Health Ministry in Gaza says war death toll at 38,584

The Health Ministry in Gaza has said at least 38,584 people have been killed in Israel's war on the besieged territory.

The toll includes 141 deaths in 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 88,881 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war began.

1023 GMT — Gaza ceasefire talks intact but Israel derailing process: Hamas

Hamas has not withdrawn from ceasefire talks after this weekend's deadly Israeli attacks in Gaza, one of the group's senior officials has clarified.

The statement from Izzat El-Reshiq, a member of the political office of Hamas, also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to derail efforts by Arab mediators and the United States to reach a ceasefire deal.

The escalation in attacks by Netanyahu and his government aims to thwart efforts to end the war on Gaza, Reshiq said.

Earlier, two Egyptian security sources at ceasefire talks in Doha and Cairo had said on Saturday that negotiations had been halted after three days of intense talks.

1016 GMT — Death toll from Israeli bombing of mosque in Gaza rises to 22

The death toll from the Israeli bombardment of a mosque in Shati Camp increased to 22, with another 12 killed by the Israeli army in three separate attacks in Gaza.

The Gaza Civil Defense Service said in a statement:

"We recovered seven martyrs and transported seven wounded from a residential house for the Youssef family that was targeted by the Israeli occupation (forces) in the Abu Skander area in Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City."

In another attack, "We also recovered three martyrs and transported 20 wounded from a residential tower for the al-Haddad family in the Shabiyah area in central Gaza City after it was targeted by Israeli warplanes," it added.

In a separate statement, the Civil Defense Service said "The number of martyrs of the Shati Camp massacre west of Gaza City has risen to 22."

0706 GMT — Hamas will 'halt' Gaza truce talks after Israeli massacres

A senior Hamas official has said the Palestinian resistance group is withdrawing from talks on a ceasefire in Gaza because of Israeli "massacres" and its attitude in negotiations.

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniya told international mediators of the "decision to halt negotiations due to the occupation's lack of seriousness, continued policy of procrastination and obstruction, and the ongoing massacres against unarmed civilians," AFP reports.

0712 GMT — Top Hamas official says military chief Deif 'fine' after Israeli strike

A top Hamas official has said that the group's military leader Mohammed Deif is "fine" despite an Israeli attempt to kill him in an air strike.

"Commander Mohammed Deif is well and directly overseeing" the operations of the Hamas military wing, the official told AFP.

Israel staged a huge bombing raid on a camp for displaced in southern Gaza on Saturday that it said was an attempt to kill Deif.

0611 GMT — Israel kills several Palestinians in fresh strikes on Gaza City

At least 17 Palestinians have been killed and 50 wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza City in the early hours of Sunday, civil emergency and health officials have said.

0103 GMT — UN chief condemns Israeli strike on 'humanitarian zone' in Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned an Israeli air strike on the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis in Gaza, which was designated a "humanitarian zone" for displaced Palestinians.

"This (attack) underscores that nowhere is safe in Gaza," according to a statement that said Guterres is "shocked and saddened" by the strike that killed 90 victims in a densely populated humanitarian area where displaced persons are located.

"The UN Secretary-General condemns the killing of civilians, including children and women," it noted.

Referring to Israel’s claim of targeting "two Hamas members," the statement said: "The Secretary-General underlines that international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack, must be upheld at all times."

It reiterated Guterres's demand for an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza, stating that "the war must end."

2230 GMT — Netanyahu says Israeli air strike targeted Qassam Brigades general commander, deputy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that an Israeli air strike Saturday in the Al-Mawasi area of Gaza targeted the general commander of the Qassam Brigades and his deputy.

“Al-Mawasi operation targeted Mohammed Deif and his deputy, Rafaa Salama, but so far there are no confirmations of their deaths,” Netanyahu said in a news conference about the leaders of the military wing of Hamas. “We will reach anyone responsible for the events of Oct. 7.”

He said Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, presented him with the operation in Al-Mawasi, which he approved.

The attack in southern Gaza killed 90 Palestinians and injured 300, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The daily Israel Hayom claimed, without providing evidence, that the main goal of the air strike was to eliminate Deif.

2200 GMT — Hezbollah fires rockets after Israeli strike on Lebanon

Lebanon's Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel after an Israeli air strike that according to a Lebanese security source killed two civilians in the country's south.

The group said it had retaliated by launching dozens of rockets at the border town of Kiryat Shmona, in Israel's north.

The Israeli military said four soldiers were wounded including one "severely", after air defences intercepted most of the "approximately 15 launches... identified crossing from Lebanon".

Israeli aircraft then "struck a Hezbollah field commander who was operating in the area of (Kfar) Tebnit in southern Lebanon", the military added.

For our live updates from Saturday, July 13, 2024, click here.