Live blog: UN chief condemns all attacks on staff, calls for probe

Monday, May 13, 2024

1711 GMT — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned all attacks on United Nations personnel and called for a full investigation into the killing of a staff member in Gaza.

"The Secretary-General was deeply saddened to learn of the death of a United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS) staff member and injury to another DSS staffer when their UN vehicle was struck as they travelled to the European Hospital in Rafah this morning," UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said at a news conference.

Guterres condemned all attacks against UN personnel and called for a full investigation into the incident, according to Haq.

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1856 GMT — US 'looking into' allegations of abuse against Palestinian detainees

The US said it is "looking into" reports of violations committed by Israel against Palestinians in a secret detention centre in the Negev Desert, urging Tel Aviv to "thoroughly" investigate the allegations.

"We've seen those reports and we're concerned about them," State Department's deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters when asked about CNN's investigation into the alleged human rights violations.

Adding that the US is "looking into" these and other allegations of abuse in detention, Patel urged Israel to treat all detainees "humanely with dignity in accordance with international law."

1834 GMT — Gaza death toll still over 35,000 but not all bodies identified: UN

The death toll in Gaza from the Israeli war is still more than 35,000, but the enclave's Ministry of Health has updated its breakdown of the fatalities, the United Nations said after Israel questioned a sudden change in numbers.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said the ministry's figures — cited regularly by the UN in its reporting on the seven-month-long conflict — now reflected a breakdown of the 24,686 deaths of "people who have been fully identified."

"There's about another 10,000 plus bodies who still have to be fully identified, and so then the details of those — which of those are children, which of those are women — that will be re-established once the full identification process is complete," Haq told reporters in New York.

1831 GMT — Ex-US military intelligence official resigned over Gaza war

A former US military intelligence official released a letter that explained to his colleagues at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) that his November resignation was in fact due to "moral injury" stemming from US support for Israel's war in Gaza and the harm caused to Palestinians.

Harrison Mann, an Army major, would be the first known DIA official to quit over US support to Israel. A US airman fatally set himself on fire in February outside Israel's embassy in Washington and other military personnel have protested.

Mann said he kept quiet about his motives for resigning for months out of fear.

1800 GMT — Lebanon's Hezbollah claims drone attack on Israeli soldiers

Lebanese group Hezbollah claimed a drone attack on a military site in northern Israel amid escalating tensions between the two sides.

Hezbollah said several Israeli soldiers were killed and injured in the attack that targeted a reserve artillery battalion south of Beit Hillel settlement.

The Times of Israel newspaper confirmed that two explosive drones struck near the Beit Hillel settlement. No reports were yet available about casualties or damage.

1737 GMT — US raises with Israel incident of protesters blocking aid for Gaza

The United States raised with Israel an incident of protesters blocking aid trucks headed for Gaza, US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said, adding that humanitarian assistance into the enclave should not be impeded.

Israeli protesters blocked aid trucks headed for Gaza, strewing food packages on the road in the latest in a series of incidents that have come as Israel has pledged to allow uninterrupted humanitarian supplies into the besieged enclave.

1729 GMT — Israel has no option but to end Gaza onslaught: Hezbollah chief

Israel has no option but to halt its offensive in Gaza to end cross-border attacks from Lebanon, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said.

"There is no option for the (Israeli) enemy to stop (attacks) from the northern front but to end the war on Gaza," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

He said Hezbollah seeks to pile pressure on Israel to end its onslaught on Gaza.

1634 GMT — Lost contact with group guarding four Israeli hostages: Hamas

Palestinian group Hamas said it lost contact with a group of fighters guarding four Israeli hostages following Israeli attacks in Gaza.

"We have lost contact with a group of our resistance fighters guarding four Zionist (Israeli) prisoners as a result of the barbaric Israeli bombing in the last 10 days," Abu Ubaida, a spokesperson for the group's armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said in a brief statement.

He identified one of the hostages as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American citizen who appeared in a video last month criticising the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and appealing for his release.

1620 GMT — Israeli protesters block aid convoy headed to Gaza

Israeli protesters blocked aid trucks headed for Gaza, strewing food packages on the road in the latest in a series of incidents that have come as Israel has pledged to allow uninterrupted humanitarian supplies into the besieged enclave.

Four protesters, including a minor, were arrested at the protest, at Tarqumiya checkpoint, west of Hebron in the Israeli occupied West Bank, according to a statement from lawyers representing the protesters.

Videos circulated on social media showed p rotesters throwing supplies from the trucks on to the ground, with the contents of opened cartons lying spilled across the road.

1542 GMT — Hamas is not a terrorist organisation: Erdogan

Erdogan, after receiving Greek PM Mitsotakis, said that he considered Hamas "a resistance organisation."

"So many Hamas members have been killed. The whole of the West is attacking them with all sorts of arms and munitions," he said. "Calling Hamas ... a terrorist organisation would be cruel," he said, adding that Greece and Türkiye disagreed on this "very important" question.

1532 GMT — Over 150,000 pregnant women facing health risks in Gaza: UN

Israel's war on Gaza is leaving tens of thousands of pregnant women struggling with terrible sanitary conditions and health risks, the UN refugee agency UNRWA warned.

"More than 150,000 pregnant women are facing terrible sanitary conditions and health hazards amid displacement and war," UNRWA said in a statement.

The UN agency published a photo of a newborn girl in the war-torn enclave.

"Habiba was born in a small tent. She's 2 weeks old and less than 2 kg of weight," it said. "No child in the world should suffer like this."

1511 GMT — UN resolution to reconsider Palestine's membership bid 'significant milestone': Türkiye

Türkiye hailed the UN General Assembly's resolution that allows Palestine more rights and reconsiders its membership bid, calling it "a significant milestone."

"The adoption of this resolution not only marks a significant milestone in Palestine's pursuit of statehood but also highlights the growing disparity between the Security Council and the collective voice of the international community," Ahmet Yildiz, Türkiye's envoy to the UN, told the General Assembly.

Stating that the adoption of the resolution on last Friday revealed the "collective stance of the international community," Yildiz said Türkiye is "proud to have co-sponsored this historic decision."

1500 GMT — Türkiye will continue efforts for ceasefire in Gaza: Erdogan

Türkiye will continue its diplomatic contacts with determination to force Israel to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and secure recognition of State of Palestine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

The Turkish president was addressing a press conference with Greek PM Mitsotakis in Ankara.

"We discussed genocide in Gaza and expect the support of Greece to stop the Israeli massacre," Erdogan said. "Western countries and international communities should raise their voice against this genocide."

"A sovereign Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, with the capital of Jerusalem, is the key solution," Erdogan added.

1411 GMT — Israeli military offensive in Gaza threaten regional stability: Egypt

Egypt warned that Israel's ongoing military offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza poses a "serious threat" to regional stability.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received a phone call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during which they discussed the situation in Gaza, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The two diplomats discussed the "humanitarian and security dimensions" of Israel's military operations in Rafah and Tel Aviv's control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, the statement said.

1341 GMT — WHO driver killed, foreign employee injured by Israeli fire

A Palestinian driver with the World Health Organization (WHO) was killed and a foreign employee injured in an Israeli attack in Rafah city in southern Gaza, medical sources told Anadolu.

A WHO vehicle came under fire from Israeli forces in eastern Rafah, the sources said, adding that the injured foreign employee was rushed to the European Hospital in Khan Younis city in southern Gaza for medical attention.

There was no comment from the Israeli army on the report.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN, however, said the army launched an investigation into the incident that occurred near the Rafah crossing with Egypt, a vital route for humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza.

1303 GMT — Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 35,091: ministry

The Health Ministry in Gaza has said that at least 35,091 people have been killed in the territory during more than seven months of Israel's war.

The toll includes at least 57 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 78,827 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war began on October 7 last year.

1252 GMT — Pro-Palestinian protesters occupy university buildings in Dutch cities

Pro-Palestinian protesters occupied university buildings in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Groningen and Eindhoven, condemning Israel's war in Gaza, the Dutch protest group behind the action said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the University of Amsterdam (UvA) confirmed the occupation and said it advised people who are not affiliated with the protest to leave the building.

The Eindhoven University of Technology confirmed that there were "dozens of students peacefully protesting outside next to ten to 15 tents."

The University of Groningen did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

1236 GMT — Pro-Palestinian student protesters in Australia

Pro-Palestinian student protesters in Australia called for divestment from Israel.

A petition, demanding "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions", was launched by students at the University of Sydney (USyd) which has seen pro-Palestinian encampments for many days.

Seeking a meeting with the university officials, the USyd Students for Palestine, said: "We ... demand that Sydney University disclose all of their ties with Israel, divest from those ties, and sign on to the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions statement."

The students particularly expressed their opposition to "the partnerships our university holds with weapons companies known to be part of the Israeli military's supply chain, including Thales and Lockheed Martin."

1146 GMT — US senator claims Israel has right to strike Gaza with nuclear weapon

Comparing Israel's war on Gaza to the US atomic bombings of Japan during World War II, US Senator Lindsey Graham argued that Israel should do whatever it has to do.

Speaking during an interview on NBC News' Meet the Press, Graham said: "When we were faced with destruction as a nation after Pearl Harbor, fighting the Germans and the Japanese, we decided to end the war by the bombing Hiroshima, Nagasaki with nuclear weapons."

"That was the right decision," he added. He further said: "Give Israel the bombs they need to end the war they can't afford to lose and work with them to minimise casualties."

1125 GMT — Israel's Shin Bet chief admits failure to prevent Hamas attack

The chief of Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency, Ronen Bar, admitted failure to prevent the October 7 Hamas attack.

"We all feel that the same security cover we were always proud of — we failed to provide it to the people of Israel on October 7th," Bar said at a memorial ceremony held at the Shin Bet headquarters in Tel Aviv.

"We all feel the loss, the feeling that we could have prevented it, and as the head of the agency and responsible for the agency's activities, I feel it perhaps more than anyone," he added. Bar said the Shin Bet is undertaking an "in-depth investigation of its role in the Oct 7 failures."

1028 GMT — Lebanon's Hezbollah claims strikes that wounded Israeli soldiers

Lebanon's Hezbollah group has claimed responsibility for a strike that Israel said wounded four soldiers in the country's north, the latest cross-border fire in more than seven months of clashes.

Hezbollah militants fired "a guided missile" at an Israeli Merkava tank across the border on Monday morning, destroying it "after closely monitoring the enemy's movements," the group said in a statement.

The Israeli army said "two anti-tank missiles" crossed from Lebanon into the area of Yiftah, a kibbutz community less than two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the border.

The missiles wounded four Israeli soldiers, the army said, one of them moderately and the rest lightly.

0948 GMT — Number of Palestinians leaving Rafah due to Israeli strikes rises to 360,000: UNRWA

The number of Palestinians who were forced to leave Rafah due to attacks by Israeli forces rose to 360,000, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said.

“Nearly 360,000 people have fled #Rafah since the first evacuation order a week ago,” UNRWA stated on X.

“Meanwhile, in north #Gaza bombardments & other evacuation orders have created more displacement & fear for thousands of families,” it added.

The agency further underlined: “There’s nowhere to go. There’s NO safety without a #ceasefire.”

0901 GMT — Health system in Gaza 'hours from collapse' due to fuel shortage

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has said that the besieged territory's health system is "hours away" from collapse, after fighting has blocked fuel shipments through key crossings.

"We are just hours away from the collapse of the health system in the Gaza Strip due to the lack of the necessary fuel to operate generators in hospitals, ambulances, and (for vehicles to) transport staff," the ministry said in a statement.

0711 GMT — Israeli air strike on Gaza kills Palestinian party leader

The Palestinian Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine has said that its political bureau member, Talal Abu Zarifa, was killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in southern Gaza City.

“Abu Zarifa was killed while fighting against the barbaric Israeli invasion in the Sabra neighbourhood, southeast Gaza City, alongside his comrade Mahmoud Hamam,” the front said in a statement.

The Palestinian party leader was killed, along with three others, in an Israeli air strike targeting a house in the Sabra neighbourhood late Sunday evening, according to witnesses.

0709 GMT — Illegal Israeli settlers attack Palestinian village in occupied West Bank

Illegal Israeli settlers have attacked a Palestinian village, assaulted a Palestinian home, and set a car on fire, leading to confrontations in the northern occupied West Bank.

Witnesses reported to Anadolu Agency that a group of illegal settlers attacked Jalud village, pelting a house with stones and torching a car.

They added that clashes erupted between Palestinians and settlers, with the Palestinians managing to drive them out of the village.

0635 GMT — Israeli forces step up attacks on Gaza's Jabalia camp, Rafah

Israeli tanks have pushed further into Jabalia in northern Gaza, residents and Hamas media say, while air strikes hammered Rafah in the south.

In Jabalia, tanks were trying to advance towards the heart of the camp, the biggest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps.

Residents said tank shells were landing at the centre of the camp and that air strikes had destroyed clusters of houses.

Israeli troops forced hundreds of Palestinians housed in shelters to leave.

In Rafah, near the border with Egypt, Israel stepped up aerial and ground bombardments on the eastern areas of the city, killing people in an air strike on a house in the Brazil neighbourhood.

0011 GMT — Israeli army says it struck 3 Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army has said that its warplanes targeted three Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon.

“Air Force planes bombed two Hezbollah missile launch sites in the villages of Helta and Al-Hamam and infrastructure belonging to the organisation in the Khraibeh area,” the army said in a statement, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority.

Earlier on Sunday, Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli military deployment near the Zabdine site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms with “new heavy missiles.”

2315 GMT — Israel killed 500+ Gaza medics since Oct 7 — health authorities

At least 500 medical personnel have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7 last year, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said as the world marked International Nurses Day.

“Here in Palestine and in Gaza in particular, this day passes as the Israeli occupation has killed 138 nurses. This year's International Nurses Day is exceptional, and it is our right to name this year the Year of Nursing,” ministry spokesperson Khalil al-Daqran said during a news conference on the sidelines of a sit-in organised by nurses at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

“Nurses, midwives and medical teams are an integral part of the fabric of the Palestinian people. They were the martyrs who played their national and humanitarian role to save the lives of the wounded and the sick,” said al-Daqran.

2255 GMT — Blinken says no 'red lines' for Israel but warns against Rafah attack

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there are no "red lines" that would prompt Washington to cease backing Israel in its war in Gaza but warned the Israeli army against launching a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah.

Blinken underscored the Biden administration's opposition to a comprehensive attack on Rafah on NBC's "Meet the Press” show.

He emphasised that Israel has not yet presented a credible plan to protect the city’s nearly 1.5 million Palestinian inhabitants and warned that an Israeli offensive could foster an insurgency by failing to eliminate all the Hamas forces there.

Blinken confirmed the Biden administration's unwavering support for Israel since the war began but suggested suspending arms supplies to Tel Aviv if it decides to occupy Rafah.

Asked about President Joe Biden's threat to halt arms sales, he replied: "Look, when it comes to Israel, we don't talk about red lines."

2201 GMT — Dutch women stage Mother's Day march in support of Gaza mothers

A group of women in the Netherlands staged a march on Mother's Day in support of Palestinian mothers in Gaza.

They gathered at Binnenrotte Square in Rotterdam under the banner "Mothers against Genocide," marching through the city centre and assembling in front of the Mother and Child statue carrying baby dolls wrapped in bloody shrouds.

Some mothers held demonstrations outside McDonald's, Starbucks and Burger King outlets, highlighting the plight of mothers in Gaza.

2145 GMT — Protests disrupt pro-Israeli American-Jewish comedian's speech at Duke

A group of students against Israel’s war on Gaza protested as Jewish-American comedian Jerry Seinfeld was about to give a speech at North Carolina-based Duke University’s graduation ceremony by unfurling a Palestinian flag and walking out.

The demonstration in support of Palestine and Gaza at Duke University was the latest against the war on university campuses.

Seinfeld, who supports Israel, had been invited to speak at the ceremony.

The students, waving Palestinian flags and chanting "Freedom for Palestine," left the ceremony area with other students joining them.

Images from Duke University quickly spread on social media, with many users dissatisfied with Seinfeld's invitation to speak at the university.

For our live updates from Sunday, May 12, click here.