Live blog: UN documents dire conditions of displaced Palestinians in Gaza

Thursday, July 11, 2024

1817 GMT — The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has documented the appalling conditions faced by displaced Palestinians in a school-turned-shelter in Deir al Balah, central Gaza.

Louise Wateridge, UNRWA senior communications officer, shared a video on X showing the school, which shelters 14,000 Palestinians.

"This school is sheltering 14,000 people in classrooms and in makeshift shelters in the courtyard. […] The facility only has 25 toilets," she said.

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1834 GMT — Hezbollah fighters killed, injured Israeli soldiers in attack

Hezbollah has said it targeted locations and gatherings of soldiers in northern Israel that resulted in several casualties.

The Lebanese resistance group said in separate statements that fighters "targeted two buildings used by Israeli enemy soldiers in the Misgav Am settlement with appropriate weapons and hit them directly.”

It said it "targeted a gathering of Israeli enemy soldiers around the Zar’it barracks with a heavy Volcano rocket."

The group indicated that it "targeted two buildings used by enemy soldiers in the Shtula settlement with guided missiles and hit them directly, causing fires and resulting in casualties among those inside.”

1817 GMT — Palestinian teen killed by Israeli army in occupied West Bank

A Palestinian teen was killed by the Israeli army in the town of Meithalun in the northern occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said teams "transported a 17-year-old martyr from a main road in Meithalun near Jenin."

It indicated that the body was transferred to the Turkish Government Hospital in Tubas.

The Israeli army fired at Palestinians during clashes that erupted in Meithalun following an incursion into the town, witnesses told Anadolu news agency.

1710 GMT — Palestinians facing worst humanitarian crisis: EU's Borrell

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has described the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the occupied West Bank as "worse than ever".

In a statement to the press after attending the NATO Leaders' Summit in Washington, Borrell highlighted the deteriorating conditions on the ground, calling the situation "unbearable."

Borrell's comments come at a time of heightened tension and international concern over the actions of the Israeli government in the occupied West Bank.

1701 GMT — Netanyahu demands Israeli control of Gaza-Egypt border

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded that Israel retain control of key Gaza territory along the border with Egypt as part of any accord to suspend the war with Hamas.

The condition conflicts with Hamas's position that Israel must withdraw from all Gaza territory after a ceasefire.

Speaking after the return of Israeli negotiators from talks with mediators in Qatar, Netanyahu said Israel needed control to stop weapons reaching Hamas from Egypt — one of four conditions for a deal with the Palestinian resistance group. He did not say if the measure would be permanent.

1633 GMT — Israeli govt should be investigated for Oct. 7 failure: Gallant

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has called for a state inquiry into failings around the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, saying it should investigate Gallant himself and his boss, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Gallant made the comments at a graduation ceremony for new military officers, also attended by Netanyahu, whose coalition government is already strained by infighting.

The state inquiry, he said, "must be objective, it needs to investigate all of us, those who make decisions and those who carry them out, the government, the military, and the security agencies."

"It must investigate me, the defence minister, it must investigate the prime minister," Gallant said, to cheers from the crowd.

1631 GMT — Jordanian, US officials discuss Gaza ceasefire

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf have discussed ceasefire efforts in Gaza and hostage swap deal between Israel and Hamas.

The meeting between the two diplomats took place in the Jordanian capital Amman, according to a statement by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, which did not specify the timing of Leaf's arrival in the kingdom or the duration of her visit.

The statement said that the two sides discussed "ending the Israeli aggression on Gaza, completing the (hostage) swap deal with Egyptian, Qatari, and American efforts, and delivering sufficient and sustainable humanitarian aid to all parts of Gaza."

1620 GMT — US military couldn't re-anchor Gaza pier due to weather: Pentagon

US military personnel attempted to re-anchor the temporary Gaza pier to the beach on Wednesday but were unsuccessful due to technical and weather-related issues, the Pentagon has said.

At no time did US personnel enter Gaza, Pentagon Spokesperson Pat Ryder said in a statement.

The pier will soon cease operations, and was always intended as a temporary solution, he added.

1559 GMT — Still 'miles to go' on Israel-Hamas ceasefire: White House

Many details still need to be hammered out to secure a deal between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages from Gaza, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said.

"There's still miles to go before we close if we are able to close. So I don't want to say that it's immediately around the corner, but it does not have to be far out in the distance if everyone comes in this with the will to get it done," Sullivan told reporters.

Sullivan also said President Joe Biden will soon give an update on the status of ceasefire talks.

1505 GMT — Gaza truce talks making progress: Egyptian officials

Talks on ending the Gaza conflict have made progress on the issues of hostage releases and withdrawal of Israeli forces, but security arrangements and ceasefire guarantees are still being worked on, two Egyptian security sources have said.

The Egyptian sources said there had been agreement on preparations to free Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, as well as on the pullback of Israeli forces from residential areas of southern Gaza during the first six-week phase of a proposed deal. There was also agreement on a mechanism for administering Gaza after the war, they said.

However, differences remained over security arrangements at crossings into Gaza and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces, the sources added.

1454 GMT — US imposes sanctions on Israeli settler outposts

The United States has imposed new sanctions against Israeli extremists over violence against Palestinians, including slapping financial restrictions on four settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank.

The State Department also blacklisted Lehava, which it described as the "largest violent extremist organisation in Israel" with more than 10,000 members.

"We strongly encourage the government of Israel to take immediate steps to hold these individuals and entities accountable. In the absence of such steps, we will continue to impose our own accountability measures," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Settlement expansion has increased sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022 at the helm of a hardline pro-settler coalition.

1417 GMT — G7 condemns Israel's legalisation of West Bank outposts: statement

G7 foreign ministers have condemned the move by Israel to legalise five outposts in the occupied West Bank and slammed its decision to expand existing settlements and establish new ones.

"We, the G7 Foreign Ministers... join the UN and the European Union in condemning the announcement by Israeli Finance Minister (Bezalel) Smotrich that five outposts are to be legalised in the West Bank," read a statement that also rejected Israel's decision to declare over 1,270 hectares (3,100 acres) as "state lands".

1404 GMT — Israeli weapons designed with shrapnel to give maximum harm: doctors

Surgeons volunteering in Gaza have reported catastrophic injuries among children caused by Israeli-made weapons designed to maximize shrapnel dispersion, resulting in severe casualties, according to The Guardian.

Doctors at Gaza's European Hospital and al Aqsa Hospital described performing numerous operations on children wounded by tiny fragments of shrapnel, which often leave barely visible entry points but cause extensive internal damage.

These weapons, they say, appear to be intentionally designed to increase the number of casualties, according to Amnesty International.

1348 GMT — Several feared dead in Israeli strike on house in central Gaza

Several Palestinians are feared dead after an Israeli strike in central Gaza, according to witnesses.

The attack targeted a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp, which flattened the building, while a number of nearby houses were damaged, witnesses said.

The Health Ministry has yet to issue an exact death toll from the attack.

1331 GMT — Over 60 bodies retrieved from under rubble in Gaza City

Palestinian medics retrieved more than 60 bodies from under the rubble in the Shejaiya neighbourhood in Gaza City after Israeli troop withdrawal from the area, the Civil Defense Agency said on Thursday.

"Dozens of bodies are still trapped under the rubble in the neighbourhood," spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told a press conference. He said Israeli forces destroyed more than 85 percent of the residential buildings in the neighbourhood.

"Shejaiya has become a disaster area that is not suitable for habitation," he added.

1329 GMT — Israeli delegation heading to Cairo for more Gaza talks: Netanyahu

An Israeli negotiation team will head on Thursday to Cairo to hold further Gaza ceasefire talks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

"A delegation headed by the head of the Shin Bet (domestic security service), together with representatives of the IDF (Israeli army), is scheduled to leave for Cairo this evening to continue the talks," the statement said, adding that Netanyahu met throughout the day with negotiators who returned from Doha.

1238 GMT — Biden, US complicit in Israeli war crimes: Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said US President Joe Biden and his administration are complicit in what he called Israeli war crimes and violations of international law in the Gaza conflict, and he called for sanctions against Israel.

In an interview with Newsweek during the NATO summit in Washington, Erdogan said Israel's "brutal murder" of civilians, its strikes on hospitals, aid centres and elsewhere constituted war crimes.

"The US administration, however, disregards these violations and provides Israel with the most support. They do so at the expense of being complicit in these violations," Erdogan was quoted as saying.

"At this juncture, who will impose what kind of sanction against Israel for violating international law? That is the real question and no one is answering that," he said.

1230 GMT — Israel 'stalls' Gaza truce to thwart talks: Hamas

Hamas has said in a statement that mediators have not yet provided the group with any updates regarding Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

It also accused Israel of "stalling" to gain time and the current round of talks.

"The occupation continues its policy of stalling to buy time to foil this round of negotiations, as it has done in previous rounds," the group said.

1228 GMT — US announces $100M additional aid for Palestinians

The United States has announced that it is providing 100 million dollars in additional aid for Palestinians in besieged Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

A statement from USAID said the funding would assist the United Nations’ World Food Program.

It also said that through the funding, it would provide “logistics support for the safe and efficient delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid across Gaza,” without elaborating.

Aid agencies have complained that goods are not reaching people in Gaza because of the dangerous security situation and growing lawlessness that is complicating aid delivery.

1147 GMT — Very little aid enters Gaza due to Israeli attacks: UN

The United Nations is stressing that very little aid is getting to Palestinians from the Kerem Shalom border crossing because of lawlessness, ongoing fighting, and the lack of effective coordination with Israeli forces in Gaza.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric was responding to the head of the Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs who told reporters at Kerem Shalom earlier that the United Nations needs to step up its ability to receive and distribute aid in Gaza.

Dujarric said the UN is trying its best to get to people in need, especially in central and southern Gaza, but "you have utter lawlessness, plus you have continuing conflict."

1112 GMT — US 'cautiously optimistic' on Gaza truce

The US is "cautiously optimistic" about cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, the White House has said.

"We are cautiously optimistic that things are moving in a good direction … There are still gaps remaining between the two sides. We believe those gaps can be narrowed, and that’s what (special Mideast envoy) Brett McGurk and CIA Director Bill Burns are trying to do right now," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN.

1056 GMT — Israeli defence minister, US envoy discuss hostage deal, munitions shipment

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said he met with visiting US envoy Brett McGurk on Thursday and discussed progress in reaching a Gaza ceasefire and captive swap deal.

Gallant, according to a statement from his office, said they also spoke about "the delivery of critical munition, some of which will be sent to Israel in the coming days."

1043 GMT — Israel's threats must stop: Turkish President Erdogan

Israel's threats and attempts to spread the conflict must stop. Otherwise, our region will face the risk of deeper conflicts and even war,' Turkish President Erdogan has warned.

Those responsible for the current "barbarity in Gaza" will sooner or later be held accountable before international law, just like with the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, the Turkish president said on Thursday.

“Türkiye will continue to do our best to ensure that justice is served and the perpetrators of the massacre are held accountable,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a video message sent to a commemoration ceremony of the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1032 GMT — Death toll from Israel's relentless war in Gaza rises to 38,345

More than 38,345 Palestinians have been killed and 88,295 have been injured in the Israeli military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement.

Some 50 Palestinians were killed and 54 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.

1013 GMT — Gaza City under heavy Israeli attack as mediators push for truce

Residents of Gaza City were trapped in houses and bodies lay uncollected in the streets under an intense new Israeli assault, even as Washington pushed for a peace deal at talks in Egypt and Qatar.

Hamas says a heavy Israeli assault on Gaza City this week could wreck efforts to finally end the war just as negotiations have entered the home stretch.

0836 GMT — Israel arrests 15 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank raids

Israeli army forces detained 15 more Palestinians in military raids across the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

A woman was among the detainees in the raids that targeted the cities of Qalqilya, Nablus, Tubas, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

The new arrests brought to 9,625 the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the occupied territory since last Oct. 7, according to Palestinian figures.

0831 GMT — Israel soldiers raid a camp in Nablus, injuring Palestinians

Four Palestinians, including a woman and a child, were injured at dawn on Thursday during Israeli occupation forces' raid into Balata camp, east of Nablus.

Sources in the Palestinian Red Crescent said that a young man, 26, was injured by live bullets in the abdomen during confrontations that broke out inside the camp, while a woman, 34, a child, 13, and a young man, 23, were injured with bruises after the occupation soldiers beat them during storming their homes in the camp.

The occupation forces stormed the east of the city of Nablus at dawn, amidst live bullets and tear gas and sound bombs. They raided several homes inside Balata camp, searched them, tampered with their contents, and detained two youths.

0810 GMT — Israel continues ground, aerial, naval attacks across Gaza

The Israeli army continued to strike areas across Gaza involving ground, aerial, and naval attacks as its deadly onslaught enters day 279, several days into its ninth month, local media has reported.

Official Palestinian news agency Wafa said an Israeli raid hit a home in the al-Maghazi refugee camp and another in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

In Gaza City, Israeli army drones opened fire towards homes in the al-Sabra neighbourhood in the southern part of the city.

The Israeli navy opened its gun machines towards the shores of the town of al-Zahra and the Nuseirat refugee camp, Wafa also reported.

In southern Gaza, the Israeli army destroyed entire buildings in the city of Rafah, while army artillery struck the Shaboura neighbourhood in central Rafah.

0810 GMT — Israeli army intercepts 5 rockets fired from southern Gaza

The Israeli army said its air defences intercepted a barrage of five rockets fired from an area in Rafah, southern Gaza, towards southern Israel.

The army did not report any casualties or material damage from the rocket attack.

Rocket warning sirens were heard in settlements adjacent to the Rafah area including Holit, Avshalom, Sdeh Avraham, and Kerem Shalom, according to the Times of Israel website.

No Palestinian group has so far claimed responsibility for the rockets firing.

0441 GMT — Israel's Gaza City evacuation 'absolute madness' — rights group

The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem, has called Israel’s orders for Gaza City’s entire population to evacuate “absolute madness”.

In a post on social media, it demanded the international community to intervene and “demand that Israel immediately stop the war”.

“Based on Israel’s actions, it appears that it intends to continue fighting indefinitely, sowing destruction, and killing masses of people for the foreseeable future,” the group said in a series of posts.

0117 GMT — US is 'cautiously optimistic' about Gaza ceasefire talks

The United States was "cautiously optimistic" about Gaza ceasefire talks, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told CNN, adding that gaps between the two sides could be narrowed.

"We are cautiously optimistic that things are moving in a good direction," Kirby said when asked if a ceasefire deal was close.

"There are still gaps remaining between the two sides. We believe those gaps can be narrowed, and that's what Brett McGurk and CIA Director Bill Burns are trying to do right now," he added.

2241 GMT — Spain slams 'double standards' on Gaza during NATO summit

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has urged the West to reject "double standards" regarding the genocidal war in Gaza as he joined NATO leaders in supporting Ukraine.

"If we are telling our people that we are supporting Ukraine because we are defending the international law, this is the same as what we have to do towards Gaza," he said at NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington.

The Spanish leader said there should be a "consistent political position" in which "we don't have double standards."

Sanchez said the world needed to press to "stop this terrible humanitarian crisis" affecting the Palestinians and called for an international peace conference to push for a Palestinian state.

"We need to create the conditions for an immediate and urgent ceasefire," he said.

2212 GMT — Erdogan invokes Gaza during talks with Scholz

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have held discussions on Israel's onslaught on besieged Gaza.

Erdogan told Scholz that pressure should be put on Israel to end its attacks on Gaza and not to miss the opportunity of a ceasefire, according to Türkiye's Communications Directorate.

He added that it is important to increase efforts to prevent conflicts from spreading to the region.

2044 GMT — German politician says Israeli attack on Gaza school 'cannot be justified'

German left-wing politician Janine Wissler has said a recent Israeli attack on Al-Awda school in besieged Gaza, which was being used to shelter the displaced, is "appalling," calling it a "violation" of international humanitarian law.

"Israel's attack on a school in the Gaza Strip is appalling and cannot be justified in any way," Janine Wissler said on X.

"Bombing civilians who have sought refuge in a school is a violation of international humanitarian law," Wissler said, adding that an immediate ceasefire is "necessary."

Our live updates from Wednesday, July 10, 2024, click here.