Live blog: US slams Israel for settlement on UNESCO-listed West Bank site

Thursday, August 15, 2024

1653 GMT — The United States has condemned Israel's approval of a settlement on a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Bethlehem, pointing to its harm to prospects for a Palestinian state.

Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the move on Wednesday, openly saying that Israel hoped to create new "facts on the ground" to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.

"Every single one of these new settlements would impede Palestinian economic development and freedom of movement and undermine the feasibility of a two-state solution," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

"We find that to be inconsistent with international law, and we certainly oppose the advancement of settlements in the [occupied] West Bank," he said.

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1720 GMT — Over 400, mostly Arabs arrested in Israel's online crackdown: report

Israeli authorities have arrested more than 400 people, primarily Arab citizens, in a sweeping crackdown on online activity deemed to incite or support Hamas in the months following the October 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group.

Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Rights in Israel, said around 190 of those detained remain in custody as legal proceedings drag on. Many are held in harsh conditions in Israel’s penal system, as reported by the Drop Site news site.

The arrests followed changes in Israeli law that allow police "to open investigations into 524 social media posts" without needing approval from prosecutors, Drop Site added, citing data by the media watchdog organisation, Shomrim.

1716 GMT — EU reaffirms commitment to Jerusalem's holy sites

The EU foreign police chief has held a phone conversation with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and reiterated the EU's "steadfast commitment" to upholding the status quo of holy sites in Jerusalem.

"Spoke with DPM @AymanHSafadi to confirm the EU steadfast commitment to upholding the Status Quo of the Holy Sites, including historic Jordanian custodianship," Josep Borrell wrote on X, expressing his strong rejection of provocations, hate speech and incitement to war crimes by some Israeli ministers.

1639 GMT — UK urges urgent deal between Israelis, Palestinians

The British foreign secretary has said that reaching a deal "urgently" is in the long-term interests of both Israelis and Palestinians as well as the wider region.

"We are at a crucial moment for global stability. The coming hours and days could define the future of the Middle East," David Lammy said in a statement.

1554 GMT — Israeli army detects rocket barrage, drone launched from Lebanon

The Israeli military detected a rocket barrage and a drone launched from Lebanon toward northern Israel, the army has said in a statement.

"Following the alerts activated in the Golan Heights, a suspicious aerial target (drone) that penetrated from Lebanon was intercepted, with no injuries reported," the Israeli military said.

It further detected at least five mortar shells near the settlement of Shamir, with no injuries reported, according to the statement.

Around 20 rockets were also detected being launched from Lebanon toward occupied Upper Galilee, and "most of them were intercepted, while the remainder fell in open areas, with no injuries reported", added the army.

1509 GMT — Gaza truce 'necessary' for regional peace: France

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne has said from Beirut that a ceasefire in Gaza was "necessary" for peace in the region including Lebanon, as talks resumed in Qatar aiming to end the conflict.

"We are all worried about the regional situation," Sejourne said after meeting parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Lebanon's Hezbollah group.

France "supports Lebanon, and in this context and in the context of regional peace, we hope for the ceasefire... in the Gaza Strip, which... will be necessary to guarantee peace in the region," he said.

1417 GMT — White House sees 'promising start' at Gaza talks in Doha

The White House has said that Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar involving top US officials had a "promising start" but that it did not expect to close a deal immediately.

"Today is a promising start," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, who confirmed that the talks opened in Doha involving CIA Director William Burns.

1402 GMT — 40,000 Gaza deaths a global shame: Irish PM

Ireland's prime minister has said that 40,000 dead in Gaza is a "milestone the world must be ashamed of".

"International diplomacy has failed to protect innocent children, some only days old," Simon Harris said on X.

He called on Israel to stop the bombings in Gaza and asked Hamas to release the hostages.

In addition to his call for a ceasefire call in Gaza, Harris urged the EU to reassess its association agreement with Israel.

1337 GMT — Pope Francis calls for ceasefire in Gaza amid ongoing Israeli onslaught

Pope Francis voiced deep concern over the escalating war in Gaza on the day the death toll from the 10-month Israeli offensive climbed above 40,000 Palestinians killed.

After leading a prayer at St Peter's Square for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Francis took a moment to reflect on various global conflicts. But he placed particular emphasis on the situation in Gaza, where ongoing violence has led to a humanitarian crisis.

"I continue to follow the humanitarian situation in Gaza with concern," Francis said. "Once again, I demand a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, the release of hostages, and assistance to the exhausted population. I urge everyone to make every effort to prevent the conflict from expanding and to pursue the path of negotiation to bring this tragedy to an end as soon as possible. Let us not forget that war is a defeat."

1310 GMT — Abbas tells Turkish parliament he will go to Gaza

Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas told a special session of the Turkish parliament that he would travel to Gaza.

"I have decided to go to Gaza with other brothers from the Palestinian leadership," Abbas said in an address applauded by Turkish lawmakers.

"I will do that. Even if this would cost my life. Our life is not more worthy than the life of a child," he added.

1300 GMT — 130 killed in war-torn Gaza every day: UN rights chief

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned the ongoing Israeli war in the besieged Gaza, revealing that nearly 130 people have died daily since October 7.

"On average, about 130 people have been killed every day in Gaza over the past 10 months. The scale of the Israeli military's destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and places of worship is deeply shocking," Turk said.

Turk stressed that the "unimaginable situation" in the besieged enclave is overwhelmingly due to the recurring failures of the Israeli army to comply with the rules of war.

1230 GMT — Gaza truce talks begin in Doha as death toll tops 40,000

Pressure built for a Gaza ceasefire to be agreed at talks that resumed in Qatar, aiming to stop the spread of Israel's brutal war on the besieged enclave that has killed at least 40,000 Palestinians.

A source with knowledge of the talks confirmed to AFP that they had begun in the Qatari capital Doha.

The source did not disclose whether Hamas had dispatched any delegates to the talks which Israel and CIA director William Burns planned to attend.

The war has drawn in Iran-aligned groups from Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

Egypt is co-operating with Qatar and the US to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas to reach a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner-hostage swap deal, a high-level Egyptian source told state-affiliated Al-Qahera News channel.

1035 GMT — Gaza death toll tops 40,000 with little hope in new truce talks

The death toll from Israel's brutal 10-month war on Gaza has surpassed 40,000, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave said.

The ministry said at least 40,005 people have been killed in the war, including 40 in the previous 24 hours. It said another 92,401 people have been wounded in the conflict that broke out on October 7 last year.

Qatar is set to host Gaza ceasefire talks, seeking a so-far elusive agreement that the US hopes would stop Iran from striking Israel and avert a wider war.

US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have invited Israel and Hamas for negotiations aimed at ending Israel's atrocities in Gaza.

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0739 GMT — Israel kills 6 more Palestinians in Gaza City, Khan Younis

The Israeli army at dawn has killed six more Palestinians in air strikes on central Gaza City as well as Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said three Palestinians were killed and others injured in an Israeli air strike on a home of the Khzeiq family in the al-Sabra neighbourhood in southern Gaza City.

The Israeli army also carried out a limited incursion into the southern areas of the city's southeastern Zeitoun neighbourhood, amid the firing of heavy artillery shells.

Wafa added that three other Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on the town of Bani Suhaila, east of the city of Khan Younis.

0629 GMT — Israeli army kills 2 more Palestinians during raid in northern occupied West Bank

The Israeli army has killed two Palestinians and injured four others in a drone strike on the Balata refugee camp in the city of Nablus city in the northern occupied West Bank.

According to official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the drone strike took place as Israeli forces raided the Balata camp in eastern Nablus, triggering clashes with Palestinians.

It quoted local sources that identified the two slain Palestinians as Ahmad Sheikh-Khalil and Wael Masheh, both from the refugee camp.

0244 GMT — Australia lawmaker calls opposition leader racist over opposition to Gaza refugees

The leader of Australia's main opposition party was told to "stop being racist" by another parliamentarian during a heated discussion in which he said that Australia should not take in any refugees from Gaza.

Independent parliamentarian Zali Steggall made the remarks during a speech criticising centre-right Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton for his call this week to bar refugees from Gaza due to the risk they could be "Hamas sympathisers".

Interrupted several times by shouts from the opposition benches, Steggall asked to be heard in silence before shouting "stop being racist" towards Dutton.

0056 GMT — Trump, Netanyahu speak about Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal, Axios reports

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal, Axios reported, citing two US sources.

One source told Axios that Trump's call was intended to encourage Netanyahu to take the deal, but stressed he did not know if this was indeed what the former president told Netanyahu.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

0038 GMT — Gaza war one of 'bloodiest' in 21st century: report

In a recent investigation, Israel's Haaretz daily highlighted the ongoing Israeli carnage in Gaza as one of the "bloodiest" wars of the 21st century.

According to the newspaper, the war has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of whom were in zones previously designated as "safe" by the Israeli military.

The report criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for accusing "the international community of hypocrisy concerning the war in the Gaza Strip – and to claim it is ignoring other conflicts and humanitarian disasters".

For example, Netanyahu in January said: "Where was South Africa when millions were killed or expelled from their homes in Syria and Yemen?"

"But a cold examination of the numbers killed in the Gaza Strip reveals this is one of the bloodiest wars since the beginning of the century, especially if you examine the rate of mortality out of the total population," the report added.

0051 GMT — Israel claims to have killed two Hezbollah fighters

The Israeli army said that it killed two Hezbollah fighters in a drone strike on the town of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon.

In a statement posted on the social media platform X, the Israeli military said that in addition to the drone strike, Israeli warplanes also struck a building used by Hezbollah in the town of Ayta ash Shab, and artillery shelling targeted the village of Rmeish in Bint Jbeil district.

0009 GMT — Columbia University president resigns after crackdown on pro-Palestine protests

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik said she resigned on Wednesday, nearly four months after overseeing the university's crackdown on-campus protests against Israel's carnage in Gaza.

"It has also been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community. This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community," Shafik said in an email to staff and students.

2136 GMT — US says Türkiye can talk to groups they can't in Gaza ceasefire

US Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake said that Türkiye can talk to groups that the US government simply can't.

At the US Embassy in the capital, Flake told reporters that Washington welcomes Ankara's role in efforts to reach a ceasefire deal in besieged Gaza.

"We welcome Türkiye's role specifically. We want an enduring peace afterwards. It's going to be a two-state solution," he added.

Stressing that they "encourage Israel in every discussion to limit civilian casualties as they respond to Hamas' attacks", he noted that they are working with Türkiye and other countries to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

2233 GMT — Israel ready for all scenarios with Philadelphi Corridor: Army chief

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi announced that the military is preparing for all scenarios concerning the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border, depending on political decisions.

"Holding the Philadelphi Route is an important thing because it deals with Hamas' force buildup," Halevi claimed.

He said the army is "ready to maintain a strong presence on the corridor if the political leadership decides to do so, but is also prepared to monitor and raid the area as needed if a different approach is taken.

"If it (political leadership) decides that we're staying in Philadelphi, we'll know how to stay there and stay strong."

He said if the leadership "decides that we must monitor the area and carry out raids whenever we have an indication, we will know how to do it".

For our live updates from Wednesday, August 14, 2024, click here.