Tuesday, July 9, 2024
11:55 GMT — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi has met CIA director William Burns in Cairo, where US and Israeli delegations discussed efforts for a Gaza truce.
Sisi's office said the two men "discussed the latest developments in joint efforts to reach a truce and ceasefire agreement in Gaza," where Israeli troops, backed by tanks and warplanes, stepped up their operations in the Palestinian enclave.
Mediators Egypt and Qatar have been engaged in months of negotiations aimed at reaching a truce and captive swap deal for Gaza.
12:11 GMT — French political scientist detained for 'advocacy of terrorism'
A renowned French political scientist who supports the cause of besieged Gaza has been placed in custody for "advocacy of terrorism," his lawyer has said.
Francois Burgat was detained by police in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence over his alleged "advocacy of terrorism," lawyer Rafik Chekkat said on X.
The European Jewish Organization filed a complaint about the expert on the Arab world and Islamophobia for reposting a post on X this Jan. 2, Chekkat told Anadolu news agency.
"Burgat is giving honest answers and refers to his status as a researcher and the books he wrote. He said that he was also heard at the National Assembly, the Senate, the Criminal Court, etc. He was asked questions about the conflict and he had the opportunity to express himself," the lawyer explained.
11:16 GMT — Gaza medical points shut down: Palestinian Red Crescent
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has said all its medical points in Gaza City went out of service under the Israeli evacuation orders to many areas of the city.
In a statement, it said all its medical points and emergency clinics in the Gaza Governorate came out of service "due to the Israeli occupation's forcible evacuation measures in various areas of the (Gaza) governorate where these medical points and clinics are located."
Early on Tuesday, the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City also said they were forced by the Israeli army to close it after its vicinity came under Israeli fire.
The hospital management said all patients and displaced people were forced to leave the hospital, putting them at risk amid Israeli attacks.
10:38 GMT — Netanyahu 'secretly' agreed to Ben-Gvir's cabinet role
A close source to Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "secretly" agreed for Ben-Gvir to join a smaller security Cabinet that administers the war affairs. The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said Netanyahu approved Ben-Gvir's request to join the small security forum.
The source added that Netanyahu demanded that his approval not be announced.
10:04 GMT — Death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza reaches 38,243
At least 38,243 Palestinians have been killed and 88,033 have been wounded in Israeli military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, the health ministry in the besieged enclave has said.
10:02 GMT — Hezbollah mourns one more fighter killed in clashes with Israel
The Lebanese Hezbollah group has announced one more of its fighters was killed in clashes with Israel.
In a statement, the group identified the fighter as Ali Hussein Wizani (Ali Al-Akbar), and said he was killed "on the road to Jerusalem," in reference to the Hezbollah fight in support of the Palestinian resistance facing the Israeli devastating onslaught in Gaza.
The new fatality brought the number of Hezbollah fighters killed in clashes with Israeli forces since Oct. 8, 2023, to 365, according to an Anadolu Agency tally.
08:41 GMT -16 Palestinians killed in Israeli overnight shelling across Gaza
At least 16 Palestinians were killed and dozens others were injured in a series of Israeli overnight strikes and shelling across Gaza.
A local medical source told Anadolu Agency that seven people were killed in an Israeli shelling on their home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza.
Six others from the Mhanna family were killed by an Israeli army's air strike on their home in the Al-Jalaa street and three others were also killed in another air strike on the Lababidi area in Gaza City, according to the Palestinian official news agency Wafa.
06:48 GMT — Yemeni Houthi group announces hitting 'vital target' in Israel's Eilat
The Yemeni Houthi group has said it jointly attacked with the Iraqi Islamic Resistance group a "vital target" in the Israeli southern city of Eilat.
In a statement, the Houthi group's military spokesman Yahya Saree said the attack was carried out with a number of combat drones, and claimed to "accurately" hit the target.
The Houthi spokesman, however, did not reveal further information about the nature of the Israeli target his group had hit.
06:01 GMT — Three Palestinians found dead after release from Israeli custody
The handcuffed bodies of three Palestinian men freed from Israeli custody have been found near Gaza's border with Israel, and an uncle of one of them and a witness said they had been attacked by Israeli forces shortly after their release.
Abdel Hadi Ghabayen, an uncle of one of the detainees, Kamel Ghabayen, said he set out at 5 am local (0200 GMT) on Sunday looking for his nephew following his arrest by Israeli forces on Saturday.
"I found him left on the ground along with the other two martyrs. They were without clothes, and their hands had plastic cuffs put on them by the Israeli army," Ghabayen said.
03:34 GMT — Top US diplomat for Middle East travels to region for Gaza ceasefire talks
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf is traveling to the Middle East from July 8-14 to discuss a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the State Department said.
Leaf will visit the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the West Bank and Italy.
"The Assistant Secretary will meet with government officials on continued diplomatic efforts to achieve a cease-fire agreement, secure the release of all hostages, and ensure humanitarian assistance is distributed throughout Gaza," said the State Department.
21:19 GMT — UN details catastrophic effects of Israel's carnage in Gaza City
The United Nations has said that Israel's latest ultimatum forcing exodus of Palestinians from parts of besieged Gaza City affected more than 60 schools sheltering displaced Palestinians, as well as two partially functional hospitals, six medical points and two primary health care centres.
Humanitarian officials report that staff and patients have fled hospitals in and around the Israel-threatened areas, and people who were already displaced are being forced to flee again, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
The UN humanitarian office also reports that "active hostilities, damaged roads, access limitations and the lack of public order and safety continue to hamper movement along the main humanitarian cargo route from the Kerem Shalom [Karam Abu Salem] crossing to Khan Younis, and then to Deir al-Balah," Dujarric said.
21:00 GMT — Israel's top general in West Bank makes rare public criticism of settler violence
Israel's top general in the occupied West Bank has spoken out against settler violence in the occupied territory, a rare public denunciation of Zionist settler attacks on Palestinians from within Israel's military establishment.
At a ceremony appointing his successor, the retiring chief of the Israeli military's central command, Major General Yehuda Fox, said that "nationalist crime" had recently "reared its head."
"Under the auspices of the war and the desire for revenge, it sowed chaos and fear in Palestinian residents who did not pose any threat," Fox added.
19:31 GMT — Netanyahu running 'one-man government': Ben-Gvir
Israel's extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has accused hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sidelining his coalition partners.
Netanyahu is running a "one-man government," Ben-Gvir said on X, accusing the premier of surrendering to what he called "terror on every front."
The accusation followed Netanyahu's refusal to allow the extremist to join a body that administers the Gaza war and has influence over war decisions.
Our live updates from Monday, July 8, 2024, click here.
