Friday, May 17, 2024
13:47 GMT — At least 93 bodies of Palestinians have been recovered from the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza since the Israeli offensive on the camp began six days ago.
Ahmed al-Kahlot, the director of Civil Defense in northern Gaza, told Anadolu "fires broke out in the middle of Jabalia camp as a result of the continuous Israeli bombing,” noting that "firefighting crews were unable to reach the affected areas in the camp."
He stated that "93 bodies of Palestinians have been retrieved from the Jabalia camp since the Israeli operation began six days ago."
"Many bodies were dumped on the roads in the Jabalia camp, and the crews were unable to recover them due to the continuous Israeli bombing," he added.
13:36 GMT — Houthis shot down US drone in Yemen's Marib city
Yemen's Houthi group said that it shot down a US drone in the Marib city.
"Yemeni air defences successfully shot down an American MQ-9 drone last Thursday evening while it was conducting hostile operations in the airspace of Marib province," the group’s spokesperson Yahya Saree said on X.
"This is the fourth aircraft to be shot down during the Battle of the Promised Conquest and Holy Jihad in solidarity with Gaza," Saree added. He noted that the drone was targeted with "a locally-made surface-to-air missile."
13:24 GMT — Israel strikes on Lebanon kill Hezbollah fighter, two children
Israeli air strikes hit an area of southern Lebanon far from the border, with Hezbollah announcing one dead fighter and official media saying two Syrian children were killed.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said "Israeli strikes targeted Najjariyeh and Addousiyeh", two adjacent villages just south of the coastal city of Sidon, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the Israeli border.
The "infrastructure contained several compounds used by Hezbollah's aerial defence array and posed a threat to Israeli aircraft", it added.
Hezbollah announced a fighter from Najjariyeh had died. The NNA said two Syrian children were killed in the Najjariyeh strike, identifying them as Osama and Hani al-Khaled.
13:17 GMT — Israelis torched Gaza-bound aid truck in occupied West Bank
Israel's military said that "dozens of Israeli civilians" set fire the previous evening to an aid truck in the occupied West Bank headed for war-torn Gaza.
Local media reported that Israeli settlers were behind the attack, which the army said injured the driver as well as Israeli soldiers.
The incident took place near Kokhav Hashahar, an Israeli settlement in the central West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
13:09 GMT — UN humanitarian office urges opening of all crossings into Gaza
The UN humanitarian office urged the opening of all crossings into Gaza as humanitarian needs in the besieged strip "cannot depend" on a floating dock.
Jens Laerke, the spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, said the UN was "grateful" for the efforts of the Greek Cypriot administration and other member states to sustain the maritime corridor as an additional route for aid to Gaza.
"However, getting aid to people in need into and across Gaza cannot and should not depend on a floating dock far from where needs are most acute," he added.
13:05 GMT — Cargo from aid ship delivered to floating port west of Gaza City
Dozens of trucks belonging to the United Nations World Food Program began unloading the cargo of the first humanitarian aid ship to arrive at the floating dock on the coast of Gaza.
Earlier on Friday, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced in a statement that "trucks carrying humanitarian assistance began moving ashore via a temporary pier in Gaza" at around 0600GMT.
"This is an ongoing, multinational effort to deliver additional aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza via a maritime corridor that is entirely humanitarian in nature, and will involve aid commodities donated by a number of countries and humanitarian organizations," it added.
13:00 GMT — Israel to top UN court: Gaza war 'tragic' but 'no genocide'
A top lawyer for Israel told the highest United Nations court that the war in Gaza was tragic but denied there was a case of genocide to answer.
"There is a tragic war going on but there is no genocide," Gilad Noam told the International Court of Justice.
12:02 GMT — Yemen's Houthis claim shooting down another US MQ-9 Predator drone as footage shows wreckage
Yemen's Houthis said they have shot down an American drone, hours after footage circulated online of what appeared to be the wreckage of an MQ-9 Predator drone. The US military did not immediately acknowledge the incident.
If confirmed, this would be yet another Predator downed by the Houthis as they press their campaign over the Israeli brutal war in Gaza.
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said that rebels shot down the Predator on Thursday with a surface-to-air missile, promising to later release footage of the attack. He described the drone as “carrying out hostile actions" in Yemen's Marib province, which remains held by allies of Yemen's exiled, internationally recognised government.
11:22GMT — Israeli fighter jets shell towns in southern Lebanon, resulting in casualties
Israeli fighter jets shelled towns in southern Lebanon, resulting in casualties, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.
According to the news agency, Israeli warplanes bombed the towns of Najjarieh and Aaddousiyyeh in Deir el Zahrani in the Sidon district.
The ambulances rushed to both towns, the media outlet reported, without providing information on the number of casualties and destruction caused by Israeli warplanes.
11:13GMT — Palestinian death toll surpasses 35,300 as Israel pounds Gaza
At least 35,303 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza since last October, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said.
A ministry statement added that 79,261 other people have also been injured in the onslaught.
“Israeli attacks killed 31 people and injured 56 others in the last 24 hours,” the statement said.
10:55 GMT — 13 countries sign joint letter warning Israel against major offensive in Rafah
More than a dozen countries have sent a joint letter to Israel, warning against a major ground offensive in Gaza's southernmost city Rafah, according to media reports.
The joint letter, signed by the foreign ministers of 13 countries, including major economies and democracies, was sent to the Israeli government on Wednesday, also demanding it allow unhindered humanitarian access to the besieged Palestinian enclave.
It was signed by G7 nations Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and the UK, as well as Australia, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, and Sweden, German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung reported.
10:45GMT — 2 Thai hostages die in Gaza
At least two citizens of Thailand held hostage in Gaza have died, the Southeast Asian nation’s prime minister said.
“I am deeply saddened to learn that the two Thai hostages in Gaza ... are now confirmed deceased,” Srettha Thavisin said.
He identified the victims as Sonthaya Oakkharasri and Sudthisak Rinthalak.
10:11GMT — Aid trucks begin moving ashore via Gaza temporary pier: US
Trucks carrying humanitarian assistance on Friday began moving ashore via a temporary pier in Gaza, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced.
"Today at approximately 9 a.m. (Gaza time), trucks carrying humanitarian assistance began moving ashore via a temporary pier in Gaza," CENTCOM said in a statement.
No US troops went ashore in Gaza, CENTCOM said.
07:36 GMT — Civilians killed in overnight Israeli strikes across Gaza
Israeli airstrikes targeted a school sheltering displaced people in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, resulting in four deaths and numerous injuries, according to the Palestinian state news agency Wafa.
This attack occurred following a series of overnight airstrikes and artillery bombardments by Israeli forces across residential areas in Gaza, from north to south.
Wafa also reported additional attacks, including artillery shelling in central Rafah that killed one person and injured two others, along with bombings in various neighborhoods such as al-Jnaina and near the Kuwaiti Hospital.
06:22 GMT — Hamas applauds hearings at ICJ on genocide case against Israel
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas released a statement praising the latest sessions at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the genocide case lodged by South Africa against Israel.
“We welcome the hearings at the International Court of Justice to consider the request submitted by South Africa for further measures regarding the ongoing aggression and genocide against our people,” it said.
The group viewed the hearings as a “significant step towards criminalising Israel, which has ignored previous court rulings.”
06:18 GMT — FIFA to take legal advice on Palestinian call for Israel suspension
FIFA will take independent legal advice on a call by the Palestinian FA to suspend its Israeli counterpart over events in Gaza, the world body's president said.
Gianni Infantino said FIFA would hold an extraordinary session of its ruling council before July 20 to review the legal analysis and decide how to proceed.
Read more here.
06:05 GMT — Israel will respond to genocide claims at UN top court
Israel will respond in the United Nations' top court to allegations from South Africa that it has escalated a campaign of "genocide" with its military offensive in Rafah.
Pretoria has urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order a stop to the Israeli assault on Rafah, which Israel says is key to eliminating Hamas.
Israel has previously described South Africa's case as "wholly unfounded" and "morally repugnant".
05:50 GMT — Israel's disregard for int'l law endangers global order: Türkiye’s UN envoy
Israel continues to ignore calls to cease attacks, end massacres and provide uninterrupted humanitarian aid to Gaza, despite UN Security Council resolutions, Türkiye’s permanent representative to the UN's office in Vienna said.
Delivering a speech before the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Commission at the UN Vienna Office, Levent Eler noted that Israel's disregard for international law endangers the global order.
He also noted Türkiye's announcement to intervene in South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
05:44 GMT — US, Israeli defence chiefs discuss humanitarian assistance in Gaza
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on the need to increase humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.
"Secretary Austin discussed U.S. progress on opening the maritime corridor to surge humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Minister Gallant and Secretary Austin reviewed the latest efforts to secure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas," Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.
The phone call came after United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced early Thursday that a floating pier was anchored to the beach in Gaza and trucks carrying humanitarian assistance are expected to begin moving ashore "in the coming days."
05:12 GMT — US House votes to force arms shipments to Israel, rebuking Biden
The Republican-led US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would force President Joe Biden to send weapons to Israel, seeking to rebuke the Democrat for delaying bomb shipments.
The Israel Security Assistance Support Act was approved 224 to 187, largely along party lines. Sixteen Democrats joined most Republicans in voting yes, and three Republicans joined most Democrats in opposing the measure.
The act is not expected to become law, but its passage underscored the deep US election-year divide over Israel policy as hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's extremist government seeks to prolong war in besieged Gaza.
05:00 GMT — US says Arab-proposed peacekeepers could hinder Israel's Gaza war aims
The United States has said that a UN peacekeeping force in the Palestinian territories proposed by the Arab League could compromise Israel's effort to defeat the resistance group Hamas but stopped short of opposing it.
At a summit in Bahrain, the 22-member grouping called for "international protection and peacekeeping forces of the United Nations in the occupied Palestinian territories" until a two-state solution is implemented.
Asked about a potential force, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said, "This is something that we know that Israel is focused on -- in working to defeat Hamas."
For our live updates from Thursday, May 16, click here.
