February 22, 2024
16:15 GMT — The continuous outbreak of infectious diseases in Gaza may ultimately cause more deaths among Palestinians than the ongoing Israeli military offensive, a senior World Health Organization has warned.
"Infectious disease is a major concern for us in Gaza," Richard Brennan, regional emergency director at the UN health agency, told reporters in Cairo.
"WHO estimates that if we did have severe outbreaks of diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections and so on, there could potentially be more deaths due to disease outbreak than due to trauma."
So far, WHO has confirmed 200,000 cases of diarrheal diseases, an increase of more than 20 percent compared to last year, Brennan said.
16:59 GMT — WHO evacuates 50 patients from Gaza's beseiged Nasser hospital
The World Health Organization has evacuated more than 50 patients from the besieged Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, the main medical complex in southern Gaza, but at least 140 patients are still inside.
Palestinian officials said bodies of dead patients had begun to decompose amid power cuts and fighting in the hospital.
Hundreds of staff, patients and others inside the hospital have struggled under heavy fire and dwindling supplies, including food and water. The medical complex was raided by Israeli forces last week after troops besieged the facility for nearly a week beforehand.
16:29 GMT — Israel to expand mandate of its negotiating team in hostage swap talks
Israel will expand the authority given to its negotiating team during talks for a possible prisoner swap deal with Hamas, according to Israeli media.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk during a meeting in Tel Aviv that the government will expand the mandate given to its negotiators for a hostage deal, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported.
"At the same time, the Israeli army is preparing to continue its intense ground operations," he added.
16:19 GMT — US: Houthi missile hits UK-owned carrier causing minor injury, damage
Two Houthi missiles hit a British-owned cargo carrier in the Red Sea, causing damage and one minor injury, the US military has said.
Earlier in the day, the US shot down six Houthi drones in the Red Sea after they were identified as an imminent threat to US and allied warships, the US Central Command said in a social media post.
16:12 GMT — Casualties reported in Israeli strike on residential building in southern Lebanon
Israeli fighter jets struck a residential building in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon evening amid reports of casualties, according to eyewitnesses.
The strike targeted the last two floors of the building in the town of Kfar Rummane, witnesses said.
Several people were evacuated from the building by ambulances following the attack, they said.
14:17 GMT — Houthis introduce 'submarine weapons' in attacks on vessels
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have introduced "submarine weapons" in their attacks on seagoing vessels, which they say they are carrying out in solidarity with the Palestinians in Israeli-hit Gaza, their leader has said.
"Operations in the Red and Arabian Seas, Bab al Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden are continuing, escalating, and effective," Abdulmalik al Houthi added in a televised speech.
14:14 GMT — ‘There is no such thing as a Palestinian people’: Israeli minister
Israeli Minister of Settlement and National Missions Orit Strook has denied the existence of the Palestinian people.
"There is no such thing as a Palestinian people," Strook said in a video on her X account of her speech during a Knesset session.
"There will never be a Palestinian state in the land of Israel," she said. "Every cultured person in the world knows that this land is ours, for the Israeli people and only for us."
13:25 GMT — Israeli violations against Palestinians amount to 'genocide': Iraq
Iraq has said Israeli violations against Palestinians amount to “genocide” during a hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
"We are deeply concerned about the human suffering across Palestine, especially in Gaza, as a result of the barbaric actions of the Israeli occupation against civilians," Iraqi representative Hayder Shiya al Barrak, head of the legal department of the Foreign Ministry, said in an oral argument before the Hague-based court.
"Israeli violations against Palestinians are tantamount to genocide,” he added.
12:59 GMT — An Israeli attack on Rafah would worsen an already 'catastrophic' situation, ministers say
Several European foreign ministers have expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the suffering of the hostages and "the Israeli government's plans for a possible ground operation in Rafah."
In a joint statement, they said an Israeli military action in Rafah "would worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation and prevent the urgently needed provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance."
"This requires an immediate humanitarian pause that would lead to a sustainable ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian assistance," said the ministers in the statement, released by Sweden.
The foreign ministers who co-signed the document included those of 26 European countries.
12:37 GMT — Israel engaged in 'process of annexing' Palestinian territory, Ireland tells UN court
Israel is and has been engaged in a "process of annexation" of the occupied Palestinian territories, Ireland's delegation to the International Court of Justice has said.
"The evident permanence of the settlements can only be explained, in Ireland's assessment, by Israel's intention of annexing the land upon which they are built.
"In our view, the development and expansion of settlements clearly demonstrate that Israel is and has been engaged in a process of annexation of that land for decades," Ireland's representative Attorney General Rossa Fanning said during the public hearings at The Hague.
12:29 GMT — Israeli loot of heritage exceeds 'Mongol ravages' — Palestine
Israel is waging a war on Palestinian narratives through the destruction and looting of museums and archaeological artefacts in Gaza, the Palestinian Minister of Culture Atif Abu Seif has said.
Abu Seif pointed out in an interview with Anadolu at his office in the city of Al Bireh in the occupied West Bank that "the destruction and looting of cultural heritage in Gaza is similar to what happened in the Palestinian Nakba in 1948, and even more horrific than what the Mongols did in Baghdad, in an attempt to detach Palestinians from their history and land."
12:37 GMT — Israel engaged in 'process of annexing' Palestinian territory, Ireland tells UN court
Israel is and has been engaged in a "process of annexation" of the occupied Palestinian territories, Ireland's delegation to the International Court of Justice has said.
"The evident permanence of the settlements can only be explained, in Ireland's assessment, by Israel's intention of annexing the land upon which they are built.
"In our view, the development and expansion of settlements clearly demonstrate that Israel is and has been engaged in a process of annexation of that land for decades," Ireland's representative Attorney General Rossa Fanning said during the public hearings at The Hague.
12:23 GMT — Houthi agency says Israeli, US, British ships banned from Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea
Ships that are wholly or partially owned by Israeli individuals or entities and Israel-flagged vessels are banned from the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, said statements from an agency controlled by Yemen's Houthi group seen by Reuters.
The statements, sent to shipping insurers and firms from the Houthi's Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, also said ships owned by US or British individuals or entities, or sailing under their flags, are also banned.
11:41 GMT — Israeli minister says 'proud' of Gaza destruction
Israeli Minister of Social Equality May Golan has said she is "proud" of the destruction caused by the Israeli army in Gaza.
Speaking during a session held by the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) Wednesday evening, Golan threatened Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, with decapitation or arrest.
"We are not ashamed by saying that we want to see the soldiers of the IDF (Israeli army) catching Sinwar and his terrorists by their eyes and dragging them across the Gaza Strip on their way to the dungeons of the Prison Authority," she said in a widely circulated video of her speech.
"I am personally proud of the ruins of Gaza, and that every baby, even 80 years from now, will tell their grandchildren what the Jews did," she said. "No dove and no olive branch, only a sword to cut off Sinwar's head, that's what he will receive from us.”
11:00 GMT - Palestinian death toll hits 29,410 in Israel's Gaza war
The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza reported that at least 29,410 people have been killed in the besieged territory during the Israel war.
A ministry statement noted that a total of 97 people killed in the past 24 hours, while another 69,465 have been wounded since the war began on October 7.
10:26 GMT — Missile attack causes fire aboard vessel off Yemen: UK maritime agency
A missile attack targeted a vessel transiting the Gulf of Aden, causing a fire on board, a British maritime security agency said Thursday.
"A vessel was attacked by two missiles, resulting in a fire onboard," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, adding that "coalition forces are responding".
10:00 GMT — Israel in decline in tourism due to its Gaza war: Tourism body
Many airlines have not flown to Israel since the attacks on Gaza started in October, and Israel has become an isolated country like North Korea, said Yossi Fattal, the CEO of Israel's Incoming Tour Operators Association.
Fattal said 250 airlines operated in Israel before the attacks on Gaza, but the number dropped to 45 afterward, according to the Israeli daily Maariv.
“Israel is completely isolated from the world, as currently, 80% of the flights in Israel are carried out by planes belonging to the Israeli-owned El Al Airlines,” he added.
09:21 GMT — Scale of tragedy in Gaza 'deliberately' downplayed: Lavrov
The scale of tragedy in Gaza has been "deliberately downplayed," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
"The scale of the tragedy in Gaza has been deliberately belittled, where in less than five months more civilians, including children and women, were killed than on both sides in Donbas in the 10 years since the unconstitutional c oup in Kiev," Lavrov said, speaking at a G20 ministerial meeting in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro.
The minister noted that G20 will hardly find solutions to the accumulated challenges and threats to global security.
08:51 GMT — Israel intercepts an apparent Houthi attack near the port city of Eilat
Israel has intercepted what appeared to be an attack launched by Yemen's Houthis near the port city of Eilat.
Sirens sounded over Eilat, followed by videos posted online of what appeared to be an interception in the sky overhead.
The Israeli military later said the interception was carried out by its Arrow missile defence system.
08:19 GMT — UKMTO reports of incident 70 NM southeast of Yemen's Aden
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it received a report of an incident 70 nautical miles southeast of the Yemeni port city of Aden.
07:36 GMT — Attack in West Bank leaves one dead, wounding eight others
Israeli police say three gunmen opened fire on the road near a checkpoint in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, killing one Israeli and wounding at least eight, including several critically.
Police said the attackers took advantage of the slow morning traffic around 7:30 a.m. Thursday on the main highway east of Jerusalem and opened fire with automatic weapons at cars waiting near a checkpoint.
Security forces at the site killed two of the gunmen. A third was found and detained during searches of the area afterward.
07:00 GMT — Türkiye calls for Gaza ceasefire, two-state solution at G20 meeting
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called on the international community to take a more active role towards an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and a two-state solution to the conflict during talks at the G20 meeting in Brazil, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
Türkiye, which has harshly criticised Israel for its attacks on Gaza and backed measures to have it tried for genocide at the World Court, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire.
"Steps that can be taken to achieve a full ceasefire as soon as possible were discussed," during talks between Fidan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the source said, adding Fidan also discussed "concrete steps" to stop the fighting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
06:12 GMT — LA protesters welcome Biden with 'genocide supporter' chants
A group of pro-Palestine demonstrators has welcomed US President Joe Biden to America's second most populous city with chants ridiculing his hitherto unwavering support for Israel's ongoing carnage in besieged Gaza.
"Genocide supporter!" protesters yelled as Biden's motorcade pulled up to the Culver City Julian Dixon Library in Los Angeles, where he delivered remarks touting his efforts to reduce US student debt.
Protesters sought to interrupt the president as he concluded his remarks, but their words were not immediately discernible amid applause from the crowd. They again shouted at Biden as his motorcade left the Julian Dixon Library.
05:47 GMT — Israeli troops invading Gaza are reportedly stealing own grenades, missiles
Israeli soldiers are stealing weapons during their invasion of besieged Gaza, and there has been an uptick in the number of troops engaging in the theft of arms, including high-explosive hand grenades and anti-tank missiles, according to Israeli broadcaster KAN, raising fears some of the stolen weapons may have ended up in the hands of illegal Jewish settlers.
The KAN channel, operated by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, said there has been "a troubling increase in the phenomenon of weapons and ammunition theft in the Israeli army under the guise of war amid fears that they may also reach armed groups in the West Bank."
KAN quoted Roi Sharon, the military correspondent for the news channel, as saying, "there is actually concern in the Israeli army about soldiers or even civilians stealing high-explosive hand grenades and anti-tank missiles from inside the Gaza Strip or areas where forces are stationed outside it and transferring them to criminal organisations, and from there to terrorist organisations."
