Friday, July 12, 2024
2227 GMT — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on all NATO allies to increase pressure on hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure a ceasefire and uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza.
Erdogan accused Netanyahu of endangering Israelis and the entire region with his expansionist and reckless policies.
He also added that any cooperation between NATO bloc and Israel will not be approved by Ankara until comprehensive peace is established in Palestine.
"Until comprehensive, sustainable peace is established in Palestine, attempts at cooperation with Israel within NATO will not be approved by Turkey," Erdogan said at a news conference at the NATO summit.
More updates
2300 GMT — Biden says Israel's war on Gaza should end now
President Joe Biden has said that the Israel's war on Gaza must end now, telling reporters his Gaza ceasefire framework had been agreed on by both Israel and Hamas but added that there were still gaps to close.
"That framework is now agreed on by both Israel and Hamas. So I sent my team to the region to hammer out the details," Biden said in a news conference.
"These are difficult, complex issues. There are still gaps to close. We're making progress. The trend is positive. I'm determined to get this deal done and bring an end to this war, which should end now," Biden added.
2214 GMT — Israel kills, wounds several Palestinians in southern Gaza
Several Palestinians were killed and wounded as an Israeli warplane targeted a gathering in the city of Khan Younis, southern besieged Gaza, Anadolu Agency has reported.
Witnesses said the fighter jet bombed a crowd of citizens near the Abu Hamid roundabout, resulting in an unspecified number of casualties.
The dead and wounded were transported to Nasser Hospital in the city.
2141 GMT — Israel's negotiating team heads to Egypt for Gaza ceasefire talks
A high-level Israeli delegation led by security agency Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar travelled to Cairo for a fresh round of negotiations with Hamas on a prisoner exchange and ceasefire deal, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
The delegation's departure coincided with a meeting of Israel's Security Cabinet at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv to discuss the ongoing negotiations.
Simultaneously, another Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea returned from Qatar after participating in a four-way meeting.
Sources said the meeting included CIA director William Burns, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
A statement by the Israeli prime minister's office said the meeting discussed clauses of the potential deal on returning the hostages and ways to implement an outline while ensuring all the "objectives of the war."
Hamas, meanwhile, said it had not been informed of any new development regarding the negotiations and accused Israel of "buying time to thwart" the talks.
2000 GMT — Israel bombards northern Gaza
Bombardment shook Gaza's biggest city, an AFP news agency correspondent has said, even after Israel's military declared an end to its aggression in an eastern district.
Witnesses said tanks and troops had moved on to other parts of Gaza City. An AFP correspondent reported air strikes on the Sabra neighbourhood while fighters engaged in heavy clashes with Israeli forces in Tel al-Hawa.
Explosions and orange flashes shook the darkened city before daylight brought automatic weapons fire, AFPTV images showed.
Hamas reported 45 air strikes in the Gaza City area, as well as in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah.
Our live updates from Thursday, July 11, 2024, click here.
