Wednesday, April 19, 2024
17:00 GMT – Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's three sons killed in Israeli airstrike
Three sons of the head of the political bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, along with several of his grandchildren, were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp in western Gaza City.
An Israeli airstrike targeted a car carrying members of the Haniyeh family in the Al-Shati refugee camp as they were giving good wishes to the camp's residents for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, eyewitnesses told Anadolu.
The eyewitnesses said the airstrike effectively destroyed the car, killing or injuring everyone inside.
12:06 GMT — Israel's military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 33,482 Palestinians and wounded 76,049 since October 7, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry has said. There have been 122 Palestinians killed and 56 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry statement added.
07:39 GMT – Israel's actions in Gaza a global threat: Spain PM Sanchez
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that Israel's "disproportionate response" in the Gaza war with Hamas risks "destabilising the Middle East, and as a consequence, the entire world".
Sanchez also insisted that the recognition of a Palestinian state, long resisted by Israel and its key allies, is "in Europe's geopolitical interests".
07:34 GMT –– Israel mulling conditional release of 900 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 40 hostages
Tel Aviv is considering a proposal by the US CIA director to release 900 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 40 Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas, with the condition that they be deported to another country and not be allowed to return to their homes in Gaza, local media reported.
“A proposal by CIA Director William Burns would see Hamas release 40 hostages, with Israel freeing 900 Palestinian security prisoners, 100 of whom are serving life sentences,” unnamed Israeli officials told the Walla news site on Tuesday.
“Israel was seeking to deport released prisoners overseas instead of allowing them into the West Bank or Gaza, and was demanding a veto on the specific prisoners released,” the officials told the website.
There have been no comments by the concerned parties on the website's reports regarding the Israeli conditions.
06:44 –– Massive fire erupts at Nasser Hospital in Gaza on Eid al-Fitr eve
A massive fire erupted in a warehouse at Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr.
The Civil Defense in the enclave said in a statement that its teams had rushed to the scene to extinguish the fire that broke out on Tuesday.
The statement noted that the fire was difficult to extinguish and control due to the teams' limited resources and the destruction of streets.
The Civil Defense did not specify the reasons for the fire.
06:30 –– After Mideast tour, Spain PM to address MPs on Gaza
Spain's Pedro Sanchez, whose criticism of the war on Gaza has raised tensions with Israel, on addresses parliament on the conflict in remarks expected to clarify plans to recognise a Palestinian state.
The prime minister regularly addresses parliament after returning from summits or diplomatic trips such as his three-day visit to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar on April 1-3.
The trip, which was focused on Gaza, was overshadowed by an Israeli drone strike on a humanitarian convoy of the World Central Kitchen (WCK), killing seven staffers of the NGO which was founded by Spanish-American celebrity chef Jose Andres.
The WCK staffers were in Gaza to deliver food when their convoy was hit by three missiles, with Sanchez denouncing the "brutal attack".
06:00 –– Israel due to respond to court petition on Gaza aid increase
Israel faces a deadline to present to the country's top court measures to increase aid to the besieged Gaza, where hunger is spreading after more than six months of war.
Five non-profit groups have taken the state to court, accusing authorities of restricting the entry of relief items and failing to respect their "obligations as an occupying power" to provide basic necessities to Gazans.
"Contrary to Israel's claims that there was no limit on entry of aid to Gaza, several policy choices are hindering" aid delivery, said Miriam Marmur, of rights group Gisha, one of the plaintiffs.
05:30 GMT –– UN chief says he is heartbroken that many Muslims in Gaza, Sudan not able to celebrate Eid
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that his heart is "broken" knowing that many Muslims in Gaza, Sudan and other places will not be able to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan because of conflict and hunger.
05:00 GMT — Biden says Netanyahu making 'mistake' on Gaza
US President Joe Biden has said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's besieged Gaza policy was a "mistake" and urged Israel to call for a ceasefire in an interview.
"I think what he's doing is a mistake. I don't agree with his approach," Biden told Univision, a US Spanish-language TV network, when asked about Netanyahu's handling of the war.
Biden reiterated that an Israeli drone attack last week that killed seven aid workers from a US-based charity in Gaza — and sparked a tense phone call with Netanyahu — was "outrageous."
04:21 GMT — Israeli air strike on home in central Gaza kills 11 people
Israel has killed at least 11 people, including seven women and children, after striking a home in central besieged Gaza, hospital officials say.
After the strike hit in the town of Zawaida, Associated Press footage showed one man carrying the limp body of a little girl and laying her with the bodies of other dead children on the floor at the main hospital in nearby Deir al Balah.
Hospital officials said the dead included five children and two women.
03:40 GMT — Senior US Democrat wants more answers before approving Israel F-15 sale
The top Democrat on the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee has said he would not approve a massive arms transfer to Israel until he has more information about how Israel would use the weapons.
"I'm waiting for assurances," Representative Gregory Meeks told CNN. "... I want to make sure that I know the types of weapons and what the weapons would be utilised for," he said.
"I don't want the kind of weapons that Israel has to be utilised to have more death. I want to make sure that humanitarian aid gets in. I don't want people starving to death, and I want Hamas to release the hostages."
03:00 GMT — US Senate majority leader, head of Israeli opposition discuss Gaza
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has met with Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid to discuss bilateral ties and Israel's ongoing war in besieged Gaza.
"We spoke together about strengthening the bipartisan US-Israel relationship, increasing humanitarian aid into Gaza, working for a deal for the release of the hostages, and the path to long-term peace and a two-state solution," Schumer said on X after meeting with Lapid at the US Capitol.
The meeting came weeks after Schumer called for new elections in Israel and harshly criticised the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
For our live updates from Tuesday, April 9, click here.
