Saturday, June 1, 2024
10:45 GMT — The Israeli army has detained at least 20 Palestinians from areas across the occupied West Bank.
According to a joint statement by the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society, the new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli forces since October 7, 2023, to 8,975.
The arrests mainly took place in the cities of Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Bethlehem, Hebron, and Jerusalem.
During the Israeli arrest campaigns, the Israeli forces beat and abused Palestinians and damaged their homes and properties, the statement also said.
More updates 👇
12:07 GMT — French president calls for end to Gaza war, welcomes US proposal on ceasefire
France’s President Emmanuel Macron has called for an end to the Gaza war and expressed his support for US President Joe Biden’s ceasefire proposal “for durable peace.”
“The war in Gaza must end. We support the US proposal for a durable peace. Just as we are working with our partners in the region on peace and security for all,” said Macron on X in Arabic, Hebrew, and English.
“The release of the hostages, a permanent ceasefire to work towards peace and progress on the two-state solution,” he added.
12:06 GMT — Israel opposition leader vows to support PM on hostage release deal
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has vowed to support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he goes ahead with a truce and hostage release deal that his far-right coalition partners have previously opposed.
Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have previously threatened to bring down his government if the war ends without the destruction of Hamas.
Lapid said in a post on social media platform X: "I remind Netanyahu that he has our safety net for a hostage deal if Ben Gvir and Smotrich leave the government".
"The Israeli government cannot ignore President Biden's important speech," Lapid said.
"There is a deal on the table and it should take it."
12:04 GMT — Netanyahu says no Gaza ceasefire until Hamas destroyed
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there could be no permanent ceasefire in Gaza until Hamas was destroyed, casting doubt on a key part of a truce proposal that US President Joe Biden said Israel itself had made.
Biden said on Friday that Israel had proposed a deal involving an initial six-week truce with a partial Israeli military withdrawal and the release of some hostages while the two sides negotiated "a permanent end to hostilities".
However, Netanyahu's statement said any notion that Israel would agree on a permanent ceasefire before "the destruction of Hamas' military and governing capabilities" was "a non-starter".
11:31 GMT — Egyptian, US and Israeli officials to discuss reopening Rafah crossing, Egypt's Al Qahera says
A meeting between US, Egyptian and Israeli officials is scheduled to take place on Sunday in Cairo to discuss the reopening of Gaza's Rafah crossing, a high-level source has told Egypt's state-linked Al Qahera TV.
Egypt is insisting that Israel withdraw its forces from the crossing, Al Qahera reported. Israel seized the crossing on the Gaza side in May during its offensive in the city of Rafah along the enclave's southern edge.
11:26 GMT — Hezbollah downs Israeli drone over Lebanon with missile
An Israeli pilotless plane was shot down over Lebanese territory by a surface-to-air missile, Israel's military has said, and Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for the interception.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it downed a Hermes 900 drone in solidarity with Gaza, where Israel has been waging an almost eight-month-old war.
Video circulated online appeared to show a plane of a size corresponding to that of a Hermes, aflame and gyring earthward.
10:03 GMT — Palestinian death toll nears 36,400: health ministry
At least 36,379 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 82,407 other people have also been injured in the onslaught. "Israeli attacks killed 95 people and injured 350 others in the last 24 hours," the statement said.
"Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them," it added.
08:45 GMT –– Palestinian child starves to death in Gaza as Israel disregards global outcry
A Palestinian child starved to death in central Gaza due to Israel's ongoing blockade of the Rafah crossing, which has prevented humanitarian aid from entering for 26 consecutive days.
"A 13-year-old Palestinian child has died due to starvation in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip amidst the closure of the Rafah border crossing," the Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported.
So far, malnutrition and dehydration have claimed the lives of 37 people in Gaza due to strict restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the besieged enclave, it added.
08:38 GMT –– Israel pounds Gaza after Biden outlines ceasefire plan
Israeli forces hammered Rafah in southern Gaza with tanks and artillery, hours after US President Joe Biden unveiled a new roadmap towards a full ceasefire.
Shortly after Biden's announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted his country would still pursue the war until it had reached all its aims.
Palestinian group Hamas, meanwhile, said it "considers positively" the plan laid out by Biden.
08:31 GMT –– Saudi foreign minister receives call from US Secretary State to discuss Gaza ceasefire
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud received a call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during which they discussed the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal, the Saudi state news agency said.
08:20 GMT –– Indonesia ready to send peacekeepers, medical staff to Gaza
Indonesia is ready to send "significant peacekeeping forces" as well as medical personnel to Gaza if a new ceasefire proposal is accepted, President-elect Prabowo Subianto said.
Prabowo, who will succeed President Joko Widodo in October after winning the February elections, welcomed the plan, describing it as "an important step" to ending the war.
If requested by the United Nations, Indonesia was prepared to send "significant peacekeeping forces to maintain and monitor this prospective ceasefire," Prabowo told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
"We are also prepared to immediately send medical personnel to operate field hospitals in Gaza with the consent and agreement of all sides."
06:30 GMT — Hamas reacts to US truce plan
Palestinian resistance group Hamas has said it had a positive view of the contents of a proposal announced by US President Joe Biden for a permanent ceasefire in besieged Gaza.
Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire plan from Israel to Hamas to end the war in Gaza where Israel has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, wounded over 82,000 and caused a colossal humanitarian crisis.
"Hamas confirms its readiness to deal positively and in a constructive manner with any proposal that is based on the permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal [of Israeli forces] from the Gaza Strip, the reconstruction [of Gaza], and the return of the displaced to their places, along with the fulfillment of a genuine prisoner swap deal if the occupation clearly announces commitment to such deal," the group said in a statement.
05:43 GMT –– Canada says it backs Biden's Gaza ceasefire proposal
Canada voiced support for a roadmap for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza announced by US President Joe Biden.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated that Canada has been calling for an immediate ceasefire, an urgent increase in unhindered humanitarian assistance and the release of all hostages.
"The proposal put forward by @POTUS is an opportunity to end the suffering and return to a path to peace. All parties must seize it," the Canadian prime minister wrote X, referring to the President of The United States.
05:38 GMT –– Blinken discusses Gaza ceasefire proposal with Turkish, Jordan, Saudi counterparts
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed President Joe Biden's Gaza ceasefire proposal with counterparts from Türkiye, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in separate telephone calls.
The State Department said in a statement that Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke about the proposal to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, secure the release of all hostages and end the war.
"They discussed the deal’s extensive benefits for the people of Gaza, including a massive influx of humanitarian assistance, the return of Palestinians to North Gaza, and the beginning of the reconstruction of Gaza," said the statement.
It said Blinken underscored that the proposal is in the interests of Israelis and Palestinians.
05:03 GMT –– Pro-Palestinian protesters occupy parts of Brooklyn Museum
Pro-Palestinian protesters took over parts of the Brooklyn Museum, hanging a banner above the main entrance, occupying much of the lobby and scuffling with police, witnesses said.
The art museum in the New York City borough of Brooklyn said it closed an hour early because of the disruption, including skirmishes between police and protesters that took place inside and outside the building.
Some arrests were made but a New York Police Department spokesperson said there would be no official count until after the protest concluded.
04:26 GMT — WHO assembly passes draft resolution asking to expand Palestine's rights
The World Health Organization's governing forum has adopted a draft resolution asking to expand Palestine's rights and privileges in the agency in line with its "participation in the United Nations."
The World Health Assembly adopted the draft resolution on "aligning participation of Palestine in the World Health Organization with its participation in the United Nations," after a show of hands with 101 in favour, five against, and 21 abstaining.
The draft measure was proposed by Algeria, Brunei Darussalam, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Somalia, Tunisia, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.
It asks to expand the rights and privileges of Palestine as an observer state "without prejudice to its existing rights and privileges."
04:00 GMT — US Congress invites Israel's Netanyahu to address lawmakers
Democratic and Republican leaders in the US Congress have invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver an address to lawmakers, House Speaker Mike Johnson said.
The four party leaders in the House and Senate asked Netanyahu to speak before a joint meeting of Congress at a date yet to be arranged, although US media reported that it is expected to take place just before or soon after the August recess.
A visit from Netanyahu could be an awkward affair for Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who called in March for Israel to hold new elections in a rare example of strident criticism from a senior American official of Israel's handling of the war in Gaza.
