Wednesday, July 17, 2024
14:46 GMT — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reiterated his demand for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave is "a moral stain on us all."
Guterres said in a statement read by his chief of staff, Courtenay Rattray, that there is a need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and unconditional release of all hostages. He noted that talks with Egypt, Qatar and the US to reach a deal to release the hostages and get a ceasefire are continuing with some reported progress.
"The parties must reach such a deal now. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is a moral stain on us all," said the UN chief. He warned that the humanitarian support system in Gaza is close to collapse and there is a complete breakdown of public order.
13:49 GMT — Health Ministry in Gaza issues desperate appeal to save health care system
Health Ministry in Gaza has issued a desperate appeal for providing electric generators to help salvage the ailing health care system in the besieged enclave.
In a statement, the ministry emphasised the critical need to purchase essential generators to ensure hospitals can continue functioning.
“For approximately nine months, the health care facilities have heavily relied on diesel-powered generators, which operate around the clock,” the statement said.
“However, many of these generators have suffered significant technical failures, making repairs difficult. Some have even been directly targeted and destroyed by the aggressive Israeli forces,” it added.
13:28 GMT — Israeli delegation arrives in Cairo to continue ceasefire talks
An Israeli delegation arrived in Egypt to continue ceasefire talks as Israel and Hamas consider the latest proposal, three Egyptian airport officials have said.
The Israeli delegation includes six officials, the airport officials said without disclosing identities.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss the arrival with the media.
13:21 GMT — Israeli strike kills 4, including 3 children, in southern Gaza
Four people, including three children, were killed and 10 others injured in an Israeli air strike in southern Gaza, the Health Ministry has said.
The attack targeted a house in Abasan al Kabira area in Khan Younis, the ministry said in a statement.
12:19 GMT — Illegal Israeli settlers restrict Palestinian access to water
In the occupied West Bank city of Jericho, illegal Israeli settlers have increasingly obstructed around 120 Palestinian families from accessing the El-Auja water source, impacting their ability to water livestock and maintain their agricultural practices.
Approximately three months ago, one of the illegal Israeli settlers who usurped Palestinian land established an "illegal settlement" near the Al-Auja water source.
Palestinians in the area reported that an Israeli settler who owns a flock of sheep has taken over the region and is obstructing access to irrigation water to displace the local Palestinians.
12:11 GMT — Netanyahu puts difficulties to Israel's prisoner swap deal with Hamas: Defence minister
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of putting difficulties in efforts aimed at reaching a prisoner swap agreement with Hamas.
"If a deal is not signed in the next two weeks, the fate of the hostages is sealed," Gallant said during a close meeting cited by Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
He said conditions for a deal with Hamas have matured, but Netanyahu is putting difficulties in order not to lose his coalition members Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
12:01 GMT — Palestine condemns Israel's land seizure in occupied West Bank
Palestine has condemned Israel's confiscation of 441 dunams (44.1 hectares) of Palestinian land west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
"We condemn the rapidly accelerating racist colonial policies of Israel to seize thousands of dunams of Palestinian land," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"The Israeli government continues its blatant defiance of relevant UN resolutions, aiming to bring about profound changes to the historical, political, legal, and demographic reality of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and undermining the possibility of implementing the two-state solution."
The ministry called for imposing "deterrent international sanctions" on Israel and forcing Tel Aviv "to halt settlement activities, dismantle settler militias, and disarm them."
11:14 GMT — Death toll in Gaza from Israel's brutal war nears 38,800
The Israeli army killed 81 more Palestinians in attacks in Gaza, taking the overall death toll to 38,794 since last Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the enclave has said.
A ministry statement added that some 89,364 other people have been injured in the assault.
"Israeli forces killed 81 people and injured 198 others in two ‘massacres’ against families in the last 24 hours," the ministry said. "Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them," it added.
10:52 GMT — Hezbollah chief denies 'finalised agreement' for Lebanon-Israel border
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan has denied any "finalised agreement" regarding the situation along Lebanon's border with Israel.
"Our front will not stop as long as the (Israeli) aggression against Gaza continues and the threat of war will not frighten us," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
He said his group may soon target towns in Israel that have not so far been subjected to its rocket attacks if the Israeli army "continues to strike civilians."
"If the (Israeli) aggression against Gaza stops, the party that will negotiate on behalf of Lebanon is the Lebanese state," Nasrallah said.
05:30 GMT — Israel kills 48 Palestinians in Gaza in less than an hour
Three Israeli air strikes in less than one hour killed 48 Palestinians in Gaza, according to civil defence agency.
Israel said it carried out two of the strikes that the civil defence agency said also left dozens more wounded.
According to an updated toll, 25 people died at the UN-run Al Razi School in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, an agency director, Mohammed al Mughair told AFP.
04:40 GMT — Lebanon media says 3 children among 5 dead in Israeli strikes
Lebanese official media said separate Israeli strikes in south Lebanon killed five people including three Syrian children, with Hezbollah announcing rocket fire at Israel in retaliation.
"Three Syrian children" were killed "in an enemy raid that targeted farmland in the village of Umm Toot", the National News Agency (NNA) said.
It also said an "enemy" drone strike had targeted a motorcycle on the Kfar Tebnit road elsewhere in south Lebanon, killing two Syrians.
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has demanded that hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologise for recent comments he made in which he criticised the military for not putting enough pressure on resistance group Hamas to achieve progress in hostage talks, local reports said.
Israel's Channel 12 said that during a press conference on Saturday, Netanyahu said that "for months, there was no progress because the military pressure was not strong enough, and I thought that both for the sake of the hostage deal and for the sake of the victory over Hamas, we must enter Rafah."
During a meeting on Sunday that was also attended by the heads of Israel's two main spy agencies, the Shin Bet and Mossad, Halevi asked Netanyahu to apologise, Channel 12 reported.
3:38 GMT — Egypt, France discuss efforts to prevent escalation in Middle East
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have agreed that international efforts must intensify to prevent the Middle East region from entering a new cycle of conflict.
In a phone call, the two leaders expressed their commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation across various domains and exchanged views on regional and international issues, with a particular focus on "developments in the Gaza Strip," the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement.
President Sisi highlighted "Egypt’s ongoing mediation efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and facilitate the exchange of hostages between Israel and Hamas."
02:40 GMT — Israel kills several Palestinians in air strikes in Gaza
Israel has killed several Palestinians and wounded others in air strikes on different parts of besieged Gaza, which destroyed three homes.
Artillery fire also targeted areas in central and northern governorates.
Israeli warplanes targeted a house in the Al-Manara neighbourhood of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, with no immediate reports of injuries, according to Anadolu Agency.
Earlier, an Israeli strike hit a residential apartment in the Tel al Hawa neighbourhood southwest of Gaza City.
02:00 GMT — Turkish foreign minister, Hamas chief discuss Gaza humanitarian crisis, ceasefire talks
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has held a phone call with Hamas' political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in besieged Gaza and the latest in ceasefire negotiations, according to diplomatic sources.
During the conversation, Fidan addressed the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and concerning developments resulting from increasing hunger and diseases in northern Gaza.
Additionally, Fidan and Haniyeh discussed the latest developments in ceasefire negotiations with Israel.
For our live updates from Tuesday, July 16, 2024, click here.
