Wednesday, May 1, 2024
14:37 GMT –– Gaza is filled with more debris and rubble than Ukraine, the UN has said, with the mammoth task of clearing it made all the more costly and dangerous by the sheer amount of asbestos and unexploded ordnance.
Six months after Israel's Gaza war, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) estimated the amount of debris in the Palestinian enclave at 37 million tonnes in mid-April, or 300 kilogrammes per square metre.
"Gaza has more rubble than Ukraine, and to put that in perspective, the Ukrainian front line is 600 miles (nearly 1,000 kilometres) long, and Gaza is 25 miles (40 km) long," said Mungo Birch, head of the UNMAS programme in the Palestinian territories.
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14:39 GMT –– Israel allows Gaza aid trucks in via Erez post-US push
Israel reopened the sole crossing on the northern edge of Gaza, allowing aid trucks to pass through the Erez checkpoint following US demands to do more to address the growing humanitarian crisis.
Reopening the Erez crossing has been one of the main pleas of international aid agencies for months, to alleviate hunger which is believed to be most severe among the hundreds of thousands of civilians in the enclave's northern sector.
The Erez crossing, primarily used for foot traffic, had remained closed since it was destroyed during the Hamas attacks on October 7.
14:09 GMT –– Israel's Lapid urges swift military conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “immediately” begin conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews.
''Mandatory service for everyone, those who do not enlist will not receive a penny from the state,'' he added.
His comments came in response to a message sent by the government to Israel’s Supreme Court asking for more time to gradually conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews.
13:32 GMT –– Over 1000 workers protest UK arms sales to Israel on May Day
More than a thousand workers across the UK have staged demonstrations on May Day to call for an end to arms sales to Israel.
Workers blockaded the UK Trade Department in London and BAE Systems’ arms factories in Scotland, Wales and Lancashire.
13:08 GMT –– Netanyahu lacks 'excuse' to avoid Hamas deal: Israeli opposition
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “no political excuse” to shun a hostage deal with Hamas, opposition leader Yair Lapid told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Lapid met with the top US diplomat, who arrived in Israel on the last leg of a regional tour to push for a ceasefire deal between Tel Aviv and Hamas to end the war in Gaza.
“Netanyahu doesn’t have any political excuse not to move to a deal for the release of the hostages,” Lapid told Blinken as posted on his X account.
“He (Netanyahu) has a majority in the nation, he has a majority in the Knesset, and if needed, I’ll make sure he has a majority in the government.”
12:30 GMT –– Hamas says Gaza ceasefire must be permanent
Hamas will respond to an Israeli truce proposal for Gaza "within a very short period", an official with the Palestinian group said, stressing that any ceasefire needs to be permanent.
Suhail al-Hindi, a senior Hamas official, told AFP news agency the group would "deliver its response clearly within a very short period", although he would not say precisely when that was expected to happen.
12:01 GMT –– Far-right Israeli minister voices strong objection to deal with Hamas
An Israeli minister opposed a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner swap deal with Hamas that is currently being negotiated.
Speaking to Army Radio, Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock said approval of the deal would be tantamount to betrayal of Israeli soldiers and the country's war aims.
There are “soldiers who left everything behind and went out to fight for goals that the government defined, and we throw it in the trash to save 22 people or 33 or I don’t know how many,” the far-right minister said.
“Such a government has no right to exist.”
11:58 GMT –– Blinken tells Netanyahu US still opposes Rafah operation: US official
Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated US opposition to an Israeli assault on the crowded Gaza city of Rafah in talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to press ahead, a US official said.
Blinken "reiterated the United States' clear position on Rafah," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, two days after Blinken again voiced opposition to an assault over concerns for the safety of civilians sheltering in the southern Gaza city.
Blinken, on his seventh trip to the Middle East since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, met Netanyahu for two and a half hours at his Jerusalem office, first alone and then with aides.
11:55 GMT –– Israeli settlers attack aid convoys bound for Gaza: Jordan
Jordan's foreign ministry said some Israeli settlers attacked two of its humanitarian aid convoys as they made their way toward Gaza.
Both convoys continued on their way and managed to reach their destination in Israeli-besieged Gaza, the ministry said in a statement.
"Two Jordanian aid convoys carrying food, flour and other humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip were attacked by settlers," the ministry said, without giving details of the incident.
11:28 GMT –– Still work to be done to secure Gaza truce: France
France's foreign minister said that there was still work to be done to secure a truce between Israel and Gaza after he was updated by Egyptian officials in Cairo on the status of negotiations.
"We came to coordinate our efforts for a truce. The messages given by France and its Arab partners in the region is that Israel pulls back on this offensive in Rafah," Stephane Sejourne said after meeting his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri.
09:31 GMT –– Israel arrests 20 more Palestinians in West Bank raids
The Israeli army detained 20 more Palestinians in military raids across the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.
The arrests took place in the cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Tubas and Nablus, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.
The new arrests brought the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since last October to 8,535, according to Palestinian figures.
08:47 GMT –– Blinken's truce comments aim to pressure Hamas: official
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is blaming the delay of a Gaza ceasefire agreement on the Palestinian group unfairly.
Blinken, meeting Israeli leaders to discuss how to get more aid into Gaza, has repeatedly urged Hamas to accept an offer from Israel that will release hostages and achieve a ceasefire, describing it as "extraordinarily generous".
"Blinken's comments contradict reality. It is not strange for Blinken, who is known as the foreign minister of Israel, not America, to make such a statement," Abu Zuhri told Reuters news agency.
"Even the Israeli negotiating team admitted Netanyahu was the one who was hindering reaching an agreement," he added.
08:22 GMT — Talks underway to resolve conflicting points between Israel, Hamas: Egyptian source
Talks are underway with all relevant parties to resolve conflicting points between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, an informed Egyptian source has said.
Egypt's state-affiliated news channel Al-Qahera quoted an unnamed senior source as saying that negotiations continue to reach a deal "amid a positive atmosphere."
The source did not, however, specify the points of differences between the warring parties.
08:02 GMT — Gaza death toll from Israeli attacks mounts to 34,568 — ministry
The health ministry in Gaza has said that at least 34,568 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory during almost seven months of Israel's war on Gaza.
The tally includes at least 33 deaths in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 77,765 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war broke out.
06:41 GMT — Hezbollah claims attacking Israeli soldiers near Lebanese border
The Lebanese Hezbollah group has claimed it targeted the Israeli soldiers near the border area.
In a statement, the group said its fighters attacked a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the army's Branit barracks, with missiles and artillery shelling.
The Israeli army is yet to comment on Hezbollah's announcement.
05:51 GMT — Blinken says US determined to get Israel-Hamas deal 'now'
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has renewed calls for Hamas to accept a ceasefire and hostages' release deal as he started talks with Israel's leadership.
"Even in these very difficult times we are determined to get a ceasefire that brings the hostages home and to get it now," Blinken said as he met Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
02:47 GMT — US says destroyed Houthi uncrewed surface vessel
The US has said it destroyed a target in an area of Yemen controlled by the Houthi group, the United States Central Command [CENTCOM] said.
"At approximately 1:52 pm [Sanaa time] on April 30, US Central Command [USCENTCOM] forces successfully engaged and destroyed an uncrewed surface vessel [USV] in Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen, " CENTCOM said on X, formerly Twitter.
CENTCOM said it determined that the USV presented an "imminent threat" to US and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region.
"These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels," it added.
00:50 GMT — Israeli army admits 2 soldiers killed by 'friendly fire'
The Israeli army has acknowledged that two soldiers killed over the weekend in central Gaza died as a result of a tank shell hitting a building they were stationed in due to a case of mistaken identity.
The Israeli army's "preliminary investigation into the deaths of two reservists in Gaza on Sunday found that they were killed by an IDF [army] tank shell that was fired at the building in which they were staying, due to a mistaken identification," Israel's Haaretz daily reported.
''The IDF said that the investigation showed that during an encounter with terrorists that led to the exchange of gunfire, a tank crew mistakenly identified the two soldiers as enemies and fired at them, despite the fact that they were outside the defined boundaries given to the tank crew," it added.
00:49 GMT — Palestine seeks UNGA to reconsider bid for full membership
Palestinians are seeking approval of a resolution in the General Assembly asking the UN Security Council to reconsider "favourably" Palestine's full membership in the United Nations, which the United States recently vetoed.
A draft Palestinian resolution obtained by The Associated Press would also decide to give Palestine "the rights and privileges" to ensure its full and effective participation in the work of the General Assembly and other UN organs "on equal footing with member nations."
05:13 GMT — Israel kills several Palestinians in new Gaza strikes
Israel has killed five people, including children, after striking different parts in besieged Gaza, WAFA news agency reported.
The agency said Israeli strikes killed two children, a little boy and his sister, and wounded others in the Shaboura camp in Rafah.
Medical sources also said three Palestinians, including a child, were killed after Israel bombarded an apartment in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
04:47 GMT — US says destroyed Houthi uncrewed surface vessel
The US has said it destroyed a target in an area of Yemen controlled by the Houthi group, the United States Central Command [CENTCOM] said.
"At approximately 1:52 pm [Sanaa time] on April 30, US Central Command [USCENTCOM] forces successfully engaged and destroyed an uncrewed surface vessel [USV] in Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen, " CENTCOM said on X, formerly Twitter.
CENTCOM said it determined that the USV presented an "imminent threat" to US and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region.
03:50 GMT — Israeli army admits 2 soldiers killed by 'friendly fire'
The Israeli army has acknowledged that two soldiers killed over the weekend in central Gaza died as a result of a tank shell hitting a building they were stationed in due to a case of mistaken identity.
The Israeli army's "preliminary investigation into the deaths of two reservists in Gaza on Sunday found that they were killed by an IDF [army] tank shell that was fired at the building in which they were staying, due to a mistaken identification," Israel's Haaretz daily reported.
''The IDF said that the investigation showed that during an encounter with terrorists that led to the exchange of gunfire, a tank crew mistakenly identified the two soldiers as enemies and fired at them, despite the fact that they were outside the defined boundaries given to the tank crew," it added.
03:19 GMT — Palestine seeks UNGA to reconsider bid for full membership
Palestinians are seeking approval of a resolution in the General Assembly asking the UN Security Council to reconsider "favourably" Palestine's full membership in the United Nations, which the United States recently vetoed.
A draft Palestinian resolution obtained by The Associated Press would also decide to give Palestine "the rights and privileges" to ensure its full and effective participation in the work of the General Assembly and other UN organs "on equal footing with member nations."
02:33 GMT — Israeli invasion on Rafah would be 'tragedy beyond words'
United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths has warned that despite global calls for Israel to spare Rafah in southern Gaza, "a ground operation there is on the immediate horizon."
"The simplest truth is that a ground operation in Rafah will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words. No humanitarian plan can counter that," Griffiths said, after hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to launch an invasion on Rafah.
Griffiths said that Israeli improvements to aid access in Gaza "cannot be used to prepare for or justify a full-blown military assault on Rafah."
02:00 GMT — Columbia University threatens Gaza war protesters with expulsion
Columbia University has said that students occupying a campus building as part of pro-Palestine protests or Student Spring protests, face being expelled from their academic programmes, the latest move in a standoff with school officials.
"Students occupying the building face expulsion," Columbia's office of public affairs said in a statement, adding that the protesters were provided "the opportunity to leave peacefully" but instead declined and escalated the situation.
For our live updates from Tuesday, April 30, click here.
