Saturday, August 17, 2024
11:46 GMT — The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said that Israel has reduced the so-called "humanitarian zone" in Gaza to just 11 percent of the territory, causing widespread panic and fear among displaced people.
In a statement, UNRWA said: “Thousands of families continue to be displaced in Gaza as Israeli authorities issue new evacuation orders.”
“The so-called ‘humanitarian zone’ has shrunk to just 11% of the Gaza Strip, causing chaos and fear among the displaced,” it added.
The UN agency reiterated its call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
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12:54 GMT — Palestinian health minister fears hundreds of undetected polio cases in Gaza
Palestinian Health Minister Majed Abu Ramadan said that the confirmation of a single polio case in Gaza indicates the possible existence of hundreds of undetected cases.
Addressing a press conference at the Health Ministry in Ramallah, Ramadan stated: “It is scientifically known that for every 200 virus infections, only one will show the full symptoms of polio, while the remaining cases may present mild symptoms such as a cold or a slight fever.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry on Friday reported the first confirmed case of polio, involving a 10-month-old child from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, who had not received any polio vaccination.
On Friday, UN chief Antonio Guterres called for a critical "polio pause" to facilitate a vaccination campaign in Gaza.
11:18 GMT — US rejects Israeli proposal to set up inspection mechanism at Netzarim Junction in Gaza: Report
The US has rejected an Israeli proposal to establish an inspection mechanism at the Netzarim Junction in central Gaza, the Israeli media reported.
The mechanism was intended to screen individuals returning to northern Gaza as part of a potential ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal.
The report, aired by Israel's Channel 12, stated that "significant obstacles" still stand in the way of reaching an agreement.
The report noted that Israel remains adamant about maintaining a presence in the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border and at the Netzarim Junction near Gaza City, which separates the northern and southern parts of the strip.
The report said: "The Americans sent a clear message to Israel that they would not accept this condition and that this option is off the table."
11:18 GMT — Israeli evacuation orders shut 10 wells, worsening water crisis in Gaza
The new Israeli evacuation orders for areas in eastern Gaza have resulted in the shutdown of 10 water wells, Deir al-Balah Municipality in central Gaza has announced.
Ismail Sarsour, head of the municipality’s Emergency Committee, told Anadolu news agency: “The new Israeli evacuation orders for eastern Deir al-Balah have effectively taken 10 out of 19 wells out of service.”
“Access to three other wells west of Salah al-Din Street has become hazardous,” Sarsour stated.
He emphasised that the water situation in Deir al-Balah will become extremely dire in the coming days, especially with the shutdown of the eastern wells, which serve as a critical water supply for areas west of Salah al-Din Street, including the city centre.
11:17 GMT — Hezbollah targets illegal settlement in northern Israel
Hezbollah has announced that it had launched Katyusha rockets at the Ayelet HaShahar illegal settlement in northern Israel.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it added Ayelet HaShahar to its "firing schedule" and struck the illegal settlement with Katyusha rockets for the first time.
The group stated that the attack was in response to "the Israeli enemy's assaults on the steadfast southern villages and safe homes, particularly in the town of Wadi al-Kafour, which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of Syrian civilians."
11:09 GMT — Death toll from Israel's war on Gaza rises to 40,074
At least 40,074 Palestinians have been killed and 92,537 wounded in Israel's military offensive in Gaza since October 7, the enclave's health ministry has said in a statement.
10:53 GMT — Egypt urges immediate ceasefire to end 'daily massacres' in Gaza
Egypt has stressed the urgency of an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, in a joint press conference with his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne in Cairo, emphasised: “The opportunity is still available to put an end to the daily massacres taking place in the Gaza if intentions are sincere and if there is political will among the parties.”
10:40 GMT — Israeli strike in Lebanon kills 10 Syrian nationals
An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon has killed at least 10 Syrian nationals, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
The strike on Wadi al-Kfour in Nabatieh province is among the deadliest in Lebanon.
Among the dead were a woman and her two children, the ministry said. Five others were wounded, two of whom were in critical condition.
Hezbollah later announced it had fired a volley of rockets at the community of Ayelet HaShahar, near Safad in northern Israel in retaliation for the strike. The statement said that all 10 victims in Lebanon were civilians.
10:33 GMT — Gaza fuel shortage threatens al-Awda hospital shut down within 24 hours
Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza has issued a grave warning, announcing that it may cease operations within the next 24 hours due to an acute fuel shortage.
Mohammed Salha, the hospital's acting director, said in a statement that “the health sector in northern Gaza is suffering from a shortage of medical supplies and the depletion of fuel.”
“The hospital will be forced to stop operating within 24 hours if fuel is not delivered by the World Health Organization,” he added.
08:14 GMT — Israel continues to bomb Gaza, kills Syrian civilians in Lebanon
The Israeli army has issued fresh evacuation orders for residents in several areas of central Gaza.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee announced that residents of Blocks 2232-2240 in the Maghazi area and the neighbourhoods of Salah El-Din, El-Farouk and El-Amal in central Gaza are required to evacuate.
The army claims that these areas are “dangerous combat zones.”
At least 20 Palestinians, including ten children, were killed and several others injured on Saturday in an Israeli air strike targeting areas in central and southern Gaza.
07:16 GMT — Israel kills at least 20 in fresh air strikes on central Gaza
At least 20 Palestinians, including ten children, were killed and several others injured on Saturday in an Israeli air strike targeting areas in central and southern Gaza.
Medical sources at the al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah told Anadolu that they received 15 fatalities and several injuries from an Israeli bombardment targeting the Al-Zawaida area in central Gaza.
They added that rescue workers recovered two bodies and several wounded people following an airstrike on a house in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood north of Gaza City.
Separately, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli shelling targeting Al-Zana area east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the sources said.
They added that a six-year-old Palestinian child was killed when he was shot in the head by an Israeli drone at a displacement tent west of Khan Younis.
04:46 GMT — Israel bombs Gaza, Lebanon as US seeks commitment to Doha talks
Israel has killed at least six people and wounded three others in a strike on a residential building in Nabatieh city, in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
Tensions have soared in the region in recent weeks after Israel assassinated a top Hezbollah commander in the suburbs of Beirut.
Hezbollah has also vowed to retaliate against Israel, as has Iran, for Tel Aviv's assassination in Tehran of the political chief of the Palestinian Hamas group, Ismail Haniyeh.
04:00 GMT — Biden 'optimistic' about Gaza ceasefire deal
US President Joe Biden hass said he is "optimistic" about a ceasefire deal in the Gaza.
"As of an hour ago, it’s still in play. I’m optimistic. Not — it’s far from over. Just a couple more issues. I think we’ve got a shot," Biden told reporters when asked about the talks.
"That remains to be seen," Biden said after he was asked a question about when would a ceasefire would start.
03:23 GMT — Israel bombs Al Zawaida town in central Gaza
Israel has killed at least four Palestinians and wounded many in an air strike targeting barracks sheltering displaced people near the entrance to Al Zawaida town in the Gaza.
It comes after US President Joe Biden urged no party in the Middle East should undermine efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal that he claimed was now in sight, but he warned that it was "far from over."
02:50 GMT — US says Gaza truce efforts must succeed amid new Israeli demands
US President Biden has urged all sides not to undermine efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, as he said that a deal was nearing.
Biden said in a statement that Secretary of State Antony Blinken was travelling to the Middle East in part "to underscore that with the comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal now in sight, no one in the region should take actions to undermine this process."
"I am sending Secretary (of State Antony) Blinken to Israel to reaffirm my iron-clad support for Israel's security, continue our intensive efforts to conclude this agreement and to underscore that with the comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal now in sight," Biden said in a statement.
02:30 GMT — First case of polio confirmed in a 10-month-old child in Gaza
Palestinian health officials have reported the first case of polio in an unvaccinated 10-month old-child in the Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, the first case in 25 years in the coastal enclave that has been engulfed in Israel's genocidal war since October.
After discovering the child's symptoms, tests were conducted in Jordan’s capital of Amman and the case was confirmed to be polio, said the ministry.
The potentially fatal, paralyzing disease mostly strikes children under age 5 and typically spreads through contaminated water.
02:00 GMT — Israeli drones kill 5 Palestinians in Gaza City
Israeli army has carried out a drone attack in Gaza City, killing five Palestinians and wounding several others, according to multiple sources.
In a statement, Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Civil Defense Service in Gaza, said that three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a gathering of people in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood, southern Gaza City.
He added a number of Palestinians were wounded in another drone strike on a home for the Hussein family in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of the city.
For our live updates from Friday, August 16, 2024, click here.
