Thursday, February 8, 2024
13:20 GMT — A paramedic was killed and two others were injured in an Israeli air strike as they evacuated injured Palestinians in Gaza City, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRSC) said.
“Israeli forces deliberately targeted the Red Crescent team as they were carrying out a coordinated humanitarian mission to evacuate injured people in Gaza,” it added in a statement.
Thursday’s fatality brought to 12 the number of PRSC medics killed in Israeli attacks since October 7.
There was no comment from the Israeli army on the report.
At least 340 Palestinian medics have been killed in the ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza since October, Health Minister Mai Alkaila said on Wednesday.
13:04 GMT — Blinken seeks to advance Gaza ceasefire, hostage swap with Israeli leaders
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has sought to advance a proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas during two separate meetings with Israeli leaders.
Blinken held talks with Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid and War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz.
Lapid said his meeting with the top US diplomat took up the issue of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and measures to end funding for the Palestinian group.
"The whole Israeli society is determined to bring back the hostages and to eradicate Hamas. Those are not conflicting goals and we will not give up either," Lapid wrote on X. The former premier said the discussions also dwelt on the need for a political settlement to the tension on the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Blinken’s talks with Gantz, a former defence minister, also took up efforts to release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Gantz said he spoke to Blinken about bringing in an "international actor" that can deliver aid into Gaza away without diversion to Hamas.
12:51 GMT — Norway transfers $26M to UN agency for Palestinian refugees
Norway announced that it has sent $26 million in aid to the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees or UNRWA, after some countries decided to stop their support temporarily.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said on X, “Today, Norway transfers $26 million to UNRWA, the UN Agency that supports Palestinian refugees.”
“UNRWA is the backbone of humanitarian efforts in Gaza. Its services are critical for millions of people in extreme need,” he added.
11:46 GMT — Another journalist killed in Israeli attack in Gaza, tally rises to 124
Another Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza, taking the tally to 124 since Oct. 7, according to the government media office.
Nafez Abdel Jawad, a reporter for the official Palestine Television station, was killed in central Gaza, the media office said in a statement.
Around 10 Palestinian journalists have also been arrested by Israeli forces in Gaza, according to an earlier statement by the office.
11:33 GMT — Overnight Israeli strikes kill 14 more Palestinians – WAFA
At least 14 Palestinians have been killed and several others injured in overnight Israeli air strikes on southern and central Gaza, news agency Wafa reported.
Two people were killed and more than 10 others injured in an Israeli air strike on a house in Deir al Balah city in central Gaza, said the agency citing local resources.
Another 12 people lost their lives after Israeli fighter jets targeted two houses near the Abu al Said junction in Tal al Sultan and the Saudi neighbourhood west of Rafah, it added.
Israel has launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following an October 7 cross-border attack by Hamas, killing at least 27,585 Palestinians and injuring 66,978 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
11:05 GMT — Israel PM orders troops to prepare for push into Rafah
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered troops to prepare to enter the overcrowded Gaza's city of Rafah, even as a new round of talks aimed at securing a truce with Hamas were set to open in Cairo.
Netanyahu announced the order after rejecting Hamas's response to a ceasefire proposal at the centre of intense recent diplomatic efforts, though visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that he still saw "space for agreement to be reached."
Concerns were mounting, meanwhile, for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have sought refuge in Rafah along the Egyptian border, with UN chief Antonio Guterres warning a military push into the city "would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare."
10:55 GMT — Israel hits Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon: military
The Israeli military has said it conducted air strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
Israeli fighter jets bombed targets in the town of Khiam, the military said in a statement, adding that one-sixth of the rockets fired during clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah since October 8 originated from Khiam.
According to the Lebanese official news agency NNA, one civilian was killed and two others were wounded in the Israeli air strike on Khiam.
10:25 GMT — New York police detain pro-Palestinian protesters ahead of Biden speech
New York City police detained dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters for blocking the street in front of the building where President Joe Biden was set to speak.
A scuffle broke out between New York Police Department (NYPD) officers and protesters gathered around the building in Manhattan where Biden's campaign event was set to take place ahead of the November presidential elections.
A number of predominantly Jewish protesters who accused the president of supporting the genocide in Gaza were arrested on 5th Avenue after clashing with police.
10:17 GMT — IFRC president says she witnessed 'catastrophic' conditions in Gaza
The president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said that she witnessed firsthand the catastrophic realities faced by civilians in Gaza amid the ongoing crisis in the enclave.
Kate Forbes emphasised the urgent need for protection and humanitarian aid in the region.
"Today, I visited Gaza, where I witnessed the catastrophic and utterly dire conditions firsthand," Forbes said.
"What I saw reiterated that civilians, medical facilities and our Red Cross and Red Crescent teams need protection. Our teams [also] need access to deliver vital life-saving humanitarian aid."
10:05 GMT — Israeli army to extend mandatory service amid Gaza war
The Israeli army plans to extend mandatory service through changes to an existing law, a local media outlet reported.
"The Israeli army intends, after the current war in the Gaza Strip, to demand a law to extend compulsory service to three years, which will also apply to those who have already begun their service," Israeli Army Radio said on X.
The potential law will include all male soldiers.
The radio said the draft law also includes "raising the exemption age for soldiers from reserve duty from 40 to 45 and for officers from 45 to 50 as well as increasing the period of service that reserve soldiers can be called up to each year."
09:40 GMT — 33 people arrested after Gaza protest in suburban Chicago
Police in suburban Chicago have arrested 33 people after they blocked streets for more than six hours outside a company protesters say has a role in the deaths of thousands of civilians in besieged Gaza.
Seven men and 26 women were charged with the misdemeanour of unlawful assembly following the protest outside Woodward MPC, the Niles Police Department said in a news release.
The 33 protesters were released after being booked, police said, and there were no injuries.
09:10 GMT — Netanyahu wants prolonged 'aggression', mislead Israelis: Hamas
The Israeli government and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are seeking in every possible way to "mislead domestic public opinion and prolong the aggression" against besieged Gaza, a member of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas' politburo said.
"Netanyahu and his government are striving, by all means, to continue misleading Zionist public opinion and prolong the aggression, despite the losses their defeated army is suffering in terms of lives and equipment," Osama Hamdan said during a press conference in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
"Both Netanyahu and his government are trying to evade their post-aggression obligations and postpone the confrontation with the investigative committees regarding the dismal failure on October 7," he added.
09:00 GMT — Putin says Russia is working to free captives in Gaza
President Vladimir Putin told leaders of Russia's Jewish community that Moscow had achieved "specific results" in diplomatic efforts to free captives caught up in Israel's war on besieged Gaza, Russian news agencies reported.
"You know, since the situation became more tense in the Middle East, Russia has been doing everything to help people who became hostages," Putin was quoted as saying.
For our live updates from Wednesday, February 7, click here.
