Saturday, April 27, 2024
14:41 GMT –– The first minister of Northern Ireland has expressed her solidarity with the people of Palestine and said what is happening in Gaza is "genocide and needs to stop."
In an interview with Anadolu news agency, ahead of the National March for Palestine in London, Sinn Fein's Michelle O’Neill said she is proud to be at the rally in solidarity with the people of Palestine.
"It's great to see thousands of people again to be on the streets to call an end to the slaughter of the Palestinian people," she said.
"We're all witnessing in horror, the devastation of Gaza, the devastation of the people of Gaza and it is genocide, and it needs to stop," she underlined.
O’Neill stated that the international community needs to "make it stop."
14:15 GMT –– Everyone in Gaza drinking unsafe water: Health Ministry
Everyone living in Gaza is drinking unsafe water, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
"Because of the closure of the public health laboratory and the inability to test drinking water, all citizens of the Gaza Strip are drinking unsafe water that puts their lives at risk,” said the ministry in a statement.
The ministry attributed this to Israel's refusal to allow the use of chlorine or any alternative for treating drinking water.
Also, the accumulation of waste in the streets and the camps could lead to spread of disease, the ministry warned.
On Wednesday, cases of meningitis and hepatitis were detected, the ministry said.
14:07 GMT –– 'Cease-fire now': Thousands take to streets in London in solidarity with Gaza
A massive rally was held in London to protest Israeli attacks and demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
Thousands of protesters gathered at Parliament Square to voice solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 34,300 people have been killed by Israeli attacks since October 7.
Carrying Palestinian flags, the protesters called for an immediate cease-fire in the besieged Palestinian enclave and criticized the British government's stance on Israel.
"Free Palestine," "Stop the genocide" and "Rishi Sunak, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide," were some of the many slogans chanted by pro-Palestine protesters during the march that continued toward Hyde Park.
12:21 GMT –– British troops may be tasked with delivering Gaza aid, British media says
British troops may be tasked with delivering aid to Gaza from an offshore pier now under construction by the US military, the British media reported. UK government officials declined to comment on the report.
According to the BBC, the British government is considering deploying troops to drive the trucks that will carry aid from the pier along a floating causeway to the shore. No decision has been made and the proposal hasn’t yet reached Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the BBC reported, citing unidentified government sources.
The report comes after a senior US military official said on Thursday that there would be no American “boots on the ground” and another nation would provide the personnel to drive the delivery trucks to the shore.
The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, declined to identify the third party.
11:35 GMT –– Fresh Israeli strikes kill 8 Palestinian children in Gaza
More than a dozen Palestinians were killed, including eight children, in Israeli bombings Saturday on Gaza, Palestinian media reported.
A house was targeted in the Saudi neighborhood of the southern city of Rafah. At least six Palestinians, including four children, were killed in the attack, Wafa reported. Eight others were injured.
Israel warplanes pounded the Jaradat area east of the Rafah crossing, wounding a number of people, eyewitnesses told Anadolu news agency.
In central Gaza, an airstrike on the Nuseirat camp killed nine Palestinians, including four children, and injured 30 others, according to Palestinian medical sources.
09:54 GMT –– Israeli army detains 20 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank
The Israeli army detained 20 more Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
According to a joint statement issued by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, the new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli forces since October 7 to 8,480.
The latest arrests took place mostly in Ramallah, occupied East Jerusalem, Hebron, Nablus, Tulkarem, and Jenin.
During the Israeli arrest campaigns, the Israeli forces physically assaulted and abused Palestinians, while damaging their homes and property, the statement added.
09:38 GMT –– Abbas, international leaders to hold Gaza talks in Riyadh this week
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and several international officials will be in Riyadh this week for talks aimed at pushing for a peace agreement in Gaza to be held on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting, the WEF's president said.
"We do have the key players now in Riyadh and hopefully the discussions can lead into a process towards reconciliation and peace," Borge Brende said at a news conference in Riyadh, adding that Gaza's humanitarian crisis would be on the agenda.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend the meetings alongside regional leaders including Qatar's prime minister, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Oman's crown prince and Bahraini officials, Brende said.
Egypt's foreign minister, Brende said, would be there to update officials on a round of talks Egyptian negotiators held in Israel on Friday in an effort to restart stalled efforts to end the war in Gaza and return the remaining Israeli hostages.
09:14 GMT — Death toll in Gaza from ongoing Israeli attacks rises to 34,388
Israeli attacks have killed at least 34,388 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the enclave's Health Ministry.
The tally includes at least 32 deaths in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 77,437 people have been wounded in Gaza since October 7.
09:06 GMT — One killed as Israel bombs southern Lebanese towns
At least one Lebanese man has been killed in two Israeli air strikes on the towns of Kafr Shuba and Shebaa in southern Lebanon.
"The Israeli occupation aircraft carried out two raids today at dawn on the towns of Kafr Shuba and Shebaa, which led to the martyrdom of citizen Qasim Asaad in the town of Kafr Shuba and the destruction of two homes," the Lebanese National News Agency reported.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli side on the Lebanese report.
08:50 GMT — UK ship sets sail to help building of Gaza aid jetty
A UK ship to house hundreds of US army personnel building a jetty to speed up aid delivery to Gaza has set sail from Greek-administered Cyprus, a UK defence source said.
Royal Navy support ship "Cardigan Bay" will help support the international effort to construct the temporary floating pier, which is set to be completed in early May, according to the Pentagon.
The pier will initially facilitate the delivery of 90 truckloads of international aid a day into Gaza, rising to up to 150 truckloads once fully operational, according to US estimates.
07:03 GMT — Several Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Nuseirat camp
Eight Palestinians have been killed and 30 wounded in an Israeli attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Palestinian news agency, WAFA.
It said airstrikes targeted a residential home in the camp that killed four Palestinians, including a baby.
In a separate strike on another house in the camp, four additional Palestinians were killed, with at least 30 injured.
06:33 GMT — Hamas says studying latest Israeli truce counter-proposal
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has said it has received and was studying the latest Israeli counter-proposal regarding a potential ceasefire in besieged Gaza and the release of captives.
"Today, the Hamas movement received the official Zionist occupation response to the movement's position, which was delivered to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators on April 13," Khalil al Hayya, deputy head of Hamas's political arm in Gaza, said in a brief statement.
"The movement will study this proposal, and upon completion of its study, it will submit its response."
05:54 GMT — Israelis rally outside War Cabinet minister's house to demand early elections
Israelis have protested against the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded early elections and a hostage swap deal with the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, according to media reports.
Around 100 Israelis, including relatives of captives held in besieged Gaza, rallied outside the house of War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz in Ras al Ayn in northern Israel.
The daily Times of Israel reported that protesters are calling for the release of the more than 100 captives held in Gaza since October 7, along with the replacement of Netanyahu's government.
04:23 GMT — UN concerned about student arrests in US
The UN human rights office has voiced concern about the detention of hundreds of students during demonstrations in support of Palestine at US universities.
"We're very concerned by the arrests of hundreds of students at US universities, and a number of cases that are quite heavy-handed response by the police to the protests," spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told Anadolu Agency.
Underlining that rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are "fundamental," Laurance said: "Everyone has a right to peacefully protest, and they shouldn't be obstructed in doing so."
03:50 GMT — Palestinian National Council accuses US of complicity in Gaza genocide
The Palestinian National Council [PNC] has accused the US of being complicit in the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in besieged Gaza.
"The US … has not implemented what it calls for regarding the two-state solution, nor has it granted Palestine full membership in the United Nations," head of the Council, Rouhi Fattouh, said during the "Parliamentarians for Jerusalem" conference in Istanbul, attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The US vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution on April 18 that demanded Palestine's full membership at the UN.
03:22 GMT — Yemenis gather in several cities in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza
Yemenis have organised vigils and demonstrations to condemn the discovery of mass graves in besieged Gaza and to show solidarity with Palestinians facing an Israeli onslaught since October.
Hundreds gathered in the government-controlled city of Taiz after Friday prayers in response to calls by activists to support Palestinians in the besieged enclave, according to Anadolu Agency.
Ten of thousands participated in a demonstration in the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa to condemn Israeli "crimes" in besieged Gaza.
02:50 GMT — Israel destroyed 70% of northern Gaza water wells: Beit Lahia mayor
The Israeli army has destroyed 70 percent of water wells in the northern besieged Gaza amid its ongoing onslaught against the enclave.
Beit Lahia Mayor Alaa Al-Attar told Anadolu Agency that the army also destroyed 50 percent of sewage pumps in northern Gaza.
"The Israeli army destroyed all agricultural crops in the town [Beit Lahia], which is considered the primary food basket for the Strip," said Al-Attar.
02:30 GMT — Netanyahu hinders reaching truce deal: Israeli official
An Israeli official has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not having a desire to strike a deal with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on a ceasefire in besieged Gaza.
"Netanyahu does not want to reach an agreement at all, he creates difficulties and puts obstacles," Israeli public broadcaster KAN quoted the unnamed official.
The official said it is possible to reach an agreement with Hamas within days but Netanyahu requested a review of a comprehensive deal, contrary to the Egyptian offer to hinder reaching a deal.
