Saturday, February 3, 2024
Gaza's Health Ministry has reported that a total of 27,238 Palestinians have been killed and 66,452 injured in Israeli bombardment since October 7.
The latest statement from the ministry revealed that within the last 24 hours alone, Israeli forces have killed at least 107 Palestinians and left 165 others injured.
13:12 GMT — Germany warns against Israeli ground attack on Rafah city in Gaza
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has warned Israel against a military attack in the southernmost city of Gaza.
“To act now in Rafah, in the last and most crowded place, as announced by the Israeli defence minister, would simply not be justified,” Baerbock said in an interview with the RND editorial network.
“The majority of the victims are women and children. Let’s just imagine: they are our children,” she added.
12:31 GMT — Fate of 6-year-old Palestinian girl, 2 rescuers still unknown
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has said that the fate of the 6-year-old girl Hind and the team that went out to rescue her in Gaza City is still unknown after more than four days.
In a statement, Red Crescent said: “More than 110 hours have passed, and the fate of the PRCS ambulance team, Yousef Zeino and Ahmed al Madhoun who went to rescue the 6-year-old girl, Hind, remains unknown.”
“Where is Hind? Where are Ahmed and Yousef? We need to know,” it added.
11:14 GMT — Lebanon’s Amal movement says 2 more members killed in confrontations with Israel
Lebanon’s Amal movement has said that two of its members were killed during confrontations with the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, bringing its total death toll to three since October 8.
The movement, led by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, released a statement identifying the two members as Mustafa Abbas Daher, 33, and Ali Khalil Muhammad, 41.
11:05 GMT — Israeli army detains 12 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank
The Israeli army has detained 12 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 6,500.
The latest arrests took place mostly in the Dheisheh camp in Bethlehem, while the rest took place in the governorates of Jenin, Nablus, Tubas, and Tulkarm.
During the Israeli arrest campaigns, soldiers also beat, abused, and interrogated several Palestinians, as well as damaged their homes and other properties, the statement noted.
10:45 GMT — Israel pressures Gaza cities, health officials say 18 more die in airstrikes
Israeli air strikes have killed 18 Palestinians in the Gaza cities of Rafah and Deir Al Balah, Gaza health officials said as residents of the enclave feared Israel would expand its ground offensive into those last remaining areas where people have sought shelter.
Rafah is on Gaza's southern border with Egypt and more than half the enclave's 2.3 million population have fled there as the Israel Defence Forces press their nearly four-month-old war against the militant Hamas group.
Health officials in Gaza said an Israeli airstrike on a house in Rafah killed 14 people including women and children, Gaza health officials said.
In addition, in the nearby city of Deir Al Balah, the second major concentration of displaced people, medics said four people were killed in an airstrike on a house.
10:36 GMT — Turkish foreign minister discusses situation in Gaza with Saudi counterpart
Türkiye's foreign minister have discussed the latest situation in Gaza with his Saudi counterpart, Turkish diplomatic sources said.
Türkiye's Hakan Fidan and Saudi Arabia's Faisal bin Fahran held a phone call, the sources said
During their conversation, they also discussed regional developments, they added.
10:03 GMT — Iran condemns US air strikes on Iraq and Syria as 'strategic mistake'
Tehran has condemned US air strikes on Iraq and Syria as a "strategic mistake" by its arch-foe, without saying whether or not any they caused any Iranian casualties.
"Last night's attack on Syria and Iraq is an adventurous action and another strategic mistake by the US government, which will have no result other than intensifying tension and instability in the region," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement.
09:08 GMT — Syria regime condemns US strikes, says 'occupation cannot continue'
Damascus has said that US occupation of Syrian territory "cannot continue" after Washington carried out deadly strikes in retaliation for a drone attack that killed three US soldiers in Jordan.
The overnight strikes killed "a number of civilians and soldiers, wounded others and caused significant damage to public and private property", the Syrian military said on Saturday in a statement.
"The occupation of parts of Syrian territory by US forces cannot continue," it added, affirming the army's "determination to liberate all Syrian territory from terrorism and occupation".
08:37 GMT — EU urges restraint amid US strikes
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on all parties to avoid further escalation in the Middle East after US strikes on Iran-linked groups in Syria and Iraq.
"Everybody should try to avoid that the situation becomes explosive," Borrell said on Saturday at a meeting on EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Borrell did not address the US strikes directly, but repeated a warning that the Middle East "is a boiler that can explode".
He pointed to the war in Gaza, violence along the Lebanese border, bombings in Iraq and Syria and attacks on shipping in the Red Sea."That's why we call everybody to try to avoid an escalation," Borrell said.
06:23 GMT - EU, ASEAN denounce attacks, urge 'durable ceasefire' for Gaza
The EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Friday expressed "grave concerns" over developments in the Middle East, and condemned the attacks against civilians.
In a joint statement following the 24th EU-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, the two regional blocs said they agreed to condemn all attacks against civilians, and "we noted the call of some of us for a durable ceasefire" in Gaza.
"We called for rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all those in need, including through increased capacity at border crossings and through a dedicated maritime route," said the statement.
05:33 GMT - Demonstrators stage rally in Stockholm to remember slain children
A group of protesters have demonstrated in the Swedish capital to commemorate Palestinian children killed in Gaza by Israel.
Gathering at Sergelstorg, the crowd protested Israeli attacks by chanting pro-Palestine slogans, including "Free Palestine" and "End the occupation."
Protesters called for a boycott of Israeli products and companies supporting Israel as they carried Palestinian flags.
04:45 GMT - Israel kills 43 Palestinians in Gaza shelter: Red Crescent
Israeli military has killed 43 displaced Palestinians who were sheltering in the headquarters of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society [PRCS] in Khan Younis, in besieged Gaza.
Direct Israeli fire and siege isolated PRCS headquarters and its adjacent al Amal Hospital for the past 12 days and prevented movement to and from them, it said.
The Red Crescent said among those killed were three of its staff members inside the headquarters.
04:00 GMT - Algerian lawyers file lawsuit against Israel at ICC
An Algerian lawyers group has filed a lawsuit with the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague against Israeli officials "involved in committing genocide crimes against the Palestinian people."
The Algerian National Union of Bar Associations said the Tunisian, Jordanian, Mauritanian and Palestinian bar associations also signed the lawsuit.
It said the lawsuit is based on documentation gathered from authentic sources and includes photos and videos that document Israeli crimes in besieged Gaza.
03:42 GMT - Houthis claim to have fired ballistic missiles at Israel's Eilat
Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi group has said it fired ballistic missiles at targets in the Israeli city of Eilat and threatened to keep up military operations until Israel ends its brutal war on besieged Gaza.
The Israeli military earlier said its "Arrow" aerial defence system had intercepted a surface-to-surface missile in the Red Sea area.
"The Yemeni armed forces will not hesitate to carry out further military operations against the Zionist enemy on land and at sea until the cessation of aggression and lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip," the Houthis' military spokesperson said.
03:00 GMT - Al Qassam Brigades claims it killed 15 Israeli soldiers
Hamas' armed wing has announced the killing of 15 Israeli soldiers, the destruction of two armoured vehicles, and the targeting of four tanks in besieged Gaza.
In separate statements, the Al Qassam Brigades claimed its members "managed to eliminate 15 Zionist soldiers at point-blank in al Jawazat area in the western Gaza City."
"We destroyed an Israeli armoured vehicle with a Yassin missile in the al Jawazat area in the city of Gaza, and another in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip," stated the armed wing.
02:30 GMT - Blinken to press captives deal on new Mideast trip
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will press a proposal to release Gaza-held captives in return for a pause in the Israeli aggression during his latest crisis trip to the region next week, the State Department said.
On his fifth crisis trip to the Middle East, Blinken will visit Qatar and Egypt — the mediators of the proposal — as well as Israel and the occupied West Bank and Saudi Arabia starting Sunday, the State Department said.
Blinken "will continue diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement that secures the release of all remaining hostages and includes a humanitarian pause that will allow for sustained, increased delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
02:00 GMT - US says Algeria's push for UN ceasefire resolution could hurt Gaza talks
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield has said that Algeria's draft Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in besieged Gaza could jeopardise "sensitive negotiations" aimed at brokering a pause in Israel's war.
"This draft resolution could put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy — derailing the exhaustive, ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure the release of hostages and secure an extended pause that Palestinian civilians and aid workers so desperately need," Thomas-Greenfield told reporters.
The United States, Israel, Egypt and Qatar last week drafted a proposal for an extended pause in fighting and are awaiting a response from Hamas.
For our live updates from Friday, February 2, click here.
