Monday, July 15, 2024
14:49 GMT –– Clearing Gaza of the rubble caused by a deadly Israeli offensive will take about 15 years, the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has said.
"It would take up to 15 years to clear around 40 million tons of war rubble in Gaza," UNRWA said, citing an assessment by the UN Environment Program (UNEP).
It said the removal of the war debris in Gaza will need over 100 trucks and cost over $500 million.
"Debris poses a deadly threat for people in the Gaza Strip as it can contain unexploded ordnance and harmful substances," the UN agency added.
Last month, Israel's Army Radio, citing military officials, said around 50,000 bombs have been dropped on Gaza by Israeli warplanes since last October 7, adding that between 2,000-3,000 bombs did not explode.
15:45 GMT –– Death toll from Israeli attack on UN-run school in central Gaza rises to 22
The death toll from Israeli bombardment of a UN-run school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza rose to 22, the Health Ministry in the enclave has said.
At least 102 other people were injured in the attack that targeted the Abu Oreiban School run by the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in the Nuseirat refugee camp on Sunday, the ministry added in a statement.
According to witnesses, several children and women were among the victims.
15:35 GMT –– EU imposes sanctions on five Israelis and three entities
The European Union announced sanctions against five Israeli individuals and three entities, describing them as responsible for "serious and systematic human rights abuses" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The list included Tzav 9, a group which it said had regularly blocked humanitarian aid trucks delivering food, water and fuel to Gaza.
Also on the list were Ben-Zion Gopstein, founder and leader of the Lehava organisation, and Isaschar Manne, whom the EU described as the founder of an unauthorised outpost in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Both have also been sanctioned by the United States, as has Tzav 9, which Washington said last week opposes Jewish assimilation with non-Jews and agitates against Arabs in the name of religion and national security.
15:30 GMT –– Lapid criticises Netanyahu, calls him "crybaby, coward"
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has dismissed allegations of incitement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying every soldier fighting in Gaza is more threatened than him.
Lapid expressed his views in a post on the social media platform X, referring to a government meeting held on Sunday.
“Two hours of discussion in the government about the incitement against him. There is no two-hour discussion about the 101 victims of Kibbutz Bari. There is no two-hour discussion on the opening of the school year in the north on Sept. 1,” Lapid said with disbelief.
“Just the incitement against him is worth two hours of discussion? Is that the only thing that matters?” he questioned.
Criticizing the Israeli premier, Lapid said “Netanyahu is not a victim, he is a crybaby and a coward. Every soldier in Gaza is more threatened than he is.”
15:00 GMT –– Australian library accused of censoring attendees of pro-Palestine workshop
Authors and poets in Australia accused the State Library of Victoria (SLV) of censorship, following the termination of their contracts for a pro-Palestine workshop in March.
Jinghua Qian, one of the writers involved, alleged that he acquired certain documents from the library using a Freedom of Information request, which showed SLV examining authors' social media for pro-Palestine content.
He claimed correspondence between SLV Board member Maxine McKew and CEO Paul Duldig indicated the library management emphasizing the importance of being cautious about the language used by individuals they collaborate with, including scrutinizing Australian poet and novelist Omer Sakr's posts after October 7 on Gaza.
12:08 GMT –– Germany says deadly Israeli attack on Khan Younis safe zone may be justified
Germany has suggested a deadly Israeli attack on a humanitarian safe zone near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis could be justified.
The strike that hit the densely populated Al-Mawasi on Saturday killed at least 90 people and wounded many more. Israel said the strike targeted Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas military wing.
Asked at a press briefing whether the Israeli air assault was justified, given the fact that it killed dozens of people, among them women and children, Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said: "I don't think that's an easy question to answer because, for example, we don't know how many of the victims were terrorists."
“Perhaps we first have to state again that the Israeli airstrike on Saturday at noon was, I believe, aimed at Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif and also Rafa Salama, the commander of the Khan Yunis Brigades," he added.
11:53 GMT –– Gaza detainees face torture, rape in Israeli prisons: Lawyer
A Palestinian lawyer shared harrowing accounts of torture against detainees from Gaza in Israeli prisons.
Khaled Mahajna, a lawyer with the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, said at a press conference that he visited two Gaza detainees on Sunday in Ofer Prison near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
11:27 GMT –– Israeli army arrests 15 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank
At least 15 more Palestinians were detained by the Israeli army in military raids in the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.
The raids targeted the cities of Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus, Tulkarm, and Jenin, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.
“The detainees were subjected to abuse, severe beatings, and threats against their families, in addition to widespread acts of sabotage and destruction of citizens’ homes,” the statement added.
12:08 GMT –– Germany says deadly Israeli attack on Khan Younis safe zone may be justified
Germany has suggested a deadly Israeli attack on a humanitarian safe zone near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis could be justified.
The strike that hit the densely populated Al-Mawasi on Saturday killed at least 90 people and wounded many more. Israel said the strike targeted Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas military wing.
Asked at a press briefing whether the Israeli air assault was justified, given the fact that it killed dozens of people, among them women and children, Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said: "I don't think that's an easy question to answer because, for example, we don't know how many of the victims were terrorists."
“Perhaps we first have to state again that the Israeli airstrike on Saturday at noon was, I believe, aimed at Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif and also Rafa Salama, the commander of the Khan Yunis Brigades," he added.
11:53 GMT –– Gaza detainees face torture, rape in Israeli prisons: Lawyer
A Palestinian lawyer shared harrowing accounts of torture against detainees from Gaza in Israeli prisons.
Khaled Mahajna, a lawyer with the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, said at a press conference that he visited two Gaza detainees on Sunday in Ofer Prison near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
10:28 GMT –– Israel launches new Gaza strikes
Israel struck southern and central Gaza to put more pressure on Hamas, following a weekend strike targeting the Hamas resistance group's leadership which killed scores of Palestinians camped in a designated "safe zone".
Mawasi on the western outskirts of Khan Younis has been sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled to the area after Israel declared it a safe zone.
The military also stepped up aerial and tank shelling in central Gaza in the Al-Bureij and Al-Maghazi historic refugee camps. Health officials said five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on a house in Maghazi camp.
A statement from the Al-Quds brigade, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad resistance group, said its fighters were engaged in fierce battles in the Yabna camp in Rafah.
10:10 GMT — Death toll in Israeli strikes on Gaza rises to 38,664 — ministry
More than 38,664 Palestinians have been killed and 89,097 have been injured in the brutal Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement.
Some 80 Palestinians were killed and 216 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.
10:16 GMT — Israeli army demolishes Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem village
The Israeli army demolished four Palestinian homes in the village of al Walaja, in the southern part of East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unauthorised construction.”
“A military force raided the village, which lies in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, and began demolishing four homes, claiming they were built without permits,” Khader al Araj, the head of the village council, told Anadolu.
He clarified that “the lands where the demolition took place are part of Bethlehem and administratively within the boundaries of the nearby Jerusalem Municipality.”
09:17 GMT — Israeli airstrikes in Gaza result in Palestinian casualties amid ongoing clashes
Several Palestinians were killed and others injured in Israeli airstrikes targeting multiple areas in Gaza.
The attacks occurred amid ongoing clashes between armed Palestinian resistance Hamas and the Israeli army.
According to medical sources cited by Anadolu, a number of Palestinians were killed in the Israeli bombardment across the region.
07:27 GMT — Israeli army raids Occupied West Bank towns, arrests more Palestinians
The Israeli army raided on Monday cities and towns across the occupied West Bank, arresting Palestinians and destroying property.
Witnesses told Anadolu that the army stormed the towns of Qabatiya, Yabad, Marka, and Bir al Basha in Jenin, leading to armed clashes with Palestinian fighters.
The army destroyed properties and homes during the raid on Qabatiya amid sounds of gunfire and explosions in various parts of the town, the witnesses said.
06:20 GMT — Gaza truce talks haven't paused, military chief survived — Hamas
Hamas said that Gaza ceasefire talks continue and the group’s military commander is in good health, a day after the Israeli military targeted Mohammed Deif with a massive air strike that local health officials said killed at least 90 people, including children.
The Israeli military said Rafa Salama, a Hamas commander it described as one of Deif's closest associates, was killed in Saturday's strike. Salama had commanded Hamas' Khan Younis brigade.
Hamas rejected the idea that mediated ceasefire discussions had been suspended. Spokesperson Jihad Taha said “there is no doubt that the horrific massacres will impact any efforts in the negotiations” but added that “efforts and endeavors of the mediators remain ongoing.”
05:30 GMT — Israeli army bombs sites in southern Lebanon
Israeli fighter jets bombed sites in the village of Ayta ash Shab and the town of Meiss El Jabal in southern Lebanon.
Warplanes renewed their raids on Ayta ash Shab, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
An air strike destroyed a house in the town of Meiss El Jabal in Marjayoun district without causing any injuries, according to the agency.
04:40 GMT — Hamas chief, Iranian president discuss developments in Israel’s war on Gaza
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh spoke by phone Sunday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on developments in Israel's ongoing offensive on embattled Gaza.
Hamas said in a statement on its Telegram channel that Haniyeh called President Pezeshkian “to discuss political and field developments related to the genocidal war being waged by the (Israeli) occupation on Gaza and overall developments related to the Palestinian cause.”
Haniyeh said “the massacres of civilians (in a displaced people’s camp) near Khan Younis and (near the ruins of a mosque at) the Shati refugee camp (in Gaza City) on Saturday came despite the positive stance of Hamas and the resistance factions towards cease-fire talks.”
04:00 GMT — Brazil's Lula condemns attack killing 90 displaced Palestinians in Gaza
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva released a statement condemning an Israeli airstrike in a designated humanitarian “safe zone” in southern Gaza that killed at least 90 Palestinians, calling on world leaders to speak up against an "endless massacre."
Israel said it targeted Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif in the attack Saturday on a displaced people’s camp, which also wounded at least 300 civilians.
“The Israeli government continues to sabotage the peace process and the cease-fire in the Middle East,” said Lula on his X account.
For our live updates from Sunday, July 14, 2024, click here.
