Monday, August 26, 2024
1523 GMT — United Nations humanitarian aid operations in Gaza ground to a halt after Israel issued new evacuation orders for Deir al Balah in central Gaza, a senior UN official said.
"We're unable to deliver today with the conditions that we're in," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We're not leaving (Gaza) because the people need us there," the official said. "We're trying to balance the need of the population with the need for safety and security of the UN personnel ."
1535 GMT — One of Gaza's last functioning hospitals is emptying
One of Gaza's last functioning hospitals has been emptying out in recent days as Israel has ordered the evacuation of nearby areas and signalled a possible ground operation in a town that has been largely spared throughout the war, officials said.
The al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah is the main hospital serving central Gaza. The Israeli military has not ordered its evacuation, but patients and people sheltering there fear that it may be engulfed in fighting or become the target of a raid.
1535 GMT — Palestine to apply for BRICS membership after upcoming Kazan summit
Palestine is expected to submit its application to join the BRICS, a group of emerging economies, after its upcoming summit in October in the city of Kazan, southwestern Russia.
Russian state news agency TASS quoted the Palestinian ambassador to Moscow, Abdel Hafiz Nofal, as saying that Palestine will lodge its application for joining BRICS after attending the summit.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that one session would be fully devoted to Palestine," the Palestinian ambassador said. Earlier, Putin invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the BRICS summit in Kazan.
1418 GMT — Palestinians in Deir al Balah suffer worsening water scarcity: UN agency
Israeli attacks in central Gaza's Deir al Balah have forced most water wells out of service, resulting in an 85 percent water shortfall, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said.
The Israeli army on Sunday demanded Palestinians evacuate an area east of Deir al Balah that was previously designated as a "humanitarian area" by the military.
"Due to ongoing military operations in Deir al Balah, only 3 out of 18 water wells there are still functioning, resulting in an 85 percent water shortfall," UNRWA said in a statement.
"Not only are people in Gaza in constant fear for their lives, but they struggle to meet even their most basic needs."
1313 GMT — Egypt not to accept Israeli forces on its Gaza border: media
Egypt has said it will not accept the continued presence of Israeli forces along its border with Gaza, state-linked media reported.
Cairo, a key mediator in efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, "reiterated to all parties that it will not accept any Israeli presence" along the strategic Philadelphi Corridor, state-linked Al Qahera News said, citing a high-level source.
1309 GMT — Israeli evacuation orders in Deir al-Balah force 250,000 people to flee
Israeli evacuation orders have forced around 250,000 Palestinian civilians to flee their neighbourhoods in Deir al Balah in central Gaza, according to local authorities.
"The new evacuation orders have created a new tragedy and deepened the suffering of the people of Deir al Balah," the municipal office said in a statement.
According to the office, the city was home to around half of Gaza’s Palestinian population. The evacuation orders "have caused the forced displacement of about 250,000 people and put 25 shelters out of service," it added.
1304 GMT — Israeli drone strike kills 7 fishermen near Gaza beach
At least seven fishermen have been killed and several others injured in an Israeli drone strike near Gaza City beach, according to a medical source.
The strike targeted the fishermen as they were fishing, the source told Anadolu. The drone fired a missile into a group of fishermen as they gathered on Gaza City beach, witnesses said.
1220 GMT — Gaza death toll climbs to 40,435 as Israeli onslaught continues
At least 30 more Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll since Oct. 7 last year to 40,435, the Health Ministry in the enclave has said.
A ministry statement added that some 93,534 other people have been injured in the assault. "Israeli forces killed 30 people and injured 66 others in two 'massacres' of families in the last 24 hours," the statement said.
"Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them," it noted.
1157 GMT — Iran praises Hezbollah attack on Israel
Iran has praised the drone and missile assault by Lebanon's Hezbollah group on Israel, saying the Israeli state had lost the ability to prevent such attacks amid heightened regional tensions.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday said the group had launched a large-scale attack on Israel, targeting "the Glilot base - the main Israeli military intelligence base".
"The Zionist regime may be able to hide, distort or censor some facts regarding Lebanese Hezbollah operations, but it knows very well that the existing facts will not change," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani posted on X.
1056 GMT — Palestinian presidency deplores Ben-Gvir's synagogue plan
Palestinian Presidency has said that Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir's call to build a synagogue in al-Aqsa Mosque is an attempt to drag the region into a religious war, which will burn everything.
A Palestinian man was gunned down on Monday after being shot by Israeli forces in the occupied southern West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported.
0931 GMT — Palestinians flee Gaza hospital amid Israeli evacuation orders
Palestinians have been forced to flee the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and its surroundings amid Israeli orders for residents to evacuate an area east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
Patients and wounded at the hospital fled on foot, in wheelchairs, or hospital beds after Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee asked them to evacuate eastern Deir al-Balah.
0906 GMT — Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank
Eyad Ayed Abdel-Najjar, 46, has died after being shot in the head by Israeli forces in the Jinba area near Yatta, south of Hebron, a ministry statement said.
Witnesses told Anadolu Agency that an Israeli military unit opened fire at Palestinians near the “apartheid wall,” hitting Abdel-Najjar. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
0859 GMT — At least 15 killed as Israeli forces attack homes, school sheltering displaced people in Gaza
At least 15 Palestinians have been killed and dozens injured in Israeli strikes targeting homes and a school sheltering displaced civilians in Gaza, according to medical sources.
An Israeli drone hit a house in western Gaza City, killing five people, including two children and a woman, and injuring 15 others, a medical source told Anadolu Agency.
0754 GMT — Israeli forces shell Gaza school sheltering displaced
A Palestinian woman has been killed and several others injured as Israeli forces shelled a school sheltering displaced people north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The elderly woman was killed and several other displaced people were injured when the Israeli army shelled the Al-Izz bin Abdul Salam School in the northern part of the Nuseirat refugee camp, medical sources told Anadolu Agency.
05:34 GMT — Israel kills several Palestinians in Gaza City, Khan Younis
Israel has killed several Palestinians and wounded others after it bombed two homes in Gaza City and Khan Younis governorate in besieged Gaza.
"We have received several martyrs due to an Israeli strike on a house on Al-Shuhada Street in Gaza City," a medical source at Baptist Hospital in Gaza told Anadolu Agency.
Eyewitnesses reported that warplanes targeted the Abu Rida family's home in the town of Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis city in Khan Younis governorate, resulting in deaths and wounds.
The victims were transported by medical and civil defence teams to the Gaza European Hospital.
04:21 GMT — Hamas delegates leaves Cairo after reviewing truce talks results
Hamas' negotiating team left Cairo after reviewing the results of the latest round of Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel from the Egyptian and Qatari mediators, the resistance group said.
Izzat al Rishq, a Hamas leader, said on Telegram that their delegation "left Cairo this evening after meeting with mediators from Egypt and Qatar and hearing from them about the results of the latest round of negotiations," without giving further details.
"The delegation demanded that the occupation adhere to what was agreed upon on July 2, based on the statements made by US President Joe Biden and the UN Security Council resolution," he added.
03:50 GMT — Gaza Health Ministry receives over 1 million polio vaccine doses
Gaza's Health Ministry announced that it received 1.26 million doses of the polio vaccine.
"A total of 1.26 million doses of the OPV2 polio vaccine have arrived, along with 500 vaccine coolers," the ministry said in a statement.
"Preparations are underway to launch the (vaccine) campaign in coordination with partners," the ministry added, without elaborating.
03:12 GMT — US still working in Cairo to reach Gaza ceasefire: Sullivan
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the United States is still working in Cairo toward reaching a ceasefire deal in Gaza and added the United States is concerned about the Middle East tensions escalating to a broader war.
Sullivan also said at a news conference in Halifax the Biden administration is in consistent communication with Israel about the current situation with Hezbollah.
02:30 GMT — Hezbollah confirms 'success' in retaliation against Israel
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced its group's "success" in its military response to Israel's assassination of top commander Fuad Shukr, accusing Tel Aviv of "lying and failing."
"We identified the Galilot base as the primary target of our operation. It houses Unit 8200, which is responsible for intelligence gathering and espionage. The base is located 110 kilometres from the Lebanese border and only 1,500 metres from Tel Aviv," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
"Our operation today was in two phases. In the first phase, we launched 340 Katyusha rockets targeting 12 sites and military barracks in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights. In the second phase, we directed dozens of drones towards military targets in the depth of enemy territory."
For our live updates from Sunday, August 25, 2024, click here.
