Saturday, February 24, 2024
14:56 GMT - War on Gaza inflicts unprecedented levels of destruction — WHO
World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic has said the war in Gaza, going on since Oct. 7, has caused unprecedented destruction.
The war in Gaza has resulted in unprecedented levels of destruction, Jasarevic said, stressing that between 70 to 80 percent of civilian infrastructure, including homes, hospitals, schools, water, and sanitation facilities, have been destroyed or severely damaged.
Jasarevic said it will take decades to repair the infrastructure in Gaza, including the health system that is barely surviving.
14:22 GMT — Israeli navy targets Palestinian fishing boat off southern Gaza
Israeli naval forces have targeted a Palestinian fishing boat off the coast of southern Gaza, damaging the vessel.
"An Israeli military boat opened heavy fire at a Palestinian fishing boat, while the fisherman tried to avoid the gunfire and quickly rowed his boat out of the sea," an Anadolu correspondent reported on the incident, which occurred off the coast of Gaza City of Khan Younis.
The continued Israeli fire severely damaged the fleeing craft before the fisherman on board could return to shore, the correspondent added.
13:10 GMT — Israel kills over 100 Palestinians amid truce talks
More than 100 Palestinians were reportedly killed early Saturday in overnight Israeli strikes across Gaza, while Israel's spy chief was in Paris for talks aimed at "unblocking" progress towards a truce and the return of hostages held by Hamas.
The Paris negotiations follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's post-invasion Gaza plan, criticised by the United States and rejected by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas on Friday.
Concerns for civilians deepen as the UN warns of a growing risk of famine, and UNWRA declares early Saturday that Gaza residents are "in extreme peril while the world watches on."
12:40 GMT — US downs Houthi drones, strikes anti-ship missiles
American forces shot down three attack drones near commercial ships in the Red Sea and destroyed seven anti-ship cruise missiles positioned on land, the US military has said.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting shipping for months and their attacks have persisted despite repeated American and British strikes aimed at degrading the rebels' ability to threaten a vital global trade route.
Early on Friday, US forces "shot down three Houthi one-way attack (drones) near several commercial ships operating in the Red Sea. There was no damage to any ships," the Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media.
12:10 GMT — Israeli settlements in Palestine violate peace, law: Norway
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem “constitute a chief obstacle” to any prospect for peace, Norway's delegation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has said.
"House evictions, demolitions, force-displacement and settler violence against the Palestinian population are aspects of the Israeli occupation," a director general at the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, Kristian Jervell, said during public hearings about Israel's military activities in Palestine.
He said they are against "fundamental human rights, international humanitarian law, and the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people," and undermine a vision for a two-state solution.
11:30 GMT — Brazilian President denounces Israeli onslaughts in Gaza as 'genocide'
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva once again has said that the Israeli military is committing “genocide” in Gaza.
"It is a genocide. Thousands of children are dead and thousands are missing. Soldiers are not dying. Women and children are dying at the hospital," he has said at an event in Rio de Janeiro.
"If that's not genocide, I don't know what genocide is."
The Brazilian president also called for the establishment of a “free and sovereign” Palestinian state.
11:20 GMT — Israel targets Hezbollah position in Lebanon: army
The Israeli army has said it bombed Hezbollah targets in four different areas in southern Lebanon.
“During the night, warplanes attacked launch positions and infrastructures of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the Jabal Blat area,” an Israeli army statement said.
It said that an observation post of Hezbollah was attacked in the Ayta ash-Shab area.
The army, it added, also “attacked with artillery the Hanine area and the Marvin area to eliminate threats."There was no comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli army's statement.
05:10 - Israel kills 25 Palestinians in new Gaza massacre
Israel has struck a residential building in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, killing 25 people, including 16 women and children, hospital officials said. At least 50 people were wounded.
Among those living in the building was Mahmoud Zueitar, a Palestinian comedian who is well known in Gaza for his appearances in TV advertisements.
Throughout the war, Zueitar has posted upbeat and cheerful videos on social media, joking with people about ways they endure bombardment and displacement, praising Palestinian culture and assuring those around him that things will be better one day.
04:20 GMT - Israeli rights group says buffer zone in Gaza 'war crime'
An Israeli rights group has said that the army's buffer zone in Gaza constitutes a "war crime" because it will deprive Palestinians of movement in the area.
"To create the buffer zone, Israel is currently destroying almost everything in the area it has designated for it, including residential buildings, public structures such as schools, medical clinics and mosques, fields, groves and greenhouses," B'Tselem said in a report.
It noted that the planned buffer zone will stretch more than 60 kilometres with a 1 kilometre width, by which "the area will be off limits to Palestinians — even those who lived or cultivated fields in it before the war."
For our live updates from Friday, February 23, click here.
