- Medical sources tell Al Jazeera that at least 29 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since dawn this morning, 21 of that number being killed in Gaza City.
- A 20-year-old man has died in an Israeli prison as Palestinians mark Prisoners’ Day with marches across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
- The United Nations said an estimated 500,000 people have been “newly displaced or uprooted once more” in Gaza since Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas on March 18.
- Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 51,065 Palestinians have been confirmed dead and 116,505 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since it began 18 months ago.
- The Gaza Government Media Office updated its death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.
UNRWA warns critical supplies in Gaza depleting
UNRWA says approximately 69 percent of Gaza is “within ‘no-go’ areas, under active displacement orders, or both”, as Israel’s blockading of aid since March 2 was hampering relief efforts.
“This is three times longer than the siege the Israeli Authorities imposed in October 2023 when the war started,” UNRWA said in their latest situation report on the war-ravaged coastal enclave.
“As a result, critical humanitarian supplies, including food, fuel, medical aid and vaccines for children, are rapidly depleting.”
Members of leading UK Jewish group condemn Israel’s resumption of Gaza war
Thirty -six members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, one of the largest organisations representing Jewish people in the UK, have voiced their opposition to the Israeli government’s renewed military campaign in Gaza.The signatories criticised the Israeli government’s decision to resume war in Gaza, adding that since then “no hostages have returned” while “hundreds and hundreds more Palestinians have been killed”.“Our Jewish values compel us to stand up and to speak out,” the letter, published in the Financial Times, read. “We are back in a brutal war where the killing of 15 paramedics and their burial in a mass grave is again possible and risks being normal.”
Palestinian foreign ministry says Ben-Gvir’s statements point to Israeli plans for Jerusalem
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that Israel’s recently reappointed National Security Minister Ben-Gvir’s continuous calls for settlers to intensify their raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque constitute further evidence of a plan to “change the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem”.
The ministry warned this included “attempts to separate it from its Palestinian surroundings and impose a new reality”, including building a synagogue in place of the mosque, which is Islam’s third-holiest site.
“This requires a firm and urgent international response,” it added, stressing that the escalating tensions should be dealt “with utmost seriousness”.
The statement comes hours after hundreds of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque. Some performed a religious ritual called an “epic prostration”, drawing praise from Ben-Gvir.
Five killed in Israeli air strikes on Rafah, Deir el-Balah
Five Palestinians, including a young girl, have been killed this afternoon in Israeli air strikes on Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, and Rafah in the south, Wafa news agency reported.
Several people were also wounded in a separate drone strike that hit a motorcycle east of Deir el-Balah.
At least 29 people have been killed by Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn today.
Israel’s FM ‘cut short’ UK visit due to arrest warrant
Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) says Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had cut short his visit to the UK, a day after rights groups formally submitted a request to apply for his arrest warrant.
“He is a suspect in a live investigation of serious crimes. If seen contact the London Met Police immediately,” the group said on X.
The UK-based GLAN as well as the Hind Rajab Foundation had reportedly submitted a request for an arrest warrant for Saar.
Humanitarian groups ration aid as supplies dwindle
Aid groups are trying to stretch whatever aid is available in their warehouses to make it last as long as possible.
The rationing is a reality for the majority of people in Gaza, who are living on one meal a day only. In the last two weeks, the Israeli army also cut off the only water pipeline to the Gaza Strip, cutting off 1.2 million people from drinking water.
Humanitarian operations are being stifled by the ongoing military operations, and people are being forced into overcrowded displacement areas where resources are not enough.
On top of that, there are deliberate attacks on aid facilities and workers that have made it very difficult to distribute much-needed aid.
More than 3,500 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons with charge or trial
Palestinians are commemorating Prisoners’ Day, a day dedicated to the thousands of detainees held in Israeli jails.
Many former detainees say they have been subjected to systematic torture, abuse and starvation by Israeli prison authorities.
Prisoners’ rights organisation Addameer says roughly two in five Palestinian men have been arrested and nearly 10,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons. Out of those, around 400 are children and 27 are women.
Additionally, 3,500 are under administrative detention and held without charge or trial.
Since October 2023, Israel has banned humanitarian visits, making it harder to assess conditions and exact prisoner numbers.
Gaza death toll rises to 29
Medical sources in Gaza tell Al Jazeera that at least 29 people have now been reported killed since dawn.
Of those, 21 Palestinians have been killed in northern Gaza.
Time for a recap
If you’re just joining us, let’s get you up to speed:
- Medical sources in Gaza told Al Jazeera that at least 27 people were killed across Gaza today, including 21 in strikes on Gaza City.
- Israeli army issued a statement saying it attacked “a terrorist” who was in a Hamas command and control compound to plan and execute acts against Israel.
- A hardline member of the Israeli parliament is reported to have joined the storming of al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli settlers.
- Qatar’s Emir said Israel had failed to respect a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
- Two Hamas officials told AFP that the group’s discussions on an Israeli ceasefire proposal were nearly complete, with a response expected soon.
- The portrait of a Palestinian boy shot by Samar Abu Elouf for the New York Times has won the World Press Photo of the year.
- Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces have stormed the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, to secure access for Israeli settlers to the ancient reservoir.
Netanyahu’s office: Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons
Netanyahu’s office released a statement today, saying the prime minister “led countless overt and covert actions against Iran’s nuclear program, thanks to which Iran does not possess a nuclear arsenal today”.
“Netanyahu has been leading the global campaign against Iran’s nuclear program for over a decade, even when some have downplayed the threat and called it ‘political spin’ and the prime minister ‘paranoid’,” the statement said.
“Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.”