- A UN humanitarian official told Al Jazeera that Israel’s attacks on water systems in Gaza, and its blocking of repairs, have led to “absolutely catastrophic” conditions for Palestinians.
- Analysis by the United Nations reveals only Palestinian women and children were killed in at least 36 Israeli strikes on Gaza between March 18 and April 9.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lashed out at Israel’s killing of civilians in Gaza, saying, “If this is not barbarism, I ask you, what is?”
- Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 50,912 Palestinians are confirmed dead and 115,981 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. The 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.
Palestinian Authority PM warns of growing disaster in Gaza
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa has thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for supporting the Palestinian cause during Israel’s onslaught.
Mustafa expressed appreciation for Turkiye’s efforts to end attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
During their meeting, the prime minister emphasised the need for increased international pressure to stop Israel from creating famine in Gaza because of its total blockade of desperately needed humanitarian aid.
Mustafa also briefed Erdogan on the deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank during weeks-long Israeli military raids and settler attacks.
Erdogan reiterated Turkiye’s unwavering support for Palestine and readiness to contribute to Gaza’s reconstruction once Israel’s war ends.
Qassam Brigades releases footage of Israeli American captive
The armed wing of Hamas has released a video showing captured Israeli soldier Edan Alexander who holds dual Israeli-US citizenship.
Alexander is seen sitting in a tiny space in the more than three-minute clip.
“We really think we’ll come home dead. There’s nothing to say, no hope,” he says.
Getting aid into Gaza ‘very difficult’: Red Cross chief
Attacks on humanitarian workers must immediately stop, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says.
“Getting humanitarian assistance to Gaza has been very, very difficult, and for the last more than a month, no aid has been entering the country,” Jagan Chapagain told Anadolu news agency during Turkiye’s Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
Israel halted the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza on March 2. Its soldiers also gunned down 15 Palestinian rescue personnel in Rafah last month.
“We have asked, really, that … killings of the humanitarian workers must stop everywhere in the world,” he said, adding “fundamental principles and international emergency law must be respected.”
The Israeli military is shooting anyone who moves in Shujayea
The situation in Gaza City’s Shujayea has been very intense and very dangerous, as the Israeli forces have advanced after the evacuation orders were issued yesterday.
Palestinians in that area, especially those who did not evacuate, are now trapped.
The Israeli tanks are surrounding the area, and they have been stationed in a very strategic point that overlooks the entire neighborhood.
Palestinians in that area are saying that whoever is moving or tries to move from one place to another is being shot by the Israeli soldiers.
Israeli forces have also been targeting different areas in Khan Younis. The last one was an air strike on a group of people, where a Palestinian was killed.
Israeli forces have also announced that they have completed the Morag corridor, which they have been working on since they started their invasion in Rafah.
According to Israeli officials, this is another Philadelphi Corridor, but this one splits Khan Younis and Rafah.
It’s important to know that most agricultural lands are in Rafah, specifically near the Morag corridor.
Teenage boy shot by Israeli forces near Bethlehem
Wafa news agency, citing local security sources, reports that a Palestinian teenager was shot by Israeli forces during a military raid on the town of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, last night.
The Palestinian news agency said soldiers stormed the town and fired live ammunition and sound grenades towards residents.
The boy, who is 17 years old, was shot in the foot and is receiving treatment at a hospital, Wafa reported.
Qatar condemns Israel’s closure of UNRWA schools in Jerusalem
A statement from the country’s Foreign Ministry says “it considers the deprivation of children from education a new crime in the ongoing series of Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories”.
Israel effectively banned UNRWA, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, via legislation at the beginning of this year, rendering the agency unable to carry out its work in the occupied West Bank, Israel or occupied East Jerusalem.
Qatar’s statement also stressed “the need for the international community to act urgently to hold Israel accountable and oblige it to comply with international laws”.
Gaza City official: Israel prevents water pipeline repair
A spokesperson for the Gaza City municipality says Israel’s continued disruption of the Mekorot pipeline is exacerbating the Strip’s water crisis.
The military halted the flow of water from Israeli company Mekorot to the Gaza Strip in early April, cutting off 70 percent of the Palestinian enclave’s water supply.
The spokesperson said Israeli forces are denying access to repair crews seeking to fix damaged water infrastructure, and that repairs could be made, bringing desperately needed water to parts of the city, in only 24 hours.
Israel kills one in Khan Younis
Another Palestinian has been killed in an Israeli drone attack in central Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, our correspondent reports.
Israel has been attacking Khan Younis all day, killing in one strike several displaced people in a tent shelter.
Medicine stocks in Gaza hospitals ‘dangerous, unprecedented’
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said hospitals and medics are experiencing a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies, which have not been replenished for some 40 days due to Israel’s complete blockade of the Strip.
Israel has destroyed 34 of the 38 hospitals in the Gaza Strip so far, leaving only four hospitals operating at limited capacity despite their severe damage, according to the latest statistics from the Government Media Office.
The situation in Gaza is now ‘absolutely catastrophic’: OCHA
Olga Cherevko, a staff member with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), spoke to Al Jazeera from Deir el-Balah.
Here is a summary of what she said:
- More than 400,000 people have now been displaced in just over three weeks.
- A “massive shortage of water” and water facilities have been damaged and destroyed, leading to “absolutely appalling” hygiene conditions.
- The destruction is so vast that OCHA has been unable to repair all facilities, and some water wells are currently within the areas that are under evacuation orders.
- OCHA has had to rely on water trucking and has set up water points across the Gaza Strip.
- A lack of water has contributed to the spread of skin rashes and public health issues, including fleas, mites and lice.
- “Absolutely zero supplies have come in in over 40 days”, which means OCHA is “running out of everything, including critical medical and trauma supplies.”
Israel continues to escalate its attacks across the Gaza Strip
Israeli forces have just bombed a house in Khan Younis. Injuries have been reported, and ambulances are heading to that area.
But let me remind you that it’s very hard for ambulances to reach that house because of the destroyed roads and all the rubble on the streets.
An Israeli quadcopter has also targeted a Palestinian in Nuseirat.
Overnight, Israeli forces bombed a house in Gaza City’s Shujayea where two Palestinians were killed.
There have been evacuation orders for Shujayea and Khan Younis yesterday.
There has been ongoing artillery shelling in different areas across the Gaza Strip, in the north, in the central area, and also in the South, in Rafah and Khan Younis.
Palestinians are still trapped under the rubble, and most of those injured and killed are women and children.
It’s not only the ongoing air strikes that are making the situation so dire across the Gaza Strip. It’s also the mass displacement and the mass starvation. Not a single truck carrying aid, food, cooking gas, or fuel has entered the Strip for almost six weeks.