Live blog: Egypt seeks follow-up Gaza truce meeting with Israel — sources

Thursday, April 25, 2024

1731 GMT — Egypt has asked for a follow-up meeting with Israel in renewed efforts to mediate a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza, two Egyptian security sources have said.

Egyptian, Israeli and US officials held in-person and remote meetings on Wednesday that sought concessions to break a deadlock in months-long negotiations for a truce.

A meeting between Egyptian and Israeli officials was expected to take place on Friday in Cairo, the sources said, with further meetings with the Hamas contingent on the result.

More updates 👇

1855 GMT — US begins construction of Gaza aid pier: Pentagon

The United States military has begun construction of a pier to boost deliveries of desperately needed aid to Gaza, the Pentagon has said.

"I can confirm that US military vessels... have begun to construct the initial stages of the temporary pier and causeway at sea," Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder told journalists.

1830 GMT — Hamas’ military wing targets Israeli surveillance site in Gaza

The military wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, has said it targeted an Israeli surveillance site with mortar shells in central Gaza.

It said it targeted a newly established Israeli site for surveillance and espionage east of the Juhur al-Deek area with mortar shells.

There has been no comment by the Israeli army.

1819 GMT — US lawmaker slams Netanyahu over remarks on campus protests

Sen. Bernie Sanders has slammed the Israeli premier's remarks that denounced pro-Palestinian protests that have roiled US college campuses.

"No, Mr. Netanyahu. It is not antisemitic or pro-Hamas to point out that in a little over six months your extremist government has killed 34,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 77,000 – 70 percent of whom are women and children," Sanders said in a statement.

1806 GMT — Hamas urges pressure on Israel to end siege of Gaza hospitals

Palestinian group Hamas has urged the international community to pressure Israel to lift its siege imposed on the health sector in Gaza.

Hamas in a statement said Israel hinders every attempt in the operation of hospitals, which have already been damaged in the course of Israel's devastating onslaught against Gaza.

Gaza's health authorities have warned that generators could soon stop working in hospitals due to a lack of fuel.

1755 GMT — UN stresses preserving forensic evidence of Gaza mass graves

The UN has emphasised the importance of preserving evidence on mass graves in Gaza, stating that it is unclear when the requested investigation will take place.

Asked about evidence suggesting that some victims were buried alive in mass graves at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and what should be done with such evidence, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told at a news conference that "it's important that all forensic evidence be well preserved."

Citing the UN's call for an international investigation on the mass graves, Dujarric said, "How that will take place, it's unclear at this time."

1750 GMT — Pro-Palestinian US campus protests grow as police crackdown

Pro-Palestinian protests have spread to more college campuses in the United States as authorities appeared to be running out of patience and police carried out large-scale arrests.

Sit-ins and boisterous demonstrations, including a new one that sprung up on Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles, are calling for colleges to sever ties with Israel and with companies they say profit from the conflict.

"For 201 days, the world has watched in silence as Israel has murdered over 30,000 Palestinians," said a message posted online by organizers of the UCLA protest.

"Today, UCLA joins students across the country in demanding that our universities divest from the companies which profit off of the occupation, apartheid and genocide in Palestine."

1639 GMT — Famine looms in northern Gaza, more aid needed: WFP official

Northern Gaza is still heading towards a famine and a great volume of aid, more predictability in access and a sustained effort to get more diverse assistance into the area is needed, UN World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau has said.

1558 GMT — Yemen's Houthis hit 102 Israeli, US, UK ships in Gaza conflict

Yemeni Houthis have said that it had targeted 102 Israeli, US and British vessels since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict last October.

"Some 102 Israel, US and British ships were attacked during 202 days of Israeli aggression on Gaza," group leader Abdul Malik al Houthi said. He said that around two Israel-linked ships are targeted daily by Houthi forces.

"The navigation of US ships in the Red Sea has dropped by 80 percent," he added.

1550 GMT — Turkish, Saudi foreign ministers discuss Gaza

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud have discussed the situation in Gaza over a phone call, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

The two ministers also spoke on regional developments, the sources added.

1519 GMT — Satellite images reveal Gaza's new port for US-led aid

The building of a new port in Gaza ahead of a US military-led operation to bring more desperately needed food and other aid into the besieged enclave as Israel's war on Gaza grinds on is well underway, according to satellite images analysed by The Associated Press.

The construction appears to have been moving quickly over the last two weeks, judging from the images, and some officials say the port could become ready as early as a week from now.

The port sits just southwest of Gaza City, which once was the territory's most-populous area before the Israeli ground offensive rolled through, pushing over 1 million people south toward the town of Rafah on the Egyptian border.

1509 GMT — Israel kills one, injures two others in Gaza strike

One person was killed and two others were seriously injured in an Israeli strike in northern Gaza, according to witnesses.

A reconnaissance drone struck a group of civilians near the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, an eyewitness told Anadolu news agency.

1506 GMT — Up to 100,000 Gaza residents crossed into Egypt: envoy

Between 80,000 and 100,000 Palestinians have crossed into Egypt from Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian ambassador to Cairo has said.

Ambassador Diab Allouh told AFP news agency that they had made their way over the frontier, without specifying how.

The Rafah border crossing is the sole entry and exit point to Gaza not directly under the control of Israeli forces.

1443 GMT — Gaza hospital generators to run out of fuel: Health Ministry

Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has warned that electric generators at hospitals will cease functioning due to the lack of fuel.

"We appeal to the UN and humanitarian institutions to quickly provide the necessary fuel to ensure the continued provision of services to patients to preserve their lives," the ministry said in a statement.

1411 GMT — Hamas presses Israel to end Gaza war for hostage release

Hamas has reiterated its demand Israel end the Gaza war as part of any deal to release hostages held there, with Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior official in the Palestinian resistance group, telling Reuters that US pressure on Hamas "has no value".

1312 GMT — 18 countries call Hamas to release hostages for 'ceasefire'

The leaders of 18 nations whose nationals remain captive in besieged Gaza have demanded their immediate release and said it would lead to what they called a "credible end of hostilities."

A statement from the leaders of Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, the UK and the US said the fate of the hostages and Gaza's civilians, "who are protected under international law, is of international concern."

"We emphasise that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities," they said.

1256 GMT — Belgian aid worker killed in Israeli air strike in Rafah

A Belgian aid worker and his son have been killed by Wednesday night's Israeli air strike in Rafah, Belgian development agency Enabel has said.

"It is with deep sorrow and horror that we learn of the death of our colleague Abdallah Nabhan (33) and his 7-year-old son Jamal last night after an Israeli airstrike in the eastern part of the city of Rafah," the agency said on X.

According to a statement released by the agency, Nabhan’s wife is in critical condition in hospital and the couple's two other children — aged 5 and 7 months — sustained minor injuries.

1254 GMT — Israel's Nahal Brigade exits Gaza, prepares for Rafah invasion: report

The Israeli army’s Nahal Brigade has withdrawn from Gaza to prepare for a looming ground attack in Rafah city, according to local media.

The brigade will be replaced by the 679th Armored Brigade and the 2nd Infantry Brigade, Israeli Army Radio has reported.

The elite brigade will reportedly take part in a planned ground offensive in Rafah, where more than 1.4 million people have taken refuge from Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

1250 GMT — Israel kills Palestinian teenager in occupied West Bank: officials

Palestinian officials have said Israeli forces killed a 16-year-old boy during a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

Israeli police said "hits were identified" when forces responded to stone-throwing with gunfire but did not directly address the allegation.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Khaled Raed Arouq was shot in the chest and "martyred by the occupation's live bullets".

1202 GMT — Telecom blackout hits Gaza amid Israeli onslaught

Palestinian telecoms company Paltel has said that communications and internet services went down in central and southern Gaza.

In a statement, the company said the services were disrupted “due to Israel’s relentless aggression.”

"Our teams are working to restore the services as soon as possible," it added.

1137 GMT — Egypt rejects Palestinian displacement, aims for Gaza ceasefire

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi has renewed his country’s rejection of the forced displacement of Palestinians, saying Cairo is seeking to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

"Egypt’s position is clear from the first moment that it rejects any displacement of Palestinians from their lands to Sinai or any other area in order to preserve the Palestinian cause and protect Egypt’s national security," he said in a speech marking the Sinai Liberation Day.

1043 GMT — Hezbollah rejects Israeli claim of killing half of its forces

Hezbollah has denied an Israeli claim that it had killed half of the Lebanese group's commanders in the south of the country, saying only a handful were slain.

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said that "the other half are in hiding and abandoning the field to IDF (Israeli army) operations," he added, without specifying how many.

A Hezbollah source told AFP that the number of slain Hezbollah militants who "hold a certain level of responsibility does not exceed the number of fingers on one hand".

The source said Gallant's claim was "untrue and baseless" and designed to "raise the morale of the collapsed (Israeli) army".

1042 GMT — More than 100 arrested at US university pro-Palestinian protests

More than 100 people were arrested at two universities in California and Texas, officials said, after pro-Palestinian protests erupted across US campuses this week.

Demonstrations flared at the University of Southern California's (USC) Los Angeles campus, where 93 people were arrested for trespassing, and at the University of Texas (UT) in Austin, where 34 were arrested, according to authorities.

The tense standoffs were among the latest on-campus confrontations between law enforcement, including police in riot gear, and banner-wielding students outraged at the mounting death toll in Israel's war on the tiny enclave.

USC said on social media site X at around midnight that the protest had ended and the campus would remain "closed until further notice."

1041 GMT — Palestinians so far uncovered 392 bodies from Gaza mass graves

Palestinians have uncovered 392 bodies of people in three mass graves at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the civil defence agency has said.

"Civil defence teams have dug up 392 bodies from the mass graves," Yamen Abu Sulaiman, the head of Palestinian civil defence agency in Gaza said. Bodies of children were found among the victims.

"We don't know the reason for the presence of children's bodies in mass graves at the hospital," Abu Sulaiman said.

The Palestinian Civil Defence Team separately called on the United Nations to investigate what it said were Israel's "war crimes" at a Gaza hospital.

0943 GMT — French police break up pro-Palestinian university protest

French police broke up a pro-Palestinian protest by dozens of university students in Paris, officials said, as Israel's bombardment of Gaza sparks a wave of anger across college campuses in the United States.

Police intervened as around 60 students gathered on a central Paris campus of the elite Sciences Po university on Wednesday evening, management said.

"After discussions with management, most of them agreed to leave the premises," university officials said in a statement to AFP, saying the protest was adding to "tensions" at the university.

But "a small group of students" refused to leave and "it was decided that the police would evacuate the site", the statement added.

0940 GMT — Gaza death toll surpasses 34,300 as Israeli attacks continue

Gaza’s death toll from ongoing Israeli aggression has surged to 34,305 since last October, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said.

A ministry statement said that 77,293 other people have also been injured in the Israeli onslaught.

“At least 43 people were killed and 64 others injured in Israeli attacks in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

“Many victims are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

0924 GMT — Amnesty calls on US universities to lift crackdown on Gaza protests

Amnesty International urged university administrations across the US to safeguard and facilitate the students' right to peacefully and safely protest or counter protest on their campuses.  

In a report, the rights watchdog condemned the suppression of student protests against the war in Gaza.

"Any steps taken to silence, harass, threaten, or otherwise intimidate those who gather peacefully to protest and speak out is a violation of their rights," said Paul O’Brien, the executive director of Amnesty International USA.

According to O’Brien, universities have responded repressively to protests in support of Palestinian rights, involving local authorities and even demanding arrests.

"Academic freedom is central to the right to education," it said. "Campus activism is a crucial component of that freedom."

0903 GMT — Another Palestinian journalist killed in Gaza, death toll rises to 141 since October 7

One more Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli air strike, taking the death toll since last October to 141, according to Gaza’s government media office.

Mohammed al Jamal, a reporter with Palestine Now news agency, lost his life when fighter jets struck his house in Rafah in southern Gaza, the media office said in a statement.

0750 GMT — Israeli troops 'abduct 9 doctors from Gaza hospital'

The Israeli army executed hundreds of displaced, sick and injured people during a raid on the Nasser Medical Complex in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza during a ground assault that lasted for four months, the Gaza Media Office said.

“The depth of the mass graves we found (in Nasser Hospital) confirms that they were dug using large machinery such as Israeli occupation bulldozers and other vehicles,” the head of the media office, Ismail Al Thawabteh, told Anadolu Agency.

“The Israeli army abducted nine doctors from the Nasser Medical Complex to an unknown location and committed the crime of enforced disappearance against them,” Al Thawabteh added.

The head of the Gaza media office identified some of the doctors abducted as Ahmad Mousa, Bayan Shurrab, Iyad Shaqoura, Mahmoud Shehada, Ahmad Al-Smairi, Nahed Abu Taima, Khalid Al-Ser, and Alaa Barbakh.

0743 GMT — Hezbollah, state media say Israeli drone strike hits east Lebanon

State media and a Hezbollah source said one person was wounded in an Israeli drone attack on eastern Lebanon following a flare-up in cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel.

It came a day after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israeli forces were carrying out "offensive action" across southern Lebanon, as cross-border fire intensified.

The violence has fuelled fears of all-out conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel, which last went to war in 2006.

"An Israeli drone attack hit a truck carrying fuel" for Hezbollah in the village of Duris, just southwest of the Bekaa Valley city of Baalbek, a Hezbollah source told AFP.

0730 GMT — Israeli council considers issuing international arrest warrant for Netanyahu: Report

The Israeli National Security Council held secret discussions on the possibility of issuing international arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, a local media outlet reported.

Israel's Channel 13 reported that the discussions took place “in anticipation of the possibility of international arrest warrants being issued in the coming days against senior officials in Israel.”

“According to the information and indications available to senior officials in Israel, there is a possibility that the International Criminal Court in The Hague will issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Halevi,” the channel added.

0647 GMT — Edward Said’s daughter says she’s ‘disappointed’ by Columbia University’s handling of pro-Palestine protests

As many students at Columbia University in New York gathered on their campus for a pro-Palestinian protest Tuesday, among them was a notable guest, Najla Said, the daughter of the late Palestinian intellectual Edward Said, a former professor of literature at the university.

Until his death in 2003, Edward Said was a vocal advocate and one of the most influential voices for the rights of the Palestinian people.

If he were alive today, according to Najla, he would be "incredibly proud" of the students at Columbia University.

"He would have probably approached (Columbia University) President (Minouche) Shafik personally and tried to speak with her and tried to help this situation not turn into what it has, which is also heartbreaking because it really makes me wish he were here," she told Anadolu in a video interview.

"I am deeply disappointed in the leadership of Columbia, as I think many people are," she said.

0550 GMT — Hamas to lay down arms if two-state solution implemented: Report

A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press that the group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and transform into a political party if a two-state solution is implemented.

The comments by Khalil al-Hayya in an interview Wednesday came amid a stalemate in months of ceasefire talks.

Al-Hayya said Hamas wants form a unified government for Gaza and the West Bank. He also said Hamas would accept “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza and the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with the international resolutions".

“All the experiences of people who fought against occupiers, when they became independent and obtained their rights and their state, what have these forces done? They have turned into political parties and their defending fighting forces have turned into the national army,” he said.

0417 GMT — US engages ballistic missile, UAVs launched from Yemen

The US engaged an anti-ship ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicles launched from areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthi group, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

"At 11:51 a.m. (Sanaa time) on April 24, a coalition vessel successfully engaged one anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) launched from Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas in Yemen over the Gulf of Aden.

"The ASBM was likely targeting the MV Yorktown, a US-flagged, owned and operated vessel with 18 US and four Greek crew members," CENTCOM said on X.

Separately, CENTCOM successfully engaged and destroyed four unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, it said.

It added that it determined that the ASBM and UAVs presented an "imminent threat" to vessels in the region.

Yemen’s Houthi group has been targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from Israel in solidarity with Gaza, which has been under an Israeli onslaught since last October 7.

0437 GMT — 34 arrested during pro-Palestine protest at University of Texas camps

The number of pro-Palestine protestors who were arrested during a demonstration at the University of Texas has risen to 34, authorities said.

"As of 9 p.m., 34 arrests have been made by law enforcement on the UT Austin campus related to today’s protest," said the Texas Department of Public Safety on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday.

Among the arrested was a FOX 7 Austin photographer who was filming the demonstration by the students on the UT Austin campus.

Social media footage shows the photographer being slammed to the ground and taken away in handcuffs.

The students staged a walkout to demand the university divest from weapons manufacturing in connection with Israel.

0415 GMT — World Central Kitchen workers killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza will be honored at memorial

A memorial at the National Cathedral in Washington will honour the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza earlier this month.

José Andrés, the celebrity chef and philanthropist behind the Washington-based World Central Kitchen disaster relief group, is expected to speak at the celebration of life service, and famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma will perform, organizers said.

The Biden administration said Thursday that Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, and US Assistant Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell would be among senior administration figures attending.

The aid workers were killed April 1 when a succession of Israeli armed drones ripped through vehicles in their convoy as they left one of World Central Kitchen's warehouses on a food delivery mission.

Those who died were Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha; Britons John Chapman, James Kirby and James Henderson; dual U.S.-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger; Australian Lalzawmi Frankcom; and Polish citizen Damiam Sobol.

0201 GMT — Ben-Gvir evacuated from building besieged by Israeli protesters

Israeli police have evacuated extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from a building in West Jerusalem that was surrounded by protesters, including families of captives in besieged Gaza.

Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that hundreds of protesters gathered in the area near the building where far-right Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu and extremist rabbi Bentzi Gopstein accompanied Ben-Gvir.

The police evacuated the notorious minister from the scene after its officers secured him.

They prevented the protesters from reaching Ben-Gvir after they surrounded his car, chanting slogans of disapproval against him, including "Shame on you."

The police used crowd dispersal means, including wastewater, according to the daily.

0113 GMT — Israeli officials admit failure of campaign to halt UNRWA funding

Top officials in Israel have acknowledged the failure of an Israeli campaign against international funding for the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees [UNRWA], Israel's Haaretz daily reported.

"Several countries have announced over the past few weeks that they will renew the funding to UNRWA, which they froze at the start of the Gaza war in the wake of Israeli claims that the organisation was cooperating with [the Palestinian group] Hamas and that some of its employees had actively participated in the October 7 attack," said the daily.

"In recent days, the Israeli campaign against UNRWA has received a series of blows, including an announcement by Germany, one of Israel's main supporters, of its intention to resume funding for the agency, which it froze last January."

0052 GMT — Israeli council anticipates possible arrest warrant for Netanyahu

The Israeli National Security Council has held secret discussions on the possibility of international arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, a local media outlet reported.

Israel's Channel 13 reported that the discussions took place "in anticipation of the possibility of international arrest warrants being issued in the coming days against senior officials in Israel."

"According to the information and indications available to senior officials in Israel, there is a possibility that the International Court of Justice in The Hague will issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Halevi," the channel added.

It said that as part of the discussions, several immediate measures were approved for Israel to take in response to this potential move, including "launching a political campaign" at the international level against it.

2200 GMT — Casualties as Israel strikes Gaza's crammed Rafah city

Israel has launched multiple air strikes on besieged Gaza's southern city of Rafah, killing at least three people, according to local sources.

Over 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge in the city to escape Israel's carnage elsewhere in the blockaded enclave.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government said Israel was "moving ahead" with its plans for a ground invasion on Rafah but gave no timeline.

Displaced people sheltering in Rafah are weighing whether to flee again. Tamer Al-Burai, who fled from Gaza City and is now living in Rafah in a cluster of tents with seven households of extended family, said the entire group was heading to the north "since Israel sounds more serious in its threats this time".

"We have women, children, elderly and sick people, who may face problems escaping should the invasion happen suddenly," he told the Reuters news agency over a chat app. "Invasions happen under heavy fire and people die as they leave.

2147 GMT — Netanyahu calls US campus protests 'anti-Semitic'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at pro-Palestinian demonstrations on American college campuses, falsely claiming that protests are anti-Semitic and comparing them to the lead-up to the Holocaust.

In a video statement, Netanyahu claimed that "anti-Semitic mobs have taken over leading universities."

"This is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s," he alleged.

He called on state, local and federal officials to intervene in students' protests.

Groups organising the protests deny allegations of anti-Semitism, saying the demonstrations are directed at Israel and its actions in besieged Gaza.

2104 — Israel strikes two towns in southern Lebanon

Israel has struck the towns of Hula and Maroun in al-Ras in southern Lebanon.

Since October 7, at least 380 people have been killed in Lebanon in Israeli strikes and shelling, according to an AFP news agency tally.

For our live updates from Wednesday, April 24, click here.