Live blog: Israel vows to continue Gaza offensive in north with 'strength'

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

1904 GMT –– Israel's military chief of staff has said that the Gaza offensive "will continue with strength" and that Israel was "preparing for an offensive in the north".

The head of the armed forces, Herzi Halevi, did not elaborate further in the remarks he made while conducting a tour and a situational assessment at the Lebanese border.

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1849 GMT –– More than 50 pct of Gaza pier constructed: Pentagon

The United States military has so far constructed over 50 percent of a maritime pier that will eventually be placed off the coast of Gaza to speed the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave, the Pentagon said.

"As of today, we are over 50 percent complete on setting up the pier," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters.

Singh said that the pier had several different components.

"The floating pier has been completely constructed and setup. The causeway is in progress," she added.

1737 GMT — Colombia declares to cut ties with 'genocidal' Israel over Gaza

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said he will break diplomatic relations with Israel over its war in Gaza.

Petro has already heavily criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and requested to join South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

"Here in front of you, the government of change, of the president of the republic announces that tomorrow we will break diplomatic relations with the state of Israel... for having a government, for having a president who is genocidal," Petro told cheering crowds in Bogota, who marched to mark International Worker's Day and back Petro's social and economic reforms.

1732 GMT – Israeli artillery shelling kills 1, injures several in Gaza’s Khan Younis

A Palestinian woman was killed and several people were injured in Israeli artillery shelling in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to witnesses.

The shelling targeted a group of Palestinians in Qaa al-Qurain area in southern Khan Younis, the witnesses said.

1725 GMT –– Blinken tells Israel 'better ways' to deal with Hamas than Rafah assault

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that he made clear to Israeli leaders US opposition to a major attack on the Gaza city of Rafah and said he suggested "better ways" to address Hamas.

"Our position is clear. It hasn't changed, it won't change," Blinken told reporters.

"We cannot and will not support a major military operation in Rafah absent an effective plan to make sure that civilians are not harmed, and we've not seen such a plan."

"At the same time, there are other ways –– and in our judgement, better ways –– of dealing with the real ongoing challenge of Hamas that does not require a major military operation" in Rafah, Blinken said.

1724 GMT ––Israeli comptroller accuses Netanyahu, army of non-cooperation in Oct 7 probe

Israel's State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman has accused the army and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office of not cooperating with investigations into the October 7 failures.

In two letters addressed to Netanyahu and Army Chief of Staff Aviv Herzi Halevi, Englman demanded them ''to hand over documents, with no restrictions, concerning the October 7 Hamas attack and the war in Gaza,'' according to Haaretz daily.

Englman said Netanyahu and Halevi ''must order their people to act according to the law and cooperate with the investigation teams.”

“My public and ethical duty as state comptroller is to carry out a comprehensive investigation of the biggest failure in the history of the state,” he said in the letter as cited by The Times of Israel newspaper.

Englman added that he is ''looking at the political, military and civilian responses.''

1707 GMT –– Over 800 Israeli settler attacks since Oct 7: UN

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that it recorded at least 800 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank that resulted in casualties or property damage since October 7.

"This included the killing of more than 30 Palestinians by Israeli forces or settlers, the injury of nearly 500 others, and damage to dozens of homes, and nearly 12,000 trees and 450 vehicles," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters, noting OCHA's warning that the situation in the occupied West Bank and in East Jerusalem is escalating.

1653 GMT –– Another Hezbollah fighter killed in border clashes with Israeli army

Another Hezbollah combatant was killed in clashes with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, the country's group has said.

Hezbollah identified the slain fighter as Wahid Abdul-Hameed Tufaili from the town of Deir al-Zahrani. It, however, did not provide any details about the circumstances of his death.

Tension has escalated along Lebanon’s border with Israel amid an exchange of cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv pressed ahead with its deadly offensive on Gaza.

At least 288 Hezbollah fighters have since been killed in clashes with Israeli forces, according to figures released by the group.

1644 GMT –– Blinken says progress on aid to Gaza is real but needs to be accelerated

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said during a visit to Israel that progress on improving humanitarian access to Gaza is real but, given the immense need in the Palestinian enclave, it needs to be accelerated.

Blinken, who earlier met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told reporters that Israel has made important compromises over a proposal for a deal that would see hostages released in exchange for a ceasefire, but it was up to Hamas to take that deal.

1642 GMT –– Approximately 1,000 Palestinian workers missing in Israel: NGO

Nearly 1,000 Palestinian workers remain forcibly disappeared in Israel, a Palestinian nongovernmental organisation has said.

In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said around 10,300 workers had entered Israel before Oct. 7, 2023.

“Some 3,200 workers were released by Israel at the Kerem Shalom crossing in November, while 6,441 others had left for the West Bank,” the statement read.

“Around 1,000 workers remain missing,” the NGO said, adding that Israel refuses to disclose any information about the fate of these missing workers.

1633 GMT –– Palestine's admission to UN ‘long overdue': Envoy

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN issued a fervent call for "long overdue" admission of his country to the UN.

Riyad Mansour spoke at the UN General Assembly session on the veto of the draft resolution for Palestine's UN membership and stressed that one cannot support a two-state solution while standing idle.

"An immediate ceasefire, long called for by this assembly and demanded by the Security Council is indispensable," he said, asserting that atrocities against Palestinians must be promptly stopped.

1628 GMT –– Over 9,000 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails: Rights group

Some 9,088 Palestinian detainees are held in Israeli jails, an Israeli human rights group has said.

The detainees include 3,424 held without trial or charge under Israel’s notorious policy of administrative detention and 865 Palestinians classified as illegal combatants, the Center for the Defense of the Individual (HaMoked) said in a report, citing figures released by the Israeli Prison Service.

HaMoked said the figure does not include Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in Gaza.

1610 GMT –– Palestinians refute US, Israeli claims of increased Gaza aid

Gaza’s government media office dismissed US and Israeli claims about an increase in humanitarian aid flow into the besieged enclave.

According to Salama Marouf, head of the media office, around 163 aid trucks enter the besieged enclave daily, a figure that is significantly lower than the 500 aid trucks needed to avert a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“This figure is significantly lower than the daily needs of our people, especially the residents of northern Gaza,” he added.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke of an improvement in the aid flow into Gaza. Israeli and US estimates put the number of aid trucks entering the enclave daily at 300-400 trucks.

1610 GMT –– Blinken tours Kerem Shalom aid crossing as tank fire rings out from Gaza

Tank fire echoed from Gaza on as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited an aid inspection point, where he heard from Israeli officials including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant about efforts to increase assistance to the Palestinian enclave just a few hundred meters away.

Blinken got his first up-close view of the besieged enclave six months into the war as he toured a compound at the Kerem Shalom crossing bordered by thick concrete walls where aid trucks bound for Gaza are held for inspection, a process that aid groups have complained has been a major bottleneck.

Israel has sought to demonstrate it is not blocking aid to Gaza, especially since President Joe Biden issued a stark warning to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying Washington’s policy could shift if Israel fails to take steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.

1528 GMT –– 1 killed, 5 injured when Israeli fighter jets strike house in central Gaza

One Palestinian was killed and five others were injured in an Israeli air strike in the central Gaza, the Red Crescent Society said.

The organization said its ambulance teams evacuated the victims following the attack, which targeted a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

The strike caused massive destruction in the area, according to eyewitnesses.

1439 GMT –– Israel allows Gaza aid trucks in via Erez post-US push

Israel reopened the sole crossing on the northern edge of Gaza, allowing aid trucks to pass through the Erez checkpoint following US demands to do more to address the growing humanitarian crisis.

Reopening the Erez crossing has been one of the main pleas of international aid agencies for months, to alleviate hunger which is believed to be most severe among the hundreds of thousands of civilians in the enclave's northern sector.

The Erez crossing, primarily used for foot traffic, had remained closed since it was destroyed during the Hamas attacks on October 7.

1437 GMT –– Gaza's debris exceeds Ukraine's with growing risks: UN

Gaza is filled with more debris and rubble than Ukraine, the UN has said, with the mammoth task of clearing it made all the more costly and dangerous by the sheer amount of asbestos and unexploded ordnance.

Six months after Israel's Gaza war, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) estimated the amount of debris in the Palestinian enclave at 37 million tonnes in mid-April, or 300 kilogrammes per square metre.

"Gaza has more rubble than Ukraine, and to put that in perspective, the Ukrainian front line is 600 miles (nearly 1,000 kilometres) long, and Gaza is 25 miles (40 km) long," said Mungo Birch, head of the UNMAS programme in the Palestinian territories.

1409 GMT –– Israel's Lapid urges swift military conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “immediately” begin conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews.

''Mandatory service for everyone, those who do not enlist will not receive a penny from the state,'' he added.

His comments came in response to a message sent by the government to Israel’s Supreme Court asking for more time to gradually conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews.

1332 GMT –– Over 1000 workers protest UK arms sales to Israel on May Day

More than a thousand workers across the UK have staged demonstrations on May Day to call for an end to arms sales to Israel.

Workers blockaded the UK Trade Department in London and BAE Systems’ arms factories in Scotland, Wales and Lancashire.


1308 GMT –– Netanyahu lacks 'excuse' to avoid Hamas deal: Israeli opposition

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “no political excuse” to shun a hostage deal with Hamas, opposition leader Yair Lapid told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Lapid met with the top US diplomat, who arrived in Israel on the last leg of a regional tour to push for a ceasefire deal between Tel Aviv and Hamas to end the war in Gaza.

“Netanyahu doesn’t have any political excuse not to move to a deal for the release of the hostages,” Lapid told Blinken as posted on his X account.

“He (Netanyahu) has a majority in the nation, he has a majority in the Knesset, and if needed, I’ll make sure he has a majority in the government.”

1230 GMT –– Hamas says Gaza ceasefire must be permanent

Hamas will respond to an Israeli truce proposal for Gaza "within a very short period", an official with the Palestinian group said, stressing that any ceasefire needs to be permanent.

Suhail al-Hindi, a senior Hamas official, told AFP news agency the group would "deliver its response clearly within a very short period", although he would not say precisely when that was expected to happen.

1201 GMT –– Far-right Israeli minister voices strong objection to deal with Hamas

An Israeli minister opposed a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner swap deal with Hamas that is currently being negotiated.

Speaking to Army Radio, Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock said approval of the deal would be tantamount to betrayal of Israeli soldiers and the country's war aims.

There are “soldiers who left everything behind and went out to fight for goals that the government defined, and we throw it in the trash to save 22 people or 33 or I don’t know how many,” the far-right minister said.

“Such a government has no right to exist.”

1158 GMT –– Blinken tells Netanyahu US still opposes Rafah operation: US official

Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated US opposition to an Israeli assault on the crowded Gaza city of Rafah in talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to press ahead, a US official said.

Blinken "reiterated the United States' clear position on Rafah," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, two days after Blinken again voiced opposition to an assault over concerns for the safety of civilians sheltering in the southern Gaza city.

Blinken, on his seventh trip to the Middle East since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, met Netanyahu for two and a half hours at his Jerusalem office, first alone and then with aides.

1155 GMT –– Israeli settlers attack aid convoys bound for Gaza: Jordan

Jordan's foreign ministry said some Israeli settlers attacked two of its humanitarian aid convoys as they made their way toward Gaza.

Both convoys continued on their way and managed to reach their destination in Israeli-besieged Gaza, the ministry said in a statement.

"Two Jordanian aid convoys carrying food, flour and other humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip were attacked by settlers," the ministry said, without giving details of the incident.

1128 GMT –– Still work to be done to secure Gaza truce: France

France's foreign minister said that there was still work to be done to secure a truce between Israel and Gaza after he was updated by Egyptian officials in Cairo on the status of negotiations.

"We came to coordinate our efforts for a truce. The messages given by France and its Arab partners in the region is that Israel pulls back on this offensive in Rafah," Stephane Sejourne said after meeting his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri.

0931 GMT –– Israel arrests 20 more Palestinians in West Bank raids

The Israeli army detained 20 more Palestinians in military raids across the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

The arrests took place in the cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Tubas and Nablus, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

The new arrests brought the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since last October to 8,535, according to Palestinian figures.

0847 GMT –– Blinken's truce comments aim to pressure Hamas: official

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is blaming the delay of a Gaza ceasefire agreement on the Palestinian group unfairly.

Blinken, meeting Israeli leaders to discuss how to get more aid into Gaza, has repeatedly urged Hamas to accept an offer from Israel that will release hostages and achieve a ceasefire, describing it as "extraordinarily generous".

"Blinken's comments contradict reality. It is not strange for Blinken, who is known as the foreign minister of Israel, not America, to make such a statement," Abu Zuhri told Reuters news agency.

"Even the Israeli negotiating team admitted Netanyahu was the one who was hindering reaching an agreement," he added.

0822 GMT — Talks underway to resolve conflicting points between Israel, Hamas: Egyptian source

Talks are underway with all relevant parties to resolve conflicting points between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, an informed Egyptian source has said.

Egypt's state-affiliated news channel Al-Qahera quoted an unnamed senior source as saying that negotiations continue to reach a deal "amid a positive atmosphere."

The source did not, however, specify the points of differences between the warring parties.

0802 GMT — Gaza death toll from Israeli attacks mounts to 34,568: ministry

The health ministry in Gaza has said that at least 34,568 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory during almost seven months of Israel's war on Gaza.

The tally includes at least 33 deaths in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 77,765 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war broke out.

0641 GMT — Hezbollah claims attacking Israeli soldiers near Lebanese border

The Lebanese Hezbollah group has claimed it targeted the Israeli soldiers near the border area.

In a statement, the group said its fighters attacked a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the army's Branit barracks, with missiles and artillery shelling.

The Israeli army is yet to comment on Hezbollah's announcement.

0551 GMT — Blinken says US determined to get Israel-Hamas deal 'now'

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has renewed calls for Hamas to accept a ceasefire and hostages' release deal as he started talks with Israel's leadership.

"Even in these very difficult times we are determined to get a ceasefire that brings the hostages home and to get it now," Blinken said as he met Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

0247 GMT — US says destroyed Houthi uncrewed surface vessel

The US has said it destroyed a target in an area of Yemen controlled by the Houthi group, the United States Central Command [CENTCOM] said.

"At approximately 1:52 pm [Sanaa time] on April 30, US Central Command [USCENTCOM] forces successfully engaged and destroyed an uncrewed surface vessel [USV] in Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen, " CENTCOM said on X, formerly Twitter.

CENTCOM said it determined that the USV presented an "imminent threat" to US and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region.

"These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels," it added.

0050 GMT — Israeli army admits 2 soldiers killed by 'friendly fire'

The Israeli army has acknowledged that two soldiers killed over the weekend in central Gaza died as a result of a tank shell hitting a building they were stationed in due to a case of mistaken identity.

The Israeli army's "preliminary investigation into the deaths of two reservists in Gaza on Sunday found that they were killed by an IDF [army] tank shell that was fired at the building in which they were staying, due to a mistaken identification," Israel's Haaretz daily reported.

''The IDF said that the investigation showed that during an encounter with terrorists that led to the exchange of gunfire, a tank crew mistakenly identified the two soldiers as enemies and fired at them, despite the fact that they were outside the defined boundaries given to the tank crew," it added.

0049 GMT — Palestine seeks UNGA to reconsider bid for full membership

Palestinians are seeking approval of a resolution in the General Assembly asking the UN Security Council to reconsider "favourably" Palestine's full membership in the United Nations, which the United States recently vetoed.

A draft Palestinian resolution obtained by The Associated Press would also decide to give Palestine "the rights and privileges" to ensure its full and effective participation in the work of the General Assembly and other UN organs "on equal footing with member nations."

2300 GMT — Israel kills several Palestinians in new Gaza strikes

Israel has killed five people, including children, after striking different parts in besieged Gaza, WAFA news agency reported.

The agency said Israeli strikes killed two children, a little boy and his sister, and wounded others in the Shaboura camp in Rafah.

Medical sources also said three Palestinians, including a child, were killed after Israel bombarded an apartment in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.

2130 GMT — Israeli invasion on Rafah would be 'tragedy beyond words'

United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths has warned that despite global calls for Israel to spare Rafah in southern Gaza, "a ground operation there is on the immediate horizon."

"The simplest truth is that a ground operation in Rafah will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words. No humanitarian plan can counter that," Griffiths said, after hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to launch an invasion on Rafah.

Griffiths said that Israeli improvements to aid access in Gaza "cannot be used to prepare for or justify a full-blown military assault on Rafah."

Netanyahu threatened to invade Rafah "regardless of whether a truce-for-hostages deal is struck" with Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

His comments appeared to be meant to appease his extremist ruling partners but it was not clear whether they would have any bearing on any emerging deal with Hamas. "We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas' battalions there — with or without a deal, to achieve the total victory."

Hamas has said Netanyahu will achieve nothing if Israeli forces invade Rafah where more than 1.5 million Palestinians have taken shelter from Israeli invasion and bombardment elsewhere in Gaza.

1930 GMT — Columbia University threatens Gaza war protesters with expulsion

Columbia University has said that students occupying a campus building as part of pro-Palestine protests or Student Spring protests, face being expelled from their academic programmes, the latest move in a standoff with school officials.

"Students occupying the building face expulsion," Columbia's office of public affairs said in a statement, adding that the protesters were provided "the opportunity to leave peacefully" but instead declined and escalated the situation.

For our live updates from Tuesday, April 30, click here.