Live blog: Israel troops raid Gaza's Nasser Hospital again — ministry

February 22, 2023

1922 GMT — Israeli forces raided Nasser Medical Complex, the biggest functioning hospital in Gaza, shortly after withdrawing from it, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave has said.

The World Health Organization said the hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza's second largest and crucial to the territory's crippled health services, stopped working last week after a week-long Israeli siege followed by the raid.

Nasser Hospital is the latest health facility to become a theatre of the Israeli brutal war on Gaza, now in its fifth month.

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1844 GMT — Thousands in Gaza suffering 'cruelty of hunger and malnutrition': UN

The president of the UN General Assembly has expressed concern after the UN Food Agency paused deliveries to northern Gaza.

"Thousands in Gaza are suffering the cruelty of hunger and malnutrition, and aid deliveries are being scaled back when they need to be increased.

"I reiterate my own and the UN General Assembly’s repeated demands for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It is a matter of life and death, including of innocent children," Dennis Francis wrote on X.

1839 GMT — UN Mideast envoy returns from Gaza with an urgent plea for ceasefire

The UN Mideast envoy is calling for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza, saying the situation in the embattled territory is “shocking and unsustainable” and warning that it could quickly “spiral out of control in the region.”

Tor Wennesland, who was in Gaza earlier this week, told the UN Security Council via video that a possible full-scale Israeli military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians have sought safety, makes a ceasefire and hostage deal even more urgent.

Wennesland said over 2 million of its 2.3 million people face "extreme food insecurity" — meaning extreme hunger — as well as increasing shortages of water, shelter and medicine along with unsanitary conditions.

1838 GMT — Two-state solution only answer to Israel-Palestinian conflict: G20

Foreign ministers at the G20 group of nations meeting in Brazil were nearly unanimous in their support for a two-state solution as the only path to peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Brazilian minister hosting the event has said.

"There was virtual unanimity in the two-state solution as the only solution to the conflict," Brazil's foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, said at the close of the two-day meeting.

Vieira said all members of the group of the world's largest economies highlighted concerns about the war in Gaza and the risk of the conflict's spreading in the Middle East.

1659 GMT — WHO evacuates 50 patients from Gaza's besieged Nasser hospital

The World Health Organization has evacuated more than 50 patients from the besieged Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, the main medical complex in southern Gaza, but at least 140 patients are still inside.

Palestinian officials said bodies of dead patients had begun to decompose amid power cuts and fighting in the hospital.

Hundreds of staff, patients and others inside the hospital have struggled under heavy fire and dwindling supplies, including food and water. The medical complex was raided by Israeli forces last week after troops besieged the facility for nearly a week beforehand.

1629 GMT — Israel to expand mandate of its negotiating team in hostage swap talks

Israel will expand the authority given to its negotiating team during talks for a possible prisoner swap deal with Hamas, according to Israeli media.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk during a meeting in Tel Aviv that the government will expand the mandate given to its negotiators for a hostage deal, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported.

"At the same time, the Israeli army is preparing to continue its intense ground operations," he added.

1619 GMT — US: Houthi missile hits UK-owned carrier causing minor injury, damage

Two Houthi missiles hit a British-owned cargo carrier in the Red Sea, causing damage and one minor injury, the US military has said.

Earlier in the day, the US shot down six Houthi drones in the Red Sea after they were identified as an imminent threat to US and allied warships, the US Central Command said in a social media post.

1615 GMT — Disease in Gaza may kill more people than Israeli attacks: WHO

The continuous outbreak of infectious diseases in Gaza may ultimately cause more deaths among Palestinians than the ongoing Israeli military offensive, a senior World Health Organization has warned.

"Infectious disease is a major concern for us in Gaza," Richard Brennan, regional emergency director at the UN health agency, told reporters in Cairo.

"WHO estimates that if we did have severe outbreaks of diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections and so on, there could potentially be more deaths due to disease outbreak than due to trauma."

So far, WHO has confirmed 200,000 cases of diarrheal diseases, an increase of more than 20 percent compared to last year, Brennan said.

1612 GMT — Casualties reported in Israeli strike on residential building in southern Lebanon

Israeli fighter jets struck a residential building in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon evening amid reports of casualties, according to eyewitnesses.

The strike targeted the last two floors of the building in the town of Kfar Rummane, witnesses said.

Several people were evacuated from the building by ambulances following the attack, they said.

1417 GMT — Houthis introduce 'submarine weapons' in attacks on vessels

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have introduced "submarine weapons" in their attacks on seagoing vessels, which they say they are carrying out in solidarity with the Palestinians in Israeli-hit Gaza, their leader has said.

"Operations in the Red and Arabian Seas, Bab al Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden are continuing, escalating, and effective," Abdulmalik al Houthi added in a televised speech.

1414 GMT — ‘There is no such thing as a Palestinian people’: Israeli minister

Israeli Minister of Settlement and National Missions Orit Strook has denied the existence of the Palestinian people.

"There is no such thing as a Palestinian people," Strook said in a video on her X account of her speech during a Knesset session.

"There will never be a Palestinian state in the land of Israel," she said. "Every cultured person in the world knows that this land is ours, for the Israeli people and only for us."

1325 GMT — Israeli violations against Palestinians amount to 'genocide': Iraq

Iraq has said Israeli violations against Palestinians amount to “genocide” during a hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

"We are deeply concerned about the human suffering across Palestine, especially in Gaza, as a result of the barbaric actions of the Israeli occupation against civilians," Iraqi representative Hayder Shiya al Barrak, head of the legal department of the Foreign Ministry, said in an oral argument before the Hague-based court.

"Israeli violations against Palestinians are tantamount to genocide,” he added.

1259 GMT — An Israeli attack on Rafah would worsen an already 'catastrophic' situation, ministers say

Several European foreign ministers have expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the suffering of the hostages and "the Israeli government's plans for a possible ground operation in Rafah."

In a joint statement, they said an Israeli military action in Rafah "would worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation and prevent the urgently needed provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance."

"This requires an immediate humanitarian pause that would lead to a sustainable ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian assistance," said the ministers in the statement, released by Sweden.

The foreign ministers who co-signed the document included those of 26 European countries.

1237 GMT — Israel engaged in 'process of annexing' Palestinian territory, Ireland tells UN court

Israel is and has been engaged in a "process of annexation" of the occupied Palestinian territories, Ireland's delegation to the International Court of Justice has said.

"The evident permanence of the settlements can only be explained, in Ireland's assessment, by Israel's intention of annexing the land upon which they are built.

"In our view, the development and expansion of settlements clearly demonstrate that Israel is and has been engaged in a process of annexation of that land for decades," Ireland's representative Attorney General Rossa Fanning said during the public hearings at The Hague.

1229 GMT — Israeli loot of Gaza heritage exceeds 'Mongol ravages': Palestine

Israel is waging a war on Palestinian narratives through the destruction and looting of museums and archaeological artefacts in Gaza, the Palestinian Minister of Culture Atif Abu Seif has said.

Abu Seif pointed out in an interview with Anadolu at his office in the city of Al Bireh in the occupied West Bank that "the destruction and looting of cultural heritage in Gaza is similar to what happened in the Palestinian Nakba in 1948, and even more horrific than what the Mongols did in Baghdad, in an attempt to detach Palestinians from their history and land."

1223 GMT — Houthi agency says Israeli, US, British ships banned from Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea

Ships that are wholly or partially owned by Israeli individuals or entities and Israel-flagged vessels are banned from the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, said statements from an agency controlled by Yemen's Houthi group seen by Reuters.

The statements, sent to shipping insurers and firms from the Houthi's Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, also said ships owned by US or British individuals or entities, or sailing under their flags, are also banned.

1141 GMT — Israeli minister says 'proud' of Gaza destruction

Israeli Minister of Social Equality May Golan has said she is "proud" of the destruction caused by the Israeli army in Gaza.

Speaking during a session held by the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) Wednesday evening, Golan threatened Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, with decapitation or arrest.

"We are not ashamed by saying that we want to see the soldiers of the IDF (Israeli army) catching Sinwar and his terrorists by their eyes and dragging them across the Gaza Strip on their way to the dungeons of the Prison Authority," she said in a widely circulated video of her speech.

"I am personally proud of the ruins of Gaza, and that every baby, even 80 years from now, will tell their grandchildren what the Jews did," she said. "No dove and no olive branch, only a sword to cut off Sinwar's head, that's what he will receive from us.”

1033 GMT — Houthis torch ship in Gulf of Aden

A suspected missile attack by Yemeni Houthis set a ship ablaze in the Gulf of Aden as Israel has intercepted what appeared to be another Houthi attack near the port city of Eilat on the Red Sea.

Houthis have escalate their assaults over the Israel's war in Gaza.

Thursday's attack in the Gulf of Aden saw two missiles fired, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.

Ship-tracking data analysed by The Associated Press identified the vessel ablaze as a Palau-flagged cargo ship named Islander. It had been coming from Thailand bound for Egypt and previously sent out messages saying “Syrian crew on board” to potentially avoid being targeted by the Houthis.

The ship’s Liberian-listed owners could not be immediately reached for comment.

0959 GMT — Palestinians' armed fight for independence 'legitimate': China

Addressing the International Court of Justice, China has said the Palestinians’ use of armed struggle to gain independence from foreign and colonial rule was “legitimate” and “well founded” in international law.

“In pursuit of the right to self-determination, Palestinian people’s use of force to resist foreign oppression and complete the establishment of an independent state is (an) inalienable right well founded in international law,” the Chinese representative told the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Citing resolutions by the UN General Assembly, Beijing’s envoy to the world court said people struggling for self-determination could use “all available means, including armed struggle.”

"The struggle waged by peoples for their liberation, right to self-determination, including armed struggle against colonialism, occupation, aggression, domination against foreign forces should not be considered terror acts," he added, citing international conventions.

0837 GMT — Palestinian death toll hits 29,410 in Israel's Gaza war

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza reported that at least 29,410 people have been killed in the besieged territory during the Israel war.

A ministry statement noted that a total of 97 people killed in the past 24 hours, while another 69,465 have been wounded since the war began on October 7.

0856 GMT — Missile attack causes fire aboard vessel off Yemen: UK maritime agency

A missile attack targeted a vessel transiting the Gulf of Aden, causing a fire on board, a British maritime security agency said Thursday.

"A vessel was attacked by two missiles, resulting in a fire onboard," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, adding that "coalition forces are responding".

0849 GMT — Israel in decline in tourism due to its Gaza war: Tourism body

Many airlines have not flown to Israel since the attacks on Gaza started in October, and Israel has become an isolated country like North Korea, said Yossi Fattal, the CEO of Israel's Incoming Tour Operators Association.

Fattal said 250 airlines operated in Israel before the attacks on Gaza, but the number dropped to 45 afterward, according to the Israeli daily Maariv.

“Israel is completely isolated from the world, as currently, 80% of the flights in Israel are carried out by planes belonging to the Israeli-owned El Al Airlines,” he added.

0821 GMT — Scale of tragedy in Gaza 'deliberately' downplayed: Lavrov

The scale of tragedy in Gaza has been "deliberately downplayed," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

"The scale of the tragedy in Gaza has been deliberately belittled, where in less than five months more civilians, including children and women, were killed than on both sides in Donbas in the 10 years since the unconstitutional c oup in Kiev," Lavrov said, speaking at a G20 ministerial meeting in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro.

The minister noted that G20 will hardly find solutions to the accumulated challenges and threats to global security.

0821 GMT — Israel intercepts an apparent Houthi attack near the port city of Eilat

Israel has intercepted what appeared to be an attack launched by Yemen's Houthis near the port city of Eilat.

Sirens sounded over Eilat, followed by videos posted online of what appeared to be an interception in the sky overhead.

The Israeli military later said the interception was carried out by its Arrow missile defence system.

Israel did not identify what the fire was, nor where it came from. However, the Arrow system intercepts long-range ballistic missiles with a warhead designed to destroy targets while they are in space.

Eilat, on the Red Sea, is a key port city of Israel. On October 31, the Houthis first claimed a missile-and-drone barrage targeting the city. Houthis have claimed other attacks targeting Eilat, which have caused no damage in the city.

0759 GMT — UKMTO reports of incident 70 NM southeast of Yemen's Aden

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it received a report of an incident 70 nautical miles southeast of the Yemeni port city of Aden.

0636 GMT — Attack in West Bank leaves one dead, wounding eight others

Israeli police say three gunmen opened fire on the road near a checkpoint in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, killing one Israeli and wounding at least eight, including several critically.

Police said the attackers took advantage of the slow morning traffic around 7:30 a.m. Thursday on the main highway east of Jerusalem and opened fire with automatic weapons at cars waiting near a checkpoint.

Security forces at the site killed two of the gunmen. A third was found and detained during searches of the area afterward.

0538 GMT — Türkiye calls for Gaza ceasefire, two-state solution at G20 meeting

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called on the international community to take a more active role towards an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and a two-state solution to the conflict during talks at the G20 meeting in Brazil, a Turkish diplomatic source said.

Türkiye, which has harshly criticised Israel for its attacks on Gaza and backed measures to have it tried for genocide at the World Court, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire.

"Steps that can be taken to achieve a full ceasefire as soon as possible were discussed," during talks between Fidan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the source said, adding Fidan also discussed "concrete steps" to stop the fighting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

0147 GMT — Israeli troops invading Gaza are reportedly stealing own grenades, missiles

Israeli soldiers are stealing weapons during their invasion of besieged Gaza, and there has been an uptick in the number of troops engaging in the theft of arms, including high-explosive hand grenades and anti-tank missiles, according to Israeli broadcaster KAN, raising fears some of the stolen weapons may have ended up in the hands of illegal Jewish settlers.

The KAN channel, operated by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, said there has been "a troubling increase in the phenomenon of weapons and ammunition theft in the Israeli army under the guise of war amid fears that they may also reach armed groups in the West Bank."

KAN quoted Roi Sharon, the military correspondent for the news channel, as saying, "there is actually concern in the Israeli army about soldiers or even civilians stealing high-explosive hand grenades and anti-tank missiles from inside the Gaza Strip or areas where forces are stationed outside it and transferring them to criminal organisations, and from there to terrorist organisations."

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0125 GMT — Borrell says world must not turn blind eye to Gaza tragedy

The European Union's foreign policy chief has said that the world cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the ongoing tragedy in besieged Gaza.

"Too many innocent lives have been lost. Ninety percent of the population is being displaced from their homes. This humanitarian catastrophe is not a natural one. It is not an earthquake, not a flood. It is a man-made humanitarian catastrophe, and it must stop," said Josep Borrell during his speech at the G-20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Brazil.

Borrell noted that 26 of the EU's 27 member states had urged Israel not to attack the southern Gaza city of Rafah and demanded an urgent humanitarian pause, which would lead to a permanent ceasefire.

"The issue is not that Israel has to fulfil international law and humanitarian law. Certainly, everybody has to do it. The issue is, are they doing that?" he said.

0107 GMT — Civilians in Gaza in 'extreme peril'

The leaders of a number of UN agencies and humanitarian organisations urged Israel to provide food and medical supplies to besieged Gaza, warning that civilians there are in "extreme peril."

"We are calling on Israel to fulfill its legal obligation, under international humanitarian and human rights law, to provide food and medical supplies and facilitate aid operations, and on the world’s leaders to prevent an even worse catastrophe from happening," the Inter-Agency Standing Committee [IASC], the highest-level humanitarian coordination forum of the UN system, said in a statement.

The health system continues to be "systematically degraded with catastrophic consequences," it said, adding that as of February 19, only 12 out of 36 hospitals with inpatient capacity were partially functioning.

"Diseases are rampant. Famine is looming. Water is at a trickle. Basic infrastructure has been decimated. Food production has come to a halt. Hospitals have turned into battlefields. One million children face daily traumas," it added.

0012 GMT — LA protesters welcome Biden with 'genocide supporter' chants

A group of pro-Palestine demonstrators has welcomed US President Joe Biden to America's second most populous city with chants ridiculing his hitherto unwavering support for Israel's ongoing carnage in besieged Gaza.

"Genocide supporter!" protesters yelled as Biden's motorcade pulled up to the Culver City Julian Dixon Library in Los Angeles, where he delivered remarks touting his efforts to reduce US student debt.

Protesters sought to interrupt the president as he concluded his remarks, but their words were not immediately discernible amid applause from the crowd. They again shouted at Biden as his motorcade left the Julian Dixon Library.

2345 GMT — Guyana accuses Israel of military conquest, annexation of Palestinian territory

Guyana has said that Israel's occupation of Palestine had reached the level of an "annexation", and this was prohibited by international law.

Its statement came on the third day of hearings at the International Court of Justice [ICJ] in the Netherlands, where more than 50 countries are presenting their arguments on the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation.

Guyana, represented by attorney Edward Craven, argued that Israel's occupation should be a "temporary state of affairs" and that the occupying power should maintain the status quo in the occupied lands without making "permanent changes."

However, according to Craven, Israel's actions indicate no state of "temporariness" because of their forceful nature.

"Permanent occupation is not occupation at all, it is military conquest. It is annexation, and annexation is strictly forbidden under international law. Therefore, it necessarily follows that an occupation intended to be permanent is unlawful under international law. It is indisputable that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful as a whole," he said.

2205 GMT — Top Turkish, US diplomats discuss ensuring full ceasefire in Gaza

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have discussed bilateral ties and regional issues in Brazil.

Fidan and Blinken exchanged views on the steps that could be taken to ensure a full ceasefire in Gaza "as soon as possible," said Turkish diplomatic sources.

On the sidelines of the G-20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, they also discussed the war in Ukraine, NATO's expansion process, peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia and other regional issues.

According to the sources, the two men also spoke about the schedule of high-level visits to be made in the coming period.

1900 GMT — Israel kills 19 civilians in new Gaza massacre

Israel has targeted Nuseirat refugee camp and the Zeitoun neighbourhood in besieged Gaza, killing at least 19 civilians and wounding dozens of others, Palestinian WAFA news agency said.

Israeli warplanes launched aerial raids targeting the home of the Da'alis family west of the Nuseirat camp, resulting in the killing of 17 civilians and the wounding of dozens of others, WAFA said.

Medical sources also affirmed the killing of journalist Ihab Nasrallah and his wife after being targeted by the Israeli forces moving into the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City. The journalist's three children were severely burned in the attack, the state-run news agency said.

For our live updates from Wednesday, February 21, click here.