Live blog: Israel bombs Gaza civilians breaking fast, killing dozens — AA

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

2016 GMT — Dozens of Palestinians have been killed and wounded in intense Israeli army shelling near the Al Shifa Medical Complex in western Gaza City as they were breaking their fast on the 10th day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Anadolu Agency correspondent reported.

The artillery bombardment resulted in widespread fires in the areas, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, and forcing hundreds to flee to eastern Gaza City neighbourhoods such as Tuffah, Zeitoun, Shejaiya, and Sabra, AA correspondent said.

The correspondent said several Palestinians from the Abu Hasira and Haboush families had been killed, including a woman and her son who were collecting water on their house's roof.

The shelling "destroyed a large number of residential buildings in the areas surrounding the Al Shifa Medical Complex, and also destroyed the nearby Al Nurain Tower, as well as four adjacent residential houses."

The AA correspondent reported the "accumulation of the bodies of dozens of martyrs in the streets of the areas surrounding the medical complex, as a result of the Israeli shelling."

AA correspondent mentioned widespread clashes between the Israeli army and elements of Palestinian factions.

Thousands of people are still trapped in Al Shifa Hospital and its surroundings due to the heavy shelling, the AA corespondent said, adding that those trapped "do not have any food, and the available water is very scarce and contaminated."

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1937 GMT — Netanyahu tells Republicans invasion will continue

Benjamin Netanyahu has told US Republican senators that Israel will continue its invasion in Gaza, senators told reporters after he addressed a party lunch.

"He's going to do what he said he's going to do. He's going to finish it," Senator Jim Risch said.

The veteran hawk spoke to Republicans via videolink nearly a week after the Senate's Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, gave a Senate speech branding Netanyahu an obstacle to peace and urging new elections in Israel.

Wednesday's meeting underscored the politicisation of Washington's Israel policy. Netanyahu has long been aligned with Republicans, who accuse Schumer of seeking to overthrow the Israeli leader.

"We asked ... him for an update and we got it on the war, on the release of the hostages and in the efforts to defeat Hamas. We told him Israel has every right to defend themselves and he said that's exactly what they continue to do," Senator John Barrasso said.

1959 GMT — US Senate majority leader reportedly declines Netayahu's request to speak to Democratic Caucus

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has reportedly rejected the Israeli premier's request to speak to Democratic senators.

"When you make these issues partisan, you hurt the cause of Israel," Schumer told reporters when he was asked if he declined Benjamin Netanyahu's request to address the Senate Democratic caucus.

He said he cares "deeply" about Israel and its long-term future.

Turning to last week's remarks where he called for new elections in Israel and criticised Netanyahu, Schumer said: "Let me say this: I gave this speech out of a real love for Israel."

Netanyahu called Schumer's comments "totally inappropriate" and said he would not bow to international pressure to halt the war against Gaza.

2049 GMT — Canada FM confirms halting arms shipments to Israel

Canada will halt all arms shipments to Israel, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly's office has confirmed, a decision that has drawn the ire of Israeli leaders facing growing international scrutiny over the war crimes in the Gaza.

The besieged Palestinian territory is facing a mounting humanitarian crisis, and months of war have pushed hundreds of thousands of people to starvation.

Canada, a key ally of the United States, which provides Israel with billions of dollars a year in military aid, had already reduced its shipments to Israel to only include non-lethal equipment, such as radios, following the October 7 Hamas blitz.

"Since January 8th, the government has not approved new arms export permits to Israel and this will continue until we can ensure full compliance with our export regime," said a statement from Joly's office.

"There are no open permits for exports of lethal goods to Israel," it added.

1759 GMT — Belgium, EU urge immediate action on Gaza's humanitarian crisis

The Belgian Presidency of the EU and the European Commission has called for action over the continued "deteriorating humanitarian situation" for children in Gaza.

In a joint statement, the Belgian presidency and the EU Commission said up to 70 percent of Palestinians killed are women and children, with more than 11,682 children reportedly injured, and thousands more missing.

"This situation has led to many children suffering from psychological trauma. UNICEF estimates that more than 1 million children are in need of psychological support," noted the statement.

Stressing that children suffer the most in all wars, but international law should be respected, it noted that there should be "unconditional release of all children held by Hamas."

"We call for an immediate and long-lasting humanitarian pause that would lead to a sustainable ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas, especially children, and the provision of humanitarian assistance," it added.

1833 GMT — Israel preparing to enter Rafah: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his army is preparing to enter Rafah in southern Gaza, adding that "this will take a little time."

In a televised speech broadcast via his official account on X, Netanyahu began by summarising the details of a phone call he had with US President Joe Biden last Monday.

"At the beginning, we agreed that Hamas needs to be eliminated. But during the war, it is no secret, there have been disagreements between us on the best way to achieve this goal," Netanyahu said.

Addressing the Israelis, Netanyahu said he had already approved the army operational plan and that they would soon approve the plan to evacuate civilians from battle zones.

1804 GMT — Palestine Football Association urges FIFA sanctions against Israel

The Palestine Football Association has called on football's international governing body, FIFA, to sanction Israeli teams over the war in Gaza.

The PFA asked for its proposal, which it said six other member nations had endorsed, to be on the agenda at FIFA's upcoming congress in May.

Israel's football association responded to the petition by saying it had "always followed FIFA regulations and always will."

1755 GMT — Span urges immediate ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian aid for Gaza

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno reiterated the urgency of a swift and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, where Israeli attacks since last October have killed more than 31,000 Palestinians and more than half of the population is facing catastrophic levels of hunger.

"We expressed the need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. We said that unconditional humanitarian aid must reach Gaza," Albares told a press conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara.

Albares highlighted Spain's significant increase in humanitarian aid since the conflict's onset, and reiterated the call for the release of all hostages.

1744 GMT — UN agency cautions about plight of pregnant women, new mothers, children in Gaza

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) warned about the dire situation of pregnant women, new mothers and children in Gaza amid an ongoing onslaught by Israel.

"People in Gaza are starving and famine is imminent in the north," it wrote on X. "Pregnant women and new mothers face a constant struggle to keep themselves and their newborns alive."

It emphasised the urgent need for a ceasefire to address the situation in Gaza and said safe, sustainable and unhindered humanitarian assistance is crucial to end the suffering.

1722 GMT — Independent review group finds UNRWA equipped to uphold principle of neutrality

An interim report revealed that the UN Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) has the necessary mechanisms to uphold the principle of neutrality following Israeli allegations.

Deputy spokesperson Florencia Soto Nino said at a news conference that the group investigated if UNRWA adheres to the principle of neutrality and what actions are taken when the principle is violated or when allegations are made against the agency.

She said that "the independent review group will submit its interim report officially to the Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) later today."

1715 GMT — Israeli drone strike kills three Palestinians in West Bank

At least three Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli drone strike in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, according to the official news agency WAFA.

The strike targeted a vehicle on the outskirts of the Jenin camp, WAFA said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society confirmed that its medics had transferred three corpses to the Jenin hospital. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the report.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, which killed some 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures.

Nearly 140 Palestinians have since been killed and more than 4,700 others injured in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

1611 GMT — Saudi Arabia announces $40M donation to UN agency for Palestinians

Saudi Arabia announced it will donate $40 million to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which has faced massive funding cuts and calls for its abolition spearheaded by Israel.

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) said the funds would support UNRWA's "humanitarian relief efforts in the Gaza Strip", where the Israeli war has raged for more than five months.

"The funding will provide food for more than 250,000 people and tents for 20,000 families," KSrelief said in a statement.

1609 GMT — EU summit to discuss 'realistic' post-Gaza war scenario: Germany

The EU summit will discuss a "realistic" post-Gaza war scenario when the bloc's leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, a high-ranking German government official said.

"It is important that we obtain a political perspective for the Palestinians and create a realistic day-after scenario," the official told journalists in Berlin.

The official said the EU could play "an important role" in the reconstruction of war-stricken Gaza, not only in terms of financing but also organising the massive rebuilding of the Israeli-occupied enclave.

1555 GMT — Senate Democrats urge 'bold' US push on Palestinian state

More than a third of the US Senate's Democrats called on President Joe Biden's administration to take "bold" action toward establishing a Palestinian state, in the latest pushback against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The letter to Biden comes days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the country's highest-ranking Jewish elected leader and longtime advocate for Israel, sent shock waves with a speech criticising Netanyahu's conduct of the Gaza war and urging new Israeli elections.

Nineteen Democratic senators led by Tom Carper, a longtime ally of Biden from his home state of Delaware, in the letter said that the Middle East crisis had "reached an inflection point" that required US leadership beyond past "facilitation" of Israeli-Palestinian talks.

1450 GMT — Israel's response to truce proposal 'generally negative': Hamas

A senior Lebanon-based Hamas official has said that Israel's response to the latest proposal from the Palestinian group for a six-week truce in Gaza was "generally negative."

Osama Hamdan told a news conference in Beirut that mediators had conveyed the Israeli position a day earlier, but it was "generally negative ... and constitutes a step backwards" as talks continue in Qatar.

1433 GMT — Half of Israel's Eilat Port workers to lose jobs

Half of the workers at Eilat Port in southern Israel face layoffs amid Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, according to an Israeli labour union.

The Histadrut Labour Federation, the umbrella organisation for hundreds of thousands of public sector workers, said port management plans to fire half of the 120 employees at the port.

The dock workers plan to stage a protest against the planned layoffs, according to Israeli business daily Calcalist.

1414 GMT — UK PM calls situation in Gaza 'unsustainable'

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has refused to call for a ceasefire in Gaza once again, but acknowledged that it is "clear" the status quo is unsustainable.

In a questioning session at the House of Commons, Labour Party lawmaker Mark Hendrick told Sunak that Israel is provoking famine in Gaza and warns against its ground offensive in Rafah, a city in the south of the enclave, where many have sought shelter from the attacks.

Hendrick asked Sunak if he agrees with EU's foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell who said Israel was using starvation as a tool of war. Sunak refrained from giving a direct answer and said Israel should be allowing more aid into Gaza.

1402 GMT — US Senator Sanders backs Canada's ban on arms sale to Israel

Independent US Senator Bernie Sanders gave vocal support to Canada's decision to ban all arms shipments to Israel.

"Canada's parliament has voted to stop arms sales to Israel. They are absolutely right to do so," Sanders, an outspoken critic of Israel's offensive in Gaza, said on X.

His remarks came a day after Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said that Canada's Trudeau government will halt future arms exports to Israel.

1356 GMT — Blinken lands in Saudi Arabia for Gaza talks

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Saudi Arabia to discuss efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and ramp up aid deliveries to the Palestinian territory.

Blinken on Thursday is due to travel on to Egypt, which neighbours Gaza and whose envoys have been involved in previous mediation efforts.

The US secretary of state will also visit Israel on Friday, a State Department spokesperson said.

Blinken will make the previously unscheduled visit to discuss "the ongoing negotiations to secure the release of all hostages" and efforts to boost aid deliveries to Gaza, Matthew Miller told journalists.

1258 GMT — Families of Israeli hostages demonstrate in Tel Aviv for swap deal with Hamas

Families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas demonstrated in Tel Aviv to pile pressure on the government to reach an agreement for their release.

Dozens of demonstrators blocked a highway in Tel Aviv amid chants demanding a hostage swap deal with Hamas, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported.

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas resumed on Monday in the Qatari capital, Doha, to reach a truce deal in Gaza.

1231 GMT — Israeli army grows worried about legal battles after Gaza war

The Israeli army is preparing to face international legal battles over its deadly offensive on Gaza, which killed nearly 32,000 people.

The army has recruited dozens of legal advisers for its Military Prosecution and turned its international law department into a division, according to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. Israeli forces are now accompanied by representatives of the Military Prosecution during its operations in Gaza.

The army is also preparing confidential files with damning evidence justifying Israeli actions in the blockaded enclave, primarily against Hamas strongholds in buildings, including mosques, schools and clinics.

1203 GMT — Israeli protesters urge break-up of UN Palestinian agency

A few dozen Israelis protested outside the Jerusalem office of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), calling for its dismantling after Israel accused some staff of colluding with Hamas.

Created in 1949, the agency employs around 30,000 people in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has come under heavy criticism since Israel accused 12 of its Gaza staff of 13,000 of being implicated in the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

The United Nations has launched both an internal and an independent investigation but has said Israel has not provided it with any evidence to support the claims against its staff.

1142 GMT — Israel defence chief to visit US as Rafah pressure builds

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is to visit Washington in the coming week, the government said, as pressure mounts to call off a planned offensive in Gaza's Rafah.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office also announced that a delegation would visit Washington at "the request of US President Joe Biden" to discuss the planned assault, which the United States opposes.

During his first visit to Washington since war erupted, Gallant is due to meet Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin — but no date was announced.

1110 GMT — Palestinians mourn 28 killed in Israeli strikes on refugee camps

Mourners have held funeral prayers outside a hospital in central Gaza for 28 people killed in three separate Israeli air strikes on urban refugee camps the previous night.

Associated Press footage showed mourners praying over the bodies, which were wrapped in funeral shrouds before the bodies were taken away in donkey carts for burial.

0936 GMT — Palestinian death toll hits 31,923 as Israel continues to bomb

In the last 24 hours, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 104 people were killed, with 162 sustaining injuries by Israel's relentless bombardment.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry's statement, the number of Palestinians brutally killed by Israel has reached a staggering 31,923, while the count of those injured has soared to 74,096 since the beginning of Israel's military assault in Gaza on October 7th.

Israel's escalating attacks continue to ravage Palestinians and inflict immense suffering on civilians caught in the fire.

0913 GMT — Israeli army kills scores in Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital

Israeli army has announced killing 90 Palestinians in Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and arresting 160 others who were transferred into Israel for interrogation.

In a statement, it also said it has arrested 160 others and transferred them into Israel for further interrogation, while 300 are still being interrogated at the site in the hospital.

The statement noted that the Israeli troops are still fighting in the areas around the Al Shifa Hospital.

Since early Monday, the Israeli army has been carrying out an offensive against Al Shifa Hospital and its surrounding areas, putting lives of dozens of thousands of Palestinians in the hospital and around it in danger.

0413 GMT — UK's Cameron Gaza ceasefire crucial

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron has said it was vital for a pause in Israel's war in Gaza to enable the release of hostages, but a lot of conditions first needed to be met for a lasting ceasefire.

"Crucially what we must try to do is to turn that pause into a permanent sustainable ceasefire," Cameron said in an interview during a visit to a Thai air force base.

"We will only do that if a whole lot of conditions are fulfilled... we've got to get Hamas leaders out of Gaza, we have to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure."

0243 GMT — World Bank alarmed by Gaza famine, calls for urgent response

The World Bank Group has said that more than half the Palestinian population of Gaza is on the brink of famine, including children and the elderly.

The international organisation called for urgent action to save lives.

"We join the international community in calling for immediate, free and unimpeded access to medical supplies, food and life-essential services through all available means at speed and scale to the people of Gaza," it said in a statement.

The World Bank Group's board of directors in December approved the commitment of $35 million in funds to development partners which are active in Gaza, including the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Program (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

These funds include a $10 million package to the WFP to purchase food parcels and vouchers to reach an estimated 377,000 people.

0238 GMT — Canada halting arms shipments to Israel: report

Canada is halting its arms shipments to Israel, a Canadian government source has told the AFP news agency.

Ottawa has only exported "non-lethal" shipments such as communications equipment to Israel since Israel's war on Gaza. No exports have taken place since January, the source added.

Israel has historically been a top receiver of Canadian arms exports, with $15.47 million worth of military materiel exported to Israel in 2022, according to Radio Canada, following $19 million in shipments in 2021. That places Israel among the top 10 recipients of Canadian arms exports.

0216 GMT — US should immediately suspend arms transfers to Israel: Rights groups

The US should immediately suspend arms transfers to Israel, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Oxfam said Tuesday, citing Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law including with US weapons and the blocking of US-funded humanitarian assistance.

The two organisations submitted a report to the US government listing a wide range of Israeli violations of international humanitarian law since October 7 last year, including the use of white phosphorus, strikes on ambulances and hospitals, and the systematic blocking of assistance, they said in a joint statement.

"There are good reasons why US law prohibits arms support for governments that block life-saving aid or violate international law with US weapons," Sarah Yager, Washington director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

0030 GMT — US, Israel defence chiefs to meet in Washington

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant will meet with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin next week in Washington, a US defence official has confirmed.

The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public, said Austin and Gallant plan to discuss securing the release of hostages, humanitarian aid to Gaza and protecting those in Rafah.

Over a million displaced people have sought shelter in the southern Gaza city, where Israel has said it plans to stage a ground invasion.

0019 GMT — Israeli army abducts 300 Palestinians from Gaza hospital

The Israeli army has abducted around 300 Palestinians during its ongoing incursion of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

"The suspects are being interrogated on-site by field investigators from Unit 504 of the Intelligence Corps and are subsequently taken for further investigation by the unit and the [internal security agency] Shin Bet in Israel," the statement added.

''The army 'has arrested about 300 suspects and eliminated dozens of terrorists,'' it added.

The army attacked the facility on Monday, which houses thousands of ill and wounded patients as well as displaced residents.

Last year in November, Israel attacked the hospital, sparking international alarm. Tel Aviv falsely claimed Hamas fighters were using the complex for military operations. Days later it became clear that Israeli military had in fact been referring to the bunker under the complex that Israel had built in 1983 during its brutal occupation of Gaza.

0005 GMT — Doctors who visited Gaza speak of 'atrocities,' collapsing healthcare

The healthcare system in Gaza has essentially collapsed, Western doctors who visited the Palestinian enclave in recent months told an event at the United Nations, speaking of "appalling atrocities" from Israel's war.

The four doctors from the United States, United Kingdom and France have been working with teams in Gaza to support its healthcare system, which has been reeling since Israel began its military invasion there last October.

Nick Maynard, a surgeon who was last in Gaza in January with British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, recalled seeing a child who had been burned so badly that he could see her facial bones.

“We knew there was no chance of her surviving that but there was no morphine to give her," Maynard, a cancer surgeon, told the event at the UN headquarters in New York. "So not only was she inevitably going to die but she would die in agony."

Full story here

2124 GMT — Israel kills at least 38 Palestinians in new Gaza strikes

Israel struck an aid distribution committees at Kuwait Roundabout in Gaza City, killing at least 23 Palestinians and wounding many others, WAFA news agency has reported.

Israeli warplanes targeted a gathering of committees formed to facilitate the transportation of aid to Gaza City, the official Palestinian news agency reported.

Local sources said a significant number of dead and wounded were lying on the ground at site after being directly targeted, according to the agency.

Israel also struck a house in Al Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, killing at least 15 Palestinians health officials said.

Medics said rescue operations were still under way as some victims were believed to be trapped under the rubble of the three-floor building.

2000 GMT — Norway labels Gaza situation 'man-made disaster'

Norway has demanded an urgent ceasefire in Gaza, while reminding the world that the situation is a "man-made disaster," Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said.

Israel's use of military force is having a disproportionately severe effect on the civilian population, which is not in line with international humanitarian law, Barth Eide said in a statement.

Barth Eide suggested that there is no "quick fix to the war in Palestine," but said that "there are ways to improve the situation."

"We must all do more to address this terrible situation. And we must focus our efforts on what can make a difference," he said.

1945 GMT — Illegal Zionist settlers kill Palestinian man in occupied West Bank: official

A Palestinian man has been killed in the occupied West Bank by illegal Jewish settlers, a local official said.

Fakhr Bassem Bani Jaber was "hit by a bullet in the heart" while he was standing in front of his house in Khirbet al-Tawil, a hamlet outside Aqraba, said Aqraba Mayor Salah Bani Jaber.

The 43-year-old was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, the mayor added.

The mayor said illegal settlers from the neighbouring settlement of Gitit, including "three in military uniform", shot Bani Jaber and left quickly.

For our live updates from Tuesday, March 19, click here.