Israel-Gaza war live: central and southern Gaza bombarded as IDF tanks advance to Rafah’s fringes
Tanks stationed in city’s al-Izba district near Mediterranean coast while residents report being trapped in their homes as snipers commandeer buildingsWe are restarting our live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and wider Middle East conflict. Here’s a snapshot of the latest key developments.Israel bombarded central and southern areas of the Gaza Strip again on Friday, killing at least 28 Palestinians, Reuters reports, as tank forces advanced to the western edges of Rafah.The United Nations has added Israel to the global list of states and armed groups who have committed violations against children, according to the country’s UN envoy, Gilad Erdan. News of Israel’s inclusion on the list followed eight months of war on Gaza, in which more than 13,000 children are estimated to be among the 36,500 killed, and came a day after the Israeli bombing of the UN school at al-Nuseirat. According to human rights officials, Hamas is also named in the report for its killing and kidnapping of children in its 7 October attack on Israel, in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed.Osama al-Kahlut of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said “occupation forces and snipers” east of Deir al-Balah were firing on people along Gaza’s main thoroughfare.“Gunfire on Salaheddin Street has severely restricted people’s movement, and several wounded people have been evacuated from the area,” he told Agence France-Presse.A key section of the US military-built pier designed to carry aid into Gaza by boat has been reconnected to the Gaza beach after storm damage repairs, and aid will begin to flow soon, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Friday. The section that connects to the beach – the causeway – was rebuilt nearly two weeks after heavy storms damaged it and abruptly halted the delivery route. Humanitarian aid is expected to begin moving into Gaza through the maritime route in the coming days.“We have normalised horror,” said Sam Rose, the director of planning for the Palestinian relief agency Unrwa, after Thursday’s Israeli strike on the school. Mass casualty incidents caused by the Israeli military offensive in southern Gaza are becoming normalised in the west and leading to a sense of fatalism inside Gaza itself, Rose said as he returned to London after five weeks in Gaza.More than 36,731 Palestinians have been killed and 83,530 have been injured since 7 October in Israel’s military offensive, the Gaza health ministry said. The Hamas-run ministry said on Friday that 77 Palestinians were killed and 221 injured over the past 24 hours.Yemen’s Houthis have detained 11 Yemeni employees of UN agencies under unclear circumstances, authorities say, as the militia group faces increasing financial pressure and airstrikes from a US-led coalition. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said 11 UN staffers had been taken. People working for other aid groups also have been detained.Benjamin Netanyahu will address the US Congress on 24 July “to build on our enduring relationship and to highlight America’s solidarity with Israel”, US political leaders have said in a statement. The Israeli prime minister’s appearance before a growingly divided Congress is sure to be contentious and likely to be met with protests both inside the Capitol from lawmakers and outside by pro-Palestinian protesters.Unemployment in the Gaza Strip has reached nearly 80% since the war with Israel began last October, the UN labour agency has said, bringing the average unemployment rate across Palestinian territories to more than 50%. “Imagine with this very high level of unemployment, people will not be able to secure food for themselves and for their families,” said Ruba Jaradat, the ILO regional director for Arab states. Continue reading...
Tanks stationed in city’s al-Izba district near Mediterranean coast while residents report being trapped in their homes as snipers commandeer buildings
We are restarting our live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and wider Middle East conflict. Here’s a snapshot of the latest key developments.
Israel bombarded central and southern areas of the Gaza Strip again on Friday, killing at least 28 Palestinians, Reuters reports, as tank forces advanced to the western edges of Rafah.
The United Nations has added Israel to the global list of states and armed groups who have committed violations against children, according to the country’s UN envoy, Gilad Erdan. News of Israel’s inclusion on the list followed eight months of war on Gaza, in which more than 13,000 children are estimated to be among the 36,500 killed, and came a day after the Israeli bombing of the UN school at al-Nuseirat. According to human rights officials, Hamas is also named in the report for its killing and kidnapping of children in its 7 October attack on Israel, in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed.
Osama al-Kahlut of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said “occupation forces and snipers” east of Deir al-Balah were firing on people along Gaza’s main thoroughfare.“Gunfire on Salaheddin Street has severely restricted people’s movement, and several wounded people have been evacuated from the area,” he told Agence France-Presse.
A key section of the US military-built pier designed to carry aid into Gaza by boat has been reconnected to the Gaza beach after storm damage repairs, and aid will begin to flow soon, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Friday. The section that connects to the beach – the causeway – was rebuilt nearly two weeks after heavy storms damaged it and abruptly halted the delivery route. Humanitarian aid is expected to begin moving into Gaza through the maritime route in the coming days.
“We have normalised horror,” said Sam Rose, the director of planning for the Palestinian relief agency Unrwa, after Thursday’s Israeli strike on the school. Mass casualty incidents caused by the Israeli military offensive in southern Gaza are becoming normalised in the west and leading to a sense of fatalism inside Gaza itself, Rose said as he returned to London after five weeks in Gaza.
More than 36,731 Palestinians have been killed and 83,530 have been injured since 7 October in Israel’s military offensive, the Gaza health ministry said. The Hamas-run ministry said on Friday that 77 Palestinians were killed and 221 injured over the past 24 hours.
Yemen’s Houthis have detained 11 Yemeni employees of UN agencies under unclear circumstances, authorities say, as the militia group faces increasing financial pressure and airstrikes from a US-led coalition. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said 11 UN staffers had been taken. People working for other aid groups also have been detained.
Benjamin Netanyahu will address the US Congress on 24 July “to build on our enduring relationship and to highlight America’s solidarity with Israel”, US political leaders have said in a statement. The Israeli prime minister’s appearance before a growingly divided Congress is sure to be contentious and likely to be met with protests both inside the Capitol from lawmakers and outside by pro-Palestinian protesters.
Unemployment in the Gaza Strip has reached nearly 80% since the war with Israel began last October, the UN labour agency has said, bringing the average unemployment rate across Palestinian territories to more than 50%. “Imagine with this very high level of unemployment, people will not be able to secure food for themselves and for their families,” said Ruba Jaradat, the ILO regional director for Arab states. Continue reading...
