Israel-Hamas War HIGHLIGHTS: 72 UN Aid Staff Killed In Gaza So Far, Says Chief
Israel-Hamas War Live: Follow this space for all the live and latest updates on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
“We will be talking about concrete steps that can and should be taken to minimize harm to men, women, and children in Gaza, and this is something that the United States is committed to,” Blinken said on Thursday, CNN reported.
The head of the main UN aid organisation in Gaza revealed on Thursday that 72 of its employees have been murdered in the enclave since the most recent battle between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7, CNN reported.
The Israeli Air Force stated it intercepted a cruise missile launched from the southeast "in recent days," CNN reported.
According to a statement issued on Thursday by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 33 journalists have been killed since the latest Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, CNN reported.
According to CNN, six American citizens landed on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border from Gaza on Thursday.
Gaza Health Ministry says more than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, mostly women and minors, reports AP.
According to an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson, Hamas defence lines in northern Gaza continue to "collapse" as they retreat southwards to the enclave's centre, CNN reported.
Speaking on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Pope Francis reiterated his support for a two-state solution. Speaking on Italy’s state-run TV channel RAI, Pope Francis said, "Two peoples who must live together. With that a wise solution exists: two peoples, two states, follow the Oslo Agreement: two very limited states and Jerusalem with a special status".
In the last 24 hours, three additional UNRWA staff have been killed, bringing the total to 70 UNRWA colleagues killed since 7 October.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 8,525 people have been killed since 7 October, including 3,542 children and 2,197 women, and 21,543 injured. This is in addition to the 2,000 reported missing, presumably under the rubble of destroyed buildings, including 1,100 children.
Over 529,000 persons are sheltering in 92 UNRWA facilities in the Middle, Khan Younis and Rafah areas. This represents an increase of around 18,000 IDPs in the last 24 hours. Shelters have reached their limit to accommodate new arrivals, and many IDPs are sleeping in the streets close to UNRWA premises.
It is estimated that 1.4 million people are currently displaced in the Gaza Strip. In addition to those currently in UNRWA shelters, many others have sought refuge with host families, or in hospitals, government schools and other public facilities.
An American pediatrician, who was stranded in Gaza while on a relief mission to treat children, was finally able to leave the territory on Wednesday, her husband told CNN.
The second Israeli airstrike that rocked the Gaza refugee camp of Jabalya on Wednesday killed at least 80 people, according to a local hospital official.
The director of Gaza's Indonesian hospital told CNN that at least 80 bodies arrived at the hospital following the strike.
Jordan announced it had recalled its ambassador from Israel and told the Israeli ambassador to stay away in protest at the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, saying the attacks had killed innocents and caused a humanitarian catastrophe, reported Reuters.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said a second Israeli bombing raid in two days had killed and wounded "dozens" Wednesday at the territory's biggest refugee camp, Jabalia.
It said there were "dozens of martyrs and injured in a bombing by the occupation planes", a day after Israel acknowledged the first strikes, saying they targeted a top Hamas commander, reports AFP.
Fifteen Israeli soldiers have been killed fighting in Gaza since Tuesday, a spokesman for the country's military told AFP.
Israeli troops have been fighting Hamas militants on the ground since Friday, backed by heavy air strikes which have killed multiple civilians in the Palestinian territory.
German Ambassador to India Dr Philipp Ackermann says, "We consider Hamas attack as a terrorist attack...Right to self-defence, now I understand when it comes to Israel at the same time we ask Israel to look into their actions in Gaza to accept and keep in mind Humanitarian International law, it's very important."
At least 8,796 Palestinians, including 3,648 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes since Oct. 7, the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said on Wednesday.
The first ambulances carrying wounded Palestinians from war-torn Gaza entered Egypt via the Rafah crossing, AFP reported citing an Egyptian official.
Hamas said that seven hostages, including three foreign passport holders, were killed in Israel's bombing of Gaza's largest refugee camp, reported AFP.
The lone border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has opened for the first time since the beginning of the war on October 7, reports Al Jazeera. Scores of people and cars move through the gates as the crossing was opened for the first time, reports Al Jazeera.
A fleet of around 80 ambulances has arrived at the Rafah border from Egypt to receive injured Palestinian patients, an Egyptian border official told CNN at the crossing. If they crossed to Egypt, these patients would be the first known Palestinians allowed out of Gaza since the October 7 war.
Atleast 8,525 people have been killed since October 7 in Gaza with 21,543 injured. Around 127 Palestinians have been killed in Occupied West Bank and 1,980 injured, reports Al Jazeera. In Israel, the death toll stood at 1,405 while 5,431 have been wounded.
Bolivia has severed its diplomatic ties with Israel in protest of the mounting death toll in Gaza while Colombia and Chile have recalled their ambassadors to Israel.
The Israeli Defence Force says 9 of its soldiers have been killed in an anti-tank missile attack in Gaza.
The Palestine Telecommunications Company, Paltel, says there is “a complete interruption of all communications and internet services” in the Gaza Strip again.
In a post on X, it said, "Dear people in our beloved homeland, We regret to announce a complete interruption of all communications and Internet services with the Gaza Strip, due to international routes that were previously reconnected being cut off again. May God protect you and protect our country."
The White House has said US President Joe Biden on Tuesday spoke with the leader Jordan. Biden and King Abdullah II “discussed urgent mechanisms to stem violence, calm rhetoric, and reduce regional tensions,” a White House statement says, reports the Times of Israel.
It added that the two leaders “agreed that it is critical to ensure that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced outside of Gaza” and that Biden had “confirmed unwavering US support for Jordan and His Majesty’s leadership.”
Notably, US Secretary of State Blinken has visited Jordan multiple times since Hamas launched its October 7 attack on Israel.
Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Ambassador Riyad Mansour said the Israeli strike on the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza was a crime and urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take action, reported CNN.
Colombia has announced it is also recalling its ambassador to Israel for consultations. Its President Gustavo Petro accused Israel of carrying out a “massacre” of Palestinians adding his country cannot abide by the war in Gaza, reports Times of Israel.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric also said the country is recalling its ambassador to Israel due to Israel's "violations of International Humanitarian Law in the Gaza Strip," reported CNN.
Background
Israel-Hamas War Live: Hello and welcome to the live blog on the Israel-Hamas War. Follow this space for all the live and latest updates.
Israel-Hamas conflict has been on since last 25 days bringing destruction to the region with terrifying pictures coming forth from the Hamas-controlled enclave. Israel launched a counter-offensive in the Gaza Strip after Hamas' October 7 surprise attack. Massive explosions tore through a densely populated Palestinian refugee camp on Tuesday, leaving two large craters in the area, news agency AFP reported. Rescue teams scrambled to navigate through the debris, concrete blocks, and twisted metal in search of survivors and bodies. Disturbing footage from AFP showed the recovery of at least 47 lifeless bodies.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry reported an initial toll of over 50 dead, 150 wounded, and dozens buried under the rubble. The ministry condemned what it described as a "heinous Israeli massacre" at the Jabalia camp, which is situated in the northern part of Gaza, an area close to ongoing ground battles, AFP reported.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Israeli Defence Forces stated they had killed a prominent Hamas commander who assisted in the October 7 massacre in Israel, CNN reported. According to the IDF and the Israeli security service Shin Bet, Nassim Abu Ajina, leader of Hamas' Beit Lahia Battalion in the northern region, was killed in an airstrike on Tuesday. According to IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari, Ajina was in charge of directing strikes against Israeli residents on October 7.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at a press conference that the number of hostages believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza is up to 240, reported the Times of Israel. He added that 315 Israeli soldiers have died since Hamas' October attack. According to the Israel Defence Forces and eyewitnesses, the Israeli army demolished Hamas commander Saleh al-Arouri's residence in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday morning, CNN reported.
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