Israel to press on despite binding UN resolution

It’s 7pm (17:00 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel.

Here are some of the main developments:

• UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese issues a report saying there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
• In Gaza, Al Jazeera correspondents report a surge in attacks on Rafah city along with ongoing threats to expand military operations, despite a UN resolution voted on Monday calling for a ceasefire.
• The Palestine Red Crescent Society says the al-Amal Hospital in Deir el-Balah is now closed after the Israeli army forced its evacuation.
• Israeli warplanes targeted the vicinity of Baalbek city in Lebanon, footage captured by local media shows, some 100km from the border with Israel.
• During a visit to Tehran, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says Palestinians have shown “legendary resistance” during the war on Gaza, while Israel has lost international support and failed to achieve its military objectives.

• Gaza ‘shattered humanity’s records for its darkest chapters’: UNICEF

  UNICEF spokesperson James Elder’s words come as he returns from a visit to the war-torn enclave.

  Following a UN resolution on Monday, “the ceasefire must be substantive, not symbolic. The hostages must go home. The people of Gaza must be allowed to live,” he said in a statement.

  Elder described a catastrophic humanitarian situation in Rafah, where there is one toilet for every 850 people and one shower for every 3600 people. “This is a hellish disregard for basic human needs and dignity,” he said.

  Khan Younis “barely exists anymore,” he said. “In my 20 years with the United Nations, I have never seen such devastation. Just chaos and ruin, with rubble and debris scattered in every single direction. Utter annihilation.”

  In Jabalia, tens of thousands of people in the streets placed their hands to their mouths, “that universal sign for hunger”, as hundreds of trucks remained backlogged waiting to enter Gaza.

  “Humanity must now urgently write a different chapter,” Elder said.

  Road outside Israeli embassy in London dubbed ‘Genocide Avenue’

  Activists from the human rights group Amnesty International have put up a mock London street sign reading “Genocide Avenue” near the Israeli embassy in the British capital.

  “This is a reminder to the Israeli authorities that they’re on trial for genocide, that they need to start taking that seriously,” Amnesty campaigner Tom Guha said.

  After installing the sign, campaigners said they would send a letter to the embassy from Amnesty UK’s chief executive, Sacha Deshmukh, outlining the organisation’s concerns over Israel’s war on Gaza.

  Israeli jets hit eastern Lebanon city

  Footage captured by local media shows Israeli warplanes targeting the vicinity of Baalbek city.

  The online videos were verified by Al Jazeera’s fact checking unit Sanad.

  In February, at least two people were killed after Israeli military planes carried out three air strikes on the outskirts of Buday village near Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold in the Bekaa Valley about 100km (62 miles) from the Israel-Lebanon border.

  Hezbollah and Israeli forces have traded fire near daily along the border since the war in Gaza started on October 7.

  The Iran-backed group, with deep ties to Hamas, says it will stop its attacks on northern Israel once a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.

  Israeli forces raid el-Bireh

  Footage shared online by local media outlets and verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking unit, Sanad, shows Israeli forces storming the occupied West Bank city and firing tear gas at residents.

  Raids across the West Bank have intensified since the war on Gaza began on October 7, and at least 7,800 Palestinians have been arrested or detained in this time period.

  Germany’s Baerbock: More aid to Gaza needed

  The German foreign minister has called for unhindered aid for the Gaza Strip while on a trip to the Middle East during which she met with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

  “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is hell,” Baerbock said in Tel Aviv. “International organisations must be able to provide vital aid unhindered.”

  She added that Germany had increased its funding to the World Food Programme by an additional 10 million euros ($10.8 million).

  • UN Middle East coordinator says humanitarian impact in Gaza ‘cataclysmic’

    The UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, spoke to the UN as he presented a quarterly report on the implementation of Resolution 2334 concerning illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.

    He noted:

    • Resolution 2334 demands that affirmative steps be taken to immediately reverse steps on the ground that are imperilling the two-state solution. But negative trends continue.
    • In total, some 4,780 units were advanced in the West Bank’s Area C … and the demolition and seizure of Palestinian property continues.
    • The devastating conflict in Gaza goes on alongside violence in the West Bank. In Gaza, the humanitarian impact of the hostilities has been cataclysmic.
    • The killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip is occurring at an unprecedented rate. At least 26 attacks against aid seekers have occurred at aid distribution points.
    • Hospitals must not become battlefields and must be protected.
    • Famine in the northern Gaza Strip is imminent.
    • Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

    Situation in Gaza a ‘human catastrophe’: Pentagon chief

    Austin, speaking at the start of the meeting with Israel’s defence minister, says it’s a moral and strategic imperative to protect Palestinian civilians.

    Austin called the situation in Gaza a “human catastrophe”. Since October 7, more than 32,000 people have been killed in the coastal enclave.

    The meeting between the two defence chiefs went ahead even though Israel abruptly cancelled the visit of a high-level delegation to Washington in protest against the US abstention during Monday’s UN Security Council vote

    Amnesty says UN rapporteur’s findings must spur action to ‘prevent genocide’

    Amnesty International has welcomed the new report by the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, which found there are “reasonable grounds to believe the threshold indicating Israel’s commission of genocide is met”.

    “This is a crucial body of work that must serve as a vital call to action to states. They must uphold their obligations under the Genocide Convention and take concrete measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza today,” Amnesty International’s Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said in a statement.

    “The time to act to prevent genocide is now.”

    Callamard called on states to apply political pressure on the warring parties to implement the UN Security Council resolution adopted on Monday, which demands an immediate ceasefire. She said they must use their influence to get Israel to abide by the resolution, including stopping shelling and lifting restrictions on humanitarian aid.

    She also called on all states to impose a comprehensive arms embargo against all parties to the conflict and to pressure Hamas and other armed groups to free all civilian captives.

    Israeli army detaining people in parts of al-Shifa Hospital: Health Ministry

    Gaza’s Health Ministry says the Israeli army is “tightening its siege of al-Shifa Hospital” by detaining people in the Human Resources Department, a wing of the facility that’s not equipped for healthcare.

    The ministry called on the international community to “intervene to save their lives”.

    Israel’s forces stormed the compound in Gaza City with tanks and heavy gunfire on March 18 and have been laying siege to it since. At the time, an estimated 30,000 people including displaced civilians, wounded patients and medical staff were inside the complex.

    that passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire. The US decided not to use its veto power, and the resolution passed 14-0.