Israel’s war on Gaza live: 30 killed as fourth Gaza school bombed in 4 days
- At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza after Israeli bombs hit a school housing displaced civilians in Khan Younis.
- It was the fourth attack on schools in as many days which came after Israel issued new mass evacuation orders for parts of Khan Younis and Gaza City, forcing tens of thousands to flee and closure of three key hospitals.
Hezbollah, Israel deterring each other
While there have been nearly daily attacks between Hezbollah and Israel since the start of the war, they are still part of a policy of deterrence towards each other, says Sultan Barakat, a professor in conflict and humanitarian studies at Qatar Foundation’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University.
“Israel has demonstrated to Hezbollah what it’s capable of doing by attacking Gaza and Israeli ministers have repeatedly threatened to do to Lebanon what they have done to Gaza,” Barakat told Al Jazeera.
“At the same time Hezbollah needs to deter Israel from taking it any further by demonstrating its ability to gather intelligence deep into Israel, to identify targets and to reach those targets,” he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, drone footage published by Hezbollah showed Israeli military sites in the occupied Golan Heights – a sign of the group’s ability to target sensitive sites.
“Israel has enough intelligence on the extent of missiles and power that Hezbollah has, and they are fully aware that Hezbollah is in a position to launch rockets that can reach Haifa if not beyond – so it’s all part of deterrence to each other,” Barakat said.
Palestinian seriously injured in Israeli raid in Tulkarem: Health Ministry
A Palestinian has been seriously injured by Israeli bullets during a raid in Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry reports.
Israeli forces fired tear gas bombs during the military operation on the city and in the refugee camp, according to scenes broadcast by local platforms.
Local sources said confrontations had broken out between Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces in Tulkarem.
Israeli police arrest protesters demanding ceasefire deal
Israeli police have arrested at least nine protesters in Tel Aviv who were calling for the government to reach a deal to release all captives held in Gaza.
Another round of talks to try to end the war in Gaza are set to begin in Qatar on Wednesday.
After months of deadlock, the Hamas armed group presented new “ideas” to Qatari, Egyptian and Turkish mediators on how to reach a ceasefire and captive-exchange deal.
But critics accused Netanyahu of derailing the talks after his office published on Sunday a list of non-negotiable conditions. One of these includes Israel’s ability to resume operations in Gaza until the destruction of Hamas.
Watch: Families in Gaza City attempting to return home to collect belongings
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced, as Israeli forces bombard the besieged enclave. Despite the risk of air strikes and shelling, families are desperate to return to their homes.
Local journalist Ibrahim al-Khalili has been speaking to some families in Gaza City, who’ve been attempting to collect their belongings.
Numerous Israeli raids across occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have been confronted by Palestinian fighters after they stormed the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, an Al Jazeera correspondent reports.
In the city of Ramallah, Israeli forces have closed a street connecting the villages north of the city including Birzeit, our colleagues on the ground report.
Simultaneously, Israeli forces have also raided the cities of Jericho, Salfit and Hebron.
Nasser Hospital struggles amid shortage of medical supplies
Dozens of people have been transferred to Nasser Hospital [in Khan Younis], which has been facing a huge shortage of medical supplies and medicines as the facility has been running at a very low capacity.
The lack of medical supplies, including painkillers, makes it very difficult to treat patients.
One of the doctors at the hospital said many cases arriving are quite treatable, but due to the acute shortage of medical supplies, it’s very hard to cure them.
Their wounds start to get worse within hours of their arrival due to a lack of antiseptic and other needed medicines. This is contributing to an increase in casualty numbers.
Instagram removes clip discussing Hamas, restores later
A clip posted on Instagram by Democracy Now of an interview with journalist Jeremy Scahill discussing his interviews with Hamas members was removed, Semafor news agency reports.
The US-based independent media outlet also received a takedown notice saying that it had shared “symbols, praise, or support of people and organisations we define as dangerous”, the report added.
Later in the day, Democracy Now posted a shorter version of the clip.
A spokesperson of Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, told Semafor that the video’s removal was an error and it had been restored.
The social media giant has been accused of silencing pro-Palestine voices. In a report in December, Human Rights Watched accused Meta of “systemic and global censorship” when it came to pro-Palestinian content, describing it as “the biggest wave of suppression of content about Palestine” ever recorded.
Increased Israeli attacks meant to sabotage prospects of a deal: Analyst
Mouin Rabbani, non-resident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, says Netanyahu will be remembered for presiding over the biggest intelligence failure in Israel’s history last October.
He told Al Jazeera that according to Israel, its increased military attacks are to increase pressure upon the Palestinians to agree to a deal, but in reality, these attacks seek to undermine Palestinian confidence that any deal that is achieved will, in fact, be implemented.
“They’re meant to sabotage prospects of the deal without having to take direct responsibility for it. That is what we’re seeing happening right now.”
He added that one objective for Israel is to “pulverise” Gaza and take out “its rage against a civilian population because it’s unable to get to the leaders of the Hamas movement and other factions and to make the Gaza Strip unfit for human habitation”.
“Israel would like to achieve many other things whether in the Gaza Strip, or the West Bank, or the region but it doesn’t have the military capability to do that. We’re talking about a very efficient killing machine that is an ineffective fighting force, in particular when it comes to ground operations,” Rabbani said.
Netanyahu to skip Europe stopover amid ICC arrest warrant fear: Report
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered making a stopover in Europe on his way to the US later this month, but cancelled the plan amid fears the International Criminal Court (ICC) might issue an arrest warrant against him, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority has said.
ICC’s chief prosecutor Kharim Khan in May requested to issue arrest warrants
Child injured by Israeli bullets near Nablus
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reports that a child has been injured in firing by Israeli forces during a raid in the town of Beit Furik east of Nablus.
Earlier we reported that the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said that it targeted Israeli forces in the city with bullets and an explosive device.
The occupied West Bank has witnessed a wave of deadly raids by Israeli forces since October 7.
WATCH: How Israel is weaponising arbitrary arrests of Palestinians
Even in regular times, Palestinians accuse the Israeli government of weaponising arbitrary arrests and how they face discrimination and abuse in the Israeli penal system.
But after October 7, the scale and severity of abuse and lack of accountability have increased massively.
With government ministers boasting of putting prisoners on “starvation diets” and some inmates even dying from torture, being arrested as a Palestinian – often without charge or trial – seems to be more dangerous than ever.
against the Israeli prime minister and Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes. Since then, a team of judges has been deliberating on whether there are valid reasons to issue the warrants against them.
Should that happen, the 124 countries that are members of the ICC would be obligated to arrest Netanyahu should he step on their territory.
The idea of a stop in a European country friendly to Israel, possibly Hungary or the Czech Republic, came as the prime minister’s plane would have not been able to make a transatlantic flight with too many passengers from Tel Aviv to Washington, the report said.
Instead of the stopover, it added, Netanyahu will travel to the US with a limited entourage. He is expected to address the Congress on July 24.
Israeli army arrests 4 in Husan, West Bank
Israeli soldiers have arrested four Palestinians in Husan, near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reports.
According to the latest figures from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, more than 9,600 Palestinians have been arrested in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October.
Intense fighting as Israel’s Gaza City offensive expands to Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) fighters fired thermobaric rockets and mortars at Israeli forces and detonated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the battle for the Tal al-Hawa area of Gaza City on Tuesday.
US-based defence think tanks the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) also report that the Israeli Air Force continued to strike targets across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in what Israel described as attacks on “militia infrastructure and tunnels”.
In fighting in southern Rafah city, PIJ and fighters with the National Resistance Brigades fired mortars at Israeli troops and engaged in “close-range combat”.
Rockets continued to be fired into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip on Monday, the ISW and CTP say in their latest battlefield report.
If you’re just joining us
- An Israeli military strike on a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza has killed eight people, including six children, the Wafa news agency reports.
- US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has accused Israel of “genocide” after watching a video showing the moments an Israeli strike hit the al-Awda school near Khan Younis, killing at least 30 people.
- The Israeli military has killed at least four Lebanese citizens in separate attacks on southern Lebanon and Syria, Wafa reports.
- Palestinian detainee Muazzaz Khalil Abayat is in a “shocking health condition” after being released from Israel’s Negev prison where he experienced “severe beatings”, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society has said.
- Thousands of Palestinians are fleeing in all directions to avoid Israel’s expanding ground offensive in war-battered Gaza City, and do not know where is safe from Israeli attacks, according to the UN.
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At least 30 displaced Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike on Khan Younis school
A fleeting and fragile moment of normalcy for children playing football in Gaza turned to chaos in an instant, after the Israeli military bombed a school housing displaced people in Khan Younis, killing at least 30 people.
Gaza has endured one of its deadliest days in recent weeks, with at least 77 Palestinians killed across the Strip since Tuesday morning.
Timeline: Israel attacks four schools in four days killing dozens in Gaza
Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinian people sheltering in four different schools across the Gaza Strip since Saturday.
The Israeli military has acknowledged all four attacks, claiming its warplanes were targeting Hamas fighters.
Saturday
- An Israeli raid killed 16 Palestinians sheltering in the UN-run al-Jawni school in Nuseirat, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. About 2,000 Palestinians were sheltering in the school at the time of the attack, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said.
Sunday
- An Israeli attack killed four Palestinians sheltering in the Holy Family school in Gaza City, Gaza’s civil defence agency said. The Latin Patriarchate, which ran the school, said hundreds of people had been staying on the school grounds before the attack.
Monday
- Several people injured in an Israeli strike on an UNRWA-run school in Nuseirat were taken to the al-Awda Hospital for treatment.
Tuesday·
- At least 30 Palestinians were killed when an Israeli strike hit their tents on the grounds of the al-Awda school in Abassan, near Khan Younis, Palestinian officials said.
Death toll for Israeli attack in Nuseirat refugee camp rises
Earlier, we reported that four children were killed in an Israeli bombing of a house in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
Now, that death toll has risen to at least eight confirmed dead, six of them children, the Wafa news agency reports.
Ten people have also been injured in the attack, which happened in the early hours of this morning.
Israeli military says ‘commando’ killed in Gaza fighting
The 21-year-old major was serving with a “commando formation” in the Maglan unit, which specialises in reconnaissance and operations behind enemy lines, when he was killed in fighting on Tuesday in central Gaza, the military said in a post on social media.
The UN, citing official Israeli military sources, said that up to Monday this week, 324 Israeli soldiers had been killed in fighting in Gaza or along the territory’s border with Israel since the start of Israel’s ground offensive against the Palestinian territory.
An additional 2,097 Israeli soldiers have been reported injured in the war on Gaza during the same period.
Latest school attack adds to more than 520 displaced people killed in UN shelters since October
The Israeli air strike that killed at least 29 displaced people at the al-Awda school in Abassan, near the southern city of Khan Younis, adds to the more than 520 displaced Palestinians who have been killed in UN shelters since October.
On Tuesday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said in its latest Gaza situation report that at least 524 people have been killed and 1,606 injured in Israeli attacks on UNRWA-run premises housing displaced people since the start of the war.
During the same period, 197 UNRWA staff have been killed in Israeli attacks and a total of 188 installations operated by the UN agency have been damaged in strikes.
Editor’s Choice: What to read and watch
Here are a few highlights from the content recently published on Israel’s war against Gaza:
- From Gaza: Israeli attack on school shelter kills dozens
- From the West Bank: Outgoing Israeli general condemns settler violence in occupied West Bank
- Watch: Elderly Palestinians seek help at deserted Gaza City hospital
- Opinion: Israel’s American dream
