Israel’s war on Gaza live: ‘If bombs don’t kill us, hunger and disease do’

It’s 4pm (14:00 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.

Here are some of the main developments:

• Israeli bombing on Gaza City kills Wael Fanouneh, news director of al-Quds TV.
• Hepatitis C is spreading among children, adults and the elderly for the first time in overcrowded Rafah, according to doctors.
• Meanwhile, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees says the southern city’s pre-war population of 300,000 has now jumped to about 1.2 million as displaced Palestinians seek shelter in overcrowded camps and tents.
• The Israeli army bombards Meiss el-Jabal, a town in southern Lebanon, with internationally banned white phosphorus shells, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
• More than 300 Palestinian sports clubs and dozens of major Palestinian civil society organisations are calling for a ban on Israel from the Olympic Games in Paris this year.
  

  Nearly 6,000 aid trucks received by PRCS since start of war

  The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says that since October 21, it has received 5,939 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent through the Rafah border crossing containing food, water, relief aid and medical supplies.

  In the same time period, the organisation said it also received 88 ambulances.

  The numbers represent just a fraction of what is needed to cover the immense needs of Gaza’s population, according to repeated statements by local and international aid groups and workers.

  The distribution of humanitarian aid is done in coordination with the UN refugee agency and delivered to the Ministry of Social Development and other relevant institutions, the PRCS added.

  Birzeit University condemns bombing of Israa University in Gaza

  Birzeit University, one of the top universities in the occupied West Bank, has condemned the Israeli blowing up of Israa University in Gaza.

  Israa is the latest higher education institution to be completely destroyed by Israel during its war on the Palestinian territory.

  Birzeit University also accused Israel of stealing more than 3,000 rare artefacts from the national museum on Israa’s campus.

  In a post on X, it also said it reaffirmed “the fact that this crime is part of the Israeli occupation’s onslaught against the Palestinians”.

  “It’s all a part of the Israeli occupation’s goal to make Gaza uninhabitable; a continuation of the genocide being carried out in Gaza Strip,” it added.

  European Parliament votes on ceasefire resolution in Gaza

  The European Parliament has voted for a ceasefire resolution in the Gaza Strip and to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the territory.

  The resolution, which is purely symbolic and carries no legal weight, was approved with 312 votes in favour, 131 against and 72 abstentions.

  The bloc’s 27 leaders have not yet unanimously agreed to call for a ceasefire, despite pleas from member countries such as Belgium, Ireland and Spain. So far, their official line remains focused on “humanitarian pauses and corridors”.