Israel’s war on Gaza live: Israeli army kills 46 people across enclave
- Gaza’s Health Ministry says 46 people have been killed and 110 injured across Gaza in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
- Israel’s army continues to pound the southern city of Rafah after its forces on Sunday night bombed a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians in a designated safe zone and killed 45 people.
Six people killed near Kamal Adwan Hospital
Six people, including a doctor, have been killed near the hospital in northern Gaza as Israeli attacks continue in the area, our colleagues on the ground report.
Last week, patients and medical staff were forced to flee Kamal Adwan Hospital due to Israeli attacks on it, including one that hit its emergency department.
UK says Israel’s army must launch swift probe into Rafah air raid
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron says an investigation by the Israeli military into the Rafah air strikes that killed dozens of displaced people on Sunday night must be “swift, comprehensive and transparent”.
“Deeply distressing scenes following the air strikes in Rafah this weekend. The [Israeli military’s] investigation must be swift, comprehensive and transparent,” Cameron said on X.
“We urgently need a deal to get hostages out and aid in, with a pause in fighting to allow work towards a long-term sustainable ceasefire.”
Britain supplied 42 million pounds ($53m) of arms to Israel in 2022.
Last month, Cameron said arms sales to Israel by British companies will not stop after he said he reviewed the latest legal advice on the matter.
Palestinians fear violent Israeli response to statehood recognition
There are some people here in Gaza who see this recognition as a very significant move, eventually putting more pressure on Israel to end the war.
But the vast majority of displaced Palestinians are just busy trying to find basic necessities – food, water and medical care.
There is also worry, particularly among Palestinians traumatised by the constant displacement, that Israel’s military will retaliate against the recognitions by attacking more civilians in Gaza.
This is because every time something happens at the international level, we see a surge in attacks here. So the fear right now is real, the panic is real.
Three people killed in western Rafah
The Palestine Red Crescent Society says its rescue workers have found the bodies of three people killed in western Rafah and have transported several injured people for medical treatment.
Rafah, previously the only designated safe city for Palestinians in Gaza, has been under fierce attack for three weeks in an operation the ICJ ruled on Friday must immediately end.
On Sunday night, an Israeli air strike hit a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians in Rafah, killing at least 45 people, many women and children.
Israeli tanks reach Rafah city centre: Report
Israeli tanks have reached the Rafah city centre, Reuters news agency reports, quoting witnesses on the ground.
The Israeli army has been carrying out a large operation in the southern Gaza city despite international warnings and an ICJ ruling for it to stop the offensive.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced as a result of the operation.
Israeli FM accuses Spanish PM of helping incite Jewish ‘genocide’
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz has lashed out at Spain’s PM Sanchez over the recognition of Palestine, saying he is a “partner to incitement” of Jewish “genocide”.
In a post on X, Katz blamed Sanchez for making the formal recognition and for not sacking Spain’s minister of labour and social policy, Yolanda Diaz, who used the slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
This follows Israel’s furious reaction to the news last week that Spain, along with Norway and Ireland, would formally recognise a Palestinian state. Israel recalled its ambassadors to the three states and ordered Spain’s Jerusalem consulate to halt consular services to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
In a speech earlier today, Sanchez said Spain’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state should not antagonise Israel, which it considers a “friendly country” and holds in “high regard”.
Israeli forces arrest 22 Palestinians in occupied West Bank
The arrests included a child and former prisoners, according to the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
Raids took place on Monday and Tuesday in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Tubas, Hebron, Qalqilya and Jenin in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The latest arrests bring the number of Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces since October 7 to 8,910, according to the organisations’ statement.
Recognition gives hope to Palestinians
The vast majority of the Palestinians across the occupied West Bank say they are optimistic and welcoming about the decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain to recognise the state of Palestine.
That is really seen here as a show of support to Palestinians and as a show of defiance against Israel.
They hope that more states will follow. The feeling here among Palestinians is that people around the world now see what Israel is doing to the Palestinians.
They were also able to see the nitty-gritty of the occupation such as illegal Israeli settlements, arrests and military occupation that is controlling each and every aspect of Palestinians’ lives.
Palestinians are now more hopeful as they feel, with the media coverage, worldwide protests and the exposure of what is happening to Palestinians on social media despite bans, the world moving to take some action, after not paying attention to Palestine for so long.
What is the EU’s Rafah border mission?
Foreign ministers of the European Union have agreed in principle to reactivate the bloc’s Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) in the city of Rafah.
The mission was established in 2005 to provide a third-party presence at the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, with a mandate to monitor, verify and evaluate the performance of the Palestinian Authority’s border police and customs services.
At the time, it was billed as an important measure to build confidence between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. But the mission suspended its operations in 2007, shortly after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, told reporters on Monday the reactivation of EUBAM “could play a useful role in supporting the entry of people into Gaza, in and out”.
But, he said, this “has to be done in accordance with the Palestinian Authority, the Egyptians, and obviously Israel, Israel’s authorities”. The EU will no act as “outsourcers of the security in the border”, he said, adding that the bloc would only prepare technical plans for now.
Reuters, citing diplomats, reported that the mission was unlikely to be in place before the hostilities in Rafah stopped.
Ireland’s decision to recognise Palestine both ‘political and symbolic’
Over the next couple of hours, we’ll have a cabinet meeting involving the taoiseach (the prime minister of Ireland), along with his foreign minister and the deputy prime minister.
The deputy PM will be talking about why they’ve taken this decision to recognise Palestinian statehood and how this comports with Ireland’s position when it comes to Palestinian rights over many, many decades.
Later on this afternoon, inside Ireland’s parliament, there’ll be a several hours-long debate about this issue, offering individual politicians their chance to express their positions and why they think this is important.
Simon Harris, the taoiseach, will make it very clear that he sees this as both a political and a symbolic decision the Irish government has made.
Warning sirens sound in northern Israel
Hostile aircraft sirens have sounded in northern Israeli cities and towns near the border with Lebanon.
The Israeli media said the sirens were heard in various settlements, including Snir, She’ar Yeshuv, Dan, Ghajar, HaGoshrim, Dafna, Tel Hai, Kiryat Shmona, Misgav Am, Margaliot, Ma’ayan Baruch, Manara, Metula, Kfar Yuval, Kfar Giladi and Beit Hillel.
WATCH: Dabke dance troupe brings relief to Gaza’s war-weary children
A dance crew is teaching displaced children in Gaza a traditional Palestinian dance form called dabke, with hopes of providing some psychological reprieve to Gaza’s youth in the midst of Israel’s brutal war.
Sanchez says Palestine recognition a ‘decision for peace’
It’s a momentous and symbolic day. The symbolism is not lost on the Israelis, who have reacted with great unhappiness at the way that Spain, Norway and Ireland have announced their recognition of a Palestinian state.
In his speech, Spain’s PM Sanchez was absolutely adamant that the decision is aligned with UN resolutions, as adopted by EU member states. So the impression in some quarters that Spain, Ireland and Norway are somehow doing it alone is not borne out by the reality.
Sanchez was also adamant that the decision is not “against anybody”. Israel has been complaining bitterly that this is an anti-Israel policy … Sanchez said that is absolutely not the case. He says this is a decision for peace and hopes it will push forward the idea of a ceasefire and release of captives.
Sanchez condemned the October 7 attacks but said what Spain, Ireland and Norway are doing is, in his belief, the only way forward to get a two-state solution and make it survive.
Palestinians killed, wounded near Jabalia in northern Gaza
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting strikes in the al-Faluja area, west of Jabalia camp, that have killed and wounded Palestinians.
Al-Faluja has been repeatedly targeted in recent weeks as Israeli forces intensify ground and air attacks on the nearby Jabalia camp.
We’ll bring you more information on the latest casualties as we have it.
