More European countries recognise Palestine
- Spain Ireland and Norway to formally announce move today.
- Israel’s army continues to pound Rafah, the attacks coming one night after Israeli forces bombed a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians in a designated safe zone in Rafah, killing 45 people.
Six killed near Kamal Adwan Hospital
Six people, including a doctor, have been killed near the hospital in northern Gaza, as Israeli raids continue in the area, report our colleagues on the ground.
Last week, patients and medical staff were forced to flee the 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 Minister David Cameron said an investigation by the Israeli military into the Rafah air strikes that killed dozens of people must be “swift, comprehensive and transparent”.
“Deeply distressing scenes following the air strikes in Rafah this weekend. The IDF’s investigation must be swift, comprehensive and transparent,” Cameron said on X, referring to the Israeli army.
“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.
There has been global outrage after Israel’s attack on a tent camp in Rafah for displaced people that killed 45 people, including many women and children who died in a huge inferno.
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 to 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 killed in western Rafah
The Palestine Red Crescent Society says its rescuers have found bodies of three people killed and several injured in western Rafah.
Rafah, previously the only designated safe city for Palestinians in Gaza, has been under fierce attack for three weeks, in an operation the ICJ has ruled must immediately end.
On Sunday night, an Israeli air strike hit a tent 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 Rafah city centre, Reuters news agency reported citing witnesses on the ground.
The Israeli army has been carrying out a large operation in the southern city of Gaza, 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 on Monday and Tuesday took place in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Tubas, Hebron, Qalqilya and Jenin in the occupied West Bank, including occupied 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.
