Closing summary
We are now closing this blog. Here is a summary of events today.
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories has called for sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel and for global corporations to be held accountable for “profiting from genocide” in Gaza.
The Associated Press reports that Israeli airstrikes and shootings have killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza overnight, including 45 who were attempting to get humanitarian aid, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry on Thursday. Others were killed in strikes that hit tents in the Muwasi zone, where many displaced Palestinians are sheltering. There were also fatalities following a strike on a school in Gaza City, again sheltering displaced people,
Iran on Thursday affirmed its commitment to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, as it accused Germany of “malice” over its criticism of Tehran’s decision to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
France’s foreign minister denounced spy charges reportedly being used to hold two French nationals in Iran for more than three years, saying the allegations are “unjustified and unfounded”. France said it would decide whether to reimpose sanctions against Iran depending on whether Tehran released the two French detainees.
American contractors guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades as Palestinians scramble for food, according to accounts and videos obtained by The Associated Press (AP).
Tributes have been paid to one of Gaza’s most senior doctors who was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Dr Marwan al-Sultan, a renowned cardiologist and director of the Indonesian hospital in the Gaza Strip, is the 70th healthcare worker to be killed by Israeli attacks in the last 50 days, according to Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), a Palestinian medical organisation.
Hamas is seeking guarantees that a new US ceasefire proposal for Gaza would lead to the war’s end, sources said on Thursday, with sources telling Reuters a response from Hamas could come “by Friday”. Israeli officials said prospects for reaching a ceasefire deal and hostage deal appeared high.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported an Israeli strike on a vehicle on Beirut’s southern entrance, as the Israeli army said it hit a “terrorist” working for Iran.
The United States imposed new Iran-related sanctions on Thursday as well as sanctions targeting the Hezbollah network, the Treasury Department website showed
The producer of a film about medics in Gaza that was dropped by the BBC has accused the corporation of attempting to gag him and others over its decision not to show the documentary.
Israeli strike hits vehicle at Beirut southern entrance: state media
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported an Israeli strike on a vehicle on Beirut’s southern entrance, as the Israeli army said it hit a “terrorist” working for Iran.
According to the NNA, “an enemy drone targeted a car on the Khalde highway” south of Beirut, AFP reports.
The Israeli army said it “eliminated a terrorist responsible for smuggling weapons and advancing terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops, on behalf of the Iranian Quds Force”, the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
