Here’s how things stand on Monday, April 1, 2024:
Fighting and humanitarian crisis
- The World Health Organization (WHO) called for the evacuation of patients from al-Shifa Hospital, saying 21 patients have died since Israel began its siege on the facility on March 18.
- Separately, on Sunday, at least four people were killed during an Israeli air assault on the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. According to the WHO, 17 people were wounded. Israel’s military said the attack was targeting a command centre operated by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad armed group.
- Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, said its team at Al-Aqsa Hospital was forced to stop work and “seek cover” when the compound came under fire.
- Israel has proposed a plan for the dismantlement of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the transfer of its staff to a replacement agency to make large-scale food deliveries into Gaza, The Guardian reported on Sunday.
- The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had undergone surgery for a hernia. The surgery was “successful” and Netanyahu was “fully conscious and in good condition”, his office said in a statement after the operation on Sunday evening.
- On Monday, the Israeli military announced the death of a 20-year-old soldier, Nadav Cohen, updating the death toll to 600 since October 7.
Diplomacy and regional tensions
- According to a report by the news outlet Axios, the United States and Israel will hold a virtual meeting later on Monday to discuss Rafah in southern Gaza.
- On Sunday, tens of thousands of Israelis marched to call for Netanyahu’s government to be removed and for greater efforts to free the dozens of people still held captive by Hamas.
- Veterans for Peace said US Air Force senior airman Larry Hebert would start a hunger strike to highlight the plight facing Gaza’s children. The group says it is an association of former soldiers who advocate for peace, highlighting the costs of war and conflict.
Today active-duty Air Force Senior Airman Larry Hebert will begin a hunger strike to highlight the plight of the starving children of Gaza. pic.twitter.com/qRyVwBtsWS
— Veterans For Peace (@VFPNational) March 31, 2024
Violence in the occupied West Bank
- Four Palestinian citizens were injured in an attack by Israeli forces on Rashayida village, north of Jericho, in West Bank, on Sunday.
