KEY POINTS
- Tensions in London as pro-Palestine protesters "occupy" Business and Trade department office
- Israeli official reportedly says IDF will enter Lebanon after Rafah ground incursion
- Israeli soldiers under fire over toying of lingerie found in Gaza homes
The Israel-Hamas war has entered Day 174 – a foreign affairs official with the U.S. Department of State has resigned publicly, saying she hopes her decision could help contribute to efforts in urging the Biden administration to withdraw U.S. support for Israel as the latter's military offensive in Gaza has increasingly come under international scrutiny.
Sky News Arabia reported Thursday that the building in Gaza where its office is located was "bombed." Other media outlets also have offices in the said building, as per the Arabic news channel.
Concerns are mounting over the situation in the Israel-Lebanon border as Iranian-backed Hezbollah stepped up attacks targeting northern Israeli communities.
- Palestinian PM forms new government, presents Gaza recovery plan: Local media
- France will provide $32M to UNRWA this year under certain conditions
- Rocket shrapnel triggers fire in northern Israel forest: Local media
- US advocacy for human rights 'almost entirely vanished' since Oct. 7: Annelle Sheline
- Hamas begins preparations for planned IDF ground raid in Rafah: Report
- Kuwait hands over $2M to UNRWA, citing 'permanent' stance on Palestine
- Israel reportedly conducts strikes in Syrian capital, targeting Iran-affiliated militias
- Herzog says Biden a 'dear' friend of Israel amid US-Israel tensions over Rafah
- ICJ orders Israel to ensure humanitarian aid into Gaza is 'unhindered'
- UNIFIL calls on Israel, Hezbollah to 'put down their weapons' amid Blue Line 'violence' escalation
Over in the Red Sea, forces with the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) destroyed drones belonging to Yemeni Iran-backed Houthi rebels that targeted a U.S. warship.
Back in Gaza, troops of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continue to operate in the vicinity of the Al-Shifa Hospital, the Gaza Strip's largest health and medical complex. Patients and medical teams have been evacuated in facilities set up by the Israeli army, the IDF said.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has agreed to reschedule talks in Washington that he canceled following the U.S. decision to not veto a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden remain at odds over an Israeli ground incursion into Rafah, an overcrowded city in southern Gaza where there are over a million people sheltering from the raging war.
Hostilities in Gaza and tensions across the Middle East stem from longstanding violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict that has left thousands dead and some 130 hostages still in Hamas captivity nearly six months into the fighting.
The live update has ended.
UNIFIL expresses concern over Blue Line 'surge of violence'
The UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Thursday said it was "very concerned over the surge of violence occurring across the Blue Line," a UN-drawn demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon when Israeli forces fully withdrew from Lebanon in the year 2000.
It called for an immediate cessation of the escalation of tensions in the area, urging Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah to "put down their weapons" and pursue a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
UNIFIL is very concerned over the surge of violence occurring across the Blue Line right now.
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) March 28, 2024
This escalation has caused a high number of civilian deaths and the destruction of homes and livelihoods.
It is imperative that this escalation cease immediately. We urge all sides to put down their weapons and begin the process toward a sustainable political and diplomatic solution.
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) March 28, 2024
