Closing summary
This blog is coming to a close. Thank you for following along. Below is a roundup of today’s stories:
Israel’s Channel 12 on Wednesday broadcast security camera footage that reportedly showed the sexual assault of a Palestinian detainee from Gaza at Sde Teiman military detention camp. Last week, the detention of the soldiers accused of involvement in the alleged abuse sparked violent riots. The surveillance footage showed what appeared to be Israeli soldiers lifting up a blindfolded prisoner and taking him out of sight of the camera. They then covered themselves and the prisoner with their riot shields as they encircled him.
Israeli forces stepped up strikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 25 people, Palestinian medics said. The continued battles with Hamas-led militants came as Israel braced for potential wider war in the region.
The Israeli military said it had struck an area where two schools were situated in Gaza on Thursday, which it claims had Hamas command centres embedded within. “The school compounds were used by Hamas terrorists and commanders as command-and-control centres, from which they planned and carried out attacks against Israel Defense Forces troops and the state of Israel,” it said.
A new report from Human Rights Watch says Israeli soldiers killed at least seven people and severely wounded two, including a 5-year-old, when they attacked a home in Gaza City where a Palestinian family was sheltering in December. The New York-based rights group released a report Thursday based on interviews with two members of the al-Khalidi family who witnessed the attack, and video footage released by the Israeli military that placed forces in the vicinity of the home at the time.
Israel has given notice it will no longer accredit Norwegian diplomats serving the occupied Palestinian territories, Norway’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, calling it “an extreme act” by the Israeli government. Later in the day, Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said the decision was due to Norway’s “anti-Israel conduct”.
Yemen’s Houthis will coordinate with other members of the ‘Axis of Resistance’, a network of Iran-backed militant groups, in any joint operation, the group’s leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said on Thursday, Reuters reports.
He said any decision to respond to Israeli attacks would be made by the axis as a whole.
Vice-president Kamala Harris did not agree to discuss imposing an arms embargo on Israel during an exchange with pro-Palestinian activists, Reuters reports, citing an aide to the presumptive Democratic nominee.
The Uncommitted National Movement had said late on Wednesday that Harris had “shared her sympathies and expressed an openness to a meeting with Uncommitted leaders to discuss an arms embargo” during the interaction while campaigning in Detroit, the aide said.
The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Harris did not express a willingness to discuss an arms embargo. But a campaign spokesperson said the vice-president did tell members of the Muslim and Palestinian community she would continue to engage with them on the war, which has killed nearly 40,000 people in Gaza since last October.
“The vice-president has been clear: She will always work to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. The vice-president is focused on securing the ceasefire and hostage deal currently on the table,” the campaign spokesperson said.
Two founders of the group, Layla Elabed and Abbas Alawieh, said they spoke briefly with both Harris and newly minted running mate Tim Walz of Minnesota to air their concerns about the US supplying weapons to Israel, who is waging a military campaign in Gaza that has caused a devastating humanitarian crisis on the ground.
Alawieh said on Thursday that both he and Elabed specifically asked for a meeting to discuss the demand for an arms embargo on Israel, “and in both cases, vice-president Harris expressed an openness to following up.”
He said he was very encouraged by his engagements with Harris’ office and “we’re hopeful that continued discussions will continue to be fruitful.”
IDF bombs school grounds which they claim had Hamas operations embedded within
The Israeli military said it had struck an area where two schools were situated in Gaza on Thursday, which it claims had Hamas command centres embedded within.
The military claimed the centres were used to carry out attacks against Israeli troops.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the military said.
“The school compounds were used by Hamas terrorists and commanders as command-and-control centres, from which they planned and carried out attacks against Israel Defense Forces troops and the state of Israel,” it said.
Updated
Israeli media airs footage showing alleged sexual abuse of Palestinian detainee
Israel’s Channel 12 on Wednesday broadcast security camera footage that reportedly showed the sexual assault of a Palestinian detainee from Gaza at Sde Teiman military detention camp. Last week, the detention of the soldiers accused of involvement in the alleged abuse sparked violent riots.
The White House called the reports of rape, torture and abuse of Palestinian prisoners “deeply concerning”.
The surveillance footage showed what appeared to be Israeli soldiers lifting up a blindfolded prisoner and taking him out of sight of the camera. They then covered themselves and the prisoner with their riot shields as they encircled him.
The US Department of State said Israel must fully investigate allegations of sexual abuse against Palestinian detainees by its soldiers. Asked about the video, spokesperson Matthew Miller said US officials had reviewed the video.
“We have seen the video, and reports of sexual abuse of detainees are horrific,” Miller said. “There ought to be zero tolerance for sexual abuse, rape of any detainee, period … If there are detainees who have been sexually assaulted or raped, the government of Israel, the IDF need to fully investigate those actions.”
A spokesperson for Israel’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. The Israeli military, which runs some detention facilities where Palestinian prisoners have been held, said in response to earlier allegations that it operated according to the rule of law and any specific claims of abuse were investigated.
Read more here:
Updated
Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz today said Israel’s decision to revoke the status of Norwegian diplomats serving the occupied Palestinian territories, was due to Norway’s “anti-Israel conduct”.
Israel has revoked the accreditation of eight Norwegian diplomats working as representatives to the Palestinian Authority, drawing a sharp response from Norway’s foreign minister who called it “an extreme act”.
Katz said in a statement: “Norway conducts a one-sided policy on the Palestinian issue, and will therefore be removed from the Palestinian issue,” Reuters reports.
Norway is now considering its response to the situation, Norwegian minister of foreign affairs Espen Barth Eide said in a statement.
“This is an extreme act that primarily affects our ability to help the Palestinian population ... Today’s decision will have consequences for our relationship with the Netanyahu government,” he said.
Along with Spain and Ireland, Norway in May officially recognised a Palestinian state, in the hope this would help accelerate efforts to secure a ceasefire in Israel‘s war with Hamas in Gaza.
The Israeli government repeatedly condemned the decision, saying it bolstered the militant Islamist group that led the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip.
Israeli strikes kill at least 25 people in Gaza, Palestinian health workers say
Israeli forces stepped up strikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 25 people, Palestinian medics said, in further battle with Hamas-led militants as Israel braced for potential wider war in the region, Reuters reports.
Israeli airstrikes hit a cluster of houses in central Gaza’s Al-Bureij camp, killing at least 15 people, and the nearby Al-Nuseirat camp, killed four, medics said. Nuseirat and Bureij are among the densely populated enclave’s eight historic camps and seen by Israel as strongholds of armed militants.
Israeli aircraft also bombed a house in the heart of Gaza City in the north, killing five Palestinians, while another airstrike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed one person and wounded others, according to medics.
The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they were firing anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs at Israeli forces operating across Gaza, causing deaths and injuries among them.
Israel‘s military said it had struck dozens of military targets across Gaza over the past 24 hours, including rocket launching pads, Reuters reported.
Updated
Seven killed, including pregnant woman, by Israeli soldiers sheltering in home, HRW report finds
A new report from Human Rights Watch says Israeli soldiers killed at least seven people and severely wounded two, including a 5-year-old, when they attacked a home in Gaza City where a Palestinian family was sheltering in December, the Associated Press reports.
The New York-based rights group released a report Thursday based on interviews with two members of the al-Khalidi family who witnessed the attack, and video footage released by the Israeli military that placed forces in the vicinity of the home at the time.
The family members said there were no militants or weapons inside the house, and that the family had no connection to any armed group. They said the troops barged in without warning, hurling grenades and opening fire.
A pregnant woman was among those killed, and the 5-year-old is being treated for severe injuries in Qatar.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, and Human Rights Watch said the army had not responded to detailed questions sent in July.
Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians as it seeks to destroy Hamas after the 7 October attacks, which triggered the ongoing military offensive. But Israel’s relentless aerial bombardment and ground operations have wiped out entire Palestinian families.
Updated
Israel will no longer accredit Norwegian diplomats in occupied Palestinian territories in move dubbed 'extreme'
Israel has given notice it will no longer accredit Norwegian diplomats serving the occupied Palestinian territories, Norway’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, calling it “an extreme act” by the Israeli government.
Norway is now considering its response to the situation, Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement.
“This is an extreme act that primarily affects our ability to help the Palestinian population … Today’s decision will have consequences for our relationship with the Netanyahu government,” he said.
More than 39,699 Palestinians have been killed and 91,722 have been injured in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza since 7 October, according to the latest figures from the Gaza health ministry.
The Associated Press reports that the US ambassador to Japan has decided to skip this year's atomic bombing memorial service in Nagasaki after Israel was not invited.
The US embassy says ambassador Rahm Emanuel will not attend Friday's event because it was “politicised” by Nagasaki’s decision to exclude Israel.
It says he will instead honor the victims of the 9 August 1945, atomic bombing at a ceremony at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo. Israel was invited to the memorial service in Hiroshima on Tuesday for the victims of its atomic bombing.
Nagasaki's mayor said Israel was not invited to his city's ceremony to avoid possible protests and violence over the war in Gaza. On Thursday, mayor Shiro Suzuki said he stands by his decision.
“9 August is the most important day for Nagasaki City … and we must not let the ceremony be affected," he said.
Envoys from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the UK and the EU signed a joint letter expressing their shared concern about Israel's exclusion, saying that treating the country on the same level as Russia and Belarus – the only other countries not invited – would be misleading.
Here is our write up on comments made by finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, which have been widely condemned.
The EU, France and UK have condemned a senior Israeli minister for suggesting it might be “justified and moral” to starve people in Gaza.
The comments from Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, in which he said “no one in the world will allow us to starve two million people, even though it might be justified and moral in order to free the hostages”, sparked international outrage.
In his speech this week, he went on to say that Israel was “bringing in humanitarian aid because we have no choice. We are in a situation that requires international legitimacy to conduct this war.”
The EU said the deliberate starvation of civilians was a “war crime” and that it expected the Israeli government to “unequivocally distance itself” from the words of the far-right minister.
The World Central Kitchen (WCK), a US-based, non-governmental organisation, said a Palestinian staff member was killed in Gaza on Wednesday, four months after seven staffers were killed by Israeli strikes in an attack that drew widespread condemnation, Reuters reports.
The WCK identified the person as Nadi Sallout, saying in a post on X that he was "an integral member of our warehouse team from the early days of our response in Rafah and a humanitarian at his very core".
The organisation said it is still learning the details of the incident but that it believes he was off duty at the time. He was killed near Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, it added.
Three Israeli airstrikes hit a convoy of aid vehicles travelling through Gaza on 1 April, killing seven WCK staff, including citizens of the United States, Australia, Britain and Poland.
Israel denied accusations that it had deliberately targeted the aid workers.
Qantas has paused its non-stop flights from Perth to London and rerouted the alternative route to avoid airspace over the Middle East as the region braces for an Iranian attack on Israel.
On Thursday, Qantas confirmed that for the second time this year it has had to pause the QF9 route due to hostilities between Iran and Israel, after it took the same precaution in April.
From Thursday evening, the airline’s Perth to London flights will instead operate via a stop in Singapore to refuel, with the code QF209.
The roughly 17-and-a-half hour flight to London’s Heathrow airport – the only non-stop regularly scheduled commercial flights between Australia and the United Kingdom – are only achievable on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with a route that skirts Iranian airspace.
“We’re making adjustments to some of our flight paths due to the situation in parts of the Middle East as a precaution,” a Qantas spokesperson said. “We’ll contact customers directly if there’s any change to their booking.”
The return leg, from London to Perth, will continue as a non-stop service. The same aircraft, a Boeing 787-9, can fly to a modified path to avoid flying near Iranian airspace without requiring a refuelling stop. This is because fuel burn and flight times are slightly reduced when flying eastwards due to jetstreams.
Qantas’ precaution follows a raft of other global airlines pausing or rerouting flights near Lebanese, Israeli and Iranian airspace in recent days in anticipation of a flare up in tensions, after Tehran and Hezbollah vowed a response to a raft of recent assassinations.
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to today's live blog.
A number of governments have ordered their airlines to avoid Iranian and Lebanese airspace, amid growing fears of a possible broader conflict in the region after the killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah last week.
Britain’s advisory to its airlines to avoid Lebanon’s airspace came hours after Egypt instructed all of its airlines to avoid Iran’s airspace for three hours in the early morning on Thursday.
Australia’s Qantas has paused its non-stop flights from Perth to London and rerouted the alternative route to avoid airspace.
US-based United Airlines said on Wednesday its flights to Tel Aviv, which were paused on 31 July due to security concerns, remained suspended, while its rival Delta has paused its flights between New York and Tel Aviv until 31 August.
More on that in a moment, first here’s a summary of the day’s other main events:
Israel has vowed to eliminate new Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, the alleged mastermind of the 7 October attack, whose appointment further inflamed regional tensions as the Gaza war entered its 11th month on Wednesday.
Top Muslim diplomats on Wednesday said Israel was “fully responsible” for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and warned it could destabilise the region. The declaration came at the end of an extraordinary meeting of the Saudi-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called in part by Iran, which has vowed to retaliate for the attack on Haniyeh, setting the Middle East on edge.
The EU, France and UK have condemned a senior Israeli minister for suggesting it might be “justified and moral” to starve people in Gaza. The comments from Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, in which he said “no one in the world will allow us to starve two million people, even though it might be justified and moral in order to free the hostages”, sparked international outrage.
The US state department said Israel must fully investigate allegations of sexual abuse against Palestinian detainees by its soldiers. Asked about a video aired by Israel’s Channel 12 that appeared to show soldiers taking a detainee out of sight of surveillance cameras to carry out abuses, spokesperson Matthew Miller said US officials had reviewed the video. “We have seen the video, and reports of sexual abuse of detainees are horrific,” Miller said. “There ought to be zero tolerance for sexual abuse, rape of any detainee, period … If there are detainees who have been sexually assaulted or raped, the government of Israel, the IDF need to fully investigate those actions.”
The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders Wednesday for an area in northern Gaza that was heavily bombed at the start of the war, 10 months ago.
