Closing summary
Hamas has said Israel’s proposal that it received from Qatari and Egyptian mediators did not meet any of the demands of Palestinian factions. But the Palestinian militant group also said on Tuesday it was considering a new framework for a truce proposed during the latest round of negotiations in Cairo. The three-part proposal would halt fighting for six weeks to facilitate an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Defying international condemnation over the proposal, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said a date had been set for an invasion of Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, without specifying when. Many western countries, including the US, have voiced strong opposition to the proposed Israeli ground invasion as any attack on Rafah is likely to cause many more civilian casualties and worsen an already acute humanitarian crisis across Gaza. Israel says it has a plan to evacuate civilians ahead of its offensive, and Israel’s defence ministry on Monday published a tender seeking a supplier of tents. The Israeli official later confirmed that the tents were part of the Rafah preparations.
At least 33,360 Palestinians have been killed and 75,993 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement.
Israel has, for the first time, used a seaborne missile defence system to shoot down a drone approaching from the Red Sea that had set off sirens in the port city of Eilat, the military said. “Overnight, for the first time ever, an IDF Sa’ar 6-class corvette missile ship successfully intercepted a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) that had approached from the east and had crossed into the area of the Gulf of Eilat,” the military said on Tuesday.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees must remain “the backbone of any humanitarian response” for the 2 million people in Gaza if mass starvation is to be avoided, the Unrwa director of planning, Sam Rose, has said. This warning came as Israel was accused of blocking far more convoys carrying food aid within Gaza, where famine is looming, than convoys carrying other kinds of aid. “Food convoys that should be going particularly to the north, where 70 percent of people face famine conditions, are … three times more likely to be denied than any other humanitarian convoys with other kinds of material,” Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian agency, told reporters in Geneva.
Turkey will impose restrictions on the export of products from 54 different categories to Israel until a ceasefire is declared in Gaza, the Turkish trade ministry said. The ministry said the measures would take effect immediately, adding that the restrictions would include iron and steel products and construction equipment, among other things. In response, Israel vowed to take steps against Turkey, accusing it of violating trade deals between the two countries.
France’s foreign minister, Stéphane Séjourné, has suggested that the international community should pressure Israel by potentially imposing sanctions to force it to allow more aid into Gaza. “There must be levers of influence and there are multiple levers, going up to sanctions to let humanitarian aid cross checkpoints,” he told French outlets RFI radio and France 24.
Israeli warplanes struck a Syrian military position overnight in response to rocket fire on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, the military said on Tuesday. The Israeli military said on Tuesday that “warplanes attacked Syrian army military infrastructure overnight in the Mahajjah area” – about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the demilitarised zone separating the opposing forces. The Israeli army said it identified a rocket launch from Syrian territory on Monday that caused no casualties. It said artillery struck the source of the fire.
We are closing this blog now, but you can stay up to date on the Guardian’s Middle East coverage here.
Updated
The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards navy said on Tuesday that Israel’s presence in the United Arab Emirates was a threat to Tehran and this “should not happen”.
Reuters reports:
Iran has threatened to retaliate for suspected Israeli airstrikes on its consulate in Syria’s capital last week that killed seven Revolutionary Guards officers including two senior commanders, stoking tensions between the Middle East arch enemies already simmering over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The UAE, situated across the Gulf from Iran, became the most prominent Arab nation to forge diplomatic ties with Israel in 30 years under a U.S.-brokered accord in 2020, though Abu Dhabi also has normal diplomatic and commercial relations with Tehran.
“We know that the Zionists (Israel) were not brought to the UAE for economic purposes but rather for security and military work. This is a threat to us and should not happen,” Revolutionary Guards Navy Cmdr Alireza Tangsiri said, according to Iran’s semi-official Student news agency.
Tangsiri added that the Gulf, as well as the Gulf of Oman outside the strait of Hormuz through which a major amount of the world’s seaborne oil passes, were no places for Israelis.
He did not indicate whether Iran was considering any action in the region over Israel’s presence.
“We do not get hit without striking back, but we are also not hasty in our retaliation,” Tangsiri said, a few days after a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader warned that Israeli embassies were no longer safe.
The UAE’s normalisation with Israel paved the way for several other Arab states to follow suit, breaking a taboo on diplomatic ties without the creation of a Palestinian state.
UN: Israel is blocking more food than other aid in Gaza
Israel has been blocking far more convoys carrying food aid within Gaza, where famine is looming, than convoys carrying other kinds of aid, the UN has said.
A spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian agency pointed to statistics from March showing that it was much more difficult to get clearance for delivering food than other aid in the besieged enclave.
“Food convoys that should be going particularly to the north, where 70 percent of people face famine conditions, are … three times more likely to be denied than any other humanitarian convoys with other kinds of material,” Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva.
Laerke also pointed to delays linked to the crossing point opening hours and the fact that Israel has barred Egyptian drivers and trucks from being in the same area at the same time as Palestinian drivers and trucks.
“That means there’s not a smooth handover,” Laerke said.
The main problem though was then getting authorisation and assurances that aid distribution can go ahead unimpeded, he said.
Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza, which is facing a deepening humanitarian catastrophe. Israel says the main problem is with UN aid distribution within Gaza.
741 humanitarian aid trucks were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip over the last 2 days.
— COGAT (@cogatonline) April 9, 2024
Only 267 aid trucks were distributed by @UN aid agencies inside Gaza (out of which 146 carried food).
The aid is available, distribution is what matters. https://t.co/def8xdYUF1
Cogat, the Israeli defence ministry body that manages the flow of aid, wrote on X earlier today that “741 humanitarian aid trucks were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip over the last 2 days”.
“Only 267 aid trucks were distributed by UN aid agencies inside Gaza (out of which 146 carried food),” it said.
“The aid is available, distribution is what matters.”
Israel says aid is moving into Gaza more quickly after international pressure to increase access, Reuters reports, but the amount is disputed. And the United Nations (UN) says it is still much less than the bare minimum to meet humanitarian needs.
Israel said 419 trucks – the most since the conflict began – entered on Monday; though the Red Crescent and United Nations gave much lower figures – with the UN saying many were only half-full because of Israeli inspection rules.
Aid agencies have complained Israel is not ensuring enough access for food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies. And the European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has accused the nation of using starvation as a weapon of war.
The UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Laerke has also pointed to severe restrictions on delivery of aid inside Gaza itself last month; saying Israel had denied permission for half the convoys it tried sending to the north in March – with UN aid convoys three times more likely to be refused than any other.
The Israeli military department responsible for aid transfers denies it is hindering humanitarian relief into Gaza, saying there is no limit on supplies for civilians and blaming delays on the United Nations, which it says is inefficient.
Israel will complete the elimination of Hamas’ brigades, including in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and nothing will prevent this, Reuters quotes the country’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying.
There is no force in the world that will stop us. There are many forces that are trying to do so, but it will not help, since this enemy, after what it did, will never do it again.
Netanyahu has defied international condemnation to say he has set a date for an invasion of Gaza’s southernmost city – though he did not specify what it would be.
Many western countries, including the US, have voiced strong opposition to the proposed Israeli ground invasion as any attack on Rafah is likely to cause many more civilian casualties and worsen an already acute humanitarian crisis across Gaza.
Unrwa vital to avert starvation in Gaza, says agency official
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees must remain “the backbone of any humanitarian response” for the 2 million people in Gaza if mass starvation is to be avoided, the Unrwa director of planning, Sam Rose, has said.
Israel is continuing to impede Unrwa convoys to northern Gaza, where 300,000 people are facing famine, he said. “Our space is continuing to be squeezed at a time when the international community urgently needs to get as much assistance as possible to people in the north.”
More than half of the 16 countries that suspended funding of Unrwa – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East – after Israel claimed 12 of the 13,000 Unrwa staff in Gaza had taken part in the attack on Israel on 7 October have already decided to resume funding.
You can read the full story here:
Israeli seaborne missile defence system used for first time - military says
Israel has, for the first time, used a seaborne missile defence system to shoot down a drone approaching from the Red Sea that had set off sirens in the port city of Eilat, the military said on Tuesday.
Eilat has been a frequent target for launches by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen as a show of support for Hamas.
Israel positioned missile boats in the Red Sea after the start of its war in Gaza, the military said. One of those missile boats has shot down the drone with the new system called the C-Dome, Reuters reported.
“Overnight, for the first time ever, an IDF Sa’ar 6-class corvette missile ship successfully intercepted a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) that had approached from the east and had crossed into the area of the Gulf of Eilat,” the military said.
Updated
Nicaragua has asked the international court of justice (ICJ) to order Germany to halt military arms exports to Israel and to resume its funding of the UN Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, saying there is a serious risk of genocide in Gaza.
Death toll in Gaza reaches 33,360, says health ministry
At least 33,360 Palestinians have been killed and 75,993 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Most of the casualties have been women and children, the health ministry has said, and thousands more bodies are likely to remain uncounted under rubble across Gaza.
Updated
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says the recognition of a Palestinian state is “the only hope to break the endless cycle of violence” in the Middle East and a two-state solution would help ensure long-term security for Israel and further undermine Hamas.
In a speech on Tuesday, Wong also again called on the Netanyahu government to abandon plans for a Gaza ground invasion in Rafah, urging Israel to make “major and immediate changes” to its military campaign to protect civilians and warning of imminent starvation among besieged Palestinians.
“Because the simple truth is that a secure and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians will only come with a two-state solution – recognition of each other’s right to exist,” Wong told an ANU National Security College conference.
You can read the full story by my colleague, Josh Butler, here:
Israeli airstrike on al-Maghazi refugee camp kills head of municipality council - reports
An Israeli airstrike on a municipality building of al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip killed the head of the municipality council, Hatem Al-Ghamri, and four other civilians, the Hamas-run government media office and medics said.
The Israeli military said it killed Ghamri, who it described as a military operative in Hamas’ Maghazi Battalion involved in rocket launches against Israel.
Hamas said Ghamri was a civil service official and described his killing as an “assassination”.
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Deir Al-Balah killed one Palestinian and injured 20 other people, Hamas said.
In Rafah, the southern city on the Egyptian border, a missile fired from a drone reportedly killed one man and injured several others. These claims have not yet been independently verified.
Updated
Unrwa, the UN Palestinian refugee agency, which is the main UN agency in Gaza, has said it urgently needs more access to the besieged enclave.
The agency says it has delivered more than 10m food units and 24m litres of water to Palestinians in the enclave since the war began in October, but this has not been enough to meet the needs of the population.
The war in #Gaza: 6 months of aid delivery@UNRWA teams work around the clock to support families & deliver critical aid, including:
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) April 9, 2024
🔹10 million food units
🔹24 million litres of water
🔹440,000 blankets & mattresses
Every day is a struggle to survive - we need more access NOW pic.twitter.com/PCWG9i0zRD
UN sources have said Israel wants to dismantle Unrwa, which provides humanitarian assistance and basic services in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, and is a critical part of social infrastructure in Gaza.
Israel has accused Unrwa staff members of participating in the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed, and called the agency “a front for Hamas”.
Unrwa has said the contracts of those staff members have been immediately terminated with an investigation launched.
Unrwa has reportedly not been able to deliver food to the north since 29 January, where famine looms.
Updated
Summary of the day so far...
Hamas has said Israel’s proposal that it received from Qatari and Egyptian mediators did not meet any of the demands of Palestinian factions. But the Palestinian militant group also said on Tuesday it was considering a new framework for a truce proposed during the latest round of negotiations in Cairo. The three-part proposal would halt fighting for six weeks to facilitate an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Defying international condemnation over the proposal, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said a date had been set for an invasion of Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, without specifying when. Many western countries, including the US, have voiced strong opposition to the proposed Israeli ground invasion as any attack on Rafah is likely to cause many more civilian casualties and worsen an already acute humanitarian crisis across Gaza. Israel says it has a plan to evacuate civilians ahead of its offensive, and Israel’s defence ministry on Monday published a tender seeking a supplier of tents. The Israeli official later confirmed that the tents were part of the Rafah preparations.
Turkey will impose restrictions on the export of products from 54 different categories to Israel until a ceasefire is declared in Gaza, the Turkish trade ministry said. The ministry said the measures would take effect immediately, adding that the restrictions would include iron and steel products and construction equipment, among other things. In response, Israel vowed to take steps against Turkey, accusing it of violating trade deals between the two countries.
France’s foreign minister, Stéphane Séjourné, has suggested that the international community should pressure Israel by potentially imposing sanctions to force it to allow more aid into Gaza. “There must be levers of influence and there are multiple levers, going up to sanctions to let humanitarian aid cross checkpoints,” he told French outlets RFI radio and France 24.
Israeli warplanes struck a Syrian military position overnight in response to rocket fire on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, the military said on Tuesday. The Israeli military said on Tuesday that “warplanes attacked Syrian army military infrastructure overnight in the Mahajjah area” – about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the demilitarised zone separating the opposing forces. The Israeli army said it identified a rocket launch from Syrian territory on Monday that caused no casualties. It said artillery struck the source of the fire.
Updated
Israel vows response to Turkey restricting its exports
Israel vowed on Tuesday to take steps against Turkey, accusing it of violating trade deals between the two countries after Ankara announced trade restrictions over the war in Gaza (see earlier post at 07.44 for more details).
“Turkey is unilaterally violating the trade agreements with Israel, and Israel will adopt the necessary steps against it,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, sharply criticised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the decision.
“Erdoğan is once again sacrificing the economic interests of the people of Turkey for his support of the Hamas murderers in Gaza who raped, murdered and desecrated the bodies of women, girls, adults and burned children alive,” he wrote in a post on X.
“Israel will not submit to violence and extortion and will not condone the unilateral violation of the trade agreements and will take parallel measures against Turkey that will harm the Turkish economy.”
ארדואן @RTErdogan שוב מקריב את האינטרסים הכלכליים של תושבי טורקיה למען תמיכתו במרצחי החמאס בעזה שאנסו, רצחו וחיללו גופות של נשים, נערות, מבוגרים ושרפו ילדים בחיים. ישראל לא תיכנע לאלימות ולסחטנות ולא תבליג על ההפרה החד צדדית של הסכמי הסחר ותנקוט נגד טורקיה בצעדים מקבילים שיפגעו…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) April 9, 2024
Israel is now preparing an “expanded list of products” it intends to stop importing from Turkey, the ministry said, including construction materials like steel and cement.
Updated
Israel’s security is at the “core” of German foreign policy, the UN’s highest court heard on Tuesday, where Berlin is defending itself against a claim that it is furnishing Israel with weapons being used on Gaza.
“Our history is the reason why Israel’s security has been at the core of Germany foreign policy,” Germany’s representative told the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
“Where Germany has provided support to Israel, including in a form of export of arms and other military equipment, the quality and purposes of these supplies have been grossly distorted by Nicaragua,” Tania von Uslar-Gleichen said.
Nicaragua has brought Germany before the ICJ to demand that judges impose emergency measures to stop Berlin from providing Israel with weapons and other assistance.
Lawyers for Nicaragua argued that Germany is in breach of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, set up in the wake of the Holocaust, by furnishing Israel with weapons.
In January, the ICJ imposed provisional measures ordering Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and acts of genocide in Gaza. The orders came in a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of breaching the Genocide Convention.
Israel strongly denies its military campaign amounts to breaches of the Genocide Convention.
French minister raises possibility of imposing sanctions on Israel to get more aid into Gaza
France’s foreign minister, Stéphane Séjourné, has suggested that the international community should pressure Israel by potentially imposing sanctions to force it to allow more aid into Gaza.
“There must be levers of influence and there are multiple levers, going up to sanctions to let humanitarian aid cross checkpoints,” he was quoted by Al Jazeera as having told French outlets RFI radio and France 24.
“France was one of the first countries to propose European Union sanctions on Israeli settlers who are committing acts of violence in the West Bank. We will continue if needed to obtain the opening of humanitarian aid,” he added.
The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Turk, said last month that Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid for Gaza may amount to a starvation tactic that could be a war crime.
Famine is “projected and imminent” in the northern half of Gaza, a UN-backed report said last month, and according to Oxfam the number of people facing “catastrophic levels” of hunger has nearly doubled since December.
Israel denies blocking aid, saying shortages are a result of logistics failures by humanitarian organisations or Hamas diverting supplies.
But aid agencies say that delivery has been severely hampered by a combination of logistical obstacles, damaged roads, a breakdown of public order and lengthy bureaucratic controls imposed by Israel.
Some aid groups have said sending truck convoys north has been too dangerous because of the military’s failure to ensure safe passage.
Recent tragedies in Gaza are not a reason to “walk away from Israel”, the former British home secretary, Suella Braverman, said.
Asked if the UK should still be selling arms to Israel, Braverman told LBC: “I don’t think the fact that these tragedies happen is a reason to walk away from Israel, and to stop selling arms to Israel, because of that broader battle that they are engaging with.”
Braverman, who was sacked as home secretary by the UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, in November, said she supported the convention that legal advice given to the government should be confidential.
She said: “I think that the government needs to be able to behave in an environment where legal advice is confidential and privileged.”
Her comments come after MPs from all major political parties have called on the UK government to end arms trading with Israel.
Israel strikes Syria after rocket fire on annexed Golan Heights
Israeli warplanes struck a Syrian military position overnight in response to rocket fire on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, the military said on Tuesday.
The cross-border fire came days after an airstrike blamed on Israel destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing senior military commanders and raising regional tensions.
The strike follows a marked increase in violence between Israel and Hezbollah on the Israeli-Lebanon boundary since Hamas’s 7 October attack, as well as the resumption of attacks by Iranian-backed militia on US and Israeli positions in Iraq.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that “warplanes attacked Syrian army military infrastructure overnight in the Mahajjah area” – about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the demilitarised zone separating the opposing forces.
The Israeli army said it identified a rocket launch from Syrian territory on Monday that caused no casualties. It said artillery struck the source of the fire.
Updated
Israel buying 40,000 tents to prepare to evacuate civilians before Rafah invasion - official
An Israeli official has said that Israel is buying 40,000 tents to prepare for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the Associated Press reports.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Monday that a date has been set for an Israeli invasion of Rafah, located on the Egyptian border, without disclosing the specific date.
Israeli officials have said that Rafah is Hamas’ last major stronghold in Gaza. An estimated 1.5 million Palestinians – over half of Gaza’s population – have taken refuge in the southern city after fleeing Israeli bombardments elsewhere in the territory.
Many western countries, including the US, have voiced strong opposition to the proposed Israeli ground invasion as any attack on Rafah is likely to cause many more civilian casualties and worsen an already acute humanitarian crisis across Gaza.
The city is also a logistics hub for the distribution of aid through Gaza, where famine looms and one in three children under the age of two in the north are acutely malnourished, according to the UN.
Israel has said it has a plan to evacuate civilians ahead of its offensive, and Israel’s defence ministry on Monday published a tender seeking a supplier of tents.
The Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the tents were part of the Rafah preparations.
Updated
In the UK, Clinicians for Gaza have published a letter expressing their outrage at the “ongoing slaughter” of Palestinian people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank by Israel.
The letter, which includes signatures from some registrants of the British Psychoanalytic Council, calls for an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza and says that freedom of thought and speech in relation to Palestine and Israel has been strictly policed in Britain over recent years.
Here is the letter in full:
We, the undersigned, current or former registrants of the British Psychoanalytic Council, wish to put on record our dismay at the ongoing slaughter and mayhem being inflicted on the people of Gaza and the West Bank.
As psychoanalytic practitioners we want to add our voices to those who have spoken out against this violence, especially in light of its apparent genocidal nature.
We are uncomfortable with the loud silence of our professional associations in response to these atrocities – in contrast to the principled and humane statements issued in response to Black Lives Matter and the invasion of Ukraine.
Our associations responded in an appropriate manner to the horrific attacks launched by Hamas on 7 October. However, the historical context of occupation and siege, impoverishment and massacre was ignored. This scotomisation underlies international complicity with Israel’s response.
We are deeply disturbed by a military campaign that, beside the terrible toll of death and destruction has, according to the UN, rendered Gaza uninhabitable.
This has raised concerns about an imminent forced population transfer, and about crimes against humanity as formally defined. We note that the International Court of Justice, in its ruling of 26 January 2024, concluded that there are plausible grounds to believe a genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza, and reminded Israel of its explicit obligations under the Genocide Convention.
In the first instance, we call for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations towards a peace aimed at providing justice and security for both the Palestinian and Israeli communities.
It is time to end the impunity that has enabled Israel to disregard Palestinian rights. To this end, we urge that the international community and civil society uphold the principles of international law, as contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent United Nations Conventions, and that these form the basis for collective thought and action.
We also express our deep concern at the way in which, over recent years, freedom of thought and speech in relation to Palestine/Israel has been curtailed in this country, and within this profession.
We call for freedom to speak and act peacefully without fear of recrimination, harassment or censure.
We understand the intensity of emotions that can be released when this subject is broached, but cannot accept that this justifies the suppression of that open and free discussion that is essential if we are to combat fundamentalism and dehumanisation.
• This post was amended after publication to remove any suggestion that the British Psychoanalytic Council itself was involved in the publication of the letter.
Updated
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have called on Israel to halt its war in Gaza and seek a peaceful solution to the conflict in line with UN resolutions.
The two countries made the demands in a joint statement on Monday after a meeting between Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Mecca.
The two sides called for international efforts “to halt Israeli military operations in Gaza, mitigate humanitarian impact and underscored the imperative for the international community to pressure Israel to cease hostilities, adhere to international law, and facilitate unhindered humanitarian aid access to Gaza,” according to the statement.
They also discussed the need for a peace process in accordance with UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative “aimed at finding a just and comprehensive solution, for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital”.
As Palestinians prepared for Wednesday’s Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, those returning to Khan Younis came back to a devastated city left in ruins from intense Israeli bombardment.
Israel said on Sunday it had withdrawn more soldiers from southern Gaza, leaving just one brigade.
“I came to see my home, only to find it destroyed and reduced to a pile of rubble,” Umm Ahmad al-Fagawi told AFP after coming back to the city.
“I’m shocked by what I saw. Every home is destroyed, not only mine but also all the neighbours’ homes.”
Another returnee said she had come back to find “a ruined place”.
“No water, no electricity, no columns, no walls, and no doors, there’s nothing. Gaza is not Gaza any more,” she said.
Updated
Qatar’s embassy in Washington has dismissed a statement by the US House Oversight Committee chairman, James Comer, that it says “inaccurately claims” Doha has paid Hamas “$30 million per month since 2018”.
In the press release, Comer threatens to subpoena the Justice Department if the agency does not willingly turn over documents related to any investigations of TikTok and Al Jazeera under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
It briefly mentions Qatar when it says: “Qatar has reportedly hosted a Hamas headquarters in Doha, paying the terrorist group $30 million per month since 2018.
In response, Qatar’s embassy in Washington said that “Qatar does not pay Hamas”, adding that it has provided assistance to Gaza in two ways with the “full coordination” of the Israeli government.
Today in Washington, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability @GOPoversight issued a press release that inaccurately claims Qatar has paid Hamas “$30 million per month since 2018.”
— Qatar Embassy USA (@QatarEmbassyUSA) April 9, 2024
Qatar does not pay Hamas.
In full coordination with the Government of Israel, Qatar…
Updated
Turkey imposes export restrictions on Israel until ceasefire is declared in Gaza
Turkey will impose restrictions on the export of products from 54 different categories to Israel until a ceasefire is declared in Gaza, the Turkish trade ministry has said.
The ministry said the measures would take effect immediately, adding that the restrictions would include iron and steel products and construction equipment, among other things.
“This decision will remain in place until Israel declares a ceasefire immediately and allows adequate and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” the ministry announced on social media.
The announcement from Ankara comes after Israel denied Turkey’s request to join airdrops of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza on Monday.
Israel did not immediately explain why the request was rejected, with its refusal leading to Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, warning: “There is no excuse for Israel to block our attempt to drop aid to starving Gazans.”
The US started dropping deliveries of aid into Gaza by air in March, with the Netherlands, France, Spain and other countries contributing to the humanitarian effort.
Turkey, which has backed steps to have the Israeli leadership tried for genocide at the World Court, has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict, which, according to the Gaza health ministry, has seen over 33,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes since 7 October.
Updated
Hamas says Israeli ceasefire proposal fails to meet Palestinian demands
Hamas has said Israel’s proposal that it received from Qatari and Egyptian mediators did not meet any of the demands of Palestinian factions.
But the Palestinian militant group did also say on Tuesday it was considering a new framework for a truce proposed during the latest round of negotiations in Cairo.
The three-part proposal would halt fighting for six weeks to facilitate an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Saying it “appreciates” the mediators’ efforts, Hamas on Tuesday accused Israel of not responding to any of its demands during the talks.
“Despite this, the movement’s leadership is studying the submitted proposal,” Hamas said in a statement.
Israel and Hamas sent teams to Egypt on Sunday for talks that included Qatari and Egyptian mediators as well as the CIA director, William Burns.
Israel said it was keen to reach a prisoners-for-hostages deal, by which it would free a number of Palestinians jailed in its prisons in return for the hostages in Gaza, but it wasn’t ready to end the military offensive before it invaded Rafah.
Hamas wants any agreement to secure an end to Israeli military offensive, get Israeli forces out of Gaza and allow the displaced to return to their homes across the territory.
Updated
Opening summary
Welcome to our latest live news blog on Israel’s war in Gaza and the wider Middle East crisis. Here’s a rundown on the latest news.
Hamas says Israel’s proposal it received from Qatari and Egyptian mediators in ceasefire negotiations did not meet any of the demands of Palestinian factions.
However, the militant group added in a statement on Tuesday morning that it would study the proposal, which it described as “intransigent”, and deliver its response to the mediators.
A Hamas official told Reuters on Monday that the group had rejected the Israeli ceasefire proposal made at talks in Cairo, the Egyptian capital.
Meanwhile, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said a date had been set for an invasion of Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, without specifying when.
More on that soon. In other developments:
An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed a field commander in the country’s militant Hezbollah group early on Monday, while the UN warned that shelling was spreading and urged a halt to the violence. Hezbollah and the Israeli military have regularly exchanged fire across Lebanon’s southern frontier in parallel with Israel’s war on Gaza.
In the US, sixteen more Democrats have signed a letter urging the US president, Joe Biden, to halt weapons transfers to Israel.
Nicaragua has called on the UN’s top court to halt German military and other aid to Israel, arguing that Berlin’s support is enabling acts of genocide and breaches of international humanitarian law in the war.
Palestinians began returning to the devastated city of Khan Younis on Monday after Israel’s unexpected withdrawal of forces from southern Gaza. Those returning to the city, which has been under a relentless Israeli military assault for the past four months, described scenes of widespread destruction.
Israel is yet to provide a satisfactory explanation for the death of seven aid workers last week, the prime minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, said as it appointed a senior former military official to study Israel’s inquiry into the attack. Israel said on Friday its soldiers mistakenly believed they were attacking Hamas gunmen. Two officers were dismissed and others reprimanded.
Lebanon’s prime minister, Najib Mikati, and the visiting Cypriot president, Nikos Christodoulides, discussed the Syrian refugee crisis on Monday, Beirut said, as Nicosia pushes Lebanese authorities to stem boat departures.
The commander of a European Union naval mission in the Red Sea wants to significantly increase its size to better defend against possible attacks by Houthi rebels based in Yemen, as just four warships are patrolling an area twice the size of the 27-nation bloc. The EU mission – dubbed Aspides, from the Greek for “shield” – has escorted 68 ships and repelled 11 attacks since it was established less than two months ago.
Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, left Oman to visit Syria’s capital of Damascus a week after Iran’s consulate there was targeted in a suspected Israeli attack, state media has reported. Iran has vowed to avenge the death of seven of its Revolutionary Guards commanders killed in the attack.
