Closing summary
Qatar-based network Al Jazeera condemned as “criminal” a move by the Israeli government to ban the broadcaster from operating over its coverage of the Gaza war. “We condemn and denounce this criminal act by Israel that violates the human right to access information,” the channel said in a statement, adding that it would take legal action. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his government had decided unanimously to close the channel, and hours later it went off-air. The measure will include closing Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel, confiscating broadcast equipment, cutting off the channel from cable and satellite companies and blocking its websites. An Israeli official and an Al Jazeera source told Reuters that Israeli police raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by the network as its de facto office on Sunday.
Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, accused Hamas of showing signs it was not serious about reaching a truce, and said that if this was the case Israel would launch military actions in Rafah and other parts of the Gaza Strip “in the very near future”. His comments come as negotiators have resumed truce talks in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, to broker a pause in Israel’s war on Gaza in return for the potential release of hostages taken by Hamas. Netanyahu vowed last week that Israel will proceed with an offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah even if renewed efforts at internationally brokered talks with Hamas result in the release of hostages and a ceasefire.
Prospects for a Gaza ceasefire appeared slim on Sunday as Hamas reiterated its demand for an end to the war in exchange for the freeing of hostages – something Netanyahu flatly ruled out. In their second day of truce talks in Cairo with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, Hamas negotiators maintained their stance that any truce agreement must end the war, Palestinian officials said. Netanyahu earlier hardened his rejection of Hamas demands for an end to the Gaza war in exchange for the freeing of hostages, saying that would keep the Palestinian militant group in power and pose a threat to Israel’s security. The Israeli prime minister said Israel was willing to pause fighting in Gaza in order to secure the release of hostages still being held by Hamas, believed to number more than 130.
The armed wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for an attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza, which Israeli and Palestinian media reports said had resulted in Israeli casualties. Israel’s military said 10 projectiles were launched from Rafah towards the crossing, which it said was now closed to aid trucks going into the coastal enclave.
At least 34,683 Palestinian people have been killed and 78,018 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement.
We are closing this blog now, but you can stay up to date on the Guardian’s Middle East coverage here.
Israeli police raid Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its de facto office - source
Israeli police raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its de facto office on Sunday after a government decision to shut down the Qatari-owned TV station’s local operations, an Israeli official and an Al Jazeera source told Reuters.
Video circulated online showed plainclothes officers dismantling camera equipment in a hotel room, but is yet to be independently verified by the Guardian.
Updated
