Gaza's government media office says '16,000 Palestinian children killed' in Israel's war on Gaza

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Thousands of Israelis marched on the streets of Tel Aviv, demanding the Israeli government for the release of captives in Gaza.

Protesters can be seen waving banners demanding a captive deal to be made.

There are currently 116 captives in Gaza.

צעדת משפחות החטופים ומחאת הנשים מגיעה לבגין.
את כולם - עכשיו!
בעסקה - עכשיו!
🎗️🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/GRvDNrHnTZ

— Yoav Groweiss 🎗️يوآف غروفايس (@yoav_gro) July 23, 2024

Israeli settlers have set town homes and vehicles on fire in their latest attacks against Palestinian civilians in Huwara, south of Nablus.

Settlers have been ramping up their attacks on civilians in occupied West Bank. 

Breaking: Israeli extreme settlers carrying attacks against Palestinian civilians in the town of Huwara, south of Nablus, and setting the town homes and vehicles on fire. pic.twitter.com/kYBtM7oNNR

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 23, 2024

Pro-Israeli US congressman Jerry Nadler has called Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu "the worst leader in Jewish history".

Writing on X, Nadler said: "The Prime Minister is putting the security of Israel, the lives of the hostages, the stability of the region, and longstanding Israeli democratic norms in perilous jeopardy, simply to maintain the stability of his far-right coalition and absolve him of his own legal troubles."

As the Israeli PM will be addressing Congress on Wednesday, the congressman called it "bad-faith efforts by Republicans to further politicize the U.S.-Israel relationship for partisan gain and is a cynical stunt by Netanyahu aimed at aiding his own desperate political standing at home", noting it should not be happening.

Benjamin Netanyahu is the worst leader in Jewish history since the Maccabean king who invited the Romans into Jerusalem over 2100 years ago. The Prime Minister is putting the security of Israel, the lives of the hostages, the stability of the region, and longstanding Israeli… pic.twitter.com/76gE5JePj8

— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) July 23, 2024

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed Tuesday an accord brokered by China seeking reconciliation between Hamas and other Palestinian factions to form a national unity government in Gaza.

"I think all steps towards unity are to be welcomed and encouraged," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that Guterres "very much welcomes the signing of the Beijing Declaration by the Palestinian factions."

The United Nations spokesperson said around 150,000 people were displaced from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip in just one day.

Stephane Dujarric said in a press conference that Israel's evacuation orders have "profoundly" disrupted people's lives and risk civilian lives.

"OCHA reminds us that each evacuation order profoundly disrupts people's lives. People have been forced to move into areas with little to no infrastructure, where there is very limited access to shelter, health, sanitation, or other life-saving humanitarian assistance," Dujarric said.

Hundreds of Jewish American protesters stormed Capitol Hill in the US, calling for the US to stop sending arms to Israel - on the eve of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress.

Protesters are holding banners that say, "STOP ARMING ISRAEL" and "JEWS SAY STOP THE GENOCIDE" while chanting "stop arming Israel".

Police officers have been arresting the protesters and have cleared the rotunda.

Hundreds of Jewish Americans carried out a demonstration at the US Capitol on the eve of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress.

More details: https://t.co/ih5gwDi7vA pic.twitter.com/JgXz1d8458

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 23, 2024

The Palestinian Authority's budget deficit is projected to surge by 172 percent in 2024 compared to 2023, according to a statement from the cabinet on Tuesday.

Revenues are also expected to drop by 21 percent due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The announcement followed President Mahmoud Abbas' approval of the emergency budget for 2024, which includes austerity measures such as reducing salaries, operational and capital expenditures, and maintaining minimal development expenditures.

The war has hindered the Palestinian administration's ability to pay public sector salaries in total for over two years because of reduced aid and Israel's withholding of tax money. Israel recently transferred 435 million shekels ($116 million) in early July, the first such transfer since April.

"The Israeli government has deducted about two-thirds of Palestinian tax revenues since October last year, amounting to a 3.4 billion shekel ($937.52 million) decline from the previous year," the statement said.

(Reuters)

Israel's Olympic team feel comfortable with security measures in place at the Paris Olympics, with French forces collaborating with many countries to safeguard the Games, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday.

The Games begin on Friday amid pronounced security concerns and heightened geopolitical tensions over the war in Ukraine and the war on Gaza.

"With regard to the security of the Israeli athletes, we have the full confidence in the French authorities," IOC President Thomas Bach told a press conference.

(Reuters)

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that Israeli athletes were "welcome" for the Paris Olympics, rejecting calls from some French MPs and the Palestinian Olympic Committee for a boycott.

"Israeli athletes are welcome in our country. They must be able to compete under their colours because the Olympic movement has decided it," he told France 2 television in an interview, adding that it was "France's responsibility to provide them with security."

"I condemn in the strongest possible way all those who create risks for these athletes and implicitly threaten them," he said.

Quds News Network reported that Palestinian football player Hazem Al-Ghalban and his brother were killed due to Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza.

Almost 300 Palestinian sportsmen, including over 50 footballers, have been killed in Israeli attacks, including children and teenagers.

Donald Trump said he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday at his Florida resort.

"Looking forward to welcoming Bibi Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Thursday," the former president and Republican presidential candidate posted on his Truth Social platform after initially saying the meeting would be on Wednesday.

Palestine will be filing a legal case with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) against the Israeli government for compensating Palestinian workers in the territory.

According to Sheher Saad, Secretary General of the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions (GFPTU), they are demanding that Israel compensate Palestine workers working inside it.

Saad said any Palestinian worker holding an Israeli work permit is entitled to compensation from the Israeli government, adding that the GFPTU will launch a campaign to make sure all the names of the workers are on the list to be compensated.

Israel condemned an agreement brokered by China Tuesday, which Beijing said would bring Hamas into a "national reconciliation government" for post-war Gaza.

The diplomatic spat came as Israel hammered Gaza, including the southern city of Khan Yunis, where it had ordered a partial evacuation of civilians.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz insisted that "Hamas rule will be crushed" and accused Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose Fatah faction signed the deal, of embracing the group.

The International Olympic Committee was Tuesday weighing a Palestinian call for Israeli athletes to be barred from the Games over the war in Gaza, three days before the Opening Ceremony in Paris.

As the Israeli Olympic team settled into the Athletes' Village, the IOC was studying a letter sent by the Palestine Olympic Committee to president Thomas Bach asking him to ban the Israelis, citing the bombings of the besieged Gaza Strip as a breach of the Olympic truce.

The letter sent on Monday "emphasized that Palestinian athletes, particularly those in Gaza, are denied safe passage and have suffered significantly due to the ongoing conflict".

It said "approximately 400 Palestinian athletes have been killed, and the destruction of sports facilities exacerbates the plight of athletes who are already under severe restrictions".

The IOC is likely to reject the Palestinian call but it highlights how the rising death toll and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza is impacting the Paris Games.

Hezbollah have announced that the group targeted the Al-Marj with a Burkan missile, and that it shelled the Ramim Barracks, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.

Hezbollah said it carried out the strikes after an Israeli strike on Shaqra in south Lebanon.

Recent developments in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways suggest that the threat to international shipping from Yemen's Houthis is growing, UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

In a briefing on the situation in Yemen, Grundberg warned of a real danger of a devastating regional escalation following new Houthi attacks on commercial shipping and the first Israeli air strikes on Yemen in retaliation for Houthi drone and missile attacks on Israel.

"I remain deeply concerned about the continued targeting of international navigation in the Red Sea and its surrounding waterways," Grundberg said. "Recent developments suggest that the threat against international shipping is increasing in scope and precision."

The Houthi attacks on Israel and July 20 Israeli retaliatory strikes on Yemen's port of Hodeidah and its oil and power facilities represent "a new and dangerous level" of violence, he said.

Commercial ships have been sunk and damaged, disrupting trade, civilians have died, the Houthis still detain the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship they hijacked in November, and the United States and Britain continue airstrikes on military targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, he said.

"It is alarming that there are no signs of de-escalation, let alone a solution," Grundberg continued.

(Reuters)

The UN's Human Rights Office for the occupied Palestinian Territories has stated that even though the Israeli military has designated Al-Mawasi as a humanitarian zone Israel is still striking and shelling the territory.

In a statement the office said that following Israel's evacuation order of Khan Younis many have fled to Al-Mawasi, "which has little or no infrastructure to support the masses of civilians who have been already displaced there and where there is little access to shelter or to basic, life-saving humanitarian assistance."

"Furthermore, despite Al Mawasi, Khan Younis being declared a “humanitarian zone” by the Israeli military, it continues to conduct airstrikes and shelling into the area. As the UN Human Rights Office has stated previously, there is no safe place in Gaza."

The office added that the in ordering evacuations while simultaneously attacking areas where people must pass through to get to safe zones, as well as said safe zones, Israel was failing in its "obligation to take all feasible precautions to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental loss of civilian life and injury to civilians."

Despite Al Mawasi, Khan Younis being declared a “humanitarian zone” by the Israeli military, it continues to conduct airstrikes and shelling into the area. As the UN Human Rights Office has stated previously, there is no safe place in Gaza. #Gaza #HumanRights

Read the statement…

— UN Human Rights Palestine (@OHCHR_Palestine) July 23, 2024

Israel's Education Minister said that students from communities along the country's northern border who have evacuated to other locations will not return to school in their hometowns in September, amid fears of an escalation in conflict with Hezbollah, Israeli media reported.

Yoav Kisch said students will instead continue to attend schools around Israel when classes resume.

At least nine people have been killed in an Israeli strike on Bureij refugee camp, including four children, Al Jazeera is reporting.

The Israeli army reportedly bombed a house at the camp's entrance, in central Gaza.

At least 10 people were wounded in the attack, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

Iran condemned on Tuesday the "reception and protection" of Israeli athletes at the Olympic games in Paris, demanding their exclusion over Israel's handling of the Gaza war.

Israel's delegation, which headed to France on Monday ahead of Friday's opening ceremony, is being tightly protected in the French capital amid growing international outrage over the the high civilian casualty toll and unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"Announcing the reception and protection of the apartheid terrorist Zionist regime's delegation means giving legitimacy to the child killers," Iran's foreign ministry said in a post on X.

"They do not deserve to be present at the Paris Olympics because of the war against the innocent people of Gaza," it added, calling on organisers to ban Israel.

Iran does not recognise Israel and prohibits all contact between Iranian and Israeli athletes.

The Islamic republic has made support for the Palestinian cause a centrepiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

US President Joe Biden is set to meet families of American hostages held in Gaza this week, officials have confirmed.

More than 60 governments and other parties will be allowed to file arguments to the International Criminal Court as judges consider whether to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders on both sides of the Gaza war, court documents show.

ICC prosecutors say there are reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, military chief Mohammed Al-Masri, and another Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, bear criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In documents made public on Tuesday, judges granted permission to 18 states, including the United States, Germany and South Africa, 40 organizations and individuals to file written submissions by August 6.

They are related to prosecutor Karim Khan's request in May for the arrest warrants in relation to the Hamas attack on southern Israel on 7 October that killed 1,200 people, and the ensuing Israeli assault on the Palestinian enclave which has killed 39,090 people.

While there is no set deadline to rule on the prosecution request for arrest warrants, allowing dozens of legal arguments will slow the process by the three-judge panel deciding on the matter.

(Reuters & The New Arab Staff)

UK Foreign Minister David Lammy has met his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi in London, according to a post by Lammy on X.

"We discussed work towards an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to end the suffering, get hostages out and aid in - as well as rising regional tensions," his post said.

Welcome to London, Foreign Minister @AymanHsafadi. The UK and Jordan share a long history of friendship.

We discussed work towards an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to end the suffering, get hostages out and aid in – as well as rising regional tensions. pic.twitter.com/WuLTyZmaxx

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) July 23, 2024

Japan imposed asset-freeze sanctions on four individual Israeli settlers for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, the government's top spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Violent acts by some Israeli settlers in the West Bank have increased dramatically since last October, said Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi.

In this situation and taking into account the steps taken by the G7 countries and others, Japan decided to designate the four Israeli settlers involved in violent acts as targets for asset freezing, he explained.

"Japan will steadily implement these asset freezing measures and continue to strongly urge the Israeli government to completely freeze settlement activities in cooperation with the international community, including the G7," Hayashi said.

(Reuters)

Israel slammed Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party on Monday for signing an agreement with Hamas to rule Gaza together once the war ends.

"Hamas and Fatah signed an agreement in China for joint control of Gaza after the war. Instead of rejecting terrorism, Mahmud Abbas embraces the murderers and rapists of Hamas, revealing his true face," Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on X.

"In reality, this won't happen because Hamas's rule will be crushed, and Abbas will be watching Gaza from afar."

A top WHO official said Tuesday he was "extremely worried" over possible outbreaks in war-torn Gaza after poliovirus was detected in the sewage, warning that communicable diseases could cause more deaths than injuries.

Ayadil Saparbekov, the World Health Organization's head of health emergencies in the occupied Palestinian territories, also said the number of people in the Gaza Strip now needing to be evacuated from the territory for medical care may have risen to 14,000.

More than 39,090 Palestinians have been killed and 90,147 injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza, the Gaza health ministry said on Tuesday.

Some 84 Palestinians were killed and 329 injured in the past 24 hours, it added. 

(Reuters)

Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier over Beirut and other areas of Lebanon on Tuesday, Lebanese security sources and media reported, rattling nerves as the conflict between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel grinds on at the border.

The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has been fought in parallel to the Gaza war for nine months. Though the hostilities have been largely contained to areas near the border, the conflict has raised fears of a wider war.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said hostile warplanes had broken the sound barrier at low altitude over Beirut and its suburbs and other parts of Lebanon. In Beirut, residents felt two booms.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

(Reuters)

The Israeli air force conducted a strike on the town of Aita al-Shaab in south Lebanon according to Lebanon's National News Agency. 

The agency added that Israeli aircraft flew over villages in Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts, and fired machine guns towards the mountains of Labouneh.

Hamas announced on Tuesday it had signed an agreement in Beijing with other Palestinian organisations including rivals Fatah to work together for "national unity", with China describing it as a deal to rule Gaza together once the war ends.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who hosted senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzuk, Fatah envoy Mahmud al-Aloul and emissaries from 12 other Palestinian groups, said they had agreed to set up an "interim national reconciliation government" to govern post-war Gaza.

"Today we sign an agreement for national unity and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity. We are committed to national unity and we call for it," Abu Marzuk said after meeting Wang and the other envoys.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told families of hostages held in Gaza that a deal that would secure their loved ones' release could be nearing, his office said on Tuesday.

"The conditions are undoubtedly ripening. This is a good sign," Netanyahu told the families on Monday in Washington, where was expected to meet US President Joe Biden later this week after making an address to Congress.

Efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal, outlined by Biden in May and mediated by Egypt and Qatar, have gained momentum over the past month. On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said negotiators were "driving toward the goal line."

Ruby Chen, father of dual US-Israeli citizen Itai Chen, a soldier whose body is being held in Gaza, was one of the family members who met with Netanyahu.

"He did say that conditions were ripening but I'm taking that with a pinch of salt," Chen told Israeli Army Radio.

Chen said he hoped Biden, who withdrew his bid for reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate in the November vote, would apply more pressure on Netanyahu to secure the deal.

(Reuters)

Palestinian officials said Israeli troops killed five Palestinians, including two women, in a pre-dawn raid on a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.

The deaths came when Israeli forces raided the Tulkarm camp, the head of its popular committee, Faisal Salamah, told AFP. An activist at the camp confirmed the toll. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.