Boy killed by Israeli sniper fire in West Bank refugee camp: reports

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Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed developments in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories with Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström during the Gulf monarch's visit to the Scandinavian country on Monday, according to the emir's office.

A boy called Mohammed Kanaan was killed by Israeli sniper fire in Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian media reported.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade said an Israeli soldier had been killed in an ambush it carried out in cooperation with Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, in Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a Palestinian armed group, also said several injuries had been inflicted.

The Gaza health ministry said on Telegram on Monday that almost 159,000 children had been vaccinated within two days of the beginning of a polio vaccination campaign in the Palestinian enclave.

Civil defence authorities in Gaza announced the Palestinians had been killed and others injured after Israeli bombing that targeted a displaced people's tent in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, The New Arab's Arabic sister service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in Jenin said its militants were engaged in fierce fighting using machine guns and explosive devices with Israeli forces in the city's eastern neighbourhood, The New Arab's Arabic sister service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said its crews in Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank dealt with an injury to a 12-year-old girl caused by shrapnel from a live bullet, The New Arab's Arabic sister service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

Israel's defence minister on Monday criticised Britain's decision to suspend some arms exports to Israel because of concerns they would be used in violation of international humanitarian law in Gaza.

"Deeply disheartened to learn of the sanctions placed by the UK government on export licenses to Israel's defence establishment," Yoav Gallant said on X.

The decision by London to suspend 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel, announced by Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Monday, "comes at a time when we fight a war on 7 different fronts" and "when we mourn 6 hostages who were executed in cold blood by Hamas inside tunnels in Gaza", Gallant said.

The Israeli military said the bodies of six captives, all captured alive during a Hamas-led 7 October attack on Israel, were recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza.

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Monday on X that Britain's decision on arms exports "sends a very problematic message" to Hamas and "its agents in Iran".

A pro-Palestinian group has said the UK's decision to partially suspend arms sales to Israel isn't enough.

"It is important that a ban has finally been implemented, but it does not go nearly far enough, and it has come far too long into Israel's genocide in Gaza," the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) said in a press release.

"To end British complicity, the UK government must immediately enact a total ban on arms sales."

The UK has decided to suspend some 30 weapons export licences to Israel out of a total of about 350.

ICJP said that the decision to carry on exporting parts for F-35 fighter jets in particular means Foreign Secretary David Lammy has "stopped short of stripping Israel of its tools of genocide".

The UK provides around 15 percent of the components "in the F-35 stealth bomber aircraft currently being used in Gaza", the group added.

ICJP senior public affairs officer Jonathan Purcell said the British government had "finally admitted there is a 'clear risk'" that some UK arms could be breaching international law.

"Not that such an admission was necessary when faced with the facts on the ground," he added.

"That's putting it lightly. The UK government has some serious questions it needs to answer in relation to this, why has it taken so long when the bar was so low?

"When will the UK government ensure that it's holding itself to its legal obligations, the same ones it once negotiated and agreed on?

"It is clear as day that Israel is violating international law, too many Palestinians have endured irreversible losses and harm – we need a total ban now."

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani spoke by phone with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday, Doha's foreign ministry said.

"During the phone call, they discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories," the ministry posted on X.

Al Thani also serves as the Qatari foreign minister.

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs @MBA_AlThani_ Receives Phone Call from US National Security Advisor#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/3IzO1jyThO

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) September 2, 2024

Two merchant vessels were struck in attacks on Monday off the coast of Yemen's rebel-held Hodeidah province, maritime security agencies said, reporting that both crews were safe in the aftermath.

One attack was claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels who have targeted ships they say are linked to Israel, a campaign they began in November.

The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said the first vessel, identified as Panama-flagged tanker Blue Lagoon I, was hit by two ballistic missiles, with a third hitting the water 50 metres (yards) from the ship.

The Houthis said in a statement they had targeted the Blue Lagoon with "missiles and drones, and it was directly hit".

The JMIC, run by a 45-member international naval coalition, said the tanker "was subject to three ballistic missile attacks. All crew on board are safe (no injury reported)".

"The vessel sustained minimal damage but does not require assistance. The vessel is continuing on to its next port of call," it added.

The maritime security firm Ambrey said the tanker had been targeted because of a "company affiliation with a vessel calling Israeli ports".

The attack occurred 70 nautical miles northwest of the port of Al-Salif in Hodeidah, reported the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency, run by Britain's Royal Navy.

In a separate incident later on Monday the UKMTO said another commercial vessel had been hit by a drone 58 nautical miles west of Hodeidah, also without any casualties.

Ambrey said the vessel did not meet the "targeting profile" of the Houthis, who have vowed to target ships they believe are connected to firms supplying Israel.

Israeli troops turned over to Palestinian health authorities on Monday the body of a Palestinian man who died after his arrest hours earlier in the occupied West Bank, with a hospital official saying there were indications of torture.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had received the body of 58-year-old Ayman Rajeh Abed from the village of Kafr Dan, just outside Jenin, after he was arrested around dawn on Monday.

The director of the Wissam Bakr hospital in Jenin said the body bore signs of beatings and torture.

The Israeli military claimed Abed had been detained during counterterrorism operations and experienced a "cardiac event" on arrival at a detention facility. He was given initial treatment by medical staff from the military, before being evacuated to the hospital in Jenin.

"The [Israeli military] is aware of reports that the suspect died during his evacuation by the Red Crescent," it said in a statement, adding that details of the incident were under review.

(Reuters)

Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, announced on Monday that the group has issued new instructions to guards on how to handle captives if Israeli forces approach their locations in Gaza.

On Sunday, the Israeli military reported the recovery of the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, claiming that Hamas was responsible for their deaths. Abu Obeida said his group holds Israel responsible for the deaths.

He said the new instructions, which he didn't detail, were given to guards of hostages after a rescue operation by Israel in June.

At that time, Israeli forces freed four hostages in a deadly raid in which dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, were killed.

"Netanyahu's insistence to free prisoners through military pressure, instead of sealing a deal means they will be returned to their families in shrouds. Their families must choose whether they want them dead or alive," he said.

Israel and Hamas have failed to conclude a deal for a Gaza ceasefire and the exchange of Israeli and Palestinian captives.

(Reuters)

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri, responding to US President Joe Biden's comments that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was not doing enough for a Gaza ceasefire, told Reuters on Monday that this was a US acknowledgment that Netanyahu was undermining efforts.

Zuhri added that any proposal for a permanent ceasefire and complete Israeli withdrawal will be received positively.

(Reuters)

A Muslim group has said the UK's decision to suspend some 30 weapons export licences to Israel out of a total of about 350 "falls gravely short".

The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) said it "welcomes the UK's decision" to partially suspend arms sales to Israel, but added that this "falls gravely short" of the country's "responsibility to uphold human rights and international law".

"Israel stands accused of genocide in Gaza, and of murdering over 40,000 Palestinians," MAB added on X.

"By continuing to provide arms and components, the UK is complicit in these atrocities.

"It is deeply disappointing that this decision took so long."

MAB added that "with every day that goes by more innocent Palestinians are killed" and said it "demands" an immediate and complete halt to all arms sales to Israel.

"Anything less makes the UK an enabler of ongoing war crimes," the group said.

STATEMENT | The UK’s partial suspension of arms sales to Israel falls gravely short . With over 40,000 Palestinians murdered, the UK’s continued arms support makes it complicit in genocide. We demand an immediate and total halt to all arms sales to Israel. Every delay costs more… https://t.co/zmiaripQ9n pic.twitter.com/cuodLYc3hR

— Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) (@MABOnline1) September 2, 2024

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has expressed "deep concern" and "disappointment" with Israel's "dismantling of the humanitarian space" during its ongoing assault on the north of the occupied West Bank, particularly in Jenin.

"Over the course of the past 6 days, the occupation [Israeli] forces have shrunk the humanitarian space by actively impeding PRCS medical missions' access to casualties and patients across various areas in the city, mainly in the Jenin refugee camp," the humanitarian group said in a press release posted to social media platform X.

"The occupation has directly targeted PRCS ambulances by opening fire at them to deny their access to humanitarian calls, leading to the injury of 2 EMTs and a volunteer doctor while on duty."

PRCS added that it "warns of the risks" linked to the assault on Jenin "as the civilian population bears the brunt of arbitrary attacks".

"Our teams have been prevented from transporting various casualties, patients and elderly suffering from chronic diseases, and women in labour," the group said.

"The further marginalisation of already vulnerable communities renders the area uninhabitable.

"Prevented from delivering essential supplies to affected community members and unable to provide the medical services crucial for the survival of the civilians within the city, its villages and its camp; the PRCS renews its calls to the international community to immediately interfere to ensure that the occupation commits to its responsibilities under international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention.

"The occupying power holds the responsibility of ensuring civilians' access to medical care within the territory which it occupies; additionally, the preservation of a humanitarian space within areas of incursion remains their main responsibility as the occupying power under international humanitarian law."

PRCS said that it "remains committed to its humanitarian response" regardless of these "impossible circumstances".

It added that through Israel's "deliberate impediments and violations against medical missions, the wounded and the sick", the group's humanitarian mission was being "rendered inoperable".

🚨The PRCS expresses its deep concern and disappointment with the Occupation’s dismantling of the humanitarian space during the ongoing incursion in the north of the West Bank, particularly in #Jenin. Over the course of the past 6 days, the occupation forces have shrunk the… pic.twitter.com/LaO6I05jgE

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) September 2, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Monday that Israeli forces must retain control over the Salah Al-Din (Philadelphi) Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border, which has emerged as a primary sticking point in Gaza ceasefire talks.

"The achievement of the war's objectives goes through the Philadelphi Corridor… Control of the Philadelphi axis guarantees that the hostages will not be smuggled out of Gaza," he said during a press conference.

Hamas is demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal from the area.

An independent UN expert warned Monday that Israel's "genocidal violence" in Gaza risked spreading to other parts of the occupied Palestinian territory amid a military assault on the West Bank.

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights situation in Palestine, warned in a statement that Israel's recent intensification of its operations in the West Bank marked "a dangerous escalation".

"Israel's genocidal violence risks leaking out of Gaza and into the occupied Palestinian territory as a whole," she said.

"The writing is on the wall, and we cannot continue to ignore it. There is mounting evidence that no Palestinian is safe under Israel's unfettered control."

Albanese, who is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who does not speak on behalf of the United Nations, has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide in its war on Gaza.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry said Monday that at least 26 Palestinians had been killed since last Wednesday, when Israel launched simultaneous raids across the northern West Bank.

"Apartheid Israel is targeting Gaza and the West Bank simultaneously, as part of an overall process of elimination, replacement and territorial expansion," Albanese said.

"The long-standing impunity granted to Israel is enabling the de-Palestinisation of the occupied territory, leaving Palestinians at the mercy of the forces pursuing their elimination as a national group," she added.

Israeli bombing targeting a group of civilians in Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza has resulted in two people, including a child, being killed and a number being injured, The New Arab's Arabic sister service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

Britain will immediately suspend 30 of its 350 arms export licenses with Israel because there is a risk such equipment might be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law, foreign minister David Lammy said on Monday.

Soon after the Labour Party won an election in July, Lammy said he would update a review on arms sales to British ally Israel to ensure these complied with international law.

"It is with regret that I inform the House (of Commons, lower house of parliament) today the assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel, there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law," Lammy said.

(Reuters)

Hamas military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has vowed more suicide bombings against Israel as it claimed responsibility for what it called its "first martyrdom operation" in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.

The Palestinian militant group said in a Telegram statement on 2 September that "all West Bank cities - without exception - still hide within their districts more big painful surprises for the treacherous occupier".

It vowed to "continue to supply all our heroes in the West Bank and support them with weapons and information, and equip the martyrdom-seekers and those who carry quality operations that will uproot the occupier from our land soon".

On 19 August, the al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for a "martyrdom operation" in Tel Aviv on 18 August.

Days later, the head of Hamas's foreign policy bureau, Khaled Meshaal, called for suicide attacks, which he called "martyrdom operations", and the escalation of "resistance" against Israel amid a flare up of Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Jeremy Corbyn will, alongside four other independent MPs, form a parliamentary alliance named the 'Independent Alliance', which is aimed at offering a "real alternative to austerity, inequality and war," according to the group.

The five, all of whom are pro-Gaza MPs, chastised the government for a number of issues, including not ending arms sales to Israel. 

They added that their doors were open to other MPs, including currently suspended Labour MPs. 

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri, responding to US President Joe Biden's comments that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was not doing enough for a Gaza ceasefire, told Reuters on Monday that this was a US acknowledgment that Netanyahu was undermining efforts.

Zuhri added that any proposal for a permanent ceasefire and complete Israeli withdrawal will be received positively.

(Reuters)

Quotes from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaked to the Israeli press reveal that Netanyahu accused those conducting a general strike to pressure the government to sign a ceasefire and hostage deal as supporting Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Labelling the strike as "a disgrace", Netanyahu claimed that "this is telling Sinwar: You killed six; here we are supporting you," in a cabinet meeting, according to news site Ynet.

He further doubled down on his desire to keep control of the Philadelphi Corridor which has put negotiations at a roadblock. 

An Israeli airstrike killed two civilians travelling in a car along Lebanon's southern coast on Monday, security sources said, including an employee of a cleaning company that is contracted by the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

The force, known as UNIFIL, confirmed that a vehicle driven by the cleaning worker was hit by a strike near the southern Lebanon town of Naqoura, killing both the driver and passenger.

"UNIFIL deplores that so many people have been hurt or killed since 8 October. Attacks on civilians are violations of international humanitarian law. They must stop," said UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The security sources said the strike was Israeli and that the two men travelling in the car were cousins. Lebanese armed group Hezbollah later said it had fired Katyusha rockets into Israeli territory in retaliation for the strike near Naqoura.

(Reuters)

US President Joe Biden said on Monday that a final deal for the release of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza was very close but that he did not think Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu was doing enough to secure such an agreement. 

(Reuters)

Palestinian journalist Mohammed Abu Zeid, a photographer for Palestinian news agency Wafa, has been assaulted by Israeli soldiers in Ramallah. The soldiers also seized the memory cards of his camera. 

The agency also reported that Zeid had been detained for more than half an hour, and that he was beaten with rifle butts. 

UNRWA's chief Philippe Lazzarini has said that 70 percent of schools in Gaza are either damaged or destroyed in Israel's war on the enclave.

In a post on X he said "the vast majority of our schools are now overcrowded shelters with hundreds of thousands of displaced families. They cannot be used for learning."

He also said that the 600,000 children in the enclave were "deeply traumatized, living in the rubble." 

"With no ceasefire, children are likely to fall prey to exploitation including child labour and recruitment into armed groups," he warned.

Boys and girls around the region are going back to @UNRWA schools except in #Gaza.
More than 600,000 children there are deeply traumatized, living in the rubble. They continue to be deprived of learning + schooling. Half of them used to be in UNRWA schools.

The longer children… pic.twitter.com/Sa9F1u92lG

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) September 2, 2024

Israel's Labour Court in Tel Aviv ruled that a general strike that shut much of the country's economy must end at 2:30pm local time (1130 GMT), according to court documents seen by Reuters.

Israel's main trade union had launched a general strike on Monday to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into agreeing to a ceasefire deal in Gaza after the deaths of six hostages held by Hamas triggered mass protests across the country.

(Reuters)

A Saudi-owned vessel has been attacked in the Red Sea, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday.

It was unclear if the ship was attacked by Yemen's Houthis.

Earlier, British maritime agencies reported that a merchant vessel was hit by a drone some 50 nautical miles off Yemen's Hodeidah, a Red Sea port just south of Saleef.

Members of Israel's Histadrut labour federation are currently on a general strike across the country until 6pm Monday in an attempt to pressure the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire and captive deal with Hamas in Gaza. Below is a list of some of those who are participating in the strike, according to Israeli media.

Members of the union went on strike in:

• Ben-Gurion Airport from 8am till 10am with flights being cancelled as a result. Although flights have since taken off, the airport is still on a reduced schedule because workers are still on strike.
• Israel's bus companies, as well as Jerusalem's light rail and Tel Aviv's light rail, which are operating at a reduced capacity. 
• Israel's airport authority, Israel Ports Company, and the ports of Haifa Ashdod, Eilat, Hadera, as well as the Israel Electric Company and Postal Service.
• A number of Universities including the Hebrew, Ben-Gurion, Bar-Ilan, Haifa, and Reichman Universitys are affected, as well as a number of colleges and institutes.
• Banks, including the First International Bank of Israel, Discout, Yahav, Bank of Jerusalem, Leiumi, Mizrahi, Hapoalim banks. 
• A number of public sector institutions, including all government offices and Israel's Knesset, as well as municipal authorities across Israel. 
• The stock exchange, industry associations, park authorities and museums.

Gaza's health ministry is reporting that 48 people were killed and 70 injured in the past 24 hours as a result of Israel's war on the enclave.

The ministry added that the total number of killed is now 40,786 people, with a further 94,224 wounded.

The chair of the Histadrut labour federation, Arnon Bar-David, has said that today's general strike will end at 6pm, instead of 6am Tuesday as was intended, according to reports in Times of Israel and Haaretz.

Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his New Zealand counterpart Chris Luxon on Monday said they were united in calling for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict in Gaza and finding a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

"We both are very united in calling for an immediate ceasefire, getting the parties around the negotiating table and finding a two-state solution," Luxon said at a joint press conference.

Anwar said prospects for a ceasefire did not look encouraging at present, saying there was a lack of commitment from countries, particularly the United States, who could exert their influence to stop the conflict.

"The only hope is to engage the United States to take a stronger stance," Anwar said.

(Reuters)

Hamas' armed wing al-Qassasm brigades claimed responsibility for two attacks against Israelis in the occupied West Bank on Friday, the group said in a statement on Monday.

(Reuters)

The Israeli government has filed an injunction against the Histadrut, which announced the start of a general strike on Sunday, with the National Labor Court. 

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich requested Israel's Attorney General to petition the court for an injunction on Sunday, according to Haaretz, who reported that she has since approved the request.

A merchant vessel was hit by an unmanned aerial vehicle 50 nautical miles west of Yemen's Hodeidah, British security firm Ambrey said on Monday.

Ambrey added that no injuries or damages were reported.

(Reuters)

The UN's Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, has announced that on the first day of the the UN's vaccination campaign 87,000 children were vaccinated against polio and that the campaign had entered its second day.

"Efforts are ongoing to provide children with this key vaccine, but what they need most is a ceasefire now," the agency said in a post on X.

Today, the #polio vaccination campaign in #Gaza middle areas enters its second day

On 1st day only, @UNRWA teams & partners reached around 87,000 children according to @WHO

Efforts are ongoing to provide children with this key vaccine, but what they need most is a #CeasefireNow pic.twitter.com/2psQSbLcAd

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) September 2, 2024