Gaza baby rescued from dead mother's womb dies

TNA’s live coverage of the latest from the war on Gaza concludes for today. Join us again tomorrow at 0800 GMT for updates from the besieged Palestinian enclave.

UN investigators examining Israeli accusations that 12 staff from the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks have closed one case due to a lack of evidence from Israel and suspended three more, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.

He said the inquiry by the Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) continues into the remaining eight cases.

In the closed case, Dujarric said "no evidence was provided by Israel to support the allegations against the staff member" and that the UN is "exploring corrective administrative action to be taken in that person's case."

He said three cases were suspended "as the information provided by Israel is not sufficient for OIOS to proceed with an investigation." He said UNRWA is considering what administrative action to take.

After an initial 12 cases were raised by the Israeli government in late January, a further seven cases were brought to the attention of the United Nations in March and April, Dujarric said.

One of those cases was suspended pending receipt of additional supporting evidence, he said, and the remaining six investigations continue.

Almost 30 Palestinian academics in the UK have issued a statement on taking "swift" action to protect universities in Gaza.

Signatories include British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sittah, who worked at al-Shifa medical centre and Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza during the first few months of the war.

The statement urged for "friends and colleagues to take immediate steps to defend the integrity of Palestinian universities in occupied Palestine against the current plans and measures seeking to destroy them."

It added:  "Having turned the universities of Gaza into detention centres before demolishing them, forcibly rendering Palestinian scholars, scientists, researchers and students homeless once again, Israel’s campaign of scholasticide has turned its attention to eliminating future independent Palestinian educational life in Gaza."

STATEMENT: Palestinian academics in the UK are urging swift action to safeguard Gaza's universities and are calling for public commitments to aid in their rebuilding efforts. pic.twitter.com/NEtz2mFqUW

— British Palestinian Committee (@BritPalCommitt) April 26, 2024

An attacker stabbed an 18-year-old woman near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Friday, police and paramedics said, adding that she was taken to hospital in a serious condition.

The attacker was killed, the police and Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said, without providing details.

The police said there was one stab wound, and that the attacker was "neutralised".

They added that police were investigating the stabbing in the city of Ramla, southeast of Tel Aviv, and did not identify the attacker.

A spokesperson for Magen David Adom said the medical service was alerted to the attack in Harduf Street at around 4:20 pm (1320 GMT).

Medics treated the "18-year-old conscious female in serious condition with a stab wound to her upper body" and took her to the nearby Shamir Medical Center, the spokesperson said.

An 18-year-old woman is seriously wounded in a suspected terror stabbing attack in the central city of Ramle, police and medics say.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it is taking the young woman to the nearby Asaf Harofeh Hospital.

The stabber was shot dead, MDA…

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 26, 2024

Missiles suspected to have been fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels landed a distance away from a ship traveling through the Red Sea on Friday, a private security firm said.

The attack follows an uptick in assaults launched by the Houthis in recent days after a relative lull in their monthslong campaign over Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

The private security firm Ambrey said three missiles could be seen in the attack, which landed closest to a Panama-flagged, Seychelles-registered tanker it described as being “engaged in Russia-linked trade.”

The vessel was traveling from Primorsk, Russia, to Vadinar, India, Ambrey said.

Those details corresponded to a tanker called the Andromeda Star, which had been previously broadcasting its location off Mocha, Yemen, according to ship-tracking data.

The Houthis did not immediately claim the missile fire, though it typically takes the rebels several hours to acknowledge their attacks. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center also reported the attack off Mocha.

Israeli media outlets have reported that the car of far-right Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was overturned, during his visit to Ramle.

Ben-Gvir was leaving the area where a stabbing attack took place that led to one woman being critically injured, when the car accident took place.

Video footage which circulated on social media showed the politician being tended to by paramedics on the road and later rushed to the hospital.

According to his office, the minister is feeling "good" and "is conscious".

⚡️⚡️ In Israel, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's car overturned in an accident while leaving the site of the terrorist attack in Ramla

Ben-Gvir is wounded and is evacuated to the hospital. The causes of the accident have not yet been reported. pic.twitter.com/EOoca9lYEx

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 26, 2024

Salama Maarouf, Gaza's government media head, says the number of aid deliveries to the besieged territory is still far less than the number required for Palestinians in need- particularly in the north.

Maarouf said over the past week, 1,063 aid trucks have since entered the enclave with only 49 that  reached northern Gaza.

He added that Israel restricting aid is a direct violation of the International Court of Justice order, as Israel was instructed in March to take all necessary and effective measures" to ensure aid is delivered across Gaza.

Hamas on Friday criticised a proposal from the United States and 17 other countries that called on it to release all of its hostages as a pathway to end the crisis in Gaza, saying it failed to address Palestinian demands, a statement said.

Hamas is open to ceasefire ideas and sticks to the main demands outlined by the group, the statement added.

An Israeli assault on southern Gaza's Rafah area would spell disaster for civilians, not only in Gaza but across the Middle East, the head of an aid group warned on Friday, saying the region faced a "countdown to an even bigger conflict".

Jan Egeland, the Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told news agency Reuters that 1.3 million civilians seeking refuge in Rafah - including his aid group's staff - were living in "indescribable fear" of an Israeli offensive.

Israel has stepped up airstrikes on Rafah this week after saying it would evacuate civilians ahead of an all-out assault, despite allies' warnings this could cause mass casualties.

Egeland urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to go through with the operation. "Netanyahu, stop this. It is a disaster not only for the Palestinians, it would be a disaster for Israel. You will have a stain on the Israeli conscience and history forever," he said.

The NRC head spoke to the news agency in Lebanon, where he visited southern villages that he said were caught in a "horrific crossfire" between the Israeli military and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. The exchanges of fire have been taking place in parallel with the Gaza war, and have intensified in recent days.

"I am just scared that we haven't learned from 2006," said Egeland, referring to the month-long war between Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Israel that was the two foes' last bloody confrontation, during which he headed the United Nations' relief operations.

"We do not need another war in the Middle East. At the moment, I'm feeling like (this is a) countdown to an even bigger conflict," he said.

Top Arab and European diplomats are expected to begin arriving in the Saudi capital this weekend for an economic summit and meetings on the war in Gaza, diplomatic officials said.

The two-day World Economic Forum special meeting, scheduled to begin in Riyadh on Sunday, includes in its official programme appearances by the Saudi, Jordanian, Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministers.

A Gaza-focused session on Monday is set to feature newly appointed Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Sigrid Kaag, the United Nations aid coordinator for the Gaza Strip.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne is among European officials travelling to Riyadh during the summit for talks on the war.

"Discussions with European, American and regional counterparts on Gaza and the regional situation are planned in Riyadh," a diplomatic source said on Friday.

Sejourne's objectives for the trip include working towards the release of hostages seized during the Hamas attack and achieving a lasting ceasefire, said Christophe Lemoine, spokesperson for the French foreign ministry.

He will also travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories and plans to "reiterate to the Israelis our firm opposition to an offensive on Rafah", Lemoine said, referring to the southern city where much of Gaza's population has sought refuge.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is due to arrive Monday in Riyadh to meet officials including Kaag and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, said spokesperson Sebastian Fischer.

"The visit will be about working on the many different flashpoints of the crisis in the Middle East, on de-escalation and on making progress towards a peaceful future," Fischer told reporters in Berlin on Friday.

"As you all know, the Gulf states also have an important role to play here."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that any rulings issued by the International Criminal Court would not affect Israel's actions but would "set a dangerous precedent".

"Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the International Criminal Court in the Hague to undermine its basic right to defend itself," Netanyahu said in a statement shared on Telegram.

"While decisions made by the court in the Hague will not affect Israel's actions, they will set a dangerous precedent that threatens soldiers and public figures."

The top UN court said it will rule Tuesday on charges by Nicaragua that Germany is breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention by supplying weapons to Israel for the Gaza war.

Nicaragua has hauled Germany before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to demand judges impose emergency measures to stop Berlin from providing Israel with weapons and other assistance.

The ICJ said Friday it would hand down its order at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) on April 30, with presiding judge Nawaf Salam reading out the ruling.

Top lawyers from the two countries clashed earlier this month at the court, with Nicaragua saying Germany was "pathetic" to be both providing weapons to Israel and aid to Gazans.

Berlin retorted that Israel's security was at the "core" of its foreign policy and argued that Nicaragua had "grossly distorted" Germany's supply of military aid to Israel.

"The moment we look closely, Nicaragua's accusations fall apart," Christian Tams, a representative for Germany, told the court.

Nicaragua requested five emergency measures, including that Germany "immediately suspend its aid to Israel, in particular its military assistance including military equipment."

 Students blocked access to Paris' prestigious Sciences Po university over the war in Gaza on Friday, demanding the institution condemn Israel's actions, in a protest that echoed similar demonstrations on US campuses.

Chanting their support for the Palestinians, the students displayed Palestinian flags at windows and over the building's entrance. Several wore the black-and-white keffiyeh head scarf that has become an emblem of solidarity with Gaza.

Science Po's interim director, Jean Basseres, condemned the blockade of the building in a letter to teachers.

He confirmed that on Wednesday night, police removed a first group of students, adding that he was now talking with student representatives to try and find a solution to the new blockade.

Renewed clashes between police and students opposed to Israel's war in Gaza broke out on US campuses Thursday, raising questions about forceful methods being used to shut down protests that have intensified since mass arrests at Columbia University last week.

Gloire aux étudiants de #sciencespo qui se mobilisent contre le génocide du peuple Palestinien.

Vous êtes l’honneur de ce pays.

Fierté de voir la jeunesse de se pays se lever pour faire vivre la voix du peuple palestinien.

Ne lâchez rien. pic.twitter.com/rOicE6LkUT

— Thomas Portes (@Portes_Thomas) April 26, 2024

The United States military said Friday that coalition forces "engaged and destroyed" two drones in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen after the Iran-backed rebels launched a ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden.

The anti-ship missile launched on Thursday did not lead to any injuries or damage, US Central Command (CENTCOM), said in a statement on X.

Hours later, the US military "successfully engaged and destroyed one unmanned surface vessel (USV) and one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," CENTCOM said.

Thursday marked the second consecutive day of attacks by the Houthis following a lull in strikes in recent weeks.

Thursday's missile attack targeted the Liberia-flagged cargo ship MSC DARWIN VI in the Gulf of Aden, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, which is run by a Western-led naval coalition.

"The vessel was not hit," the organisation said Friday.

The Houthis claimed the strike, alleging that the ship was Israeli-owned.

"The operation has achieved its objectives successfully," Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on X on Thursday, without providing evidence.

Saree also said the Houthis "fired a number of ballistic and winged missiles" towards Israel.

April 25 Red Sea Update

At 9:52 a.m. (Sanaa time) on April 25, one anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) was launched from Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen into the Gulf of Aden. There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or commercial… pic.twitter.com/YPhoMxP7PH

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 26, 2024

An Egyptian delegation met Israeli officials on Friday, looking for a way to restart talks to end the war in Gaza and return the remaining Israeli hostages, an official briefed on the meetings said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Israel had no new proposals to make, although it was willing to consider a limited truce in which 33 hostages would be released, instead of the 40 previously under discussion.

"There are no current hostage talks between Israel and Hamas, nor is there a new Israeli offer in that regard," the official said. "What there is, is an attempt by Egypt to restart the talks with an Egyptian proposal that would entail the release of 33 hostages - women, elderly and infirm."

There was no decision on how long any truce would last but if such an exchange were agreed, the pause in fighting would be "definitely less than six weeks," the official said.

The visit by the Egyptian delegation followed Israeli media reports of a visit to Cairo on Thursday by the Israeli army chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, and Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence service.

Egypt, concerned about a potential influx of Palestinian refugees from neighbouring Gaza if the war continues with the long-promised Israeli offensive into the southern city of Rafah, has taken an increasingly active role in the negotiations.

"The Egyptians are really picking up the mantle on this. Egypt wants to see progress, not least because it's worried about a prospective Rafah operation," the official said.

Qatar, the previous main broker, had increasingly been excluded, according to the official, after failing to respond to Israeli demands to expel Hamas leaders from its territory or curb their finances.

"Qatar is still involved but in a lesser capacity," the official said. "It's clear to everyone they failed to deliver, even when it came to expelling Hamas or even shutting down their bank accounts."

Pro-Palestine demonstrators have set up camp in front of Scotland's parliament building in Edinburgh.

"We are here creating a liberated zone to stand in solidarity with the people in Palestine," the group said in a statement.

"We are here in protest against Scottish and UK’s government complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza."

Edinburgh Palestine solidarity camp outside Scottish Parliament. Set up 8am this morning.

In solidarity Gaza and w students in Columbia Uni and across the US. pic.twitter.com/FlZZsnDWzN

— whileromeburns (@whileromeburns_) April 26, 2024

Two protesters were arrested by Israeli police amid a demonstration in front the private residence of war cabinet member Benny Gantz.

Relatives of the captives held in Gaza, as well as activists and soldiers in reserve ranks, attended the protest which called for Gantz's resignation if an exchange deal is not finalised.

Demonstrators also reaffirm that the composition of the current government has harmed Israel's security and their confidence in the political system.

The health ministry in Gaza said Friday that at least 34,356 people have been killed in the territory during more than six months of Israel's ongoing assault in the enclave.

The tally includes at least 51 deaths in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 77,368 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began.

Ramy Abdu, the chairman of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, announced the killing of Shaimaa, daughter of deceased Palestinian poet and academic Refaat Alareer, alongside her husband and newborn baby.

They were killed in their home at Gaza City's al Rimal neighbourhood. Alareer was killed along with several family members in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City in December.

Breaking: We mourn with you the loss of Shaimaa, the eldest daughter of our dear friend Rafat Al-Araeer @itranslate123, and her husband, engineer Mohammed Abdel Aziz Siyam, along with their newborn baby, after their apartment near Al-Ramal Clinic in Gaza was targeted in an… pic.twitter.com/pGFkt9ssPI

— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) April 26, 2024

Israeli far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for the "complete destruction" of Gaza, following his refusal for Israel to conduct ceasefire talks with Hamas.

"The time has come for the Mossad to return to doing what it was trained to do - to eliminate the heads of Hamas all over the world and not in negotiations that are conducted irresponsibly and harm Israel's security," he wrote on X.

"With Hamas from now on we should only talk with shells and bombs."

The vast amount of rubble including unexploded ordnance left by Israel's devastating war in the Gaza Strip could take about 14 years to remove, a United Nations official said on Friday.

Pehr Lodhammar, senior officer at the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), told a briefing in Geneva that the war had left an estimated 37 million tons of debris in the widely urbanised, densely populated territory.

He said that although it was impossible to determine the exact number of unexploded ordnance found in Gaza, it was projected that it could take 14 years under certain conditions to clear debris, including rubble from destroyed buildings.

"We know that typically there's a failure rate of at least 10% of land service ammunition that is being fired and fails to function," he said. "We're talking about 14 years of work with 100 trucks."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that campus protests sweeping the United States over the Middle East were part of democracy.

"It's a hallmark of our democracy that our citizens make known their views, their concerns, their anger, at any given time," Blinken told reporters in China, which tightly controls protests, adding: "I think that reflects the strength of the country."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that China can play a role in reducing tensions in the Middle East, including through its influence with Iran.

"I think the relationships that China has can be positive in trying to calm tensions, to prevent escalation, avoid the spread of the conflict," Blinken told reporters, saying Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to stay in contact on the Middle East.

An Israeli air raid has hit a home in the Remal neighbourhood, west of Gaza City, according to the Wafa news agency.

The attack killed at least three people, including a woman and a child, Wafa reports.

Meanwhile, at least one person has been confirmed killed and others injured from another attack that targeted a home on Gaza City’s al-Wehda street.

A premature Palestinian infant, rescued from her mother's womb shortly after the woman was killed in an Israeli airstrike, has died, her uncle said Friday.

Sabreen Jouda died in a Gaza hospital on Thursday after her health deteriorated and medical teams were unable to save her, said her uncle, Rami al-Sheikh.

Sabreen's home in the southern Gaza city of Rafah was hit by an Israeli airstrike shortly before midnight Saturday. Her parents and 4-year-old sister were killed.

First responders took the bodies to a nearby hospital, where medical workers performed an emergency cesarean section on her mother, Sabreen al-Sakani, who was 30 weeks' pregnant. The infant was kept in an incubator in a neonatal intensive care unit at another hospital until she died five days later.

Al-Sheikh told news agency The Associated Press that Sabreen was buried next to her father on Thursday.

Kenneth Roth, former executive director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said Israel is hampering an independent probe into mass graves at two of Gaza's major hospitals by blocking investigators from entering the Strip.

He emphasised it would be nonetheless possible to conduct an investigation during a war.

"This would require simply cooperation by both sides, but Israel doesn’t want to allow these kinds of independent investigations," Roth told news publication Al Jazeera.

"It just wants to sweep the issue under the rug or it will say we’re going to investigate ourselves,"  adding that such a process is typically concluded with nobody held accountable by Israeli authorities.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) "issued a warning in a post on X on the devastating health effects of the piles of waste accumulating across the besieged territory.

"Lack of safe & unimpeded humanitarian access has devastating impact in Gaza. Waste continues piling up & running water is scarce. As the weather gets warmer, the risk of disease spreading increases across Gaza Strip," the UN agency said.

"UNRWA services are critical, but not possible without access."

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group fired anti-tank missiles and artillery shells at an Israeli military convoy in a disputed area along the border, killing an Israeli civilian, the group and Israel’s military said Friday.

Hezbollah said that its fighters ambushed the convoy shortly before midnight Thursday, destroying two vehicles. The Israeli military said the ambush wounded an Israeli civilian doing infrastructure work, and that he later died of his wounds.

The incident took place in a disputed area known in Lebanon as the Kfar Chouba hills and in Israel as Har Dov. The area was captured by Israel from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war and is are part of Syria’s Golan Heights that Israel annexed in 1981. 

Celebrity Chef Jose Andres called seven aid workers killed by Israeli forces in Gaza "the best of humanity" on Thursday during a memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral that was attended by hundreds, and punctuated by grief and ongoing questions about the attack.

At Thursday's service he praised each of the workers -- Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, John Chapman, Jacob Flickinger, Lalzawmi Frankcom, James Henderson, James Kirby, and Damian Sobol -- during an emotional eulogy, his voice cracking repeatedly.

"The seven souls we mourn today were there so that hungry people could eat," he said, referring to residents of Gaza. "They risked everything to feed people they did not know."

"They were the best of humanity. Their examples should inspire us to do better, to be better," he said.

Andres said WCK continues to demand an investigation into the actions of the Israeli forces against its workers, and that the official explanation was not good enough.

"There is no excuse for these killings. None," he said.

The service included readings and prayers from the Muslim, Jewish and Christian traditions and a musical tribute by renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

More than 500 people attended, including families of the victims, WCK staff, US officials and diplomats from more than 30 countries, according to a WCK representative.

Vice President Kamala Harris' husband Doug Emhoff represented the White House, while Biden was traveling in New York.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has issued a statement to announce the delay of its ships' departure to Gaza, which delayed the departure of their ships to Gaza, which were scheduled to set sail today.

The organisation accused Israel of demanding the Republic of Guinea Bissau to withdraw its flag from their lead ship, Akdeniz, that was followed by a "request for an additional inspection, this one by the flag state".

"This is another example of Israel obstructing the delivery of life-saving aid to the people in Gaza who face a deliberately created famine," the group's statement read.

"How many more children will die of malnutrition and dehydration because of this delay and an ongoing siege which must be broken?"

They added that the hurdle has only caused a few more days of a delay. 

"Israel will not break our resolve to reach the Palestinians of Gaza."

According to Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces have conducted early morning attacks across the north and central Gaza.

The attacks include air raids to the north of Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps, as well as on the town of az-Zawayda, in central Gaza. Residential buildings in the al-Mughraqa area of central Gaza were also bombed and Beit Lahiya was targeted by artillery shelling and across northeastern Gaza.

Wafa also reported that there was heavy machine gun fire along Gaza’s northern border. In addition, Israeli forces were said to conduct air raids and artillery shelling on the neighbourhoods of Tuffah, Zeitoun and Shujayea near Gaza City.