Over 70 dead and 200 wounded in Israeli assault on Khan Younis, hours after evacuation order

This live blog on Israel's war on Gaza is closed for today.

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Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) condemned the destruction of the UN building which he said was unrecognisable, and called for a fact-finding mission.

"Whether it’s palestinian armed groups including Hamas or the Israeli Forces, those responsible must be held accountable for another blatant disregard of international humanitarian law," Lazzarini wrote on X on Monday.

#Gaza
Our @UNRWA teams visited the compound.
This used to be home to our central offices and one of the largest UN compounds in the region. 🇺🇳🇺🇳
Having been there myself many times, it’s extremely hard to recognize.
This is one of hundreds of UN buildings destroyed in this… pic.twitter.com/mvuuHLNoTg

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) July 22, 2024

Since finding her son dead on the floor after being mauled by a combat dog unleashed by Israeli soldiers last week, Nabila Bahar, 70, has struggled to return to her home in Gaza’s Shujaiya neighbourhood.

Muhammad Bahar, 24, who had Down’s syndrome, held a special place in his mother’s heart, who described him as "innocent" and someone who only spoke a few words.

On 4 July, Israeli forces stormed the home they were sheltering in, located in eastern Gaza City, with dogs being set on Muhammed.  

"The dog sank its fangs into his chest and then into his shoulder. I saw a fountain of blood coming out of him as he helplessly tried to push the dog away," Bahar told The New Arab.

She says her son was very affectionate, despite not speaking a lot, and that during the attack her other sons were beaten with rifles, ordered to leave the house or were detained.

Read more here.

Israel's parliament, known as Knesset, passed three bills which would effectively shut down the UN agencies for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) during their first reading in parliament on Monday.

Three bills were passed with large votes in favour which would ban the organisation from operating in Israel, strip UNRWA employees from United Nations legal privileges, and designate UNRWA a terrorist organization.

Israel has been waging a campaign against the aid agency in the wake of 7 October, after it accused 12 of its staff members of being involved in the Hamas-led attacks. 

It prompted a wave of donors to suspend aid, despite Israel providing no evidence to investigations into the claims.

For decades, UNRWA has provided education, health, and housing support for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, as well to hundreds of thousands of refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

The bills will go through second and third readings in parliament before becoming law, according to Israeli media.

The Israeli army intercepted seven drones from Lebanon on Monday, the latest defence in its tit-for-tat exchanges along the border with Shia militia group Hezbollah.

In a statement on Telegram, the army said its aerial defence system "successfully intercepted all seven UAVs".

It added that its air force struck a military structure in Chine in southern Lebanon, and in the areas of Meiss el Jaal and Kfarchouba.

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich "pledged" to reporters in the Knesset on Monday that he will do everything in his power to ensure a Palestinian state is not established and ensure the annexation of the West Bank.

He was quoted by the Times of Israel as saying "We will do everything so that a Palestinian state will never be established in the Land of Israel that would endanger our existence. We are working day and night in the field to thwart this, and God willing, we will also bring about the application of Israeli sovereignty."

He also called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "not be silent in the face of the sanctions on the citizens of Israel and the settlers in Judea and Samaria (Israeli occupied West Bank)", which comes following US sanctions settlers.

Smotrich further criticised the Israeli military leadership for supporting a Gaza ceasefire deal that would see the release of Israeli hostages. 

An Israeli delegation on ceasefire and hostage negotiations will likely be sent to Qatar on Thursday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held discussions on the matter with members of his negotiating team and security officials, an official statement said on Sunday.

One Israeli official told the Israeli website Walla that Netanyahu held a four-hour meeting on Sunday, where he ordered the delegation "not to budge" from four non-negotiable demands he made on 7 July, including Israel resuming fighting in Gaza -  something  previously rejected by Hamas.

Among Netanyahu's non-negotiable demands include Israel retaining control of the border between war-hit Gaza and Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, blocking any weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza and stopping "the return of thousands of armed terrorists to the north of the Gaza Strip".

Read more here.

Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi condemned the attack on a UN aid convoy in Gaza in comments on X on Monday.

Earlier on Monday, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said a team of UNRWA staff had come under fire by Israeli forces as they awaited to clear a checkpoint south of Wadi Gaza on Sunday. The UN-marked vehicle they were travelling was shot five times, Lazzarini said.

Safadi described the incident as a "war crime".

"UNRWA & all other humanitarian agencies & workers must be protected from Israeli occupation forces & war crimes. Gaza has not only become a graveyard for children. It has become a graveyard for Int’l law, a shameful stain on whole Int’l order," the minister wrote.

Gaza's health ministry said at least 37 people have been killed and more than 120 wounded by Israeli attacks on eastern Khan Younis since Monday morning.

Earlier today, Israel announced evacuation orders for the eastern neighbourhoods of the southern city and ordered Palestinians to move further into Al-Mawasi 'humanitarian zone'.

Local journalists reported that Israel launched attacks soon after issuing the order, leaving people with little time to safely flee.

The whole enclave has faced repeated airstrikes and humanitarians have reiterated that there is nowhere safe in Gaza.

Lebanese group Hezbollah said it attacked an Israeli military site near Malkia kibbutz in northern Israel on Monday and damaged a building, according to a statement issued on the group's Telegram channel.

The Shia Muslim militia group has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces along the border area since 8 October.

The kibbutz, known as Malkia in Hebrew, is on the border with Israel and was populated by Palestinians until the Arab-Israel 1948 war when it was taken over by Jewish groups.

The health ministry in Gaza said Monday at least 39,006 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants.

The toll includes 23 deaths and 91 injuries in 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also list 89,818 people as having been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.

The statement from the ministry also included 37 casualties and 120 injuries had been registered at Nasser Medical Complex on Monday from Israeli attacks on Khan Younis.

Israel declared dead on Monday two more of its hostages being held in Gaza, as talks to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the release of some 120 captives there were set to resume later this week.

The Israeli military said it was still investigating the deaths in captivity of the two hostages, Yagev Buchshtab, a 35-year-old sound technician and Alex Dancyg, 76, a historian, who were abducted from their homes in kibbutzim near the border with Gaza during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.

An Israeli negotiation team was due on Thursday to set off to mediated Gaza ceasefire talks that would include the issue of hostages being released in return for Palestinian prisoners.

"Yagev and Alex were taken alive and should have returned alive to their families and to their country," the Hostage Families Forum said in a statement. "Their death in captivity is a tragic reflection of the consequences of foot-dragging in negotiations."

Israeli authorities have so far pronounced dead in absentia around a third of the hostages still held in Gaza.

(Reuters)

The Israeli army launched a campaign to vaccinate soldiers on Sunday who are carrying out military operations in the Gaza Strip against poliovirus.

Israel's vaccination campaign after an official announcement by the Palestinian health ministry which said poliovirus was discovered in wastewater in the war-torn Strip. 

Palestinian medical sources told The New Arab that poliovirus emerges due to unclean water and the spread of wastewater.

The medical sources further said that the ongoing Israeli attacks destroyed "more than 60 percent of the infrastructure and stopped all desalination plants and sewage in the streets have contributed to spreading the diseases in Gaza."

Read more from The New Arab's Gaza correspondent here.

Firefighting teams on Monday were struggling to contain a massive blaze at Yemen's Hodeida port, days after a deadly Israeli strike hit oil tanks and a power plant in the rebel-run harbour.

Heavy flames and black smoke were seen spiralling into the sky for a third consecutive day following the strike on Saturday, said an AFP correspondent in Hodeida.

Firefighting teams appear to have made little progress, with the blaze seemingly expanding in some parts of the port, the correspondent said, amid fears it could reach food storage facilities.

High-resolution satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies showed flames consuming a heavily damaged fuel storage area at the Hodeida harbour.

The Houthis say more than 80 others were wounded in the attack, many of them with severe burns.

A Canadian travelling in Israel attempted to stab Israeli troops at a base near Gaza on Monday, according to Israeli media reports.

The person had a knife and shouted "Free Palestine" at the troops before they opened fire and killed them, according to reports.

The incident took place at Israeli military checkpoint by the village of Netiv Ha'asara, just north of the Gaza border.

A United Nations aid convoy came under "heavy shooting" by Israeli forces as it moved into north Gaza on Sunday, the head of UNRWA said.

Philippe Lazzarini said his teams had "to duck and take cover" as they travelled in UN-marked armoured cars while waiting to pass through an Israeli army checkpoint south of Wadi Gaza.

"The car was severely damaged, it left the convoy. The teams re-assembled & finally reached Gaza City. Like all other similar UN movements, this movement was coordinated and approved by the Israeli Authorities. Humanitarian aid workers are #NOTaTarget Those responsible must be held accountable."

#Gaza
Heavy shooting from the Israeli Forces at a UN convoy heading to Gaza city.
While there are no casualties, our teams had to duck and take cover.

This took place yesterday. The teams were traveling in clearly marked UN armoured cars & wearing UN vests.

One vehicle…

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) July 22, 2024

The US Central Command agency (CENTCOM) said its forces destroyed four Houthi uncrewed surface vessels in the Red Sea on Sunday.

"It was determined the USVs presented an imminent threat to US and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region," CENTCOM said in an update.

Yemen's Houthi militia group have been conducting attacks on US, UK and Israeli linked ships traversing in the Red Sea in what the group says its solidarity with Palestinian in Gaza.

July 21 U.S. Central Command Update

In the past 24 hours U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed four Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed surface vessels (USV) in the Red Sea.

It was determined the USVs presented an imminent threat to U.S. and coalition… pic.twitter.com/68lxC7QCgb

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 22, 2024

Protests have been planned to take place in the United States for the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington DC on Monday.

Netanyahu is expected to hold a meeting with US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and to address Congress on Wednesday.

It will be the premier's first overseas visit since the start of the war in October and comes at critical time as relations between the two allies have been strained over Israel's brutal war in Gaza.

Groups of activists are creating posters calling for an end to US military aid to Israel and for the arrest of Netanyahu who is facing a possible arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court over his actions in Gaza, where he has been accused of conducting genocide against the Palestinian people.

Activists prepare to organize protests against Netanyahu's visit to the United States due to the ongoing Israeli war crimes committed in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/ThMil0yFrj

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 22, 2024

The Israeli army ordered Palestinians living in the eastern neighbourhoods of Khan Younis to move to al-Mawasi early on Monday.

The military statement said the new orders were due to renewed Palestinian attacks, including rockets launched from the targeted areas in eastern Khan Younis. The evacuation orders did not include health institutions, Palestinians said.

To allow this, the military said it was adjusting the borders of a humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi to keep the civilian population away from areas of combat.

The Palestinians, the United Nations, and international relief agencies have said there is no safe place left in Gaza. Earlier in July, dozens of Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli attacks in the Al-Mawasi humanitarian-designated areas.

Al Jazeera and the civil defence reported that the Israel has already conducted artillery attacks in eastern Khan Younis, leaving people with little chance to evacuate safely.

Due to significant terrorist activity and rocket fire toward the State of Israel from the eastern part of the Humanitarian Area in Gaza, remaining in this area has become dangerous. Accordingly, at this time, the Humanitarian Area will be adjusted. The adjustment is being carried… pic.twitter.com/bk5GGNXn6M

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 22, 2024

The Israeli army said on Monday that it intercepted "numerous suspicious aerial targets" that crossed from Lebanon into the occupied Golan Heights by Israel's missile defence system.

No injuries were reported but it triggered air sirens in northern Israel due "to the danger of falling shrapnel from the interception".

Lebanon's Hezbollah group has been waging attacks on Israel since 8 October and has mainly targeted Israeli military assets along the border.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for the United States on Monday in his first overseas trip since the start of the war in October and first visit to Washington since 2022.

He is expected to hold meetings with President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris and to also address Congress on Wednesday.

Netanyahu had been under pressure from the Israeli public to secure a deal with Hamas to see the release of some 120 captives in Gaza before the US trip, but ceasefire talks in Doha and Cairo have yet to push a deal over the line.

According to Israeli media reports, he said the trip will "seek to anchor the bipartisan support that is so important for Israel".

Netanyahu called the visit a "very important trip" that comes at a time of "great political uncertainty", referring to US President Joe Biden's decision not to seek re-election and as Washington pushes Israel to seek a ceasefire deal with Hamas.