Israel bombs Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, deadly attacks continue

The New Arab's live blog on Israel's war in Gaza has now ended, and will resume tomorrow at 09:00am. Thank you for following.

Scores of Palestinians have taken to the streets of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to protest against Israel’s large-scale military operation in Jenin and other northern cities, according to Al Jazeera Arabic’s on-the-ground correspondents.

Several videos shared online also show the demonstrations.

📹 متابعة صفا| مسيرة من قباطية نحو مدينة جنين لكسر الحصار الذي يفرضه الاحتلال على المدينة pic.twitter.com/3eZmtTnYNg

— وكالة صفا (@SafaPs) August 31, 2024

 A Palestinian father-of-seven died in Israeli custody on Saturday, the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission (PAC) and the Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said.

In a joint press release, the two groups said that 65-year-old Nasr Salem Said Zyara, a resident of Gaza, died in the Israeli Prison of Ramleh, on Friday. The groups said Zyara is among the scores of Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip who died due to systematic torture.

Clashes erupt between protesters and cops in Tel Aviv, Israel following a demonstration for a hostage deal and against Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Two demonstrators are arrested, and another injured after being hit by a mounted police officer on Begin Road, The Times of Israel reported.

The Israeli army is claiming it has found a number of captives' bodies, the Times of Israel is reporting.

The army said: "At this stage, the forces are still operating in the area and carrying out a process to extract and identify the bodies, which will last several hours".

At least two Palestinians were killed and others wounded after Israeli forces attacked a house in the al-Tawbah area of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Al Jazeera is reporting.

Top Palestinian diplomat Husam Zomlot expressed his outrage over Israel's raid on Jenin, which left several infrastructure and roads in ruins.

In a post on X, Zomlot said "This is not Gaza, this is  Jenin" accompanied by a video showcasing the damage done to the West Ban city.

This is not #Gaza. This is #Jenin earlier today after Israel’s occupation army invaded, killing and injuring dozens and destroying homes and infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/QI4XOdlaNS

— Husam Zomlot (@hzomlot) August 31, 2024

Israeli forces have fired at ambulances belonging to the Palestine Red Crescent Society says in Jenin, where a violent raid has reportedly caused Palestinian casualties and cut off electricity and telecommunications.

The ambulance was hit, PRCS says, despite its entry being coordinated ahead of time.

In a statement on X, the NGO said: "Palestine Red Crescent teams continue to provide humanitarian and emergency services to citizens trapped in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp. Despite being targeted by gunfire, having their work obstructed, and facing ambulance searches and restrictions on entering any area without prior coordination through the International Committee of the Red Cross—a lengthy process that endangers the lives of patients and wounded—they remain committed to their mission."

For the fourth consecutive day, Palestine Red Crescent teams continue to provide humanitarian and emergency services to citizens trapped in the city of #Jenin and its refugee camp. Despite being targeted by gunfire, having their work obstructed, and facing ambulance searches and… pic.twitter.com/Ppyc8YZ19y

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) August 31, 2024

Hezbollah says its forces fired rockets at the Israeli Ramtha site in the Kfarchouba Hills, claiming direct hits were achieved, Al Jazeera has reported.

The attack comes after the Lebanese group said its fighters targeted the al-Marj military outpost in northern Israel with projectiles earlier this morning.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said Saturday they had attacked a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, as a multinational naval force said two missiles exploded near a Liberia-flagged vessel.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting the ship (GROTON) in the Gulf of Aden," Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised statement.

He said the ship had been hit and that it was the second time it had been attacked after a similar incident on August 3.

Earlier on Saturday, the Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC), run by a Western naval coalition, reported that the Groton had been targeted by two ballistic missiles when it was 130 nautical miles east of Aden.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency, run by Britain's Royal Navy, said the captain reported that all crew were safe and the Groton was "proceeding to next port of call".

Israel's army on Saturday announced the first death of a soldier during its ongoing raid in the occupied West Bank that began four days ago.

An army statement said 20-year-old Elkana Navon "fell during operational activity" on Saturday and that another soldier was "severely injured" in the same incident, without providing details.

Since Wednesday at least 22 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army, in simultaneous raids in several cities in the northern West Bank.

Four Palestinians on Saturday were injured by Israeli settlers in an attack on the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, activists say, as cited by the Palestinian Wafa agency.

The settlers carried out a large-scale attack against the villagers’ houses, and opened fire towards the villagers who attempted to fend off the attack.

The Health Ministry said that a critical casualty was rushed to the Rafidia Government Hospital for treatment.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that its paramedics provided first aid treatment to four victims. ne Palestinian as hit by a live round in the back, another by bullet shrapnel, a 16-year-old boy and another casualty who was hit by a tear gas canister in the chest.

The Palestinian health ministry has issued a statement condemning the attack on the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, where at least three people have been killed.

It said Israeli forces targeted "the hospital grounds this evening, which resulted in many martyrs and injuries among patients’ relatives and visitors to the hospital".

"The Ministry also appeals to all international and UN bodies and organizations to protect hospitals and medical staff from the brutality of the occupation and its crimes against health institutions and staff in the Gaza Strip," the statement read.

The hospital was the site of a deadly Israeli air strike in the beginning of the war, drawing international condemnation.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that Israeli air raids near the al-Ahli Arab Hospital (Baptist Hospital) have resulted in the deaths of three Palestinians and injuries to others.

According to local sources, Israeli fighter jets targeted the area around the hospital, and emergency and rescue teams are still working to recover the victims and assess the casualties.

Israeli forces are bombing in the direct vicinity of Al Ahli Baptist Hospital, Gaza City, following claims by Israel and international organizations about a temporary ceasefire/cessation of bombardment in certain areas of Gaza to facilitate polio vaccinations. pic.twitter.com/YjRZBl7w3W

— Good Shepherd Collective (@Shepherds4Good) August 31, 2024

Tug boats are expected to begin towing the Greek tanker Sounion on Sunday, Yemen's Houthi Foreign Minister Jamel Amer said in a statement on Facebook, after it was damaged in an August 21 strike by Houthi forces. 

Jenin Government Hospital has announced the suspension of its daily dialysis services due to ongoing disruptions in essential supplies caused by the Israeli military siege of the city, according to Wafa, the Palestinian news agency.

The hospital has been under Israeli military siege for the past four days, which has led to significant operational difficulties.

Wafa reported that Israeli forces damaged the hospital’s electricity supply line, causing backup generators to run continuously for four days.

Additionally, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that Israeli forces obstructed their ambulance teams from retrieving the bodies of two deceased individuals from the Jenin refugee camp.

Israeli forces have launched an airstrike near Gaza City's al-Ahli Arab Hospital, according to news publication Al Jazeera English.

The outlet added that the air attacks were targetting a house located in the hospital's backyard, adding that the area is "densely populated" that consists of "back-to-back houses in that particular location."

Since dawn today, 48 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombings of various areas across the Gaza Strip, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site Al Araby al-Jadeed.

Head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK Husam Zomlot shared a video on X from Israel's siege of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

He commented, "Israel’s occupation army invaded, killing and injuring dozens while destroying homes and infrastructure."

This is not #Gaza. This is #Jenin earlier today after Israel’s occupation army invaded, killing and injuring dozens and destroying homes and infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/QI4XOdlaNS

— Husam Zomlot (@hzomlot) August 31, 2024

Former Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin has condemned the security cabinet's decision on Thursday night, which supported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on keeping the Israeli army deployed along the Philadelphi Corridor during the initial six-week phase of any hostage-ceasefire agreement.

Yadlin told Israeli news channel Channel 12 that this decision signifies the government's failure to meet its "moral obligation" to bring back women, children, the elderly, and soldiers who were kidnapped from their homes on October 7.

"The hostages have been abandoned," Yadlin stated, criticising the government's position as "unacceptable."

He urged every Israeli to "go out and demonstrate" against what he described as a "scandalous" situation.

An explosive-laden drone launched from Lebanon struck near the northern Israeli community of Beit Hillel about an hour ago, according to the Israeli military.

The Times of Israel reports that no injuries were caused by the attack, though sirens were triggered in several nearby communities.

In a separate incident, the Israeli army announced that it struck a building in southern Lebanon’s Markaba, where a group of Hezbollah operatives had been spotted.

A video posted on X by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) shows its teams inspecting areas of southern Gaza's Khan Younis after Israeli forces withdrew.

The footage captures PRCS teams recovering the bodies of Palestinians, placing them in white body bags, and transporting them to an unspecified location by ambulance.

According to the PRCS, a total of eight bodies were recovered.

A video captures Palestine Red Crescent teams inspecting #KhanYunis Governorate following the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces, where they recovered the bodies of eight individuals.
📷Filmed by volunteer Atta Allah Ghaith. pic.twitter.com/8SO7ijSPE4

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) August 31, 2024

The head of the UN's refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has accused Israel of spreading "misinformation and disinformation" against the organisation.

Citing an article from news outlet Wired, Lazzarini revealed on X that the Israeli government has been purchasing Google advertisements as part of a campaign to undermine and discredit UNRWA.

This campaign also seeks to prevent users from donating to the agency, Lazzarini noted, adding, "This does not just harm the agency's reputation, but more importantly, it puts the lives of our staff at risk."

He emphasised that Israel's deliberate spread of misinformation should be halted and investigated.

Lazzarini also criticised companies, including social media platforms, for profiting from the spread of misinformation. He concluded by calling for stronger regulations to combat disinformation and hate speech.

The spread of misinformation & disinformation continues to be used as a weapon in the war in #Gaza.

As part of its campaign to undermine & discredit @UNRWA, the Government of Israel has been buying ads on @Google to block users from giving donations to the Agency + undertake a…

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) August 31, 2024

A health official said a polio vaccination campaign had begun in Gaza on Saturday after the war-torn territory recorded its first case of the disease in a quarter of a century.

Local health officials along with the UN and NGOs "are starting today the polio vaccination campaign in the central region", Moussa Abed, director of primary health care at the Gaza health ministry, told news agency AFP.

Abed stressed on Saturday that the vaccine was "100 percent safe".

Civil defence authorities in Gaza said five Palestinians had been killed and 15 others injured following Israeli bombing targeting a home in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

The number of people killed in Israel's war on Gaza has risen to 40,691, according to the Palestinian enclave's health ministry.

The ministry adds that 94,060 have been injured since the war began in October.

Israel has carried out five "massacres against the families" in Gaza in the last 48 hours, with 89 killed and 205 injured people arriving at hospitals, the ministry says.

Israeli forces fired on a Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance, the humanitarian organisation says on social media platform X.

It adds that this happened "despite prior coordination for entry" into the Jenin refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank.

🚨Israeli occupation forces opened fire on a Palestine Red Crescent ambulance despite prior coordination for its entry into #Jenin refugee camp. #NotATarget #IHL

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) August 31, 2024

The Palestinian health ministry in occupied West Bank has confirmed the killing of Muhammed Ihsan Yaqin Marqa and Zahdi Nidal Abu Afifa in the north of occupied West Bank.

The two deceased were killed by Israeli open fire after two other Palestinians were killed in two separate incidents in the territory.

Al-Awda Hospital in Gaza has reported that nine bodies have been recovered following an Israeli attack on a house west of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, while more than 10 Palestinians were wounded. 

World soccer's governing body FIFA has delayed again its decision on a Palestinian bid to have Israel suspended from international soccer over the war in Gaza.

FIFA said late on Friday it would now consider the Palestine Football Association's (PFA) proposals against the Israel Football Association (IFA) in October.

The PFA had submitted a proposal to suspend Israel in May, with FIFA ordering an urgent legal evaluation and promising to address it at an extraordinary meeting of its council in July.

FIFA said last month the legal assessment would now be shared with its council by Aug. 31.

The Zurich-based body said it had now moved the assessment back to October.

"FIFA has received the independent legal assessment of the Palestine Football Association's proposals against Israel," FIFA said.

"This assessment will be sent to the FIFA Council to review in order that the subject can be discussed at its next meeting which will take place in October."

FIFA declined to give further details of the assessment, or when in October the meeting would take place.

Gaza's civil defence announced on Telegram that its crews recovered the bodies of six Palestinians who were killed in a dawn attack on the Zaqout family's house in the al-Hasayna area of central Gaza.

The statement also mentioned that several others were injured in the attack.

In a separate incident, the civil defence extinguished a fire and recovered two bodies, along with several wounded individuals, following an Israeli strike on the Hamad family's house in the Camp 1 area at dawn.

In the midst of multiple road closures and restrictions in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, while Israeli forces are have stormed nearby illegal Israeli settlements, the Ibrahimi Mosque has been closed.

According to Israeli media, Israeli authorities made the move to shut one of Islam's holiest sites on Saturday.

At least 22 Palestinians have been detained during raids by the Israeli military overnight- including a journalist, a woman, former prisoners and children.

According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the number of detentions since the beginning of the Israeli operation in the West Bank on Wednesday has increased to about 70.

The Israeli forces have since arrested more than 10,300 citizens in the occupied West Bank, as well as in East Jerusalem, since October 7, the organisation added.

Israeli forces have bombarded at least two people in west of Rafah- located in the al-Shakush area- news publication Al Jazeera English reports.

The latest attacks comes after ongoing brutal Israeli strikes in southern Gaza, including Khan Younis, where multiple residential homes were targeted.
 

An Israeli air strike on an aid convoy carrying food and fuel to a Gaza hospital killed four Palestinians on Thursday, US-based aid group Anera said as Israel claimed they were "armed assailants," which the group denied.

The four Palestinians were in the lead vehicle of an Anera aid convoy bound for the Emirati Red Crescent Hospital in Rafah in southern Gaza, the aid group said in a statement on Friday.

Soon after the convoy left the Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, four Palestinians from the community "took control of the leading vehicle, citing concern that the route was unsafe and at risk of being looted," Anera said.

"Israeli authorities allege that the lead car was carrying numerous weapons. Every initial report from those at the scene indicate that no weapons were present," the organization said.

A plan agreed with Israeli authorities called for unarmed security guards in the convoy. The four had not been vetted nor coordinated with Israeli authorities, but the convoy did not perceive them as a threat, Anera said.

Anera said there was no warning or communication before the Israeli airstrike. No Anera staff were injured. After the four were killed, the rest of the convoy delivered the aid, it said.

Yesterday, Israel killed at least four Palestinians working with ANERA to deliver humanitarian aid.

No one spoke about them.

The reason? They weren't white like the “world kitchen” employees.

A disgusting world. #GazaGenocide

-The image is illustrative. pic.twitter.com/yb5I4NDJGz

— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) August 30, 2024

Israel's military on Saturday said its forces killed two people in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank, after one was said to infiltrate an Israeli settlement and another reportedly shot at soldiers after his car exploded.

Israel's ambulance service said two men were wounded by gunshots in the incidents. It did not identify them.

Soldiers who arrived at the scene killed one assailant who had opened fire at them and were searching for others, it said.

In another incident, a car caught fire and exploded in a gas station, the military said.

Hamas issued a statement on Saturday praising what it called a "double heroic operation" in the West Bank, saying it "is a clear message that resistance will remain striking, prolonged and sustained as long as the brutal occupation's aggression and targeting of our people and land continue".

The group, however, did not claim direct responsibility for the attacks.