Israeli bombing kills 11 in Gaza amid deadly West Bank strike

The live blog is now over and will be back at 9am BST. You can read more of The New Arab's coverage of Israel's war on Gaza here.

Australia will take command of the maritime task force in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from October, the defence ministry said on Friday.

The Combined Maritime Force's Combined Task Force 153 was established in April 2022 to focus on maritime security in the region. It was bolstered in December in response to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. 

(Reuters)

Israeli artillery is reportedly shelling areas of Khan Younis and Nuseirat camp, according to reports from Al Jazeera. 

A rocket warning alert sounded in the Israeli kibbutz of Yi'ron near the Lebanese border, according to reports from the Times of Israel.

The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced he had called Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on X, saying that the two talked about "the need for deescalation & restraint" as well as ceasing Iranian military support to Russia in its war on Ukraine and nuclear non-proliferation.

"Critical dialogue essential to defuse regional tensions," Borrell added.

Spoke to the new IR FM @aragchi about prospects for renewed engagement on all files of mutual interest, incl. the need for deescalation & restraint, halting military cooperation w/ RU against UA, & nuclear nonproliferation. Critical dialogue essential to defuse regional tensions.

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) August 22, 2024

The Israeli military announced that a soldier was killed in southern area of the Gaza Strip, adding that after an initial probe the Israeli military said the solder was killed by an anti-tank missile. 

336 Israeli soldiers have been killed in its ground assault on Gaza. 

The heads of Israel's Mossad spy agency and Shin Bet security service were taking part in talks on Gaza in Cairo on Thursday, a government spokesman said.

Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, who have been involved in truce talks in the Israel-Hamas war, were currently "negotiating to advance a hostage (release) agreement" in the Egyptian capital, said Omer Dostri, spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Four people were killed, including a child, by an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The agency also reported that three bodies, including a child, arrived at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis following airstrikes by Israeli aircraft. A civilian was also killed in Israeli shelling in the al-Zaytoun district of Gaza City.

Israel's military court has extended the house arrest of soldiers accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee until 4 September but will allow the defence to hold a hearing on Sunday to request an alternative to detention, the military said on Thursday.

It specified such an alternative could include 'a place of work and suitable supervisors'.

The soldiers have been accused of sexually abusing a member of an elite Hamas unit at the Sde Teiman detention facility in the Negev desert in southern Israel, according to Israeli press reports.

The United Nations special rapporteur on torture has said the alleged sexual abuse case is "particularly gruesome" and called on Israel's civilian courts to investigate and hold the perpetrators to account.

The UN has received multiple reports of alleged torture against Palestinians detained since 7 October 2023.

(Reuters)

Yemen's Houthis targeted the Sounion oil tanker and the SW North Wind I vessel in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the Iran-aligned group's military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Thursday.

(Reuters)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday denied reports suggesting Israel is considering agreeing to the deployment of an international force along a narrow border strip between Gaza and Egypt known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu insists on the principle that Israel will control the Philadelphi Corridor to prevent the rearmament of Hamas, which would allow them to repeat the atrocities of Oct. 7," his office said in a statement.

(Reuters)

The Israeli military said Thursday that bullets had been found in the bodies of six hostages retrieved from a Gaza tunnel earlier this week, indicating that they had been shot.

The bodies of Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, Chaim Perry and Avraham Munder were found on Monday night in the southern Gaza Strip, the military said the following day, though it was not clear what had caused their deaths in captivity.

A military spokesman told AFP on Thursday that examinations were carried out and "bullets were found in the bodies of the six hostages" seized from the site raided by Israeli forces in the Khan Yunis area.

"The investigation into the circumstances of their deaths continues," the spokesman added.

The six dead hostages were among 251 people seized by Palestinian militants during Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.

Of those, 105 remain in the Palestinian territory, including 34 the military says are dead.

Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday that the six "were killed while our forces were operating in Khan Yunis".

Relatives of numerous hostages who died in captivity have said the military had informed them that their loves ones may have been killed by Israeli operations and bombardment in Gaza.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Thursday that a Greek-flagged oil tanker that was adrift in the Red Sea after repeated attacks is now at anchor and all crew have been evacuated. 

20240822 INCIDENT 110 WARNING - ATTACK - UPDATE 003https://t.co/fX3hWupPWO

UKMTO have received report: the vessel is now at anchor and all crew have been evacuated#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/16UictXaEr

— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) August 22, 2024

(Reuters)

At least three Palestinians have reportedly been killed, while several have been injured after an Israeli airstrike targeted the Abasan town east of Khan Younis.

Breaking | At least 3 Palestinians have been reported killed and several others injured following an Israeli airstrike targeting Abasan town, east of Khan Yunis. pic.twitter.com/jJ6MLBBknM

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

Pro-Palestine activists have gathered in front of the court in Germany as a hearing takes place on the legality of chanting the phrase "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".

Protesters can be seen wearing the keffiyeh, waving the Palestine flag and chanting the slogan.

A Berlin court convicted an activist for 'condoning a crime' for chanting "Palestine will be free from the river to the sea" at a demonstration.

 

 

 

 

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Disagreements over Israel's future military presence in Gaza and over Palestinian prisoner releases are obstructing a ceasefire and hostage deal, according to ten sources familiar with the round of US-mediated talks that concluded last week.

The sources, which include two Hamas officials and three Western diplomats, told Reuters the disagreements stemmed from demands Israel has introduced since Hamas accepted a version of a ceasefire proposal unveiled by US President Joe Biden in May.

All the sources said Hamas was especially concerned about the latest demand to keep troops deployed along the Netzarim Corridor, an east-west strip Israel cleared during the current war that prevents Palestinians' free movement between north and south Gaza, as well as in a narrow border strip between Gaza and Egypt known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

The sources asked not to be named to speak freely about sensitive matters.

(Reuters)

Aids group Save the Children is urging the UK government to halt arms sales to Israel.

In light of an entire family, including quadruplets, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike, Save the Children "cannot accept the violence that Palestinian children continue to face as normal".

"We call on the UK government to immediately suspend all arms sales to the Government of Israel given the clear risk they might be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law," the organisation wrote on X.

We're absolutely heartbroken to see that six children - including a group of ten-year-old quadruplets, and their mother are the latest victims of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

We simply cannot accept the violence that Palestinian children continue to face as normal. https://t.co/f9h9tercHh

— Save the Children UK (@savechildrenuk) August 22, 2024

A Gaza ceasefire and captive release deal "now is in sight," the US envoy to the United Nations told the Security Council on Thursday.

"It's a decisive moment for ceasefire talks and for the region, and so every member of this council should continue to send strong messages to other actors in the region to avoid actions that would move us away from finalizing this deal," said US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

However, reports from Israeli media indicate that Netanyahu is unlikely to give up his demand of maintaining the occupation of the Gaza-Egypt border - coming in as the US finally admitted that ceasefire talks were not going to plan after the latest round of talks.

(Reuters)

A delegate for the Democratic National Committee was recording mocking the death of a teenager killed in Gaza.

The delegate, identified as Jarvell Morris Green has been recording mockingly saying "eighteen years old" after protesters were naming teenagers killed in Israel's onslaught and their ages.

Pro-Palestine protesters have been rallying throughout the Democratic National Convention calling for an end to Israel's ongoing war on Gaza and holding the Democrats accountable for their complicity.

🚨 Jarvell Morris Green is a @DNC delegate and Chicago resident

Watch him mock the death of a teenager: pic.twitter.com/sQn7tFVT2Z

— Stop Arab Hate (@StopArabHate) August 22, 2024

Qatar's prime minister will visit Iran in the coming days, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.

"Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is scheduled to consult with Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, on bilateral and important regional issues," Tasnim said.

Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, has acted as a mediator to secure a ceasefire to end Israel's now 10-month war on Gaza.

(Reuters)

Israeli forces have stormed the village of Asira al-Qibliya, south of Nablus.

Wafa reports that the forces have halted roadwork, held up several workers, and confiscated three trucks for "hours."

The head of the Asira al-Qibliya Village Council, Hafez Saleh, told the publication that Israeli forces prohibited the road work from continuing, which suspended its construction efforts.

Israeli occupation forces stormed the village of Asira al-Qibliya, south of Nablus, and confiscated three Palestinian trucks. pic.twitter.com/WvbgiAvEI2

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

Gaza's water wells and sanitation infrastructure have been 'repeatedly damaged through out the war', according to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The organisation says many of these infrastructures are now located in zones that are impacted by the Israeli army's new evacuation orders.

"With overcrowding, lack of hygiene & unbearable heat, access to clean water continues to be a struggle in #GazaStrip," UNRWA said on X.

Critical water wells & sanitation infrastructure have been repeatedly damaged throughout the war. Many are now located in zones impacted by new evacuation orders.

With overcrowding, lack of hygiene & unbearable heat, access to clean water continues to be a struggle in #GazaStrip pic.twitter.com/E4GB7mqAk8

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) August 22, 2024

An investigation by the rights group Amnesty found that the Israeli army has failed to take all "feasible precautions to avoid or minimise harm to civilians" sheltering at refugee camps in the south of the Gaza Strip while carrying out attacks targeting Hamas members in May.

Amnesty says both attacks should be investigated as war crimes.

"While these strikes may have targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders and fighters, once again displaced Palestinian civilians seeking shelter and safety have paid with their lives," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International's Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns.

"Under international humanitarian law, the presence of fighters in the targeted area does not absolve the Israeli military of its obligations to protect civilians."

Husam Dabaki, a Palestinian journalist, was killed after an Israeli airstrike targeted his house in the al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip. He was killed alongside his wife and children. 

Dabaki's death brings the total number of journalists killed since 7 October to 171 after the death of journalist Hamza Abdul Rahman Murtaja, who was killed on Tuesday, according to the Gaza Media Office.

Israel has been accused of targeting journalists and their families in Gaza. Israel’s war on Gaza has faced the highest death toll of media workers in any recent conflict.

The Gaza Health Ministry revealed on Thursday that at least 40,265 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since 7 October.

The toll includes 42 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also listed 93,144 people as wounded in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli settlers have established a settler outpost near the Auja Spring, in the West Bank north of Jericho - Wafa reports.

Hassan Malihat, the general supervisor of the Al-Baidar organization for the defence of Bedouin rights, said there has been a surge in the number of outposts in the Jordan Valley and a rise in the number of settler attacks against the neighbouring Bedouin. 

Police in St Petersburg have detained an Israeli-Canadian racing car driver wanted by the United States for alleged large-scale fraud relating to an illegal online stock trading scheme, the city's court system said on Wednesday evening.

The man, Joshua Cartu, is wanted, alongside his brothers David and Jonathan and several others, for allegedly operating a fraudulent binary options trading scheme between 2013 and 2018 that defrauded investors of millions of dollars, according to a US Commodity Futures Trading Commission statement from May 2020.

The St Petersburg court service said Cartu had been detained on Aug. 19 at Pulkovo airport. It identified him as a citizen of Israel and Canada and said he was "wanted by the United States of America." It wasn't immediately clear when Cartu arrived in Russia.

(Reuters)

Israeli police arrested four people suspected of taking part in a violent attack by Jewish settlers on the Palestinian village of Jit in the occupied West Bank, during which one Palestinian was killed, authorities said on Thursday.

The 15 August attack by dozens of settlers armed with guns and Molotov cocktails drew unusual condemnation from Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who promised a swift investigation.

"This was a severe terror event that included setting fire to buildings and vehicles, stone and molotov-cocktail hurling, as well as live fire, resulting in the killing of one Palestinian and the injuring of another," a statement by the police and the domestic security agency said.

The increasing incidence of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of Israel's war on Gaza has drawn broad condemnation internationally, including from allies of Israel such as the United States.

(Reuters)

China on Thursday urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave "as soon as possible", according to an embassy statement, the day after an Israeli strike in the country killed a senior Palestinian militant.

"Recently, the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border has continued to be tense, and security circumstances in Lebanon are severe and complex," China's embassy in Beirut said.

"The current level of risk to travel in Lebanon's South and Nabatieh Governorates is red (extremely high risk), and other areas is orange (high risk)."

The statement advised Chinese citizens in Lebanon to "take the opportunity while commercial flights are still running to return to China or leave the country as soon as possible".

British security firm Ambrey said a fire was spotted in the Red Sea approximately 58 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's port of Salif on Thursday.

A nearby vessel observed smoke coming from the water, an incident likely related to the destruction of an unmanned surface vessel, Ambrey said.

"Hostile manned, and unmanned craft, have been operating in the area," Ambrey added.

Iran-aligned Houthis based in Yemen have launched attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea region since November in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

In response, shipowners have rerouted many vessels away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to the longer route around the southern tip of Africa, which means higher costs and longer delivery times.

(Reuters)

The crew of Greek-flagged Sounion which was attacked by Yemen's Houthis on Wednesday, made up of two Russians and 23 Filipinos, abandoned the vessel and was rescued by the EU's Red Sea naval mission "Aspides", an official in the mission told Reuters on Thursday. 

The Houthis say they are targeting vessels either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports to pile pressure on global powers to end Israel's war on Gaza.

(Reuters)

Staff at aids group Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have spoken about the "inhumane" evacuation orders where the Israeli military have issued orders for Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis.

"The continuous forced displacement of people is inhumane," says MSF project coordinator Jacob Granger.

"People have no belongings left, nowhere left to go. There is no room to put tents up. The overcrowding, severe lack of water, and minimal sanitation services are fueling the spread of diseases. We are unable to keep up with the overwhelming needs."

Between July 1 and August 21, at least 16 evacuation orders have been issued by Israeli forces in Gaza. Nearly 2 million people - over 85% of the entire population of Gaza - have been displaced by this war, often multiple times.

Israeli tank and drone strikes in Gaza on Wednesday killed at least 17 people, according to hospital staff and Associated Press journalists who counted the bodies.

In Khan Younis in the south, nine bodies, among them a woman and child, were rushed to Nasser Hospital. Meanwhile, the Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah received eight bodies.

The strikes in Deir al-Balah come as the Israeli military called for Palestinians in some parts of the central city to evacuate.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says three people have been killed in an Israeli strike on a home in the occupied West Bank.

It said the apparent strike was carried out overnight into Thursday in the Tulkarem refugee camp, a built-up residential area dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. It did not say whether those killed were fighters or civilians.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The West Bank has seen a surge of violence since 7 October, where Israeli forces carry out near-daily raids in the West Bank.