Israeli forces kill 14 in West Bank raid as Rafah bombed again

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

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz responded to the US reportedly sanctioning the Netzah Yehuda Israeli military unit for human rights violations in the occupied West Bank.

In a post on X, he said he had "great appreciation for our American friends", but the imposition of sanctions on the Israeli military unit and its soldiers "sets a dangerous precedent and conveys the wrong message to our shared enemies during war time."

"I intend on acting to have this decision changed," he added.

A child and pregnant woman were killed in an Israeli air strike on a house in the Shaboura camp, in central Rafah, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

According to Wafa, this bring the death toll of the latest attack to three- while five other children were injured and taken to Rafah's Kuwait Specialty Hospital. 

At least nine people, including six children, were killed in Israeli air raids that targeted two homes in Rafah's Tal as-Sultan and al-Salam neighbourhoods earlier on Saturday.

The Palestinian presidency said Saturday the US House of Representatives' approval of billions of dollars in new military aid to Israel marked "an aggression against the Palestinian people".

The money would "translate into thousands of Palestinian casualties in the Gaza Strip" and the West Bank, said Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, calling it a "dangerous escalation".

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reacted to the Israeli military being reportedly imposed by US sanctions for human rights violations in the occupied West Bank.

This comes after reports detailing the US is set sanction a unit of the Israeli army in the coming days.

“At a time when our soldiers are fighting the monsters of terror, the intention to impose a sanction on a unit in the [army] is the height of absurdity and a moral low. The government headed by me will act by all means against these moves,” Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu also said that he has been working to undo the imposition of sanctions on Israeli settlers, adding that he has discussed with US officials. 

The US and European Union have sanctioned extremist Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian health ministry has decried the killing of ambulance driver Mohammed Awadallah during an attack by illegal Israeli settlers near the village of al-Sawiya, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health regarded Awadallah's death as the "deliberate killing of an ambulance driver …  while he was performing his humanitarian duty in transporting casualties shot by settlers."

It also blamed Israeli forces of blocking the movement of ambulance crews near Tulkarem Governmental Hospital.

"This attack is added to the series of daily horrific crimes committed by the occupation forces and settlers against all workers in the humanitarian health field, and the targeting and destruction of treatment centers in the Gaza Strip," the ministry said.

PRCS volunteer paramedic Mohammed Awad Allan was tragically killed today while providing medical assistance to those wounded by settlers' gunfire in the town of Al-Sawiya, Nablus district. He served as a volunteer with the Qaryut Ambulance Committee, a PRCS initiative in… pic.twitter.com/PNHHpfvlL0

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) April 20, 2024

Israel will summon ambassadors of countries that voted for full Palestinian UN membership "for a protest talk" on Sunday, a foreign ministry spokesman said.

It came after the Palestinian Authority said it would "reconsider" its relationship with the United States after Washington vetoed the Palestinian membership bid earlier this week.

Thursday's vote saw 12 countries on the UN Security Council back a resolution recommending full Palestinian membership and two -- Britain and Switzerland -- abstain.

Only the United States, Israel's staunchest ally, voted against, using its veto to block the resolution.

On Saturday, Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said the ministry "will summon for a protest talk the ambassadors of the countries that voted in the Security Council in favour of upgrading the status of the Palestinians in the UN".

"The ambassadors of France, Japan, South Korea, Malta, the Slovak Republic and Ecuador will be summoned tomorrow for a demarche, and a strong protest will be presented to them," he said in a post on X.

"An identical protest will be presented to additional countries," he said.

The draft resolution called for recommending to the General Assembly "that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership of the United Nations" in place of its current "non-member observer state" status, which it has held since 2012.

The majority of the UN's 193 member states -- 137, according to a Palestinian count -- have recognised a Palestinian state.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said Saturday at least 14 people have been killed in an Israeli raid on Nur Shams refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank.

"So far, our crews have evacuated 14 martyrs from Nur Shams camp to the hospital," it said.

Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attacks by Hamas have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest against the Israeli government, demand the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and early elections.

Demonstrators could be seen holding placards that read 'Ceasefire Now' and waving Israeli flags amid the protest- as they head to the Defense Ministry building.

The demonstrations have continued as the war in Gaza reaches its seventh month and in the midst of increasing anger over the government's handling of reaching a ceasefire deal that would free 133 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.

The New Arab's Arabic language sister site Al Araby Jadeed have reported that two Palestinians were killed and others were injured- following an Israeli strike on a refugee camp that houses displaced Gazans in Khan Younis' al-Mawasi district.

This comes after Al Araby Jadeed reported earlier that Israeli forces targeted two houses- one in al-Mawasi and the other in Gaza City's Al-Shati refugee camp.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday the approval by the US House of Representatives of billions of dollars in new military aid showed strong support for Israel and "defends Western civilization".

In a post on X, he said: "The US Congress just overwhelmingly passed a much appreciated aid bill that demonstrates strong bipartisan support for Israel and defends Western civilization. Thank you friends, thank you America!"

Israeli forces have stormed the Martyr Thabeth Thabeth Governmental Hospital in the West Bank city of Tulkarm and have also attacking medical staff members, Al Jazeera English reports.

The news publication added that soldiers additionally detained a paramedic crew within in the vicinity of the hospital.

Israel's foreign minister said Saturday the US House of Representatives' approval of billions of dollars in new military aid "sends a strong message to our enemies".

"The vote on the Israel aid package with an overwhelming bipartisan support proves the strong ties and strategic partnership between Israel and the US, and sends a strong message to our enemies," Israel Katz posted on X.

"I hope it passes the Senate soon with strong bipartisan support."

Israelis are set to take part in anti-government protests across Israel, including in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Be'er Sheva, Caesarea and Haifa tonight, according to Israeli media outlets.

The families of captives and supporters have continued to protest for elections- as well as the government's handling of securing a ceasefire to free the hostages held by Hamas. 

A bipartisan majority of the US House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill allocating additional funds to Israel on Saturday, part of a package of bills worth $95 billion in total that will send aid to key allies around the world.

Voting continued in the Republican-controlled chamber.

Gaza's government media office has issued a statement to deny the total number of aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip.

In a press release, the media office said on a daily basis ranges between 130 and 150 trucks- adding that the Israeli "narrative" co-signed by the US that there are around 300 aid trucks entering the besieged territory daily "is a complete lie and a falsification of reality".

The office also said that areas in Gaza's north continue to suffer from a real food crisis and that the famine must be stopped by opening all border crossings. 

According to the media office, only more than 2,800 trucks have entered Gaza since the beginning of April. 

"The occupation deliberately lies about the humanitarian reality inside the Gaza Strip, and has been promoting a false narrative for some time about improvements in the mechanism of bringing aid in and increasing the number of trucks entering the Strip," the statement read.

"This was denied by the World Food Programme, when it announced last Thursday that only 392 aid trucks loaded with food had entered the Gaza Strip during the month of April."

The media office said its statistics were aligned with those of the UN- which was confirmed in a post on X that only 392 aid trucks have arrived in Gaza since the start of April.

🔴This week in #Gaza, 3 WFP convoys with enough food and wheat flour for nearly 80,000 people crossed into the north from the Erez crossing for the first time.

🔴So far in April, 392 trucks carrying food have entered Gaza. This is nearly the same rate as March but half that… pic.twitter.com/yADEKaR1wc

— World Food Programme (@WFP) April 18, 2024

The Palestinian Authority will "reconsider" its relationship with the United States after Washington vetoed a Palestinian bid for full UN membership earlier this week, president Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday.

"The Palestinian leadership will reconsider bilateral relations with the United States to ensure the protection of our people's interests, our cause, and our rights," Abbas told the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Wafa said his remarks came "on the heels of the United States' use of veto power" at the UN Security Council.

Thursday's vote saw 12 countries on the Council back a resolution recommending full Palestinian membership and two - Britain and Switzerland - abstain.

Only the United States, Israel's staunchest ally, voted against, using its veto to block the resolution.

Abbas said the Palestinian leadership will "develop a new strategy to protect Palestinian national decisions independently and follow a Palestinian agenda rather than an American vision or regional agendas".

He said Palestinians would "not remain hostage to policies that have proven their failure and have been exposed to the entire world".

And he said the stance of the US government had "generated unprecedented anger among the Palestinian people and the region's populations, potentially pushing the region towards further instability, chaos and terrorism".

Muhammad Awadallah Muhammad Musa, an ambulance driver, was killed during a settler attack near the village of as-Sawiya, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank - the Gaza Health Ministry says.

The ministry says he was heading to the village to transport those who were injured in a settler attack there.

Israeli occupation forces are continuing to block paramedics and ambulances from entering the Nur Shams refugee camp, where forces have been conducting raids and killing civilians.

10 people have been killed, including a teenager, 11 have been injured, and 30 have been detained.

Forces also prevented ambulances from transporting wounded civilians last night during clashes in the town of Beit Furik, Nablus district.

A video shows occupation soldiers obstructing the work of PRCS ambulances last night in transporting the wounded during clashes in the town of Beit Furik, Nablus district. #NotATarget #IHL pic.twitter.com/l7AxmiQ7wv

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) April 20, 2024

Three Hezbollah fighters were killed Saturday in an Israeli strike on a house in southern Lebanon, a source close to the Iran-backed group told AFP.

"Three Hezbollah fighters were killed and two others seriously wounded in an Israeli air strike on a house in the area of Al-Jebbayn", the source, who asked to remain anonymous, said.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported earlier on Saturday that "enemy aircraft carried out a strike targeting a house in Al-Jebbayn, and rescue teams were headed to the area."

Hezbollah said it had fired on several Israeli targets, including soldiers and spy equipment.

Polish national airline LOT restored flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut on Saturday, a spokesperson was quoted as saying by state news agency PAP, a day after it cancelled them due to frictions in the region.

"Due to the stabilization of the situation in the region, LOT Polish Airlines decided to resume flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut," Krzysztof Moczulski told PAP. 

(Reuters)

China's foreign minister Wang Yi on Saturday said efforts to admit a Palestinian state into the United Nations were a move to rectify a prolonged injustice, state media Xinhua reported.

He made the comments at a joint press conference with his Papua New Guinea counterpart during a visit to the country.

The United States on Thursday effectively stopped the UN from recognising a Palestinian state by casting a veto in the Security Council to deny Palestinians full membership of the world body.

"A prompt admission of Palestine into the United Nations is a move to rectify a prolonged historical injustice," Xinhua quoted Wang as saying.

(Reuters)

Thousands of protesters are gathering in Berlin on Saturday in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Posters can be heard chanting "Viva, viva Palestina" and "Viva, Viva Gaza" while holding Palestine flags and posters.

Germany has imposed severe restrictions on demonstrations in support of Palestine, from banning displays of the Palestinian flag or wearing the keffiyeh.

Thousands are demonstrating in Berlin in solidarity with #Palestine and #Gaza 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/kLcqC9Sx7v

— V PALESTINE 🇵🇸 (@V_Palestine20) April 20, 2024

Thousands attended a funeral held in Poland on Saturday for Damian Sobol - one of the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in a target Israeli drone strike on 1 April.

The procession was held at the Przemysl train station.

Mourners in Poland’s Przemysl attend a funeral procession for Damian Sobol, a member of the World Central Kitchen food charity who was killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza. pic.twitter.com/WlszQD4fc8

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) April 20, 2024

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Palestinians to unite amid Israel's war in Gaza following hours-long talks with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul on Saturday, his office said.

Erdogan has sought but failed to establish a foothold as a mediator in Israel's war on Gaza since 7 October.

"It is vital that Palestinians act with unity in this process. The strongest response to Israel and the path to victory lie in unity and integrity," Erdogan said, according to a Turkish presidency statement.

Israeli colonist militias attacked the Palestinian village of Al-Sawiya, located south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank - WAFA news agency reports.

Sources told the agency that dozens of colonists from the illegal Eli settlement attacked Palestinians' homes in the eastern area of the village, fired live ammunition and threw stones at the residents. 

No casualties or injuries were reported, and villagers were able to repel the attackers.

An Iranian attack on an Israeli desert air base on Saturday as part of Tehran's unprecedented assault on the country damaged a taxiway, a satellite image analysed by The Associated Press on Saturday shows.

The overall damage done to the Nevatim air base in southern Israel was minor despite Iran launching hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. Israeli air defences and fighter jets, backed by the US, the United Kingdom and neighbouring Jordan, shot down the vast majority of the incoming fire.

The tension between Israel and Iran should not distract from the situation in Gaza, and the first priority of the international community should be ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.

Fidan was speaking in Istanbul on Saturday during Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry's visit. Shoukry urged Iran and Israel to exercise restraint.

Fidan said the main cause of instability in the Middle East was Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and Western backing for Israel.

"Any development that could distract us from this fact should be ignored," he said. "Our first priority should be ending Israel's occupation in Palestine and a two-state solution."

Barbados has officially announced its decision to recognise Palestine as a state, becoming the 11th Caribbean Community member to do so.

The nation's Foreign Minister Kerrie Symmonds said: "How can we say we want a two-state solution if we do not recognise Palestine as a State."

"I think, an error that we have made through the years and to correct that, and now, we have formally reached out to the State of Palestine to signal our intention to formally recognise them as a State."

The minister also said that the announcement does not affect the country's relationship with Isreal.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Saturday an overnight Israeli strike killed nine members of a Palestinian family, including six children, in the southern city of Rafah.

Five children aged one to seven and a 16-year-old girl were among the dead, along with two women and a man, according to the city's Al Najjar hospital.

"Nine martyrs including six children were pulled out from the rubble after Israeli air forces struck a house of the Radwan family in Tal al-Sultan in Rafah," Gaza Civil Defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said in a statement.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas slammed the US's decision to veto the UN Security Council motion, saying that it abandons all promises regarding a two-state solution and hopes for peace.

In an interview with Palestinian news agency Wafa on Saturday, Abbas called out the US for its "double standards" in providing Israel with weapons and support that "kill our children and destroy our homes".

"While the world agrees on the application of international law and stands by the Palestinian right, America continues to support the occupation, refusing to compel Israel to stop its genocidal war," he said.

Abbas said that the US veto "constitutes a blatant aggression against the rights, history, land, and sanctities of the Palestinian people, challenging the will of the international community."

Read more about what the US veto means for chances of a Palestinian state in The New Arab here.

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh began talks with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Saturday as Middle East tensions run high, Turkish media reported.

"We will keep the agenda between us and Mr Haniyeh," Erdogan said when questioned by journalists on Friday. Hamas said the war in Gaza would figure in the talks.

Turkish media reported that the meeting at the Dolmabahce palace on the banks of the Bosphorus began shortly after 2:30 pm (1130 GMT).

Israeli forces have been shelling the town of al-Mughraqa, just north of Nuseirat refugee camp - according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

Residents of the camp have been facing intense bombardment, destroying three homes in an airstrike.

Crowds of protesters gathered on Saturday in Buenos Aires in solidarity with Palestine and condemning Israel's occupation and genocide.

Protesters gathered at Buenos Aires' Plaza de Mayo, holding Palestinian flags and banners, demanding a ceasefire and halt to Israel's occupation.

They also called for an end to Argentina's ties with Israeli water distribution company Mekorot, which has signed cooperation agreements with several Argentine provinces.

▶️ Dozens of protesters gathered at Buenos Aires' Plaza de Mayo in support of the people in Gaza@PressTV - #Palestine pic.twitter.com/Hd68YIkyhA

— Suat Kılıçtaş (@Suatklcts) April 19, 2024

The Israeli army said Saturday that security forces killed alleged "10 terrorists" in an ongoing raid around Nur Shams, a refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank.

"Security forces eliminated 10 terrorists during encounters" over more than 40 hours, the army said in a statement.

The forces have been raiding the camp for almost 40 hours now, killing at least five people, including a teenager.

 The US Central Command denied in a statement that it had carried out any airstrikes in Iraq.

Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.

Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda has revealed how Israel's war on Gaza has impacted Gaza's seawater.

Owda reveals the occupation has destroyed sewage purification plants and the infrastructure.

Sharing on Instagram, the journalist shows the contaminated sea and compares it to the normal "colour" of the ocean.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Bisan Owda (@wizard_bisan1)

Overall, Israeli forces have injured a total of 11 Palestinians and detained 30 Palestinians in its raid of the Nur Shams refugee camp east of the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian Prisoners Society.

Five civilians were killed in the raid. The injured were taken to the Thabet Thabet Government Hospital.

Ilhan Omar has spoken out after her daughter, Isra Hirsi, was suspended from Barnard College after taking part in a pro-Palestine protest at Colombia University.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Omar says: "I am enormously proud of my daughter @israhirsi. She has always led with courage and compassion."

"Stepping up to change what you can’t tolerate is why we as a country have the right to speech, assembly, and petition enshrined in our constitution."

I am enormously proud of my daughter @israhirsi.
She has always led with courage and compassion, from organizing a statewide school walk out on the 20th anniversary of Columbine at the age of 15, to leading the biggest youth climate rally at our nation’s Capitol at 16, and now…

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 19, 2024

Josep Borrell Fontelles, the Europes Union foreign policy chief, has announced the EU has decided to sanction extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, the chief wrote: "The EU has decided to sanction extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem for serious human rights abuses against Palestinians."

"We strongly condemn extremist settler violence: perpetrators must be held to account."

Israeli settlers have been intensifying their attacks on Palestinians and their properties in the West Bank as Israel continues its war on Gaza.

The EU has decided to sanction extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem for serious human rights abuses against Palestinians.

We strongly condemn extremist settler violence: perpetrators must be held to account. https://t.co/eAXVnGVcfp

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) April 19, 2024

The Israeli military sealed off the entrance of Turmus Ayya, northeast of the West Bank city of Ramallah - WAFA news agency reports.

Local sources say the military closed the main entrance of the town, restricting the movement of commuters into and out of the town and causing traffic congestion.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Saturday urged both Iran and Israel to exercise restraint amid high tensions in the Middle East.

Separately, Shoukry said Egypt would host a Turkish delegation to prepare for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's upcoming visit to Turkey.

(Reuters)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said he addressed the "grave situation" in Gaza and how to step up humanitarian aid to the Israeli-besieged territory with Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry during a meeting on Saturday in Istanbul.

"We have discussed what more we can do to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, and what can be done in the long run for a two-state solution," Fidan told a joint news conference with Shoukry.

(Reuters)

One person was killed and eight wounded in an overnight explosion at an Iraqi military base housing a coalition of pro-Iranian armed groups, officials said Saturday.

The explosion hit the Kalsu military base in Babylon province south of Baghdad, where Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces, or Hashed al-Shaabi, is stationed.

It comes days after Iran launched an unprecedented assault on Israel, which reportedly responded with a drone strike on the Islamic Republic, amid tensions fuelled by Israel's war on Gaza.

An Israeli airstrike destroyed Gaza's largest pharmaceutical factory, according to the Deir al-Balah municipality. 

The factory accused Israel of "deliberately" targeting the healthcare system to make Gaza uninhabitable. 

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday told Lebanese Premier Najib Mikati that France would do "everything in its power" to stop violence spiralling between Lebanon and Israel, his office said.

Macron told Mikati in Paris that he would "continue to act for Lebanon's stability" to protect it from escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Seven more Palestinians have been injured in Israeli forces' ongoing raid of the Tulkarem's' Nur Shams refugee camp in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

The raid has since killed at least five Palestinians, including a child, while at least four casualties were rushed to the hospital.

The US House of Representatives is poised to hold a crucial vote on Saturday on a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan - and a possible ban of TikTok.

The votes on the $95 billion foreign aid and arms bills are expected to begin at 1:00 pm (1700 GMT), and embattled Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will need Democratic votes to pass them.

The bills are the product of months of acrimonious negotiations, pressure from US allies and repeated pleas for assistance from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday that Iran will respond at an immediate and "maximum level" if Israel acts against its interests.

"If Israel wants to do another adventurism and acts against the interests of Iran, our next response will be immediate and will be at the maximum level," Amirabdollahian said, speaking through a translator, in an interview with NBC News.

His comments follow reports of an Israeli strike on Iran early Friday.

(Reuters)

Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 34,049 Palestinians and wounded 76,901 since 7 October, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Saturday.

Thirty-seven Palestinians have been killed and 68 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added. 

The White House has no comment on reports of Israeli attacks in Iran overnight, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday.

The White House's lack of comment is a departure from its routine of weighing in on the latest developments in Israel's war on Gaza.

(Reuters)

The UN World Food Program has agreed to help deliver aid for the starving civilians of Gaza once the US military completes a pier for transporting the humanitarian assistance by sea, US officials said Friday.

The involvement of the UN agency could help resolve one of the major obstacles facing the US-planned project — the reluctance of aid groups to handle the on-the-ground distribution of food and other badly needed goods in Gaza, absent significant changes by Israel.

The UAE said Friday it had launched a major relief operation in the Gaza Strip's bombed out second city of Khan Yunis, where it plans to rehabilitate a key hospital.

In a statement carried by the official WAM news agency, the UAE said it was the first foreign government to deliver aid to the city whose residents have begun to return after Israeli troops pulled back in early April, ending months of heavy fighting.

"A team of volunteers headed to Khan Yunis on a wide-scale field relief tour, during which they provided the necessary support to Palestinian families with the support of the UAE," WAM said.

An annual Jewish pilgrimage to Tunisia's Djerba synagogue and celebration has been cancelled due to the war on Gaza, the head of the organising committee, Perez Trabelsi, told Reuters on Friday.

Trabelsi added that the committee has reduced the annual pilgrimage to limited rituals only inside the temple, and expects a very small number to arrive from France due to the tense situation in the Middle East.

"How do we celebrate when people die every day?," he said.

The southern island of Djerba, a holiday destination, is home to Africa’s oldest synagogue. The annual pilgrimage attracts thousands of Jews from Israel and several European countries.

(Reuters)

An international humanitarian relief effort in the form of a Freedom Flotilla Coalition was getting ready Friday to leave the western Turkish port of Tuzla and bring much-needed relief to residents of war-torn Gaza.

Organisers said at least three vessels carrying some 5,000 tons of food, drinking water, and medical aid were awaiting Turkish authorities' green light to set sail from the port on the Sea of Marmara, south of Istanbul.

Some 280 activists, rights campaigners, lawyers and doctors from more than 30 countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada, Norway, Spain, Malaysia and Germany, have joined the mission to Gaza.