Scores of bodies found as Israel withdraws from Gaza City's Shujaiya

Argentina designated Hamas a terrorist organization Friday and ordered a freeze on the financial assets of the Palestinian group, a largely symbolic move as President Javier Milei seeks to align Argentina strongly with the US and Israel .

Announcing the decision, Milei's office cited the Palestinian group's cross-border attack on Israel last October 7 that killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.

The statement also mentioned Hamas' close ties to Iran, which Argentina blames for two deadly militant attacks on Jewish sites in the country.

Yemen's Houthis targeted "vessel Charysalis" twice in both the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait with a number of ballistic and naval missiles and drones, the Iran-aligned group's military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Friday.

The Houthi militia, which controls the most populous parts of Yemen, has staged attacks on ships in the waters off the country for months in solidarity with Palestinians suffering Israeli bombardment in Gaza.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said later on Friday that US forces destroyed three drones in Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres declared on Friday that there is no alternative to the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA and 118 countries backed the relief organization as indispensable, amid stepped up efforts by Israel to dismantle it.

UNRWA provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Since Israel's war on Gaza began nine months ago, UN officials have stressed UNRWA is the backbone of aid operations.

"My appeal to everyone is this: Protect UNRWA, protect UNRWA staff, and protect UNRWA's mandate - including through funding," Guterres told an UNRWA pledging conference in New York on Friday. "Let me be clear: there is no alternative to UNRWA."

Israel has long tried to undermine UNRWA, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for it to be dismantled and Israel's parliament currently considering designating UNRWA as a terrorist organization.

Several countries halted their funding to UNRWA following unproven Israeli accusations that some of the agency's staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Most donors however have since resumed their funding.

Israeli forces fatally shot Ali Muwaffaq Musa Muzahim, 26, in Abwein, northwest of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.

Mayor Mahmoud Hamad stated that Muzahim was killed during an Israeli raid on the town. He was taken to a nearby health center in Jaljulia where he was pronounced dead.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society also transported another critically injured person from Abwein.

Hamas has accused Israel of committing severe abuses in Gaza City's Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, alleging "heinous abuses" following Israeli forces' withdrawal this morning.

Gaza’s Civil Defence has reported finding over 60 bodies in the aftermath of intense bombing and incursions that targeted every aspect of life.

In a statement, Hamas described the actions as war crimes involving genocide and ethnic cleansing.

"The atrocities revealed after the terrorist occupation army’s withdrawal from Tal al-Hawa in southwest Gaza City, after days of incursion and intense bombing that targeted all aspects of life, are war crimes of genocide and ethnic cleansing," the group said.

The group called on the UN, International Criminal Court, and International Court of Justice to intervene urgently, denouncing what they termed a "war of extermination" by Israel against Palestinians.

Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, addressed the UNRWA pledging conference at the UN headquarters in New York. Here are the key points he highlighted:

Despite hopes for improvement, the situation in Gaza has worsened, with Palestinian civilians facing increasingly dire conditions. Guterres described the plight of Palestinians in Gaza as akin to being trapped in "ever deeper circles of hell," forced to move constantly with no safe refuge, as everywhere is a potential danger zone.

Guterres called for political courage and will from all parties to reach a ceasefire agreement, emphasizing that while the horrific attacks by Hamas on October 7 are indefensible, so too is the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. He noted that Palestinians are enduring the deadliest period since the creation of UNRWA.

Guterres also highlighted the heavy toll on UNRWA staff, with 195 employees killed, the highest staff death toll in UN history.

UNRWA workers have faced violent protests and disinformation campaigns, yet they continue their work amid their own grief and under impossible conditions. He urged the international community to support UNRWA and its staff, stressing the need for funding and protection to continue delivering aid to Palestinians in desperate need.

Guterres thanked those who have already pledged support and made a heartfelt appeal to protect UNRWA’s mission and personnel.

The UN's top court will next week hand down its view on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967, a case in which some 52 countries made submissions.

Any opinion delivered by the International Court of Justice would be non-binding, but it will come amid mounting international legal pressure on Israel over the brutal war in Gaza.

"A public sitting will take place at the Peace Palace in The Hague (on July 19)... during which Judge Nawaf Salam... will read out the Advisory Opinion," the ICJ said on Friday.

The ICJ held a week-long session in February to hear submissions from countries following a request from the United Nations late last year.

The UN has asked the ICJ to hand down an "advisory opinion" on the "legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem".

Most speakers during the hearings have demanded that Israel end its occupation, which came after a six-day Arab-Israeli war in 1967.

But the United States said Israel should not be legally obliged to withdraw without taking its "very real security needs" into account.

Speakers also warned a prolonged occupation posed an "extreme danger" to stability in the Middle East and beyond.

Israel did not take part in the oral hearings.

It submitted a written contribution, in which it described the questions the court had been asked as "prejudicial" and "tendentious".

The case before the court is separate from one brought by South Africa against Israel for alleged genocide during its current offensive in Gaza.

PRESS RELEASE: the #ICJ will deliver its Advisory Opinion in respect of the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem on 19 July 2024 at 3 p.m. https://t.co/y0CgVd2hss Watch live @UNWebTV pic.twitter.com/C9skl1mAGN

— CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) July 12, 2024

According to Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary, aid workers from were targeted at a distribution point in Khan Younis while preparing to distribute aid.

The attack led to the killing of four of their aid workers earlier today.

The workers were affiliated with Al-Khair Foundation, a British organization operating from Istanbul, that was said to be providing food and other essential commodities in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the conflict.

Khoudary added that the foundation has a significant presence in Gaza with numerous aid workers on the ground.

Israeli forces have previously targeted aid workers, including an attack on the World Central Kitchen in April.

News publication Al Jazeera English have reported the Israeli army air attacked the south Lebanese towns of Tyre Harfa and Kfar Kila.

AJE also reported that an Israeli drone also targeted a motorcycle near the village of Mari.

The civil defence agency in Gaza said Friday that about 60 bodies had been found in an initial search of two Gaza City districts where Israeli troops ended an offensive.

The bodies were found in the Tal al-Hawa and Al-Sinaa districts, the agency said. Israeli troops had pulled out after days of battles, the agency and residents said.

This was not immediately confirmed by Israel.

Civil defence and medical teams had "recovered approximately 60 martyrs since the moment the Israeli occupation army withdrew this morning," an agency statement said.

"There are still missing people under the rubble of destroyed homes, which is difficult for our crews to reach," agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said in the statement. "There are reports that many people are missing since the first day of the incursion."

Israeli forces moved into Tal al-Hawa and neighbouring districts including Al-Rimal again this week after ordering civilians to evacuate on Monday. Residents have reported widespread new destruction.

Israel has since warned residents of virtually all of Gaza City that it is now a "dangerous" combat zone.

"There are many calls for help but we just cannot reach them," Bassal said. "We just do not have enough crews."

He added that the Sabha Medical Centre, near the Gaza City district of Shujaiya, which provides care for 60,000 residents, had been destroyed in the new fighting.

Hezbollah have claimed a strike on an Israeli military position in the northern Hanita settlement, following continued clashes on the Lebanon border.

The Lebanese movement struck Israeli soldiers at around 9:50am local time as they conducted work along the contentious border, although no details on casualties were reported.

On Thursday, an Israeli soldier was killed following a suspected Hezbollah drone strike in northern Israel.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad's armed wing says it targeted Israeli soldiers stationed at and around the Rafah border crossing gate.

Al-Quds Brigades say they used mortars to attack the troops at the crossing between southern Gaza and Egypt.

According to Palestinian media, an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza town of Al Mawasi resulted in the killings of four international aid workers.

 The reports state that the strike targeted a warehouse that was storing humanitarian aid supplies.

The civil defence agency in Gaza told news agency AFP on Friday that about 40 bodies had been found in an initial search of two Gaza City districts after Israeli troops had ended an offensive.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said the bodies were found in the Tal al-Hawa and al-Sinaa districts where the Israeli military said it had withdrawn on Friday after its latest operation.

"Up to now, about 40 bodies have been found," he said, adding that dozens more were feared buried under the rubble.

Israeli and Egyptian ceasefire negotiators are in talks about an electronic surveillance system along the border between Gaza and Egypt that could allow Israel to pull back its troops from the area if a ceasefire is agreed, according to two Egyptian sources and a third source familiar with the matter told news agency Reuters.

The question of whether Israeli forces stay on the border is one of the issues blocking a potential ceasefire deal because both Hamas and Egypt, a mediator in the talks, are opposed to Israel keeping its forces there.

Israel says that if its troops leave the border zone, referred to by Israel as the Philadelphi corridor, Hamas' armed wing could smuggle in weapons and supplies from Egypt into Gaza via tunnels that would allow it to re-arm and again threaten Israel.

A surveillance system, if the parties to the negotiations agree on the details, could therefore smooth the path to agreeing a ceasefire - though numerous other stumbling blocks remain.

Discussions around a surveillance system on the border have been reported before, but Reuters is reporting for the first time that Israel is engaging in the discussions as part of the current round of talks, with a view to pulling back forces from the border area.

The source familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the discussions are about "basically sensors that would be built on the Egyptian side of the Philadelphi (corridor)."

"The idea is obviously to detect tunnels, to detect any other ways that they'd be trying to smuggle weapons or people into Gaza. Obviously this would be a significant element in a hostage agreement."

Asked if this would be significant for a ceasefire deal because it would mean Israeli soldiers would not have to be on the Philadelphi corridor, the source said: "Correct."

After Reuters published this article, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying it was "absolute fake news" that Israel is discussing withdrawing from the Philadelphi corridor.

"The prime minister insists that Israel remain on the Philadelphi corridor. He has instructed the negotiating teams accordingly, made this clear to US representatives this week, and updated the Security Cabinet to this effect last night," the statement said.

Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "leading Israel to destruction," warning that "if the current government continues until 2026, there will be no state."

Speaking to Israeli news outlet Maariv, he stated, "Undoubtedly, we are in the midst of the most dangerous crisis since the establishment of the state, a crisis of significant political, security, and economic dimensions. But every crisis is also an opportunity, and we must seize it."

Lieberman criticized Netanyahu, saying, "Netanyahu doesn't know how to manage anything. He is truly a highly talented person and one of the best marketers, if not the best, in global politics and not just in Israel."

He pointed out that Netanyahu has rhetorical skills but his ability to govern is weak, reaching zero. Lieberman added, "Netanyahu's only motivation is the desire to stay in power, another day, another week, another month—that's all."

Hamas is suggesting during ceasefire negotiations that an independent government of non-partisan figures run post-war Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a member of the Palestinian movement's political bureau told news agency AFP Friday.

"We proposed that a non-partisan national competency government manage Gaza and the West Bank after the war", Hossam Badran said in a statement about the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas with mediation from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States.

"The administration of Gaza after the war is a Palestinian internal matter without any external interference, and we will not discuss the day after the war in Gaza with any external parties", Badran added.

A Hamas official told AFP the proposal for a non-partisan government was made "with the mediators".

The government will "manage the affairs of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in the initial phase after the war, paving the way for general elections" said the official, who did not want his name disclosed.

Badran's remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that Israel retain control of the Philadelphi corridor, Gaza territory along the border with Egypt.

This condition conflicts with Hamas's position that Israel must withdraw from all Gaza territory after a ceasefire.

According to Israeli media reports, the Israeli government has endorsed a plan to extend mandatory military service to 36 months for the next eight years, according to Israeli news outlet The Times of Israel.

The decision is scheduled for a vote at the upcoming cabinet meeting on Sunday.

The Israeli army, amidst ongoing conflict over the past nine months, has been focusing on enhancing its military capabilities and recruiting additional personnel.

In June, Israel's Supreme Court ruled to end decades-long exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service, requiring them to be drafted into the military.

Gaza's civil defense reported on social media platform X that it transported two deceased individuals following an Israeli army attack on two residential apartments near the city's municipal park in the western area.

The attack also left five people injured.

A survey by Israeli outlet Maariv reveals that 24 percent of supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition would favor far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir as the next leader once Netanyahu leaves office.

The survey, conducted on July 10 and 11, shows Ben Gvir leading significantly over ex-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen (14 percent) and Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party (11 percent).

Additionally, the poll of 500 Israeli adults indicated that if elections were held today, Benny Gantz’s National Unity party would secure 24 Knesset seats, surpassing Likud’s 20 seats. The current coalition would only win 50 seats, a drop from their current 64 seats.

A Palestinian official from Hebron in the occupied West Bank has accused the Israeli army of attempting to alter the Ibrahimi Mosque by installing a sheet metal roof over its courtyard.

Local Governor Khaled Dodin labeled the action a provocation meant to offend Muslims, cautioning that it could heighten tensions in the region.

Additionally, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group condemned the installation, claiming it is part of Israel's effort to "plan aimed at Judaizing" and alter its Islamic identity.

A Dutch court on Friday rejected a demand by rights groups to order the Netherlands to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts which might end up in Israel.

The case, started by rights groups including the Dutch arm of Oxfam, followed from another district court ruling in February that the Netherlands cannot send F-35 parts to Israel over concerns the planes jets could be involved in breaking international humanitarian law in the war in Gaza.

The NGOs had claimed that the Dutch state stopped the direct export of parts to Israel but continued to deliver fighter jet parts to the US and other countries.

Those parts could then be sent on or used in planes destined for Israel and that should also be stopped under the earlier order.

However, The Hague district court said in a press release that the NGOs' interpretation of the February ruling was too broad and the Dutch state was complying with the export ban as ordered.

Gaza's Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said 85 percent of buildings are now uninhabitable and Shujaiya has been left a "disaster zone".

The discovery came after Israeli troops ended a two-week operation which Gaza's Civil Defence and residents said had left the area in ruins.

Civil defence teams reported on Thursday, around 60 bodies were found under the rubble of Gaza City's eastern Shujaiya neighbourhood.

On Wednesday Israel's army called on all of Gaza City's residents to, for their safety, leave the area which they called "a dangerous combat zone".

The United Nations said up to 350,000 people had been staying in the city.

Israeli strikes killed another 32 people in the Gaza Strip, the health ministry in the Palestinian territory said Friday, more than nine months into Israel's war on the enclave.

In a brief statement, Gaza's health ministry said "32 martyrs, a majority of them children and women, were taken to hospitals overnight, because of continued massacres" by Israeli forces.

Gaza's media reported "more than 70 air strikes" in several parts of the territory. This included locations in Gaza City in the north, Nuseirat refugee camp in the centre, along with Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south, Hamas said.

Israel's military on Friday said troops are continuing operations in Rafah, near the Egyptian border.

In far-northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun, Israeli aircraft struck targets in an area from which projectiles were fired into southern Israel on Thursday, the military added.

According to news publication Al Jazeera English, at least eight individuals have lost their lives in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza.

Their bodies were subsequently taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Among the deceased are a woman and her two sons in Rafah, as well as a man and his son from the Tal as-Sultan neighborhood on the western edge of the city.

Additionally, Al Jazeera English reported that at least four more people were killed in the Nuseirat refugee camp located in central Gaza.

In the southeastern part of Khan Younis, two people sustained critical injuries following an attack by an Israeli quadcopter.

Al Jazeera English also highlighted ongoing heavy artillery shelling in the Remal neighborhood in central Gaza City. The report detailed systematic demolitions of homes, stating that "entire residential blocks are being completely destroyed" in the western parts of the city.

 Israel's military said on Friday that one of its soldiers was killed in combat near the border with Lebanon a day earlier.

The military identified the dead man as a 33-year-old sergeant. It did not specify how he died, but Israel's Haaretz newspaper said he was killed in a drone strike.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah group and Israel have been trading fire for nearly nine months in hostilities that have played out in parallel to the Gaza conflict, raising fears of an all-out war between the heavily armed adversaries.

Israel's military said on Friday that a day earlier it struck a military post in southern Syria in retaliation after a projectile was fired from Syria into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.