Gaza Crisis
Live Reporting
Israel-Hamas ceasefire close to the goal line: Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said a long-sought ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is within sight, saying negotiators are “driving toward the goal line”, Reuters reports.
Blinken told the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado that Hamas and Israel had agreed to the ceasefire framework outlined by US President Joe Biden in May after a lot of pushing and diplomacy, but said that some issues needed to be resolved.
Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory illegal: ICJ
The United Nations’ highest court has said that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories are illegal and all states should cooperate to bring an end to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Reuters reports.
The findings by judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), known as the World Court, are not binding but carry weight under international law and may weaken support for Israel.
“Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law,” President Nawaf Salam said, reading the findings of a 15-judge panel.
285pc spike in Israelis leaving country
The number of Israelis who left the country permanently surged 285 per cent following 7 October, according to data published.
Reports based on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), indicate an unprecedented increase in October 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
Fearing Palestinian Authority collapse, EU promises $435m in aid
The European Commission has said it will provide the Palestinian Authority with 400 million euros ($435.5m) in emergency financial support in the coming two months amid concerns within the EU that the authority could collapse, Reuters reports.
The money will be disbursed in the form of grants and loans in three payments between July and September, subject to progress in the implementation of the reform agenda of the Palestinian Authority, the commission said in a statement.
Britain will resume funding to UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA
Britain’s Labour government has said it will resume funding to the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), Reuters reports.
Britain’s foreign minister, David Lammy, told parliament he was reassured that the agency had taken steps to “ensure it meets the highest standards of neutrality”.
“I can confirm to the house that we are overturning the suspension of UNRWA funding, Britain will provide £21 million in funds” to the agency, he said.
Illegal Israeli settlers launch attacks on Palestinians in Nablus: Report
Illegal Israeli settlers have stormed and attacked several Palestinian neighbourhoods in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency.
Near the city of Nablus, settlers threw rocks at Palestinian cars and blocked a road that connects to a nearby illegal Israeli settlement, Wafa reported.
In the Palestinian town of Beit Jala to the north, where settlers previously set up an illegal outpost, dozens more settlers stormed in and raised Israeli flags at a school, according to Wafa.
Israeli settlers, often shielded by Israel’s military, have ramped up attacks in the occupied West Bank since Israel’s war on Gaza broke out last October.
Since then, Israeli forces and settlers have killed 513 people in the territory, according to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The vast majority have been civilians.
Hezbollah praises drone attack on Tel Aviv
Hezbollah showers praise on the recent drone attack on Tel Aviv which was claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
It described it “a triumph for the oppression of the Palestinian people and their fighters.”
The group emphasized that the Yemeni fighters are supporting “the heroic” Palestinian fighters in Gaza, who are defending “all our people and countries of our Arab and Islamic nations.”
Hezbollah said that the struggle will continue until “the aggression and the siege of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is stopped.”
Why are people resorting to eating grass in Gaza?
In northern Gaza, denizens are facing severe food shortages. Vegetables have become a luxury most can't afford.
Naif Radwan, an elderly resident of Jabalia, speaking to the media said prices of the vegetables are skyrocketing. Majority of the people can not stomach such sky-high prices anymore, Radwan lamented.
Aubergines, is being sold for $14 per kilogram, who can afford such a king's ransom? Radwan asked.
Radwan said "I just take a look at it and walk away."
Other vegetables, once affordable at a dollar, now exceed $6.
He claimed that desperate situation is forcing some residents to eat grass.
Disruptors beware: Arrest awaits those who ruffle Netanyahu's speech
US House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that anyone who dares to disrupt Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech during a joint session of Congress on July 24 will be subject to arrest.
UN rapporteur calls out: Israel should 'face the music
Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, has joined a call for Israel to be removed from the United Nations.
Israel's thirst for a catastrophe: Oxfam report
An Oxfam report says that Israel is “creating a deadly health catastrophe“, as it reduced by 94 percent amount of water available in Gaza.
Isreal's strike killed a Hamas commander
According to statements from both the Lebanese group, Hezbollah, and the Israeli army, a second commander of the group was killed within 24 hours of Israeli strikes.
In the last day, Israeli forces also assassinated a senior commander of a Hamas-allied armed group in Lebanon.
Israeli army shells result in five fatalities
The Israeli army shelled a house in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip which killed at least five people.
The attack was followed by a strike that killed at least five in the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp.
Israeli army's ninth circle: Bombing shelters, marking blood
Unabated, the Israeli army bombed its ninth school-turned-shelter in Gaza, marking each site with the blood of innocents.
This time, the forces carried out an attack in Gaza City, which left at least two Palestinians dead.
The deceased were seeking sanctuary among other displaced individuals.
Israel bombards central Gaza as tanks advance deeper in Rafah
CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces bombarded the Gaza Strip's historic refugee camps in the centre of the enclave and struck Gaza City in the north on Thursday (Jul 18), killing at least 21 people, and tanks pushed deeper into Rafah in the south, health officials and residents said.
A barrage of Israeli airstrikes killed 16 in Zawayda town, Bureij and Nuseirat camps and the overcrowded city of Deir-Al-Balah, the last major urban centre in Gaza not to be invaded by Israeli forces, health officials said.
