Israel-Gaza - live: UN says evidence of Gaza mass graves must be preserved as five killed in Rafah strikes
More than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have sought refuge in Rafah
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The UN has called for the preservation of evidence of mass graves in the Gaza Strip after 390 bodies were found at two different burial sites outside the Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals.
The Israeli army said any suggestion of its responsibility was “baseless” and “unfounded” and the graves were “dug by Gazans” a few months ago.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said “it’s important that all forensic evidence be well preserved”.
Earlier, the US demanded “answers” from Israel after mass graves were found outside two hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, at least five people have been killed following Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Palestinian hospital officials have said.
More than half of the territory’s population of 2.3 million have sought refuge in Rafah, where Israel has conducted near-daily raids as it prepares for an offensive in the city.
In central Gaza, four people were killed in Israeli tank shelling.
EU military officer says a frigate has destroyed a drone launched from Yemen's Houthi-held areas
A top European Union military officer said that a frigate that’s part of an EU miliary mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels on Thursday morning.
Austrian Gen. Robert Brieger, who is chair of the EU’s military committee, said that it would be crucial for the bloc to “conserve resources” over the long haul because the threat posed by Houthi attacks “will not disappear” due to its connection to the Israel-Hamas war.
EU military officer says a frigate has destroyed a drone launched from Yemen's Houthi-held areas
A top European Union top military officer says a frigate that’s part of an EU miliary mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels
ICYMI: Bodies found with ‘hands tied’ in mass graves in Gaza
Bodies with their hands tied and without clothes were reportedly found among hundreds of corpses discovered in mass graves in Gaza, the United Nations said.
The organisation said it was reviewing claims more than 300 bodies were discovered at two different burial sites outside the Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals, some of whom were women and elderly people.
Full report:
Bodies found with ‘hands tied’ in mass graves in Gaza
More than 300 bodies were discovered at two mass graves sites outside Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals
UK issues new sanctions against Iran’s drone and missile industry
The UK has announced new sanctions against Iran’s drone and missile industry, Archie Mitchell reports.
Two people linked to the country’s network of drone production, Seyed Mohsen Vahabzadeh Moghadam and Abbas Abdi Asjerd, will be subject to a UK travel ban and asset freeze.
Four companies - Bonyan Danesh Shargh, Pishro Sanat Aseman Sharif Company, Alvand Motorbuilding Industries Company and Moj Gostar Aseman Parvaz Company - will also face a UK asset freeze.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said: "The Iranian regime’s dangerous attack on Israel risked thousands of civilian casualties and wider escalation in the region.
"Today the UK and our partners have sent a clear message - we will hold those responsible for Iran’s destabilising behaviour to account.
"Alongside our partners, we will continue to tighten the net on Iran’s ability to develop and export these deadly weapons."
Israel ‘moving ahead’ with Rafah attack despite US plea
Israel looks to be readying troops for an offensive in the last remaining corner of the Gaza Strip untouched by heavy fighting.
A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military was moving ahead with its plans for a ground operation in Rafah as the Israeli military said that it had mobilised two more reservist brigades for missions in Gaza.
Full report:
Israel ‘moving ahead’ with Rafah attack despite US plea
Israel has mobilised two more brigades for missions in Gaza ahead of a long-threatened offensive in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have fled
ICYMI: Gaza and Ukraine wars sparking breakdown of international law, Amnesty warns
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned as it published its annual report on Wednesday.
The human rights organisation said the most powerful governments, including the United States, Russia and China, have led a global disregard for international rules and values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with civilians in conflicts paying the highest price.
Full report:
Gaza and Ukraine wars sparking breakdown of international law, Amnesty warns
Level of violation of international order seen in past year ‘unprecedented’, human rights group says
Watch: IDF call for ‘urgent action’ after Hamas video of Israeli-American hostage missing part of arm
IDF call for ‘urgent action’ after Hamas video of hostage missing part of arm
The IDF has called for “urgent action” after Hamas released a video of an Israeli-American hostage missing part of an arm. The video shows Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old American-Israeli, who was among scores of people abducted by the militants in the attack that ignited the war in Gaza. In a video message, released late on Wednesday (24 April), the IDF issued an “urgent call for action”, adding “no stone will be left unturned to find our hostages. An IDF spokesman said: “This is a reminder of how sick this terrorist group is.”
ICYMI: Hamas hostage’s parents tell him to ‘stay strong, survive’ after video shows Israeli-American alive in Gaza
The Hamas militant group has released a propaganda video of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, showing him alive but with an amputated left arm.
Mr Goldberg-Polin was among the hundreds of people abducted by Hamas and other Islamist groups during their 7 October attack on southern Israel that led to the ongoing war in Gaza.
Full report:
Hamas hostage’s parents tell him to ‘stay strong, survive’ after video released
Propaganda video shows Hersh Goldberg-Polin criticising the Israeli government
Palestinian authorities seek probe into mass graves at Gaza hospitals
A Palestinian civil defence team on Thursday called on the United Nations to investigate what it said were war crimes at a Gaza hospital, saying nearly 400 bodies were recovered from mass graves after Israeli soldiers departed the complex.
"There are cases of field execution of some patients while undergoing surgeries and wearing surgical gowns at the Nasser Medical Complex," the civil defence forces said at a press conference, without presenting any evidence.
Palestinian authorities have this week reported finding hundreds of bodies in mass graves at Nasser hospital, the main medical facility in central Gaza, after Israeli troops pulled out of the city of Khan Younis.
Bodies were also reported to have been found at the Al Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, which was targeted in an Israeli special forces operation.
UN rights chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday he was "horrified" by the destruction of the Nasser and Al Shifa medical facilities and by the reports of the mass graves, according to a spokesperson.
The Israeli military said claims by Palestinian authorities that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had buried the bodies were "baseless and unfounded".
Hamas hostage’s parents tell him to ‘stay strong, survive’ after video shows Israeli-American alive in Gaza
The Hamas militant group has released a propaganda video of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, showing him alive but with an amputated left arm.
Mr Goldberg-Polin was among the hundreds of people abducted by Hamas and other Islamist groups during their 7 October attack on southern Israel that led to the ongoing war in Gaza.
Full report:
Hamas hostage’s parents tell him to ‘stay strong, survive’ after video released
Propaganda video shows Hersh Goldberg-Polin criticising the Israeli government
Picture shows explosion amid Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon
A picture shows thick clouds of smoke billowing into the sky following an explosion amid Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.
The image appears to show the aftermath of a strike on the village of Alma al-Shaab amid ongoing tensions on the border, exacerbated by the war in Gaza.
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