Israel-Gaza live: More than 52,000 Palestinians ‘displaced by airstrikes’ as Biden shows support for ceasefire
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More than 52,000 Palestinians have been displaced by Israeli airstrikes, the United Nations aid agency said on Tuesday.
About 47,000 of the people displaced people have sought shelter in 58 UN-run schools in Gaza, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told reporters, according to Reuters.
It comes as the Israeli army unleashed a fresh wave of airstrikes on Gaza overnight.
Israel’s army said it was once again targeting an underground “metro” system it says is being used by Hamas operatives to evade surveillance.
The residences of five Hamas commanders were also struck, with the Israeli military asserting that some of the homes had been used as command and control centres, while an anti-tank squad in Gaza City was also targeted.
On Monday, President Joe Biden expressed support for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas rulers in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US leader stopped short of demanding an immediate end to the violence, but “expressed his support for a ceasefire” and “encouraged Israel to make every effort to ensure the protection of innocent civilians,” the White House said.
Mr Biden also renewed his “his firm support for Israel’s right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks,” a readout of the call said.
At least 213 Palestinians have been killed in airstrikes so far, including 61 children, with more than 1,400 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, ten people have been killed in Israel, including two children, Israeli authorities have said.
- A brief history of the Israel-Palestinian conflict
- Israel-Palestine map: Gaza’s conflict hotspots and a history of violence at the border
- Gaza ‘days away’ from blackout as fuel running out after week of bombardment
- ‘I lost my entire family, in an instant’: Miracle baby is sole survivor of Israeli airstrike that kills 10
Blinken says US has received ‘further information’ on destruction of building housing media offices
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the White House has received “further information” from Israel on the destruction of a highrise in Gaza that housed several media offices, including for the Associated Press and Al Jazeera.
“We did seek further information from Israel on this question,” Mr Blinken said at a joint briefing with Iceland’s foreign minister in Reykjavik, he said.
“It’s my understanding that we’ve received some further information through intelligence channels,” he continued.
However, Mr Blinken said the information received was “not something I can comment on”.
Austria summons Turkish ambassador over Israeli flag spat
Austria has summoned the Turkish ambassador to discuss comments from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemning Austrian officials’ decision to fly the Israeli flag over government buildings in a show of solidarity with Israel.
The Israeli flag had been raised over the chancellery and foreign ministry in Vienna on Friday.
In a televised address on Monday, Mr Erdogan said: “I curse the Austrian government which raised the Israeli flag over its (chancellery) building.”
“Flying the flag of a terrorist nation over such an official (building) is akin to living a life with terror,” he said.
“Presumably the Austrian government is trying to make Muslims pay the price of their own genocide against the Jews,” he added, in an apparent reference to the fact that Austria was part of Nazi Germany after its annexation in 1938.
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said Turkey’s ambassador was being summoned over what were branded as “absurd comments” from Mr Erdogan, according to The Associated Press.
The foreign minister said: “It won’t be possible to solve the Middle East conflict while foaming at the mouth.”
“Instead of pouring oil on the fire, Turkey is urgently called on to contribute to de-escalation,” he said.
Additional reporting by AP.
Putin says it is ‘imperative’ to bring fighting to an end
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said it is “imperative” to bring the upsurge of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an end.
Speaking at a ceremony with new foreign ambassadors on Tuesday, Mr Putin noted said “the outburst of confrontation between the Palestinians and the Israelis has already led to a large number of casualties among civilian population, including children”.
“We consider it imperative to end violent actions on both sides and to actively seek a solution based on a relevant resolution of the United Nations Security Council and universally recognized principles of international law,” he said.
Russia has repeatedly called for an end to the violence over the past week, with Mr Putin and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for an end to fighting during a video call.
Nearly half a million people ‘out of reach’, Oxfam says
Oxfam has said it cannot reach at least 450,000 people in Gaza due to the surge of fighting and aerial bombardment from Israel this past week.
In a press release, Oxfam said staff are trying to resume their humanitarian and livelihood efforts with a network of partners.
However, the organisation said that the “destruction and indiscriminate threat to life” make “any emergency aid” to Gaza “impossible to mount”.
“The international agency should be providing food, clean water, sanitation and child protection support but the bombing is making it too dangerous for anyone to leave their homes,” the organisation said.
Oxfam said its water and sanitation team has found many water wells and pumping stations to have been damaged by Israel’s bombardments.
“These facilities are the only way for people living in Gaza to get clean water and any disruption to them creates immediate distress,” the organisation said.
Authorities estimate that 40% of Gaza water supplies have been affected. People are struggling to secure any cash or income to support their basic needs, including for buying food, water, and medicines. Many been forced to spend their savings or trying to sell assets. Many who have lost their homes have been forced into temporary shelters and, for now, humanitarian actors have not been able to set up systems to properly support them with food, water and sanitation facilities.
As many in Gaza struggle to see their basic needs met during the fighting, Oxfam Country Director for the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, Shane Stevenson said it is important to also “remember that Gaza is in the midst of coping with the Covid pandemic too”.
“People need access to water and medicines and hospitals to halt the virus spread and help nurse sufferers to recovery,” Mr Stevenson said. “Adding conflict on top of Covid feels like a recipe for disaster,” he said.
Oxfam has called for an “immediate end to all violence”.
“All parties must comply and adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law,” it said, urging the international community to “immediately work to put an end to both the current escalation of hostilities and the underlying human rights violations and systemic policies of oppression and discrimination which gave rise to it, including the Israeli occupation itself”.
Germany calls for ceasefire and pledges to boost humanitarian support
Germany has called for a ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Hamas, as it offered more aid to help Palestinians on Tuesday.
“An end to the violence is the first priority,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a video statement streamed on social media, according to Reuters.
“Today, I will lobby for a better humanitarian supply in Gaza,” Mr Maas said, asserting that Germany is pledging 40 million euros to boost humanitarian aid for people in Gaza.
His comments came ahead of emergency European Union talks on the conflict.
They also came after US President Joe Biden expressed support for a ceasefire in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Mortar shell fired from Gaza after crossing opened for aid, Israeli army says
The Israeli army has said a mortar shell was fired from Gaza after the country opened the Erez Crossing from Israel into the territory to allow the entry of civilian aid.
“Just after Israel re-opened the Erez Crossing from Israel into Gaza to allow the entry of civilian aid, a mortar shell was fired at the crossing from Gaza, lightly injuring an IDF soldier,” the Israeli army said in a tweet.
The army accused Hamas of prioritising attacks on Israel “over humanitarian aid for Gazans”.
Egypt to dedicate $500 million to rebuilding Gaza
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has announced that his country will dedicate $500 million for reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, El-Sissi’s office said Egyptian firms would aid in rebuilding efforts.
The promise came as fighting between Israel and Hamas raged on for more than a week, with Israeli airstrikes causing major destruction and killing more than 200 Palestinians.
Egypt has sent at least two dozen trucks carrying humanitarian aid and medical supplies to Gaza through the Raffah crossing point.
The country has also received people wounded by the latest airstrikes and will be treating them in Egyptian hospitals.
EU to seek Israeli-Palestinian peace talks with US, Russia and Malta
The European Union is expected to call for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to try to relaunch peace talks, Malta’s foreign minister has said.
Speaking with Reuters, Evarist Bartolo also said the bloc would discuss more humanitarian aid to people in Gaza, where heavy bombardments from Israel have killed more than 200 people and left homes destroyed.
Malta’s foreign minister said US President Joe Biden’s willingness to seeking a solution the “root causes” of the conflict was essential “because unless we address the root causes (the violence) will happen again.”
“I think I’m not being too optimistic [to say] that at a minimum, what will probably come out [the meeting] is the call for a ceasefire, an offer of humanitarian aid, and then seeing how to restart the political process,” Mr Bartolo.
After a ceasefire, he said the EU “work with the United States, work with Russia to try and deal with the situation,” he added.
Patrick Cockburn: ‘Biden’s timid Gaza intervention won’t count for much, but US reaction to Israel has changed'
A growing field of progressive Democrat politicians are distancing themselves from US President Joe Biden over his response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Mr Biden expressed his support for a ceasefire, but stopped short of outright demanding an immediate halt to the violence.
Describing Mr Biden’s approach as “timid”, Patrick Cockburn says that has not always been the road taken by US leaders when it comes to Israel.
Here, he looks at the impact the president’s approach could have:
Biden’s timid Gaza intervention won’t count for much but US reaction against Israel has changed significantly
A generation of progressive Democrat politicians focus on the rights of Palestinians, distancing themselves from the US president, writes Patrick Cockburn
Palestinian protester reportedly killed at demonstration in West Bank
A Palestinian protester was killed and dozens more were wounded at a demonstration in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military has said that protesters opened fire at troops at the demonstration on Tuesday, according to AP.
It said two soldiers were shot in the leg and had to be hospitalised.
The health ministry has said that at least 46 others were wounded in the incident, with 16 suffering bullet wounds.
At least four are in serious condition, it said.
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