Live Updates: Biden acknowledges 30,000+ Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza

Friday, March 8, 2023

04:30 GMT — Biden acknowledges 30,000+ Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza

US President Joe Biden has said Israel's war in besieged Gaza "has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined," acknowledging over 30,000 Palestinians were killed in last 153 days, including thousands of women and children.

Biden also announced that the US military will set up a temporary port off Gaza as Israel tightens its chokehold on the enclave, even though its main ally Washington has been airdropping aid in Gaza but also has reportedly approved 100 military sales to Tel Aviv since October 7.

The US President said the temporary pier on the Gaza coast will "enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance" going to Gaza, adding there will no US military boots on the ground.

04:00 GMT — 'Stop arming Israel': US protesters rally amid Biden SOTU

Pro-Palestinian activists have carried out demonstrations across key parts of the US capital as President Joe Biden prepares to deliver the annual State of the Union address.

Hundreds of demonstrators demanding an immediate ceasefire in the besieged Gaza unfurled a large Palestinian flag and staged a sit-in on a major roadway the president would normally use to reach the Capitol building, just minutes before he is set to address a joint session of Congress.

"Biden's legacy is genocide," read one banner that was unfurled on Pennsylvania Ave. Another contained a list of the names of the thousands of children who have been killed in Gaza since October.

03:26 GMT — Hamas calls killings of 27 Palestinians in Israeli jails as 'war crimes'

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has said that the spate of killing of Palestinians from besieged Gaza held by the Israeli army at military facilities are "war crimes" that require an international probe.

In a statement, Hamas said that what Israeli media revealed on the deaths of 27 Palestinians while they were being held at Israeli military facilities is "further evidence of the scale of the crimes, violations and atrocities that Palestinian detainees are exposed to in occupation prisons."

The statement also said that such incidents require an international investigation by international legal groups.

03:00 GMT — Israel kills, wounds 'dozens of civilians' in Gaza strikes

Israel has killed and wounded dozens of Palestinian civilians in a series of aerial attacks targeting different areas in besieged Gaza, WAFA news agency said, citing local and medical sources.

At least nine Palestinian civilians were killed in Deir al Balah, at least one near the Al-Nabulsi and Al-Kuwait roundabouts, and another one in Jabalia.

"Israeli occupation forces opened machine gunfire on civilians awaiting for aid trucks near the Al-Nabulsi and Al-Kuwait roundabouts in the west and south of Gaza City," WAFA said, resulting in casualties.

02:21 GMT — Top English cleric 'deeply horrified' by Israeli carnage

England's top cleric, the archbishop of Canterbury, has said that he is "deeply horrified" by Israel's bombardments and siege of Gaza and condemned the killing of Palestinian civilians.

"I condemn the killing of Palestinian civilians, the destruction of homes and neighbourhoods, and pushing people to the brink of starvation – there is no moral justification for this," Justin Welby said on X.

His remarks came after his conversation with Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Christian pastor and theologian.

02:00 GMT — Pro-Palestine protestors shut down office of New York Rep. Adriano Espaillat

A group of pro-Palestine protestors have temporarily shut down the office of US Representative Adriano Espaillat in protest of his support for Israel and taking donations from the pro-Israel lobby group, American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

In a video that went viral on social media, protestors were heard chanting: "Espaillat, you are a liar", "Espaillat, you cannot hide" and "You set Gaza on fire."

Protestors accused the New York congressperson of supporting "Palestinian suffering" and taking $30,000 in donations from AIPAC.

For our live updates from Thursday, March 7, click here.