Live updates: Bloodshed in Gaza must stop now, says EU chief

Thursday, July 18, 2024

08:00 GMT — EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said that "the bloodshed in Gaza must stop now", adding that too many civilians in the Palestinian territory have lost their lives as a result of Israel's war.

"The people of Gaza cannot bear any more, and humanity cannot bear any more," she told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. "We need an immediate and enduring ceasefire. We need the release of Israeli hostages, and we need to prepare for the day after."

07:30 GMT — Far-right Israeli minister storms Al Aqsa complex, threatening Gaza ceasefire talks

Israel’s far-right national security minister raided the Al Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem, threatening to disrupt Gaza ceasefire talks.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extremist settler leader, said he had gone up to the area to pray for the return of the hostages "but without a reckless deal, without surrendering.”

The move threatens to disrupt sensitive talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire. Israeli negotiators landed in Cairo on Wednesday to continue talks.

The visit also came just days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves for a trip to the United States, where he will address Congress.

Ben-Gvir said while standing in front of the Dome of the Rock that he “is praying and working hard" to ensure that Netanyahu will not to give in to international pressure and will continue with the military offensive in Gaza.

07:00 GMT — Israeli army kills Lebanese Jamaa Islamiya group senior leader

A senior leader of the Lebanese Jamaa Islamiya group was killed in an Israeli drone attack in eastern Lebanon, local media reported.

The Lebanese official news agency NNA said Mahmoud Mohammad Jbara, a senior leader of the group, was killed in Israeli drone airstrike on his car in the Western Bekaa area in eastern Lebanon.

The development comes amid further escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border areas following the threats by the Hezbollah group's Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday to strike new settlements in Israel if the Israeli army continues to target civilians in Lebanon.

05:21 GMT — The United States has announced new visa restrictions against

Israelis who have committed "violent" acts against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, calling on Israel to hold those individuals accountable.

"This is about a broad trend of increased violence that we have sadly seen over the past months and the need for Israel to do more to hold people accountable for it," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.

The measures bar certain Israelis and their loved ones from entering the United States. Miller said Israel's government has taken "some steps to crack down on settler violence in the West Bank," such as arresting some perpetrators.

"But those steps have not been sufficient," he added.

04:23 GMT — Israeli delegation arrives in Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks

An Israeli delegation has arrived in Egypt to press ahead with ceasefire talks, as Israel and Hamas consider the latest proposal.

That's according to three Egyptian airport officials who did not provide further details.

Talks between the sides were rattled over the weekend when Israel said it targeted Hamas' military commander.

03:50 GMT — UN slams comments by spokesperson in Netanyahu's office

The United Nations has said comments by a spokesperson in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office about the head of the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees are "reprehensible" and threatening.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric was responding to comments made by spokesperson David Mencer, who called Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the agency known as UNRWA, "one of the bad guys, a terrorist sympathiser, a Jew-killing enabler, a liar."

Mencer issued the denunciations of Lazzarini on Tuesday after saying that Israeli forces have retrieved "millions of documents and captured enemy material" exposing the involvement of UNRWA employees in Hamas' surprise blitz on October.

03:00 GMT — Russia says Iran, Lebanon and Hezbollah don't want war with Israel

Russia's top diplomat has said the Lebanese group Hezbollah, Iran, and Lebanon's government do not want "a full-blown war – and there's a suspicion that some circles in Israel are trying to achieve just that."

Sergey Lavrov told a UN news conference that Russia is doing "everything possible to calm tensions."

He expressed hope that Western nations make every effort to ensure Israel won't act on what he said US and European analysts are calling Israel's "provocative mindsets."

For our live updates from Wednesday, July 17, 2024, click here.