Live Updates: Children executed by Israeli forces in raid on Gaza hospital

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

14:55 GMT — More than 250 Palestinians have been killed and injured in an ongoing Israeli raid on al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the government media office said.

The Israeli army raided the facility on Monday, which houses thousands of ill and wounded patients, as well as displaced people.

“Israeli forces heavily opened fire as they stormed the hospital , killing and injuring more than 250 civilians,” the media office said in a statement.

The office said several children were executed by Israeli forces at the hospital, without providing any further details.

The Israeli army said early Tuesday that its forces had killed 50 Palestinians and detained 180 others during its raid on the hospital.

“This is a clear war crime and a brazen violation of international law,” the media office said.

11:54 GMT — Qatar 'cautiously optimistic' as Gaza truce talks progress

Negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release are progressing in Doha and a counter-proposal could soon be presented to Hamas, Qatar said.

"We are at the point now where we are expecting that the counter-proposal would be presented to Hamas, but this is not the final step in the process," foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al Ansari Ansari said.

"I don't think we are at a moment were we can say we are close to a deal. We are cautiously optimistic because talks have resumed, but it's too early to announce any successes."

11:50 GMT — Chinese envoy meets Hamas leader Haniya

In a first such meeting since the October 7, 2023 cross-border Hamas blitz and consequent Israeli war on Gaza, a Chinese Foreign Ministry envoy called on Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in Qatar, Beijing said.

In a brief statement, the Foreign Ministry said Ambassador Wang Kejian met the head of Hamas's political bureau in Doha.

The two "exchanged views on the Gaza conflict and other issues," the statement concluded.

11:16 GMT — Israeli airstrike leaves several dead in Gaza City

Several Palestinians were reported killed when an Israeli warplane struck a house in Gaza City, according to eyewitnesses.

The targeted house was located near Al Shifa Hospital, which was raided by the Israeli army on Monday, the eyewitnesses said.

"Medics are unable to reach the scene of the attack as Israeli forces open fire on any moving object there," one of them told Anadolu.

The enclave's Health Ministry has yet to confirm the fatalities.

The Israeli army on Monday stormed Al Shifa Hospital, which houses thousands of ill and wounded patients, as well as displaced people. According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, around 80 Palestinians were detained from the facility.

10:40 GMT — Israel may be using starvation as 'weapon of war', a 'war crime': UN

The UN has warned that Israel's severe restrictions on aid into war-ravaged Gaza and its ongoing hostilities could mean it is using starvation as a "weapon of war".

"The extent of Israel's continued restrictions on entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which he continues to conduct hostilities may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime," UN rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence told reporters in Geneva, adding that the final determination of whether "starvation is being used as a weapon of war" would be determined by a court of law.

10:29 GMT — Israel spy chief leaves Doha but Gaza talks continue: Qatar

Israel's spy chief has left Doha but talks over a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release are continuing in the Qatari capital, a senior Qatari official has said.

Mossad chief David Barnea "has left Doha," foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al Ansari told a regular briefing, adding that "technical teams are meeting as we speak".

10:29 GMT — Qatar: Israel's Rafah offensive will result in 'atrocities'

An Israeli offensive in Gaza's southern city of Rafah would result in major destruction and "atrocities" that have not been seen in the conflict, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al Ansari has said.

Qatar is cautiously optimistic about the Gaza ceasefire talks, he added during a press conference in Doha

09:39 GMT — Israel quietly launches Rafah assault to avoid 'reactions'

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has stated that Israel initiated its invasion of Rafah "without announcing, to avoid international reactions and without waiting for permission from anyone".

In a statement, the ministry condemned the escalating bombardment and systematic destruction carried out by the Israeli forces in Rafah, asserting that by conducting these attacks, Israel is deliberately disregarding international warnings about the peril of invading the city.

The population of Rafah has swelled to approximately 1.5 million, encompassing hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals from the central and northern areas of Gaza.

09:12 GMT — Death toll in Israel's war on Gaza tops grim 31,819: ministry

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza has said that at least 31,819 people have been killed in the territory during more than five months of Israel's war on Gaza.

The latest toll includes at least 93 deaths and 142 injuries in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 73,934 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war began.

07:40 GMT — Entire Gaza population at 'severe levels of acute food insecurity': Blinken

The entire population of Gaza is experiencing "severe levels of acute food insecurity," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, underscoring the urgency for increasing the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.

"According to the most respected measure of these things, 100 percent of the population in Gaza is at severe levels of acute food insecurity. That's the first time an entire population has been so classified," Blinken told a press conference in the Philippines where he is on an official visit.

Blinken's remarks came on the eve of his return to the Middle East, this time to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to discuss efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and ramp up aid deliveries.

06:48 GMT — Blinken travels to Saudi Arabia, Egypt for potential Gaza truce

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week to discuss efforts to secure a ceasefire in Israel's war on Gaza and increase humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory, a State Department spokesperson has said.

Blinken will hold talks with Saudi leaders in Jeddah on Wednesday before travelling to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian authorities, spokesman Matthew Miller said in the Philippines.

05:38 GMT — Japan 'reviewing' decision to suspend UNRWA funding

Japan is reviewing its decision to suspend funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees [UNRWA], which came following Israeli allegations, the country's foreign minister said.

"You mentioned several countries already starting refunding of UNRWA, and I understand that each country has their own situation and considerations," Yoko Kamikawa told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.

"Japan is also discussing and reviewing our response to the situation with a great sense of urgency," she added.

04:00 GMT — Israel's invasion of Gaza's Rafah must not be allowed — MSF

The secretary general of Medecins Sans Frontieres [MSF] or Doctors Without Borders has warned against Israeli plans to carry out a military invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

"A ground invasion of Rafah would be catastrophic and must not be allowed to happen," Christopher Lockyear said on X.

Lockyear's remarks came after he passed through the Rafah crossing to visit the MSF teams in Gaza.

03:38 GMT — Japan 'reviewing' decision to suspend UNRWA funding

Japan is reviewing its decision to suspend funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees [UNRWA], which came following Israeli allegations, the country's foreign minister said.

"You mentioned several countries already starting refunding of UNRWA, and I understand that each country has their own situation and considerations," Yoko Kamikawa told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.

"Japan is also discussing and reviewing our response to the situation with a great sense of urgency," she added.

03:19 GMT — Israel bombs homes in Gaza, kills 20 besieged Palestinians

Twenty Palestinians have been killed in the early hours of Tuesday in Israeli air strikes on Rafah and central parts of Gaza, Gaza health officials said.

In the southern Gaza city of Rafah near the Egyptian border, where over 1 million Palestinians have sought shelter, 14 people were killed and dozens others wounded in Israeli strikes that hit several houses and apartments, Gaza medical officials said.

Six more people died in another air strike on a house in Al-Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, they added.

02:40 GMT — Trudeau expresses concerns to Gantz over Rafah invasion plan

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed concern about Israel's planned invasion in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a call with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, Trudeau's office said in a statement.

"The Prime Minister shared his concern around Israel's planned offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and the severe humanitarian implications for all civilians taking refuge in the area," Trudeau's office said in a statement.

"He underscored the need to increase the volume of life-saving humanitarian aid for civilians and to ensure aid reaches all those in need, safely and without delay."

2:27 GMT — Israel denies responsibility for hunger, massacres in Gaza in filing to ICJ

Israel has vehemently denied allegations of genocide and responsibility for hunger and massacres in besieged Gaza in a legal filing to the International Court of Justice [ICJ].

Its response came after South Africa asked the ICJ to issue emergency orders for Israel to step up humanitarian aid to Gaza to address looming starvation.

Rejecting South Africa's claims that Israel was responsible for the starvation and massacres in Gaza, Israel labelled them as "completely unfounded in fact and law" and accused South Africa of distorting facts and abusing the authority of the Genocide Convention and the ICJ.

2:00 GMT — Israel was formed to serve interests of Western powers: Palestine's envoy

Israel is "a state formed through a regional project, serving the interests of Western powers, and the Palestinian people became its victims," the Ambassador of Palestine to Türkiye, Faed Mustafa, said.

Mustafa was speaking at the opening of a panel discussion titled "The Israel-Palestine Conflict and the Middle East Impasse" organised by the Center for Asian Studies Practice and Research [ASYAM] of Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University [AHBV].

He pointed out that the process initiated by the Balfour Declaration was not random, noting that these projects were "meticulously" prepared and studied.

For our live updates from Monday, March 18, click here.