Live Updates: Dozen Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on school shelter

1245 GMT — The Palestinian civil defence said an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter killed at least 12 people, while the Israeli military claimed it struck a Hamas command centre.

"Our crews retrieved 12 martyrs from the Mustafa Hafiz school, which was bombed by the Israeli occupation west of Gaza City," agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

Bassal had earlier given a toll of seven dead and 15 wounded in the strike, which he said had hit the second floor of the school building.

1307 GMT — Israel won’t withdraw from Gaza corridors ‘under any circumstances,’ Netanyahu vows

Israel will not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border and the Netzarim Axis, which divides Gaza into two parts “under any circumstances,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

"Israel will not, under any circumstances, leave the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Axis despite the enormous pressure it is under to do so,” Netanyahu said in statements cited by Israeli daily Maariv during a meeting with families of Israelis held captive in Gaza.

"These are strategic principles, both militarily and politically,” added Netanyahu.

His comments came hours after US President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Israeli premier had agreed to a recent cease-fire and prisoner swap proposal floated by Washington.

1140 GMT — Netanyahu under fire as Israeli army retrieves dead hostages from Gaza

Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of abandoning their loved ones for his political survival.

The criticism came after the army said that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages from the Palestinian enclave.

According to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN, the six hostages were alive when taken to Gaza on October 7, 2023.

“He and all the hostages could have been brought back,” Mati Dancyg, whose father was among the dead hostages, told KAN.

“Netanyahu chose to sacrifice the hostages. Karma will judge him and he will pay for it, big time,” he said, accusing the Israeli premier of “choosing to abandon the hostages in order to survive.”

1108 GMT — Hamas says Biden remarks 'green light' for Israel to continue war

Hamas condemned claims by US President Joe Biden that it was backing away from a Gaza truce deal, calling his remarks a "green light" for Israel to continue the war.

The "misleading claims... do not reflect the true position of the movement, which is keen to reach a ceasefire" agreement, Hamas said in a statement, calling Biden's remarks an "American green light for the Zionist extremist government to commit more crimes against defenceless civilians".

08:47 GMT — Israel says bodies of 6 hostages retrieved in Gaza raid

The Israeli military says it has recovered the bodies of six Israelis who were taken hostage by Hamas in the October 7 attack.

The military said in a statement on Tuesday the bodies were recovered in an overnight raid in southern Gaza.

The Israeli military didn't say how the hostages were killed. But Hamas has on several occasions said that some of the hostages have been killed in Israel's relentless bombings, which have turned almost the entire Palestinian enclave into a pile of rubble.

07:55 GMT — Israel killed 40,173 Palestinians in Gaza Since October 7: ministry

Israel's military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 40,173 Palestinians and wounded 92,857 since October 7, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said.

07:21 GMT — Blinken heads to Egypt on Gaza truce push

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to Egypt for talks on a Gaza ceasefire.

Blinken, who met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, will afterwards head to Qatar, which, along with Egypt, is brokering negotiations for a truce in the 10-month Israeli war on Gaza.

The top US diplomat flew to El Alamein to speak to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi at his summer palace.

04:20 GMT — Israel kills Gaza civilians as US touts progress in truce talks

Israel has killed at least nine Palestinian civilians, including children, in a strike that targeted a gathering of civilians in the al-Shati (Beach) camp west of Gaza City, Palestine's official news agency WAFA reported.

"The occupation's warplanes also targeted a residential tower West of Khan Younis in southern Gaza," it reported.

3:40 GMT — Hamas says US buying time for Israel to continue genocide

Hamas resistance group's spokesperson Osama Hamdan has said the Palestinian group will adhere to ceasefire plan that was previously proposed by US President Joe Biden, adding Washington was buying time for Netanyahu regime to continue its genocide in Gaza.

The US is "merely buying time for Israel to continue its genocide," Hamdan told Al Jazeera after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured him of support for a US proposal to bridge gaps on a Gaza ceasefire.

"The Israelis have retreated from issues included in Biden’s proposal. Netanyahu’s talk about agreeing to an updated proposal indicates that the US administration has failed to convince him to accept the previous agreement," Hamdan told the Qatar-headquartered broadcaster.

03:00 GMT — Pro-Palestine protesters rally outside of DNS in Chicago

Thousands of protesters have marched toward the site of the Democratic National Convention on its open ing day to voice their opposition to Israel's genocidal war in Gaza.

Protesters said their plans have not changed since President Joe Biden left the race and the party quickly rallied behind Vice President Kamala Harris, who will formally accept the Democratic nomination this week. Activists said they were ready to amplify their progressive message before the nation's top Democratic leaders.

“We have to play our part in the belly of the beast to stop the genocide, to end US aid to Israel and stand with Palestine," said Hatem Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the DNC, which includes hundreds of organisations.

For our live updates from Monday, August 19, 2024, click here.