Live Updates: Fresh Israeli strikes in Gaza kill many during Islamic holiday

1559 GMT — At least 10 people were killed in Israeli air strikes on blockaded Gaza, the second day of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, according to local medical sources.

Fighter jets struck a marketplace in central Gaza City, leaving eight people dead and several others injured, the sources said.

Two others lost their lives in Israeli shelling of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, the sources said.

Casualties are also feared in an Israeli air strike targeting a house next to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, witnesses said.

Israeli warplanes also struck two houses in the same city.

1507 GMT — UNSC demands accountability for attacks on aid workers

The UN Security Council (UNSC) has expressed deep concern about the rising number of humanitarian workers killed in Gaza which stands at 224, marking an unprecedented level of danger faced by aid workers.

UNSC members pointed out in a statement seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) who were killed in Israeli air strikes.

The UNSC emphasized that the 224 killed was three times the annual average in any conflict.

Members noted the need for accountability for all the deaths and underscored the necessity for the investigation into the killing of the WCK workers to be "transparent and comprehensive" and "fully publicised."

1458 GMT — Israel strategically defeated in Gaza, says ex-justice minister

Israel has been strategically defeated in Gaza, former Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon has said.

Israel achieved a “tactical victory but a strategic defeat. We did not achieve any of the goals set by the government,” Ramon said in a radio interview.

Ramon said the main goal of the Israeli war on Gaza was to eliminate Hamas, but this was not achieved.

“We said there would be military pressure to release the hostages, this did not happen either,” he added.

1456 GMT — Palestinians in Gaza now faced with genocide: South African president

President Cyril Ramaphosa has wished Muslim communities a blessed Eid but expressed concern over the ongoing Israeli war on Palestine which has killed nearly 33,500 people in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

“After more than 7 decades of discrimination, oppression and apartheid, the Palestinian people of Gaza are now faced with genocide,” Ramaphosa said in a speech to hundreds of Muslims gathered for Eid prayers at a sports ground in Laudium, near the capital Pretoria.

Thursday, April 11, 2024

14:53 GMT — USAID chief acknowledges famine reports in Gaza

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator Samantha Power has said she accepted “credible” reports that famine was now occurring in northern Gaza and urged Israel to take further steps to surge humanitarian aid shipments.

Power told lawmakers that short of famine, civilians in all parts of Gaza, particularly children, are suffering from extreme malnutrition.

Her comments, in reply to a lawmaker’s question, did not include using the word “famine” but she responded affirmatively when asked whether she believes famine had begun in the north.

“A hundred percent of the population in Gaza knows acute levels of food insecurity. A hundred percent of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance,” he said.

14:43 GMT — UN Security Council asks Israel to do 'more' on Gaza aid

The UN Security Council has acknowledged Israel's pledge to open more entry points to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza but said "more should be done" to help civilians in the besieged Palestinian territory.

In a statement, council members "took note of the announcement by Israel to open the Erez (border) crossing and allow the use of the Ashdod port for aid deliveries into Gaza, but stressed that more should be done to bring the required relief given the scale of needs in Gaza."

13:48 GMT — Humanitarian aid for Gaza still arriving despite halt: GCA

Greek Cypriot Administration's foreign minister has said additional quantities of humanitarian aid continue to arrive in the east Mediterranean island nation for eventual transfer by ship to Gaza.

That's despite the suspension of shipborne aid deliveries to the Palestinian territory.

Constantinos Kombos told reporters that authorities cooperating with US military officials continue preparations for a resumption of aid shipments.

Once the sea corridor to Gaza is reactivated, they will resume once a US-built floating dock designed to receive 1,500 tons or more of aid weekly is completed around May 1.

13:38 GMT — Israel expects gradual increase in daily aid trucks entering Gaza

The Israeli army has said it expects new measures on the entry of humanitarian trucks into Gaza would gradually increase the flow of aid into the enclave amid international warnings of growing famine risks across the Palestinian territory.

Army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a video message that the military is constructing a new land crossing from Israel into northern Gaza to allow more direct aid to civilians.

The new crossing would allow the entry of at least 50 trucks per day to northern Gaza, said Hagari.

He noted that the new measures would "gradually" surge the average of aid trucks entering Gaza from 350 to 500.

12:48 GMT –– Israel on alert after Iranian threat as war on Gaza grinds on

Israel was on alert after its arch foe Iran threatened reprisals over a strike in Syria this month that killed two Iranian generals, and as the war against Hamas ground on in Gaza.

Days after Israel strengthened its air defences and paused leave for combat units, the United States also warned of the risk of an attack by Iran or its allied groups at a time when Middle East tensions have soared.

Iran is "threatening to launch a significant attack on Israel," US President Joe Biden said Wednesday, pledging "ironclad" support for its top regional ally despite diplomatic tensions over Israel's military conduct in Gaza.

12:24 GMT –– UNICEF says its vehicle 'hit by live ammunition' at Gaza entry point

The UN children's agency has said that one of its vehicles was “hit by live ammunition” while waiting to enter northern Gaza.

"The incident has been raised with relevant Israeli authorities," UNICEF said in a statement but did not mention who opened fire on its vehicle.

"Sadly, humanitarians continue to face risks in delivering life-saving aid," it added.

03:40 GMT — Israel will invade Rafah and return to Khan Younis — minister

Israel's war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has claimed without proof that Palestinian resistance group Hamas has been defeated militarily and the Israeli army will invade Rafah and go back to Khan Younis, an local media outlet reported.

"From a military point of view – Hamas is defeated. Its fighters are eliminated or in hiding, and its capabilities (are) crippled," Gantz said following a meeting of his National Unity party in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, said the Times of Israel.

"We will enter Rafah. We will return to Khan Younis. And we will operate in Gaza. Wherever there are terrorist targets," he added.

03:25 GMT — World Central Kitchen says another aid worker gravely wounded in separate Israeli strike in Gaza

World Central Kitchen (WCK) announced that another of its workers was gravely wounded in a separate Israeli air strike in besieged Gaza on April 1.

"Just 15 minutes before our convoy was repeatedly hit, one of our brave Palestinian staff members was gravely injured in a reportedly deadly air strike at Al Bashir Mosque in Deir al Balah," the food charity said in a statement.

The statement said the worker, whose name is Amro, sustained severe head and hand wounds while he was off duty at a residence near the mosque in the vicinity of the organisation's warehouse and recently established kitchen in Deir al Balah.

03:00 GMT — Pro-Palestine activists protest Israeli Knesset speaker's visit to France

Pro-Palestine activists in France have staged a protest against a visit by Amir Ohana, the speaker of Israel's Knesset, or parliament, to the Senate in Paris, while the Israeli army continues its attacks on besieged Gaza.

They gathered in front of the Senate, the upper house of the French Parliament, in the capital Paris.

Carrying Palestinian flags as well as banners saying "No to the Israeli perpetrators of genocide in Paris" and "Is it normal to protest to stop a genocide? " The activists chanted slogans such as "There is a genocide in Gaza. We will not remain silent," "Long live the resistance of the Palestinian people" and "Stop starving the children of Gaza."

02:32 GMT — US claims to have conducted humanitarian airdrops into Gaza

The US has conducted another round of humanitarian assistance airdrops into northern Gaza to provide relief to civilians affected by Israel's brutal war on the besieged enclave.

"The joint operation included four C-130 US Air Force aircraft, and US Army Soldiers specialised in aerial delivery of U.S humanitarian assistance supplies," the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X.

It said the planes dropped more than 50,680 US meal equivalents.

02:24 GMT — Death toll in Israeli strike on Hamas leader's family rises to 7

The death toll from an Israeli air strike on family members of the head of the political bureau of Hamas has risen to seven, with another grandchild dying as a result of the attack.

The air strike targeted a car in which members of the Haniyeh family were travelling in the Al-Shati camp near Gaza City as they were on their way to a celebration on the first day of the Muslim Eid al Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, killing three of his sons and four of his grandchildren, according to a statement released by the resistance group.

The statement said Haniyeh's family members lost their lives in a "treacherous and cowardly" attack.

02:14 GMT — Israel intensifies its attacks on central Gaza on 1st day of Eid al Fitr

Israel has intensified its air strikes on the city of Al Zahra in central besieged Gaza on the first day of the Muslim Eid al Fitr holiday.

Israeli warplanes carried out intense air strikes lasting over three hours, targeting towers and residential buildings, an Anadolu Agency correspondent reported.

The army warned residents to leave the city and not return before commencing the attack.

02:00 GMT — Yemen's Houthis group say US, UK targeted coastal province of Hudaida

Yemen's Houthi group said that the coastal province of Hudaida faced seven air strikes from the US and Britain within the space of several hours.

The statement came after the US and Britain carried out four airstrikes on the Jabana area in the province, following three air strikes on the Hudaida International Airport earlier in the day, as reported by the Al Masirah TV, which is affiliated with the Yemeni group.

The channel reported that US and UK aircraft targeted the Jabana area in the province of Hudaida with four airstrikes.

For our live updates from Wednesday, April 10, click here.