Live Updates: Israel bombs Rafah home, killing several including two toddlers

Thursday, April 4, 2024

05:30 GMT — Israel bombs Rafah home, killing several including two toddlers

Israel has killed several Palestinians, including two toddlers, after striking a home in Tal al Sultan neighbourhood in west of besieged Gaza's Rafah city, according to local media reports and witnesses.

Images at the Kuwait Hospital in Rafah showed bloodied bodies two Palestinian girls, who were killed in the Israeli attack, lying on a medical stretcher.

Civil defence teams and local residents were conducting search and rescue operations at the blast site.

04:33 GMT — Israeli explanation for aid workers killing 'not good enough'

Israel's explanation for the deaths from an air strike in besieged Gaza of seven aid workers, including Australian woman Zomi Frankcom, was "not good enough", Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said.

"We need to have accountability for how it has occurred, and what is not good enough is the statements that have been made, including that this is just a product of war," Albanese said during a press conference in Sydney.

Albanese seemed to be referring to comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video message on Tuesday in which he said that "this happens in war" as the Israeli military promised an independent investigation.

03:53 GMT — Biden, Netanyahu to speak following Gaza killings

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak, a US official said, in their first call since Israel killed seven aid workers in besieged Gaza.

The call comes after Biden expressed outrage over the killings of the employees of the US-based World Central Kitchen group and said Israel must do more to protect aid workers and civilians.

"I can confirm President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu will speak tomorrow," a US official who is knowledgeable about the matter told the AFP news agency.

03:14 GMT — Missile fired from Lebanon hits house in Israel: report

An anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon struck a house in northern Israel, an Israeli media outlet reported.

"Hezbollah operatives fired an anti-tank missile at Metula in the Galilee finger, which hit a house in the northern neighbourhood of the settlement. There were no casualties. The IDF is attacking the source of the fire," said the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

The Lebanese Hezbollah group has not commented on the report.

02:30 GMT — Scottish leader calls for ban on arms sales to Israel

Scottish leader Humza Yousaf has reiterated his call on the UK government to suspend arms sales to Israel following the Israeli army's killing of aid workers in besieged Gaza.

"By not stopping arms sales to Israel, the UK is in danger of being complicit in the killing of innocent civilians," Yousaf warned in his letter to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Reminding that he called on the government in January to ban the license of arms exports from the UK to Israel, the first minister said he has yet to receive a response, adding: "You have taken no such action, despite the death toll continuing to increase."

For our live updates from Wednesday, April 3, click here.