Live Updates: Israel kills 39 displaced Palestinians in Gaza school massacre

Thursday, June 6, 2024

0021 GMT — Israel has killed at least 39 Palestinians and wounded dozens after attacking a school housing displaced people in Nuseirat in the central besieged Gaza, Palestinian authorities said.

Without offering any evidence, Israel claimed to have killed several Palestinian fighters in what it said was a "precise strike".

The Israeli military published a graphic of the school, which clearly had "UN" on its roof.

But the official media in Gaza accused the Israeli military of carrying out a "horrific massacre... that shames humanity", adding the 39 victims and dozens of wounded were taken to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The hospital reported an electrical generator failure earlier in the night, which risked complicating the treatment of patients.

Prior to the Israeli massacre, the hospital had received at least 70 dead and more than 300 wounded since Tuesday, mostly women and children, following the Israeli strikes in central Gaza, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

The international charity said that the hospital in Deir al Balah is struggling to treat "a huge influx of patients, many of them arriving with severe burns, shrapnel wounds, fractures, and other traumatic injuries."

0001 GMT — Some 90% of Gaza children lack food needed for healthy growth

UNICEF said that nine out of 10 children in besieged Gaza could not eat nutrients from enough food groups to ensure their healthy growth and development.

"In the Gaza Strip, months of hostilities and restrictions on humanitarian aid have collapsed the food and health systems, resulting in catastrophic consequences for children and their families," UNICEF said.

It said that five sets of data collected between December 2023 and April 2024 had found that 9 out of 10 children in the blockaded enclave, which has been pounded by Israeli carnage since last October, are suffering from severe food poverty, meaning that they are surviving on two or fewer food groups per day.

"This is evidence of the horrific impact the conflict and restrictions are having on families' ability to meet children's food needs – and the speed at which it places children at risk of life-threatening malnutrition," UNICEF said.

Israel is accused of putting a limit on humanitarian supplies for civilians in Gaza.

With pockets of famine emerging in Gaza, with some children dying from malnutrition and dehydration, even Israel's staunchest allies have increased pressure on it to do more to let in food.

2001 GMT — Israeli crimes in Gaza 'total destruction' of civilians — Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Israeli onslaught in besieged Gaza "the total destruction of the civilian population."

Putin said at a meeting with representatives of the management of global news agencies including Anadolu Agency's Yusuf Ozhan in St. Petersburg that what is happening in the blockaded Palestinian enclave "does not look like a war but a total destruction of civilian population."

He reiterated Russia's position — the establishment of two states, Palestine and Israel, noting that Moscow recognised the Palestinian state during the Soviet era.

The Russian leader also praised the efforts of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying his contribution to alleviating the suffering of Palestinians is "noticeable."

"We know that President Erdogan is making energetic efforts to achieve a solution."

2104 GMT — Israeli War Cabinet postpones sending delegation for talks in Doha

The Israeli War Cabinet has decided to postpone sending a negotiating delegation to the Qatari capital, Doha, until it gets a response from Hamas on the proposal pushed by US President Joe Biden, said state-run media.

"The War Cabinet has decided to postpone sending the delegation to Doha until Hamas responds to the Israeli proposal revealed by President Biden," the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said.

The authority did not specify when the decision was made, although the War Cabinet's latest meeting was held at the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday to discuss the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hawkish Netanyahu has sent mixed signals to Biden's proposal while his extremist partners have categorically rejected American president's truce plan.

1830 GMT — Pro-Palestine demonstrators arrested at Stanford University

Stanford University has said 13 people were arrested as law enforcement removed pro-Palestine demonstrators who occupied a campus building, with the school saying there was damage inside and outside a building that houses the university president and provost offices.

The takeover began near dawn on the last day of classes for the spring quarter.

Some protesters barricaded themselves inside while others linked arms outside, The Stanford Daily reported.

The group chanted, "Palestine will be free, we will free Palestine."

The student newspaper said one of its reporters was among those detained. Within about three hours, officers had broken into the building and began taking people into custody.

For our live updates from Wednesday, June 5, 2024, click here.