Live Updates: Israeli army 'ready' to invade Gaza's Rafah in 72 hours

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

10:27 GMT — Israeli army 'ready' to invade Gaza's Rafah in 72 hours

Israeli media have quoted Israeli military sources as saying that the army is prepared to invade Rafah in southern Gaza in a matter of 72 hours if no deal on a ceasefire is reached.

Egypt is hosting extensive negotiations with delegations from Israel and Hamas aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Israeli Ynet news website reported that the Israeli army's Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi approved the final plans for a military offensive in Rafah along with a plan for moving civilians toward areas in central Gaza.

10:00 GMT — Gaza death toll from Israeli attacks reaches 34,535

More than 34,535 Palestinians have been killed and 77,704 have been wounded in the Israeli military offensive in Gaza since October 7, the Gaza-based health ministry said in a statement.

09:19 GMT — Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah met for talks in Beijing: China

China has said that rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah met in Beijing recently for "in-depth and candid talks on promoting intra-Palestinian reconciliation".

"Representatives of the Palestine National Liberation Movement and the Islamic Resistance Movement recently came to Beijing," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, referring to the groups by their formal names.

"The two sides fully expressed their political will to achieve reconciliation through dialogue and consultation, discussed many specific issues and made positive progress," he added, without specifying when the sides had met.

08:25 GMT — Seven more Palestinians killed in fresh Israeli airstrikes across Gaza

At least seven Palestinians have been reported killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, as the Israeli deadly onslaught enters its 207th day.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said four civilians were killed and 15 others injured in a series of Israeli raids on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

The Israeli forces also raided the Al Zaytoun neighbourhood in southern Gaza City, killing three people and injuring 10 others.

07:47 GMT — Blinken heads to Jordan to push Gaza aid

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Jordan where he will discuss ways to boost aid deliveries into Gaza and quietly thank the kingdom for its help during recent Iran-Israel clashes.

Blinken flew to Amman after talks with Gulf Arab leaders in Riyadh, part of his seventh tour of the region since the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.

The US top diplomat will meet Jordan's King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi as well as the UN humanitarian aid and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag.

06:40 GMT — Palestinian worker killed after getting arrested by Israeli army in southern West Bank

The Israeli army has killed a Palestinian worker who was on his way to his workplace near Hebron city, southern the occupied West Bank, according to local media.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said the Israeli forces chased the worker in the town of Al Dhaheriya, south of Hebron, and assaulted him leading to his death.

It identified the slain Palestinian worker as Hasan Mansiyeh.

06:19 GMT — Israeli police arrest protesters demanding return of captives held in Gaza

The Israeli police have arrested protesters who were rallying in Tel Aviv to pressure the Israeli government to strike a deal with the Hamas group for the release of the Israeli captives held in Gaza.

Thousands of Israelis, including families and relatives of the Israelis held in Gaza, joined the rally during which speeches were ma de demanding the government make the release of the Israelis its priority.

As the rally approached the ruling Likud Party headquarters in Tel Aviv, the Israeli police clashed with the protesters, and used water cannons to disperse the protesters, according to the Times of Israel.

06:15 GMT — Israeli delegation to fly to Cairo for ceasefire talks

An Israeli delegation is scheduled to travel to Egypt to meet with Egyptian security officials on efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, according to Israeli media.

The delegation does not include top security officials and will discuss a request by Hamas for a full ceasefire in Gaza as part of a prisoner swap deal, the daily Haaretz said late Monday.

"It is not clear whether it (Hamas) will accept the proposal or put up obstacles as on previous occasions," Haaretz quoted one Israeli official as saying, without mentioning his name.

05:55 GMT — Temporary pier off Gaza to be operational in May: Pentagon

A temporary pier being constructed off besieged Gaza's coast for delivering humanitarian aid will be operational in May, a Pentagon spokesperson said.

"We're scheduled on track to meet our goal of early May," Sabrina Singh told reporters.

The Pentagon announced on March 8 that it would undertake an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier on Gaza's coast to deliver up to 2 million humanitarian aid meals daily. Some analysts however say the pier will be used as an exit route to mass expel Palestinians from their lands.

05:34 GMT — Hamas delegation will return to Cairo with 'response' on truce

A Hamas delegation has left Egypt after talks on a possible truce and hostage release deal, and will return with a "response" to the latest proposal, a pro-Gaza media outlet said on Monday night.

According to Egyptian sources quoted by Al-Qahera News, a site also linked to Egyptian intelligence services, the Hamas delegation has left Cairo and will "return with a written response to the truce proposal".

05:15 GMT — Houthis claim to have hit 4 vessels, including 2 US destroyers

Yemen's Houthis have said they have targeted two US destroyers and the vessel CYCLADES in the Red Sea as well as the MSC Orion in the Indian Ocean, the group's military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out military operations against hostile warships in the Red Sea, of which two American warships were targeted with a number of drones. The military operations achieved their goals successfully," Sarea said.

"The targeting of the ship came after it violated the decision of the navigation ban of ships heading to the ports of occupied Palestine, by heading to the port of Umm al-Rashrash on April 21st, using misleading and deception by claiming that it was heading to another port," he said.

04:00 GMT — Hamas delegation will return to Cairo with 'response' on truce

A Hamas delegation has left Egypt after talks on a possible truce and hostage release deal, and will return with a "response" to the latest proposal, a pro-Gaza media outlet said on Monday night.

According to Egyptian sources quoted by Al-Qahera News, a site also linked to Egyptian intelligence services, the Hamas delegation has left Cairo and will "return with a written response to the truce proposal".

03:15 GMT — Temporary pier off Gaza to be operational in May: Pentagon

A temporary pier being constructed off besieged Gaza's coast for delivering humanitarian aid will be operational in May, a Pentagon spokesperson said.

"We're scheduled on track to meet our goal of early May," Sabrina Singh told reporters.

The Pentagon announced on March 8 that it would undertake an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier on Gaza's coast to deliver up to 2 million humanitarian aid meals daily. Some analysts however say the pier will be used as an exit route to mass expel Palestinians from their lands.

For our live updates from Monday, April 29, click here.