Live Updates: Netanyahu prolonging Gaza war to stay in power — Maliki

Thursday, March 14, 2014

05:31 GMT — Netanyahu prolonging Gaza war to stay in power — Maliki

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war in Gaza to stay in power, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al Maliki has said.

He made the remarks during a meeting with South African Ambassador Sean Benfeldt at the Foreign Ministry’s headquarters in Ramallah, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

“Netanyahu is not interested in a ceasefire. On the contrary, he wants to prolong the war for as long as possible to remain in power,” said Al Maliki.

04:45 GMT — Yemen's Houthis fired missile in Gulf of Aden, no damage reported, US says

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the Houthis fired one anti-ship ballistic missile from Yemen into the Gulf of Aden, but it caused no damage to any vessels.

"The missile did not impact any vessels and there were no injuries or damage reported," CENTCOM added in a statement early on Thursday.

"United States Central Command then successfully engaged and destroyed four unmanned aerial systems (UAVs) and one surface-to-air missile in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," it said, adding "it was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region."

03:50 GMT — US military says destroyed 4 unmanned aerial systems in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen

The US military said it had destroyed four unmanned aerial systems and one surface-to-air missile in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

US Central Command said on the social media site X that the strikes came after Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden.

03:20 GMT — Hezbollah vows to keep pressure on Israel until Gaza war ends

The leader of Lebanese group Hezbollah has vowed to keep pressure on Israeli troops along the border with Lebanon, saying Israel will eventually be pushed to stop its military invasion in Gaza.

In a televised speech, Hassan Nasrallah said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not achieved any of his war aims in Gaza.

"We are now in the sixth month and Israel is negotiating with Hamas,” Nasrallah said, later adding, "Hamas is negotiating not from a weak point, but is saying no and putting conditions."

03:00 GMT — Students protest in Paris against Israeli 'barbarity'

A group of students have staged a protest in the French capital in solidarity with Palestinians.

Gathering in Sorbonne Square, they chanted pro-Palestine slogans and spelled out "Free Palestine" with candles on the ground.

Statements by Gaza's poets, authors and artists were read during the rally.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Olivia d'Almeida, a student at Panthe on-Sorbonne University, said there is no reason to justify the "barbarity" happening in Gaza.

02:30 GMT — 'Crater labelled as Palestinian rocket launch site': Research group pokes holes in Israel's ICJ 'evidence'

Research group Forensic Architecture's investigation has revealed discrepancies in Israel's "evidence" presented at ICJ, raising questions about the accuracy of the information shown to the world's top court.

"We found eight instances where the Israeli legal team misrepresented the visual evidence they cited, through a combination of incorrect annotations and labelling, and misleading verbal descriptions," the group said in its report.

"Our study also reveals that the Israeli legal team presented single instances of alleged Palestinian military use of civilian infrastructure as blanket justifications for the systematic and widespread attacks on civilians, shelters, schools, and hospitals."

For our live updates from Wednesday, March 13, click here.