Live Updates: Palestinian death toll hits 31,923 as Israel continues to bomb

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

11:26 GMT — Palestinian death toll hits 31,923 as Israel continues to bomb

In the last 24 hours, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 104 people were killed, with 162 sustaining injuries by Israel's relentless bombardment.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry's statement, the number of Palestinians brutally killed by Israel has reached a staggering 31,923, while the count of those injured has soared to 74,096 since the beginning of Israel's military assault in Gaza on October 7th.

Israel's escalating attacks continue to ravage Palestinians and inflict immense suffering on civilians caught in the fire.

11:00 GMT — Israeli army kills scores in Gaza's al Shifa Hospital

Israeli army has announced killing 90 Palestinians in al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and arresting 160 others who were transferred into Israel for interrogation.

In a statement, it also said it has arrested 160 others and transferred them into Israel for further interrogation, while 300 are still being interrogated at the site in the hospital.

The statement noted that the Israeli troops are still fighting in the areas around the Al Shifa Hospital.

10:13 GMT — UK's Cameron Gaza ceasefire crucial

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron has said it was vital for a pause in Israel's war in Gaza to enable the release of hostages, but a lot of conditions first needed to be met for a lasting ceasefire.

"Crucially what we must try to do is to turn that pause into a permanent sustainable ceasefire," Cameron said in an interview during a visit to a Thai air force base.

"We will only do that if a whole lot of conditions are fulfilled... we've got to get Hamas leaders out of Gaza, we have to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure."

09:23 GMT — World Bank alarmed by Gaza famine, calls for urgent response

The World Bank Group has said that more than half the Palestinian population of Gaza is on the brink of famine, including children and the elderly.

The international organization called for urgent action to save lives.

"We join the international community in calling for immediate, free and unimpeded access to medical supplies, food and life-essential services through all available means at speed and scale to the people of Gaza,” it said in a statement.

08:48 GMT — Canada halting arms shipments to Israel: report

Canada is halting its arms shipments to Israel, a Canadian government source has told the AFP news agency.

Ottawa has only exported "non-lethal" shipments such as communications equipment to Israel since Israel's war on Gaza. No exports have taken place since January, the source added.

Israel has historically been a top receiver of Canadian arms exports, with $15.47 million worth of military materiel exported to Israel in 2022, according to Radio Canada, following $19 million in shipments in 2021. That places Israel among the top 10 recipients of Canadian arms exports.

08:16 GMT — US should immediately suspend arms transfers to Israel: Rights groups

The US should immediately suspend arms transfers to Israel, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Oxfam said Tuesday, citing Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law including with US weapons and the blocking of US-funded humanitarian assistance.

The two organizations submitted a report to the US government listing a wide range of Israeli violations of international humanitarian law since Oct. 7 last year, including the use of white phosphorus, strikes on ambulances and hospitals, and the systematic blocking of assistance, they said in a joint statement.

“There are good reasons why US law prohibits arms support for governments that block life-saving aid or violate international law with US weapons,” Sarah Yager, Washington director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

07:10 GMT — US, Israel defence chiefs to meet in Washington

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant will meet with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin next week in Washington, a US defence official has confirmed.

The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public, said Austin and Gallant plan to discuss securing the release of hostages, humanitarian aid to Gaza and protecting those in Rafah.

Over a million displaced people have sought shelter in the southern Gaza city, where Israel has said it plans to stage a ground invasion.

04:19 GMT — Israeli army abducts 300 Palestinians from Gaza hospital

The Israeli army has abducted around 300 Palestinians during its ongoing incursion of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

"The suspects are being interrogated on-site by field investigators from Unit 504 of the Intelligence Corps and are subsequently taken for further investigation by the unit and the [internal security agency] Shin Bet in Israel," the statement added.

''The army 'has arrested about 300 suspects and eliminated dozens of terrorists,'' it added.

0353 GMT — Canada halting arms shipments to Israel: report

Canada is halting its arms shipments to Israel, a Canadian government source has told the AFP news agency.

Ottawa has only exported "non-lethal" shipments such as communications equipment to Israel since Israel's war on Gaza. No exports have taken place since January, the source added.

Israel has historically been a top receiver of Canadian arms exports, with $15.47 million worth of military materiel exported to Israel in 2022, according to Radio Canada, following $19 million in shipments in 2021. That places Israel among the top 10 recipients of Canadian arms exports.

03:30 GMT — US, Israel defence chiefs to meet in Washington

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant will meet with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin next week in Washington, a US defence official has confirmed.

The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public, said Austin and Gallant plan to discuss securing the release of hostages, humanitarian aid to Gaza and protecting those in Rafah.

Over a million displaced people have sought shelter in the southern Gaza city, where Israel has said it plans to stage a ground invasion.

03:05 GMT — Doctors who visited Gaza speak of 'atrocities,' collapsing healthcare

The healthcare system in Gaza has essentially collapsed, Western doctors who visited the Palestinian enclave in recent months told an event at the United Nations, speaking of "appalling atrocities" from Israel's war.

The four doctors from the United States, United Kingdom and France have been working with teams in Gaza to support its healthcare system, which has been reeling since Israel began its military invasion there last October.

Nick Maynard, a surgeon who was last in Gaza in January with British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, recalled seeing a child who had been burned so badly that he could see her facial bones.

02:41 GMT — Israel kills at least 38 Palestinians in new Gaza strikes

Israel struck an aid distribution committees at Kuwait Roundabout in Gaza City, killing at least 23 Palestinians and wounding many others, WAFA news agency has reported.

Israeli warplanes targeted a gathering of committees formed to facilitate the transportation of aid to Gaza City, the official Palestinian news agency reported.

Local sources said a significant number of dead and wounded were lying on the ground at site after being directly targeted, according to the agency.

02:20 GMT — Norway labels Gaza situation 'man-made disaster'

Norway has demanded an urgent ceasefire in Gaza, while reminding the world that the situation is a "man-made disaster," Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said.

Israel's use of military force is having a disproportionately severe effect on the civilian population, which is not in line with international humanitarian law, Barth Eide said in a statement.

Barth Eide suggested that there is no "quick fix to the war in Palestine," but said that "there are ways to improve the situation."

02:10 GMT — Illegal Zionist settlers kill Palestinian man in occupied West Bank: official

A Palestinian man has been killed in the occupied West Bank by illegal Jewish settlers, a local official said.

Fakhr Bassem Bani Jaber was "hit by a bullet in the heart" while he was standing in front of his house in Khirbet al-Tawil, a hamlet outside Aqraba, said Aqraba Mayor Salah Bani Jaber.

The 43-year-old was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, the mayor added.

For our live updates from Tuesday, March 19, click here