Live Updates: Palestinian death toll nears 39,700 in Israel's brutal Gaza war

Thursday, August 8, 2024

08:55 GMT — The health ministry in Gaza has said that At least 39,699 people have been killed in the Israel's war on Gaza, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said.

The toll includes 22 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also list 91,722 people as having been wounded in Gaza since October 7 last year.

08:35 GMT — Palestine demands ICC arrest warrant for Israel’s Smotrich

Palestine has demanded an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for his call to starve two million people in Gaza to death.

"This is an explicit admission of adopting and bragging about the policy of genocide," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Smotrich said Monday that letting two million people in Gaza die from hunger might be "justified and moral."

08:30 GMT — EU condemns Israeli Smotrich's starving-to-death comments

The EU has "strongly" condemned recent statements by Israel's finance minister suggesting it might be "justified" to let civilians in Gaza starve to death.

"Deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime," the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

"Bezalel Smotrich saying that 'it might be justified and moral' to let Israel 'cause 2 million civilians to die of hunger' until the 'hostages are returned' is beyond ignominious," said Borrell, adding: "It demonstrates, once again, his contempt for international law and for basic principles of humanity."

08:18 GMT — UK urges Israel to comply with humanitarian law over prison abuse

Britain has expressed serious concern after an Israeli human rights group described Israeli prisons as a "network of torture camps", reporting systematic abuse of Palestinian detainees.

B'Tselem's report, based on testimonies from 55 Palestinian detainees, detailed numerous forms of mistreatment by Israeli prison authorities, including "arbitrary violence, sexual assault, humiliation and degradation, deliberate starvation, sleep deprivation, and the denial of adequate medical treatment".

08:05 GMT — Israel to revoke diplomatic status of Norwegian envoys

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz has said the diplomatic status of Norwegian envoys to the Palestinian Authority would be revoked over Oslo's "anti-Israel behaviour" since the Gaza war began in October.

"I ordered the termination of any representation on behalf of the Norwegian Embassy in Israel vis-a-vis the Palestinian Authority", Katz said in a statement, adding that "there is a price for anti-Israel behaviour".

07:55 GMT — Aid worker from World Central Kitchen killed in Gaza

The World Central Kitchen (WCK), a US-based aid group, has said that one of its staff members was killed in central Gaza.

In a statement, WCK said Nadi Sallout, a Palestinian, was killed near the central city of Deir al-Balah, without providing details about the circumstances of his death.

"He was an integral member of our warehouse team from the early days of our response in Rafah and a humanitarian at his very core," WCK said.

07:06 GMT — Israeli army blows up Palestinian home in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army early blew up the home of a Palestinian in the southern occupied West Bank who was killed by the Israeli forces in an alleged stabbing attack a few months ago.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the Israeli forces raided the town of Dura in the southern Hebron city, and forced the family of Momen Masalema to leave their home in preparation to destroy it.

Later, the Israeli army blew up the home in a retaliatory measure against one member of the family accused by Israel of carrying out a stabbing attack in April that left an Israeli settler killed.

06:35 GMT — Japan stands firm on Israel decision on atomic bomb ceremony

Nagasaki's mayor has said he would stick to a decision to exclude Israel's ambassador from Friday's event to mark the city's atomic bombing, though senior diplomats of the United States and other Group of Seven nations said the snub would keep them away.

"It's not that we haven't issued an invitation to the Israeli ambassador for political reasons, but rather, we want to conduct the ceremony smoothly in a calm and solemn atmosphere," said Nagasaki's mayor, Shiro Suzuki.

"There has been no change in that judgment," he added, but did not elaborate.

06:33 GMT — Turkish deputy foreign minister condemns Netanyahu's government for regional chaos

Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for regional chaos, calling it extremist and racist.

During a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, Yilmaz accused Netanyahu's administration of being extremist and racist, saying it has deliberately thrown the region into chaos for political gain.

He pointed to the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh as an example, stating that this act undermined efforts towards peace.

06:30 GMT — US destroys Houthi drones, missiles in Yemen

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it destroyed two Houthi drones, a ground control station and three missiles in Yemen.

"In the past 24 hours, US Central Command forces successfully destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicles, one Houthi ground control station, and three Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," it said in a statement.

The weapons presented a "clear and imminent threat" to US and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region, CENTCOM said. "This reckless and dangerous behavior by Iranian-backed Houthis continues to threaten regional stability and security," it added.

Yemen's Houthi group has been targeting Israeli-linked cargo ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in solidarity with Gaza.

06:03 GMT — Canada to pull children of diplomats out of Israel, Canadian Press reports

The Canadian government said it has decided to pull the children and guardians of its diplomats out of Israel, amid fears of a widened conflict in the Middle East, the Canadian Press reported.

Israel's tensions with Iran and Hezbollah have fanned fears of a broader conflict in a region already on edge amid Israel's assault on Gaza which has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis, including widespread hunger.

Global Affairs Canada, in a statement cited in the Canadian Press, said it has approved the temporary relocation of the diplomats' children and their guardians to a safe third country. It added that diplomats stationed in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and in Beirut do not have dependents living with them.

05:05 GMT — Talks over Gaza truce, prisoner swap stalled — Israeli media

Negotiations over a proposed hostage-prisoner exchange and a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine in Gaza have hit a standstill, with no meetings planned, Israeli media reported.

The information was reported by KAN, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, citing unnamed Israeli and foreign sources.

The sources indicated that talks on resuming negotiations on the proposed deal are currently "stalled."

04:33 GMT — Israel kills another World Central Kitchen member in Gaza

Israel has killed Nadi Sallout, member of World Central Kitchen, in an attack on Deir al Balah in central Gaza, Palestinian media reported.

World Central Kitchen, whose seven members were bombed to death by Israel in April, confirmed the killing of Sallout and called him "a humanitarian at his very core."

The US-based non-governmental organisation said Sallout was "an integral member of our warehouse team from the early days of our response in Rafah and a humanitarian at his very core".

04:00 GMT — Jordan calls for 'transformative actions' to force Israel to accept truce

Jordan has called for taking "transformative actions" to force Israel to accept a ceasefire in besieged Gaza.

Speaking to the US news channel CNN, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said, "the assassination of the chief negotiator of Hamas (Ismail Haniyeh) is a violation of international law and a reckless move that we condemn as a crime."

"We must undertake transformative actions to force Israel to accept a cease-fire and end its aggression on Gaza," he added.

03:21 GMT — Officials of Russia and Palestine discuss Gaza

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has discussed the situation in the Middle East with the head of the Palestinian National Initiative movement, Mustafa Barghouti, in a phone call.

The conversation was held at the initiative of the Palestinian side, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, the bulk of the call concerned Israel's ongoing military carnage in Gaza and the growing humanitarian disaster in the blockaded enclave.

02:57 GMT — Netanyahu denies US claims of progress in Gaza truce talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to comments by US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on a ceasefire deal in besieged Gaza.

Netanyahu claimed that his government had not received a response from the Palestinian resistance group on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal, despite submitting a "clear proposal" and sending a negotiation team to Cairo last Saturday.

That was after Kirby told the reporters that "there is a good proposal before both sides, and they need to both accept that proposal so we can get this in place."

02:43 GMT — Israel court hears bid to close prison where soldiers raped Palestinian

The Israeli Supreme Court has considered a petition to shutter a notorious desert military torture centre where soldiers have been abusing and raping Palestinians, as a new video emerged showing the sexual assault of a Palestinian abductee by Israeli troops, who Netanyahu claims are part of the "most moral army" in the world.

Rights groups have been engaged in a legal battle since June to shut down the torture facility known as Sde Teiman, where Israel has held many Palestinians abducted in besieged Gaza during the 10-month carnage.

The groups claim that conditions at the facility are grave and that abuse by Israeli soldiers is common, basing their claims on testimony from released abductees and Israeli whistleblowers.

02:30 GMT — Turkish, Saudi officials discuss Israeli genocide

Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz and his Saudi Arabian counterpart have discussed the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, said the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Yilmaz met with Waleed A. Elkhereiji on the margins of an extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation Executive Committee meeting in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, the ministry said on X.

"During the meeting, the ongoing Israeli massacre in Gaza and regional developments were discussed," it added.

02:17 GMT — US urges Israel to probe itself over rape of Palestinian abductees

Israel should fully investigate allegations of sexual abuse against Palestinian abductees by its soldiers, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller hassaid, calling for "zero tolerance" for perpetrators.

Asked about a video, aired by Israel's Channel 12, that appeared to show soldiers taking an abductee out of sight of surveillance cameras to carry out abuses and about broader allegations of abuses against prisoners, Miller said US officials had reviewed the video.

"We have seen the video, and reports of sexual abuse of detainees are horrific. They ought to be investigated fully by the government of Israel, by the IDF," Miller said, referring to the Israeli military.

02:00 GMT — EU, France, UK slam Israel minister for Gaza starvation comment

The European Union, UK and France condemned far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for suggesting it would be "justified and moral" to starve two million Palestinians in besieged Gaza to free scores of captives held in the Palestinian territory.

"It demonstrates, once again, his contempt for international law and for basic principles of humanity," the EU said in a statement.

"We expect the Israeli government to unequivocally distance itself from the words of Minister Smotrich," the EU said, as it called for access to cover the humanitarian needs of Gazans, including hundreds of thousands of children.

For our live updates from Wednesday, August 7, 2024, click here.