Live Updates: Palestinians should rise up against Israel in Ramadan — Hamas

Monday, March 4, 2024

13:32 GMT — Hamas is calling on Palestinians in Israel and the occupied West Bank to rise up against the Israeli occupation during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan, speaking to reporters in Beirut, said Palestinians should "make every moment of Ramadan a confrontation."

The US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying for weeks to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and to convince the resistance group to release some of the scores of hostages it is still holding from the October 7 attack.

09:35 GMT — Erdogan, Abbas to discuss delivering aid to Gaza, Turkish source says

President Tayyip Erdogan is set to discuss Türkiye's efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during talks this week in Ankara, a Turkish diplomatic source has said.

Speaking at a diplomatic forum in Türkiye at the weekend, Antalya Diplomacy Forum, the Palestinian Authority's Foreign Minister Riyad al Maliki said Abbas would pay a visit to Ankara on Tuesday and meet Erdogan.

Erdogan and Abbas will discuss recent developments in Gaza as well as the situation in the occupied West Bank, the diplomatic source said.

08:36 GMT — Gaza death toll rises to 30,534 as Israel continues to bomb

At least 30,534 Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli war on Gaza, the health ministry in the besieged territory has said.

A ministry statement said at least 124 people have been killed and 210 others were injured over the past 24 hours, while another 71,980 people have been wounded since Israel's war began on October 7 after the Hamas attack.

The ministry also noted that Israel has conducted 13 massacres in Gaza within the past 24 hours.

07:40 GMT — Israeli minister calls for restrictions on Al-Aqsa Mosque entry during Ramadan

Extremist right-wing Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir has urged the police to allow only a few thousand Muslims to enter the Al Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to Israeli media.

During their meeting, Ben Gvir told Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai to restrict the number of Muslim worshippers in Al Aqsa to ensure police readiness to swiftly respond to any disturbances, the Israeli daily Maariv reported.

The daily also noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to discuss the issue of restrictions at the Al Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan with Ben Gvir, Shabtai, and officials from the Shin Bet security service and the Israeli army on Monday.

07:39 GMT — 'Significant progress' towards Gaza truce in Cairo talks: Egyptian media

Mediators and Hamas envoys have made "significant progress" towards a truce in Gaza, Egyptian state-linked TV has reported as the talks in Cairo entered a second day.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been pushing for a ceasefire in the almost five-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, with the latest proposal calling for a six-week halt to fighting and hostage release.

07:06 GMT — Israeli warplanes hit southern Lebanon town

The Israeli warplanes launched two air strikes on the outskirts and the centre of the town of Ayta ash Shaab in southern Lebanon late Sunday.

The first air strike targeted the northern outskirts of the town near Khallet Warda, while the second strike hit the town centre, Lebanese official news agency NNA reported.

Ambulances were dispatched to Ayta ash Shaab as a precautionary measure, the agency added.

There were no reports of casualties.

05:00 GMT — US Vice President Harris calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

United States Vice President Kamala Harris called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and described the situation in Gaza as "devastating.”

During remarks in Alabama to mark the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the day state law officers attacked Civil Rights demonstrators on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Harris said the ceasefire would get hostages out and much-needed aid into Gaza.

“And given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table,” she added.

04:35 GMT — More than 127 Palestinians killed by Israeli army in Gaza ‘flour massacre’

The Israeli army recently killed more than 127 Palestinians and wounded over 760 in just two days by targeting civilians who were desperately trying to obtain humanitarian aid, despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Last Thursday, however, Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for trucks carrying aid at Al Nabulsi roundabout area south of Gaza.

The ICJ adjudicates disputes between states and its orders are legally binding, but it has no means of enforcing its judgments.

03:55 GMT — Pro-Palestinian activists storm Israeli Consulate in Chicago

A group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators stormed the Israeli Consulate building in the US state of Illinois to protest Israel’s war on Gaza.

Kuffiya, a pro-Palestinian group, posted on X that some of its activists entered the consulate in Chicago to protest the killing of over 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

A video showed protesters chanting "Freedom for Palestine" and unfurling a banner saying "Stop the US-backed Israeli genocide."

03:00 GMT — Israel bombs ‘makeshift cemetery’ in northern Gaza

Israeli warplanes targeted a “makeshift cemetery” built by residents of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, causing the bodies of Palestinians recently killed by Israeli forces to emerge.

“The Israeli army bombed a mass grave containing the bodies of hundreds of martyrs who were recently buried,” Ahmed al Kahlot, the director of civil defence in northern Gaza, told Anadolu.

''The bombing resulted in the destruction of the cemetery and the emergence of bodies from beneath the soil,” he added.

For our live updates from Sunday, March 3, click here.