Live Updates: Top Saudi, US diplomats meet to discuss Israel's war on Gaza

Monday, April 29, 2024

10:32 GMT — Top Saudi, US diplomats meet to discuss Israel's war on Gaza

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah has met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Saudi capital Riyadh to discuss the developments in Gaza.

Saudi Press Agency WAS reported that the meeting took place on the sidelines of the joint meeting between the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the United States.

Both top diplomats reviewed the developments in Gaza and the city of Rafah, emphasising the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, in addition to exploring ways to ensure the entry of urgent humanitarian aid.

09:47 GMT — Red Cross has no mandate to replace UNRWA in Gaza, chief says

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) does not have a mandate to replace the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, its director general has said.

"We have completely different mandates," ICRC director general Pierre Krahenbuhl told Swiss daily Le Temps in an interview.

UNWRA's mandate "comes from the UN General Assembly, the ICRC's from the Geneva Convention. The ICRC cannot take over UNRWA's mandate," he said.

08:52 GMT — Blinken says 'measurable progress' on Gaza humanitarian situation in recent weeks

The United States has seen "measurable progress" in the humanitarian situation in Gaza over the past few weeks, US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said, but urged Israel to do more.

Speaking in Riyadh at the opening of a US-Gulf Cooperation Council meeting, Blinken said the most effective way to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was to achieve a ceasefire.

He also said Washington continued efforts to prevent the Gaza war from expanding.

08:25 GMT — Hamas claims rocket barrage from Lebanon into north Israel

Hamas's armed wing has said its armed wing in Lebanon's south launched a slew of rockets at a northern Israeli military position.

Hamas fighters "have fired a concentrated rocket barrage from south Lebanon towards" an Israeli military position, said the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades in a statement on Telegram.

The armed wing described the action as a "response to the massacres of the Zionist enemy (Israel)" in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

07:53 GMT — Israeli officials appear increasingly concerned ICC may issue arrest warrants

Israeli officials appear to be increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court may issue arrest warrants against the country’s leaders.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that it had informed Israeli missions of “rumours” that warrants might be issued against senior political and military officials.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz said “we expect the court to prevent the issuance of arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials,” saying such warrants would “provide a morale boost” to Hamas and other groups that Israel is fighting.

07:33 GMT — Talks on Gaza ceasefire progressing but we remain prudent, says French Foreign Minister

Talks on a ceasefire in Gaza are progressing, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne has said in Riyadh, where he was due to meet other ministers of Arab and Western countries as well as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

"Things are moving forward but you always have to be careful in these discussions and negotiations. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic and we need a ceasefire," he said.

07:16 GMT — UN agency for Palestinians refugees assesses damages to its Gaza facilities

UNRWA has said it led a mission to assess the damage inflicted on its facilities as a result of the Israeli war on Gaza.

In a statement released on X, the agency said: "UNRWA and UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) led a critical mission to assess damage to the agency facilities, marking any shrapnel and unexploded ordnance."

It also highlighted that a staggering 165 agency installations across Gaza had been affected during the course of the war.

06:50 GMT — Antony Blinken arrives in Saudi Arabia for discussions on Gaza

Blinken has arrived in Saudi Arabia, the first stop in a broader trip to the Middle East, aimed at discussing post-war Gaza and pressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to improve the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

In Riyadh, Blinken is expected to meet with senior Saudi leaders and hold a wider meeting with counterparts from five Arab states: Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

He aims to further discussions on what governance of Gaza would look like after the war, according to a senior State Department official.

06:12 GMT — Hamas delegation heads to Egypt for Gaza truce talks

A Hamas delegation is due to arrive today in Egypt, where it will respond to Israel's latest proposal for a long-sought hostage-release deal and truce in Gaza after almost seven months of war.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for months, as the death toll in Gaza rises and calls for a deal intensify.

But despite intense pressure to reach a ceasefire, secure the release of hostages held in Gaza and allow more humanitarian aid into the war-battered territory, a deal has remained elusive.

05:43 GMT — University students in occupied West Bank hold solidarity demonstration with Gaza

Students at a university in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus hhave organised a solidarity demonstration with Gaza.

An-Najah National University students and staff protested Israel’s attacks on the enclave, which began last October.

Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas said the demonstration expressed "the rejection of the genocide in Gaza" and reflected the national unity of Palestine.

The university’s spokesperson, Riad al-Dabai, underlined the importance of "supporting Gaza, which was exposed to the genocidal war, and the victory of the Palestinian people."

05:10 GMT — Israel kills 22 more Palestinians in Gaza

At least 22 Palestinians have been killed in overnight Israeli attacks on Gaza, local media has reported.

Five Palestinians, including women and children, lost their lives in an Israeli bombing targeting a house belonging to a family in western Gaza City, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Israeli warplanes bombed a house in the Sabra neighbourhood, where two Palestinian women were killed, some people were injured and others were trapped under the rubble.

04:30 GMT — Anti-tank missile from Lebanon hits house in northern Israel

An anti-tank missile struck a house in the Israeli settlement of Shtula in the Upper Galilee region near the border with Lebanon, local media has reported.

“An anti-tank missile was fired from southern Lebanon earlier on Sunday, hitting a residential house in the Shtula settlement in northern Israel without causing any casualties,” said Israel’s Channel 12.

The house sustained material damage according to the channel.

04:00 GMT — Israel kills over dozen Palestinians in Rafah — medics

Israeli air strikes on three houses in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed 13 people and wounded many others, medics have said. Hamas media outlets put the death toll at 15.

In Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, Israeli planes struck two houses, killing and wounding several people, health officials said.

The strikes on Rafah, where over a million people are sheltering from months of Israeli bombardment, came hours before Egypt was expected to host leaders of Hamas to discuss prospects for a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

03:44 GMT — Anti-tank missile from Lebanon hits house in northern Israel

An anti-tank missile struck a house in the Israeli settlement of Shtula in the Upper Galilee region near the border with Lebanon, local media has reported.

“An anti-tank missile was fired from southern Lebanon earlier on Sunday, hitting a residential house in the Shtula settlement in northern Israel without causing any casualties,” said Israel’s Channel 12.

The house sustained material damage according to the channel.

03:10 GMT — Situation in Gaza is 'catastrophe by every measure': Riyadh

The situation in Gaza obviously is "a catastrophe by every measure," Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan has said.

His remarks came during one of the sessions of a special meeting of the World Economic Forum being hosted by Riyadh on April 28 and 29, according to a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry.

"The situation in Gaza obviously is a catastrophe by every measure — humanitarian, but also a complete failing of the existing political system to deal with that crisis," said Farhan.

02:30 GMT — Gaza lost over $3B in transport: Minister

Gaza’s transportation sector has suffered more than $3 billion in losses in the past seven months due to Israel’s war against the enclave, Minister of Transportation and Communications Tareq Zarab has said.

Zarab's remarks came during a presentation at a session of the Cabinet in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to a statement viewed by Anadolu news agency.

“The committees of the Ministry of Transportation estimate the destruction by the (Israeli) occupation forces of about 55,000 vehicles in the Gaza Strip, which is equivalent to 60 percent of the licensed vehicles in the Strip,” said Zarab.

For our live updates from Sunday, April 28, click here.