Live Updates: Türkiye, Iraq discuss Israeli oppression on Gaza - Erdogan

Monday, 22 April, 2024

1412 GMT –– Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that he discussed Israeli oppression in Palestine with the Iraqi leadership.

"With my counterparts, we discussed the effects of Israel's oppression in Palestine on our region and held consultations about joint steps we could take," Erdogan said in a news conference.

Erdogan arrived in Iraq’s capital Baghdad to hold meetings with Iraqi officials. In the meeting, bilateral relations between Türkiye and Iraq, Israel's war on Gaza, regional and global issues, and counterterrorism efforts were discussed.

13:49 GMT –– Medical evacuation approval rate in Gaza 'very low': UN

The UN special rapporteur on the right to health warned that the medical evacuation rate in Gaza is "very low," standing at 47 percent, as many healthcare facilities are "completely dysfunctional."

Responding to Anadolu news agency's question in a press briefing in Geneva, Tlaleng Mofokeng stressed it is hard to gather data on how many people need medical evacuation due to the destruction of civilian infrastructure.

Mofokeng said reporting and collecting health data is going to be a "very big task" right now, adding: "But we know that a lot of people have been evacuated to the neighbouring countries and regions. And even that, in itself, takes extremely long to complete as a process."

"There isn't a systemic structured, focused and deliberate intent to ensure that people's rights to health are protected," she said.

Noting that she does not have information on whether any medical evacuation took place in recent days, the rapporteur said: But I know that 4,373 patients have been assisted through the WHO work."

"The approval rate is 47 percent, which is still very low if you account for the types of injuries that are being seen at the moment," Mofokeng said. "And I mean, the point is Gaza should not be evacuating people for support, right? These facilities and the health services should be able to adequately respond to their needs, where they live, and where they reside."

She called the medical evacuations "just another layer of support but not a permanent solution" to what is needed.

12:44 GMT –– Columbia University cancels in-person classes after pro-Palestinian protests

Columbia University students will attend classes virtually as school officials hope to deescalate tensions on the New York City campus after pro-Palestinian demonstrations led to mass arrests last week.

In a statement, Columbia President Nemat Minouche Shafik said the university was cancelling in-person classes while denouncing antisemitic language and intimidating and harassing behaviour that she said had occurred on campus recently.

More than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on Thursday on the campus after Shafik authorised New York police to clear an encampment set up by students demonstrating against Israel's actions in Gaza.

12:43 GMT –– Germany voices ‘great concern’ over violence by illegal Israeli settlers

Germany has voiced "great concern" over the latest round of violence by illegal Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank and urged the Israeli government to take measures to protect Palestinians from violent attacks.

"We view the latest outbreaks of violence with great concern. Of course, this also applies above all to the violence that comes from extremist settlers," Christian Wagner, a deputy Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said at a press conference in Berlin.

"Israel, as the occupying power in the West Bank, has of course the duty and task to ensure security there, within the framework of the applicable law," he added.

12:32 GMT –– Over 280 bodies recovered so far from mass grave in Khan Younis

Health workers have uncovered at least 283 bodies of people from a mass grave at the Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, Gaza's civil defence agency said.

"Civil defense crews retrieved 73 more bodies from the mass grave, bringing the total figure to 283 bodies since Saturday," the agency said in a statement.

According to the statement, civil defence crews are still searching for more bodies in the grave.

A mass grave was found in the hospital’s courtyard on Saturday after the Israeli army withdrew from the city on April 7 following a 4-month ground offensive.

"We believe that there are hundreds of bodies still missing after being executed by the Israeli occupation and buried in mass graves,'' he told Anadolu news agency.

12:21 GMT –– UN chief accepts independent review of UNRWA

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has accepted the recommendations from an independent review of UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA's ability to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations of breaches, his spokesperson said.

"He has agreed with Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini that UNRWA, with the Secretary-General’s support, will establish an action plan to implement the recommendations," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

"Moving forward, the Secretary-General appeals to all stakeholders to actively support UNRWA, as it is a lifeline for Palestine refugees in the region."

The review, led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, is due to be released later on Monday.

11:59 GMT –– Israel to expand 'humanitarian zone' in Gaza ahead of Rafah ground attack

Israel is preparing to expand a “humanitarian zone” for Palestinian civilians ahead of a planned ground offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza, Israeli media said.

According to Israeli Army Radio, the humanitarian zone will extend from the southern town of Al Mawasi along the coastal strip to the outskirts of Deir al Balah in central Gaza. "The humanitarian zone will accommodate around one million people," the broadcaster said.

11:26 GMT –– Hezbollah, Israeli army exchange fire near Lebanon border

Hezbollah and the Israeli army exchanged fire across Lebanon in a new round of confrontations.

Hezbollah said in a statement that it targeted Israeli "spy installations" near the border village of Wazzani in the Marjayoun district in southern Lebanon with "appropriate weapons.''

It also targeted Israeli troops' positions near the Hanita site in Israel, opposite the town of Alma al Shaab in Lebanon, with artillery shells, and also hit a gathering of soldiers near the Israeli site of Dahiyra with rockets.

10:15 GMT — Pakistan PM Sharif lauds Iran for 'strong stand' on Gaza

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has lauded Iran for taking a strong stand on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities there.

Addressing a joint press talk alongside visiting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Islamabad, Sharif called on Muslim countries to unite and raise their voice for an end to the conflict.

10:02 GMT — Israeli army arrests Palestinian for allegedly killing illegal settler in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army has said that it arrested a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank village of Duma on suspicion of killing a settler whose body was found 10 days ago.

"The General Security Service (Shin Bet), the police, and the army arrested late Monday Ahmed Dawabsha, 21, from the village of Duma," army spokesperson Avic hay Adraee said on X.

He claimed that Dawabsha confessed during initial interrogation that he killed Benjamin Ahimeir from Jerusalem on April 12 near Ma'ale HaShalom area.

09:36 GMT — Israeli attacks kill at least 54 more Palestinians in 24 hours

At least 34,151 people have been killed in Gaza from Israeli attacks, according to the enclave's Health Ministry.

The tally includes at least 54 deaths in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 77,084 people have been wounded in Gaza since October 7.

09:34 GMT — 25 more Palestinians arrested by Israeli army in occupied West Bank raids

The Israeli army has rounded up 25 more Palestinians in fresh raids across the occupied West Bank late Sunday and early Monday, according to prisoners' rights groups.

Most of the arrests took place in the cities of Nablus, Jenin, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron and Qalqilya, the Commission of Detainees' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society s aid in a joint statement.

09:02 GMT — Israeli military intelligence chief resigns

The Israeli military has said the head of its intelligence corps has resigned over the failure to prevent Hamas’ unprecedented October 7 attack, which broke through Israel’s vaunted defences.

Aharon Haliva, the head of Israel’s military intelligence, became the first senior Israeli figure to step down on Monday, after the attack, which Israel claims killed 1,200 people, with roughly 250 more taken hostage.

08:39 GMT — 'Collective punishment' of Palestinians unacceptable: Ireland

Ireland's foreign minister on Monday called the "collective punishment" of Palestinians by Israel following the Oct. 7 attack "not acceptable," saying Israel's response was not proportionate.

"We believe that the response has been fully disproportionate and has also been, in our view, a breach of humanitarian law in terms of the destruction of Gaza and also in terms of the killing of civilians, innocent men, women and children," Michael Martin said in a doorstep speech ahead of a EU Foreign Ministers Council meeting.

"We believe that cannot be justified," Martin said and added: "The population of Gaza has been collectively punished because of the activities of Hamas, that's not acceptable."

07:50 GMT - Israeli's intelligence commander resigns

Israeli army's Intelligence Directorate commander Aharon Haliva announces he will resign for his part in Oct. 7 intelligence failure

04:30 GMT — Israeli strikes on Rafah kill 24 Palestinians, mostly children

The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes on two homes in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza has risen to 24, including 16 children and six women, medical sources told Anadolu Agency.

The sources said a number of Palestinians had succumbed to injuries they sustained in the Israeli air raids on Saturday evening targeting two houses, one in eastern Rafah and the other in its centre. They noted that others are still missing under the rubble.

On Saturday evening, the civil defence service in Gaza announced the retrieval of several victims from an Israeli aerial bombardment on a residential building in the eastern part of Rafah.

03:55 GMT — Egypt, UN reiterate necessity of ending Israeli 'violations' against civilians in Gaza

Egypt and the United Nations reiterated the necessity of ending Israeli “violations” against civilians in Gaza, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, in Cairo as part of her tour, which also includes Jordan.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said that Shoukry and Albanese “reiterate the necessity of ending Israeli violations against civilians in Gaza, sustaining full aid delivery and eliminating violence and attacks by Israeli settlers in West Bank.”

03:00 GMT — Rockets fired from Iraq at US-led coalition base in Syria

Rockets were fired late Sunday from northern Iraq at a military base in Syria housing a US-led coalition, according to Iraqi security forces.

In response, the Iraqi forces launched a major search operation in northern Nineveh province and found the vehicle used in the attack, they said in a statement.

It is the first major attack against the coalition forces in several weeks.

The group has claimed most of the attacks on US forces carried between mid-October and early February.

For our live updates from Sunday, April 21, click here.