Live Updates: UN refugee agency says 207 staff killed in Gaza since October 7

Monday, August 19, 2024

1020 GMT –– The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that 207 of its team members have been killed in Gaza since the outbreak of the Israeli war on October 7.

"207 UNRWA team members have been killed in Gaza since the war began – including in the line of duty," the agency said in a statement on X.

The agency noted that the victims were a diverse group of professionals. "They were engineers, teachers, medical staff. They were humanitarian workers."

In honour of these individuals, UNRWA highlighted their sacrifices on World Humanitarian Day. "On World Humanitarian Day and every day we remember and pay tribute to them all," the statement concluded.

1128 GMT –– Israeli attack kills another journalist in Gaza

Another Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli attack in southern Gaza, bringing the total number of members of the press killed to 169 since October 7 last year, local authorities said.

Palestinian government media office in Gaza identified the new victim as Ibrahim Marwan Muharab, who was killed by Israeli fire while covering a military assault in Khan Younis.

0957 GMT –– Death toll in Israel's war on Gaza surges to 40,139

The Health Ministry in Gaza said that at least 40,139 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory in more than 10 months of Israel's war.

The toll includes 40 killings over the past 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also listed 92,743 people as wounded in Gaza since the Israeli war on the enclave began on October 7.

0940 GMT –– Algerian president pledges to build three hospitals in Gaza

The Algerian president has announced that his country is ready to build three hospitals in Gaza if the land border crossing between Egypt and the enclave is reopened.

Abdelmadjid Tebboune made his statement on Sunday while campaigning for the presidential election scheduled for September 7, according to an Anadolu reporter.

"In case the border between Egypt and Gaza is opened, we will build three hospitals within 20 days," Tebboune said, referring to field hospitals that the Algerian military is capable of constructing.

0854 GMT — Hamas announces return of 'martyrdom operations', claims Tel Aviv attack

Hamas's armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades has claimed responsibility for the attack in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

The man carrying the bomb, which exploded near a synagogue, was killed and a passerby was injured, according to Israeli police at the scene.

In a Telegram post, Hamas said its armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades along with the Al-Quds Brigades, carried out the attack that took place yesterday in the Israeli capital.

The Palestinian resistance group said it would continue to strike in the heart of Israel if the massacres and displacement of Palestinians continue.

The Brigades confirmed that "martyrdom operations" inside the occupied territories will return to the forefront as long as the occupation's massacres, the displacement of civilians, and the continuation of the policy of assassinations continued.

0854 GMT — Colombia halts coal exports to Israel in protest over devastating Gaza onslaught

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that his country is "officially" halting coal exports to Israel, citing the use of Colombian coal in weapons used against Palestinians in Gaza.

"Colombian coal is used to make bombs to kill Palestinian children," Petro said on X, justifying the decision in response to Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza.

The decree, signed by President Petro along with the ministers of foreign affairs, finance, mines, and trade, will come into effect five days after its publication in the official gazette.

Colombia, which exports 5 percent of its total coal production to Israel, has also suspended diplomatic relations with the country, as announced in May, due to Israel's onslaught in Gaza.

0842 GMT — Israeli drone attack in southern Lebanon kills two

Two people were killed in the southern Lebanese town of Houla following an Israeli drone strike, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

The incident was part of an intensifying conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah along the Lebanon-Israel border.

The official Lebanese news agency confirmed the deaths, noting that the drone strike targeted the Aabra area of Houla early in the morning.

In a related escalation, Israeli artillery bombarded the border village of Ayta ash Shab with heavy shelling, while Israeli forces fired machine guns and flares over several southern Lebanese villages near the Blue Line.

0703 GMT — 4 Palestinians shot during Israeli soldiers' raid in West Bank

Four Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces in the northern occupied West Bank, according to witnesses.

Israeli troops entered Nablus city, causing clashes and armed confrontations with Palestinians, eyewitnesses told Anadolu.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement that the raid in Nablus resulted in gunshot wounds, including a critical injury to the head and abdomen, but it is unclear how many of the four were injured with bullet wounds.

It said all the injured were transported to a hospital for treatment.

0647 GMT — Hamas condemns Israel's decision to widen war amid truce talks

Hamas has condemned Israel's decision to escalate military operations in Gaza, accusing Tel Aviv of attempting to gain leverage in ongoing ceasefire and prisoner exchange negotiations.

On Sunday, the Israeli news website Walla cited unnamed political sources as saying: "The Israeli security Cabinet recently instructed the military to intensify its operations in Gaza to strengthen Israel's position in the negotiations."

As of yet, no official Israeli statement has been issued regarding this decision.

In a statement, Izzat al Rishq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, described Israel's decision as "a renewed persistence in its fascist approach against the Palestinians in Gaza" and an "insistence on brutal behaviour targeting defenceless civilians".

He also blamed the international community, particularly the US administration, for its silence and failure to halt what he described as an "ongoing genocide".

0528 GMT — Hamas not to 'derail' Gaza truce push: Blinken tells Israel

Blinken has told Israel that Hamas won't "derail" the push for a Gaza ceasefire.

It is a "decisive moment" in the Gaza ceasefire talks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, describing the latest diplomatic push by Washington to strike a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the war as "probably the best, maybe the last opportunity" to also get the hostages home.

Speaking before he met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the top US diplomat said Washington was also working to ensure that there was no regional escalation amid concerns over a possible attack by Iran on Israel following the assassination of former Hamas politburo leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.

5:10 GMT — Israel orders army to intensify Gaza onslaught

Israel has decided to escalate its carnage in besieged Gaza to improve its position in Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap talks, an Israeli news website said.

"The Israeli security cabinet recently instructed the military to intensify its operations in Gaza to strengthen Israel's position in the negotiations," Walla reported, citing unnamed political sources.

04:14 GMT — Biden says Gaza ceasefire deal 'still possible'

US President Joe Biden said he believes that a ceasefire in besieged Gaza is "still possible."

The talks are "still underway. We're not giving up. (It's) still possible," Biden told reporters.

03:47 GMT — Israeli army wounds Palestinian journalist covering Gaza carnage

The Israeli army wounded a Palestinian journalist while she was covering the invasion of northwestern Khan Younis in the southern besieged Gaza.

Israeli occupation forces fired directly at a group of journalists, striking Salma al-Qadoumi in the back, witnesses told Anadolu Agency.

03:14 GMT — Saudi foreign minister, Blinken discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts

Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire in besieged Gaza in a phone call with his US counterpart Antony Blinken.

The top diplomats discussed "developments in the region, including efforts to end the war on the Gaza Strip and developments in Sudan and Yemen," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

02:30 GMT — Hamas informs Türkiye of stalled negotiations with Israel despite US optimism

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas informed Türkiye that despite the US painting a rosy picture of negotiations on reaching a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal, the actual situation is not like that, and Israel did not even respond to the proposals from mediators in the last week's talks.

According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Hamas officials contacted Türkiye over the weekend and provided information about the negotiation process with Israel.

The officials pointed out that although the Americans portrayed the progress of the negotiations in an optimistic manner, this was not actually the case.

According to Hamas, the conditions put forward by Israel have even fallen short of the scenario supported by the UN Security Council on June 10 and the conditions approved by Hamas on July 2.

It stressed that Israel wants Hamas to accept Israel's presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, to control the checkpoints in the Netzarim Corridor and to monitor Palestinians passing from south to north and to veto 100 names from a list of about 300 prisoners that Hamas wants to be released.

Another demand involves the number of Palestinians that Israel wants to be exiled from Gaza and Ramallah. In this context, Israel wants 200 people to leave Palestine.

For our live updates from Sunday, August 18, 2024, click here.