Israel-Palestine live: Thousands in state of panic as Israel continues to strike hospitals

At least five Palestinians were killed and several were injured in an Israeli air strike that hit al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza.

At least three Palestinians have been killed, and several others wounded, in an Israeli air strike on Thursday morning in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

The bombing comes a day after a large Israeli air strike killed nearly 200 people in the same refugee camp.

After resigning from his position as director in the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Craig Mokhiber told Al Jazeera in an interview on Thursday that the intention for Israeli officials to commit genocide against Palestinians through its military campaign in Gaza has been clearly and explicitly stated.

"Usually the most difficult part of proving genocide is intent because there has to be an intention to destroy in whole, or in part, a particular group," Mokhiber said.

"In this case, the intent by Israeli leaders has been so explicitly stated and publicly stated – by the prime minister, by the president, by senior cabinet ministers, by military leaders – that that is an easy case to make. It’s on the public record."

Mokhiber stepped down from his post this week, citing the UN's response to Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which has killed nearly 9,000 Palestinians, including more than 3,000 children.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa will make a trip to Israel and Jordan, and will also visit Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, where she will meet with leaders from the Palestinian Authority.

The foreign minister said the situation in Gaza is a "grave situation" and that Japan will continue diplomatic efforts to help the situation "settle down".

The Biden administration late on Wednesday announced it was releasing a national strategy for countering Islamophobia in the US.

"The Biden-Harris administration will develop our first National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia. This strategy will be a comprehensive and detailed plan to protect Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim from hate, bigotry and violence," Vice President Kamala Harris said in a video address published on X.

The announcement comes after polling released by the Arab American Institute showed that support for US President Joe Biden dropped by more than 40 percent among voters from the Arab community in the US.

The poll further found that two-thirds of Arab American voters had a negative view of Biden's approach to Israel and Palestine, which has included stalwart support of Israel's actions as it launched an aerial bombardment of Gaza that has so far killed nearly 9,000 Palestinians.

After Hezbollah said that it downed an Israeli drone with a surface-to-air missile, Israel's military came out and disputed the account.

It said that a surface-to-air missile was launched from Lebanon toward one of its drones, but did not say who fired the missile and added that the drone received no damage.

"In response, the (military) struck the terrorist cell that fired the missile and the launch site," the military said in a statement.

Neither side has produced evidence for its claim.

A number of US lawmakers are feuding with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) after the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group attacked them for voting against a resolution supporting Israel.

On Tuesday, Aipac singled out Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, saying he had stood with "The Squad," a group of progressive Democrats, to vote against supporting Israel and condemning Hamas.

Massie accused Aipac of “intentionally misrepresenting” his vote. 

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US lawmakers slam pro-Israel lobbying group for 'inflammatory ads'

Israeli security forces on early Thursday morning launched another round of overnight raids on several cities in the occupied West Bank.

Forces have launched raids on Nablus, Jericho, and Ramallah, the seat of power for the Palestinian Authority, according to several Palestinian news outlets.

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces arrested six Palestinians in Nablus.

Several countries in Latin America on Wednesday issued condemnations of Israel's attacks on the densely populated refugee camp of Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Peru, Mexico, and Argentina - home to the largest Jewish population in the continent - lambasted the Israeli attacks, which the Palestinian health ministry said killed nearly 200 people.

"Peru condemns, and will continue to condemn, violence from wherever it comes from," Peru's foreign ministry said in a statement.

At a UN emergency special session on Gaza, Mexican diplomat Alicia Buenrostro called on the "occupying power" Israel to cease its claim to the Palestinian territories, arguing for a two-state solution.

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza is more alarming by the day," Argentina's foreign ministry said.

The three nations also called for the release of hostages captured by Hamas. Mexico says it has co-nationals among the captured.

On Tuesday, Bolivia cut diplomatic ties with Israel over its bombardment and siege of Gaza, while Colombia and Chile recalled their ambassadors to Israel.

For many Palestinian Americans from Gaza, the past several weeks have forced them to navigate a whirlwind of emotions - from despair to unlocked trauma, to the guilt they feel from being in the US while close family members in the Strip face nonstop aerial bombardment.

“Now, every time I hear an airplane, every time I hear a helicopter, my brain is back there,” said Besan Abu Radwan.

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Palestinian Americans from Gaza relive trauma while fearing for families back home

Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Thursday morning that it destroyed an Israeli drone over south Lebanon with a surface-to-air missile, according to Reuters.

This is the second time this week the group claimed to have taken down an Israeli drone. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he thinks there should be a humanitarian "pause" in the war in order to get captives released from Gaza.

The remarks were made by Biden during a fundraiser for his 2024 reelection campaign, when he was interrupted by Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, who demanded a ceasefire.

At least 220 Israelis were taken as captives by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups who attacked Israel on 7 October.

An investigation by BBC analysed several incidents in which Israel instructed Palestinians in Gaza to relocate to another area, and then days later bombed areas near where they advised them to seek refuge.

The BBC investigated several of these Israeli warnings and subsequent bombings that took place south of the line Israel set for its order for Palestinians to flee.

Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said that the investigation confirmed the fears of many humanitarian groups, that Israel’s relocation order “was no humanitarian evacuation”.

Israel “attempted illegal forcible transfer to places with no safety, no accommodation, no water, no health care, nor relief,” Egeland said on X.

In response to the BBC, the Israeli military said it “called on civilians in Gaza to move south for their safety but will continue striking terrorist targets in all parts of Gaza”.

The main generator for the Indonesian Hospital, located in northern Gaza, has stopped working, several Palestinian media outlets have reported citing the health ministry.

The stoppage of the generator poses a huge risk to hundreds of wounded Palestinans, including the dozens admitted to the hospital after the major Israeli air strike on the Jabalia refugee camp on Tuesday.

The health ministry made an urgent appeal to "people of conscience" to supply the hospital with fuel to run its generators.