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Live Blog Update| Israel's genocide in Gaza

Evening recap

Hello MEE readers.

On Thursday, South Africa presented a new submission at the International Court of Justice calling on the court to halt Israel's military offensive on Rafah, as well as to order Israel to fully and immediately withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

You can read more about Thursday's trial here.

Also on Thursday, the Arab League called for a UN peacekeeping force in the occupied Palestinian territories. The move marked the first time Arab states have officially endorsed an internationalisation of the Israel-Palestine conflict since Israel’s war on Gaza erupted. Read more about that news here.

Meanwhile, inside Gaza famine and hunger continues to loom over the Palestinian population, with aid trucks continue to pile up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, which Israel seized last week during its offensive on the area.

Here's what else you need to know about today's developments:

  • The US House of Representatives passed a bill that would force President Joe Biden to send additional weapons to Israel, despite the Biden administration already pushing through an additional $1bn in aid to the country.

  • A new report from the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights (SFHR) says that Egypt's military has in recent days been deploying additional reinforcements near the Rafah crossing with Gaza. Read the full story here

  • Spain denied a request from an Israel-bound ship carrying arms to dock at the southeastern port of Cartagena.

  • Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is submitting a plan to the cabinet that would end Israel's free trade agreement with Turkey. The move is in reaction to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan decision to halt exports to Israel.

  • Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories agency announced a confirmation of the US military's statement that the long-anticipated and much-criticised floating pier it was building off the coast of Gaza has been connected.

  • Fighting between Israel and Palestinian armed groups was tense in northern Gaza on Thursday. Palestinian groups claimed to have targeted an Israeli artillery site, a command headquarters, several tanks, and an observation site.