Live Blog Update| Israel's genocide in Gaza
This is an entry from: Gaza live: Israel to build 'different government' in Gaza, says defence minister

Evening recap

31 May 2024 23:49 BST

Hello MEE readers. On Friday, US President Joe Biden announced that Israel had sent its latest proposal for a ceasefire and end to the war on Gaza. 

The three-phase deal outlined by Biden includes a “full and complete ceasefire” in Gaza. The deal appeared nearly identical to the one Hamas agreed to in early May.

Hamas later responded to the news, saying it viewed it in a positive light.

“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas views positively what was included in US President Joe Biden’s speech today,” the group said in a statement.

During the first phase of the deal, Hamas would exchange hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. US citizens would also be released as well as the remains of dead hostages. During this period there would be a six-week halt in fighting.

Biden said that Palestinians would also be able to return to “all areas of Gaza”, and 600 aid trucks would enter the enclave each day. This has been a key sticking point for Hamas and matches the text of the agreement MEE reported on 7 May. 

Here's what else happened today:

  • Leading US lawmakers have invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress.

  • The decomposed bodies of dozens of Palestinians were retrieved from the Jabalia refugee camp on Friday morning.

  • At least one medic was killed and another was wounded in an Israeli air strike on an ambulance in southern Lebanon.

  • Egyptian authorities detained a group of students who expressed support for Palestine and the boycott movement against Israel.

  • The death toll in Gaza has risen to 36,284.