Gaza live: Fresh Israeli order forces over 170,000 Palestinians to leave their homes

The Israeli army issued new evacuation orders for displaced Palestinians north of Khan Younis and east of Deir al-Balah and has once again reduced the size of the so-called "humanitarian zone".

Several areas of Khan Younis will no longer be designated as safe areas.

The army says its decision is based on recent rocket fires from Palestinian armed groups.

The Israeli military has previously ordered evacuations from areas previously designated as humanitarian, and bombed safe zones it had told Palestinians to go to.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• An Israeli air strike on a residential building in Jabalia, northern Gaza killed seven people while another strike on al-Daraj, central Gaza killed five
• An armed Israeli settler attack on the village of Jit, occupied West Bank killed one Palestinian and injured dozens of others
• Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant condemned the "violent, radical riots" by extremist settlers in the West Bank
• A Hezbollah official told the Washington Post that the group will not retaliate against Israel's assassination of its top commander during Gaza ceasefire negotiations "because the party does not want to be held accountable for obstructing the talks or a potential deal"
• US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticised President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for "always" demanding a ceasefire in Gaza
• Trump also said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting in Florida to "get your victory", but that "the killing has to stop" in Gaza.

Our live coverage from Gaza will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are some of the day's key developments:

• Israeli forces have killed at least 40 Palestinians and wounded 107 others in the past 24 hours, according to the Palestinian health ministry. This brings the death toll since 7 October to 40,005, with more than 92,401 wounded and an estimated 10,000 missing, likely dead and buried under rubble

• Israel has failed to eliminate Hamas or destroy its tunnels in Gaza and has nothing more to achieve military in the strip, senior US officials reportedly told the New York Times

• US President Joe Biden will publicly blame Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Israel rejects a Gaza ceasefire proposal set to be discussed in the upcoming talks later on Thursday, according to senior Haaretz analyst Amos Harel

• Hamas has issued a statement criticising the Palestinian Authority (PA), after PA forces detonated an explosive before it hit Israeli troops in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank

• The president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, announced during an address to the Turkish parliament that he has decided to visit Gaza

• Jordan called on the European Union on Thursday to take "practical deterrent steps" against Israel over its continued aggression on the Gaza Strip and its violation of the rights of the Palestinian people

• The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that a Palestinian was critically injured by settler gunfire in the town of Jit, near Qalqilya, in the northern occupied West Bank

• The Israeli government is advancing a plan to legalise 35 percent of Israeli outposts in Area C of the occupied West Bank, according to a new report by the Israeli human rights organisation, Bimkom

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) says the death toll in Gaza crossing 40,000 was a “very grim milestone”.

“Forty-thousand lives reportedly gone in just over 10 months in Gaza. And possibly, it’s even more. Whatever dispute there is over the numbers, there is no dispute over the immense suffering,” he posted on X.

“This is a direct result of a collective failure to reach a ceasefire,” he noted, adding that more than 200 Unrwa members had been killed in the 10-month-long war.

The resignation of Columbia president Nemat "Minouche" Shafik has led to an outpouring of relief among students, faculty and activists in New York City who say she will be largely remembered for her repression of Columbia's Palestine solidarity encampment. 

On Wednesday night, Shafik announced she would give up her post as president of the New York-based Ivy League university with immediate effect, citing "a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community". 

"It has been distressing - for the community, for me as president and on a personal level - to find myself, colleagues, and students the subject of threats and abuse," she continued. 

Shafik, who was inaugurated as Columbia's president in July 2023, came under heavy criticism in April this year for her handling of the Palestine solidarity encampment which took place on Columbia's campus between 17 to 30 April. 

Read more: 'Good riddance': Columbia University president Shafik remembered for silencing pro-Palestine speech

Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said late Thursday that the Gaza ceasefire-hostage talks will continue Friday, Reuters reported.

The spokesperson added in a statement that the efforts of the mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States are ongoing to move forward in endeavors to reach a ceasefire that would facilitate the release of hostages and enable the entry of the largest possible amount of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

A group of more than 100 journalists have signed a letter addressed to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on the Biden administration to impose a ban on weapons transfers to Israel over its killing of Palestinian journalists in Gaza.

The letter comes just over a week after Israel's military killed Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and his camera operator Rami al-Rifi after striking their car with a missile.

Since Israel began its war on Gaza last October, Israeli forces have killed more than 160 Palestinian journalists working out of the besieged enclave.

"As journalists, publications and press freedom groups in solidarity with the courageous Palestinian journalists of Gaza, we call on you to do more to protect journalists and show unwavering support for free and independent media by supporting an arms embargo against Israel," the letter said.

"Israel’s deliberate targeting of journalists follows a longstanding pattern by the Israeli government to suppress truthful reporting on its treatment of Palestinians and its war in Gaza. By providing Israel with the weapons used to kill journalists, the State Department is abetting Israel’s violent suppression of journalism."

Read more: Over 100 journalists sign letter demanding US impose arms embargo on Israel

Houthi-affiliated media outlet Al Masirah reports that UK and US jets have conducted a raid on the as-Salif district in Yemen's Hodeidah province.

The US has led a coalition in targeting Yemen’s Houthis in response to the group’s campaign against shipping vessels transiting through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that are owned by Israel or linked to Israeli ports.

The Houthis have stated that these attacks on Israel-linked shipping will cease once Israel ends its war on Gaza.

In a post on X, the German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, described the settler rampage through the occupied West Bank village of Jit as "horrible".

"Extremist settlers go on a violent rampage in the Westbank village of Jit, kill a man, torch Palestinian property. Israel’s international friends have often addressed that these perpetrators think they can act with impunity. It must not be that way," said Seibert.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has condemned the storming of the village of Jit in the occupied West Bank, stating that it harmed "the name and position of Israel in the world during a particularly sensitive and difficult period".

According to Israeli and Palestinian media, masked settlers torched homes and opened fire on Palestinians, killing at least one person and severely injuring another.

He also said the attack was carried out by an extreme minority that "harms the law-abiding settler population and the settlement as a whole".

Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law, are often seen as the main barrier to a lasting peace with Palestinians under a two-state solution.

Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV quoted "informed sources" on Gaza ceasefire talks, stating that significant disagreements still exist between the parties.

The channel also cited a "high-level Egyptian source" regarding the ongoing negotiations, Al-Jazeera reported.

British banking giant Barclays is planning to withdraw from new Israel government bond auctions amid pressure from pro-Palestine activists, the Financial Times reported.

The British newspaper said the bank is trying to address criticism of its investments in Israel, which have been put under the spotlight following the start of Israel's war on Gaza.

Bonds are a form of debt that are sold by states to international and domestic investors in order to raise funds for public spending, with interest being paid by the state to the bond holder. 

Barclays will be withdrawing from the purchase of future Israeli bond offerings, but will continue acting as a "primary dealer", which helps the state to sell the bonds.

Thursday's report of a withdrawal does not mean a complete end to involvement by Barclays in the Israel bond market.

Read more: Barclays 'to withdraw from Israel bond auction' amid pro-Palestine backlash

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that at least 11 people were wounded in Jit, Qalqilya, and Huwara, near Nablus due to riots by Israeli settlers.

According to an Israeli human rights group at least one Palestinian was killed by the settlers, 23-year-old Rasheed Abdel Qader Sada.

Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas' armed wing, is still alive, according to one of the movement's senior officials, Osama Hamdan. 

In an interview with the Associated Press (AP) published on Thursday, Hamdan said the head of the Izz al-Din al Qassam Brigades was "fine" after Israel claimed to have killed him. 

This is the first time a senior Hamas official has addressed the Israeli claim, made on 1 August, that Deif was killed in air strikes on 13 July.

Hamdan told AP that Hamas believes Israel claimed Deif was the target of the July attack to "justify the massacre" on that day, during which 88 Palestinians were killed in the bombing of a so-called humanitarian zone in southern Gaza's Khan Younis.

At least 289 others were wounded, according to the Palestinian health ministry, as Israeli bombs struck tents housing displaced people in the al-Mawasi district of Khan Younis.

Read more: Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif is alive, says senior official

The Israeli government is advancing a plan to legalise 35 percent of Israeli outposts in Area C of the occupied West Bank, according to a new report by the Israeli human rights organisation, Bimkom.

Since February, Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has led this effort, aiming to legalise 70 of the 200 illegal outposts in the fully Israeli-controlled Area C, the organisation stated.

"As part of this process, Israel is working to immediately connect these outposts to water and electricity infrastructure, establish public buildings within them, and halt enforcement proceedings against them," the report noted.

"The initiative further exacerbates planning discrimination against the Palestinian population."