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

Pro-Israel advocacy groups have filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over sanctions issued against individuals involved in settler violence in the occupied West Bank. 

The plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit in Amarillo, Texas, are composed of two NGOs, Texans for Israel and the Israeli nonprofit, Regavim, as well as two dual US-Israeli citizens who live in the West Bank.

The defendants named in the lawsuit include the US Department of Treasury; US Department of State; Department of Homeland Security; Office of Foreign Assets Control; Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; and their department chiefs, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen.

In February this year, Biden filed an executive order allowing federal agencies to impose financial sanctions and visa restrictions against individuals who attack or intimidate Palestinians and destroy or dispossess Palestinians of their property.

Read more: Biden administration faces lawsuit over sanctions against Israeli settlers

Saudi Arabia stated on Wednesday that the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran was a "blatant violation" of Iran's sovereignty.

This comment by Saudi deputy foreign minister Waleed al-Khuraiji, made during an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, marks the kingdom’s first official response since Haniyeh’s killing in Tehran on 31 July.

Khuraiji emphasised that Saudi Arabia rejects "any violation of state sovereignty or interference in the internal affairs of any country".

The Palestinian Commission of Prisoners and Freed Prisoners’ Affairs has reported that 690 children have been arrested by Israel since 7 October with at least 250 still being held in jail. 

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Commission said that Israel systematically arrests Palestinian children as part of widespread punitive mass arrest campaigns.

Reacting to the far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s suggestion on Monday that starving Palestinians in the besiged Gaza Strip is “justified and moral”, even if it leads to the deaths of two million civilians from hunger, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stated that he expects the Israeli government “to distance itself from his word”.

“Deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime: Minister Smotrich advocating for it is beyond ignominious,” Borrell wrote on X.

He also mentioned that Brussels wants Israel to “provide a full account of the reported acts of torture in Sde Teiman prison."

A group of religious Israelis have been pictured practising the ritual of the red heifer, which is meant to herald the building of a new Jewish temple on the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

According to Jewish tradition, the ashes of a perfectly red heifer cow are needed for the ritual purification that would allow a third temple to be built in Jerusalem.

That temple, say radical Jewish groups, must be constructed on the raised plateau in Jerusalem’s Old City known as the Temple Mount, where Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine stand today.

Some believe this will herald the arrival of the messiah and possibly even the end of the world.

Read more: Israelis practise red heifer ritual in front of Al-Aqsa Mosque

Yemen's Houthi movement announced on Wednesday that it had targeted in the Red Sea the Contship Ono, a Liberia-flagged container ship, along with two US destroyers in the nearby Gulf of Aden.

According to the group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, the Houthi air force launched drone attacks on the US destroyer Cole and fired ballistic missiles at the US destroyer Laboon. Saree also stated that ballistic missiles and drones were used to target the Contship Ono.

The assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh threatens to plunge the Middle East into a broader conflict, warned Gambian Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara, chair of a Saudi-based Islamic bloc, at a summit.

During the same meeting, a senior Iranian official asserted that the Islamic Republic would need to defend itself against Israel, which it holds responsible for Haniyeh’s death last week in Tehran.

The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) convened today in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at the request of Iranian and Palestinian officials, who urged the group to respond to the killing.

“This heinous act only serves to escalate existing tensions, potentially leading to a wider regional conflict,” said Tangara, whose country currently leads the OIC.

Haniyeh’s assassination “will not silence the Palestinian cause but rather amplify it, highlighting the urgent need for justice and human rights for the Palestinian people,” he added.

Tangara also emphasised that “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nation-states are fundamental principles of the international order. Disrespecting these principles has serious consequences”.

Egyptian authorities have asked airlines to avoid Iranian airspace for three hours on Thursday morning, specifically between 4:00 am and 7:00 am, according to reports from the Saudi news outlet Al Arabiya.

It is widely anticipated that Iran will retaliate against Israel for last week's assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Israeli journalist Yehuda Schlesinger from the Israel Hayom newspaper called for the widespread rape of Palestinian prisoners during an unchallenged panel discussion on Israeli TV.

When asked to comment on the rape of Palestinian detainees held by Israel, Schlesinger said, "The only problem I have is that it’s not a regulated policy of the state to abuse the detainees because, first of all, they deserve it, and it’s great revenge... maybe it will serve as a deterrent."

In the past, Schlesinger has stated that Palestinians living in Gaza "deserve a hard, agonizing death" and that "there are no innocent people" in the besieged Strip.

The deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Arieh King, has been accused of attempting to stoke far-right riots and tensions in the UK after posting repeatedly about the violence in recent days.

On Sunday 4 August, as anti-Muslim and racist mob attacks wracked cities and towns across the UK, King posted a cartoon image showing a brown Muslim-looking man with a beard and skullcap embracing a white British police officer, who has his arms around the Muslim. 

“Together we will make this country yours,” the speech bubble from the policeman said.

“Thank you for being so weak,” the bubble for the Muslim read.

Lee Harpin, a journalist at Jewish News, denounced the post as “disgraceful”.

Read more: Israeli deputy mayor of Jerusalem accused of stoking race riots in UK

Pro-Israel advocacy groups and dual US-Israeli citizens have sued President Joe Biden over an executive order that imposes financial and immigration sanctions on those involved in settler violence in the occupied West Bank

Filed in Amarillo, Texas, the lawsuit claims Biden's February order violates free speech rights and interferes with religious practices. The plaintiffs include Texans for Israel, the Israeli nonprofit Regavim, and two dual US-Israeli citizens living in the West Bank who oppose the two-state solution.

The executive order allows federal agencies to impose penalties on those who threaten Palestinians or seize their property. The White House says the order is intended to “promote peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians”.

Germany's Lufthansa announced on Wednesday that it will suspend all flights to and from Israel until next Tuesday, 13 August. This decision comes a day after the airline had initially stated that flights would be cancelled only until Monday.

Similarly, Italy's ITA Airways and Greece's Aegean Airlines revealed on Wednesday that they will be halting flights until 10 August and 14, respectively.

Acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri said that Iran expects support for its right to defend itself against Israeli attacks.

"We expect Islamic countries to support our right to a legal and appropriate response to Israeli aggression. Iran's actions are not only a defense of our sovereignty and security but also of the stability and security of the region," he said.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has warned that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah "may drag Lebanon into paying extremely heavy prices. They can’t even imagine what might happen," the Times of Israel is reporting.

“This may also deteriorate into a war. It’s not theoretical, it’s real," Gallant told troops of the 646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade.

Lebanon's Hezbollah has said in a statement on Telegram that its fighters shelled the Jal al-Allam Israeli military site.

On Tuesday, the group said it had launched a drone "swarm" attack which landed 20km deep into Israeli territory, injuring several Israeli civilians.

The attacks come amid ratcheting regional tensions and an expected retaliatory attack on Israel by Iran following the Israeli assassination of Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh.