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

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.

Israeli army radio quoted a security source who stated that over 100 Israeli settlers stormed the village of Jit, burning four homes and six cars belonging to Palestinians.

Roughly one-third of Democratic Party voters in the US states of Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania have said they are more likely to vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election if she were to agree to stop sending arms to Israel, according to a new poll.

The survey conducted by YouGov and the Institute for Middle East Understanding polled voters on whether they would be "more likely" or "less likely" to vote for Harris if one of the two scenarios took place: if a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was achieved before the November election or Kamala Harris agreed to an arms embargo on Israel.

In Pennsylvania, 34 percent of voters were more likely to vote for Harris if she agreed to the arms embargo, while 44 percent were more likely to vote for her if Biden achieved a ceasefire.

In Georgia, an arms embargo would make 39 percent of voters more likely to vote for Harris, and a ceasefire would similarly make 44 percent of voters more likely to choose the vice president.

Arizona showed similar numbers, with 35 percent of voters more inclined to choose Harris if she agreed to an arms embargo on Israel, while  41 percent of voters would do so if Biden achieved a ceasefire in Gaza.

Read more: Pledging arms embargo on Israel would help Harris gain more voter support: Poll

Israel has attacked nearly every part of Gaza using US-made bombs, according to Jewish Voice for Peace, a US-based advocacy group that created a map showing over 70,000 bombs dropped on Gaza since 7 October, using UN satellite data.

“With the US as its collaborator, the Israeli military is carrying out the goal of Zionism: the complete and total ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land,” the group states.

“The US isn’t just allowing the Israeli government to commit genocide; it’s actively assisting it. It’s well past time for a weapons embargo. We demand a complete end to US funding, arming, and backing of the state of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians."

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has dropped a case against an academic after her employer, the University of Portsmouth, referred her to Prevent for a series of posts, resulting in counterterrorism officers raiding her house and confiscating electronic devices. 

Amira Abdelhamid is a lecturer in international relations at the University of Portsmouth. Last year, the university suspended her after she posted a series of posts on X related to the 7 October attacks.

During a meeting in mid-October, the university said she was suspended and referred to the Prevent programme, accusing her of bringing the university's name into disrepute and supporting a proscribed group. 

Two months after her suspension, counterterrorism police raided Abdelhamid's home, arrested Abdelhamid and confiscated her personal belongings, including electronic devices such as her laptop, phone, Kindle and a protest sign with "Palestine" written in Arabic. Notebooks containing Arabic writing and powder eyeliner were also taken.

Commenting on her experiences over the last few months, Abdelhamid described it as a "relief" but "nothing compared to what Palestinians are going through in Gaza".

Read more: UK prosecutors drop case against academic over posts related to 7 October attack

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari has claimed that the military has killed more than 17,000 Hamas fighters and members of other groups in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.

However, the Israeli army has not provided evidence to support these claims.

It has been well documented that Israel has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, around half of whom are women and children.

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.

This came during a phone call made by the kingdom's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, with the high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell.

The statement said that Safadi stressed "the necessity for the European Union to take practical deterrent steps against Israel's continued aggression against Gaza, its violation of the rights of the Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, its violation of the sanctity of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, and its continued violations of international law and international humanitarian law, which is pushing the region to the brink of a regional war".

The number of Palestinians killed by Israel's war on Gaza has passed 40,000, the Palestinian health ministry said on Thursday. 

Israeli forces have killed at least 40,005 Palestinians in the besieged enclave since 7 October, the ministry said. 

More than 92,401 others have been wounded.

The latest death toll comes after 40 Palestinians were killed and 107 were wounded by Israeli attacks over the past 24 hours.

"Over ten months of hell, people continue to lose their loved ones; family members, close friends and neighbours. Do you know what it means to lose 40,000 of your people?" said Fikr Shalltoot at Medical Aid for Palestinians. 

Read more: Israel has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, say local authorities

The White House said the Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar have had a "promising start" and are expected to continue into Friday.

The US delegation in Doha is led by CIA chief William Burns and Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the Middle East. The Israeli delegation is headed by Mossad chief David Barnea. Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani are also in attendance.

Hamas has previously said it would not enter new negotiations but is willing to discuss the framework deal that the US announced and Hamas agreed to in early July.

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

"I announce before you and the world that I have decided to go to the Gaza Strip with all Palestinian leaders," Abbas told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and hundreds of Turkish politicians, saying his aim was to "stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza".

The Palestinian president, who is usually based in the occupied West Bank, called on leaders of Arab, Muslim and friendly countries, as well as the UN secretary-general, to join him on his visit.

Israel's assault on Gaza, which has killed over 40,000 Palestinians since 7 October, is still ongoing.

Video footage shows five influential Israeli rabbis condemning Jewish prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. 

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and dozens of Israelis prayed at Al-Aqsa Mosque during a large raid on Tuesday, violating decades-old arrangements that stipulate only Muslims can worship at the site.

Five influential Israeli rabbis released statements on Wednesday that condemned Jewish prayers at occupied East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and dozens of Israelis raided the holy site on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/2kyE9AqlYx

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) August 15, 2024

Hezbollah launched a drone and over 25 rockets into Upper Galilee in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights, according to the Israeli military.

The military reported no casualties, while Israeli media said a rocket sparked a fire near the Shamir settlement. 

Israeli soldiers protected settlers as they blocked Palestinian farmers from reaching their fields in Wadi Maain, the occupied West Bank, on Thursday.

This was one of multiple attacks in the West Bank on Thursday.

Southeast of Bethlehem, in Khalayel al-Loz, Israeli settlers set dozens of olive trees on fire, and in Umm al-Jamal in the Jordan Valley settlers stole a Palestinian farmer's flock of sheep. 

Sirens have been sounding across parts of Israel and the occupied Golan Heights, warning of rocket fire and drone infiltration following Hezbollah attacks.

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for four attacks on Israel today, stating that it used Katyusha rockets to target the Shamir settlement in northern Israel.

The group also reported launching suicide drones aimed at soldiers along the border.

Israeli forces have killed approximately 13,200 children in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The total number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since 7 October has surpassed 40,000, including 7,360 women and 3,440 elderly people, according to the health ministry.

Read more: Israel has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, say local authorities

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.

Hamas said on Thursday morning that the PA's "escalating campaign to pursue the fighters of the resistance, confiscate their weapons, and dismantle explosive devices and ambushes set up to strike [the Israeli military] during its continued incursions into the West Bank are in perfect accordance with the Zionist occupation".