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

On Wednesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan assured visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Turkey will continue to support the Palestinian cause and push the international community to increase pressure on Israel, according to Erdogan's office.

The two leaders discussed recent developments and the steps needed for a lasting ceasefire and peace in Gaza. 

Erdogan condemned Israel's actions in Gaza and criticised some western countries for remaining silent and continuing to support Israel, according to the statement, reported Reuters. 

Erdogan also urged Abbas that all nations, especially those in the Muslim world, should intensify efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

Abbas is scheduled to address an extraordinary session of Turkey's parliament on Thursday.

Turkey has condemned the war and halted all trade with Israel. It has also requested to join South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide.

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 U.S. 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 U.S. funding, arming, and backing of the state of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians."

Two Palestinian Americans have filed a lawsuit against the US government accusing the Biden administration of placing one of them on a "no-fly" list and the other on a watchlist for their activism and advocacy against Israel's ongoing war on Gaza.

Mustafa Zeidan and Osama Abu Irshaid filed the lawsuit on Monday, aided by the Council on American-Islamic Relations' national office and its Los Angeles chapter.

Abu Irshaid, who had previously been on a government watchlist and was taken off in 2017, said that he only found out he was back on such a list when returning home from an international trip in June.

He was unable to print out his boarding pass at the self-service kiosk at the airport, and when he went to the service desk, a boarding pass was issued with the lettering, "SSSS" (Secondary Security Screening Selection).

He was then detained by US federal agents, who proceeded to question him about his advocacy around Palestine.

Read more: Palestinian Americans sue US government over secret watchlist, no-fly list

A new round of indirect negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to put an end to the devastating war on Gaza is set to begin on Thursday in Qatar.

But with a ceasefire proposal having been on the table for several months now, and with Hamas uncommitted to attending the latest round of talks, the chances of striking a deal appear marginal at best.

US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters on Wednesday that Washington has been assured by Qatar that Hamas will be represented at the talks.

"Our Qatari partners have assured us that there will be representation from Hamas," Patel said.

Reuters reported Wednesday that CIA director William Burns will attend talks and be accompanied by Brett McGurk, White House coordinator for the Middle East and Africa.

Read more: Gaza ceasefire talks enter new round with low expectations. What's stopping the deal?

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly fears for his life due to his pursuit of a normalisation agreement with Israel without resolving the question of Palestinian statehood, according to Politico.

The Saudi leader has expressed concerns about the threats he faces, explaining to visiting US lawmakers that any deal must include a definitive and irreversible path to a future Palestinian state.

This discussion was reported by Politico, citing a former US official familiar with the talks.

In one meeting, he referenced former Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated in 1981 after normalising relations with Israel.

"The way he put it was, ‘Saudis care very deeply about this, and the street throughout the Middle East cares deeply about this, and my tenure as the keeper of the holy sites of Islam will not be secure if I don’t address what is the most pressing issue of justice in our region,’” one source familiar with the matter told Politico. 

The Israeli government and parliament have repeatedly stated that they will not accept a Palestinian state no matter what. 

Jordanian authorities are using the country’s new cybercrimes law to stifle expression, particularly pro-Palestine sentiment, leading human rights organisation Amnesty International has found.

At least 15 individuals have been prosecuted under the law after criticising authorities online, Amnesty’s report says.

The cybercrimes law, enacted on 13 August 2023, introduced several amendments to the existing 2015 law including “allowing the prosecution of individuals without a personal complaint when the offence is related to governmental figures or entities”.

The scope of crimes is also deemed broad, as people can be prosecuted for accusations such as “spreading fake news”, “provoking strife”, “threatening societal peace” and “contempt for religions”.

“Under the pretext of protecting the digital space, Jordanian authorities have escalated their blatant assault on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in the country, using overly broad provisions,” said Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Read more: Jordan using cybercrime laws 'against pro-Palestine' sentiment, Amnesty says

Medical sources informed Al Jazeera Arabic that at least "40 martyrs were brought to hospitals due to ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip since Wednesday morning, with 30 of them arriving at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis."

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that Israeli air strikes targeted a residential tower in Hamad City, northwest of Khan Younis.

An Israeli drone struck a vehicle in the village of Marj Ayyun, located in southern Lebanon, according to a report by the Lebanese newspaper, Al-Akhbar.

The attack resulted in two deaths and six injuries, including a child.

US envoy Amos Hochstein said on Wednesday he believed an all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel was avoidable.

He insisted, however, that Israel and Hamas need to reach a peace agreement in Gaza without delay, as it would help to enable a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon.

Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group, has been engaged in cross-border clashes with Israel since 8 October, a day after the outbreak of the war on Gaza.

While the clashes remained contained to border areas for months, tensions have escalated in recent weeks.

After a rocket fell in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, killing 12 civilians, Israel accused Hezbollah of carrying out the attack, although the latter denied responsibility.

Read more: US envoy Hochstein says war between Hezbollah and Israel can be avoided

Britain strongly condemned the Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, British foreign minister David Lammy said on Wednesday.

"The UK strongly condemns Minister Ben-Gvir’s deliberately provocative visit to Jerusalem's Holy Sites," said the country's Foreign Minister David Lammy in a post on X.

"Such actions undermine the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's role as custodian of the sites and the longstanding Status Quo arrangements," he added.

During a UN Security Council discussion yesterday, Norway highlighted that in 2021, the council unanimously passed Resolution 2601, condemning attacks and threats against schools, educational facilities, and civilians associated with them.

“The Safe School Declaration is endorsed by 120 states,” Norway said, urging all nations to adopt it.

This declaration represents a political commitment among governments to protect students, teachers, schools, and universities from attacks during armed conflicts. 

More than 10,000 Israeli soldiers were wounded in fighting and attacks or suffered from mental disorders caused by trauma since 7 October, the defence ministry has said. 

The rehabilitation division predicts that by 2030, the number of disabled veterans will reach around 100,000, with half suffering from mental health issues.

"The Defense Ministry is now discussing a strategy to absorb and treat those wounded in the war, on top of approximately 62,000 disabled IDF veterans already being treated by the division before the war," Haaretz reported on Wednesday.

On 2 August, funeral prayers for Ismail Haniyeh drew thousands to Doha's Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque to honour the assassinated Hamas leader.

Among them were dozens of emissaries from across the Arab and Muslim worlds who travelled to Qatar to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people amid Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza that has inflamed much of the region.

Notably absent from the funeral were representatives from the governments of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Morocco.

Despite their critical policy differences, similar occasions in the past, such as the funeral of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, brought together Arab leaders in a symbolic display of unity and collective mourning.

For all their glaring contradictions, Arab states previously found it necessary to pay heed to the question of Palestinian liberation in the eyes of their populations, though more often with words than deeds.

Read more: Why Arab regimes' betrayal of Palestine may come back to haunt them

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to visit the Turkish capital Ankara and address the Turkish parliament in a special session on Thursday, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the parliamentary assembly.

In his speech, Abbas is expected to highlight Israel's attacks in the occupied West Bank, as well as ceasefire efforts in the Gaza Strip.

Germany on Wednesday condemned a visit by two Israeli ministers to the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem, known to Jews as Temple Mount, and said it expects the Israeli government to halt deliberate provocations.

"We reject unilateral steps that jeopardise the historical status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem," the foreign ministry in Berlin posted on social media platform X.

For decades, a delicate status quo has governed worship and visits to the site, permitting only Muslims to pray in its courtyards and prayer halls.

Berlin's statement came after the US rejected "any unilateral action like this that jeopardizes the status quo" in a statement on Tuesday.