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

An Israeli drone strike hit the occupied West Bank town of Tammun near the city of Tubas. 

Initial reports say several people have been wounded. 

The strike came as the Israeli military announced launching an assault on Tammun and Tubas. 

Heavy exchanges of fire were reported in Tubas after the Israeli raid began. Palestinian media reports that Israeli soldiers were hit by a roadside improvised explosive device (IED), planted previously by Palestinian armed groups. 

In Tammun, Israeli forces killed at least one Palestinian after surrounding a home he was in. 

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates from Israel's war on Gaza, now in its 312nd day: 

• Israeli air strikes have killed at least 16 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Wednesday, according to Al Jazeera. 

• Israeli forces killed a Palestinian and wounded others during a morning raid on Tubas and Tammun in the northern occupied West Bank. The raid is ongoing. 

• The US military said late Tuesday it destroyed two Houthi vessels in the Red Sea. 

• Hamas' representative in Lebanon, Ahmad Abdul Hadi, told the New York Times on Tuesday that the Palestinian group will not send a delegation to the planned ceasefire talks this week, saying Israel is not negotiating in good faith and is not interested in reaching an agreement. 

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

Here are some of the day's key developments:

• Gaza's health ministry said the death toll from Israel's war on the Palestinian enclave has risen to 39,929, with 32 people killed in the past 24 hours. Additionally, 92,240 people have been wounded since the start of the war

• On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved a new batch of arms sales to Israel, totalling over $20bn in military equipment, according to the Pentagon

• Hundreds of Israeli settlers have raided occupied East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque with Israeli police protection

• Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, along with fellow Jewish Power party member and minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque accompanied by over 1,000 Israeli settlers

• The EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said he "strongly condemns" the actions of dozens of Israelis, led by ministers, who prayed at Al-Aqsa Mosque during a large raid on Tuesday, violating decades-old arrangements that stipulate only Muslims can worship at the site in Jerusalem's Old City

• Turkey has joined a growing list of countries to condemn the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem by crowds of Israelis, including two far-right ministers

• Israeli army units in the Gaza Strip have reportedly used Palestinians as human shields during their operations. "Our lives are more important than their lives," soldiers were allegedly instructed, implying that it's preferable for Israeli soldiers to stay safe while risking the lives of Palestinians in the event of an explosive device

• Iran's foreign ministry said the joint British, French and German call for de-escalation in the region "lack political logic and contradict principles of international law"

• Credit rating agency Fitch downgraded Israel to A on Monday, a drop from A+. The agency also gave the country a Negative Outlook

• An investigation by Al Jazeera's Sanad verification agency has revealed that the Israeli attack on al-Tabin School in Gaza City, which killed at least 100 Palestinians, was “deliberately timed to cause maximum casualties"

• On Monday, the Canadian government revealed it had revoked the tax-exempt status of two prominent Jewish organisations: the Jewish National Fund (JNF) Canada and the Ne'eman Foundation

Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in the town of Anata, east of Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Wafa reported that the boy, identified as Shadi Wessam Sheiha, was working at a car wash when he was shot by an Israeli sniper from the nearby illegal settlement of Pisgat Zeev in occupied East Jerusalem.

His death brings the total number of fatalities in the occupied West Bank since  7 October to 625.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved a new batch of arms sales to Israel, totalling over $20bn in military equipment, according to the Pentagon.

In a statement, the Pentagon said, "The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives."

The Pentagon confirmed that Blinken approved the potential sale of F-15 jets and related equipment worth nearly $19 billion. Additionally, he approved the possible sale of tank cartridges valued at approximately $774m and army vehicles worth $583m.

The tank rounds would be almost immediately available for delivery.

This multibillion-dollar package is the latest in a series of arms deals that Israel is set to receive from the US, adding to the $14bn in additional military aid approved earlier this year.

Read more: US approves $20bn worth of weapons sales to Israel

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant thanked the US for the $20bn arms package, hailing it as a  "message of support and commitment to Israel’s security".

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved a new batch of arms sales to Israel, totalling over $20bn in military equipment, according to the Pentagon.

The Pentagon confirmed that Blinken approved the potential sale of F-15 jets and related equipment worth nearly $19bn. Additionally, he approved the possible sale of tank cartridges valued at approximately $774m and army vehicles worth $583m.

The tank rounds would be almost immediately available for delivery.

The sale comes amid mounting criticism of the Biden administration for continuing to authorise arms transfers to Israel despite the death toll in Gaza approaching more than 40,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Barnard College is facing heat online for deleting a post on their Instagram account featuring a Barnard student who is seen holding up the latest issue of ArabLit Quarterly. The issue's front cover shows a flower-filled map of occupied Palestine, with flowers blooming out of Gaza. 

The post was intended to praise Faraj for her internship at ArabLit Quarterly this past summer. The quarterly issue in her hands is a collection of "poems, testimonies, articles and reflections on the ongoing state of war inside Gaza", according to an introduction of the spring 2024 issue. 

A pro-Israel user commented on the post, stating that the college should “be ashamed” for allowing the Middle East “to infiltrate our schools and student ideology”. 

Read more: 'Blatant racism': Barnard faces backlash after deleting post of student holding ArabLit Quartlerly

Jibril Rajoub, who is also a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, was detained by Israeli authorities upon his return from the Paris Olympics while en route to the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency.

The 71-year-old was searched, had his passport confiscated, and was summoned for questioning at the Ofer military compound near Ramallah on Thursday.

Rajoub has previously faced threats of imprisonment from some members of the Israeli government due to his efforts to have Israel barred from the Olympics and the football World Cup, citing violations of the Olympic Charter and FIFA regulations against apartheid in sports.

In May, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz threatened to revoke Rajoub's travel pass.

“We will work to thwart his plans, and if he doesn’t stop, we will imprison him in the Muqataa [presidential compound in Ramallah], where he will be left to play stanga by himself between the walls,” Katz said, referring to a popular Israeli street game involving a football.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved a new batch of arms sales to Israel, totalling over $20bn in military equipment, according to the Pentagon.

In a statement, the Pentagon said Blinken approved the possible sale of F-15 jets and equipment worth nearly $19bn. He also approved the possible sale of tank cartridges worth around $774m and army vehicles worth $583m, the Pentagon said.

The Israeli military has ordered Palestinians in additional areas of Khan Younis, located in southern Gaza, to move immediately as it prepares to “act forcefully”.

Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, released an updated colour-coded map of Gaza, indicating the "evacuation" of more “blocks” as designated by the Israeli military.

Several new orders have been issued this week amid an expanding ground invasion, which, according to the United Nations, has displaced at least 75,000 Palestinians in recent days.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) reports that the Israeli orders to move cover approximately 85 percent, or 305 square kilometres of the Gaza Strip. 

In the past, Philippe Lazzarini of Unrwa has said that Palestinians are fleeing to areas without water supplies or adequate sanitation.

"The claim that people in Gaza can move to 'safe' or 'humanitarian' zones is false. Each time, it puts the lives of civilians at serious risk. Gaza does not have any safe zones.   No place is safe.   No one is safe," has said Lazzarini.

Credit rating agency Fitch downgraded Israel’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency (LTFC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to A on Monday, a drop from A+.

The agency once again gave the country a negative outlook, meaning a further downgrade is possible.

Fitch attributes its decision to the continuation of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has so far killed over 39,000 Palestinians.

“The downgrade to ‘A’  reflects the impact of the continuation of the war in Gaza, heightened geopolitical risks and military operations on multiple fronts,” Fitch said, adding that it projects a budget deficit of 7.8 percent of GDP in 2024.

Fitch cites the rise in regional tensions following the deadly attack in the occupied Golan Heights’ Majdal Shams on 27 July, which killed 12 children, as well as Israel’s assassination of a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut and its suspected killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, as contributors to the negative outlook.

Read more: Fitch downgrades Israel's credit rating, says Gaza war may last 'well into 2025'

The political bureau of the Houthis has strongly condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, calling it a “blatant violation of the sanctities of Islam”.

“We warn against all systematic and repeated Jewish steps that occur in full view of the international community,” the group said in a statement, emphasising that Muslims “will not allow any of the enemy’s criminal plans to pass against Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Islamic identity therein.”

The Houthi political bureau further stated that “the enemy’s persistence in its crimes” will only encourage more Muslims to rally in support of Palestinians.

Earlier, the Israeli military reported a drone strike in Baraachit, southern Lebanon, which targeted a vehicle and resulted in the deaths of two Hezbollah members.

According to the military, these individuals were part of Hezbollah’s southern front regional command.

In addition, the Israeli military claimed responsibility for an artillery strike and multiple air raids in southern Lebanon, including in Aita al-Shaab, aimed at targeting Hezbollah positions. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added new conditions in late July to a ceasefire proposal delivered to American, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators, which has hardened Israel's position and complicated negotiations, according to documents seen by The New York Times. 

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied that his government was shifting goalposts during negotiations, but the documents suggest Israeli forces now want to keep control of the southern border with Egypt and are showing "less flexibility" in allowing Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza after fighting ends. 

Israel and the US have repeatedly blamed Hamas for a lack of headway in negotiations.

Neither of the two stipulations reported were in the "comprehensive" ceasefire proposal that US President Joe Biden announced Israel had put forward in late May.

Read more: Netanyahu added new conditions to ceasefire proposal: Report

Israeli army units in the Gaza Strip have reportedly used Palestinians as human shields during their operations.

"Our lives are more important than their lives," soldiers were allegedly instructed, implying that it's preferable for Israeli soldiers to stay safe while risking the lives of Palestinians in the event of an explosive device.

This account, detailed by the Israeli daily Haaretz, includes testimonies from both combat soldiers and commanders.

The emerging picture suggests that Israeli soldiers have employed this tactic across Gaza in recent months, with even the chief of staff's office being aware of the practice