Gaza live: Dozens killed and wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza and Yemen

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has received a report of a merchant vessel being attacked by three small craft, 70 miles from the port city of Hodeidah in Yemen.

An unmanned small craft collided with the vessel twice and two manned small craft fired at the vessel, UKMTO said on Monday. The vessel and crew were reported to be safe.

Since November, Yemen's Houthis have launched drone and missile attacks on global shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as an act of solidarity with Palestinians under bombardment by Israel.

Israeli forces launched several early raids in the Jenin area in the occupied West Bank on Monday.

In Yabad, west of Jenin, Israeli forces raided a home and arrested a young man, according to the Wafa news agency.

In Qabatiya, Israeli troops clashes with locals and broke into the home of a Palestinian man held in Israeli prison to conduct a search while bulldozers razed a market in the area.

Bulldozers also destroyed market stalls and goods containers in Arrabeh.

Israeli forces blew up a vehicle in the Muthalath al-Shuhada village, while clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians were reported in Jenin's Sweitat neighbourhood and near the Asfour and Haddad roundabouts.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• The death toll from Israel's strike on an Unrwa school in Nuseirat, central Gaza has risen to 17 people, with 80 others being injured
• Israel continued carrying out several deadly bombings in az-Zawayda, Rafah and the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Wafa news agency
• Israeli authorities have forced an elderly Palestinian woman in Silwan, East Jerusalem to destroy her own home
• Hamas political bureau member Izzat al-Risheq has denied that the Palestinian group pulled out of ceasefire negotiations

Dear MEE readers, 

The death toll from an Israeli attack on a school in Nuseirat refugee camp run by the Unrwa aid agency, where hundreds of people were reportedly sheltering, has reached at least 15 people. 

The strike on the UN-run Abu Araban site in central Gaza's Nuseirat camp was the fifth on a school-turned-shelter in eight days.

The Abu Araban school was housing "thousands of displaced people", according to civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal, who added that most of the dead were women and children. 

More updates from this evening include:

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Joe Biden at the White House two days before the Israeli PM is scheduled to address Congress later this month.

• The United Kingdom is going to donate $7m to UK-Med, a humanitarian medical NGO, to support Gaza relief work, according to Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

• Israel’s government has approved a plan to temporarily extend compulsory military service for men to 36 months

• UK Foreign Minister David Lammy met with his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts, calling for "an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages, the protection of civilians, unfettered access to aid in Gaza, and a pathway towards a two-state solution".

• In a post to X social media, the Israeli army said that its air force attacked infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in the areas of Meiss el-Jabal, Aita al-Shaab, Beni Hayyan and Houla.

In a post to X social media, the Israeli army said that its air force attacked infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in the areas of Meiss el-Jabal, Aita al-Shaab, Beni Hayyan and Houla.

The post confirms earlier reports of strikes by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

UK Foreign Minister David Lammy met with his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts on Saturday. 

Lammy said his message to Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Mohammed Mustafa was "clear".

"We need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages, the protection of civilians, unfettered access to aid in Gaza, and a pathway towards a two-state solution," Lammy said of the talks on X. 

Today I met with Israeli PM @netanyahu, and Palestinian Authority PM Mustafa.

Our message is clear: we need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages, the protection of civilians, unfettered access to aid in Gaza, and a pathway towards a two-state solution. pic.twitter.com/kmmIBsHgov

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) July 14, 2024

Israel’s government has approved a plan to temporarily extend compulsory military service for men to 36 months, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed. 

The measure will now go to parliament for approval.

Should it pass, the 36-month service will be effective immediately, for a period of five years, according to a copy of the bill posted online. Currently, there is a 32-month requirement.

According to the bill, the move comes because of the military’s "current needs following the events of October 7".

The law would also apply to soldiers currently deployed, lengthening their rotations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Joe Biden at the White House two days before the Israeli PM is scheduled to address Congress.

The meeting - set for Monday, 22 July - would be this first meeting between the two leaders since Biden visited Israel following the 7 October Hamas attack. This would also be the first time Netanyahu visits the White House since returning to power in December 2022.

The United Kingdom is going to donate $7m to UK-Med, a humanitarian medical NGO, to support Gaza relief work, Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced.

The money is set to "support their ongoing work to provide humanitarian assistance and medical treatment to those in Gaza".

"The situation in Gaza remains desperate and the need for medical aid is crucial. That is why this money is so important. Helping to save lives and deliver emergency care to those most in need," Lammy said in a statement.

"This funding will be used to support the ongoing work of their field hospitals and the emergency department at Nasser Hospital. It will allow medics, including those from the UK, to continue carrying out vital work to treat thousands more patients suffering from acute respiratory illnesses, infections, and explosive fragmentation trauma cases."

The death toll from an Israeli attack on a school in Nuseirat refugee camp run by the Unrwa aid agency, where hundreds of people were reportedly sheltering, has risen to 15, the Gaza Government media office has confirmed.

"This massacre comes as a continuation of genocide being perpetrated by the occupation army against our Palestinian people for the tenth month in a row," it said in a statement.

"We hold the Israeli occupation and the US administration fully responsible for the continuation of these massacres against the displaced and civilians," the office said.

Husam Zomlot, the Palestine ambassador to the UK, has said that the "massacres every day everywhere in Gaza" are the result of "Israel’s impunity and international inaction".

In a post on X, he pointed to Israel's attack earlier today on an Unrwa school sheltering displaced families in Nuseirat refugee camp that killed 14 Palestinians and injured 70.

Delta Air Lines has banned its employees from wearing pins representing any country besides the US.

The policy shift comes after the campaign group StopAntisemitism posted an image on X of two flight attendants wearing Palestinian flag pins.

Both attendants were in compliance with the airline's uniform policy.

The airline sparked fury and calls to boycott the company after it said in a deleted tweet it was "terrified" by the cabin crew, and appeared to endorse a false claim that the Palestine flag was a “Hamas badge”.

Scott Anderson, deputy humanitarian coordinator and director of Unrwa affairs in Gaza, has described a visit to Nasser hospital in the aftermath of the Mawasi attack, as "some of the most horrific scenes I have seen in my nine months in Gaza".

He added that the hospital was overwhelmed and struggling to treat hundreds of severe injuries amid shortages of beds, medical supplies and hygiene equipment. Many patients are being treated on the floor without disinfectant.

"Ventilation systems were switched off due to a lack of electricity and fuel, and the air was filled with the smell of blood," he said.

"I saw toddlers who are double amputees, children paralysed and unable to receive treatment, and others separated from their parents. I also saw mothers and fathers who were unsure if their children were alive. Parents told me in despair that they had moved into the 'so-called humanitarian zone' in the hope that their children would be safe there."

At least 14 Palestinians have been killed and 70 others wounded in an Israeli strike on an Unrwa school in Nuseirat refugee camp.

Al Jazeera reported, citing medical sources, that videos of the Abu Oraiban school show children lying on the ground with body parts scattered about.

The Israeli military has confirmed that Rafa Salama, Hamas's Khan Younis brigade commander was killed in the assault on Mawasi refugee camp on Saturday, which killed more than 90 people and injured 300.

The attack was also intended to target the head of the group's armed wing, Mohammed Deif.

The military said that Salama was involved in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October and was one of Deif's closest allies.

It added that his death "significantly impedes Hamas' military capabilities." Hamas has not confirmed Salama's death.