Gaza live: Biden moves ahead with military aid for Israel as it launches ground assaults on Rafah

Hossam Badran, a top Hamas official, said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's repeated threats of sending forces into Rafah were intended to “thwart any possibility of concluding an agreement".

“Netanyahu was the obstructionist in all previous rounds of dialogue and previous negotiations, and it is clear that he still is,” Badran told AFP in a phone interview.

“He is not interested in reaching an agreement, and therefore he says words in the media to thwart these current efforts.”

Hamas is currently engaged in dialogue with its leadership and allies before returning to Cairo to continue negotiations towards a truce.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that food access has improved slightly in Gaza, including in the north, but warned that the risk of famine has not passed.

Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO’s representative in the Palestinian territories, said during a video press conference that there is  “definitely… more basic food, more wheat, but also a little bit more diversified food on the market".

But Ahmed Dahir, of the WHO’s Gaza sub-office team, said that despite the improvement, the situation remains precarious, with many unable to afford food sold in markets.

“We cannot say the risk [of famine] has passed,” he said.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, has reported "appalling" conditions faced by Palestinian women in Gaza, with over 10,000 killed and 19,000 wounded since 7 October.

According to the agency, most of these women have children, which means an average of 37 children a day are losing their mothers.

Additionally, Unrwa said that over 155,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women are facing "severely limited access" to water and sanitary items.

Yemen's Houthi group will target ships bound for Israeli ports in any areas they are able to reach, military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Friday.

"We will target any ships heading to Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea in any area we are able to reach," he said.

Reporting by Reuters

Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat filed a complaint with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) chief Mathias Cormann over Ankara's decision to halt trade with Israel.

Barkat said in a post on X that he had met with Cormann following Turkey's announcement it was cutting trade ties with Israel over its assault on Gaza.

He called for the OECD to take action against Turkey, saying that the move “blatantly violates maritime trade laws and harms the continuity of global supply”. 

New York police have moved into clear a pro-Palestine encampment at the city's New York University (NYU) on Friday, following a request from the university.

According to NBC news, aerial pictures show that there were "no apparent signs of resistance" as the officers moved through the encampment.

Over 2,000 people have been arrested at pro-Palestine encampments at colleges across the US.

Turkey may have to scale back its year-end export target by $7bn following its halting of trade with Israel, according to Turkish Exporters Assembly chairman Mustafa Gultepe.

He added that compensating for the loss in trade through other markets would not be immediately possible.

An Israeli air strike has destroyed the headquarters of the Abasan municipality east of Khan Younis, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

Over 100 of Gaza's government buildings, the majority of its homes, commercial facilities and schools have been destroyed in Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza. The UN's initial estimates for Gaza's reconstruction top $30bn.

The British government is imposing new sanctions on "extremist groups and individuals" for inciting and perpetrating settler violence in the occupied West Bank, the British foreign office said in a statement on Friday.

The statement added that the new sanctions include two groups "known to have supported, incited and promoted violence" and four individuals "responsible for perpetrating human rights abuses" against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

The new measures come after an unprecedented rise in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since October, with at least 800 attacks recorded by the UN.

Israeli forces have killed at least 26 Palestinians and wounded 51 more over the past 24 hours, according to the Palestinian health ministry. 

This brings the Palestinian death toll in over six months to more than 34,622, with at least 77,867 wounded and an estimated 10,000 missing and presumed dead, according to the Palestinian health ministry and civil defence in Gaza.

More than 70 percent of the victims are children and women, according to health officials.

Police in Paris entered France's prestigious Sciences Po university on Friday and removed student activists who had occupied its buildings in protest against Israel's war on Gaza.

A student told Reuters that police took out many of the around 70 protesters who had spent Thursday night occupying one of the university's main buildings.

Protesters have declined an ultimatum by university officials to clear large parts of the building and restrict their movement to a determined smaller area, according to the student.

The university was closed for the day on Friday, with a heavy police presence around its main building.

An Israeli incursion in Rafah would put the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians at risk and be an incredible blow to the humanitarian operations of the entire enclave, a spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office said on Friday.

Israel has warned of an operation against Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, where around a million displaced are crowded together in shelters and makeshift accommodation.

"It could be a slaughter of civilians and an incredible blow to the humanitarian operation in the entire strip, because it is run primarily out of Rafah," said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, at a Geneva press briefing.

Aid operations out of Rafah include medical clinics and food distribution points, including centres for malnourished children, he said.

Reporting by Reuters

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has condemned attempts to "impede and undermine" its authority amid rumoured threats against it if arrest warrants are issued against Israeli leaders over crimes committed during the ongoing war on Gaza. 

In a statement on Friday, the court said that "independence and impartiality are undermined" when "individuals threaten to retaliate against the Court or against Court personnel should the Office, in fulfilment of its mandate, make decisions about investigations or cases falling within its jurisdiction". 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a video statement earlier this week condemning potential ICC action as "outrageous", and said it would not deter Israel in its military actions in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Israeli military chief of staff Herzi Halevi are believed to be the most likely to be charged, according to multiple media reports. 

On Wednesday, Axios reported that Israel warned Washington that it would take steps which would lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority if the ICC charged Israeli leaders.

"The Office insists that all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence its officials cease immediately," the ICC statement said.  

A World Health Organization official said on Friday that the agency had a contingency plan prepared in case of an Israeli incursion into Gaza's Rafah, but it would not be sufficient to prevent a substantial rise in the death toll.

"I want to really say that this contingency plan is a Band-Aid," said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, at a Geneva press briefing via video link.

"It will absolutely not prevent the expected substantial additional mortality and morbidity posed by a military operation."

Reporting by Reuters

Israeli forces arbitrarily detained the wife of Middle East Eye correspondent Mohammed al-Hajjar on Thursday at a military checkpoint in the central Gaza Strip, forcing the family to separate as they attempted to move south to Rafah.

Hajjar's wife Inas Abu al-Maza was later released by the army, which made her return to Gaza City and prevented her from reuniting with her family in the south.

Before Abu al-Maza was released, Israeli forces confiscated her valuables, including thousands of dollars in cash, personal gold jewellery and two phones. 

Since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza in late October, Israeli forces have detained hundreds of civilians from their homes or while fleeing on roads declared safe by the army. 

Some have been released after interrogation but many have been taken to undisclosed locations.

Read more: Israeli forces detain wife of Middle East Eye correspondent at Gaza checkpoint