Live: Israel kills more than 430 Palestinians on Tuesday

An Israeli drone attack on a gathering of civilians at the Attar junction in Gaza's Beit Lahia has killed three people, including a journalist.

Several more have been injured, according to local journalists.

A senior Hamas official has said the group will only release American-Israeli captive Edan Alexander and the bodies of four other captives if Israel agrees to the existing ceasefire agreement.

According to the Associated Press, the official said Hamas demands negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire must begin the day after the release and that Israel must end its blockade on Gaza.

The Rafah Municipality in southern Gaza said fuel supplies to water wells have been halted as a result of the Israeli blockade.

"We are facing an uncontainable humanitarian disaster due to the cessation of water wells in the city," the municipality said.

Good morning MEE readers, 

Here are some key developments from the last few hours:

• Hamas said that it had accepted a proposal from mediators to release one living American-Israeli captive and the bodies of four dual nationals who had died in captivity. 

• The UN says Gaza needs fuel, oxygen and electricity generators after almost two weeks of Israeli blockade on aid.

• An Israeli drone strike on Gaza City killed four people, while gunboat fire killed a fifth Palestinian.

• The US and Israel have contacted officials of three East African countries to discuss using their territories for resettling Palestinians from Gaza, according to a report by the Associated Press.

• Dozens of Syrian Druze clerics crossed the armistice line in the Golan Heights into Israel, marking their community’s first pilgrimage to a revered shrine in decades.

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

• The US proposed a “bridge” plan aims at extending the Gaza ceasefire to April, which goes beyond Ramadan and Passover, and will allow more time to negotiate a permanent end to the issue of captives,
• Hamas said it will not renegotiate the ceasefire and insisted to proceed on the agreed upon truce with all its phases, and have proposed to release an Israel-American captive and another four bodies, as a "positive gesture,"
• Columbia University  detained a second student for his pro-Palestine activism, and revoked a student visa from another student. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his country is likely to revoke more students’ visas in the coming days,
• A number of students, who support Palestine, demonstrated on Friday at Columbia University in New York City, calling for the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil,
• Hamas said on its Telegram channel that a delegation is heading to Cairo to meet with Egyptian officials, to discuss ceasefire updates,
• Two Palestinian teenagers were arrested by Israeli forces  in the city of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, according to Wafa news agency,
• The Forum of Palestinian Journalist announced the death of Alaa Hashim, a Palestinian journalist, who died out of injuries she had previously sustained in an Israeli attack in Gaza city.

Alaa Hashim, a Palestinian journalist, was announced dead out of injuries she had previously sustained in an Israeli attack in Gaza city, according to the Forum of Palestinian Journalists.

The NGO urged “enabling journalists to perform their professional duties in accordance with international laws and humanitarian conventions”.

Hashim’s death brings the number of Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since 7 October to 206.

Two Palestinian teenagers were arrested by Israeli forces on Friday in the city of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, according to Wafa news agency.

The forces detained the minors, both aged 16, after chasing their vehicle and deliberately destroyed it in the town of Silwad, located northeast of Ramallah, Ra’ed Hamed, the mayor of Silwad, told Wafa news agency.

A number of students, who support Palestine, demonstrated on Friday at Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City, calling for the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate who has been arrested and is facing deportation for organising a pro-Palestine protest on campus.

The demonstrators were seen raising pictures and banners to support Khalil. They have also denounced the university’s decision to punish other students who show support for Palestine.

Earlier, US immigration officials announced on Friday that a second student was arrested for overstaying her student visa and revoked the visa for another student.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said on Friday that the group will not discuss “new or side agreements, but rather moving forward towards implementing the truce agreement in its various stages”.

He said that Hamas’s agreement to release an American-Israeli captive was a “positive gesture” stating that this proposal did not mean that Hamas is happy to renegotiate the truce.

Hazem also said the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes any proposal that aims at completing the ceasefire, fearing the dissolution of his government.

The group’s spokesperson called upon the US to exercise pressure on Israel to abide by the agreed upon ceasefire deal with all its phases, stating that Hamas is looking forward to the release of all prisoners and a permanent truce in the Strip.

Earlier, the US proposed a "bridge" plan that aims to extend the ceasefire to April, beyond Ramadan and Passover. 

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of making “entirely impractical” demands and delaying the ceasefire deal.

“Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not,” read a statement from the Witkoff’s office and the US National Security Council.

It added: “Hamas is well aware of the deadline, and should know that we will respond accordingly if that deadline passes.”

Trump had already warned that Hamas would “pay a severe price” for not freeing captives.

Earlier, Witkoff and the National Security Council proposed a “bridge” plan that aims at extending the truce in Gaza into April beyond Ramadan and Passover.

US immigration officials said on Friday that a second student at Columbia University has been arrested and the visa of another one has been revoked, amid a crackdown on pro-Palestine activism.

The US Department of Homeland Security said the detention of Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian student from the occupied West Bank, was based on her overstaying a student visa, which was terminated in January 2022 for “lack of attendance”.

In April 2024, Kordia was arrested for engaging in protests at Columbia University.

The visa of another doctoral student and Indian citizen, Ranjani Srinivasan, was revoked on 5 March for “advocating for violence and terrorism”.

Srinivasan decided to “self-deport”, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The announcement came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US will likely revoke more student visas in the coming days.

The punishment of Columbia students follows the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian Columbia University graduate and activist who participated in pro-Palestine protests on campus, and is currently facing deportation.

The White House said that the US’s proposal for a “bridge” plan aims at extending the Gaza ceasefire to April.

It said the extension, which goes beyond Ramadan and Passover, will allow more time to negotiate a permanent end to the issue of captives.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Council official Eric Trager proposed the plan on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his country demands that all captives be released, including the bodies of those who are deceased.

He criticised Hamas’s proposal to release an Israel-American captive and another four bodies, describing it as a “ridiculous trade”.

"We're acting like this is a normal exchange; it's an outrage. They should all be released. I'm not gonna comment on what we're going to accept and not accept," he added.

Meanwhile, Israeli media outlet Haaretz said that Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and the US National Security Council are saying that “Hamas will either release hostages immediately, or pay a severe price”.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that the US will revoke visas of more students in the coming days.

"In the days to come, you should expect more visas will be revoked as we identify people that we should have never allowed in," he told reporters after a meeting of G7 foreign ministers.

His remarks come after Columbia University graduate and activist Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for organising pro-Palestine protests on campus. He is currently facing deportation.

Hamas said on its Telegram channel on Friday that a delegation is heading to Cairo to meet with Egyptian officials.

The Palestinian group's negotiating team, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, will follow up on developments in the ceasefire negotiations, according to a Hamas statement.