Israel-Palestine live: Unicef says over 13,000 children killed in Gaza

Yair Lapid said he was opposed to the military service exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews, saying the country's military “is stretched to the limit”.

“If there is a flare-up in the north, there are not enough soldiers to manage it,” he said, in reference to a possible war with Hezbollah.

“Today, there are 66,000 ultra-Orthodox youth of conscription age. That’s 105 battalions that don’t enlist,” he said.

Lapid has advanced a bill that would cut state funding to those who evade military or civil service.

Yitzhak Yosef, the Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel, previously said ultra-Orthodox Jews would leave the country en masse if they are drafted into the military.

An Israeli watchdog group says Sephardic chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef “crossed every red line” when he threatened a mass exodus by ultra-Orthodox Jews if they are forced to serve in the military as it wages war on Palestinians in Gaza.

In response to those comments, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a watchdog group, demanded the Great Rabbinical Court of Appeals “to investigate the complaint, and if it is justified, to remove Rabbi Yosef from his position as judge” on the court. Yosef serves on the appeals court.

A dozen Israeli human rights groups signed an open letter accusing Israel of failing to comply with the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) provisional ruling, in which the court called on Israel to facilitate access of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“The ICJ order is a legal obligation to end the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. It must be abided by, not only to ease the urgent suffering of civilians but for the sake of humanity as a whole,” the letter says, first reported by The Guardian.

In its ruling in January, the ICJ made a number of legal requirements of Israel, including taking all measures to prevent intentional harm to civilians and facilitating immediate humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“As members of Israel-based civil society committed to human rights and the rule of law, we condemn the fact that Israel has so far failed to change its behaviour based on the measures imposed by the ICJ, as well as the fact that humanitarian aid to Gaza dropped by 50% in the month following the ruling,” the letter says.

The letter also noted that the international court urged Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release all Israeli hostages being held in Gaza.

US Central Command (Centcom) said the operation dropped 27,600 meals and 25,900 bottles of water into northern Gaza, “an area of great need, allowing for civilian access to the critical aid”.

"These airdrops are part of a sustained effort, and we continue to plan follow on aerial deliveries," Centcom said in a statement.

The US has previously denied it was responsible for an air drop last week that killed five Palestinians with 10 others wounded.

The Palestinian town of Jericho has named a street after US Air Force member Aaron Bushnell, who set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington to protest against the war in Gaza, according to The Guardian.

Bushnell died on 25 February after setting himself on fire in protest against the war, citing the US's complicity in Israel's killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Before his self-immolation, which he livestreamed on Twitch, he announced he would “no longer be complicit in genocide”. He also shouted “free Palestine” as he was on fire. He died shortly afterwards.

Abdul Karim Sidr, the mayor of Jericho, said that Bushnell “sacrificed everything” for Palestinians.

“We didn’t know him, and he didn’t know us. There were no social, economic or political ties between us. What we share is a love for freedom and a desire to stand against these attacks [on Gaza],” the mayor said.

Italian police have arrested three Palestinian men who they said were suspected of planning attacks in the country.

According to the police, the men were a cell linked to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group linked to the Palestinian Authority's ruling Fatah party.

"The suspects engaged in proselytism and propaganda (...) and planned attacks, including suicide attacks, against civilian and military targets on foreign territory," police said.

They said the men had been charged with criminal conspiracy for terrorism purposes or subversion of the democratic order, which potentially means jail terms of up to 15 years.

US and UK jets carried out three strikes in Yemen, according to Houthi media.

According to Al-Masirah outlet, the planes hit the Al-Araj area in Bajil district of Hodeidah governorate.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for Israel and Palestinian factions to "silence the guns" in Gaza "to honour the spirit of Ramadan".

"Today marks the start of the holy month of Ramadan, a time when Muslims around the world celebrate and spread the values of peace, reconciliation and solidarity," he told the press.

"But even with the start of Ramadan, the deaths, bombings and carnage continues in Gaza."

Israeli forces beat and prevented Muslim worshippers from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on the first night of the holy month of Ramadan. 

In video footage shared online, armed Israeli police officers are seen hitting Palestinians in the streets of the Old City, while they were walking towards the holy site to attend taraweeh prayers.

The special prayers take place every night of the holy month of Ramadan, and typically attract tens of thousands of Muslims who pray in congregation. 

According to local media, Israeli soldiers set up multiple checkpoints around the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem, blocking roads and obstructing people from reaching the site.

Eyewitnesses said that Israeli police only allowed some men and women over the age of 40 to enter the site.

Read more: Israeli forces attack Muslim worshippers at al-Aqsa during first night of Ramadan

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant claimed in a video address that his country "respects the freedom of worship at Al-Aqsa [Mosque] and all the holy places".

His statement came right after a more threatening sentence, in which he said they are "aware that the month of Ramadan may be a month of jihad".

"We tell everyone who is thinking of trying us – we are ready, don’t make mistakes."

Middle East Eye's correspondent in northern Gaza shared pictures of the street market open in the city on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as the northern half of the enclave faces mass starvation due to Israeli blockade.

When the holy month of Ramadan rolled around every year, Diab al-Zaza, 77, and his family would typically decorate the streets of his neighbourhood. 

He and his 10 children would walk around near their home and distribute traditional lanterns and sweets to their neighbours. 

The holy month is usually keenly anticipated in Gaza, as it offers Muslims time to reflect and engage in acts of worship as well as spend more time with their family and loved ones. 

This year, however, Ramadan, which is set to start on Monday, has filled many people with anxiety, after over five months of war in the besieged enclave. 

"I have been through many hardships, but in all my life I have never lived more difficult days than these because of hunger, thirst, loss and separation," Zaza told Middle East Eye.

“We are now living in conditions worse than the Nakba," he said, referring to the period when Palestinians were killed or driven from their homes when the state of Israel came into existence. "At the time of the Nakba there were fewer people and the country was open, but now we are besieged from all sides," he said.

"Ramadan this year will be sad because the war has not left us anything. They [Israeli army] destroyed the mosques, they even destroyed the Al-Omari Mosque, which was more than 1,400 years old. There is no place for us to pray Tarawih now,” he added, referring to voluntary night prayers performed during Ramadan.

READ MORE: Starving Palestinians prepare for Ramadan amidst death and destruction

Al Jazeera reports that two more children have died due to malnutrition and dehydration at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza.

This brings the total number of deaths due to starvation to 27, most of them children.

The Israeli army has dropped leaflets over the town of Wazzani, near the eastern side of the Lebanese-Israeli border.

"Resident of the South, Hezbollah risks your life, the life of your families and your homes. Hezbollah is bringing its members and weapons depots to your neighbourhoods," the leaflets read.

Wazzani has been under regular Israeli fire over the past weeks as border clashes between Hezbollah and Israel continued. 

Palestinian men detained by Israeli forces since the start of the war in Gaza have told Middle East Eye how they were physically tortured with dogs and electricity, subjected to mock executions, and held in humiliating and degrading conditions.

In testimonies to MEE, one man, who was taken by Israeli forces from a school in Gaza where he had sought refuge with his family, described how he had been handcuffed, blindfolded, and detained in a metal cage for 42 days.

During interrogations, he said he had been given electric shocks, as well as scratched and bitten by army dogs.

Other men also described being electrocuted, attacked by dogs, doused with cold water, denied food and water, deprived of sleep, and subjected to constant loud music.

“They did not spare anyone. There were 14-year-old boys and 80-year-old men,” said one of the men, Moaz Muhammad Khamis Miqdad, who was taken prisoner in Gaza City in December and held for more than 30 days.

READ MORE: Iron bars, electric shocks, dogs and cigarette burns: How Palestinians are tortured in Israeli detention

In a statement published on X, the Israeli army said it killed approximately 15 fighters in central Gaza over the past 24 hours