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

Hamas has warned against Israel placing barricades around Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, saying they would not allow their sacred spaces to be "violated".

"We warn the occupation against going too far in its measures against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and we affirm that our stationed people will remain loyal and vigilant, and will not remain silent in the face of the occupation’s efforts to harm the status and status of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque," Haroun Nasser al-Din, Hamas' head of Jerusalem Affairs, said in a statement.

The statement called on Palestinians to "mobilise and confront" the occupying forces in East Jerusalem.

"Preserving Jerusalem is one of the most important duties, especially as we enter the month of jihad and victories."

A group of scientists and campaigners have warned the UK against providing military technology to Israel that has allowed the country to engage in "AI-assisted slaughter" in Gaza.

In an open letter by the UK Campaign to Stop Killer Robots coalition, the campaigners said they were "deeply alarmed by the use of automated military systems in Gaza and the UK’s broader role in supporting Israeli military operations."

"In our capacity as UK organisations, academics and individuals with expertise in autonomous weapons systems, we have been assessing the IDF’s use of military artificial intelligence (AI) and the role played by the UK in helping facilitate Israeli operations," read the letter.

"We have been concerned by the global trend towards the increased application of military AI and other advanced technologies in conflict observable around the world."

The letter called for the UK to halt transfers of "arms, military technology to Israel" and to "publish details of any UK export, including technology and software, at risk of being used in Israel’s offensive in Gaza."

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called for new elections in Israel, suggesting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has "lost his way."

“As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7,” Schumer said on Thursday.

“The world has changed - radically - since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”

Jordan has condemned the Israeli decision to place steel barricades around Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, branding it a "dangerous and unacceptable step."

Israel began placing the barricades around the holy site in anticipation of the first Friday of Ramadan.

"The Israeli occupation authorities' installation of iron barriers on three of the doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque, is a dangerous and unacceptable step," the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The ministry said that “Israel has no sovereignty over occupied East Jerusalem,” and that it did "not have the right to impose any restrictions that hinder the entry of worshipers to Al-Aqsa Mosque."

Israeli air strikes on a food distribution centre in the central Gaza Strip have killed eight people, according to media reports. The attack targeted an aid warehouse in the Nuseirat camp market, Al Jazeera said.

On the first Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Hamas has called on Palestinians to break the "siege" on Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque amid Israel's imposed restrictions on access to the site.

The group called on all Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, the West Bank and Israel to "mobilise in general and travel to Al-Aqsa mosque" in order to defend it.

The group also called on its brigade members and "revolutionary youth" in Jerusalem and the West Bank to clash with Israeli soldiers.

"We call on our Arab and Islamic nation that every day and Friday of this month be an occasion for escalation in support of the steadfastness of our people in the Gaza Strip," they added.

The European Parliament has voted on a resolution that condemns "the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the risk of imminent starvation".

With 372 MEPs voting in favour, 44 against and 120 abstentions, the members "call on Israel to immediately allow and facilitate full aid delivery into and throughout Gaza via all existing crossings and underline the urgent need for rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access".

The parliament reiterated its call for an immediate ceasefire, recognised the "indispensable role" of Unrwa in the region, and urged all parties to "immediately" cease attacks on humanitarian convoys.

The parliament's statement also expressed the members' concern over the conflict's potential regional escalations, particularly in Lebanon.

A second ship with food aid for Gaza is being loaded in Cyprus, the World Central Kitchen (WCK), the charity arranging the mission, said in a statement.

The charity said it is loading a the ship from Larnaca port with 300 tonnes of aid, which include legumes, canned tuna, vegetables, rice and flour.

“Our pallets should be screened and loaded by the end of the day,” WCK said.

The organisation said it was unable to tell when the vessel would leave Larnaca.

The first rescue vessel, owned by the Open Arms charity, departed for Gaza on Tuesday.

Pictures taken by Middle East Eye's correspondent in Gaza show scenes from a food distribution point in Gaza City's Rimal neighbourhood, a once prosperous area of the heavily damaged city.

The UK government has announced a contentious new definition of extremism but conceded that the wording is “non-statutory” and creates no new powers amid concerns it will target Muslim community and pro-Palestine advocacy organisations.

In a statement on Thursday, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said the definition had been updated to respond to an “increased extremist threat since October 7 terror attacks in Israel”, citing an increase in reported antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes.

It said the new definition would be used by government departments and officials to help them decide which groups they should engage with and fund, and to identify “extremist organisations, individuals and behaviours”.

But it said: “This definition is not statutory and has no effect on the existing criminal law – it applies to the operations of Government itself.”

READ MORE: UK government targets 'Islamists' with new definition of extremism

In a new press release, the Norwegian government advised companies against trading or doing business with Israeli settlements.

"The government is reiterating its position on Israel’s settlement policy on occupied land by advising Norwegian companies not to engage in business cooperation or trade that serves to perpetuate the illegal Israeli settlements," the statement read.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide added that "Norway has long maintained that Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is in violation of international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights, and undermines the prospects of achieving a future Palestinian state and a peaceful resolution of the conflict."

Eide also said that dealing with illegal Israeli settlements could put companies "at risk of contributing to violations of international humanitarian law and human rights".

Gaza's heath ministry said that the Palestinian death toll from Israel's war on Gaza has reach 31,341, with another 73,134 wounded.

The Israeli army ordered the cancellation of a planned memorial event next week at Mount Meron, out of fear of Hezbollah rockets reaching the area.

The event, which commemorates the anniversary of the birth and death of biblical prophet Moses, was to be attended by around 30,000 people.

Mount Meron is eight kilometres away from the border with Lebanon. Hezbollah has previously attacked the area with barrages of rockets at the mountain and missiles targeting the military base on top of it.

Al Jazeera reports that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to appoint Mohammad Mustafa as the new prime minister of the Palestinian Authority later today.

Mustafa is currently the chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund and previously served as deputy prime minister for economic affairs in 2013, as well as prime minister from 2013 to 2015.Former prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh resigned last month over the growing violence in the West Bank and Israel's war on the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Authority rules over parts of the West Bank and is nominally in charge of the Gaza Strip, though Hamas has controlled it since 2007.

An Israeli air strike on the al-Attar family home in al-Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza killed at least nine people, according to Al Jazeera Arabic's correspondent in Gaza.