Live: Israel and Hamas claim victory as fragile ceasefire holds

With the situation evolving rapidly over the past week - with planned expropriations of Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem, violence at al-Aqsa mosque, air strikes and rockets in the besieged Gaza Strip and large protests in Israel and the occupied West Bank - following the news coming out of Palestine and Israel has been a daunting prospect.

MEE's own Frank Andrews has done a day-by-day breakdown of how, during a long weekend of violence, prayer and protest, Israeli security forces turned al-Aqsa, one of the holiest sites in Islam and a symbol of Palestinian resistance, into a battleground. And not for the first time.

For those of you seeking to understand the events unfolding in recent days, you can read the story here.

The Arabic-language spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ofir Gendelman, has come under fire for sharing a video on social media on Tuesday, which he claimed showed how rockets fired by Hamas were falling inside the Gaza Strip - accusing the Palestinian movement of being responsible for deaths inside the Palestinian enclave.

Translation: Here is yet another conclusive evidence: the terrorist Hamas militia continues to deliberately fire rockets from inside residential neighbourhoods in the Gaza Strip. This is a heinous war crime. One third of the rockets fired by Hamas at Israel fall inside the Gaza Strip, killing Palestinian civilians, including children.

However, social media users have pointed out that the video shared by Gendelman dates back to at least 2018, when it was identified as taking place in the Syria city of Daraa. 

There has yet to be confirmed statistics on how many rockets fired from Gaza land in Israel. So far, at least 48 people have been confirmed killed in Gaza, five inside Israel, and two Palestinians killed by Israeli forces inside the occupied West Bank.

You can follow a Reuters live video feed from Gaza City this morning on Middle East Eye's Facebook page, available here.

While the situation seems relatively quiet so far this morning compared to last night, Israeli drones can be heard flying above.

A demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians took place this morning in South Africa's Cape Town, during which late President Nelson Mandela's grandson, Zwelivelile "Mandla" Mandela, spoke up about the parallels between the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation, and the fight against the apartheid system in South Africa.

"To continuously witness children in Palestine being shot in the back, being put in prison, it really pains our hearts as fathers, as parents, and as citizens of South Africa that have witnessed such brutalities in our past," he told African News Agency.

"We will not rest until we see a free Palestine in our lifetime."

The death toll in Gaza as of 1pm local time (10am GMT) now stands at 48 Palestinians killed by ongoing Israeli air strikes, including 14 children and three women, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

The ministry added that 304 Palestinians have been wounded in the besieged territory.

Israeli police and border police have meanwhile arrested 270 people accused of involvement in “riots and disturbances” across Israel and Jerusalem, police said in a statement on Wednesday morning, as Palestinian citizens of Israel have come out in the streets to protest the ongoing situation in Jerusalem and Gaza.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said some 12 Israeli officers were injured lightly to moderately.

 Official Palestinian Authority (PA) news agency Wafa has meanwhile reported that Israeli forces have detained around 40 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank overnight.

Israeli forces carry detention raids on a nightly basis in the West Bank, but Wafa’s report shows an increase in arrests amid the escalation of violence of the past week.

The West Bank has seen a large number of protests in solidarity with Jerusalem and Gaza in recent days, as well as some Palestinians shooting at Israeli forces in areas like Jenin.

In the early hours of Wednesday, Israeli forces killed 16-year-old Rashid Muhammad Abu Arreh during a raid in Tubas, and Hussein Atiyyeh Titi, 26, during a raid in Fawwar refugee camp in the area of Hebron.

The Gaza Strip's Health Ministry has issued a statement saying that, as of 11:30am local time (8:30 GMT) on Wednesday, the death toll from Israeli air strikes on the besieged Palestinian enclave since Monday had risen to 43, including 13 children and three women killed.

Another 296 Palestinians have been wounded, the ministry added.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) voiced concern on Wednesday at the escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians and said "crimes" may have been committed. 

"I note with great concern the escalation of violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as in and around Gaza, and the possible commission of crimes under the Rome Statute," which was founded the ICC, Fatou Bensouda said on Twitter.

"My office will continue to monitor developments on the ground and will factor any matter that falls within its jurisdiction."

Read Middle East Eye's Ian Cobain's piece about how Israeli raids on al-Aqsa Mosque could constitute a war crime.

United Arab List Leader Mansour Abbas, who has been touted as a kingmaker in ongoing efforts to form a government in Israel, has called for an end to Palestinian protests.

Abbas said: "Protests in Arab society are moving in a very dangerous direction, as popular protests have escalated into violence. This is a threat to peace for young Arabs. 

"I call on everyone to behave responsibly and to adhere to the rule of law. I call on our leadership to act accordingly and to call on everyone to calm down and protect public order."

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, following Fajr (dawn) prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque, minor confrontations broke out between Palestinians and Israeli forces who have raided the holy site four times over the past few days. 

Palestinians have been spurred on to head out in large numbers across Jerusalem and the West Bank, amongst other areas, to continue calling for an end to occupation after Israel launched air strikes on Gaza claiming the lives of dozens.

At the gates of the holy sites, people finished prayers and stood to chant protest and resistant songs, while Israeli forces were deployed around the complex. 

Sound grenades could be heard around the area, which have continually be used to deter people gathering at the sacred premises.

In the early hours of Monday morning, and again on Tuesday, rubber-coated bullets were shot at worshippers on the site, as well as the use of tear gas. On Monday, Middle East Eye spoke to Ehab Jallad, a historical researcher who was praying at the mosque when it was stormed. Jallad described terrifying scenes and damage done to the interiors of the mosque.

The Israeli army has announced that its air strikes on Gaza have killed senior intelligence officials in the Palestinian movement Hamas. 

"Our fighter jets, with the ISA, neutralized key figures of Hamas' intelligence: Hassan Kaogi, head of the Hamas military intelligence security department & his deputy Wail Issa, head of the military intelligence counterespionage department," a Twitter statement by the Israeli army on Wednesday morning read.

The statement added that the operation was in response to "hundreds" of rockets fired from Gaza towards Israel over the past 24 hours.

"In response to HUNDREDS of rockets in the last 24 hours, the IDF has struck a number of significant terror targets and terror operatives across the Gaza Strip, marking our largest strike since 2014," the statement added.

Israeli authorities have so far confirmed five deaths as a result of the missiles fired from Gaza on several Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv. Two of the deaths, a father and his teenage daughter, were Palestinian citizens of the Israeli city of Lod, according to the city's mayor. 

“Hamas missiles do not differentiate between Jews and Arabs,” Lod Mayor Yair Revivo said, according to the Times of Israel.

He also appealed to Palestinian citizens of Israel to end the protests and called for calm in the city. “The day after we will still have to live here together.”

Meanwhile, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli air strikes has reached 35, including 12 children, according to the Gaza health ministry.  

Draped in keffiyahs and waving Palestinian flags, hundreds of people assembled in Gould Park in Patterson, New Jersey, on Tuesday in a show of solidarity with Palestinians. 

Speakers chanted "Enough is Enough" and "Free Free Palestine", urging protesters to pressure their representatives to take action against the Israeli aggression over the past few days that has involved air strikes in Gaza, the crackdown on protesters in Sheikh Jarrah and attacks on worshippers in the Al Aqsa mosque complex.

Patterson is home to thousands of Palestinian immigrants, and is sometimes referred to as Little Ramallah. 

Addressing the crowd, Salaedin Maksut, the executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) told the crowd that "Israel's recent actions had proved to the world that they don't care about justice or peace".

He also connected the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests to the Palestinian struggle for self determination.

"The powers that are funding the oppression of the Palestinian people are the same powers that are funding the oppression of minority groups in this country," Maksut said.

Organisers said around 500 people had attended the rally.

Mounting tensions in Gaza, as a result of air strikes from Israel have translated on the ground in New York City. 

Hundreds of supporters of Palestine came out, flags in hand, chanting loudly and calling for freedom for Palestinians. 

Opposite them groups of supporters of Israel also crowded around with flags, hurling insults at each other. 

Footage shared on social media showed people confronting one another, and reaching over barricades installed by police in an effort to attack one another. 

Police were deployed to the scene and were shown taking people away from the site in an effort to calm tensions and avoid an escalation.

The protests, which have spilled onto the streets of Manhattan, come after the Biden administration voiced its ‘unwavering’ support for Israel.

Despite a number of US politicians and lawmakers calling for a de-escalation of events and reiterating the need for both sides to reach an agreement, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reiterated President Joe Biden’s “unwavering” support for what Washington calls Israel’s “right to defend itself”.

This week, US congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar voiced their concern over Israel’s use of aggressive tactics and air strikes on Gaza.  

“We must, with no hesitation, demand that our country recognise that unconditional support of Israel has enabled this erasure of Palestinian life...it emboldens the apartheid policies that Human Rights Watch has detailed…” Tlaib wrote on Twitter.