Live: Israel dropped 153 tonnes of bombs on Gaza on Sunday
Live Updates
Israeli army fire on Thursday killed a Palestinian in eastern Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reported, quoting Gaza ambulance services.
Earlier in the day, Israeli attacks killed at least two Palestinians, despite the ongoing ceasefire.
Israeli quadcopter drones dropped bombs in the Bani Suhaila area of Khan Younis killing one person.
One person has also been wounded by Israeli gunfire in the town of al-Ram, Wafa news reported citing the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
The director-general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Munir al-Barsh, said on Thursday that more than 400 surgeries are needed to save lives, and nearly 170,000 wounded Palestinians are awaiting medical treatment.
The health sector in Gaza is facing an unprecedented resource crisis, threatening hospitals' ability to continue providing services, Al Jazeera quoted Barsh as saying.
He said that there is an urgent need to bring in medical aid trucks to save the lives of the wounded and sick.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) said on Thursday that Israeli authorities continue to prevent it from delivering aid to the Gaza Strip despite the ceasefire agreement.
Last week, Unrwa had welcomed the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas as a "huge relief", and said it was ready to flood Gaza with desperately needed food.
"Unrwa has food, medicines and other basic supplies to go to Gaza. We have enough to provide food for the entire population for the coming three months," the agency's chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said on X.
Israeli attacks on Thursday killed at least two Palestinians, despite the ongoing ceasefire, Al Jazeera Arabic reported quoting sources at the Nasser Medical Complex.
Israeli quadcopter drones dropped bombs in the Bani Suhaila area of Khan Younis killing one person, the report said.
One person has also been wounded by Israeli gunfire in the town of al-Ram, Wafa news reported citing the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
Israeli forces conducted a drone attack on Thursday in the town of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis in Gaza, critically wounding two Palestinians, Al Jazeera Arabic reported, quoting Nasser Medical Complex.
The director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, said that the health sector in the Gaza Strip has not witnessed any notable progress since the ceasefire declaration, whether in terms of health services or the availability of medicines.
He said that the health situation remains tragic and has not shown any fundamental change.
Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir said on Thursday that the army's forces are positioned in strategic locations that allow them to return to combat at any moment, if called upon to do so, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
Earlier, Zamir said that the army had “failed in its mission to protect the country and its citizens” on 7 October 2023.
Zamir made the comments in a letter to the country's armed forces on the Hebrew anniversary of the Hamas-led attack.
“The correction will come from within, from us. We don’t have the power to change what was, but we do have the power to grow, as individuals and an army, to take responsibility and to learn from the past in order to fortify our security for generations,” Zamir said.
The director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, said on Thursday that the Palestinian prisoners released by Israel need special medical care for treating conditions resulting from the torture they have been subjected to, Al Jazeera reported.
Salmiya said the health sector in the Gaza Strip has not witnessed any notable progress since the ceasefire declaration, whether in terms of health services or the availability of medicines.
He said that the health situation remains tragic and has not shown any fundamental change.
“Despite the ceasefire going into effect, the Israeli army continues its military operations.”
Palestinian journalist Mahmoud Abusalama reported on Wednesday that despite a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Israeli forces are continuing their military operations in Jabalia camp in northern Gaza.
Abusalama said that soldiers fired at civilians while quadcopters continued to patrol the skies.
On Wednesday, Turkey offered an expert team specialising in body retrieval, based on their experience with earthquake recovery, US officials have said.
Haaretz reported that officials emphasised that this team has not yet arrived on the ground.
"Just recently, we had Turkey call us up on the phone because they have an 81-man team that is as expert as there is in body retrieval … We think we're going to bring them in with a lot of other people as well," one adviser said.
Advisers also confirmed plans to establish a reward programme in Gaza: "We're probably going to put together some sort of programme where we're going to ask people to see if they can help us to locate bodies, and we're going to pay rewards for that type of good behaviour."
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Hamas is looking for the remains of deceased hostages and is searching through the rubble of buildings toppled by Israeli bombardment, news agency Anadolu reported.
Trump said that the organisation was continuing its efforts to find the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages through tunnels underneath Gaza's streets, as part of his 20-point ceasefire plan.
"We have the living hostages all back. They returned some more today. It's a gruesome process," he said. "But they're digging. They're actually digging. There are areas where they're digging, and they're finding a lot of bodies. Then they have to separate the bodies. You wouldn't believe this. And some of those bodies have been in there a long time, and some of them are under rubble. They have to remove rubble.
"We continue to give them the intelligence that the Israelis have, and we'll keep working in good faith until we were able to exhaust that mechanism," a senior US adviser later told reporters.
Israeli forces arrested Murad Shteiwi, director of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, on Thursday after raiding his home in the town of Kafr Qaddum in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
The report also said that the Israeli forces stormed the village of Al-Mughayyir in the occupied West Bank, accompanied by a military bulldozer, and began demolishing one of the village's homes.
Several homes were also raided in Issawiya, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, according to local media.
Local media said that Israeli forces converted several homes into military barracks in the town of Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya, in the occupied West Bank. The report added that the town's entrances were closed and the forces carried out an arrest campaign.
The Israeli army said on Thursday that it had identified the bodies of captives Inbar Hayman and Mohammad al-Atrash, whose remains had been returned to Israel the previous evening by Hamas, news agency AFP reported.
"Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine... [Israeli military] representatives informed the families of Inbar Hayman and Sergeant Major Mohammad al-Atrash that their bodies had been repatriated for burial," an army statement said.
Israeli authorities said on Thursday that the second phase of the ceasefire agreement "will not begin until the bodies of all the kidnapped soldiers are recovered", Israeli Army Radio reported.
Hamas’s armed wing, Qassam Brigades, released a statement on Wednesday saying it requires "significant efforts and special equipment" to retrieve the remaining bodies.
“The resistance has adhered to what was agreed upon and has handed over all the living prisoners it has and the bodies it can access,” it said.
“As for the remaining bodies, they require significant efforts and special equipment to search for and retrieve them, and we are making great efforts to close this file.”
US President Donald Trump said he would consider allowing Israel to resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas fails to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal, CNN reported on Wednesday.
Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said on Thursday that the army “failed in its mission to protect the country and its citizens” on 7 October 2023.
Zamir made the comments in a letter to the country's armed forces on the Hebrew anniversary of the Hamas-led attack.
“The correction will come from within, from us. We don’t have the power to change what was, but we do have the power to grow, as individuals and an army, to take responsibility and to learn from the past in order to fortify our security for generations,” Zamir said.
“We are investigating and will continue to investigate that day and the entire war – truthfully, transparently and professionally,” he added.
Good morning, Middle East Eye readers.
Here are the latest updates from Israel's war on Gaza:
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Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir has said that the army “failed in its mission to protect the country and its citizens” on 7 October 2023.
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Gaza’s healthcare is facing a crisis. While aid is trickling into Gaza, medicine, specialised equipment and nutritional supplements are still in short supply.
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Rights groups in the US have written to Marco Rubio condemning Israel’s “illegal abduction, detention, and mistreatment of journalists”.
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Israeli officials say they expect Germany to lift a partial halt on arms exports to Israel and drop a travel warning to the country following the start of the ceasefire in Gaza.
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Spanish unions protested in Madrid in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Tens of thousands of demonstrators held banners and confronted police officers, with clashes reported at a similar rally in Barcelona.
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Ellie Chowns, a UK Member of Parliament for the Green Party, has called for the release of Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti.