Live: Lawyers present genocide risk case against Israel at ICJ

Hamas has reacted to the news of Pope Francis' death, saying he was "a steadfast advocate for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, particularly in his unwavering stance against the war and acts of genocide" against the people of Gaza.

"Today, the world mourns the passing of a prominent global religious figure, His Holiness Pope Francis, the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, who dedicated his papacy to fostering interfaith dialogue and promoting peace across the globe," Hamas official Basem Naim said in a statement.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also reacted to the news, saying Pope Francis was a 'faithful friend' of the Palestinian people.

Yemen's Houthis said they carried out four operations against Israeli and American targets, Haaretz reported on Monday.

Spokesman Yahya Saree said Houthi drones were launched at "vital Israeli targets" in Ashkelon and Eilat, as well as American targets in the Red Sea.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday that returning the captives is important, but "it's not the most important goal" during an interview with Galei Israel radio station.

"We need to eliminate the Gaza problem. We have a tremendous opportunity, and the excuses are gone: there's no Biden, no [former Defence Minister] Gallant, and no former IDF chief of staff," Smotrich said.

The captives' families slammed the minister's remarks in a statement, saying "the families have only one word this morning: shame."

"The only truth is that [Smotrich] is willing to sacrifice my Matan and an entire country for his messianic and psychotic delusions," said Einav Zangauker, the mother of a captive.

A majority of Israelis support a deal to secure the release of captives held by Hamas in exchange for ending the war in Gaza and freeing Palestinian prisoners, a new poll by the Kantar Institute shows.

According to the survey, published by Israel’s state broadcaster Kan, 56% of respondents back such an agreement, while 22% oppose it.

The poll also indicates a shift in political sentiment, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party gaining parliamentary seats, as support for opposition leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party declines.

Gaza's civil defence agency on Monday accused the Israeli military of carrying out "summary executions" in the killing of 15 rescue workers last month, rejecting the findings of an internal probe by the army.

"The video filmed by one of the paramedics proves that the Israeli occupation's narrative is false and demonstrates that it carried out summary executions," Mohammed al-Mughair, a civil defence official, told AFP, a day after an Israeli army probe denied any execution-style killings. He also accused Israel of seeking to "circumvent" its obligations under international law.

US President Donald Trump is threatening to cut another $1 billion in funding for Harvard University, this time targeting health research, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, as the administration's row with elite schools for allowing pro-Palestine protests escalates.

Harvard pushed back last week, rejecting demands for control of its student body, faculty and curriculum, saying that would cede control of the university to the government.

Within hours of Harvard taking its stand, the administration announced it was freezing $2.3 billion in federal funding to the school and the next day threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status.

The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the plans to pull an additional $1 billion in research funds arose after administration officials thought a long list of demands they sent Harvard on 11 April was a confidential starting point for negotiations, and were surprised when Harvard released the letter to the public.

Reporting by Reuters

Good morning Middle East Eye readers, 

Here are some of the latest key developments from Gaza and the region since last night:

• Israeli forces killed and wounded several people in the az-Zanna area of southern Gaza, according to Palestinian media. Al Jazeera Arabic reported that Israeli strikes killed four in the town of Bani Suheila in southern Gaza and killed at least two displaced people who took shelter in a tent in the so-called humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi.

• Hundreds of Palestinians who have been displaced by Israel’s military siege of the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank are sheltering at the Arab American University campus in the city of Jenin, the AFP news agency reported.

• Jonathan Whittall, who heads the UN’s humanitarian agency in Gaza, has called for accountability after an Israeli probe claimed that there was “no evidence to support claims of execution” in the killings of Palestinian paramedics last month. 

• The New York Times reported that the US defence chief, Pete Hegseth, shared information about Washington’s next air strikes in Yemen in a group chat including his wife, brother and lawyer, two weeks after he texted the highly sensitive war plans to a group chat that included The Atlantic editor-in-chief. Pentagon dismissed the claims, saying no sensitive information was shared in the chat.

Good evening MEE readers, 

Our live coverage will now close for a few hours. Here's a recap on some of the key developments from today: 

• An Israeli attack on a house in Hula, a village in the Nabatieh governorate of southern Lebanon, killed one person. An Israeli drone attack on a vehicle in nearby Kaoutariyet as-Siyad killed another person.
   
• An Israeli army probe into the killing of Palestinian paramedics in Gaza said it has found "no evidence to support claims of execution".  It said a deputy commander would be fired after the probe "identified several professional failures, breaches of orders, and a failure to fully report the incident". 
   
• The Palestinian Red Crescent Society rejected the findings of the Israeli military investigation that blamed "operational failures" for the killing of 15 Palestinian emergency service workers in Gaza, denouncing the report as "full of lies".
   
• Qatar's chief negotiator voiced frustration over talks for a truce in Gaza, a month after Israel resumed its strikes on the enclave.
   
• The Israeli Prison Service announced the death of a 49-year-old Palestinian prisoner from the occupied West Bank, who had been transferred to hospital from Ofer Prison. Nasser Khalil Radaydeh, from al-Ubeidiya in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, was a father of seven children. 
   
• Dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Sunday, including a civilian killed by gunfire from an Israeli drone in the east of Gaza City 
   
• US air strikes on a market in the Yemeni capital Sanaa killed at least 12 people and wounded 30 others, according to the Houthis. 

The death toll from US air strikes on a market in the Yemeni capital Sanaa has risen to 12, according to the Houthis.

At least 30 people were wounded in the strike on al-Farwah market in the Shoub district.

Hamas has said a shooting earlier today near the entrance of the Israeli settlement of Homesh, in the occupied West Bank near Jenin, was a “natural and legitimate response to the war crimes and genocide committed” by Israel.

A Palestinian opened fire at a checkpoint at the entrance of the settlement and was subsequently killed by Israeli forces.

Three people have reportedly been killed in US strikes on Sanaa, and 12 others wounded, according to Yemen's Saba news agency.

Two US air strikes targeted the Attan area in the capital, Yemeni media reported.

US strikes were also reported on a sanitation project in the Asir area, as well as the Furwah neighbourhood and a market in the Shoub district.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has rejected the findings of an Israeli military investigation that blamed "operational failures" for the killing of 15 Palestinian emergency service workers in Gaza, denouncing the report as "full of lies".

"The report is full of lies. It is invalid and unacceptable, as it justifies the killing and shifts responsibility to a personal error in the field command when the truth is quite different," Nebal Farsakh, spokesperson for the Red Crescent, told AFP.

The head of the Israeli military probe into the killing of 15 Palestinian emergency workers in Gaza has said a "mistake" was made on the part of Israeli troops involved. 

"We're saying it was a mistake, we don't think it's a daily mistake," Major General Yoav Har-Even told journalists on Sunday. The military also confirmed that it had detained one medic since the incident on 23 March. 

A Palestinian man has been shot and killed by Israeli forces south of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian health ministry confirmed the killing of 24-year-old Suleiman Fawwaz Manasrah, from the city of Qabatiya.

He was shot by Israeli forces after the man reportedly opened fire at the entrance to the Homesh Israeli settlement. His body was subsequently held by Israeli authorities.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli forces closed a main road connecting the cities of Jenin and Nablus, following the reported shooting.

Manasrah’s killing brings the number of Palestinians killed in Jenin since the start of the Israeli aggression on the city and its refugee camp to 39.

A Palestinian has been shot and killed by Israeli forces in the eastern part of Gaza City.

Wafa news agency reported that a civilian was killed by gunfire fired from an Israeli drone in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood.