Live: Lawyers present genocide risk case against Israel at ICJ

Israeli settlers kidnapped two Palestinian children on Saturday and tied them to a tree near the city of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank.

The incident occurred in the afternoon, as a group of children were playing near their homes on the outskirts of Beit Furik, east of Nablus. A group of settlers approached and abducted the two children.

Local residents managed to catch up with the settlers and rescue the children. However, the boys remain in a distressed psychological state.

Mohammed Hanani, the children's uncle, told Middle East Eye that his two daughters and their cousins were playing outside their home when a group of settlers arrived from a newly established outpost built on the town's land.

The settlers kidnapped 13-year-old Maryam and her three-year-old brother Ahmed, taking them to a remote area where they tied them to an olive tree. One of their cousins tried to intervene but settlers attacked him with stones.

Read more: Israeli settlers kidnap two Palestinian children, tie them to a tree

The detainee who died earlier today in Israeli custody has been named by Palestinian officials as Nasser Khalil Radaydeh.

The 49-year-old was from al-Ubeidiya, in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem. He was transferred to Hadasa hospital on Saturday from Israel's Ofer Prison.

Radaydeh was a married father of seven. He has been imprisoned since 18 September 2023, according to Palestinian media. 

The total number of Palestinians to die in Israeli custody since the war on Gaza began has now risen to 65. At least 40 of these detainees are from Gaza.

It marks the deadliest period for Palestinian prisoners since 1967. 

In a joint statement, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said they held Israel responsible for Radaydeh's death.

A Palestinian teenager has been critically wounded by Israeli forces during a military raid on the eastern part of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.

Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces stormed the al-Masaken al-Shabiya neighbourhood, during which troops fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters. A Palestinian 16-year-old was shot in the back and rushed to hospital, where his condition was described as critical.

The Israeli Prison Service has announced the death of a 49-year-old Palestinian prisoner from the occupied West Bank, who had been transferred to hospital from Ofer Prison.

No details have yet been released about the identity of the prisoner.

It comes three days after the Palestinian Prisoners' Club announced the death of Musab Hassan Omar Adili, 20, in an Israeli prison. He was from the town of Hawara, in Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

At least 65 prisoners have died in Israeli prisons since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023.

An Israeli military investigation on Sunday concluded that its troops did not use "indiscriminate fire" in the killing of 15 emergency responders in Gaza, but found failures and announced plans to dismiss a field commander.

The paramedics and emergency workers were shot dead by Israeli forces while on a rescue mission on 23 March near the southern Gaza city of Rafah and buried in a shallow grave where their bodies were found a week later by officials from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS).

Initially, the military claimed that soldiers opened fire on vehicles approaching their position in the dark without emergency lights or markings, deeming them "suspicious". 

However, video footage recovered from the mobile phone of one of the victims and released by the PRCS contradicted this account. The video showed emergency workers in uniform, operating clearly marked ambulances and fire trucks with lights on, being fired upon by soldiers.

The military said on Sunday that a commanding officer would to be reprimanded for his "overall responsibility for the incident". A deputy commander would be dismissed due to being the field commander and for providing an "incomplete and inaccurate report" of the incident.

Read more: Israel probe finds no 'indiscriminate fire' in killing of Gaza medics

A large march has been held in Istanbul under the slogan “Gaza is Dying! Rise Up,” denouncing genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza.

Thousands took part in the march, which was organised by the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH), chanting slogans condemning Israeli crimes against Palestinians. 

A similar rally was held last Sunday in Istanbul, also drawing thousands of demonstrators.

The Israeli Army confirmed it had conducted an airstrike in southern Lebanon on Sunday, targeting a Hezbollah operative. 

An Israeli army probe into the killing of Palestinian Paramedics in Gaza that sparked international outrage said it has found "no evidence to support claims of execution."

"Such claims are blood libel and false accusations against [Israeli] soldiers," the army said in a statement. 

The Israeli statement added that 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 probe's findings come after multiple testimonies and video evidence with the Israeli Army changing its account of the incident after video evidence emerged that contradicted its claims. 

Lebanon's Health Ministry updated Sunday's death toll and said an Israeli attack on a house in Hula, a village in the Nabatieh governorate killed one person. 

Earlier, the Ministry said a drone attack on vehicle in Kaoutariyet as-Siyad had killed one person. 

The Lebanese health ministry has released further details on the Israeli strike on southern Lebanon. 

"[An] Israeli enemy strike on a vehicle in Kaoutariyet as-Siyad [located inland between the southern cities of Sidon and Tyre killed] one person and wounded another," the ministry said in a statement. 

The Lebanese army also announced that it had foiled an attempt to launch rockets towards Israel. 

In a separate statement, the army said it arrested individuals belonging to an unnamed group previously involved in rocket attacks on Israel. 

The army added that it had arrested suspects and discovered rockets and launchers in an apartment in the Sidon area of southern Lebanon. 

Lebanon's health ministry is reporting that an Israeli drone strike has killed one person in the country's south. 

Al Jazeera is reporting that the strike took place in the town of Kaoutariyet as-Siyad in southern Lebanon.

The Palestinian health ministry on Sunday reported that over the last 24 hours, Israel has killed 44 people and injured 145 Palestinians.

"There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the streets, and ambulances and civil defence crews cannot reach them," the ministry said. 

"The death toll from the Israeli aggression has risen to 51,201 martyrs and 116,869 wounded since October 7, 2023."

The ministry also noted that since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, 1,827 people have been killed and 4,828 injured.

Qatar's chief negotiator voiced frustration over talks for a truce in Gaza in an interview with AFP, a month after Israel resumed its strikes on the enclave and another round of negotiations ended without a deal.

"We're definitely frustrated by the slowness, sometimes, of the process in the negotiation. This is an urgent matter. There are lives at stake here if this military operation continues day by day," Mohammed Al-Khulaifi said on Friday.

"We've been working continuously in the last days to try to bring the parties together and revive the agreement that has been endorsed by the two sides.

"And we will remain committed to this, in spite of the difficulties."

During the long mediation process, Qatar has been the target of direct criticism from Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At least two of Netanyahu's aides are suspected of receiving payments from the Qatari government to promote Doha's interests in Israel, prompting an Israeli criminal probe. Qatar has dismissed the attacks as a "smear campaign".

Earlier in March, an investigation by Israel's domestic security agency attributed funds from the Gulf state to an increase in Hamas's military strength before the October 7 attack. Qatar has rebuffed the accusation as "false".

"We've been receiving those types of criticism and negative comments since the early times of our involvement," Al-Khulaifi said.

"Critiques without any context, such as the ones that we keep hearing from Netanyahu himself, are often just noise," he added.

Good morning,

Welcome back to our live coverage as we take you through the latest developments from Gaza and across the region.

Before we begin Sunday’s coverage, here is a quick recap of the last few hours. 

- Israeli forces continue the bombardment of Gaza with Al Jazeera reporting casualties in the Beit Lahia area and Al-Mawasi of the besieged territory. 

- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a televised address on Saturday to reject Hamas’s call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and that he instructed the army to “step up the pressure” on the Palestinian group.

- Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reiterated his call for the Israeli military to occupy Gaza after Netanyahu ordered the army to intensify its pressure on Hamas in Gaza.

- Turkey’s Intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with a Hamas delegation to discuss options for aid delivery to Gaza and how to proceed with negotiations with Israel.

- The Palestinian Health Ministry said the death toll in Gaza on Saturday had passed 51,000 Palestinians since October 7 2023, marking another grim milestone in Israel’s war against Hamas.

Good evening MEE readers, 

Our live coverage will now pause for a few hours until tomorrow morning. Here's a look at some of the key developments from today:

• Israel launched attacks across several different areas of the Gaza Strip, killing more than 40 people on Saturday. That included strikes on the al-Mawasi displacement camps, as well as a drone strike targeting civilians in Beit Hanoun.
   
• Hamas's armed wing said on Saturday the fate of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was unknown after the group found the guard who was holding the hostage killed.
   
• In a televised address, Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas' proposal for a permanent end to the war, and said that he had instructed the military to "step up the pressure" on the Palestinian group. 
   
• Relatives of Israeli captives held in Gaza criticised Netanyahu’s address, stating that he did not have a plan for the release of their loved ones. 
   
• Ibrahim Kalin, head of Turkey's intelligence agency, met with a senior Hamas delegation to discuss options for the delivery aid into Gaza and on negotiations for a permanent ceasefire
   
• Israeli media reported that Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service, is set to resign over the 7 October attack, despite the Israeli Supreme Court previously blocking his dismissal.

• Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Washington and other cities across the US to oppose President Donald Trump's policies, including on arming Israel and cracking down on pro-Palestine activism on university campuses.