Live: Lawyers present genocide risk case against Israel at ICJ

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are some of the latest updates from Israel’s war on Gaza:

• Ireland said it was “appalled” by the Israeli air strike on al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, which led to the death of a Palestinian child, and the forced evacuation of wounded people. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin described the assault as part of a “wider and deeper unacceptable development in modern warfare”
•  A meeting is being held in Cairo between Hamas, Egyptian and Qatari mediators to discuss a ceasefire deal in Gaza, after Israel broke it in March. The Hamas delegation described its approach to the talks as “responsible and positive”, and said that it was “open to any new proposals so long as they were based on ending the war and ensuring a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza”
• At least three Palestinians have been wounded as Israeli troops raided the Jalazone refugee camp and forced a number of Palestinians from their homes in the Nur Shams refugee camp, according to al-Jazeera Arabic
• The Washington Post reported that the US State Department had decided that there was no proof that links Rumeysa Ozturk, a student who was detained in March by masked immigration agents on the street, to antisemitic activities or support for a “terrorist” organisation, and that there was no sufficient evidence to revoke her visa
• At least six people were killed and 26 others were wounded in suspected US air strikes around Sanaa, according to the Yemeni Houthi militant group. The Houthis also claimed shooting down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone.

Good evening Middle East Eye readers, 

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning. Here are the day's key developments:

• A US strike in Yemen's Sanaa province killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others.

• Over 250 former Mossad employees signed a letter, criticising the dismissal of nearly 1,000 Israel Air Force reservists who called for an end to Israel's war on Gaza, according to Haaretz.

• Bangladesh has restored an "except Israel" inscription on passports, effectively barring its citizens from travelling to that country.

• At least 37 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza, Al Jazeera reported.

• British foreign minister David Lammy on Sunday urged Israel to end its "deplorable attacks" on hospitals in Gaza.

• Israeli authorities prevented thousands of Christians from the West Bank from attending Palm Sunday services in Jerusalem. 

• Overnight Israeli attacks put the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza, al-Ahli al-Arabi Baptist Hospital, out of service.

A 22-year-old Palestinian artist was killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Gaza, according to Quds News Network.

Dina Khaled Zaurub died when a tent sheltering her family near the Sand Beach resort, west of Khan Younis, was hit, the report said.

The artist, known for painting portraits of Palestinians killed in Israel's war on Gaza, won the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights Award in 2015 for the best drawing on children’s rights in armed conflict.

Breaking | Israeli occupation forces killed Palestinian artist Dina Zu'rub in an airstrike on a wooden shelter west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/OjANQCyJug

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) April 13, 2025

Yemen's Houthi rebels said on Sunday that a US strike in Sanaa province had killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others.

"The death toll from the US aggression on the Al-Sawari factory in the Matna area of Bani Matar has risen to 18, including five martyrs and 13 wounded, in a preliminary toll," the group said in a statement.

Houthi media also reported that US strikes targeted various other areas in the country Sunday, including in the Saada and Hodeida provinces.

The statement added that US strikes targeted various other areas in the country on Sunday, including in the Saada and Hodeida provinces.

US strikes on Yemen’s eastern Bani Matar district killed two people and injured 20 others, according to state media.

Yemen's Houthis claimed the ballistic missile strikes at Israel, after rocket sirens sounded across central Israel earlier Sunday.

"The Israeli enemy, along with the Americans, must realise that Yemen, its leadership, people, and army, will not back down from supporting and backing the Palestinian people, regardless of the repercussions," said in a statement, according to Al Jazeera.

Over 250 former Mossad employees signed a letter, criticising the dismissal of nearly 1,000 Israel Air Force reservists who called for an end to Israel's war on Gaza and the return of all captives, according to Haaretz.

"We believe that the continuation of the fighting endangers the lives of the hostages and the lives of our soldiers," the letter read.

"Every possibility must be exhausted to reach an agreement that will end the suffering ... We join the call for all Israeli citizens to demand the return of hostages now and an end to the fighting."

Three former Mossad chiefs, including Danny Yatom, Efraim Halevy, and Tamir Pardo, as well as a former deputy chief and dozens of other former senior officials are among the signatories of the letter.

The head of the World Health Organisation said that a child died because of an Israeli air strike on a Gaza hospital.

"A child died due to disruption of care," WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.

"The emergency room, laboratory, emergency room X-ray machines and the pharmacy were destroyed," he added, quoting information from the director of Gaza's Al-Ahli hospital.

"The hospital was forced to move 50 patients to other hospitals. 40 critical patients couldn't be moved," he said.

"Hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law. Attacks on health care must stop."

An Israeli strike on the home of the Manoun family in Jabalia in northern Gaza killed six Palestinians and wounded many, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

The casualties were taken to the Indonesian Hospital.

Bangladesh has restored an "except Israel" inscription on passports, local media reported Sunday, effectively barring its citizens from travelling to that country.

The phrase "valid for all countries except Israel," which was printed on Bangladeshi passports for decades, was removed during the later years of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's tenure. 

Nilima Afroze, a deputy secretary at the home ministry, told Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news agency on Sunday that authorities had "issued a directive last week" to restore the inscription.  

The country's support for an independent Palestinian state was visible on Saturday when around 100,000 people gathered in Dhaka in solidarity with Gaza. 

At least 37 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza, Al Jazeera reported, citing medical sources.

Of those, 25 were killed in areas in the central and southern Gaza Strip.

In a separate report, Al Jazeera said three Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli attack on the Shujayea neighbourhood, east of Gaza City.

British foreign minister David Lammy on Sunday urged Israel to end its "deplorable attacks" on hospitals in Gaza after an Israeli strike on one of the territory's few functioning medical facilities.

"Al-Ahli Hospital has been attacked repeatedly since the conflict began," Lammy posted on X. "These deplorable attacks must end. Diplomacy, not more bloodshed, is how we will achieve a lasting peace."

The Israeli military said on Sunday it had attempted to intercept missiles launched from Yemen, triggering air raid sirens in several areas.

It was not immediately clear if the missiles were successfully intercepted. The military said that two missiles had apparently been launched from Yemen, adding that a review was underway.

Air raid sirens could be heard in Jerusalem around 6.16pm local time (3.16pm GMT).

A military raid in the Al-Fawwar refugee camp in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, triggered panic amongst children returning home from school. The footage shows them rushing away from the incursions.

Israeli raids have been reported across the occupied West Bank, with ongoing incursions especially targeting camps.

Israeli forces stormed the Al-Fawwar refugee camp in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, just as children were returning home from school. The sudden raid triggered panic, with terrified students seen fleeing in fear as the situation. pic.twitter.com/3Qr2PLYCAX

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) April 13, 2025

The Arabic spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, has announced new expulsion orders for residents in Khan Younis. 

Adraee warned those in the neighbourhoods of Qizan al-Najjar, Qizan Abu Rashwan, al-Salam, al-Manara, al-Qurain, Maan, al-Batn al-Sameen, Jurt al-Lot, al-Fakhari and the southern neighbourhoods of Bani Suhaila that the military "will attack with great force every area from which rockets are launched".

According to Wafa, Palestinians were instructed to head west to the al-Mawasi area, which has been designated as a "humanitarian safe zone" by Israel.

However, residents fleeing Khan Younis now expect danger in the so-called "safe zone" after recent Israeli strikes killed at least two and injured several others on Sunday evening.