Live: Lawyers present genocide risk case against Israel at ICJ

Two Palestinian girls were injured in an attack by Israeli settlers in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency.

Israeli soldiers arrested at least five others who tried to protect their children during the attacks, the report said. 

Hamas has released a statement condemning Israel over what it described as "criminal measures against Palestinian Christians and all of our Palestinian people".

On Sunday, thousands of Christians were prevented from attending Palm Sunday services in occupied Jerusalem. Only a limited number of Christians - mostly residents of Jerusalem and Palestinian citizens of Israel - were able to attend services in the Old City. 

The Palestinian movement added that the imposed restrictions on Palestinian Christians "are part of the fascist and racist occupation policy targeting our Palestinian people in all their components".

"They are part of the failed criminal attempt to isolate them from their land and holy sites and Judaise them.

"We call on all churches around the world to condemn the [Israeli] occupation and its ongoing attacks on freedom of worship and access to holy sites. We also call on the international community to take serious steps to halt its brutal violations and its war aimed at annihilating our people and liquidating their cause," the statement read. 

These services mark the beginning of the Holy Week ahead of Easter.

However, overnight Israeli attacks on the al-Ahli al-Arabi Baptist Hospital in Gaza have cast a gloom over the occasion, with many prominent Palestinian Christian figures condemning the strikes. 

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

According to Wafa news agency, Israeli forces blocked thousands of worshippers travelling from the West Bank from entering Jerusalem. Regulations require Palestinians to obtain special permits to enter religious sites in the Old City, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Access to the city was severely restricted, with only a limited number of Christians - mostly residents of Jerusalem and Palestinian citizens of Israel - able to attend services in the Old City. 

More than 30 people have been killed in Israeli shelling across the Gaza Strip since dawn on Sunday, medical sources told Al Jazeera. 

Nearly 51,000 have been killed in the besieged enclave since 7 October 2023, according to estimates from the Palestinian health ministry. 

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced that a staff member is being held by Israeli authorities. 

PRCS medic Assad al-Nsasrah was targeted along with other colleagues during a humanitarian mission in Rafah, southern Gaza.

At the end of March, the PRCS reported that eight paramedics were killed while attempting to rescue victims following an earlier Israeli strike. Nsasrah’s fate had remained unknown since the targeted attack on the medical team.

"We call on the international community to pressure the occupation authorities to immediately release our colleague, medic Asaad, who was forcibly abducted while carrying out his humanitarian duties," PRCS said in a post on X.

"He and his colleagues came under heavy gunfire, which led to the killing of eight of them - a grave violation of international humanitarian law."

🚨Urgent: We have been informed by the International Committee of the Red Cross that PRCS medic Assad Al-Nsasrah is being held by the Israeli occupation authorities. His fate had remained unknown since he was targeted along with other PRCS medics in #Rafah.
📢We call on the… pic.twitter.com/l0oOxujS8G

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) April 13, 2025

In a message to the international community, the Gaza civil defense has noted obstacles in conducting search and rescue operations. 

The Israeli military's continued bombardment has left many under the rubble, with civil defense crews unable to reach them due to Israel's refusal to allow for the entry of  equipment and heavy machinery into the Gaza Strip. 

"Citizens who were alive were pleading with us to rescue them from under the rubble of targeted homes in the Shuja'iyya, Abasan, Rafah, and Deir al-Balah areas. But after a while, their voices would disappear and contact with them would be cut off. Now, they are nothing but missing bodies," the statement read.

"We still wonder: When will the death in the Gaza Strip stop? And how long will this international failure continue?"

Since Israel's renewal of its war on Gaza on 18 March, over 1574 people were killed, with 4,115 more injured. 

Overnight Israeli attacks on al-Ahli al-Arabi Baptist Hospital in Gaza City have rendered it out of service. It was the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza.

Missiles hit the hospital's main reception building, damaging or destroying essential departments such as the emergency care ward, laboratory and pharmacy, Wafa news agency reported.

Eyewitnesses say the military threatened to bomb the hospital just minutes before the strikes, giving those in its compounds only 18 minutes to evacuate.

Due to the rushed expulsion, critically ill patients were evacuated out in the cold without proper care. At least three patients - including a child being treated for head injuries - died as a result.

The Israeli army and Shin Bet internal intelligence agency later claimed, without providing evidence, that they had targeted a Hamas “command and control complex” within the hospital.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

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

• Israel attacked the al-Ahli al-Arabi Baptist Hospital in Gaza City amid intensified Israeli bombardment across the besieged enclave. According to reports, one child died as a result of the rushed evacuation process.

• The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem has strongly condemned Israel's bombing of al-Ahli hospital, saying: “We call upon all governments and people of goodwill to intervene to stop all kinds of attacks on medical and humanitarian institutions. We pray and call for the end of this horrific war and the suffering of so many.”

• A spokesperson for the Palestinian health ministry reported that most hospitals are out of service in Gaza. Israel has destroyed more than 80 health centres and over 140 ambulances.

• The death toll in Gaza since 7 October 2023 has risen to 50,944, with 116,156 others left wounded.

• Hundreds of Israeli settlers have stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Israeli forces, Al Jazeera reported.

Good evening Middle East Eye readers, 

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

• The World Health Organisation said Israel has blocked two of its missions from accessing Al-Ahli and Indonesia hospitals in Gaza since yesterday, calling for a ceasefire and an end to the blockade in Gaza.

• Hamas blamed Israel for spreading misinformation about the negotiation process, and denied receiving any new proposals regarding a prisoner exchange deal within the ceasefire agreement.

• Over 15 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since the early hours, according to Al Jazeera reports.

• The majority of Hezbollah military sites in southern Lebanon are now under the control of the Lebanese army, a source close to the Lebanese movement said.

• The Israeli army said it gained full control of the "Morag Axis" in the southern Gaza Strip and has "encircled" Rafah. 

• The Israeli military announced that its forces expanded the Gaza offensive to the Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods in northern Gaza City on Friday, Haaretz reported.

• Over 60,000 children under five in Gaza are suffering from malnutrition, according to a UN official.

• Some 100,000 protesters rallied at Suhrawardy Park in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Saturday, condemning Israel’s war on Gaza.

US air strikes have targeted multiple locations in Yemen, including a vocational institute in the al-Sawma’ah district of al-Bayda governorate in central Yemen, according to a report by Al Masirah TV.

Three strikes hit the al-Salheen area of Saada governorate in the west of the country, the report said.

The death toll from the Israeli attack on Khan Younis in Gaza has risen to at least three, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

A separate Israeli strike that hit another family home in eastern Khan Younis injured some people, the report said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Israel has blocked two of its missions from accessing Al-Ahli and Indonesia hospitals in Gaza since yesterday, calling for a ceasefire and an end to the blockade in Gaza.

"Hospitals are in dire need, yet the shrinking humanitarian access is obstructing WHO’s ability to resupply them and preventing patients from safely receiving life-saving care," the organisation said in a post on X on Saturday.

"Medical supplies are running dangerously low, both in hospitals and WHO’s warehouses —pushing health facilities closer to collapse."

The social media post also included testimony from D. Samer Atar, a surgeon at Al-Ahli hospital, who said the vast majority of the patients he treated were women and children.

The surgeon warned about the dire circumstances in Gaza’s hospitals, saying even "simple fractures often have to get fixed inadequately due to the lack of resources and supplies, and this will lead to a permanent disability."

Since yesterday, two @WHO missions to Al-Ahli and Indonesia hospitals have been denied.

Hospitals are in dire need, yet the shrinking humanitarian access is obstructing WHO’s ability to resupply them and preventing patients from safely receiving life-saving care.

Medical… pic.twitter.com/qLQGpIdXFv

— WHO in occupied Palestinian territory (@WHOoPt) April 12, 2025

An Israeli air strike on a house in the east of Khan Younis in Gaza killed two Palestinians, injured others, according to The Quds News Network.

BREAKING: A woman was killed and others injured in an Israeli airstrike which targeted a house belonging to the Shurrab family east of Khan Younis. pic.twitter.com/dQB8Ts2grk

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) April 12, 2025

Hamas official Taher al-Nunu blamed Israel for spreading misinformation about the negotiation process and presenting new offers.

"We have not received any new proposals regarding a prisoner exchange deal within the ceasefire agreement. We are ready to release all prisoners in exchange for a prisoner exchange deal, a ceasefire, and the reconstruction of Gaza," he told Al Jazeera Arabic.

"The administration of the Gaza Strip is a Palestinian affair, and we do not accept the presence of any foreign administration or foreign forces. The resistance's weapons are not up for negotiation, and will remain so as long as the occupation persists."

Hamas also announced in a statement that a delegation headed by senior official Khalil al-Hayya has departed for Cairo to meet representatives from Qatar and Egypt "as part of efforts to reach an agreement."

Two Palestinians were injured and several vehicles sustained damage on Saturday evening following an attack by Israeli settlers near the town of Kafr ad-Dik, in the occupied West Bank province of Salfit, Wafa news agency reported.

Settlers from the illegal settlement of Brukhin ambushed farmers' vehicles as they travelled along an agricultural road in the Susiya area, north of Kafr ad-Dik, according to local sources.

Two locals suffered bruises and multiple vehicles were damaged during the attack, the report said.