Live: Lawyers present genocide risk case against Israel at ICJ

An Israeli mayor has warned that the "lust for revenge, blood and destruction" has not returned captives held in Gaza, living or dead, to their families.

Amir Kochavi, mayor of Hod Hasharon, was speaking at a ceremony on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day where he said Jews must "not remain silent in the face of atrocities committed against people of other nationalities in the world, even if they are committed in our name."

"Jewish morality dictates 'never again' not only to us, but to all peoples as a moral and ethical imperative of a just and healthy society," he said.

"59 brothers and sisters are still held hostage in Gaza, their 'never again' still continues. The lust for revenge, blood and destruction has not returned the dead to us, nor the living."

Spain has cancelled a multi-million dollar deal to buy bullets from an Israeli company after a member of the ruling coalition said it was a "blatant violation" of a ban on trading arms with the country.

Spain's interior ministry had sought to negotiate a termination of the 6.8m euro ($7.8m) contract with Israeli firm IMI Systems to have supplied bullets to the Spanish Civil Guard.

But following outcry from its left-wing coaliton partner Sumar who called it a "blatant violation" of a ban imposed after 7 October 2023, the Socialist-led government unilaterally ended the deal, saying negotiations had failed.

According to AFP after "exhausting all paths of negotiation", the offices of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Sumar's Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz and "the competent ministries have decided to cancel unilaterally the ammunition purchase contract with Israeli company IMI Systems", the government sources said.

"The investment board for dual-use material will deny this company permission to import this equipment to our country for reasons of general interest and, immediately afterwards, the interior ministry will terminate the contract," the sources added.

The interior ministry had said the state legal services advised against scrapping the deal "due to the advanced stage of the processing of the contract" and because it would have had to pay without receiving the bullets.

It is 18 months since Israel declared war on Gaza, following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in October 2023, which killed more than 1,200 people.

At the time of writing, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 100,000 injured from a pre-war population of 2.2m. 

Ninety percent of people have been displaced, usually more than once. A ceasefire that came into force on 15 January was broken by Israel on 18 March. Israel has also blockaded supplies of aid and other essentials into Gaza since 2 March.

The Palestinian dead have come from all age groups: women, children and the elderly account for 56 percent of those killed.

Read more: How Israel’s war on Gaza has cut Palestinian life expectancy

Five bodies have been recovered following an Israeli air strike that hit Nakhil Street in the Tuffah neighbourhood, located in eastern Gaza City, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

The attack caused severe damage to surrounding buildings and left residents scrambling for safety. 

• 91 Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard during morning incursions, Al Jazeera Arabic reports

• Concurrent military raids targeted multiple occupied West Bank locations including Al-Arroub camp near Bethlehem and Balata camp in Nablus

• Two Palestinians wounded by Israeli gunfire during Balata camp operation, according to Red Crescent medics

• Special forces deployment in Balata included drone surveillance during neighbourhood raids, Al Jazeera Arabic sources confirm

• Medical access blocked as Israeli troops prevented ambulance crews from reaching casualties in Balata

• Two arrests made - one young man and one woman detained during ongoing Balata operation

• The medical director of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Khalil al-Daqran, has warned that Gaza has entered the fifth stage of malnutrition — the most critical level defined by the World Health Organization — as a result of Israel’s ongoing blockade, reported Wafa. 

• Speaking to Voice of Palestine, al-Daqran said: “Gaza’s children are going through the most dangerous stages of malnutrition due to a complete absence of food and infant formula, and their lives are in real danger.”

• He also highlighted the plight of around 200,000 Palestinians suffering from chronic illnesses, warning that many could die as essential medications have run out.

• The Israeli blockade, now in its seventh week, has brought Gaza’s healthcare system to collapse and left civilians grappling with starvation.

Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day, Wednesday and Thursday this week, will likely see Israeli and US politicians use the opportunity to suggest that their destruction of Gaza is somehow about protecting Jews from another Holocaust - and that anyone who protests against this destruction is really motivated by antisemitism.

That’s certainly what happened last year, when both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former US President Joe Biden made such claims. In response, 10 Holocaust survivors issued a letter, stating: “To use the memory of the Holocaust like this to justify either genocide in Gaza or repression on college campuses is a complete insult to the memory of the Holocaust.”

It’s not just Netanyahu and Biden who have misused the Holocaust in this way. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was clearly referring to the pro-Palestine movement when he talked about antisemitism on university campuses and “hatred marching on our streets” in a speech at the Holocaust Educational Trust last September.

Read more: How the Holocaust is weaponised to repress anti-genocide voices

The death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to at least 30 since dawn.

The attacks hit multiple areas across the enclave, injuring dozens more as emergency crews rushed to rescue those trapped under the rubble.

• Three Palestinians died and several others sustained injuries when an Israeli drone struck Al-Zawayda in central Gaza on Thursday, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

• Eyewitnesses reported the attack hit civilians gathering at a food distribution point in the town.

• Separate Israeli bombardment in Deir al-Balah claimed another Palestinian life in the central Strip.

• The Ministry of Health in Gaza says 50 people have been killed and 152 wounded in the last 24 hours alone, as Israeli strikes continue across the Strip.

• The total death toll since 7 October 2023 has now reached 51,355, while the number of injured stands at 117,248.

• Since 18 March, at least 1,978 Palestinians have been killed and 5,207 wounded.

Not long ago, my cousin in Palestine located our grandfather’s baptismal certificate, which states that he was baptised in a church in his Palestinian village in 1885.  

He lived an incredible life, witnessing two world wars and a sequence of Arab-Israeli wars, including Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. A farmer who rode on horseback and rolled his own cigarettes, he contentedly cultivated his land and nurtured his olive trees - never leaving Palestine, even as several of his children migrated to the United States. 

I’m grateful to have this documentation and the certificate of his baptism, especially since Palestinian existence is always under attack. 

For Palestinian Christians, it’s both laughable and offensive when people try to erase our community’s presence in Palestine. 

Palestinian Christians are an important minority who have been betrayed not by Palestinian Muslims, but by Christian leaders around the globe. This is why the passing of Pope Francis hits us especially hard, because he was a rare western Christian leader who recognised and acknowledged our existence, both lovingly and compassionately.

Read more:  Pope Francis was the leader Palestinian Christians needed

At least 26 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air attacks on the Gaza Strip since dawn, medical sources told Al Jazeera.

Eighteen of the dead were reported in Gaza City and across northern Gaza, where the strikes have been most intense.

Hospitals remain overwhelmed as medics treat the wounded and continue efforts to locate survivors beneath the rubble.

The number of people killed in an Israeli air strike on Jabalia al-Balad market has climbed to ten, with several others wounded, reported Al Jazeera Arabic.

The attack targeted a police station situated near the crowded market in northern Gaza, intensifying fears among residents already reeling from repeated bombardments.

Rescue crews continue to work through the debris as the casualty count is expected to rise.

At least 20 Palestinians have been killed in a fresh wave of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip since dawn, medical officials told Al Jazeera Arabic.

Thirteen of the fatalities were reported in Gaza City and areas across northern Gaza, where the bombing has intensified throughout the day.

Emergency teams continue to search for survivors under the rubble as air raids show no sign of slowing.

An Israeli air raid on the Jabalia al-Balad market in northern Gaza has left at least seven people dead, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

The strike reportedly targeted a police station near the bustling marketplace, causing multiple injuries in addition to the confirmed fatalities.

Local sources say rescue teams are still working to retrieve bodies and assist the wounded, as the area reels from yet another deadly bombardment amid the ongoing Israeli siege.