Live: Lawyers present genocide risk case against Israel at ICJ

Former footballer and broadcaster Gary Lineker has defended the BBC documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which was pulled from its streaming platform, iPlayer, after an intense campaign by pro-Israel groups and rival British media outlets.

Their criticism centred over revelations that Abdullah’s father, Ayman al-Yazuri, is a deputy minister of agriculture in Gaza’s government, which is administered by Hamas.

Abdullah later responded to the controversy, saying: “I hold the BBC responsible for my fate.”

Lineker described the film as a vital piece of journalism. He was one of over 500 media professionals who signed an open letter criticising the BBC’s decision to remove it.

The BBC has come under renewed scrutiny after it pulled the documentary.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Lineker said he would “100 percent” support reinstating the documentary.

“I think you let people make their own minds up. We’re adults. We’re allowed to see things like that. It’s incredibly moving,” he told presenter Amol Rajan.

He accused the broadcaster of yielding to external pressure: “I think [the BBC] just capitulated to lobbying that they get a lot.”

When pressed the importance of impartiality in conflict coverage, Lineker pointed at the double standards in how the BBC has handled the war in Ukraine.

Rajan referenced Israel’s official stance that its military offensive on Gaza - which has killed more than 51,000 Palestinians - was a response to the 7 October attacks.

“But that’s not the full context, is it?” Lineker countered. “The full context started way before October 7th, doesn’t it?”

Karimah Tarazi says that with the death of Pope Francis earlier this week, the churches of Gaza have fallen silent.

Tarazi's family, like hundreds of others, has been living for the past 18 months in two Gaza churches - the Holy Family Church and St Porphyrius Greek Orthodox - and is still coming to terms with the pope's absence.

The 63-year-old Palestinian spoke to Middle East Eye at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, where a mass for the pope was being held on Tuesday.

She said her family's homes were destroyed in October 2023 by Israeli bombardment, and her relatives have been holed up in the two churches since. Earlier that month, 17 members of her extended family were killed when the St Porphyrius church itself was struck by Israeli bombs.

The pope's daily phone calls to the parish didn't merely provide relief; they gave them the spiritual fuel to go on.

Read more: 'We didn't hear his voice': Gaza's churches fall silent after death of Pope Francis

Fresh footage released by Israeli human rights group Yesh Din shows settlers setting fire to Palestinian homes and farmland in Sinjil, a village northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

The rights group documented at least two attacks this week, describing how settlers torched homes and agricultural trees while Israeli forces reportedly stood by.

According to Yesh Din, soldiers actively backed one of the assaults by firing tear gas at Palestinians attempting to extinguish the fires. One resident was killed during the violence.

“The military enables this and prevents emergency services from accessing the area,” the group said. It also linked the latest escalation to the recent creation of a settler “farm outpost” near Sinjil.

The incident adds to a growing pattern of settler violence across the occupied territory, as rights groups accuse Israeli forces of offering protection — or even direct support — to those carrying out attacks.

• Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and Al Mezan have dismissed Israel's military investigation into the deaths of 15 Palestinian rescue workers in Gaza last March.

• In a joint statement, the groups said: "The Israeli military’s self-exonerating report appears designed to whitewash atrocities and shield perpetrators, not to deliver justice."

• They condemned the findings as a "gross distortion of reality", accusing Israel of covering up what may constitute a war crime.

• The sole survivor, Palestine Red Crescent Society medic Assad al-Nasasrah, remains detained by Israel. Over 300 healthcare workers from Gaza have been held since October 2023.

• MAP and Al Mezan demanded "genuine international accountability" for the killings.

A funeral procession began on Wednesday evening from Jenin Government Hospital, carrying the body of 12-year-old Mahmoud Abu al-Haija to his hometown of al-Yamoun in the occupied West Bank.

According to the Wafa news agency, Israeli forces shot and killed the boy earlier that day. Witnesses said he was standing with other children in the street when soldiers opened fire, striking him in the thigh and abdomen.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers, 

Thank you for joining our live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, its escalating attacks across the occupied West Bank, and growing tensions throughout the wider region. 

• Overnight Israeli strikes kill 13 in Gaza, including three children in a tent near Nuseirat.

• Six Palestinians die in Gaza City attack, with a woman and four children among the dead in Sheikh Radwan.

• West Bank funeral held for 12-year-old boy shot by Israeli forces in al-Yamoun.

• Israeli settlers attack Bardala village, shooting five Palestinians and burning farmland and buildings.

• US military bombs Houthi-held areas in Yemen, dropping over a dozen explosives in recent hours.

• Yale bans pro-Palestinian group after it protested a talk by far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

- Israeli air strikes across Gaza have killed at least 40 people in Gaza since dawn on Wednesday.

- The Qassam Brigades released a video showing Israeli captive Omri Miran walking through dark tunnels and later lighting a candle to mark his second birthday in captivity. Miran urges US President Donald Trump to force Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a negotiated deal that returns the captives home. 

- The foreign ministers of the UK, France, and Germany have released a joint statement urging “Israel to immediately re-start a rapid and unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza”.

- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the "sons of bitches" Hamas to release the remaining captives in Gaza, saying it has given Israel an excuse to continue slaughtering Palestinians. In response, every Palestinian faction in Gaza slammed the statement.

- Israeli forces shot and killed a 12 year-old boy during a raid in al-Yamoun town, west of Jenin, according to Wafa news agency.

- Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on Wednesday that he'd met with "senior Republican Party officials" at US President Donald Trump's Florida home, the Mar-a-Lago estate. "They expressed support for my very clear position on how to act in Gaza and that the food and aid depots should be bombed," Ben Gvir wrote on X. 

- Video shared on Wednesday by a local digital news outlet in Dearborn, Michigan showed men in FBI-emblazoned vests breaking down the door of a home where pro-Palestine student protesters live. 

Karima Tarazi says that with the death of Pope Francis earlier this week, the churches of Gaza have fallen silent.

Tarazi's family, like hundreds of others, has been living for the past 18 months in two Gaza churches - the Holy Family Church and St Porphyrius Greek Orthodox - and is still coming to terms with the pope's absence.

The 63-year-old Palestinian American spoke to Middle East Eye at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, where a mass for the pope was being held on Tuesday.

Read more: Palestinians sheltering in Gaza's churches have now also lost a voice that filled them with hope

Health officials in Gaza have confirmed to a number of Arabic-language news outlets that an Israeli air strike on a home in Khan Younis late on Wednesday has killed three people, including a child. 

Social media is in a frenzy following the attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, as thousands fear potential retaliations against the region and wider Muslim populations in India. 

At least 26 tourists were killed and 13 others injured after gunmen opened fire on a group of tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir on Tuesday, according to Indian police.

As the attack has been receiving continuous media coverage and attention from international leaders, people online are highlighting the long history of what many call the Indian "occupation" of the area that has led to this moment. 

Read more: Calls for a violent ‘solution’ from a prominent Indian have many drawing similarities between the tactics of Israel and India

Video shared on Wednesday by a local digital news outlet in Dearborn, Michigan showed men in FBI-emblazoned vests breaking down the door of a home where pro-Palestine student protesters live. 

According to the pro-Palestine group TAHRIR Coalition, the raids took place at three locations: Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Canton, all at the homes of University of Michigan students who were involved in campus protests in support of Gaza. 

While all the residents were briefly detained then released, their devices were confiscated, TAHRIR said. 

The move is the boldest action yet to crack down on student protesters in the area. At least 11 other students already face charges by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. 

Nessel has indicated that it remains her mission to root out what she describes as antisemitism on college campuses. 

The military wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, released a video on Wednesday showing Israeli captive Omri Miran walking through dark tunnels and later lighting a candle to mark his second birthday in captivity. 

Speaking directly to the camera, he urges US President Donald Trump to force Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a negotiated deal that returns the captives home. 

"Only a deal can bring us back now," Miran says.

"Netanyahu, Dermer, Smotrich, Ben Gvir, you are the reason for October 7," Miran says, referring to the ministers of strategic affairs, finance and national security, in the video where he appears to be sitting on his bed. "Because of you, I am here."

WATCH | Qassam Brigades releases a video of Israeli captive Omri Miran, who is celebrating his birthday for the second time in Gaza, with the following caption:

"Because of you, we are all here! You are pushing this country to collapse." pic.twitter.com/Vo1AvTrGYq

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) April 23, 2025

Most major nations will be sending heads of state or government, or royalty, to Pope Francis' funeral on Saturday, but Israel will be represented only by its ambassador to the Vatican.

The decision to keep the representation at about the lowest level possible is a sign of how far Israel's relations with the Vatican have deteriorated since the start of the war in Gaza in 2023, diplomats said.

It also follows an Israeli government decision to delete a social media post that had offered condolences for the pope's death.

- Reporting by Reuters

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on Wednesday that he'd met with "senior Republican Party officials" at US President Donald Trump's Florida home, the Mar-a-Lago estate. 

"They expressed support for my very clear position on how to act in Gaza and that the food and aid depots should be bombed in order to create military and political pressure to bring our hostages home safely," Ben Gvir wrote on X. 

היה לי את הכבוד והזכות להיפגש עם בכירים במפלגה הרפובליקנית באחוזת טראמפ במאר א-לאגו. הם הביעו תמיכה בעמדתי המאוד ברורה כיצד צריך לפעול בעזה ושיש להפציץ את מאגרי המזון והסיוע על מנת לייצר לחץ צבאי ומדיני כדי להחזיר את חטופינו הביתה בשלום. pic.twitter.com/5qXbNrudSV

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) April 23, 2025