Israel's War on Gaza Live: Israel pounds Rafah in overnight strikes

An Israeli air strike on Gaza city killed three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas-affiliated news agency Shehab said on Wednesday.

Palestinian media said that the strike targeted a car that the three brothers, Hazem, Amir and Mohammed, were driving in the Beach refugee camp.

Al Jazeera reported that three of Haniyeh's grandchildren were also killed in the attack.

Aid shipments to Gaza along a new maritime corridor from Cyprus are expected to resume soon, according to Cypriot officials.

Cyprus currently has about 1,000 tons of humanitarian aid for Gaza stored on the island. It is being held there after the World Central Kitchen (WCK) decided to pause its activity following the death of seven of its workers in Israeli air strikes on 1 April. 

The US plans to set up a dock by early May off Gaza's coast, which will enable aid deliveries pre-screened in Cyprus, with Israeli oversight, to enter the enclave.

"We are in communication with countries we have worked with from the outset, so that very soon, humanitarian aid from Cyprus will resume after the completion of the US project in Gaza," Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said.

The WCK workers were in the process of unloading a second shipment of aid through the Cyprus corridor when their three-vehicle convoy was hit by Israeli strikes.

Following the attack, a convoy of ships returned to Cyprus on 3 April with undelivered aid. 

"The plan is to store the aid until WCK decides what it wants to do," a Cypriot official told Reuters.

In his latest column for Middle East Eye, academic Hamid Dabashi argues that Israel's supporters are rushing to discredit the UN special rapporteur on Palestine, after she published a damning report on the "anatomy of genocide". 

Dabashi writes: "Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, is a legal scholar, the first woman to hold this pivotal position, and an all-round pain in the neck for genocidal Zionists from Tel Aviv to London to New York.

Today, she is the voice of the global conscience speaking truth to the vulgar warmongers committing atrocities in Gaza.  

The bold, brilliant and thoroughly researched report Albanese recently issued, aptly titled 'Anatomy of a Genocide', has inspired much admiration around the globe for her tireless work - but also horror and fury among Zionists who do not want Israel’s genocide in Palestine to have such an eloquent, precise and detailed account."

You can read the full opinion piece below. 

Opinion: Who's afraid of Francesca Albanese? 

The number of Palestinians killed during Israel's war on Gaza has risen to 33,482, the Palestinian health ministry said on Wednesday. At least 76,049 others have been wounded since 7 October.

The new death toll comes after 122 Palestinians were killed and 56 wounded over the past 24 hours, the ministry added.

New restrictions on Turkish exports to Israel could drive an increase in property and rent prices, Israeli businessmen have warned.

The Turkish government imposed restrictions on exports to Israel earlier this week, after the issue of exports was cited by many as a factor in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)'s poor local election results.

Despite repeated criticism of Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip, trade had continued between Israel and Turkey, including in raw materials such as cement.

Sources familiar with the construction industry told Israeli news outlet Mako that the new restrictions were expected to increase the prices of apartments in the country if they are implemented.

The restrictions announced by the Turkish Ministry of Trade include 54 products, many of which are used in the construction sector, such as aluminium wire, steel, cement, granite and bricks.

Read more: Israeli construction industry warns that Turkish export restrictions could increase property prices

Israel has reportedly agreed to a concession during ceasefire talks in Egypt which would allow for the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, Israeli officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

As part of a US truce proposal, Israel would allow 150,000 Palestinians to return to the north with no security checks, according to two officials with knowledge of the discussions.

The sources said that in return, Hamas would be required to give a list of female, elderly and sick captives it still held alive.

On Tuesday, Hamas said the latest truce proposal did not meet its demands, but that it would respond after studying the details further.

Israel believes that Hamas does not want to strike a deal yet, the two Israeli officials said.

Over 60,000 Palestinians performed morning Eid prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem despite Israeli restrictions, according to Wafa news agency. 

The Islamic Waqf - the council in charge of affairs at the mosque - said a number of Palestinians were forcibly removed from Al-Aqsa by Israeli authorities, and prayed in the streets nearby. 

The commander of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (Unifil) has warned that there is a real danger of escalation on the Lebanon-Israel border.

"Unifil calls for a return to the cessation of hostilities, and a move towards a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution to the conflict", Aroldo Lazaro said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Israeli army says it struck dozens of targets across Gaza, claiming it hit military sites as well as "launchers, tunnel shafts, and infrastructure" and killing Palestinian fighters in "terrorist cells."

It also says it hit sites in Jabalia and Gaza City's Shujaiya neighbourhood where strikes towards Israel and Israeli soldiers were carried out.

The army also said they are currently battling Hamas gunmen in the central Gaza corridor they control. The corridor is the only area of Gaza where Israeli troops remain in large presence.

Lebanon's Al Akhbar newspaper reports that over 100 homes have been completely destroyed by Israeli shelling in Ayta ash-Shaab, south Lebanon, ever since the beginning of Hezbollah's near-daily border clashes with Israel.

A source from the village told Al Akhbar than over 1,000 homes were partially damaged.

Ayta ash-Shaab usually has 11,000 permanent residents, but many have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict.

In a sermon following Eid al-Fitr prayers in Tehran's Grand Mosque, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Israel "must be punished and it shall be punished" for the bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus on 1 April, which killed several Iranian officers, including two top commanders.

“The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished and it shall be,” he said.

In response, Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that "if Iran attacks from its own territory, Israel will respond and attack in Iran."

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• Palestinians across the Gaza Strip celebrate the first day of Eid al-Fitr amidst destruction on the ground and the sound of Israeli drones in the air
• Palestinians also mourn the deaths of 14 people, including four children, killed in an overnight Israeli strike on Nuseirat refugee camp
• Thousands of Palestinians gathered at Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem to mark the end of Ramadan, despite Israeli restrictions
• World leaders and international organisations, including the US president, Australian prime minister and the UN, mention plight in Gaza and Sudan as part of their Eid wishes
• US President Joe Biden said he does not agree with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Gaza policy, calling it a "mistake" and once again calling fro a 6-8 week truce.
• Former US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also said she believes Netanyahu is only interested "in one thing, his own survival".
• Haaretz reports that some senior Israeli cabinet minister may oppose the currently discussed hostages-for-truce deal if it does not include all hostages held in Gaza.

Hello MEE readers. On Tuesday, just hours before Palestinians in Gaza were set to begin their celebrations for Eid al-Fitr, an Israeli air strike hit a residence in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Earlier, we reported that the strike killed a dozen people. Now, the death toll has risen to 14 people, including four children.

The deaths come as the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain in gridlock. Hamas is currently reviewing the latest proposal, but has said that there are aspects that are contrary to its own demands.

Here is what else you need to know from today's developments:

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he expects talks between Israeli and US officials to take place next week on a potential Israeli military operation in Rafah.

• Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant has reportedly told his American counterpart Lloyd Austin that there is no set date for an Israeli invasion of Rafah.

• UK Foreign Minister David Cameron said that the country's position on arms sales to Israel has remained unchanged, following the government's latest assessment.

• US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a Senate hearing that Washington doesn't have evidence that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

• US Senator Bernie Sanders said that Washington should not provide Israel with additional military aid.

• In Ramallah, dozens are taking part in a solidarity march with the people of Gaza. Organisers are calling on other cities in the occupied West Bank to protest on Wednesday, which marks the first day of Eid al-Fitr.