Gaza live: Israel continues bombing central Gaza

For the past four mornings, Amal al-Baiouk has come to Nasser hospital to watch the dead bodies be brought out.

Like the other parents of missing people, who keep returning to this devastated corner of Khan Younis, disappointment is etched across her face.

Rescue workers begin exhuming early, with dozens pulled out of the ground as the day goes on.

For Palestinian mothers waiting patiently around the burial pits, any news of their sons is good news, even if that means they are dead. Some have been missing for three months.

“I look at each body’s face, but I have not been guided to my son,” Baiouk tells Middle East Eye.

READ MORE: Nasser hospital mass grave: Pain and patience in Gaza as bodies are exhumed

A gruesome discovery was made in Gaza at the weekend. Some 300 Palestinian bodies - of men, women and children - were unearthed from an unmarked mass grave in the courtyard of the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Even given Israel’s record of committing relentless atrocities in Gaza over the past six months - killing tens of thousands of Palestinians, most of them women and children - this one stood out.

Some bodies were reported to have been found with their hands and feet bound, and stripped of clothing, strongly suggesting they had been executed during a three-month invasion of the city by Israeli soldiers. Others were said to be decapitated, or their skin and organs removed.

And yet, like so many other Israeli atrocities, this one barely caused a ripple in the news cycle. 

Months ago, the establishment British media largely lost interest in reporting on the continuing slaughter in Gaza. The contrast with the media’s early coverage of Ukraine has been stark. The discovery of a mass grave containing some 100 bodies in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha - blamed on Russian troops - caused international outrage.

READ MORE: How an ‘antisemitism hoax' drowned out the discovery of mass graves in Gaza, opinion by Jonathan Cook

The Israeli army said that an Israeli truck driver has died after being injured by a Hezbollah antitank missile attack from southern Lebanon.

The army said the man, Sharif Suad, was carrying out "infrastructure activity" for the military near Israel's northern border.

Lebanon's parliament postponed the country's municipal elections, which were due to be held in May, due to the "complex security, military and political circumstances following the Israeli aggression on Lebanon".

The bill, which passed on Thursday, postponed the elections until a date "no later than May 31, 2025".

Municipal elections in Lebanon are supposed to be held every six years. They were postponed for the first time in 2022, purportedly to prioritise parliamentary elections that year, and again in 2023 due to alleged funding constraints.

Lebanon's east and south have been regularly subjected to Israeli attacks due to the ongoing clashes between Hezbollah and Israel. One lawmaker said this would make holding municipal elections very difficult in these regions.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition delayed the departure of their ships to Gaza, which were supposed to set sail today.

The organisation accused Israel of pressuring the Republic of Guinea Bissau to withdraw its flag from their lead ship, Akdeniz, triggering "request for an additional inspection, this one by the flag state".

"This is another example of Israel obstructing the delivery of life-saving aid to the people in Gaza who face a deliberately created famine," the group's statement read. "How many more children will die of malnutrition and dehydration because of this delay and an ongoing siege which must be broken?"

They added that they expect this hurdle to not cause more than a few days delay.

"Israel will not break our resolve to reach the Palestinians of Gaza."

Hala Rharrit, the Arabic language spokesperson of the US State Department, has resigned, citing her opposition to the Biden administration's Gaza policy.

Rharrit joined the State Department almost two decades ago.

"I resigned April 2024 after 18 years of distinguished service in opposition to the United States' Gaza policy," she said on LinkedIn.

This marks at least the third resignation from the State Department over the Biden administration's Gaza policy. Additionally, Tariq Habash, senior official at the US Education Department, also resigned in January.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• An Israeli air strike on western Gaza City killed at least eight people, the Wafa news agency reports
• Rescue workers who recovered bodies from Nasser hospital's mass grave said some of them may have had their organs stolen
• Israeli raids on cities and refugee camps across the West Bank led to the arrest of a female teacher and two brothers
• Egypt's intelligence chief is reportedly in Tel Aviv today to continue hostage exchange and ceasefire talks
• At least 550 arrests have been made over the past week across US universities as police crack down on pro-Palestine protests in the country

Good evening Middle East Eye readers,

Gaza's health ministry said that 43 people were killed in Israeli attacks on the enclave in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 34,305 Palestinians killed since 7 October.

An additional 77,293 people have been wounded since the start of the war.

Between 80,000 and 100,000 Palestinians have entered Egypt from Gaza since 7 October when the war broke out, the Palestinian ambassador to Cairo said.

In other developments:

• The Gaza government's media office said that a Falastin Al An reporter, Mohammad Bassam al-Jamal, was killed in an Israeli air strike on his home in Rafah.
• Gaza's Civil Defense said that they believe at least 20 people have been buried alive by Israeli forces in the mass grave at Nasser hospital, Khan Younis.
• The Islamic Waqf said that over 900 Israeli settlers and extremists have stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque compound with heavy police protection. 
• Belgium is summoning the Israeli ambassador over the killing of a worker at a Belgian aid agency in Gaza.
• Eighteen countries have written a joint statement calling on Hamas to release all captives still being held in Gaza.
• The Pentagon announced on Thursday that the US military has started the construction of a maritime pier aimed at facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The University of Southern California announced on Thursday that its graduation ceremony slated to take place on 10 May has been cancelled due to "safety measures".

The decision comes after Pro-Palestine protests on campus saw the arrests of at least 90 protesters this week, and controversy earlier in the month surrounding the cancelling of a graduation speech by Asna Tabassum, this year’s Muslim valedictorian, after pressure from pro-Israel groups.

The Pentagon announced on Thursday that the US military has started the construction of a maritime pier aimed at facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The completion of the jetty is anticipated by early May. The construction is part of an initiative to prevent famine in the Palestinian enclave, occurring amidst Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

"I can confirm that US military vessels, to include the USNS Benavidez, have begun to construct the initial stages of the temporary pier and causeway at sea," Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters.

Ryder said that the Pentagon was monitoring a mortar attack in Gaza, resulting in minimal damage to the marshalling area for the pier. However, he added that US forces had not yet initiated any movement to that location, and there were no US forces present on the ground.

On Thursday, Britain announced that the Royal Navy warship HMS Diamond successfully intercepted and destroyed a missile launched by the Houthis from Yemen, which was aimed at a merchant vessel.

"The UK continues to be at the forefront of the international response to the Iranian-backed Houthis’ dangerous attacks on commercial vessels, which have claimed the lives of international mariners," British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement.

On Wednesday, a United Nations team in the Gaza Strip, inspecting the site designated for a pier and maritime aid operations staging area, had to take refuge in a bunker "for some time" due to incoming fire, a UN spokesperson said on Thursday.

Two rounds landed approximately 100 metres (300 feet) away, causing no injuries. Eventually, the team managed to resume their tour, as reported by UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Between 80,000 and 100,000 Palestinians have entered Egypt from Gaza since 7 October when the war broke out, the Palestinian ambassador to Cairo said.

Ambassador Diab Allouh told AFP that the Palestinians had crossed the border without elaborating on how they entered. The Rafah border crossing stands as the only gateway in and out of Gaza not directly supervised by Israeli forces.

Eighteen countries have written a joint statement calling on Hamas to release all captives still being held in Gaza. 

"We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza now for over 200 days," a statement by the countries said.

The 18 countries all have citizens held by Palestinian groups in Gaza. Around 129 captives out of the 253 taken on 7 October are believed to still be held in the enclave.

The signatories were the leaders of the United States, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand and Britain.

"We emphasise that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities," the statement said.

"Gazans would be able to return to their homes and their lands with preparations beforehand to ensure shelter and humanitarian provisions."

An investigation by the New York Times has found that six aid groups based in western countries were hit by Israeli strikes in Gaza even after they shared their location with Israel's military. 

The six groups were Doctors Without Borders (France), Medical Aid for Palestinians (UK), International Rescue Committee (US), International Committee of the Red Cross (Switzerland), Anera (US) and World Central Kitchen (US).  

The probe, published on Thursday, examined visual evidence and internal communications obtained by the New York Times. 

In one example, a staff member of Anera was killed by Israeli forces in what appeared to be a precision strike, despite the aid group repeatedly sending the coordinates of his residence to Israel's military via email.