Gaza live: Israel continues bombing central Gaza

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• Israeli strikes on Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah killed at least 12 people, including a mother and her child in Gaza City, the Wafa news agency reports
• A Palestinian boy was killed by Israeli forces during their raid on Ramallah, West Bank this morning
• A spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency said that his government hold the US accountable for any Israeli incursions into Rafah
• The number of recovered bodies from the mass grave in Nasser Hospital, Khan Younis, has risen to 324
• US police forces arrested at least 34 people, including journalists, at a pro-Palestine protest in the University of Texas
• US House Speaker Mike Johnson threatened to use the National Guard against pro-Palestine student protesters in Columbia University

Good evening Middle East Eye readers,

Israeli forces have killed at least 79 Palestinians and wounded 86 more over the past 24 hours in six "massacres", according to the Palestinian health ministry. 

This brings the Palestinian death toll in over six months to more than 34,262, with at least 77,229 wounded and an estimated 7,000 missing and presumed dead.

More than 70 percent of the victims are children and women, according to health officials.

In other developments:

• Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday thanked the US Senate for approving $13 billion in military aid that he said sent a "strong message" to the country's enemies.
• The Jamaican government has recognised the State of Palestine, Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith announced.
• Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestine woman in the occupied West Bank of Hebron on Wednesday morning
• The Israeli army says it carried out a series of attacks against Hezbollah in the village of Ayta ash-Shab, southern Lebanon.
• Severe infections and epidemics are spreading in Gaza due to the overflow of sewage into the streets and the lack of clean drinking water, Gaza's health ministry warns.
• President Joe Biden signed a bill into law on Wednesday that provides billions of dollars of new US aid to Ukraine and Israel.
• On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labelled pro-Palestinian student protests in US universities as "horrific", insisting that such demonstrations "have to be stopped".
• White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said that US officials have been in touch with Israeli counterparts regarding reports of mass graves discovered in Gaza.

On Wednesday, Yemen's Houthi group claimed responsibility for attacking two American ships and an Israeli vessel, the group's military spokesperson said.

Spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech that the attack targeted the US ship Maersk Yorktown, an American destroyer in the Gulf of Aden, and the Israeli ship, MSC Veracruz, in the Indian Ocean.

"The Yemeni armed forces confirm they will continue to prevent Israeli navigation or any navigation heading to the ports of occupied Palestine in the Red and Arabian Seas, as well as in the Indian Ocean," Sarea said on Wednesday.

Yemen's Houthis have been targeting ships in the Red Sea region since November, citing solidarity with Palestinians in the war on Gaza.

President Joe Biden stands for freedom of expression on US campuses, amid increasing protests by university students against Israel's actions in Gaza, the White House said on Wednesday.

"The president believes that free speech, debate and nondiscrimination on college campuses are important," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing.

White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday that he will visit Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks, following a postponement because of a cracked rib.

Sullivan told reporters that he had significantly improved, saying he had recovered about 80 percent.

He plans to engage in discussions with Saudi officials regarding the potential for a normalisation deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

On Wednesday, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said that US officials have been in touch with Israeli counterparts regarding reports of mass graves discovered in Gaza.

"Those reports were deeply disturbing," Sullivan said at a news briefing.

"We have been in touch at multiple levels with the Israeli government. We want answers. We want to understand exactly what happened."

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labelled pro-Palestinian student protests in US universities as "horrific", insisting that such demonstrations "have to be stopped".

Demonstrations across US universities have erupted in response to Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza, leading to widespread arrests and class cancellations at renowned institutions like Columbia University.

"What's happening in America's college campuses is horrific," Netanyahu said in a statement, accusing "antisemitic mobs" of taking over leading universities.

"It's unconscionable. It has to be stopped. It has to be condemned and condemned unequivocally," he said. "The response of several university presidents was shameful. Now, fortunately, state, local, [and] federal officials, many of them have responded differently but there has to be more. More has to be done."

On Wednesday, the US State Department denounced as "dangerous and reckless" the reports indicating that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was advocating for the legalisation of numerous settler outposts in the occupied West Bank.

During a press briefing, deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel also said that Washington was urging the Israeli government to provide further details regarding reports of mass graves in Gaza.

President Joe Biden signed a bill into law on Wednesday that provides billions of dollars of new US aid to Ukraine and Israel.

The legislation encompasses $6bn in aid for Ukraine, $26bn for Israel, $1bn n humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and $8bn to address China's military capabilities.

"It gives vital support to America's partners so they can defend themselves from threats to their sovereignty," Biden said.

Biden thanked House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson for breaking the deadlock on the legislation and vowed to return soon to address border security.

“This is a reminder of what America can do when we come together despite our differences," he said.

Biden blamed "MAGA Republicans" loyal to Trump for spending months blocking the aid. He said passage of the legislation sends a direct message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose military has been making gains in Ukraine.

"He's failed again. American stands with our friends. ... We bow to no one, no one, certainly not Vladimir Putin," he said.

The director of the Ibrahimi Mosque, Moataz abu-Sneineh, said the Israeli army shut the doors of the mosque today and for tomorrow, preventing Palestinians and Muslim visitors from entry, as Jews celebrate Passover until Thursday.

The Israeli army is only allowing settlers to break in and perform Talmudic prayers, he added, while Muslim worshippers are being harassed.

The mosque will be closed for 10 days and calls for prayers will also be suspended. The move follows the “Shamgar” agreement, which led to division of the Ibrahimi Mosque after a massacre that took place in 1994. Since then, the mosque has been closed for 10 days during the Jewish Passover.

Meanwhile, Israeli settlers stormed the Old City of Hebron, stopping shoppers from heading to the market. Nader Al-Tamimi, a local merchant, said the settlers’ celebrations of their holidays come at the expense of the Palestinians, as they create “hell for us and an environment that repels passers-by and shop owners”.

“We witness attacks and the destruction of some of the contents of the shops, and many fear reaching the Old City. Their goal is to evacuate the Palestinians and only allow the settlers to roam freely,” he says.

Norway has expressed concern over Israel's rising violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

"I am deeply alarmed by the recent surge in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Civilians are killed, homes and private property have been destroyed, and entire communities have been uprooted," said Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.

In a statement, the minister said "the heightened regional tension, violence in the West Bank" poses "a significant threat to peace and stability and hinders any progress toward a Palestinian state and the much-needed two-state solution".   

Norway has aligned with the sanctions adopted by the EU on 19 April against extremist settlers in the West Bank, the statement adds.

The Israeli army says it has carried out a series of attacks against Hezbollah in the village of Ayta ash-Shab, southern Lebanon. 

The 40 attacks, which were carried out during an exchange of cross-border strikes, targeted weapons warehouses, rocket launchers, and other infrastructure.

Severe infections and epidemics are spreading in Gaza due to the overflow of sewage into the streets and the lack of clean drinking water, Gaza's health ministry warns.

In a post on Facebook, the ministry said there is an alarming rise in cases of hepatitis and meningitis, and called upon “all relevant national, international and humanitarian institutions” to interfere for help and support.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) said it has, along with the UN children’s fund (Unicef), have accomplished a joint aid delivery mission to Jabalia in northern Gaza.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Unrwa posted a video showing the aid truck, saying the delivery, sent on Tuesday, has included  “life-saving medical and water-purification” supplies to the residents of the area - one of the most affected due to severe aid shortages.

Aid delivery to Gaza has been extremely difficult, especially in the north where Israel imposes heavy restrictions on locals and has attacked aid operations, as military operations continue.

The European Union has called for an independent probe into the mass graves discovered in the grounds of Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals in Gaza.

“This is something that forces us to call for an independent investigation of all the suspicions and all the circumstances, because indeed it creates the impression that there might have been violations of international human rights committed,” EU spokesman Peter Stano said.

The EU call for an investigation follows a similar call by the UN. 

Ravina Shamdasani, UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman, said some of the dead bodies found in the grave at the Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis were allegedly “found with their hands tied and stripped of their clothes”.

On Tuesday, a statement was released by the UN, in which the United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk has said he is “horrified” by the the two hospitals and reportes of mass graves found in and around them, calling for transparent investigations.