Gaza live: Israel continues bombing central Gaza

Good evening readers of Middle East Eye,

Gaza's health ministry said that 71 people have been killed by Israeli attacks on the enclave in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 33,970 since 7 October.

An additional 76,770 have been wounded since the start of the war.

In other developments:

• On Thursday, the United States used its veto power at the UN Security Council, effectively preventing the United Nations from granting full membership to the Palestinian Authority and thereby blocking the recognition of a Palestinian state.
• The Palestinian Authority expressed strong condemnation of the US veto of a Security Council draft resolution advocating for the full United Nations membership of a Palestinian state.
• The US and UK have imposed new sanctions on Iran after its missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend.
• Italy's foreign minister said on Thursday that Israel is likely to retaliate against Iran's missile and drone strike on 13 April.
• State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Thursday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains critical, underscoring the need for Israel to increase efforts to facilitate aid entry into the area and collaborate with aid organisations on deconfliction measures.
• In a meeting between Israeli and US officials over Israel's planned invasion of Rafah, Israel said that it would take into account American concerns over the looming operation.

Israel's foreign minister praised the United States for exercising its veto power at the UN Security Council on Thursday, blocking Palestine's bid for full membership in the world body.

"The shameful proposal was rejected. Terrorism will not be rewarded," said Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

On Thursday, the Palestinian Authority expressed strong condemnation of the US veto of a Security Council draft resolution advocating for the full United Nations membership of a Palestinian state.

The PA said in a statement that the US veto was "unfair, unethical and unjustified".

The US policy "represents a blatant aggression against international law and an encouragement to the pursuit of the genocidal war against our people... which pushes the region ever further to the edge of the abyss", Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's office said in a statement.

On Thursday, the United States used its veto power at the UN Security Council, effectively preventing the United Nations from granting full membership to the Palestinian Authority and thereby blocking the recognition of a Palestinian state.

The resolution, which would have granted the observer State of Palestine full membership at the UN, received a vote of 12 in favour, while the UK and Switzerland abstained from voting. Russia, China, France, Japan, South Korea, Ecuador, Algeria, Malta, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Guyana voted yes. The US ultimately blocked the measure.

The United States said an independent Palestinian state should be established via direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, rather than through actions taken at the United Nations.

"Recent escalations make it even more important to support good-faith efforts to find lasting peace between Israel and a fully independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian state," UN secretary Ggeneral Antonio Guterres told the council earlier on Thursday.

Three Barnard College students, including US lawmaker Ilhan Omar's daughter Isra Hirsi, have been suspended for participation in an ongoing Gaza solidarity protest encampment at Columbia University in New York City.

The suspension of the three students came as the university administrators signalled their intent to dismantle the camp set up by students at the Columbia campus in Harlem. On Thursday afternoon, Columbia University president Minouche Shafik said she had authorised the New York Police Department to begin clearing the camp that had been set up on Wednesday.

Several students told MEE that heavily armed police dressed in riot gear entered the university lawns on Thursday to tear down the 50-plus tents. 

The developments on Thursday followed the revelations that three students - Isra Hirsi, 21, along with Maryam Iqbal, 18, and Soph Dinu, 21 - had received letters earlier in the day informing them they had been suspended, effective immediately, due to refusing to pay heed to calls to end their protest.

To read the full story, click below.

Ilhan Omar's daughter suspended from university over pro-Palestine activism

In a meeting between Israeli and US officials over Israel's planned invasion of Rafah, Israel said that it would take into account American concerns over the looming operation.

"The two sides agreed on the shared objective to see Hamas defeated in Rafah," the White House said in a statement.

State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Thursday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains critical, underscoring the need for Israel to increase efforts to facilitate aid entry into the area and collaborate with aid organisations on deconfliction measures.

"There has been some measurable progress that we've seen when it comes to humanitarian aid getting into Gaza," Patel told a press briefing.

"But the circumstances within Gaza continue to be dire and more absolutely needs to be done. The crisis that we're seeing demands rapid expansion of these efforts."

Italy's foreign minister said on Thursday that Israel is likely to retaliate against Iran's missile and drone strike on 13 April.

He said he hoped that any retaliation would be precise and not lead to further escalation.

"Our appeal is always for prudence and de-escalation," Antonio Tajani told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers."We hope that Israel's response, which will probably come, will be a targeted response and not something that provokes escalation."

During a session at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, Iran stated that Israel "must be compelled to stop any further military adventurism against our interests".

"In case of any use of force by the Israeli regime and violating our sovereignty, the Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate a bit to assert its inherent rights to give a decisive and proper response to it to make the regime regret its actions," said Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

The US and UK have imposed new sanctions on Iran after its missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend. 

The US Treasury Department said the measures targeted 16 individuals and two entities enabling Iran’s unarmed aerial vehicle (UAV) production.

That included targeting engine types that power Iran’s Shahed variant UAVs, which were used in the 13 April attack, as well as five companies providing component materials to Iran’s Khuzestan Steel Company (KSC), one of the country's largest steel producers.

Meanwhile, Britain imposed sanctions targeting Iranian military organisations, individuals and entities involved in the UAV and ballistic missile industries.

The UN Security Council will vote on Thursday at 9pm GMT on a Palestinian bid for full UN membership, diplomats told Reuters.

The US, Israel's biggest ally, is expected to block the move which would effectively recognise a Palestinian state.

Senior US and Israeli officials will hold a virtual meeting on Thursday about Israel's plan to launch a ground invasion on Rafah, according to Reuters. 

President Joe Biden has urged Israel not to conduct a large-scale offensive in the southern Gaza city, where over 1 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering in tents and makeshift homes. 

Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel's far-right national security minister, has called for the execution of Palestinian prisoners to ease overcrowding in the country's jails.

Writing on social media, he welcomed a decision by the Israeli army to build 936 additional prison places for "security prisoners".

"The additional construction will allow the prison service to take in more terrorists, and will bring a partial solution to the prison crisis that exists in the Shabak," he said, referring to the Israeli Prison Service.

"The death penalty for terrorists is the right solution to the incarceration problem, until then - glad that the government approved the proposal I brought."

In a statement on Wednesday marking Palestinian Prisoners' Day, the Gaza media office said over 5,000 Palestinians had been arrested by Israeli forces during their current war on Gaza, which started on 7 October.

Read more: Ben Gvir calls for execution of Palestinian prisoners to ease overcrowding

On paper, both sides in the US-led Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo are working towards the same goals: a cessation of hostilities and the exchange of Israelicaptives for Palestinian prisoners.

Yet, as Hamas sees it, the Palestinian movement and the Israelis are worlds apart.

The Israeli government, under domestic pressure, prioritises the release of people taken captive on 7 October.

Hamas, meanwhile, seeks not only a complete end to the war, but a future where Gaza is liberated from the blockade Israel has imposed on the coastal enclave for the past 16 years.

READ MORE: What Hamas wants from Israel - and why the Cairo talks are faltering