Israel-Palestine live: Netanyahu rejects Hamas ceasefire proposal, vows ‘total victory’

Israeli forces killed at least 20 Palestinians in Gaza who were on their way to get flour on 31 January, MEE's correspondent in Gaza said on Thursday. 

"Four of them were my friends… every day, people are being killed while going on their way to find flour," he said. 

Israeli forces are searching and raiding homes in northern Gaza on foot, MEE's correspondent in Gaza reported on Thursday.

"Yesterday there were heavy attacks in the Mughrabi area, where I am from. There were many killed who are still left on the ground… there is a heavy presence of Israeli forces, especially in the al-Tayaran area," he said. 

He added that it was unclear if they will remain in the area or not, however, the area remains dangerous.

Middle East Eye's correspondent in Gaza said on Thursday that the situation in Gaza is becoming increasingly dangerous, and that many people are confused due to the "random" ongoing attacks. 

"The situation in the north is very difficult, it is very miserable, many areas have become very dangerous," he said.

According to the correspondent, who is not being named for safety reasons, residents have crowded into the al-Sahaba area, al-Darraj and Shujaeyya and the Zaytoun neighbourhoods.

"It is a very scary situation, and there is also a communications blackout. People are being forced to go to high up locations to get phone signal," he added.

"I went to go to a pitch to get phone signal, and it was immediately targeted by Israeli forces. Two people were killed and many were wounded," he added.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Reuters on Thursday he was "reasonably optimistic" some countries that had paused funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees would resume payments.

The comments come after Unrwa on Thursday said its entire operations in the Middle East, not only in Gaza, will most likely be forced to shut down by the end of February if its funding remains suspended.

"I am reasonably optimistic that we will get funding back on track," Barth Eide said in an interview.

He said "many countries" were realising that the current situation could not last very long. He declined to name specific countries.

"They're looking for a way out. And maybe if now Unrwa comes up quickly with a good response, which is accepted as serious, they will then happily restart," said the minister.

Norway, a top donor to Unrwa, said on Wednesday it was urging countries that have paused funding to the agency to consider the consequences of their actions on the population in Gaza.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) staff performed a funeral prayer on Thursday, after a 75-year-old woman and a 45-day-old girl were both said to have died due to a lack of oxygen supply at the Al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.

Israel cut off all fuel, electricity, food, water and aid for Gaza since 9 October, plunging Gaza into a humaniatrian crisis and rendering many of the enclave's hospital unable to function. 

US President Joe Biden is expected to issue an executive order aimed at punishing Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank who have been attacking Palestinian civilians, Politico reported on Thursday.

The order is reportedly set to be released later on Thursday. It is expected to include sanctions against settlers.

Protesters in the US calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israeli aggression have blocked five major entrances into Washington DC.

Videos show protesters blocking cars by holding banners in the middle of roads, causing a backlog of traffic. 

The protesters are calling for an immediate ceasefire, the reinstating of funding to Unrwa and an end to the siege on Gaza as well as an end to US support for Israel. 

US President Joe Biden will visit autoworkers in Michigan on Thursday, where he is likely to face protests over his handling of the war on Gaza, after several leaders of the state's Arab American community declined to meet his campaign team last week.

Initially, the trip was intended to be celebratory after the United Auto Workers Union recently endorsed his re-election bid. 

However, according to Reuters, his trip may be overshadowed by opposition from the state's Arab American and Muslim population, which is upset the president has not called for a ceasefire.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Gaza said they are mourning staff members Naeem Hasan Al-Jabali and Khalid Kulab, who were killed yesterday after being targeted and directly fired upon by Israeli forces near the gate of Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis.

A group of 100 prominent figures, including political leaders, humanitarians, artists and scholars have called on the EU to do more to uphold international law in Gaza and allow for aid to come into Gaza. 

The initiative, made by Call4Peace, was sent to the EU in an open letter. 

A statement from the letter read: “We deeply regret the lack of leadership from Europe and are appalled by the weak reactions from the international community to the extreme violence in Gaza and Israel.”

Among the signatories are: Swedish politician Margot Wallstrom, American political activist Jody Williams and former Irish President Mary Robinson. 
 

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced on Thursday that over 30,000 Palestinians who have been forcibly displaced now have no food or water in Khan Younis.

The ministry called on the UN and its institutions to intervene urgently to respond to the needs of the displaced people.
 

The UN refugee agency for Palestinians, Unrwa, says its operations will most likely be forced to shut down by the end of February if funding remains suspended.

Juliette Touma, the agency's director of communications, confirmed to Reuters on Thursday that this would apply to its operations across the Middle East, not just in Gaza.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will pull out senior officers deployed in Syria following several Israeli attacks in recent months, according to a report by Reuters on Thursday. 

Since December, Israeli strikes in Syria have killed at least half a dozen Iranian officers, including one of the IRGC's top intelligence generals. 

Five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Iran had no intention of leaving Syria entirely, but was now reconsidering the best approach since the war on Gaza broke out on 7 October.

The sources said the senior and mid-ranking officers had withdrawn to prevent Iran being dragged directly into a regional war. 

Several Iranian-backed groups, including in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, have directly engaged with Israeli and US forces since 7 October. 

Read more: Iran's Revolutionary Guards 'pull out of Syria after Israeli strikes'

At least 118 Palestinians were killed in the last 24 hours and 190 were wounded, the Palestinian health ministry said on Thursday in their latest update of the death toll in Gaza. 

At least 27,019 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli attacks since 7 October, according to the ministry.