Live: At least 75 killed in Israeli strikes on second day of Eid al-Adha
Live Updates
Ireland's Tanaiste, or deputy prime minister, Simon Harris, defended the government's position on Thursday that Israel is carrying out a genocide in Gaza, Irish broadcaster RTE reported.
“We are the first government in the European Union (EU) to say what Israel is doing is genocide. It is genocide," Harris told an opposition lawmaker during a heated exchange in parliament, known as the the Dáil.
Catherine Connolly, an independent, accused the government of not doing enough to punish Israel for its 19-month-long war on Gaza, which has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
“I’m disgusted and sickened, sickened - watching children dying on our television screens and every day I come to work, and work with all the people in here to do our best to show leadership at a time of horrific conflict," Harris said.
Read more: Ireland stands by claim Israel committing genocide in Gaza
A Hamas official has confirmed the group received Israel's response to a US-backed ceasefire plan but says it falls short of Palestinian demands.
Basem Naim told Reuters on Friday that Hamas is carefully examining the proposal, which he said fails to address their "just and legitimate demands".
The UN's humanitarian office (OCHA) has accused Israel of severely restricting aid to Gaza, with spokesperson Jens Laerke calling it "the hungriest place on earth".
Only 600 of 900 pre-approved trucks reached Gaza's border this week, with most unable to deliver due to security and bureaucratic hurdles.
"What we've brought in is flour," Laerke said on Friday. "That's not ready to eat... 100 percent of Gazans face famine risk."
The Red Cross reports half its Gaza medical facilities are non-operational due to fuel and equipment shortages.
Spain has strongly criticised Israel's approval of 22 new West Bank settlements, calling the move a violation of international law.
In a Friday statement, the Spanish foreign ministry warned: "The settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, undermine the viability of the two-state solution, and are a threat to peace." Madrid said the expansion jeopardises regional peace prospects.
Spanish officials also expressed their "deepest dismay" over escalating Israeli military operations near Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps. The government condemned home demolitions, settler violence and mass displacements as violations of international humanitarian law.
The reputation of Hamas sank to its lowest point after its attack on 7 October 2023, in which 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed and 251 taken hostage.
In Israel, this attack provoked a tsunami of anger, strident calls for revenge, demands for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, and a national consensus in support of the total eradication of Hamas. The result has been the longest, deadliest and most ruinous war in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Hamas is a social movement and political organisation with a military wing, al-Qassam Brigades. The military wing was proscribed by the British government as a terrorist organisation in March 2001, and in November 2021, former Home Secretary Priti Patel added the political organisation to the list of proscribed groups.
This decision marked an abrupt reversal of the government’s previous policy, which made a clear distinction between Hamas’s political and military wings.
Read more: Why I support the UK taking a more nuanced position on Hamas
Gaza hospital officials confirm Israeli air strikes have killed 18 people across the territory since dawn today.
Medical sources told Al Jazeera the casualties resulted from multiple attacks hitting different areas of the besieged enclave.
An Israeli soldier sustained serious injuries during combat operations in southern Gaza on Thursday, according to military reports on Friday.
The army confirmed its total casualties since October 2023 now stand at 858 soldiers killed, including 416 during ground operations in Gaza.
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A US-drafted Gaza ceasefire proposal, obtained by Reuters, outlines a 60-day truce with Hamas releasing 28 Israeli captives (dead and alive) within the first week in exchange for 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and 180 Palestinian remains.
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The plan, guaranteed by the US, Egypt and Qatar, includes immediate humanitarian aid to Gaza via UN and Red Crescent channels.
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The White House confirmed on Thursday that Israel has accepted the proposal, with Netanyahu reportedly informing hostages’ families of the deal.
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Hamas stated it is reviewing the terms and will respond by Friday or Saturday.
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Under the agreement, Hamas would free the remaining 30 captives once a permanent ceasefire begins, while Israel halts military operations and phases out troop deployments.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned European nations on Friday that they must “harden the collective position” against Israel if it fails to address Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis.
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Speaking in Singapore, Macron stressed that action was needed “in the next few hours and days” as global scrutiny over Gaza’s hunger crisis intensifies.
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He called the recognition of a Palestinian state “not only a moral duty, but a political necessity”.
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Macron suggested that without an adequate Israeli response, Europe should abandon the assumption that human rights are respected and consider imposing sanctions.
Good morning Middle East Eye readers,
Here are the latest updates from the Israeli war on Gaza, now in its 601st day:
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Israeli air strikes kill 10 in Gaza, medical sources confirm.
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Israel orders new forced evacuations across five areas in northern Gaza and Gaza City, widening its ground offensive.
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Israeli police arrest Sanaa Salama, wife of late Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa, while she was with her daughter Milad in occupied Jerusalem.
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Flights suspended at Ben Gurion Airport after a missile was fired from Yemen, Israel’s Channel 12 reports.
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Gaza’s Health Ministry condemns Israel’s closure order for al-Awda Hospital, calling it a “crime”, as Palestinians face a collapsing healthcare system under continued bombardment.
Good evening Middle East Eye readers,
At least 70 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes on Thursday. Meanhwile, Israel killed two people in strikes on Lebanon. The fighting in Gaza raged as famine stalks the enclave. The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said that Israel is using “starvation" and "threatening the future of the children” in Gaza.
We will be pausing our coverage for the evening. Here is what else you need to know:
- Hamas said it is weighing a US ceasefire proposal for Gaza, but Hamas official Bassem Naim said that it does not halt the war on the enclave
- The Israeli government’s approval of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank is a "deliberate obstacle" to Palestinian statehood, the UK said
- At least two Palestinians were injured after Israeli soldiers fired their weapons during a raid in a town west of Hebron in the occupied West Bank
At least two Palestinians were injured on Thursday after Israeli soldiers fired their weapons during a raid in a town west of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian news agency, Wafa reported.
Wafa said a 17-year-old was shot in the thigh and a 30-year-old man was wounded in the foot.
Israel has ramped up its attacks across the occupied West Bank.
Lebanon's health ministry said two people were killed in separate Israeli attacks on south Lebanon on Thursday, in the latest flare-up despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The state-run National News Agency reported Israeli strikes and shelling on multiple areas in the south.
The ministry said an "Israeli enemy strike" hit a forested area in Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa, killing one man, while Israeli gunfire on the border town of Kfar Kila killed another.
The Israeli army said it stuck "a Hezbollah terrorist" in southern Lebanon, alleging he was working to restore a site used to manage the group's "fire and defence array".
Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, has said that the US ceasefire proposal for Gaza does not halt the war on the enclave.
Naim said on Thursday that the proposal sent by US envoy Steve Witkoff meant "the continuation of killing and famine... and does not meet any of our people's demands, foremost among them halting the war".
"Nonetheless, the movement's leadership is studying the response to the proposal with full national responsibility," he added.
A source close to the group told AFP that the proposal "is considered a retreat" from the previous one it reviewed, which "included an American commitment regarding permanent ceasefire negotiations".
According to reports, the new proposal involves a 60-day truce, potentially extendable to 70 days, and the release of 10 living hostages and nine bodies in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during the first week.
It does not guarantee a permanent end to the Israeli attacks on Gaza.
US-based charity Rahma Worldwide has accused the newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) of using photos of aid deliveries in Gaza containing its logo as part of its press pack without consent.
In the Facebook statement released on Thursday, Rahma said that it “had noticed images of our food boxes with logo being distributed without Rahma’s direct involvement".
Rahma told The Guardian that it had asked for its logo to be removed from aid parcels.
Photos of the logo in GHF’s press materials include both Rahma and a partner organisation called Heroic Hearts, based in Illinois.
Rahma Worldwide is a Michigan-based charity that, according to its website, provides “aid and assistance to the most vulnerable communities around the world."
