Live: At least 75 killed in Israeli strikes on second day of Eid al-Adha

Activists around the world say they have had enough.

With more than 54,000 Palestinians killed, thousands more buried under rubble and unaccounted for, tens of thousands of others injured, maimed, and orphaned, and with close to the entire population of the besieged strip being starved, activists say it's time to take matters into their own hands.

Even if it means knocking on the gates around Gaza.

On 12 June, between 2,000 and 3,000 activists from close to 50 countries worldwide are expected to descend on Cairo to pressure the international community to force Israel to end the bombardment and siege of Gaza, which human rights groups and scholars have unanimously called a genocide.

The Global March on Gaza, as it has come to be known, will see activists make their way to the city of al-Arish in the Sinai and embark on a march to the border with Gaza, where they will camp for three days to urge authorities to allow aid to be let in.

Read more: What activists hope to achieve with the 'Global March to Gaza'

Israeli forces have shot and killed a child in southern Gaza, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

The incident took place north-west of Khan Younis, where Israeli troops opened fire during ongoing operations in the area, health sources said.

The child was pronounced dead shortly after being brought to a nearby medical centre.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered at Al-Aqsa Mosque early Friday to mark Eid al-Adha, despite heavy Israeli security presence at the compound's gates and across occupied East Jerusalem.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers, 

Here are the latest updates from the Israeli war on Gaza, now in its 608th day: 

• Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the military is working with armed gangs in Gaza to combat Hamas, following fresh strikes that killed at least 52 Palestinians.

• In a video statement on X, Netanyahu said officials had "activated" powerful local clans after security advisers recommended the move. His comments came after ex-Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused him of the strategy.

• Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs shortly after the army ordered evacuations, targeting areas it claims hold Hezbollah drone facilities. The attacks coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

• Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto urged an end to the Gaza war, stating: "Innocent Palestinian civilians are the victims... From a military perspective, there’s no justification to continue."

• Brazil’s President Lula da Silva doubled down on genocide accusations, saying: "What’s happening in Gaza isn’t war. It’s genocide by a highly equipped army against women and children." He made the remarks during a press conference in France with President Emmanuel Macron.

• Macron called the "coming days" critical for ceasefire efforts, vowing to "intensify pressure with the US". France and Saudi Arabia will co-chair a New York conference this month on a two-state solution.

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted to arming dangerous gangs in Gaza to undermine law and order when the United Nations would distribute aid. Officials in Gaza called the revelation proof of 'incompetence' and 'failure'. 

- At least four Palestinian journalists were killed in Israeli strikes targeting a group of media workers in Gaza City's Al Ahli Arab hospital's courtyard, local reporters told Middle East Eye.

- Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya said in a video statement that contrary to what the US envoy had announced, Hamas did not reject the ceasefire proposal Washington crafted with Tel Aviv, and instead only requested changes.

- More than a dozen Israeli air strikes have hit Beirut's southern suburbs, known as the Dahiyeh, late on Thursday evening. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the attacks a "blatant violation of an international agreement".

- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against four judges at the International Criminal Court, in retaliation for the arrest warrant out for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant.

- Israel’s Ministry of Defence announced on Wednesday that arms exports by Israeli companies reached an all-time high in 2024, totalling $14.8bn.

In response to Israel's bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday, Yemen's Houthis said they launched a hypersonic ballistic missile in the direction of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

The missile was shot down, the Israeli military said. 

Hamas on Thursday responded to far-right Israeli cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich, who had announced hours earlier his plans for Israeli "sovereignty" over the entirety of the West Bank as he visited settlements there deemed illegal under international law. 

The plans, Hamas said in a statement, "are colonialist illusions that will collapse under the rock of our people's steadfastness," and "nothing more than a continuation of the policy of imposing a fait accompli, which has failed over decades of occupation and will not succeed now."

"The annexation project and the imposition of alleged sovereignty will only be met with greater steadfastness and resistance," the group said. 

People on social media were enraged after moderators at New York City’s first mayoral primary debate singled out candidate Zohran Mamdani with pointed questions about Israel, widely seen as an attempt to undermine his support for Palestinian rights.

On Wednesday night, nine Democratic candidates went head to head at the first debate of the NYC mayoral primary at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Center studios, discussing a range of topics related to the city like policing, housing and public transportation. 

The fight between the Trump administration and American universities, including Manhattan's Columbia University, which just lost accreditation for its alleged failure to protect Jewish students, and the multiple deportation cases of international students, was discussed as well. All the candidates agreed that Palestinian student and activist Mahmoud Khalil should be released from detention. 

But the final question veered sharply away from municipal concerns.

Read more: Candidates were asked which country they would visit first if elected mayor

More than a dozen Israeli air strikes have hit Beirut's southern suburbs, known as the Dahiyeh, late on Thursday evening, according to local reports.

Multiple videos on social media showed fiery blasts that left entire neighbourhoods under thick black smoke.

An Israeli military spokesperson warned of the attacks a few hours earlier, saying that the targeted buildings were being used by Hezbollah.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks in a statement cited by the Lebanese broadcaster al-Jadeed.

"This blatant violation of an international agreement, as well as the basic tenets of the United Nations and humanitarian laws and resolutions, on the eve of a sacred religious occasion, is damning evidence of the perpetrator's rejection of the requirements of stability, settlement, and just peace in our region," Aoun said.

"It is also a message sent by the perpetrator of these atrocities, primarily to the United States of America, its policies, and initiatives, through Beirut's mailbox and the blood of its innocent civilians. Lebanon will never submit to this."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Thursday sanctions against four judges at the International Criminal Court, in retaliation for the arrest warrant out for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant.

"Today, I am designating Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin, and Beti Hohler of Slovenia pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order 14203," Rubio said in a statement.

"These individuals directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without consent from the United States or Israel. Neither the United States nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute."

The ICC had previously considered looking into whether US soldiers committed war crimes in Afghanistan. 

"As ICC judges, these four individuals have actively engaged in the ICC’s illegitimate and baselessactions targeting America or our close ally, Israel," Rubio said.

"The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies. This dangerous assertion and abuse of power infringes upon the sovereignty and national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel. The United States will take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our sovereignty, that of Israel, and any other US ally from illegitimate actions by the ICC."

The sanctioned judges will now have any US assets blocked, and any US resident or American citizen will be prohibited from doing business with them. 

Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya said in a video statement on Thursday that contrary to what the US envoy had announced, Hamas did not reject the ceasefire proposal Washington crafted with Tel Aviv.

Hamas only demanded that US special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff make some "changes and improvements" to ensure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, Hayya said. 

He added that the group is ready to engage in a new round of talks. 

Israel's Arabic-language military spokesperson Avichay Adraee shared a video announcement with a map on Thursday showing buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs that will be imminently targeted by Israeli air strikes. 

He said the structures are weapons storage facilities or serve other uses for Hezbollah.

Adraee said residents in the following neighbourhoods must immediately move at least 300 metres away from the designated buildings, per the map, in al-Hadath, Haret Hreik, and Burj al-Barajneh.

A statement from the Ministry of Interior in Gaza has responded to Thursday's revelation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent weapons to gangs in Gaza in a bid to counter Hamas.

"This admission represents Israeli incompetence and failure after 20 months of aggression and targeting of police and security personnel," the statement said. 

"We affirm that what the occupation failed to achieve on its own, it will not achieve with its cheap tools," it added. "We call on our people to stand united alongside the security forces to thwart the occupation's dangerous plans and protect security."

An elderly man from Gaza has died in Israeli detention, bringing the overall death toll of Palestinian prisoners to at least 71 since 7 October 2023.

Though the Israeli army had notified two Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, of his death in recent days, 70-year-old Hussein Abu Habel actually died on 10 January. 

Forty-five of the 71 Palestinians known to have died in Israeli-run detention centres and prisons since the start of the war on Gaza were from Gaza and their identities were known.

Read more: Hussein Abu Habel, 70, is the 71st Palestinian detainee to die since Israel's war on Gaza began