Israel-Hamas War Highlights: More than 100,000 flee Rafah as Netanyahu vows to widen Gaza assault despite US warning

The Palestinian foreign ministry said Friday that a vote at the UN General Assembly to grant Palestinians additional rights in the world body showed that they deserve "full membership". The vote "affirms that Palestine meets all the requirements stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations... Thus it deserves, and is qualified to obtain, full membership in the United Nations," the Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Friday that at least 34,943 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory during the war between Israel and Hamas militants.The tally includes at least 39 deaths in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 78,572 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war broke out when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.

Not everyone in Malmo was welcoming the Eurovision Song Contest to town.Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested in the Swedish port city on Thursday against Israel’s participation in the pan-continental pop competition.Protesters waving green, white, black and red Palestinian flags packed the historic Stortorget square near Malmo’s 16th-century town hall before a planned march through the city for a rally in a park several miles (kilometers) from the Eurovision venue. Police estimated that between 10,000 and 12,000 people took part. Among those in the crowd was Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.Chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and “Israel is a terror state,” the demonstrators set off smoke flares in the Palestinian colors during a noisy, peaceful rally to criticize Israel and call for a cease-fire. There was a large police presence, with a hovering helicopter, and officers on rooftops with binoculars. (AP)

In Israeli strike on a village in south Lebanon killed a Lebanese technician contracted by a telecoms company to fix a phone tower, Lebanon's telecoms minister told Reuters on Friday.The same strike also killed a medic from a civilian rescue force affiliated with the Amal Movement, an ally of the Shi'ite Muslim armed group Hezbollah, the minister and security sources said.Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has been running in parallel to the seven-month-long war in Gaza, in the most intense confrontation since the two sides fought a war in 2006.Both sides stepped up their bombardments this week, fuelling concerns of a bigger war between the heavily-armed adversaries.

Police carried out pre-dawn swoops Friday on students protesting the war in Gaza at two prestigious US universities, in the latest unrest on campuses across the country.And late Thursday, police broke up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Calgary in western Canada using tear gas.The police action at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) near Boston in the northeast resulted in around 10 arrests, according to university president Sally Kornbluth, who said she had "no choice" but to dismantle the "high-risk flashpoint."

An Israeli ground attack in Gaza's Rafah would lead to an "epic humanitarian disaster", UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Friday after negotiators left truce talks in Cairo without a deal."A massive ground attack in Rafah would lead to (an) epic humanitarian disaster and pull the plug on our efforts to support people as famine looms," Guterres said during a visit to Nairobi, adding that the situation in the southern Gaza city was "on a knife's edge"."We are actively engaged with all involved for the resumption of the entry of life-saving supplies -- including desperately needed fuel -- through Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings," he said, reiterating his calls for a ceasefire.

Police dismantled a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology early Friday and moved to clear protesters from University of Pennsylvania’s campus in Philadelphia, hours after police tear-gassed protesters and took down an encampment at the University of Arizona.

Tanks in east Rafah reach Salahuddin road bisecting Gaza Strip. Residents describe intense fighting east and northeast of city

Israel bombarded Gaza including Rafah on Friday after negotiators left truce talks in Cairo without a deal and a senior UN official said aid operations are now all but impossible.AFP journalists witnessed artillery strikes on Rafah, after US President Joe Biden vowed in an interview to cut off artillery shells and other weapons for Israel if a full-scale offensive into the southern Gaza city goes ahead.It was the first time Biden raised the ultimate US leverage over Israel, military aid totalling $3 billion a year, after repeated appeals for Israel to stay out of Rafah. (AFP)

Dwindling food and fuel stocks could force aid operations to grind to a halt within days in Gaza as vital crossings remain shut, forcing hospitals to close down and leading to more malnutrition, United Nations aid agencies warned on Friday.

About 110,000 people have fled Rafah in southern Gaza and food and fuel supplies in the area are critically low, a UN official says.All crossings into southern Gaza remain closed, cutting off supplies and preventing medical evacuations and the movement of humanitarian staff, said Georgios Petropoulos, an official for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs working in Rafah.

Hamas's insistence on an initial 12-week cessation of hostilities posed a significant challenge for Israel during this week's ceasefire negotiations, as reported by three sources familiar with the discussions, as CNN reported.

110,000 Palestinians flee Rafah amid Israeli troop advancement, UNRWA reports. Palestinians face ongoing threat of attacks, dire living conditions in Gaza. UNRWA renews call for immediate ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a defiant tone against President Joe Biden after the US withheld a shipment of bombs as a warning to its top Middle East ally not to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah. “I’ve known Joe Biden for many years, 40 years and more,” Netanyahu said in the interview Thursday on “Dr. Phil Primetime” broadcast on Merit Street Media. “We often had agreements, but we’ve had our disagreements and we’ve been able to overcome them. I hope we can overcome them now.” Netanyahu said Israel must go into Rafah to finish off the remaining battalions of Hamas, the US-designated terrorist group that killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped about 250 last Oct. 7. He said Hamas will “murder again and again” if allowed to survive in Rafah. (Bloomberg)

According to Axios, US secretary of state Antony Blinken is likely to submit a very critical report to Congress on Israel's actions in Gaza as early as Friday, but will not conclude that Israel has broken the rules of its use of US weapons. (Reuters)

On Thursday, climate activist Greta Thunberg joined hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists in Malmo, the host city for Eurovision 2024, to protest Israel's participation in the song contest ahead of this year's second semi-final.Approximately 100,000 people have come in the southern Swedish city for the annual kitsch festival, which is taking place amid protests and boycotts over Israel's military war in Gaza."Young people are leading the way and showing the world how we should react to this," Thunberg, 21, said while wearing a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian scarf that has become a symbol of resistance.The site is guarded by police, and visitors must pass through metal detectors before entering. Bags are being searched, and visitors are only permitted to bring in small purposes. (Reuters)

After a US veto foiled the Palestinians' drive for full UN membership, the General Assembly is expected on Friday to grant them some additional rights in the global body -- a symbolic win that has already irked Israel.

With the war in Gaza raging, the Palestinians in April relaunched a request dating back to 2011 to become full members of the United Nations, where their current status is a "non-member observer state."

To succeed, the initiative needed a Security Council green light and then a two-thirds majority vote in the General Assembly.

But the United States -- one of five veto-holding members on the Security Council and Israel's closest ally -- blocked it on April 18.

Now the Palestinians are turning to the General Assembly, where diplomats and observers say a resolution calling for their full UN membership is likely to win broad majority support.

The draft resolution, introduced by the United Arab Emirates, says "the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations in accordance with article 4 of the Charter and should therefore be admitted."

Palestinian militant group Hamas said early Friday that its delegation attending Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Cairo had left the city for Qatar, adding the "ball is now completely" in Israel's hands.

"The negotiating delegation left Cairo heading to Doha. In practice, the occupation (Israel) rejected the proposal submitted by the mediators and raised objections to it on several central issues," the group said in a message to other Palestinian factions, adding it stood by the proposal.

"I hope Biden and i can overcome disagreements," he added.

Palestinian militant group Hamas announced early Friday that its delegation attending Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Cairo had left the city for Qatar, adding the "ball is now completely" in Israel's hands.

"The negotiating delegation left Cairo heading to Doha. In practice, the occupation (Israel) rejected the proposal submitted by the mediators and raised objections to it on several central issues," the group said in a statement, adding it stood by the proposal. "Accordingly, the ball is now completely in the hands of the occupation."

White House: We have provided Israel with some alternatives on how to go after Hamas operatives

Police detained several people Thursday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after demonstrators blocked a parking garage in their ongoing protest movement connected to the Israel-Hamas war.

Tensions have ratcheted up in standoffs with protesters of the Israel-Hamas war on campuses across the United States and increasingly in Europe. Some colleges cracked down immediately, while others have tolerated the demonstrations. Some have begun to lose patience and call in the police over concerns about disruptions to campus life and safety.

In Boston, the US city most identified with higher education, students have set up encampments on at least five campuses, including MIT, Northeastern University and Harvard University.

At MIT, protesters have been asking administrators to end all research contracts with Israel’s Ministry of Defense, which they estimate total $11 million since 2015. On Thursday, the school issued an alert just before 2 p.m. saying protestors were blocking the entrance to a campus parking garage and spilling onto a nearby street.

Spanish universities expressed willingness Thursday to suspend ties with any Israeli educational institution that failed to express "a clear commitment to peace" as the war rages in Gaza.

Students protests have gathered pace across Western Europe in recent weeks with protesters demanding an end to the Gaza bloodshed and to cut ties with Israel, taking their cue from demonstrations that have swept US campuses.

In a statement, the university chancellors' governing board (CRUE) denounced the violence and threw its support behind the protests that have recently popped on Spanish campuses.

Demanding an immediate end to Israel's actions in Gaza, they pledged "to review ties and if necessary, suspend collaboration with Israeli universities and research centres that haven't expressed a firm commitment to peace and respect for international humanitarian law."

But the diplomatically-worded statement did not go far enough to appease students at several protest encampments that have popped up across Spain, which have so far been peaceful.

The United States warned on Thursday that Israel will be dealing a strategic victory to Hamas if it carries out plans for an all-out assault on Rafah, the militants' last major stronghold in Gaza.

The warning was backed by a new threat from President Joe Biden: He says he will pause more offensive military assistance to Israel if it goes through with the operation in a city where more than 1 million civilians are sheltering.

Biden last week put on hold a shipment of large bombs to Israel over concerns the weapons are of the type that has caused significant civilian casualties in Gaza and would almost certainly do more such damage if Israel conducted a major offensive in Rafah.

Israel's military spokesman says the Army has the weapons it needs to press ahead with its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari was asked at a news conference whether the army can conduct the operation without US arms.

"The army has armaments for the missions it plans, and for the missions in Rafah too -- we have what we need," Hagari said.

Hagari spoke after US President Joe Biden said he would not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah - the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza - over concerns for the civilians there.

Hagari said relations with the US remain close, and that disagreements should be resolved behind closed doors.

The Israeli military said three soldiers were wounded in an explosion Thursday in a "booby-trapped shaft" in Rafah, the south Gaza city where troops launched an incursion earlier this week.

"Earlier today (Thursday), three IDF (army) soldiers were moderately injured as a result of the explosion of a booby-trapped shaft in eastern Rafah," the military said in a statement.

"The soldiers were evacuated to the hospital to receive medical treatment," it added.

The announcement came after Israel defied vociferous international opposition to any major military operation in Rafah by sending ground troops into eastern areas of the city in "targeted raids".

Israel says Rafah is the last redoubt of Hamas's remaining fighters but the city on the border with Egypt is also crammed with displaced Palestinian civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will "stand alone" if it has to in its war against Hamas. His remarks in a statement issued Thursday came after President Joe Biden said the United States would not provide offensive weapons for Israel's long-promised assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Netanyahu said: "If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails."(AP)

Relaxing Turkey's ban on exports to Israel is "out of the question" though companies have three months to fulfill existing orders via third countries, a Turkish trade ministry source said on Thursday.In a document seen by Reuters, the Trade Ministry outlined the three-month reprieve for companies exporting to Israel. Ankara introduced the trade ban with Israel last week.Separately, Israel's foreign minister said on Thursday that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had retreated on his earlier position and lifted many of the trade restrictions he imposed on Israel.

A shipment of humanitarian aid has left a port in Cyprus and is on its way to the U.S-built pier in Gaza, the first delivery to the newly built ramp, Cyprus’ foreign minister said Thursday.The U.S. vessel, loaded with much needed humanitarian assistance, departed from the Larnaca port with the aim of transferring as much aid to Gaza as possible through the maritime corridor, said Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos.The trip comes some two months after U.S. President Joe Biden gave the order to build the large floating platform several miles off the Gaza coast that will be the launching pad for deliveries.

Yemen's Houthi rebels on Thursday claimed responsibility for two missile attacks in the Gulf of Aden on two Panama-flagged container ships that caused no damage. Meanwhile, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader again threatened that Tehran could build a nuclear weapon if it chose to pursue atomic armaments.The comments by Yemeni military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree and former Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi come as the allies of Hamas continue to pressure Israel over its continuing war on the militant group in the Gaza Strip.The Houthis insist their assaults on shipping through the crucial waterway leading to the Suez Canal and onward to the Mediterranean Sea will continue as long as the war goes on. Meanwhile, Iran already has launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel amid the war, bringing a yearslong shadow conflict between the two nations out into the light.

A Lebanese security source said four Hezbollah members were killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the country's south, the latest such raid in months of cross-border hostilities.Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement began attacking Israel in support of ally Hamas a day after the Palestinian militant group's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that sparked war in the Gaza Strip.The Lebanese security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, said that "four Hezbollah fighters were killed in an Israeli drone strike on their vehicle in Bafliyeh", about 15 kilometres (10 miles) from the frontier.The Israeli army told AFP: "We do not comment on reports in the foreign media."

The ambassador of Israel to the United Nations expressed disappointment on Thursday regarding the threat from US President Joe Biden to halt specific arms supplies to Israel in case of an invasion of the densely populated Gaza city of Rafah.

"This is a difficult and very disappointing statement to hear from a president to whom we have been grateful since the beginning of the war," Gilad Erdan told Israeli public broadcaster Kan radio, in Israel's first reaction to Biden's warning.

Israel has defied international objections by sending in tanks and conducting "targeted raids' in the border city, which it says is home to Hamas's last remaining battalions -- but is also crowded with displaced Palestinian civilians. R

Syrian air defences on Thursday shot down Israeli missiles fired from the Golan Heights towards Damascus outskirts, the defence ministry said.

The United States said Wednesday it was considering potential further holds on weapons to Israel after it halted shipments of powerful bombs out of concern about plans for a Rafah invasion.Speaking to a congressional committee, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the freeze last week on 1,800 2,000-lb (907 kg) bombs and 1,700 500-lb (226 kg) bombs."We paused one shipment of high-payload munitions" for Israel but have not "made a final determination on how to proceed with that shipment," Austin said.

American President Joe Biden has warned that the US would not provide offensive weapons to Israel for a potential full-scale assault on Rafah, a critical Hamas stronghold in Gaza. In an interview with CNN, Biden affirmed the US's commitment to Israel's defense by continuing to supply Iron Dome rocket interceptors and other defensive equipment. However, he made it clear that if Israeli forces were to enter Rafah, the US would withhold supplying weapons and artillery shells.

Tens of thousands of displaced and exhausted Palestinians have packed up their tents and other belongings from Rafah, dragging families on a new exodus.The main hospital has shut down, leaving little care for people suffering from malnutrition, illnesses and wounds.And with fuel and other supplies cut off, aid workers have been scrambling to help a population desperate after seven months of war.As the possibility of a full-scale invasion looms, Gaza’s overcrowded southernmost city has been thrown into panic and chaos by Israel’s seizure of the nearby border crossing with Egypt.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he would not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah — the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza — over concern for the well-being of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there.

Biden, in an interview with CNN, said the U.S. was still committed to Israel's defense and would supply Iron Dome rocket interceptors and other defensive arms, but that if Israel goes into Rafah, “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used.”

The World Health Organization says it has only three days of fuel for its medical operations in southern Gaza, with shortages already forcing one of three remaining hospitals in the city of Rafah to shut down.

The Rafah border crossing with Egypt has been closed since Israel's military took control of the Palestinian side early Tuesday, blocking the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid. The U.N. says northern Gaza is already in a state of “full-blown famine.”

Israel said it reopened Kerem Shalom crossing, the other main entry point for aid, early Wednesday. U.N. officials say no aid has entered Gaza, and there is no one to receive it on the Palestinian side because of ongoing fighting.

Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Wednesday it was unwilling to make more concessions to Israel in negotiations over a ceasefire for Gaza, although talks were still under way in Cairo aimed at pausing Israel's seven-month-old offensive.

Israel continued tank and aerial strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Wednesday and has threatened a major assault on it. Its forces moved in via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, cutting off a vital aid route and the only exit for the evacuation of wounded patients.

Izzat El-Reshiq, a member of Hamas' political office in Qatar, said in a statement late on Wednesday that the group would not go beyond a ceasefire proposal it accepted on Monday, which would also entail the release of some Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian women and children detained in Israel.

US President Joe Biden warned Wednesday he would stop supplying Israel with artillery shells and other weapons if it attacks Rafah in southern Gaza, as he deplored the fact that civilians had been killed by the dropping of US bombs.

"We're not gonna supply the weapons and artillery shells that have been used" in Israel's offensive against Hamas, Biden said in an interview with CNN.

Biden, in an interview with CNN, said the U.S. was still committed to Israel's defense and would supply Iron Dome rocket interceptors and other defensive arms, but that if Israel goes into Rafah, “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used.”

The U.S. has historically provided enormous amounts of military aid to Israel. That has only accelerated in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 in Israel and led to about 250 being taken captive by militants. Biden's comments and his decision last week to pause a shipment of heavy bombs to Israel are the most striking manifestations of the growing daylight between his administration and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Biden has said that Israel needs to do far more to protect the lives of civilians in Gaza.

Israel said it was disappointed with the decision, suggesting it was done due to political pressure on President Joe Biden. Some defense experts said the move was largely symbolic but could signal more trouble ahead in the relationship between the U.S. and Israel.

"It's some kind of diplomatic message to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu that he needs to take into consideration American interests more than he has over the last few months," said Itamar Yaar, former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council. “At least for now it will not impact Israeli capability but it’s some kind of a signal, a ‘be careful.’”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a Senate panel Wednesday that smaller, more precise weapons are needed for a densely populated area like Rafah.

Still, he made clear the decision wasn’t final.

“We’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself,” Austin said. “But that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah.”

As it targets Hamas’ underground tunnels in Gaza, Israel has relied on powerful 2,000-pound bombs provided by the United States. But now those deliveries are on hold.

The U.S. is pausing a shipment of 1,800 of the bombs, as well as 1,700 500-pound bombs, U.S. officials said. The decision comes as Israel is planning an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah in an attempt to root out the final elements of Hamas.

With more than 1 million refugees sheltering in Rafah, U.S. officials are concerned the bombs could inflict massive casualties. Human rights groups have long said that Israel’s use of powerful bombs has caused the indiscriminate killings of civilians.

Austin confirmed the weapons delay, telling the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense that the U.S. paused “one shipment of high payload munitions.”

“We’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself,” Austin said. “But that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah.”

The Biden administration paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that the country was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the United States, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday.The shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) bombs and 1,700 500-pound (225-kilogram) bombs, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. The focus of U.S. concern was the larger explosives and how they could be used in a dense urban setting like Rafah where more than 1 million civilians are sheltering after evacuating other parts of Gaza amid Israel’s war on Hamas, which came after the militant group’s deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7.