Israel's Gaza invasion - Day 311

The United States has said it remains hopeful that Israel and Hamas will resume ceasefire negotiations this week, AFP reports.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already confirmed Israel’s participation and “our Qatari partners have assured us that they are working to ensure that there is Hamas representation as well”, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

“So, we’ll let this process play out, but we fully expect these talks to move forward, as they should,” Patel told reporters.

Patel said that a ceasefire would allow the release of hostages, the delivery of humanitarian aid and new diplomacy “to get the region out of this endless cycle of violence”.

The United States has criticised Israel’s far-right national security minister for leading prayers at the flashpoint Al Aqsa Mosque compound, saying he had hurt efforts for talks toward a Gaza ceasefire, AFP reports.

“The United States stands firmly for preservation of the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites of Jerusalem and any unilateral action, which this would be …, that jeopardises such a status quo is unacceptable,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

“Not only is it unacceptable, it detracts from what we think is a vital time, as we are working to get this ceasefire deal across the finish line,” he said, referring to a US-led push for talks on Thursday to stop the Israel-Hamas fighting.

The EU has condemned “provocations” by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir after officials said he performed prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem, AFP reports.

“The EU strongly condemns the provocations by Israeli minister Ben Gvir who, during his visit to the Holy Sites, advocated for the violation of the status quo,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote on X.

A far-right Israeli minister has prayed with thousands of Jews at the Al Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem, defying a ban on Jewish prayer at the flashpoint site and drawing global condemnation, AFP reports.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has often ignored the Israeli government’s longstanding ban, vowed to “defeat Hamas” in Gaza in a video he filmed during his visit.

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Israel’s military has said in a statement that forces have killed about 100 Palestinian fighters in the southern Gaza city of Rafah over the past few days, Reuters reports.

It said soldiers operating in the Shabura district of Rafah “located an armed terrorist cell and, with a precise strike, eliminated the terrorists”, along with hundreds of infrastructure sites.

Corinne Fleischer, the World Food Programme’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, has said that it is “very difficult” for the agency to bring in enough food to the besieged coastal enclave.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Cairo, she said: “We have had to cancel or reduce the rations that we provide. We provide assistance to about one million people every month … but we don’t bring in enough.”

There are three reasons for that, said Fleischer, explaining, “First, there are not enough border crossing points open. Second, once we get through, there is a problem of law and order inside Gaza that makes us have to be very tactical [about] when do we bring food in so we aren’t getting looted. Thirdly, it’s a very complicated operation.”

She said that during her visit to the Gaza Strip recently, she noted that roads are destroyed and filled with people. “Inside Gaza, it is very difficult with the [Israeli military] evacuation orders affecting so many people, but also affecting the operations,” Fleischer said.

Only a ceasefire deal in Gaza stemming from hoped-for talks this week would hold Iran back from direct retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil, three senior Iranian officials said according to Reuters.

One of the sources, a senior Iranian security official, said Iran, along with allies such as Hezbollah, would launch a direct attack if the Gaza talks fail or it perceives Israel is dragging out negotiations. The sources did not say how long Iran would allow for talks to progress before responding.

Iran, two of the sources said, was considering sending a representative to the Gaza ceasefire talks, due to begin this week in either Egypt or Qatar, in what would be a first since the bombardment started in Gaza.

The representative would not directly attend the meetings but would engage in behind-the-scenes discussions “to maintain a line of diplomatic communication” with the United States while negotiations proceed.

Two senior sources close to Lebanon’s Hezbollah said Tehran would give the negotiations a chance but would not give up its intentions to retaliate. A ceasefire in Gaza would give Iran cover for a smaller “symbolic” response, one of the sources said.

Israeli PM Netanyahu says he expects the downgraded rating given by the agency would be upgraded again once Israel ends the bombardment, Al Jazeera reports.

“Israel’s economy is strong and is functioning very well,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

He added: “The rating downgrade is a result of Israel dealing with a multi-front war forced upon it.”

Political leaders in the Israeli opposition have slammed the government for Fitch’s move.

Fitch, which cut the rating from A+ to A, also kept Israel’s rating outlook negative, suggesting a further downgrade is possible.

The United States confirmed it would resume sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, as concerns over human rights in the kingdom’s Yemen war give way to US hopes for it to play a role in resolving the conflict in Gaza, AFP reports.

More than three years after imposing limits on human rights grounds over Saudi strikes in Yemen, the State Department said it would return to weapons sales “in regular order, with appropriate congressional notification and consultation.” “Saudi Arabia has remained a close strategic partner of the United States, and we look forward to enhancing that partnership,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

Since the truce, “there has not been a single Saudi airstrike into Yemen and cross-border fire from Yemen into Saudi Arabia has largely stopped,” Patel said. “The Saudis since that time have met their end of the deal, and we are prepared to meet ours,” Patel said.

One Israeli male hostage was killed by his guard and two women captives were seriously wounded in two separate incidents in Gaza, the spokesperson for Hamas’ armed al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida, said, Reuters reports.

Abu Ubaida blamed the incident on what he described as Israeli “massacres” against Palestinians.

“The enemy government bears full responsibility for these massacres and the resulting reactions that affect the lives of Zionist prisoners,” Abu Ubaida said in a statement posted on Telegram.

He said a committee has been formed to investigate, and findings will be announced later, adding efforts are underway to save the two wounded hostages.

It was the first time Al-Qassam has said its guards killed hostages. The group has often attributed previous killings of hostages to Israeli bombardment.

A Muslim advocacy group filed a lawsuit against the FBI and leaders of other US government agencies over what it called the discriminatory and racist placement of two Palestinian Americans on a watch list, Reuters reports.

The lawsuit is related to the placement of one Palestinian American — Mustafa Zeidan — on the US government “no-fly list” and the seizure of an electronic device of another Palestinian American — Osama Abu Irshaid — while federal agents interrogated him about his organizing against Israel’s onslaught in Gaza, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said.

Irshaid, who is the executive director of an organization called American Muslims for Palestine, traveled to Qatar from the US in late May and returned in early June, according to the lawsuit, which alleged that he was forced to undergo extra screening and questioning while having his phone seized. The phone has not been returned, it added.

“CAIR is challenging the mistreatment of these Palestinian American activists on constitutional grounds,” the group said.

“Neither Dr. Abu Irshaid nor Mr. Zeidan have ever been charged or convicted of a violent crime,” added the lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 39,929 Palestinians and wounded 92,240 since Oct 7, the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry said, Reuters reports.

A total of 32 Palestinians have been killed and 88 wounded in the past 24 hours, the ministry said in a statement.

Israeli forces have rounded up 20 Palestinians, including a child and several former prisoners, in the occupied West Bank since last night, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.

During the arrests, the soldiers also broke into the detainees’ homes and “vandalised” them, the group said according to Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi has said that Israeli march at Al-Aqsa mosque was an outward show of dominance by far-right Israelis, including Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who joined.

“No doubt the optics of a far-right [Israeli] leader against the backdrop of one of Islam’s holiest sites is unlikely to help any future negotiations [on a Gaza ceasefire] that may or may not happen,” Basravi said.

A former Cornell University student who in April pleaded guilty to posting online threats, including of death and violence, against Jewish students on campus, was sentenced to 21 months in prison, the US Justice Department said, Reuters reports.

Patrick Dai, 22, was charged late last year for making online threats against Jewish students at the Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York. His 21 months in prison will be followed by three years of supervised release, the Justice Department said in a statement.

US government officials and civil society advocates have warned about rising threats against American Jews, Muslims and Arabs since the eruption of the Israel-Gaza conflict in October last year.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will discuss the situation in the Middle East with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow on Tuesday, the Kremlin said, Reuters reports.

“It is expected that an exchange of views will be held on the situation in the Middle East in light of the current aggravation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip,” the Kremlin said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia, which has forged close ties both with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Arab leaders including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has condemned the recent killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, calling on all parties to refrain from further destabilisation of the Middle East.

Israel’s military prosecution has requested that five Israeli soldiers accused of gang-raping a Palestinian detainee be released to house arrest while the investigation into them continues, said the military in a statement, Al Jazeera reports.

The request would keep the soldiers under detention until August 22, according to the military.

The Times of Israel, quoting the soldiers’ defence team, reported the house arrest arrangement is part of an agreement struck between the prosecution and defence, to be presented before a military court later today.

Five Israeli soldiers are under investigation for allegedly gang-raping a Palestinian at the Sde Teiman detention centre in the Negev desert.

Media reports have connected a purported leaked video of soldiers at the facility allegedly abusing a Palestinian, who was left hospitalised and unable to walk, to the same incident.

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, while the Israeli military reported it had “neutralised” an attacker who fired at an Israeli civilian, AFP reports.

The ministry based in Ramallah said in a statement that 18-year-old Tariq Ziad Abdul Rahim Daoud was killed “by the occupation forces’ bullets near the town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya” in the northern West Bank.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the alleged attacker had “fired at an Israeli civilian who was in the city” of Qalqilya, despite Israel forbidding Israelis from visiting built-up Palestinian areas.

The Israeli civilian was wounded along with two other Palestinians, the military said.

“IDF (the Israeli military) conducted a pursuit after the terrorist and neutralised him adjacent to Qalqilya”, it added.

The United States is asking Turkiye and other allies that have ties with Iran to persuade it to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, Reuters quotes the US ambassador to Turkiye as saying.

Ambassador Jeff Flake made the comments as the region braces for possible attacks by Iran and its allies after the killing of senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah.

“We ask all of our allies that have any relations with Iran to prevail on them to de-escalate, and that includes Turkiye,” Flake said at a round-table with journalists in Istanbul as he comes to the end of his posting in Turkiye.

“They’re doing what they can to make sure that it doesn’t escalate,” he said of Washington’s Turkish interlocutors, adding that they “seem more confident than we are that it won’t escalate”.

Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said conflict anywhere in the world was in no one’s interest but that states had the right to “punitive responses against an aggressor” in response to UK’s Starmer, the official news agency IRNA reports.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had held a call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, asking him to refrain from attacking Israel and saying that war was not in anyone’s interest.

“The support of some Western countries for the Zionist regime (Israel) is irresponsible and contrary to international standards since it endangers regional security by encouraging the Zionist regime to continue its crimes,” Pezeshkian told Starmer.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, asking him to refrain from attacking Israel and saying that war was not in anyone’s interest, his office said, Reuters reports.

Starmer spoke with Pezeshkian as part of efforts to ease tensions in the Middle East.

“There was a serious risk of miscalculation and now was the time for calm and careful consideration,” 10 Downing Street cited Starmer as saying, adding that he had underlined his commitment to an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The focus should be on diplomatic negotiations, Starmer said.

Iran’s foreign ministry has said that calls for restraint regarding Israel from France, Germany and Britain “lack political logic and contradict principles of international law”, Reuters reports.

The three European countries issued a statement on Monday calling on Iran and its allies to refrain from attacks against Israel following the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of Hamas, in Tehran last month.

“Without any objection to the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel), the E3 statement impudently requires Iran not to respond to a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Kanaani said.

Kanaani said Tehran is determined to deter Israel and called on Paris, Berlin and London to “once and for all stand up against the war in Gaza and the warmongering of Israel”.

Credit ratings agency Fitch downgraded Israel’s credit rating to “A” from “A-plus”, citing worsening geopolitical risks as the conflict in Gaza drags on, and kept the rating outlook negative, meaning a further downgrade is possible. Israel’s onslaught in Gaza has cost thousands of lives and unfolded into a humanitarian crisis, Reuters reports.

Fears that the conflict in Gaza could turn into a broader Middle East war have escalated after the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.

The ratings agency expects the Israeli government to permanently increase military spending by close to 1.5 per cent of GDP versus pre-conflict levels as the country strengthens its border defenses.

“Public finances have been hit and we project a budget deficit of 7.8pc of GDP in 2024 and debt to remain above to 70pc of GDP in the medium term,” Fitch said. It forecast the country’s debt will remain on an upward trend beyond 2025 if higher military spending and economic uncertainties continue.

A Palestinian employee with American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) has described “an incredibly precarious” situation in North Gaza amid relentless Israeli attacks and a worsening food and water crisis, Al Jazeera reports.

“Today, I experienced the danger firsthand when I was stranded at the crossing point between north and south for over two hours,” Sami Matar wrote in a dispatch.

“Explosions erupted around me, and I found myself in close proximity to three tanks. It was a harrowing experience, and it underscores just how volatile things have become.

“Each time I cross into the north, I notice more destruction. During this visit, I saw that 20 buildings that had been standing on Salah al-Din Street, the main thoroughfare, are now flattened – gone within just a couple of weeks since my last visit. On my way to our office in Gaza City, I passed by a market that was nearly empty, with only a few canned goods left on the shelves.”