Israel's Gaza invasion - Day 543

The interior ministry in Gaza says an Israeli air raid in Deir el-Balah killed two officers and injured five others.

The bombing comes days after suspected criminals killed a police officer in the same area.

“As it mourns the police martyrs who were targeted by the Israeli occupation while carrying out their duty of ensuring security and serving citizens, the interior ministry stresses that the foals of the Israeli occupation overlap with the goal of troublemakers and outlaws,” the ministry said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the military is “dissecting” Gaza and “seizing territory” to retrieve hostages held in the Palestinian enclave, AFP reports.

The military is “dissecting the (Gaza) Strip and increasing the pressure step by step so that (Hamas) will return our hostages”, Netanyahu said in a statement, adding that Israel “is seizing territory, striking terrorists, and destroying infrastructure”.

Britain does not support Israel’s expansion of military operations in Hamas-run Gaza, a UK minister has said, AFP reports.

“We are deeply concerned about the resumption of hostilities in Gaza. The UK does not support an expansion of Israel’s military operations,” junior foreign office minister Hamish Falconer, told parliament.

Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, warns that Israel’s monthlong blockade on Gaza has led to shortages of essential medicines and some are “nearing depletion”, Al Jazeera reports.

The organisation called for an end to the blockade describing it as “collective punishment” of Palestinians.

“For more than a month no aid or commercial trucks have entered Gaza, the longest period since the war began,” MSF said. “This complete cutoff of aid and electricity has deprived people of most basic services and amounts to collective punishment.”

Teams are also running out of crucial surgical supplies such as anaesthesia and antibiotics for children, and medications for chronic conditions such as epilepsy, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Clinics are treating wounded patients “without any painkillers”.

Medical sources tell Al Jazeera that Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 68 people since dawn.

International charities working in Gaza warn that its 2.3 million people cannot endure more aid shortages as Israel’s monthlong blockade chokes the Palestinian territory, Al Jazeera reports.

“I got up in the morning to buy bread for my children but I found all the bakeries closed,” Gaza City’s Mahmud Khalil said.

Fellow resident Amina al-Sayed echoed his comments.

“I’ve been going from bakery to bakery all morning, but none of them are operating, they’re all closed,” she said, adding she feared the threat of famine would stalk Gaza once again.

“The price of flour has risen … and we can’t afford it. We’re afraid of reliving the famine that we experienced in the south” of the territory previously.

The International Crime Court (ICC) has criticised Hungary’s decision to defy its arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu over the conduct of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.

The court’s spokesperson, Fadi El Abdallah, said it is not for parties to the ICC “to unilaterally determine the soundness of the Court’s legal decisions”.

“Participating states have an obligation to enforce the court’s decisions,” added El Ebdallah. “Any dispute concerning the judicial functions of the Court shall be settled by the decision of the Court.”.

Germany has said that 19 of its citizens and 14 of their relatives have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip as Israel presses its offensive against Hamas in the ravaged Palestinian territory, AFP reports.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said that Tuesday’s evacuation “took considerable time” but Berlin was “very relieved that this succeeded through close cooperation” between German and Israeli officials.

The Israeli army said it targeted Hamas fighters in a strike on a UN building in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp that the civil defence agency said killed 19 people, AFP.

The army said in a statement that it struck the fighters “inside a command and control centre that was being used for coordinating terrorist activity”.

It separately confirmed to AFP that the building housed a UN clinic.

Hamas condemned a visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, calling it a “provocative and dangerous escalation”, AFP reports.

In a statement, the group called for Palestinians “and our youth in the West Bank to escalate their confrontation … in defence of our land and our sanctities, foremost among them the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque”.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has expressed its “regret” that officials from EU countries such as France, Poland, Germany, Italy and Romania have refused to enforce an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Anadolu Agency reports.

“The EU’s leadership and other EU member states, along with other International Criminal Committee member countries, should publicly call on Hungary and all ICC member countries to cooperate with the ICC by arresting Netanyahu should he visit their territories,” the statement said.

The group said Hungary’s PM Viktor Orban and his government have been displaying “blatant disregard” for the rule of law and human rights.

“Allowing Netanyahu’s visit in breach of Hungary’s ICC obligations would be Orban’s latest assault on the rule of law,” said Liz Evenson, international justice director at HRW.

The European Green Party is calling for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to be arrested and face trial at The Hague as he arrives in Hungary, Al Jazeera reports.

“The European Union and national governments have a duty to uphold international law and ensure accountability for war crimes and human rights abuses,” said European Greens co-chair Ciaran Cuffe in a statement.

European Green Party co-chair Vula Tsetsi added: “Orban is bulldozering over EU treaties and obligations … That is why we, as European Greens, have been consistently calling for the abolishment of national vetoes on matters related to foreign policy.

“Ignoring the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu means ignoring the reasons for which it was issued, which is unacceptable.”

An Israeli air strike targeted the vicinity of a UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) medical centre in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Al Jazeera reports, citing the enclave’s health ministry.

Israel launched a widespread bombardment across Gaza this morning, killing at least 21 people and wounding dozens more. Israel targeted a UNRWA clinic in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

At least 19 people were killed in the attack and many others were wounded. Nine children are among the dead, Al Jazeera quoted the director of Gaza’s health ministry as saying.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Hungary to arrest Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he sets foot in the country, Anadolu Agency reports.

“Hungary should deny entry to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or arrest him if he enters the country,” the New York-based rights group said as Netanyahu’s office announced a visit to Hungary this week following an invitation from PM Viktor Orban.

“As an International Criminal Court (ICC) member country, Hungary is obligated to cooperate in securing the arrest and surrender of any suspects who enter its territory. Without its own police force, the ICC relies on states to assist in arrests,” the HRW said.

“Orban’s invitation to Netanyahu is an affront to victims of serious crimes,” said Liz Evenson, international justice director at HRW.

“Hungary should comply with its legal obligations as a party to the ICC and arrest Netanyahu if he sets foot in the country.”

One person has been wounded after being shot in the foot in the city of Tulkarem as Israeli forces continue their military assault on the occupied West Bank for the 66th day, Al Jazeera reports.

The attack occurred in the Shuweika suburb. Israeli forces also launched a large-scale arrest campaign in the Dhahra area, Al Jazeera said, quoting the Palestinian Wafa news agency.

The army dispatched military reinforcements towards Tulkarem city and its two refugee camps, Tulkarem and Nur Shams.

Israeli troops are continuing to forcibly displace residents from the Jabal al-Salihin area in the Nur Shams refugee camp. At least 13 people have been killed during Israel’s ongoing siege on the two camps and the city since the end of January.

The military’s expanded assault on Gaza “will increase pressure on Hamas”, Al Jazeera quotes Israel’s defence chief as saying.

“Expanding the operation this morning will increase the pressure on the Hamas murderers and also on the population in Gaza and advance the achievement of the sacred and important goal for all of us,” Israel Katz said in a post on X.

“I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to remove Hamas and return all the hostages. This is the only way to end the war.”

Hamas says Gaza has reached a “famine phase”, describing it as “one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history”.

According to Reuters, Hamas said it held Israel fully responsible for the “catastrophic human consequences increasing by the hour”.

Before the two-month ceasefire, global food security experts warned in November that there was a “strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas” of northern Gaza.

The death toll since Israel’s onslaught on Gaza began in October 2023 has killed 50,399 people — the majority children, women and the elderly — Al Jazeera says, citing the enclave’s health ministry.

Israel has intensified its air strikes throughout Gaza since breaking the ceasefire with Hamas on March 18. At least 1,042 Palestinians have been killed since it restarted the bombardment, the report added.

Two Israeli attacks have targeted southeastern areas of Gaza City, Al Jazeera reports. There was no immediate information about casualties, it added.

Israeli forces have killed a 33-year-old Palestinian during a morning raid in the Old City of Nablus, Al Jazeera reports.

It added that since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed 949 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including 190 children.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has denounced Israel’s expansion of the offensive in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.

In a statement, it said families of the captives remaining in Gaza were “horrified” to wake up to the defence minister’s announcement that the military is stepping up its military operations in the Palestinian enclave to seize more territory there.

“Has it been decided to sacrifice the hostages for the sake of ‘territorial gains’?” the group asked.

“Instead of securing the release of the hostages through a deal and ending the war, the Israeli government is sending more soldiers into Gaza to fight in the same areas where battles have already taken place repeatedly,” it added.

“The responsibility for the release of the 59 hostages held by Hamas lies with the Israeli government. Our grave concern is that this mission has been pushed to the bottom of its priorities and has become merely a secondary objective.”

At least 21 people have been killed across Gaza in Israeli attacks since dawn in central and southern Gaza, Al Jazeera quotes medical sources as saying.

In one of the deadliest strikes, Israeli forces targeted a house in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killing at least 12 Palestinians.

Two others were killed in an Israeli attack in the northeastern area of Rafah, where the Israeli military announced it was carrying out a widespread assault to seize “large areas”.

Mehreen Faruqi of Australia’s Greens Party has said the family of slain World Central Kitchen aid worker Zomi Frankcom “deserves answers”, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on Instagram, Faruqi said Frankcom was “murdered by an Israeli airstrike” but that one year later, “her perpetrators have yet to be held to account”.

“The targeting of humanitarian workers is incomprehensible,” Faruqi added, noting that “15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers were also killed by Israeli occupation forces ‘one by one’” last week.

The Australian government carried out an inquiry into the Israeli attack last year, and said it found that the assault was the result of serious operational failures, but not intentional. The Israeli military has apologised for the incident and dismissed two senior commanders involved in the attacks.

Australia has since called for full accountability for the killings.