Israel’s war on Gaza updates: One dead as settlers rampage in West Bank
Man shot to death in the occupied West Bank town of al-Mughayyir during one of 700 settler attacks on Palestinians.
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- Five people have been killed and over 30 injured in an Israeli attack on central Gaza City, the Gaza Civil Defence says.
- One man killed as illegal Israeli settlers rampage in the occupied West Bank town of al-Mughayyir, one of nearly 700 settler attacks since October 7.
- In Gaza, Israeli forces bombed the Nuseirat refugee camp while in the West Bank, a raid in Tubas governorate has killed at least two Palestinians.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has said destruction in Khan Younis and damage to the medical sector was “disproportionate to anything one can imagine” after the Israeli army withdrawal.
- At least 33,634 Palestinians have been killed and 76,214 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive.
France condemns Iranian attack on Israel
“France condemns in the strongest terms the attack launched by Iran against Israel,” Stéphane Séjourné, the country’s foreign minister, says on X.
“By deciding on such an unprecedented action, Iran is taking a new step in its destabilizing actions and taking the risk of a military escalation,” he added, saying that France’s support for Israel is “ironclad”.
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CPJ calls for investigation into Israeli attack on TV journalists
We reported earlier on an Israeli attack that critically injured TRT Arabi camera operator Sami Shehadeh and led to his foot being amputated.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has now called for an independent investigation into that attack.
“CPJ condemns the Israeli attack in Gaza on a group of journalists wearing press insignia that resulted in cameraman Sami Shehadeh, of Turkish broadcaster TRT, having his leg amputated,” said CPJ programme director Carlos Martinez de la Serna in New York.
He added that the Israeli military’s disregard for press insignia, “both after and prior to October 7, endangers the lives of journalists”.
He said, “This incident must be independently investigated, and those responsible for the attack must be held accountable.”
Photos: Palestinians flee as Israeli forces attack Nuseirat refugee camp
Biden will be under pressure to respond if Iran strikes Israeli territory
We spoke to Nader Hashemi, associate professor of Middle East and Islamic politics at Georgetown University, about the potential US response if Iran were to attack Israel in response to the April 1 consulate bombing.
If Iran were to opt for a “limited and symbolic” strike to demonstrate its military capabilities “while not trying to escalate this crisis”, Hashemi would not anticipate a US military response.
“Biden isn’t looking for a Mideast war during an election year,” he said, adding, “The GOP [Republican Party] are another matter.”
If, however, Iran were to directly hit targets within Israel or an Israeli embassy somewhere in the world, then Biden would be “under huge domestic pressure to respond militarily”.
“If this should happen, we would be on the precipice of a wider regional war, and Netanyahu’s plan for instigating this crisis will have come to fruition,” Hashemi said.
‘Increase in aid is not yet tangible, sustained or uninterrupted’: Lazzarini
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has called for Israel to allow more aid into the Gaza Strip.
In a post on X, he said, “Convoys [and] humanitarian aid workers should no longer be a target [and] restrictions on UNRWA by Israel to reach the north where famine is imminent must be lifted.”
“Failing to do so will hamper our ability to prevent famine expected to hit in full scale in the coming month,” he said, adding, “With political will, aid can be increased. Political will can also prevent a man made famine.
#Gaza: The increase in aid is not yet tangible, sustained or uninterrupted.
Aid also needs to reach safely all those in need.It means convoys & humanitarian aid workers should no longer be a target +
restrictions on @UNRWA by Israel to reach the north where famine is imminent…— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) April 12, 2024
More from PRCS medic who treated injuries after settler attack on al-Mughayir
Abdulhadi al-Tarifi, a medic with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), whom we spoke to earlier about the settler attack on al-Mughayir near Ramallah, said among the most “dangerous” things faced by PRCS teams today was “arbitrary shooting by settlers”.
Before even reaching the vicinity of the village, the Israeli army had set up checkpoints and were “stopping and thoroughly searching” all of the vehicles.
“While we were leaving with some of the wounded, we were once again stopped and searched. Even the companions with those injured were prevented from remaining inside the ambulances, and were all taken out of the vehicles,” he said.
A ‘very busy and very difficult’ day for PRCS medics near Ramallah
A medic with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the group received a “large number of calls” when al-Mughayir was attacked by illegal Israeli settlers earlier today.
Abdulhadi al-Tarifi told Al Jazeera at least nine PRCS vehicles were sent to the area, but all of them were stopped at the western entrance to the village and were prevented from entering.
After looking for alternative routes, a handful of vehicles finally managed to reach some of those who sustained injuries.
“We treated 19 cases, 16 of which were wounds from live bullets, and three were a result of severe beatings,” he said.
“Today was very busy and very difficult,” al-Tarifi said. “Ambulance vehicles were fired upon by settlers. They were closing down streets leading to the main roads, and burning vehicles on these streets, which stopped us from reaching those wounded in a timely manner.”
Journalist Motaz Azaiza receives a Congressional Record from Rashida Tlaib
US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has presented Palestinian journalist Motaz Azaiza with a Congressional Record for his “coverage of the Palestinian people and the commitment to telling their stories”.
For 107 days, Azaiza broadcast the death and destruction wrought on the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces to his millions of followers on social media.
Tlaib is the only Palestinian elected member of the US Congress.
I presented Palestinian journalist Motaz Azaiza with a Congressional Record for his coverage of the Palestinian people and his commitment to telling their stories. Thank you @AzaizaMotaz9 for your fearless journalism. We pray for your healing and the end of the genocide in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/VBsmaKOTPA
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) April 12, 2024
Al-Quds Brigades launch rockets towards southern Israel
The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, al-Quds Brigades, has fired rockets from Gaza towards southern Israel, including at the city of Sderot.
The group said on Telegram it also attacked areas near Gaza’s border fence “in response to the enemy’s crimes committed against our people”.
The statement comes as Israeli media reported that “eight rockets” were fired from Gaza towards Sderot, quoting a municipality spokesperson. There were no reports of casualties.
Austrian Airlines suspends all Tehran flights
Austrian Airlines, the last Western European airline flying to Iran, says it is suspending all flights from Vienna to Tehran until April 18 in response to escalating tensions in the region.
Austria had continued flying for longer than its German parent, Lufthansa, since Vienna’s closer proximity to Tehran meant it could more easily abort flights or be forced to leave staff in Tehran overnight.
Earlier on Friday, Austria’s Foreign Ministry followed Germany in urging its citizens to leave Iran.
“Routes that pass through Iranian airspace will also be modified,” Austrian Airlines said in a statement. “The safety of our passengers and crews have highest priority.”
The atmosphere is very tense in southern Lebanon
Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for launching more than 50 rockets towards the northern communities in Israel.
According to Hezbollah’s statement, this comes as a response to the Israeli attacks on Lebanese towns and villages in the south.
The fact is that these rockets were launched towards an Israeli post in the occupied Golan Heights.
This hints at a change in the rules of engagement, though these changes are slow and a bit different from what we are used to in normal war.
The situation is very tense. There’s an anticipation of an Iranian retaliation for the killing of its general in Damascus and what’s going to be the next step.
Everyone is waiting, and people were linking this attack today to what could be an attack from Iran.
More from al-Mughayir official on the latest settler attack on the West Bank village
Here are some of the things Amin Abu Alia said unfolded during the three-hour settler attack:
- Settlers attacked 20 homes, and set fire to seven of them “either completely, or partially”.
- A total of 20 vehicles, some belonging to local businesses, were also set on fire.
- At least 35 residents were wounded, and 25 of them sustained injuries from live bullets.
- Medics, including Palestine Red Crescent ambulances, were prevented from reaching the area by Israeli forces, who also blocked cars carrying wounded residents from leaving the village.
- The attack was carried out under the protection of Israeli army soldiers.
Today’s Hezbollah attacks on Israel come amid expectations of Iranian retaliation
The Israeli military says they’re counting 40 rockets that came across the border from Lebanon; they say that some were intercepted. Some fell into unpopulated grounds. No injuries are being reported at the moment.
But the Israelis also say that there were a couple of explosive drones that came across from Lebanon earlier on, launched by Hezbollah.
The big question is, is this another example of the kind of tit-for-tat exchanges of fire that we’ve been seeing for months across that Israel-Lebanon border? Or is this the start of something bigger?
That something bigger, everyone is waiting, of course, is some sort of response initiated by Iran.
The Israeli military is trying to give the impression of being prepared for whatever Iran is going to throw at it.
The steps Israel’s military has taken in the last couple of weeks is to cancel all leave for combat units and another is to call up air defence reservists.
A third is to put consulates and embassies around the world on high alert, and a fourth is to jam GPS signals across the country to disrupt drone signals.
Settler attack on al-Mughayir ‘the largest and most violent one’ yet, official says
We earlier reported that there has been several incidents of violent settler attacks against Palestinians and their belongings in the occupied West Bank, with one incident resulting in the killing of a man in the town of al-Mughayir, northeast of Ramallah.
The head of the al-Mughayir village council, Amin Abu Alia, has spoken to Al Jazeera about the details of the attack.
“This is not the first attack on the village. Our village is constantly exposed to similar attacks from settlers, but this is the largest and most violent one,” Abu Alia said.
According to him, more than 1,500 Israeli settlers gathered near the entrance of the town. About 500 of them, some armed, then proceeded to raid the town for about three hours.
The attack led to the killing of Jihad Abu Alia, who was shot “directly” in the head with live ammunition.
‘Escalation risk’: Germany urges its citizens to leave Iran
Germany has warned its citizens to leave Iran, saying that there was a risk both of a sudden escalation in Tehran’s existing tensions with Israel and that Germans might be at risk of arbitrary arrest in the country.
“In the current tensions, especially between Israel and Iran, there is a risk of a sudden escalation,” the Foreign Office wrote in a new travel warning issued today. “It cannot be excluded that air, land and sea transport routes could be affected,” it added.
“German citizens are at concrete risk of being arbitrarily arrested and interrogated and being given long prison sentences. Dual citizens with Iranian and German nationality are especially at risk,” the Foreign Office said.
France, India, Russia, Poland and the United Kingdom have warned their citizens against travelling to Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory and, in some cases, the wider region amid threats of an Iranian attack in response to an attack this month on its consulate in Damascus.
WATCH: ‘Not safe to go back to work, but our staff wants to’ – Gaza aid CEO
Sean Caroll, the president and CEO of Anera, told Al Jazeera that more aid appears to be coming into the Gaza Strip, but not at the rate the Israelis claim.
Photos: Protesters in Amman show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza
British Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta ‘forcibly prevented’ from entering Germany
Prominent British Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta, who volunteered in Gaza hospitals during the first weeks of Israel’s assault on the enclave, said he was denied entry into Germany where he was due to take part in a conference.
Abu Sitta said he arrived at Berlin airport before being stopped at passport control where he was held for several hours and then told he had to return to the UK.
Police at the airport said he was refused entry due to “the safety of the people at the conference and public order,” Abu Sitta told the Associated Press news agency.
In a post on X, Abu Sitta he was “forcibly prevented” from entering the country.
Berlin police said they later pulled the plug on the event, attended by up to 250 people, on its first day, after a livestream was shown of a person who is banned from political activity in Germany.
The gathering, entitled the Palestine Congress, was to discuss a range of topics including German arms shipments to Israel and solidarity with what organisers called the Palestinian struggle.
Germany has traditionally held a staunchly pro-Israel position, and during the assault on Gaza emerged as one of Israel’s fiercest supporters. German authorities have also repeatedly clamped down on displays of support for Palestinians.
Invited to address a conference in Berlin about my work in Gaza hospitals during the present conflict.
The German government has forcibly prevented me from entering the country
Silencing a witness to genocide before the ICJ adds to Germany's complicity in the ongoing massacre.— Ghassan Abu Sitta (@GhassanAbuSitt1) April 12, 2024
Biden says his message to Iran is ‘Don’t’
US President Joe Biden has told reporters, “We are devoted to the defence of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed.”
Iran has threatened to retaliate for Israel’s April 1 attack on an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, that killed seven members of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including two generals.
Five killed, more than 30 injured in attack on Gaza City: Civil Defence
Gaza Civil Defence has provided casualty figures for an attack we reported earlier on the Zarqa area of central Gaza City.
The group said the Israeli army bombed a house belonging to the al-Assi family.
We will continue to update you on this attack.
‘The coming days require us to be alert and prepared’: Israeli military spokesperson
Daniel Hagari has released a statement in which he warned that the coming days require the Israeli forces “to be alert and prepared”.
“We have some of the best defence capabilities in the world, but they are not airtight,” he said, urging the Israeli public to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command, which is responsible for civil defence.
“Iran’s behaviour throughout the war escalates the situation in the Middle East and undermines security stability. We will know how to act wherever we are required,” he said.
Israeli attack on Gaza City leaves dead and wounded Palestinians
Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports that a attack on the Zarqa area of central Gaza City has left at least one dead and over two dozen injured.
The attack occurred on a residential area of the city, our correspondent said.
We will bring you more updates on this strike as information comes in.
‘I saw that my leg was amputated’: Turkish journalist injured in Gaza
We reported earlier that Sami Shahada, a freelance cameraman working for Turkish State Television (TRT), was badly wounded in an Israeli attack on the Nuseirat camp in the Gaza Strip.
He has now spoken to an AFP reporter from the floor of the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, where he is being treated.
He told the reporter that when he was hit, he was “far from the danger zone” and surrounded by civilians and journalists.
He said his team were recording when “a strike targeted us, I don’t know if it was missile or a tank. I saw that my leg was amputated,” he recounted.
“I was wearing a press vest and helmet and it was clear even for the blind that I am a journalist.”
Speaking to journalists in Ankara, Turkish presidential office spokesman Fahrettin Altun said that “Israel targeted, deliberately and willingly committed this massacre.”
Altun reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas had discussed the attack in a phone call.
“No matter what happens, we will continue to stand firm against Israel’s barbaric attacks on Gaza and Israel will pay the price for this cruelty,” Altun reported Erdogan as saying.
Ireland close to formally recognising Palestinian state: PM
Ireland’s new prime minister, Simon Harris, says his nation is close to formally recognising a Palestinian state and would like to do so in concert with Spain and other like-minded countries.
Spain and Ireland, long champions of Palestinian rights, last month announced alongside Malta and Slovenia that they would jointly work toward the recognition of a Palestinian state.
After a meeting with his Spanish counterpart, Harris said, “Let me this evening say our assessment is that that point is coming much closer, and we would like to move together in doing so”.
“When we move forward, we would like to do so with as many others as possible to lend weight to the decision and to send the strongest message. The people of Israel deserve a secure and peaceful future, so do the people of Palestine. Equal sovereignty, equal respect,” Harris said.