Israel’s war on Gaza updates: New mass grave found at al-Shifa Hospital
Nine bodies found so far after doctors say they witnessed killings and burials by Israeli forces.
This live page is now closed. You can continue to follow our coverage of the war in Gaza here.
This live page is now closed. You can continue to follow our coverage of the war in Gaza here.
- Palestinian doctors tell Al Jazeera they have discovered another mass grave in the vicinity of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, recently besieged by Israeli soldiers, with nine bodies believed to be those of patients found so far.
- Israel’s war cabinet reconvenes as it debates how to respond to Iran’s first ever direct attack on its archenemy.
- Israeli forces again bomb the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing five people and wounding dozens as the UN Security Council meets to discuss Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel.
- At least 33,797 Palestinians have been killed and 76,465 wounded 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.
US not interested in another ‘forever war’ in the Middle East
A war against Iran will probably be much worse than a war against Iraq or Afghanistan, and in an election [year], this will be political suicide on the part of the Biden administration.
So they’re definitely trying to contain this thing, but at the same time, they’re acting on three levels: build a sanctioned regime – a stronger one against Iran and its allies – build an anti-Iranian coalition, and try to design a reaction or retaliation with Israeli that is not hyperbolic.
I think at the end of the day, if you notice how the Americans are reacting within the region, it’s clear that unlike what some alarmists told us on day one … we are not going to a third world war.
Are we going to a new Middle East order built around peace? No. Is it more of the same? Almost yes, but one exception now is the proximity and the direct confrontation are real, as Iran has shown us.
That’s a wrap from us
Thank you for joining us for updates on everything related to Israel’s war on Gaza. Please check our homepage for the latest news.
A look at what happened today
We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a quick recap from today:
- Palestinian doctors said they have discovered another mass grave in the vicinity of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, recently besieged by Israeli soldiers. At least 10 bodies have been recovered so far.
- Israel’s army chief has said Iran’s weekend attack “will be met with a response” shortly after Israel’s war cabinet convened to discuss how to respond.
- At least two more Palestinians have been killed in the village of Aqraba, southeast of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, in the latest of a series of attacks carried out by Israeli settlers.
- Fighters with the Lebanese Hezbollah group detonated an explosive device after Israeli soldiers “crossed the border”, wounding four troops.
- The Israeli army has renewed warnings for Palestinians not to return to Gaza’s north a day after its forces opened fire on desperate civilians trying to return home.
Pro-Palestine protest group coordinates ‘multi-city blockade’ in US
Demonstrators blocked San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge on Monday, completely halting traffic for hours as part of a coordinated day of action against Israel’s war on Gaza.
Aerial footage on Monday morning showed stationary traffic in one direction on the famous bridge while lanes in the other direction were empty, with police present.
Similar protests were held across the United States and around the world after the group A15 Action called for coordinating a “multi-city blockade… in solidarity with Palestine.”
The group said on its website that “in each city, we will identify and blockade major choke points in the economy, focusing on points of production and circulation with the aim of causing the most economic impact”.
Protesters blocked roads on Monday in Philadelphia and shut down highway traffic heading into Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, forcing some passengers to make their way on foot to catch their flights.
Protests were also planned in Canada, Italy, South Korea, Colombia and Belgium, while the X account for A15 posted photos of demonstrations in Greece, Spain and Australia.
What does Israel want to do after Iran’s drone and missile attacks?
Israel is yet to agree on a response to Iran’s air attack launched in response to Israel’s own strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1.
While Western diplomats and US President Joe Biden have reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu they will not support further retaliation, some analysts suggest that Iran’s strikes may be part of a wider ploy to draw the US, Israel’s close ally, into a broader regional war.
Read more here.
‘We will return, we will rebuild’: Zumlot
Husam Zumlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, has posted a picture of Palestinians in central Gaza returning to their homes in northern Gaza alongside the text: “We will return. We will rebuild. We will never surrender our rights”.
We will return.
We will rebuild.
We will never surrender our rights. #Gaza #Palestine 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/EiBNTujLcI— Husam Zomlot (@hzomlot) April 15, 2024
IAEA chief ‘always worried’ about potential attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi says Iran closed its nuclear facilities on Sunday over “security considerations” and that while they reopened on Monday, he has kept IAEA inspectors away “until we see that the situation is completely calm”.
“We are going to resume tomorrow [on Tuesday],” Grossi told reporters in New York. “This has not had an impact on our inspection activity.”
When asked about the possibility of an Israel strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, Grossi said, “We are always concerned about this possibility”, and urged “extreme restraint”.
Photos: Pro-Palestine protests outside New York Stock Exchange
‘We will cut off every hand that attacks our country’: Iranian army
“We do not seek to expand the war, but we will cut off every hand that attacks our country,” the spokesman for the Iranian army has posted in Arabic on X.
“Any aggression from Israel or its supporters will be met with a stronger response than before”.
Israel’s military, political leadership determined to respond to Iran’s attack
The military leadership and the political leadership in Israel say that the scale of Iran’s attack on Israel needs and warrants a response.
As we’ve been reporting, it’s the if and when, but I think it is going to happen.
You have the Israeli Defence Minister Gallant tell his US counterpart that Iran’s attack using ballistic missiles could not go without a response.
This is despite the fact that there’s a lot of international pressure on Israel not to escalate.
This is an unprecedented and extremely fissile situation regarding the potential for a regional war or a wider war.
We did understand in Israeli media leaks from that second war cabinet meeting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tasked the army with coming up with potential targets inside Iran [which] could send a message but… avoid civilian casualties.
You have US President Joe Biden in a phone call to Netanyahu over the weekend saying the fact that more than 99 percent of the missiles and drones targeting Israel were intercepted is a win. “Take the win,” he told Netanyahu.
At least 10 bodies found in al-Shifa Hospital mass grave, Gaza health official says
Motasem Salah, the director of the Gaza Emergency Operations Centre, says 10 bodies have been recovered so far from a mass grave discovered earlier on Monday at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital.
The hospital was recently raided and besieged by Israeli soldiers, who withdrew from the area earlier this month.
“Work has resumed inside the al-Shifa Medical Complex to search for and identify mass graves as well as the bodies that have been buried in these graves,” Salah said.
Despite a lack of forensic experts and adequate equipment, search parties have resorted to using shovels and their hands to try and dig out the bodies of believed-to-be patients who were receiving treatment at the hospital.
“We are determined to reveal these crimes that have been committed against civilians in the al-Shifa Hospital. We have until now recovered 10 bodies that were buried in front of the main entrance of the al-Shifa Medical Complex, near the surgery unit,” Salah told reporters.
“Some of these bodies are decomposed, while others are body parts. Many of them were women and children,” he added.
Israeli army chief thanks US, UK, France for military support
Army Chief Herzi Halevi thanked the US, UK and French forces for supporting Israel during Iran’s air attack.
“The [Israeli army], together with the United States Central Command, the British and French Armed Forces and other partners operated together in real-time in the air, on the ground and at sea,” he said in a video address.
“Iran’s attack has created new opportunities for cooperation in the Middle East,” he added.
Portugal PM says not ready to recognise a Palestinian state
Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro says his country is not ready to recognise a Palestinian state without a concerted European Union approach.
Montenegro said his government would wait for the EU and the UN to work out a common position on the issue before advancing.
“We don’t go as far as other governments do with regards to recognising the state of Palestine,” he told a joint news conference in Madrid, as he stood alongside his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez.
“We believe that this understanding should be built on a multilateral basis within the European Union and the United Nations.”
His comments come after Spain’s Sanchez repeated his plan to recognise Palestinian statehood in the coming months, either with other nations or alone.
Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah compound: Israeli military
Israeli forces say fighter jets struck Hezbollah compounds in the areas of Meiss el-Jabal and Tayr Harfa in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since October 8, the day after Hamas’s attack and the start of Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza.
LISTEN: Will Israel respond to Iran’s first ever direct attack?
The Israeli government is under pressure not to retaliate but says it is weighing its options.
What could they be? And what would a direct confrontation between the regional rivals mean for an already volatile Middle East?
Photos: Palestinians return to ruined homes in Gaza’s Maghazi refugee camp
Netanyahu urges international community to ‘stand united’ against Iran
The Israeli prime minister says Iran threatens world peace and the international community must resist it together.
“The international community must continue to stand united in resisting this Iranian aggression, which threatens world peace,” he said in a statement released by his office on X.
Netanyahu also said US House of Representatives Majority Leader Steve Scalise called him on Monday evening to express support “for any decision that Israel makes in light of the Iranian attack” and to inform the prime minister of “his initiative to advance in Congress, in the coming days, a series of measures against Iran and for Israel”.
US position on Israel is flagrant, obvious, almost obnoxious contradiction
I think there is a flagrant, obvious, almost obnoxious contradiction in the American position that has been repeated by the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department.
When you say, “No matter what Israel does, I’m going to defend Israel”.
And when you say, “We can’t speak for Israel, Israel will make its decisions”, and Israel’s decision-making has been genocidal war in Gaza, attacking Iranian diplomatic missions and hence provoking Iran.
Then what you’re basically saying is: “I’m not seeking regional war, I’m not seeking escalation with Iran, but at the same time I’m giving Israel pre-emptive support, knowing all too well that Israel will provoke the Palestinians, Hamas, Iran, and we’re still going to support you.”
So you cannot say, “We’re not seeking regional war and escalation with Iran”, and then at the same time “We’re giving free hand to Israel to do whatever it wants, and we will still defend it.”
Hamas official says ‘permanent ceasefire’ is still a top priority in negotiations
Hamas political official Ezzat El-Reshiq says a permanent ceasefire is the only guarantee the Palestinian people have against Israel’s ongoing “massacres”.
The group will “not compromise” on the demands of a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the unhindered return of all displaced families to their homes, El-Reshiq said.
“The occupation wants a temporary agreement to evacuate its hostages, only to resume its genocidal war afterwards,” he added.
After more than six months of its assault, Israel still “has not, and will not, achieve victory”, El-Reshiq said.
Bombs and viruses: The shadowy history of Israel’s attacks on Iranian soil
Our team has put together an in-depth explainer that looks at how Israel has, for years, launched various attacks on Iran – from drone strikes to cyberattacks, assassinations of scientists, and the theft of secrets.
Read more here.
Pentagon to ‘take all necessary action to defend Israel and US personnel’
Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder says US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, three times over the weekend.
During their most recent call, they reviewed “the successful combined operation by the United States, Israel and their partners to defend Israel from these unprecedented attacks by Iran and its proxies,” he said.
Ryder also said “that while the United States does not seek escalation, we will continue to take all necessary action to defend Israel and US personnel”.
He later added that US aircraft were involved in intercepting more than 80 of Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) fired at Israel.
“We’re going to continue to stay in close consultation with our Israeli partners, as we have done throughout the weekend,” Ryder said, adding, “We don’t seek wider regional conflict.”
In call with Qatar’s emir, Erdogan calls for cooperation to stop Israeli attacks
The Turkish president’s office says he spoke by telephone with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani about increasing efforts of the Muslim world to stop strikes by Israel.
The two leaders discussed Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the humanitarian situation as well as bilateral relations and regional and global issues, according to the statement his office posted on social media platform X.
Erdogan stated that it is vital to restrain Israel immediately and act with common sense to prevent the tension from spreading across the region, the statement said.
In case you’re just joining us
It’s 9pm (19:00 GMT) in occupied Palestinian territory and Israel. Let’s bring you up to speed with the most significant developments in the past few hours:
- Palestinian doctors tell Al Jazeera they have discovered another mass grave in the vicinity of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, recently besieged by Israeli soldiers.
- Israel’s army chief says Iran’s weekend attack “will be met with a response” shortly after Israel’s war cabinet convened to discuss how to respond. Iran carried out the attack two weeks after a deadly strike on its consulate in Damascus, which Tehran blames on Israel.
- Gaza’s media office says Palestinians in the northern part of the enclave are facing a health crisis as environmental contamination there has reached “unprecedented levels”.
- Lebanese group Hezbollah claims a missile attack on an Israeli military site in Ruwaisaat al-Alam in Kfarchouba, a Lebanese area occupied by Israel.
- At least two more Palestinians have been killed near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, in the latest of a series of attacks carried out by Israeli settlers.
Palestinians killed in latest settler attack in occupied West Bank: AJ correspondent
We understand that two Palestinians have been killed, and a third was injured around the village of Aqraba, which is southeast of Nablus.
We’ve confirmed this with a medic who was attending the scene, who also said that the bodies were being withheld [by the Israelis]. The Palestinians, as far as we understand, were shepherds looking after their flocks when they were approached by the Israeli settlers.
This area, southeast of Nablus, is pretty much the hot spot of settler violence, followed by Hebron and then the Ramallah area as well. This is just the latest in what is an incredibly violent period for Palestinians and their encounters with Israeli settlers.
There have been four Palestinian deaths [in the occupied West Bank] since Friday. We know that large groups of settlers have been attacking at least 17 different Palestinian villages.
There have been, according to the United Nations, since October 7 … 16 Palestinian deaths with more than 700 attacks on Palestinians in total.
Hospital patients found in a mass grave with bandages, catheters still attached
Doctors were able to identify these bodies as patients. They still had medical bandages and catheters attached to their bodies.
Medical staff inside the hospital confirmed that these people were, in fact, executed by the Israeli military very close to the main gate of al-Shifa Hospital when it was stormed in March.
When the Israeli military stormed it, they destroyed the vast majority of the hospital’s facilities and equipment as well as the buildings in its vicinity, the majority of them residential buildings, where people had been sheltering since the beginning of this war.
In the northern part of the Gaza Strip, 20 more bodies were discovered buried under the dirt and piles of sand.
It is believed the killings occurred as people were going through a checkpoint that was set up by the Israeli military during its incursion of the northern part of the Strip.
This is the pattern that we’re seeing; this is not the first time mass graves have been discovered. People have been killed and buried under the dirt or run over by Israeli tanks or bulldozers for the past six months.