Israel’s war on Gaza updates: Israeli army says Hezbollah commander killed
Hezbollah has confirmed the death of Ismail al-Zin, who Israeli army says was commander of antitank missile unit.
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This live page is now closed. You can continue to follow our coverage of the war in Gaza here.
- Hezbollah confirms the death of Ismail Ali al-Zin, who Israel says was commander of the group’s antitank missile unit, after the Israeli army bombs a car in the south Lebanon village of Kounine.
- Hamas’s Osama Hamdan has denied reports that a new round of ceasefire negotiations will begin soon, saying that Israel refuses to answer the group’s demands.
- Gaza’s Government Media Office says Israel committed “a new massacre by bombing the tents of journalists and displaced people inside the walls of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital”.
- Tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv denouncing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanding an immediate deal for the release of captives.
- At least 32,782 Palestinians have been killed and 75,298 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attack stands at 1,139, with dozens still held captive.
Infiltration alarm sounds in southern Israel’s Eilat
A drone infiltration alert has sounded in Eilat and surrounding areas in the southernmost parts of Israel, the Israeli military has said.
There is no immediate confirmation on the cause of the alarm but drone attacks launched by the Houthi group in Yemen have previously sounded the alarm.
WATCH: Israelis camp out near Knesset
At the end of today’s huge antigovernment rallies in Jerusalem, Israelis are camping out near the building housing the country’s parliament, known as the Knesset.
Calling for elections and the release of captives held in Gaza, they are preparing for several days of protests.
اعتصام إسرائيليين قرب الكنيست في تل أبيب احتجاجًا على سياسات حكومة نتنياهو #حرب_غزة #فيديو pic.twitter.com/NLDWKOnMyt
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) March 31, 2024
Translation: Israelis staged a sit-in near the Knesset in Jerusalem to protest the policies of the Netanyahu government.
Hamas accuses PA of sending undercover security to Gaza
Hamas has accused the Palestinian Authority of sending security officers into northern Gaza under the cover of securing aid trucks, the Reuters news agency reports.
A senior Hamas Interior Ministry official told the group’s Al-Aqsa TV that the force’s mission was supervised by Majed Faraj, the PA’s chief of intelligence.
It said six members of the force, which escorted aid trucks coming through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, were arrested, and that police were pursuing additional members.
“The suspicious security force that entered yesterday with Egyptian Crescent trucks coordinated its operations entirely with the occupation forces,” the Hamas official said.
A PA official in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank was quoted as saying in a statement that the claim was “incorrect” and that the authority is uninteresting in exchanging media comments with Hamas.
Israel gives update on aid entry to Gaza
Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) office says that 205 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip today, 77 percent of which carried food packages, via the Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) and Rafah border crossings.
It also said that 242 total food packages were airdropped over northern Gaza.
Israel has been repeatedly criticised for blocking the entry of aid to the Gaza Strip, with global NGO Oxfam accusing Israel last week of blocking the aid “deliberately”.
UN aid chief: ‘attempts to sideline UNRWA must stop’
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths says Israel and its allies must stop their attempts to undermine the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
“UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian operation in Gaza. Any effort to distribute aid without them is simply doomed to fail,” he said in a post on X.
“No other agency has the same reach, experience or community trust needed to do the job.”
Top Israeli officials have said they wish to dismantle UNRWA on unsubstantiated charges that it works with and for Hamas across the Gaza Strip.
Attempts to sideline @UNRWA must stop.
UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian operation in Gaza. Any effort to distribute aid without them is simply doomed to fail.
No other agency has the same reach, experience or community trust needed to do the job.
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) March 31, 2024
Hamas condemns Israeli ‘kill zones’ in Gaza Strip
Hamas says the Israeli military is committing a “war crime” by establishing so-called “kill zones” across the Gaza Strip where any approaching Palestinian may be shot and killed.
The establishment of such zones was reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which also described how the Israeli military has indiscriminately killed unarmed Palestinians in multiple instances.
One of the latest such instances was exposed by Al Jazeera earlier this week, which forced the Israeli military to confirm that its forces killed two unarmed Palestinians and buried their bodies along the Gaza coastline with bulldozers.
Hamas, in its statement, called on the UN and international judicial institutions led by the International Criminal Court to immediately begin investigations into “these heinous crimes” and other acts of aggression that Hamas said the Israeli military was committing with support from the administration of US President Joe Biden.
Hezbollah claims attack on Israeli soldiers
The Lebanese group says it fired artillery shells at the Israeli army’s Metulla site which led to casualties among the Israeli forces.
It said the attack, Hezbollah’s eighth of the day on Israeli army positions, occurred at 11:10pm local time (21:10 GMT).
Earlier, Hezbollah confirmed the death of Ismail al-Zin, who Israel claims was the commander of the group’s antitank missile unit. He was killed today after the Israeli Air Force attacked a car in the southern Lebanese village of Kounine, the Israeli army said.
Israeli siege on al-Shifa Hospital leaves 21 patients dead: WHO
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that 21 patients have died since the start of the Israeli military operation inside and around the al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza on March 18.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the 107 patients who remained inside the hospital include four children and 28 critical patients, many of whom suffer from infection and have been moved multiple times within the hospital compound. Dozens of medical staff are also stuck inside.
“Since yesterday only one bottle of water remains for every 15 people. Contagious diseases are spreading due to extremely unsanitary conditions, and a lack of water,” he wrote in a post on X, saying food is also extremely limited and a humanitarian corridor to evacuate patients as well as a ceasefire were needed.
The Israeli military has rejected multiple WHO missions to the hospital in Gaza City over the past weeks.
21 patients have died since the hospital came under siege on 18 March. Hostilities continue around the hospital. According to updates from Al-Shifa hospital in #Gaza reported by a health worker inside the hospital.
107 patients are in an inadequate building, within the hospital…
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 31, 2024
US military confirms new aid airdrop over northern Gaza
The US army’s Central Command (CENTCOM) says it completed another airdrop of aid over northern Gaza.
The US military said it used four C-130 military cargo aircraft to drop more than 50,000 meal equivalents into the northern part of the Strip and promised that the much-criticised airdrop plan will continue.
The US military confirmed on Saturday that some of its bundles had been dropped into the sea but that there were no casualties. It came shortly after at least a dozen Palestinians drowned trying to recover bundles from the sea.
March 31 USCENTCOM Conducts Humanitarian Airdrops into Gaza
U.S. Central Command conducted an air drop of humanitarian assistance into Northern Gaza on March 31, 2024, at 12:30 p.m. (Gaza time) to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict.
The joint… pic.twitter.com/k4ZXB3aGtk
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 31, 2024
Palestine foreign ministry condemns Israeli land grab in Jordan Valley
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has condemned Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich’s announcement to develop many more illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, which we reported on earlier.
It also said in a statement that violent settlers have attacked several Palestinians in a community adjacent to the area, beating them with sticks and stones, injuring four and stealing their sheep.
The ministry said it views the move as part of Israel’s intention to seize for itself the entirety of Palestinian lands in the occupied areas and warned that a failure to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2334 on Israeli occupation is undermining the chance of a two-state solution.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates // Smotrich's incursion into Al-Auja Spring area is an Israeli persistence in annexing the #Jordan_Valley and the West Bank.
The failure of the UN Security Council to implement Resolution 2334 encourages the occupation to deepen… pic.twitter.com/5pGzB7fR7p
— State of Palestine – MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa) March 31, 2024
Hamas claims attacks on Israeli military forces around al-Shifa Hospital
The Qassam Brigades of Hamas said its fighters successfully sniped an Israeli soldier in the vicinity of al-Shifa Hospital, and used mortars to target soldiers and vehicles in the area.
It also released a video showing multiple mortar launches in the vicinity of the hospital that has been besieged by the Israeli military for two full weeks.
“If Netanyahu thinks that by killing and starving our children we will deviate from our path, then indeed he has failed and lost,” a blurred-out Palestinian fighter can be seen saying in Arabic as he loads a live mortar shell in the video.
The armed wing of Hamas also said its fighters hit a Merkava tank west of the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood in central Gaza, where intense ground fighting has been ongoing for days.
More on stabbing attack near Ashdod
Israeli media outlets and a local official are reporting that the alleged perpetrator of a stabbing attack at a mall east of the Israeli city of Ashdod, in Gan Yavne, has been “neutralised” by Israeli police who responded to the incident.
MDA, Israel’s national emergency medical service, is also reporting that some of the victims are in “serious condition”.
We will continue to update you on this incident when we have more.
US CENTCOM says its troops destroyed two Houthi unmanned aerial systems
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) says it “engaged and destroyed two unmanned aerial systems in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen” earlier today.
It says the aerial systems presented a threat to US and coalition forces in the area.
“These actions are necessary to protect our forces, ensure freedom of navigation, and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition and merchant vessels,” CENTCOM’s statement says.
March 30 RED SEA UPDATE
Yesterday at 8:30 a.m. (Sanaa time) March 30, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) forces successfully engaged and destroyed two unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in self-defense. One was engaged over the Red Sea and the… pic.twitter.com/HfXt8AcccW
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 31, 2024
Three Israelis stabbed in shopping mall east of Ashdod
Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical service, has said that a “terror attack” took place in Gan Yavne and resulted in three casualties who were evacuated to Assuta Hospital near Ashdod.
We’ll bring you more soon.
‘Today is the day’ for armed resistance, says Hamas military commander
The commander-in-chief of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas inside the Gaza Strip, has called on Palestinians in a video message – one that didn’t show his face, for his protection – to use all their resources to fight against the invading Israeli army.
“Today is the day. Whoever has a rifle should come out with it, for this is its time. And whoever does not have a rifle should come forth with their machete, their pickaxe, or a Molotov cocktail, with their truck or bulldozer or car,” Mohammed Deif can be heard saying in Arabic in a short video released by Hamas.
“Today is the day history opens its brightest, most splendid, and most noble pages. So, who will inscribe their name, their family’s name, their town’s name in the pages of light and glory?”
Netanyahu: ‘Whole world ganging up on us’ in ignorance and anti-Semitism
Towards the end of his news conference, the Israeli leader delved into why he believes there is so much international pressure against Israel today and why “the whole world is ganging up on us”.
He acknowledged there are people inside and outside Israel who believe there might be some truth behind rising anti-Israeli sentiment and those who believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Netanyahu said, “It must be ignorance”, but then through recounting how his historian father Benzion Netanyahu talked about the rise of “anti-Semitic allegations” throughout history, the Israeli leader cited this as another reason for the current state of affairs.
He said Israelis must “unite in physical and moral defence against accusers” who are armed with lies, hypocrisy and falsehood.
Abbas swears in new government
The Palestinian president swore in a new government headed by Mohammad Mustafa, a close ally and leading business figure.
Mustafa formed a new cabinet on Thursday in which he will also serve as foreign minister.
He was appointed premier this month with a mandate to help reform the Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
He was also assigned to lead the relief and rebuilding of Gaza.
Abbas, who as president remains by far the most powerful figure in the PA, appointed the new government in a demonstration of willingness to meet international demands for change in the administration.
Hamas has criticised the appointment of Mustafa but had no immediate reaction to the naming of his cabinet.
Israeli air strikes target Damascus suburbs in Syria
Israeli fighter jets have attacked areas in the suburbs of the Syrian capital city of Damascus, according to local reports and the Syrian Ministry of Defence.
“At approximately 21:30 today, the ‘Israeli’ enemy launched an air aggression from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of points in the vicinity of Damascus. The aggression resulted in two civilians being injured and some material losses,” the ministry said.
The Syrian army’s air defence systems came online and shot down at least some of the missiles, local reports indicated. We will bring you more as details emerge.
Israel announces Jordan Valley settlement expansion in ‘appropriate Zionist response’
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has published this video of himself in Wadi Auja in the occupied West Bank to announce an “unprecedented investment” into the development of more illegal settlements.
He called this “a fitting Zionist response” to a Palestinian attack last week in the Jordan Valley that wounded two Israelis. Smotrich said the Israeli government is surveying the area for expansion, evaluating everything including water resources.
This is coming days after Israel was internationally criticised for declaring 800 hectares (1,977 acres) of land in the occupied West Bank as territory belonging to the Israeli state in its biggest illegal land grab in three decades.
As Israel tries to recover from the financial burden of its deadly war on Gaza and reassure citizens, Smotrich also announced today that businesses in Eilat and Tamar in southern Israel could be entitled to compensation for damages suffered as a result of the war from the state.
תשובה ציונית הולמת: הרחבה ופיתוח של נחל ייטב (עוג׳ה)
הגענו לאתר העוג׳ה בבקעת הירדן והכרזנו על השקעה חסרת תקדים באתר ופיתוחו.
זו תשובה ציונית הולמת לפיגוע שהתרחש בשבוע שעבר בבקעת הירדן בו נפצעו שני יהודים מירי מחבל שנתפס הבוקר. pic.twitter.com/v7kDNDfmRS
— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) March 31, 2024
Translation: An appropriate Zionist answer: expansion and development of Nahal Yitav (Auja). We arrived at the site in Jordan Valley and announced an unprecedented investment in the site and its development. This is a fitting Zionist response to the attack that took place last week in the Jordan Valley in which two Jews were wounded by gunfire from a terrorist caught this morning.
Number of journalists killed by Israeli army rises to 137: Gaza media office
After the killing of a photojournalist and editor by the Israeli military, Gaza’s Government Media Office says the number of journalists killed since the start of the war has now risen to 137.
Abdel Wahab Awni was killed after the Israeli army bombed his home in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, the office said in a statement.
A record number of journalists have been killed in the besieged enclave since October 7, including multiple Al Jazeera journalists.
The latest air strike targeting reporters in Gaza came earlier today, when a journalists’ tent was targeted in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital, killing at least four people.
UNRWA on Gaza school destruction: ‘This is a war on children’
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) notes that more than 100 of its schools have been directly or indirectly hit by the Israeli military since the start of the war.
“Many have been used as shelters for displaced families. No place is safe in the Gaza Strip,” it said in a post on X.
“This is a war on children. On their childhood and their future.”
📍#Gaza: Over 100 @UNRWA schools have been directly or indirectly hit. Some were severely damaged.
Many have been used as shelters for displaced families. No place is safe in #GazaStrip.
This is a war on children. On their childhood and their future.#CeasefireNow
Full report👇— UNRWA (@UNRWA) March 31, 2024
Israeli military says soldier wounded in Gaza dies
The Israeli military has announced the death of one more soldier during fighting in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
It said Sivan Weil, 20, a soldier in the Egoz commando unit, died after he was wounded in the southern part of the besieged enclave.
His death brings the toll of killed forces to 255, the military said.
Intense ground fighting continues to rage across Gaza, including in Khan Younis and other areas in the south.
Netanyahu says Rafah invasion delay not influenced by US
The Israeli prime minister had more to say about Rafah and the war during his press conference:
- The Rafah operation is not delayed because of Ramadan, US pressure or any other hesitancy. It takes preparations, but nothing will stop us.
- Destroying remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah is essential to victory. Without this, Israel will face an existential threat.
- The US Security Council decision was deplorable. That’s why I had to send a clear message on this [by cancelling the Israeli delegation’s visit to the US].
- I will create a commission with municipal leaders in northern Gaza for the return of the displaced, and security and civil needs.
- I prefer to deal with Hezbollah through diplomatic means, but other means are open if that fails.
- I think the problem of Haredi Jews can be solved through a compromise. We need to advance the idea of equally sharing the burden of military service.
Israeli military claims attacks on Hezbollah outposts in southern Lebanon
Shortly after announcing the assassination of a Hezbollah commander in the southern Lebanese village of Kounine, the Israeli military has claimed more attacks in the area.
It released aerial footage that it said showed fighter jets attacking a number of “military buildings” belonging to Hezbollah in Meiss al-Jabal and Blida.
Air strikes also attacked positions in Markaba from which Hezbollah rockets were launched, and an observation post in Kfar Kila, the army claimed.
The Israeli army also said the armed Lebanese group fired rockets on two areas in northern Israel, activating the Iron Dome missile defence system, which intercepted “some” of the projectiles. It made no mention of casualties or damage caused.