- Israel’s seizure and closing of the Rafah crossing in Gaza raises concerns that already scarce supplies will be further depleted and lead to a “catastrophic” disaster.
- The incursion comes after Israel said it would continue its military operation in Rafah even after Hamas said it had accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the proposal was far from Israel’s demands but that he would send a delegation to Cairo for talks.
- UN agencies and aid groups warn of devastating consequences of any Israeli military assault on Rafah after tens of thousands of Palestinians were ordered to evacuate before the attacks.
- At least 34,789 people have been killed and 78,204 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.
- NUJ calls Al Jazeera shutdown in Israel ‘direct attack on free speech’The National Union of Journalists (NUJ), a trade union representing British media workers, has called the Israeli government’s decision earlier this week to close Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel as “dangerous and wrong”.“Targeting Al Jazeera as the Israeli government has is a direct attack on free speech that brings shame on those responsible,” Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said in a statement.“I hope they will soon realise their error and reverse this decision.”
- Police break up pro-Palestine protest at Berlin universityGerman Police have broken up a protest by several hundred pro-Palestinian activists who had occupied a courtyard of Berlin’s Free University earlier today.The protesters had put up about 20 tents and formed a human chain around the tents.Police called on the students via loudspeakers to leave the campus.Most protesters had covered their faces with medical masks and had draped keffiyehs around their heads, shouting slogans like “viva, viva Palestina.”In recent days, students have protested or set up encampments in Finland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, France, and the UK.
- A person is carried away by police officers during a pro-Palestinian demonstration by the group “Student Coalition Berlin” in the theatre courtyard of the Freie Universität Berlin in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, May 7, 2024 [Markus Schreiber/AP Photo]
- ‘Aerial target’ landed in northern Israel, caused a fire: Israeli militaryWe now have an update from the Israeli military regarding the air raid alerts that we reported on earlier.The sirens were activated due “to a number of suspicious aerial targets”, the military said.It added that one was intercepted by an air defence system and another fell in the area of Yiftah, causing a fire to break out. Two fell on an open area, while others caused light damage, it added, without elaborating.No casualties have been reported.
- As Gaza ceasefire negotiations heat up, Rafah’s invasion loomsQuestions remain about Israel’s next steps in its war on Gaza after Hamas announced agreeing to a ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators.Israel has ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee Rafah, which shelters more than one million displaced people, sparking fears of a full-blown Israeli military assault on the southern Gaza city.Our podcast series, The Take, spoke to journalist Willem Marx about the latest round of talks and what details are in the latest proposed deal.
- PA appeals to US to stop Rafah invasionPalestinian Authority (PA) spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh has called on the US to pressure its ally Israel to abandon the Rafah invasion, saying it threatens to double the suffering of Gaza’s displaced population.In comments carried by the Wafa news agency, Abu Rudeineh said the Rafah invasion would further displace more than one million Palestinians, cut off aid from the enclave, and block sick and wounded Palestinians from getting treatment outside the territory.He called out the US for providing Israel with “weapons, money and political cover” even as it creates an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”.
- Gaza ceasefire proposal: What did Hamas agree to?
- Netanyahu must face real consequence: Jordan’s foreign ministerAyman Safadi has called for immediate and strong action by the UN Security Council to prevent “another massacre” in Rafah.In a post on X, the Jordanian foreign minister said the Israeli government occupied the Rafah crossing and closed it to humanitarian aid to Gaza’s starved population “instead of giving negotiations on hostage release” and the “ceasefire a chance”.
- Multiple air raid sirens sound in northern IsraelFour air raid alerts, which can indicate rocket or drone incursions, have been activated in northern Israel in a space of less than 30 minutes.There are no reports of any causalities, and no group has claimed responsibility for any attack.Hezbollah and the Israeli military have repeatedly exchanged fire since October 8.Hezbollah says these cross-border attacks will continue until Israel stops its war on Gaza. Israeli leaders have said they will stop only after removing Hezbollah from Lebanon’s south, even if by force.
- Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/7/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-blasts-rafah-fate-of-ceasefire-uncertain
Israel’s war on Gaza live: Israel seizes Rafah crossing, cuts off aid route
