- World Health Organization says northern Gaza’s last two functioning hospitals, al-Awda and Kamal Adwan, besieged by Israeli forces, with more than 200 patients trapped inside.
- Ireland, Spain and Norway say they will recognise Palestine as a state, call other countries to follow suit.
- None of the 569 tonnes of humanitarian assistance that arrived at a US-built pier in Gaza so far has been distributed to starving Palestinians, the Pentagon says.
- At least 35,647 people have been killed and 79,852 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attack is 1,139 with dozens still held captive.
- Road to Palestinian statehood
- On November 15, 1988, the Palestine National Council declared its independence at a meeting in Algeria.The same day, Algeria became the first country to recognise Palestine as an independent state.Weeks later, dozens of countries, including much of the Arab world, most of Africa, Asia and several Eastern European countries followed suit.The next wave of recognitions came in late 2010 and early 2011 when a host of South American states, including Argentina, Brazil and Chile, recognised Palestine.
- France says it’s not right moment to recognise Palestinian state: ReportFrance says recognising Palestine as a state is not “taboo” for the country, but Paris considers that now is not the right moment for it to do so, the AFP news agency reports.“Our position is clear: The recognition of a Palestinian state is not a taboo for France,” Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne wrote in a statement to AFP. “France does not consider that the conditions have been present to date for this decision to have a real impact in this process.”
- Jordan says Palestine recognition ‘important step towards two-state solution’Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has hailed the coordinated move by Ireland, Norway and Spain to recognise Palestine as a state as an “important and essential step towards Palestinian statehood”.“We value this decision and consider it an important and essential step towards a two-state solution that embodies an independent, sovereign Palestinian state along the July 1967 borders,” he told a news conference.
- Ben-Gvir visits Al-Aqsa Mosque compoundIsrael’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, declaring that the holy site belongs “only to the state of Israel”.Ben-Gvir said the visit was a response to three European countries unilaterally recognizing an independent Palestinian state.“We will not even allow a statement about a Palestinian state,” he said.For Muslims, the Noble Sanctuary is home to Islam’s third holiest site, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Dome of the Rock, a seventh-century structure believed to be where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.Jews refer to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as the Temple Mount, and some believe it is where the first and second ancient Jewish temples stood.
- Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyard [File: Mohammad Hamad/Anadolu Agency]
- Smotrich calls for ‘punitive measures’ on PAIsraeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says he will no longer transfer tax funds to the Palestinian Authority (PA) after Norway, Spain and Ireland said they will recognise a Palestinian state.In a post on X, the far-right minister added that he would cancel the set-up in which Norway collects the PA’s tax funds.“Norway was the first to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state today, and it cannot be a partner in anything related to Judea and Samaria,” he said.Israel collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinians and makes monthly transfers to the PA under the Oslo Accords, but in November, it froze funds meant for Palestinians in Gaza.In February, Palestinian and Israeli officials agreed that Norway would serve as an intermediary for holding revenues that Israel had withheld.Smotrich also demanded “punitive measures” from Netanyahu, including establishing a settlement on the occupied West Bank “for every country that unilaterally recognizes a Palestinian state” and promoting the construction of tens of thousands of housing units in settlements, which are illegal under international law.
Israel’s war on Gaza live: Patients trapped as hospitals besieged
