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Live blog: Israel kills 25 Palestinians, including 10+ minors, in Gaza
Israel’s war on Gaza, now in its 230th day, has killed 35,709 Palestinians —predominantly babies, children, and women — and wounded over 79,990, with an estimated 10,000+ residents said to be buried under debris of bombed homes.

Bodies of the Palestinians including a baby, who were killed by Israel in attack on the Az-Zawayda neighbourhood, are brought to morgue of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on May 22, 2024. / Photo: AA
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Bodies of the Palestinians including a baby, who were killed by Israel in attack on the Az-Zawayda neighbourhood, are brought to morgue of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on May 22, 2024. / Photo: AA

Thursday May 23, 2024

Israeli military has killed at least 17 Palestinians, including more than 10 children, and wounded dozens after targeting two homes in Gaza City and Rafah. In Al-Nuseirat camp, Israeli military killed eight Palestinians.

Local sources reported that 16 Palestinians, including 10 children, were killed and several citizens were wounded due to an Israeli air strike on a house in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood in central Gaza City.

Additionally, sources reported one Palestinian killed after Israeli forces targeted a house in Rafah, south of Gaza, belonging to the Al-Sha’er family.

Early on Thursday morning, Israeli forces targeted a house in Al-Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, killing eight Palestinians. Witnesses said the bombardment resulted in the destruction of a house belonging to al-Shami family and caused significant damage to the homes of residents in the adjacent area, which shelters displaced people.

They said medical teams and civil defence personnel are still searching for the dead and wounded at the site.

More updates

0125 GMT — Israelis rally near Netanyahu’s office, seeking hostage deal

Hundreds of Israelis have protested in front of hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office during the convening of the war council, demanding the release of hostages in Gaza.

Protests also erupted in several Israeli cities after a video was published showing Hamas fighters capturing female Israeli soldiers at a military base in the Nahal Oz settlement adjacent to Gaza fence on October 7 last year.

Hamas said in a statement that “the video clip being circulated in the Israeli media is a manipulated and edited segment, and the authenticity of its content cannot be verified.”

It added that “the circulation of this clip at this time comes in the context of the occupation’s failed attempts to tarnish the image of our brave resistance by spreading fabricated narratives that have been proven false through various forums and media investigations.”

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that war council members Benny Gantz and Gadi Eizenkot and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant met with families of the hostages before it convened, but Netanyahu did not respond to their request for a meeting.

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2100 GMT –– Colombia to open embassy in Ramallah as Israel torments Gaza

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has ordered the opening of an embassy in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo told journalists.

At the beginning of this month, Petro, who has criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and requested to join South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice, said he would cut diplomatic relations with Israel over its war in Gaza.

“President Petro has given the order that we open the Colombian embassy in Ramallah, the representation of Colombia in Ramallah, that is the next step we are going to take,” Murillo said on Wednesday.

Ramallah serves as the administrative capital of the Palestinian state.

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2000 GMT –– Egypt again rejects Israel’s plans to push Gaza residents to Sinai

Egypt has renewed its rejection of Israel’s plans to displace Gaza residents to Sinai and held Tel Aviv responsible for preventing the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave.

“Egypt firmly rejects Israel’s plans to relocate Gaza residents to Sinai,” Egypt’s Al-Qahera news channel reported, quoting a high-level source.

“Egypt will not allow Israel’ s ambitions to be realised in Palestinian territories at its expense,” the source stressed, adding: “Israel must review Egypt’s accumulated aid shipments at the Karem Abu Salem crossing, which exceed 500 trucks, before accusing Egypt of preventing aid from entering the enclave.”

He clarified that “statements by some Israeli officials that the problem lies in Egypt not allowing Gaza residents to enter its territories confirm Israel’s intentions and plans to relocate Palestinians to Sinai, which Egypt firmly rejects.”

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October 7 ‘rape claims’ debunked as Israeli propaganda unravels
1915 GMT –– UCLA police chief reassigned after attack on pro-Palestine protesters

The police chief for the University of California at Los Angeles has been removed from his post three weeks after campus officials came under fire for their handling of a violent, overnight mob attack on pro-Palestine activists encamped at UCLA.

John Thomas, who was formally appointed UCLA police chief in January, has been “reassigned temporarily, pending an examination of our security processes,” Vice Chancellor Mary Osako said in a statement.

Campus police Captain Gawin Gibson was named UCLA’s acting chief of police effective on Tuesday, Osako said.

Thomas and other university officials, as well as the Los Angeles Police Department, drew criticism for their response to violence that flared at UCLA between pro-Palestinian activists and a group who attacked them late on the night of April 30.

For our live updates from Tuesday, May 22, click here.

SOURCE: TRTWORLD AND AGENCIES