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Live blog: Top Islamic Jihad commander killed in Israeli West Bank raid
Israel’s war on Gaza, now in its 328th day, has killed at least 40,602 Palestinians — mostly women and children — and wounded over 93,855 others, a conservative estimate, with 10,000+ believed to be buried under debris of bombed homes.

Earlier, the Israeli military said it had killed five resistance fighters, including Muhammad Jabber, also known as Abu Shujaa. / Photo: Reuters
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Earlier, the Israeli military said it had killed five resistance fighters, including Muhammad Jabber, also known as Abu Shujaa. / Photo: Reuters

Thursday, August 29, 2024

0849 GMT — Palestinian group Islamic Jihad has announced the death of its commander in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank.

Earlier, the Israeli military said it had killed five resistance fighters, including Muhammad Jabber, also known as Abu Shujaa.

“Abu Shujaa, commander of the Tulkarem Brigade of the Al-Quds Brigades,” the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, which has a strong presence in the refugee camps in the north of the occupied West Bank, “died along with several brothers of his brigade after a heroic battle against the soldiers of the (Israeli) occupation”, the group said in a statement.

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0811 GMT — Death toll from Israeli attacks in northern West Bank rises to 17

At least 17 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire amid an ongoing military operation in the northern occupied West Bank since Wednesday, the Red Crescent Society said.

The relief organisation said in a statement that a Palestinian man lost his life in eastern Jenin on early Thursday.

It came shortly after five Palestinians were killed by Israeli army fire inside a mosque in Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern city of Tulkarem.

0833 GMT — Families of Israeli captives breach Gaza border fence to demand prisoner swap

Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza stormed the territory’s border fence to demand a prisoner swap deal with Palestinians.

In a statement on X, a forum for the hostages’ families said they breached the border fence, using loudspeakers to cry out to the captives.

“The families in their great pain breached the fence to Gaza and ran towards the Gaza Strip to get close to their loved ones,” the forum said.

A video published by Israeli media showed a number of people running towards the direction of Gaza through an open gate.

0805 GMT — Death toll in Gaza from Israeli attacks rises

At least 40,602 Palestinians have been killed and 93,855 wounded in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since October 7, the besieged enclave’s Health Ministry said.

0753 GMT — Israeli minister’s call to displace people from West Bank ‘completely unacceptable’: EU foreign policy chief

The Israeli foreign minister’s call to displace people from the West Bank is “completely unacceptable,” the EU foreign policy chief said Thursday.

Before attending the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Josep Borrell told reporters that UN’s Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag will brief the ministers on the situation in the field.

She will “explain the situation and the situation of even the United Nations, which are under strong pressure from the Israeli government, preventing all the United Nations organizations to do their work,” Borrell said.

0337 GMT — UN demands ‘immediate’ end to Israel’s incursion in West Bank

Israel must “immediately” end its large-scale military offensive in the occupied West Bank, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, after 11 Palestinians were killed and several injured.

Guterres strongly condemned “the loss of lives, including of children,” and called for “an immediate cessation of these operations.”

The secretary-general “calls on Israel to comply with its relevant obligations under international humanitarian law and to take measures to protect civilians and ensure their safety.

He urges security forces to exercise maximum restraint and use lethal force only when it is strictly unavoidable to protect life,” his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said in a lengthy statement.

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Largest in two decades, Israel launches deadly incursion in West Bank
0309 GMT — 20 Israeli soldiers refuse to return to Gaza, face trial

Twenty Israeli soldiers from an infantry brigade have refused to return to combat in Gaza, and some have been informed that they will face a military trial if they do not comply, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported.

The agency noted that around 10 soldiers received notifications on Tuesday indicating that they would face trial for disobeying military orders if they did not agree to return to Gaza.

Some soldiers have indicated that after 10 months of fighting in Gaza, they are no longer able to return but are willing to take on other duties.

The families of some of the soldiers have indicated that their sons are being forced to enter ground manoeuvres in Gaza or else face imprisonment, which they find unacceptable.

2143 GMT — Houthis agree to temporary truce to secure stranded oil tanker

Yemen’s Houthis have agreed to a temporary truce to allow for an oil tanker targeted by them — now at risk of causing an oil spill — to be secured, Iran’s mission to the UN said.

The Greek-owned Sounion was hit by the Houthis off the coast of Hudaida last week, sparking fires and the evacuation of its crew.

Houthis say they will continue to strike Israel-owned or Israel-bound ships around Yemeni waters in solidarity with Palestinians of besieged Gaza.

“Several countries have reached out to ask Ansarullah, requesting a temporary truce for the entry of tugboats and rescue ships into the incident area,” citing the fires and “subsequent environmental hazards,” Iran’s mission said, using an alternate name for the Houthis.

“Ansarullah has consented to this request,” it said, adding any “failure to provide aid and prevent an oil spill in the Red Sea stems from the negligence of certain countries” rather than the risk of being targeted by the Houthis.

2000 GMT — Israeli opposition parties agree to oust Netanyahu amid Gaza war

Chairman of the Democrats Yair Golan has called on leaders of opposition parties to convene an emergency meeting to discuss the removal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Golan said in a recorded message posted on his X account, “Today, I reached out to all my friends in the opposition with a clear call: let’s embark on a shared path.”

He added, “Israel is in an extraordinary state of emergency and is collapsing politically, security-wise, economically, socially, and constitutionally.

“Everything is falling apart around us. We must work in a coordinated, systematic, and consistent manner.”

For our live updates from Wednesday, August 28, 2024, click here.

SOURCE: TRTWORLD AND AGENCIES