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Israel-Gaza latest: US will not supply Israel with bombs to invade Rafah, Joe Biden warns
Joe Biden has said he will not supply weapons if Israel launches a full-scale offensive in Rafah, a day after it emerged the US had paused a shipment of bombs to Israel. Listen to our Daily podcast on why a ceasefire hasn’t happened while you scroll.
Thursday 9 May 2024 10:28, UK
Israel-Hamas War
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Biden: US will not supply weapons if Israel invades Rafah View post
Alistair Bunkall analysis: Biden’s reputation is on the line if Netanyahu defies him View post
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Live reporting by Bhvishya Patel
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17m ago
05:25
In pictures: Aftermath of Israeli strike in Rafah
People have searching through the rubble after an Israeli strike on homes in Rafah.
Earlier this morning, Agence France-Presse reported heavy shelling in the southern region and Palestinian news agency Wafa reported eight people had been killed after an aircraft bombed a house.
Israel says the southern Gaza city is the last Hamas stronghold in the enclave and has threatened a full-scale invasion despite warnings from allies.
More than one million Palestinian civilians have sought shelter in the region, many previously displaced from other parts of Gaza after Israel’s orders to evacuate from there.
Pics: Reuters
Pics: Reuters
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35m ago
05:08
Ship loaded with aid sets sail for Gaza
A vessel carrying aid to a pier built by the US off Gaza has set sail from Cyprus.
The US-flagged Sagamore left the port of Larnaca this morning and officials say the vessel will be used to offload supplies on to a floating pier built to expedite aid into the besieged enclave.
For context: Cyprus opened a sea corridor in March to ship aid directly to Gaza, where deliveries via land have been severely disrupted by border closures and Israel’s military operations.
The US-based charity World Food Kitchen used the route twice before seven of its workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike on 1 April.
Reuters
Reuters
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1h ago
04:42
Trump accuses Biden of ‘taking side of terrorists’ over university war protests
Donald Trump has accused Joe Biden of being “too weak to demand law and order” after Columbia University cancelled its main graduation after weeks of protests on campus over the Israel-Hamas war.
The Ivy League school has said it is not going ahead with its ceremony this month due to “security concerns that unfortunately proved insurmountable”.
Graduation had been scheduled for 15 May.
Responding to the latest announcement, the former US leader said on his social media platform Truth Social that “crooked Joe Biden is 100% responsible” for colleges cancelling graduations.
“Crooked Joe is taking the side of these terrorists,” he added.
Truth Social
Truth Social
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1h ago
04:27
Analysis: Biden’s reputation is on the line if Netanyahu defies him
Joe Biden’s “reputation is on the line” if Benjamin Netanyahu decides to ignore him, our Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall says.
He says he suspects the Israelis knew about the US leader’s decision not to supply Israel with weapons for its assault on Rafah before it was made public.
“I’m sure this would have been communicated to the Israelis behind the scenes,” he says.
But by making it public, the US is “setting a very clear red line”.
“Therefore, Mr Biden’s reputation is on the line if Benjamin Netanyahu decides to ignore him and go into Rafah regardless,” he says.
“At that point Biden will have a decision to make – does he soften and side with his ally or does he stand firm to the red line he has now set?”
Mr Netanyahu may be thinking the US has set clear red lines in the past that have been ignored by leaders.
“I’m thinking the use of chemical weapons in Syria and then with Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine,” Bunkall says.
“When those respective leaders have decided to ignore the US, the US has done nothing about it so perhaps Mr Netanyahu may feel this is an empty threat.”
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1h ago
04:02
Far-right minister says ‘Hamas loves Biden’ after weapons pause
Some reaction from the far-right of Israeli politics to the news that Joe Biden will halt offensive weapons sales to Israel should Benjamin Netanyahu go ahead with a full invasion of Rafah.
The outspoken national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, shared this post on X…
Israel has begun what it described as “targeted” operations in eastern parts of the city.
Aid organisations and the UN have warned of the humanitarian catastrophe that will accompany any further action in Rafah.
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1h ago
03:51
Nearly 35,000 Palestinians killed since war began
The Hamas-run health ministry says at least 34,904 Palestinians have now been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October.
A further 78,514 have been injured, it added.
It should be noted the figures reported by the ministry do not differentiate between fighters and civilians.
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2h ago
03:40
Eight killed amid heavy shelling in Rafah – reports
Reporters from Agence France-Presse are reporting heavy shelling in Rafah this morning.
And the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that eight people have been killed, including three children, in the southern Gaza city today after an aircraft bombed a house.
It has also said that “dozens of Palestinians”, the majority of whom were children and women, were killed in a series of attacks launched by Israel in Gaza.
Medical sources say they were “killed as a result of the occupation warplanes bombing homes in the Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood”, east of Gaza City.
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2h ago
03:20
Watch: Biden ‘not supplying Israel weapons for Rafah’
America will not supply Israel with weapons for its assault on Rafah, the US president told CNN last night.
Joe Biden said he would continue to send defensive weaponry – such as ammunition for the Iron Dome systems – but weapons required for an assault of a large city would no longer be sent.
Watch a clip from that interview below…
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2h ago
03:01
Troops on the ground in central Gaza as fresh operation begins
The Israel Defence Forces has launched a new operation in central Gaza, it has announced.
The 99th division of the IDF “began an operation in the area of Zeitoun in the central Gaza Strip in order to continue the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and elimination of terrorist operatives in the area”, a statement read.
“The operation began with a series of intelligence-based aerial strikes on approximately 25 terror targets, including military structures, terror tunnels, observation posts, sniper posts, and additional terror infrastructure.”
It also said that “IDF ground troops are currently operating to secure the area of Zeitoun”.
It’s unclear how large an operation has been launched at this stage.
Zeitoun is southwest of Jabalia, near the al Shifa hospital.
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3h ago
02:39
Houthis claim more attacks on ships
The Houthi group claims it has attacked three ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.
The group’s military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said the Houthis attacked the MSC DEGO and the MSC GINA in the Gulf of Aden using ballistic missiles and drones.
Sarea said the group also targeted the MSC VITTORIA in the Indian Ocean and then again in the Gulf of Aden.
It did not offer a timeline on when it attacked the ships, but MSC DEGO and the MSC GINA reported explosions on Tuesday, with the crews and vessels of each recorded as safe.
An attack on the MSC VITTORIA has not been reported by any maritime authority.
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3h ago
01:47
Biden says he will not supply weapons if Israel conducts offensive in Rafah
Joe Biden has set out his red line with Israel, publicly warning for the first time that the US would stop supplying weapons if Israeli forces conduct a full-scale offensive in Rafah.
“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah… I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem,” he told CNN.
It marked his strongest language to date on the issue, although the US has made clear it does not back Israel conducting an offensive in the southern Gaza city.
Reuters
Reuters
He acknowledged US weapons have been used by Israel to kill civilians in Gaza already.
“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centres,” he said when asked about 2,000-pound bombs sent to Israel.
It was also reported yesterday morning that the US had paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week.
The latest comments from the US president mark a growing rift between America and Israel, which have historically been strong allies.
Mr Biden said the US would continue to provide defensive weapons to Israel, including for its Iron Dome air defence system.
“We’re going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently,” he said.
“But it’s, it’s just wrong. We’re not going to – we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells.”
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4h ago
01:38
Syria shoots down Israeli missiles
Syrian air defences have shot down Israeli missiles fired from the Golan Heights towards the outskirts of Damascus, the country’s defence ministry has said.
The airstrikes were targeting a building in the countryside.
Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but these have ramped up following the Hamas attacks on 7 October.
Tensions escalated further when an Israeli strike in April targeted the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, killing a senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps as well as other military officers.
This triggered Iran’s first direct attack on Israeli territory, although the majority of its missiles were shot down.
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4h ago
01:26
Good morning
Welcome back to our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and wider tensions in the Middle East.
Israel’s military has begun operations, though not yet the threatened full-scale invasion, in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, despite calls from allies not to move into the area due to the large civilian population sheltering there.
Earlier in the week, an Israeli tank brigade took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing.
Yesterday, the IDF said it was conducting what it described as a “precise counterterrorism operation in specific areas of eastern Rafah”.
It also said it was “conducting targeted raids on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing”.
Before we bring you today’s news, here is a reminder of our updates from the past 24 hours:
The US paused a bomb shipment to Israel over fears of a full-scale assault on Rafah;
Israel said it had reopened the Kerem Shalom border crossing, which will allow aid through into Gaza;
A Hamas naval commander was killed in Gaza City, the IDF said;
Residents in Rafah urged the international community to stop an offensive in the city;
Rafah’s main maternity hospital halted admissions.
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11h ago
18:20
British-Palestinian surgeon denied entry to European countries criticises governments for ‘silencing witnesses’
On tonight’s The World With Yalda Hakim programme, a British-Palestinian plastic surgeon appeared days after he said he had been denied entry to France.
Dr Ghassan Abu Sitta said had been due to speak to the French Senate on Saturday when he wasn’t allowed entry into the country.
Last month he was also denied entry to Germany – where he was due to speak at a pro-Palestinian conference.
A French official said he was turned away because he was barred from entry to all Schengen zone countries based on a German request.
Dr Abu Sitta told Sky News that the French ban was “the result of a ban that the German authorities had placed on me for all Schengen countries”.
“These governments are trying to silence the voices that are calling for a ceasefire [in Gaza],” the surgeon said.
He said it was “an example of how the German government is failing to grasp the idea that it is their duty as the second-largest exporter of weapons to Israel, to allow the public opinion in Germany to hear the witness statements”.
He continued: “And so… rather than hear the witnesses, they’re trying to silence the witnesses.”
Dr Abu Sitta said the ban was enforced despite him giving witness evidence which formed part of the South African case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
In January, the ICJ ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians, after South Africa accused Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.
South Africa has warned that Palestinians in Gaza were facing starvation and asked the court to order that all parties cease hostilities and release all hostages and detainees.
AP
AP
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11h ago
17:50
Hamas sticking to approval of truce deal, official says
Hamas has said it remains steadfast to its position towards a ceasefire as discussions to try and secure a deal continued in Egypt.
Izzat el Reshiq, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said the group is sticking to its approval of the latest deal – which involves Hamas releasing hostages in stages in exchange for Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza.
Israel however, said it would not accept the proposal in its current form.
As a result, delegations from Hamas, Israel, the US and Qatar attended further discussions in Cairo with the aim of agreeing a new deal.
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12h ago
17:18
Wounded children in Gaza await a ‘lifetime of surgery’, says plastic surgeon
Children who have been injured during the war in Gaza face a “lifetime of surgery”, a reconstructive doctor has said.
Dr Ghassan Abu Sitta a plastic and reconstructive surgeon told Sky News at least half of the approximate 75,000 Palestinian’s wounded in Gaza due to Israeli strikes are children, a lot of them with very severe injuries.
“[A lot of them] will need complex surgeries,” Dr Abu Sitta said.
“What we know is that in the long-term children with war injuries will need between eight and 12 surgeries before they reach adult age.
“There is a lifetime of surgery awaiting these children.”
Dr Ghassan Abu Sitta
Dr Ghassan Abu Sitta
Earlier this week, Unicef warned that 600,000 children are currently sheltering in the Gaza city of Rafah.
The charity warned of further catastrophe for children if Israel launches a military ground operation.
“Rafah is now a city of children, who have nowhere safe to go in Gaza,” Unicef said, adding that the physical and mental states of the children are already weakened.
Dr Victoria Rose, a consultant plastic surgeon who has recently come back from Gaza, said the majority of people she treated were children.
“The children are basically running around on the streets outside hospitals, so they get hit by shrapnel after bombs go off,” she said.
“It was just non-stop… shrapnel wounds, blast wounds and burns.”
Dr Victoria Rose
Dr Victoria Rose
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13h ago
16:42
Watch: Has incursion in Rafah already begun?
Throughout the day, we’ve been reporting on what the Israel Defence Forces says is a “precise counterterrorism operation in specific areas of eastern Rafah”.
Troops are also “conducting targeted raids on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing”, it has said.
In the video below, our military analyst Michael Clarke explains the situation in Gaza, including what the IDF could do next and if its recent movements near the Rafah crossing represent a long-awaited “strike” in the besieged area.
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13h ago
16:12
Only three days of fuel left for Gaza health agencies, says WHO boss
The UN health agency only has enough fuel to run its medical operations in southern Gaza for the next three days, the head of the World Health Organisation has warned.
The closure of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza has exacerbated an already dire aid situation, and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it has meant no fuel has been able to make it into the territory.
One of the hospitals in Rafah has already had to close, making it hard to sustain “lifesaving support,” he added.
A lack of fuel has also meant WHO has suspended its operations in the north of Gaza “for now and for the coming week,” Dr Rik Peeperkorn, the agency’s representative to the occupied Palestinian territory, said.
Minimal medical equipment is still being provided to the region, he said, but warned it was not enough.
“It’s what I call a band-aid,” Dr Peeperkorn said. “It will not help avoid substantial additional mortality and morbidity [if] there is a full-scale military operation.”
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14h ago
15:36
In pictures: Pro-Palestinian protesters clash with police in Amsterdam
Pro-Palestinian protesters have clashed with police after erecting barricades to block one of the entrances to the University of Amsterdam.
Those involved in the protest vowed to stay put until the institution severs all ties with Israel.
The protests mirror those that are currently ongoing at Cambridge and Oxford in the UK and those in the US that led to around 2,500 arrests.
The University of Amsterdam said it decided to call the police due to concerns about security. Local residents also reported feeling unsafe.
It added that classes at one of the universities oldest buildings – the Oudemanhuispoort – could not continue due to the protest.
The university urged all those protesting to leave and said it continues to meet with demonstrators in order to try to reach an agreement.
Pics: Reuters
Pics: Reuters
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14h ago
15:12
Israeli soldier injured by launches near Kerem Shalom – IDF
An Israeli soldier has been “lightly injured” after a number of launches were fired in the area of Kerem Shalom, the Israel Defence Forces has said.
In an update posted on Telegram, the military said the launches came from Rafah in southern Gaza.
It blamed Hamas for the attacks, saying the militant group continues to “deliberately endanger” civilians.
“Moreover, the terrorist organization continues to fire launches from populated zones in the area of Rafah toward the Kerem Shalom Crossing to attack IDF troops, as well as the functioning of the crossing,” it added.
This morning, Israel said it reopened the Kerem Shalom border crossing to allow aid into Gaza.
It claimed it had been shut for security reasons following an attack.
However, the UN has said aid deliveries have failed to restart.
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