Israel-Palestine live: Israel bombs Unrwa building in Gaza

On Wednesday, Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, indicated there were “promising early signs of progress” concerning a new agreement to free hostages from Gaza.

“There are ongoing attempts to promote a new hostage deal and there are promising early signs of possible progress,” Gantz said in a televised press briefing.

However, he also noted that without a new deal, the Israeli military would continue its operations in Gaza, extending into the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts in March.

“If a new hostage deal is not achieved, we will continue operating also during Ramadan,” he said.

Al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis is facing dire consequences as a result of Israeli bombing, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Wednesday.

The crisis is “due to the ongoing siege and targeting by the Israeli occupation for the 30th consecutive day”.

The PRCS called on the international community to take immediate action to protect the hospital and “to lift the imposed siege before it is too late and the hospital is forced out of service”.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron has been accused of dodging questions about UK policy on arms exports to Israel following an exchange of letters with the Foreign Affairs Committee chair.

Alicia Kearns, the Conservative MP who leads the influential body, said on Tuesday that Cameron's response to a 29 January letter had not answered all of her questions and raised further ones. 

“It is telling that the [Foreign Office] does not answer our question on how many times export licence applications for Israel have been referred to ministers in the last 12 months," Kearns commented. 

"If none have been referred, the government should say so.”

Read more: UK foreign secretary accused of dodging questions over arms exports to Israel

The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to spiral out of control said the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday.

“The health and humanitarian situation in Gaza is inhumane and continues to deteriorate,” Ghebreyesus told reporters, adding that “on a broader level, Gaza has become a death zone”.

A number of countries have expressed disappointment after the US vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution by Algeria, which called for a temporary ceasefire in the besieged enclave.

The US move came despite the support of 13 other members of the Security Council, with one abstention from the UK.

Tuesday's vote marks the third time the US has vetoed a call for a ceasefire related to the latest conflict that began in October at the UN.

Washington previously vetoed an amendment proposed by Russia calling for a ceasefire in December, and an earleir resolution in October calling for humanitarian pauses.

Algeria described US opposition to a ceasefire as an “approval of starvation as a means of war” as reports continue to emerge of severe hunger among the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza.

Read more: World leaders denounce US veto on UN draft resolution

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 14-year-old Saji Suleiman died of his wounds after being fatally shot by Israeli forces in the village of Azon in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday. 

The United States on Wednesday told the International Court of Justice that it could not order the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied territories without taking into account Israel's security needs. 

"Any movement towards Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza requires consideration for Israel's very real security needs," Richard Visek, acting legal adviser at the US State Department, said during proceedings at the UN's highest court, which is examining the legality of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.

There are more than 700,000 illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank. They are not Israeli forces but continue to build illegal houses. 

The UK High Court has dismissed a legal challenge that sought the immediate halt of British arms exports to Israel. 

The case was brought by Palestinian human rights group Al Haq and the UK-based Global Legal Action Network (Glan) against the UK Department for Business and Trade. The organisations say they will appeal against Monday’s ruling. 

The two groups filed the challenge in December, seeking a judicial review of the government’s export licensing process for the sale of British weapons to Israel.

The British government has licensed at least £472m worth of military exports to Israel since May 2015, with UK companies providing about 15 percent of the components of the F35 stealth combat aircraft, which Israel has used to bomb Gaza, according to the Committee Against Arms Trade.

Under its arms exporting criteria, the British government is obligated to suspend licences for arms exports if it determines that there is a clear risk that British weapons might be used in violations of international law.

The groups have argued that there is substantial evidence that this moment has long passed. 

The Department for Business and Trade has said it keeps arms export licences under "careful and continual review" and that it can respond quickly to changing international circumstances.

The High Court ruled to dismiss the case, saying that there was a "high hurdle" to establish that the department had been irrational in its decision making, and there was "no realistic prospect" the hurdle would be surmounted in the challenge.

Read more: UK High Court dismisses legal challenge over arms sales to Israel 

Israeli bombing of al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis on Tuesday has caused fire and destruction, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), which runs the hospital, has said. 

The humanitarian organisation shared footage of the aftermath on social media platform X, showing damage to the facility.

Israel’s war on Gaza has left no child unscathed, said Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

Children in the besieged Strip have been traumatised by Israel, said Egeland.

“NRC has for many years worked with and for the repeatedly war-traumatized #Gaza children through our school-based Better Learning Program. Most children got better,” he said in a post on X.

“This time Israel’s indiscriminate warfare has traumatized virtually ALL children across all of Gaza.”

An Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon's Majdal Zoun on Wednesday killed a woman and a girl, according to local media. 

The girl was identified as Amal Eldor, five. 

Most Israelis don't believe an "absolute victory" in Gaza is likely, a new poll by the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute has shown. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has in recent weeks repeated his vow to achieve “absolute victory” in Gaza before ending the war. 

Fifty-five percent of respondents to the study viewed the likelihood of achieving the goal as low.

The poll also showed that a majority of Jewish respondents, around 68 percent, oppose the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

At least 300,000 Palestinian pupils studying at Unrwa schools  have had their education stopped and sense of safety "shattered", the agency's chief said on Wednesday.

Sharing footage of destroyed schools in northern Gaza, Philippe Lazzarini warned that those calling for dismantling Unrwa are "depriving deeply traumatised children of any hope for a better future".

"Children deserve better, they deserve the stability and support they so desperately need to rebuild their lives," he said on social media platform X. 

A Palestinian prisoner has died in an Israeli jail, the Palestinian Detainees Affairs Commission said Wednesday. 

Khaled Shawish is now the ninth Palestinian prisoner to die in Israeli custody in just under five months. The cause of death was not immediately clear. 

According to Palestinian and Israeli reports, some of the deaths were caused by torture and beatings inflicted on prisoners by Israeli officers. 

In November, Amnesty International warned that Palestinian prisoners were facing "inhuman and degrading treatment" since 7 October, while Israeli authorities "failed to investigate incidents of torture and death in custody".

Originally from the Far'a refugee camp near Tubas, Shawish was jailed in 2007 and has been serving 11 life sentences since, according to the detainees commission. 

The 53-year-old suffered from chronic diseases and was physically disabled, the commission added. 

The Israeli prison service said in a short statement that a 53-year-old prisoner died on Wednesday without elaborating further. 

It added that another prisoner was transferred to hospital after the deterioration of his health.

The third day of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing submissions on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands is underway in the Hague. 

Watch MEE's live coverage as the court hears from the Egypt, UAE, US and others.