Gaza live: Palestinian death toll passes 37,000 after brutal Israeli attack on Nuseirat

The US-built pier off the coast of Gaza is expected to resume aid deliveries later on Friday, Israel's Kan public broadcaster reports, after it was forced to halt operations due to bad weather damage last month.

A UK-based advocacy group has filed a criminal complaint against a British-born former Israeli official, alleging they aided and abetted the intentional starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, among other war crimes.

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) said the complaint argues there is clear evidence that the official "was instrumental in supporting the blockade [of] basic necessities such as food, water, electricity, fuel and medical aid, supplies and medication".

"It also shows evidence alleging that the individual provided cover for illegal acts carried out by the Israeli government and military, knowing that doing so would cause those acts to continue," the ICJP said.

Evidence includes "a plethora" of statements the former official made that aimed to delegitimise the UN agency supporting Palestinians and incite unlawful attacks, including on medical facilities and professionals, the ICJP said in a statement.

READ MORE: UK-born former Israeli official accused of aiding intentional starvation

Israeli far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, called for the re-establishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza when speaking at the inaugural event for the Torah and Land Center in the southern kibbutz of Nitzan.

"Our heroic fighters and soldiers are destroying the evil of Hamas and we will occupy the Gaza Strip," he said. "To tell the truth - where there is no settlement, there is no security."

The event was reportedly attended by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, and Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock. 

Nitzan is home to many former Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip, who left following the Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave in 2005.

Israeli strikes on central Gaza have killed at least 11 Palestinians, six of them in Maghazi and five in Nuseirat, according to the Wafa news agency.

Two people were also killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City.

The strikes come as US President Joe Biden claims that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “listening” to him regarding his prior warnings against an invasion in Rafah.

Netanyahu is reportedly expected to address a joint session of the US Congress on 24 June, following a formal invitation he received from congress members.

In the West Bank, Israeli forces carried out another deadly raid in Jenin, killing three people, including a 17-year-old boy.

READ MORE: Israeli strikes kill scores in northern and central Gaza

Good evening Middle East Eye readers. 

Our live coverage will soon be closing for the day.

Here are the today's main developments:

- An Israeli strike on an Unrwa school killed at least 40 people in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza

- Israeli forces kill three Palestinians attempting to cross the Gaza border from the Rafah area

- Missiles used in an Israeli attack on school were equipped with a US-manufactured guidance system, an Al Jazeera investigation found

- Israeli officials have told the Times of Israel that it opposes the US-led Security Council resolution

- Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan says Biden’s proposed Gaza ceasefire is “just words”

- The US State Department warned of a 'massive' negative impact if the PA collapses 

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Thursday that Israel will see a "massive" negative impact if the Palestinian Authority is denied revenue.

"We have made clear to the government of Israel in some very direct conversations that there is nothing that could be more counter to the strategic interests of Israel than the collapse of the Palestinian Authority”, Miller said.

As stipulated by the 1994 Paris Protocol, Israel collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinians and then disburses the money to the PA. Since October 7, however, Israel has  been blocking the flow of revenue to the PA. 

The World Bank recently warned that the PA's fiscal situation has "dramatically worsened" with the risk of complete collapse.

Hamas has not yet handed mediators its response to the latest ceasefire proposal and is still studying it, Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said on Thursday.

Two Egyptian security sources said earlier that talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire continued but had not shown any sign of a breakthrough.

Talks began on Wednesday, when CIA director William Burns met senior officials from Qatar and Egypt in Doha to discuss a proposal that Biden publicly endorsed last week.

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan on Thursday said that US President Joe Biden’s proposed Gaza ceasefire deal was “just words” and that Hamas had not received any written commitments related to a truce.

“So far, the Americans have not presented anything documented or written that commits them to what Biden said in his speech,” Hamdan told AFP reporters in Beirut.

He also said that Biden “tried to cover up the Israeli rejection” of another deal offered earlier in May, which had been approved by Hamas.
 

Last week, Biden presented what he labelled an Israeli "three-phase plan" that would end the war, free all hostages and lead to the reconstruction of Gaza without Hamas in power.

Israeli forces hit a UN school overnight in Nuseirat, central Gaza, where 6,000 displaced people were sheltering.

At least 40 have been killed as a result, according to the Palestinian health ministry.UN secretary general Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned the strike on the school, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

"He underscores that UN premises are inviolable, including during armed conflict and must be protected by all parties at all times.”

On the eve of D-Day celebrations in France, the leaders of Germany, Britain, France (and the US) released a statement reaffirming their “full support” for President Biden’s deal for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

"The Leaders ... reaffirmed their full support for the comprehensive deal outlined by President Biden that would lead to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all the hostages, a significant and sustained increase in humanitarian assistance ... and an enduring end to the crisis," they said in a joint statement published by Britain.

Israel has not offered guarantees for a “permanent” ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from Gaza, in its response to a plan presented by mediators, a copy of the proposal seen by Middle East Eye shows. 

Israel instead agreed to a “temporary cessation of military operations” for 42 days, which would be followed by open-ended talks to reach a permanent ceasefire.

The “temporary ceasefire” would be extended after the initial 42-day phase “as long as negotiations on the conditions of stage two of [the] agreement are ongoing”, the document said. 

The Israeli response also offers limited withdrawal of troops in the first phase of the three-stage agreement and says the complete pullout would take place in the second phase, which is subject to further discussions. 

It also stipulates Israel can veto the release of at least 100 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in the first phase. 

The document, revealed in full exclusively by MEE, is dated 27 May, four days before parts of it were presented by US President Joe Biden. 

Read more: Israeli ceasefire proposal does not guarantee Gaza war will end

Israeli officials have told the Times of Israel that it opposes the Security Council resolution being advanced by the US, which supports Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal.

The proposal envisions a staggered end to the violence in Gaza through a ceasefire and hostage deal which both sides have to agree to. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has reportedly informed his counterpart Linda Thomas-Greenfield of Israel’s opposition.

Since Israel is not a member of the Security Council, the vote will likely not be influenced by Israel not backing the resolution.

Israeli forces launched a raid on Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, killing two and injuring at least three people, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent and the Palestinian health ministry.

The Palestinian group "Lion’s Den", centred in Nablus in the occupied West Bank, has in recent months claimed responsibility for several drive-by shootings in the Nablus area.

The US Department of State announced on Thursday that the group will be subject to sanctions, but did not specify which kind of sanctions and which individuals, if any, would be targeted.

Israeli forces launched a raid on Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, injuring at least three people, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Videos on social media show Apache helicopters firing high-calibre rounds at Palestinians in the camp.