Gaza live: Gaza death toll rises to 35,80
Live Updates
Norway's government is set to join Spain and Ireland in announcing today that it recognises an independent Palestinian state, public broadcaster NRK and daily Aftenposten have reported, citing unnamed sources.
The three Irish government leaders – premier Simon Harris, deputy premier Micheal Martin and minister Eamon Ryan – are due to hold a press conference on Wednesday morning.
Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, will also reveal a date for formal recognition on Wednesday, after announcing his intention last week to do so.
Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives, is set to move ahead with an invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently a war crimes suspect, to address US lawmakers.
Johnson said the invitation has not yet been sent as he waits for the Democratic leader of the Senate, Chuck Schumer, to sign a letter of invitation to a joint session.
If Schumer does not do so by Tuesday, "we're going to proceed and invite Netanyahu just to the House", Johnson said.
The top-ranking general in the US on Monday criticised Israel's military strategy in Gaza, warning that the failure of Israeli forces to both secure captured territory and eliminate Hamas from northern Gaza is hampering its ability to achieve its military objectives.
“Not only do you have to actually go in and clear out whatever adversary you are up against, you have to go in, hold the territory and then you’ve got to stabilise it,” said General Charles Brown, who chairs the joint chiefs of staff, as reported by Politico.
Brown said the Israeli military's tactic of moving Hamas fighters to different parts of Gaza has made securing the areas it occupies more difficult.
Read more: Israel's lack of military gains against Hamas are being felt in Washington
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been accused of war crimes, alleged that re-establishing settlements in Gaza, which are illegal under international law, "was never in the cards".
"Some of my constituents are not happy about it, but that's my position," he told CNN.
In the interview, Netanyahu also called for the "sustained demilitarisation of Gaza" and a "civilian administration that is run by Gazans who are neither Hamas nor committed to our destruction".
He also called for the "reconstruction of Gaza" to be led by the "moderate Arab states and the international community".
Arab states have said that they would only be involved in the reconstruction of Gaza if Israel provides a pathway to Palestinian statehood.
Ireland and Spain are expected to announce plans to formally recognise a Palestinian state on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
The three Irish government leaders – premier Simon Harris, deputy premier Micheal Martin and minister Eamon Ryan – are due to hold a press conference on Wednesday morning.
Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, will also reveal a date for formal recognition on Wednesday, after announcing his intention last week to do so.
Two Republican congressmen have introduced legislation that would provide the same employment and economic protections to Americans serving in the Israeli military as US citizens who get deployed to serve in the US military.
The protections sought by the two lawmakers, Guy Reschenthaler and Max Miller, come in stark contrast to how other countries have been called upon to treat their citizens who have gone to serve in Israel's military.
“Over 20,000 American citizens are currently defending Israel from Hamas terrorists, risking their lives for the betterment of our ally,” Reschenthaler said in a statement.
“This legislation will ensure we do everything possible to support these heroes who are standing with Israel, fighting for freedom, and combating terrorism in the Middle East.”
Read more: Republican bill aims to give Americans in Israeli military same benefits as US soldiers
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the government of Japan have signed a $10m agreement to bolster the emergency health response in Gaza, according to a statement.
Two Republican congressmen have introduced legislation that would provide the same employment and economic protections to Americans serving in the Israeli military as US citizens who get deployed to serve in the US military.
The protections sought by the two lawmakers, Guy Reschenthaler and Max Miller, come in stark contrast to how other countries have been called upon to treat their citizens who have gone to serve in Israel's military.
“Over 20,000 American citizens are currently defending Israel from Hamas terrorists, risking their lives for the betterment of our ally,” Reschenthaler said in a statement.
“This legislation will ensure we do everything possible to support these heroes who are standing with Israel, fighting for freedom, and combating terrorism in the Middle East.”
Read more: Republican bill aims to give Americans in Israeli military same benefits as US soldiers
An Israeli attack on the Zawaida area in central Gaza killed at least 10 people.
Separately the Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that Israeli missiles struck two areas in Gaza City, killing at least eight Palestinians on Tuesday evening.
In another attack Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting that an Israeli attack on a house in the Bir an-Naaja area in northern Gaza has killed at least six people and wounded many more.
Good morning Middle East Eye readers,
It's day 229 of Israel's war on Gaza. This is a recap of the last few hours to get you up to speed this morning:
- A major Israeli military operation in the Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank has killed eight Palestinians, with a doctor, a teacher and a ninth-grade student among the dead
- A Gaza ceasefire deal is still possible but an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest bid for Israeli leaders has set back diplomatic efforts, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken alleges
- The World Food Programme warns that “humanitarian operations in Gaza are near collapse” and if food and supplies don’t enter Gaza, “famine-like conditions will spread”
- Israel’s military repeatedly attacks besieged northern Gaza hospitals
- Israeli bomb kills 10, including unborn baby, in central Gaza
- Donald Trump adviser calls for sanctions on ‘corrupt’ ICC officials over Israeli arrest warrants
Good evening, Middle East Eye readers.
Our live coverage of Israel's assault on Gaza will shortly be closing for the evening.
Here are the day's key developments:
- The head of the WHO urged Israel to lift its blockade on Gaza
- US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken suggested the Biden administration was ready to work on sanctioning ICC officials with Congress
- At least 7 Palestinians were killed during an Israeli raid on Jenin in the occupied West Bank
- Israel seized and later returned the Associated Press’s broadcasting equipment
- The UN halted all food distribution to Gaza's southern city of Rafah
- Israeli strikes on Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza damaged an intensive care unit and administrative facilities trapping medical workers and patients
- Norway became the first country to announce it would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the ICC issued an arrest warrant for him
- The US said new routes are being used to move aid from a pier in Gaza to warehouses after desperate Palestinians intercepted deliveries
- The US faulted Egypt for the closure of Rafah border crossing, wading into Cairo’s dispute with Israel
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken suggested that the Biden administration is ready to work on sanctioning International Criminal Court officials.
At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Blinken he wanted a bipartisan effort to sanction the ICC in response to its prosecutor's call for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
"I welcome working with you on that," Blinken responded.
The US waded into a spat between Egypt and Israel over the closure of the Rafah border crossing, with a US official appearing to lay the blame on Cairo at a press briefing.
“We do not believe that aid should be held back for any reason whatsoever. Kerem Shalom is open. The Israelis have it open. And that aid should be going through Kerem Shalom,” a US official said in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday.
Israel seized the Palestinian side of the crossing earlier this month.
Israel has proposed opening the crossing while it continues its offensive in other parts of Rafah and maintains security control.
According to reports, Egypt has said it will only recognise Palestinian control of Rafah. The Palestinian Authority has ruled out managing the crossing under “Israeli rule”, according to Arabic media reports.
Ireland plans to announce its recognition of a Palestinian state on Wednesday, Reuters reported citing a source familiar with the matter.
Ireland is one of several European Union members, including Spain, Slovenia and Malta that have suggested they plan to recognise Palestine amid Israel's war on Gaza.
A senior US official said Israel has been tailoring its plans for an assault on Rafah along the lines of US requests, a statement that means the Biden administration does not appear to rule Israel’s attack on the southern Gaza border city risks violating a redline that could cut off arms shipments.
“It’s fair to say that the Israelis have updated their plans. They’ve incorporated many of the concerns that we have expressed,” a senior US official told reporters at a press briefing.
“I have to say after coming out of Israel these past couple of days…it is pretty clear. that the Israelis are taking those concerns seriously,” the senior US official said.
US President Joe Biden said he would suspend some arms transfers to Israel if it launched a full-scale attack on Rafah.
