Live Updates: Iraqi group targets Israeli base in occupied Golan Heights

Monday, September 23, 2024

05:50 GMT — Iraqi group targets Israeli base in occupied Golan Heights

An Iraqi militia group has said they targeted the Israeli observation base in the "occupied Palestinian territories".

The Israeli army, too, confirmed that it intercepted two cruise missiles and a drone launched from Iraq towards the occupied Golan Heights.

"Cruise missiles were intercepted this evening (Sunday) before they crossed into the Golan Heights," Israel's Army Radio said on X. It added that "the army intercepted a drone that was also launched from Iraq this morning after it entered the Golan Heights".

05:20 GMT — Israeli army bombs school in Gaza, killing 3 Palestinians

At least three Palestinians were killed when the Israeli army bombed a school sheltering displaced people in central Gaza early Sunday.

According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, the Israeli military targeted the upper floor of Khalid bin al-Walid School in Nuseirat.

The attack also left many others injured.

05:00 GMT — Colombia's president denounces media silence over Israeli genocide in Gaza

Colombian President Gustavo Petro denounced the silence over Israel's war in Gaza, insisting that a genocide is taking place in Palestine.

"Anyone who defends this genocide or remains silent in the face of it has destroyed their own human condition," Petro said Sunday on X.

"It would seem as if (Nazi propaganda minister Joseph) Goebbels is the one who directs the world's communications so that tens of thousands of journalists are silenced in the face of their murdered colleagues and 20,000 babies torn to pieces by bombs," he added.

04:22 GMT — Israeli air strikes across Gaza kill at least 24 Palestinians

At least 24 Palestinians were killed and dozens others injured in Israeli air strikes across Gaza, according to medical sources.

Seven people lost their lives and several others were injured in an Israeli strike targeting Kafr Qasim School, where thousands of displaced civilians have sheltered in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said in a statement.

Four more people were killed and 15 others injured in another air strike on a house in the central city of Deir al Balah, he added.

04:00 GMT — Thousands of Palestinians at risk of death as winter approaches: local authorities

Palestinian authorities have warned of the potential deaths of thousands of people in northern Gaza due to cold weather and lack of heating resources amid Israel's ongoing war on the enclave.

"Thousands are at risk of dying from cold weather due to the unavailability of heating supplies like cooking gas, charcoal and wood," the Ministry of Social Development in Gaza said in a statement Sunday.

"Every passing moment exacerbates the suffering of Gaza's residents, who face harsh conditions due to the war."

03:48 GMT — Palestine holds jurisdiction over Gaza and West Bank: Abbas

Palestine has the "jurisdiction" over Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said.

"Palestine has the jurisdiction over Gaza and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and will continue to carry out its responsibilities," Abbas said during a meeting with head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Mohammed al Alimi, on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Abbas renewed his call for ending Israeli attacks against Palestinians, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, reconstruction and holding a political process "that ends the occupation and achieves security, stability and peace for all in the region".

03:28 GMT — Hamas claims to have killed, injured Israeli soldiers in Rafah attacks

Palestinian resistance group Hamas claimed to have killed and injured several Israeli soldiers in attacks in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

In a statement on its Telegram channel, the group's armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that its fighters detonated an explosive device at an Israeli force, leaving several soldiers dead and injured.

The group said it also targeted an Israeli tank and bulldozer with anti-tank shells in al Shoka neighbourhood east of Rafah. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the claim.

03:02 GMT — Lebanese University suspends classes amid Israeli attacks

The Lebanese University, the country's only state-funded public university, said it will suspend classes in three cities in southern Lebanon on Monday amid Israeli attacks.

Bassam Badran, the university president, said in a statement on Sunday evening that university branches in Sidon, Nabatiyeh, and Tyre will remain closed on Monday.

The decision comes "in light of instability resulting from the continued Israeli assaults, and to ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff", the statement said.

02:50 GMT — Internet service cut off in central, southern Gaza amid Israeli attacks

Internet service has gone down in central and southern Gaza, the Palestinian telecom company Paltel said.

In a post on X, the company said the service was disrupted by the ongoing Israeli military attacks in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis areas in Gaza. "Our crews are working hard to restore the service as quickly as possible," it added.

The blockaded enclave has faced several communications and internet outages amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the enclave that left more than 41,400 dead since last October.

02:35 GMT — Half of Israeli hostages in Gaza 'are alive': Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said about half of the hostages held in Gaza "are alive".

This comes as Netanyahu and his government face accusations from hostages' families of abandoning them through a new proposal for a hostage swap with Hamas.

"According to the information we have, half of the hostages in Gaza are alive," Netanyahu said during a closed meeting of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee as cited by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

02:25 GMT — US 'pushing hard' to prevent 'wider war' in Mideast: Biden

US President Joe Biden said the United States would do everything possible to prevent an escalation of war in the Middle East, as hostilities flared between Israel and Hezbollah.

Affirming that he was worried about rising regional tensions, Biden told reporters from the White House South Lawn that his administration was "going to do everything we can to keep a wider war from breaking out. And we're still pushing hard".

02:19 GMT — Iran's IRGC claims to dismantle Israel-linked network over 'anti-security actions'

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have dismantled a network of "mercenaries and collaborators" allegedly linked to Israel.

In a statement, the IRGC announced the dismantling of a network of 12 "mercenaries and collaborators of the regime", referring to Israel, across six provinces in Iran.

According to the statement, those arrested intended to carry out "anti-security actions" and were identified through "decisive intelligence" obtained by the IRGC's intelligence wing.

02:00 GMT — EU foreign policy chief calls for urgent ceasefire as Israel-Hezbollah border attacks intensify

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed "extreme concern" over escalating violence between Lebanon and Israel, calling for an immediate ceasefire.

In a statement, Borrell highlighted recent attacks in the Lebanese capital Beirut that killed at least three children amid ongoing cross-border violence between Israel and the Hezbollah group.

"A ceasefire is urgent, across the Blue Line as in Gaza," Borrell stated, emphasising the harm that civilians have suffered on both sides.

For our live updates from Sunday, September 22, 2024, click here.