Israel kills dozens in Gaza as Trump cites progress on captive talks

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The official Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has called for a boycott of Microsoft’s Xbox and all of its gaming products, accusing the company of complicity in Israel’s illegal occupation links to its prison system.

The boycott includes Microsoft Gaming, consoles from the brand, Xbox Game Pass, Candy Crush, Call of Duty, Minecraft, and gaming accessories, which they say generate a significant income for the company.

The urge to ramp up pressure on the brand comes after the company's actions were thrust into light when two employees launched a protest at the 50th anniversary celebration to denounce the company's work in supplying artificial intelligence technology to the Israeli military.

360 Israeli medics have signed a letter calling for an investigation into the killing of 15 aid workers in the Gaza Strip's southern city of Rafah and prosecution of the perpetrators.

Israeli soldiers killed the aid workers, nine of whom were medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), on 23 March, with video from the incident showing the medics being shot as their convoy was heading to the site of an Israeli strike.

Their bodies were uncovered in a shallow grave seven days later.

Globally renowned Palestinian-American DJ and record producer, Khaled Mohammed Khaled, better known as DJ Khaled, has been slammed by his cousin for his silence on Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

Entrepeneur, event producer and rising reality TV personality Fadie Musallet criticised DJ Khaled in multiple recent podcast appearances for not condemning Israel’s actions or highlighting the plight of Palestinians, despite the war raging on for over a year.

In one interview, which has since circulated widely, Musallet says: "Unfortunately, everyone has their reasons, but there’s no reason or excuse when you’re actually a Palestinian".

The comments came in response to an interview questioning why DJ Khaled has chosen not to bring up the topic, despite scores of other public figures, celebrities, and activists shedding light on Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Several Palestinians suffered from smoke inhalation after Israeli forces released teargas canisters during their raid in Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

Local sources told Wafa the forces raided the town and ired at civilians along with tear gas, causing civilians to suffer from smoke inhalation,

Yemen's Health Ministry revealed the death toll from US attacks on Hodeidah has risen to 14, with 15 others injured.

A US strike targeted a residential neighbourhood in the Red Sea port city on Tuesday.

Israeli police broke up a protest in Haifa, a city in northern Israel, protesting against Israel's war on Gaza.

Protesters were reportedly dragged to the ground and beaten before being detained.

Protestors held banners in Hebrew, Arabic and English reading "Stop the genocide" and "From Haifa to Gaza: One blood and fate", calling for a ceasefire.

Quds News Network said 23 protesters were arrested.

 

 

 

 

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At least two Palestinians have been killed after an Israeli airstrike targeted Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip - Wafa reports.

The reporter said two bodies arrived at the Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital.

Israeli forces held several Palestinian civilians near the entrance of the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank as Israel continues with its raids on the city and its camp - Wafa reports.

The agency said civilians held included a couple.

The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that 75 percent of missions facilitated by the United Nations had been denied access to the Gaza Strip due to Israel's blockade and attacks.

Three Palestinians, including a young girl, were killed after Israeli airstrikes targeted south of the Gaza Strip - Wafa reports.

An Israeli strike targeted a home, which killed two people, including a child, while an Israeli helicopter targeted a sheltering displaced people near Nasser Medical Complex in western Khan Younis, killing one and injuring several others.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said progress was being made regarding the return of the captives being held in Gaza and that he was dealing with both Israel and Hamas, but he gave no other details about the talks. 

(Reuters)

A Palestinian sentenced as a teen for taking part in a knife attack against two Israelis was freed Thursday after spending more than nine years in jail, a lawyer said.

Ahmad Manasra, now 23, was just 13 when he carried out the attack in October 2015 in Israeli-occupied and annexed east Jerusalem.

"He was released today," said Nareman Shehadeh Zoabi, an attorney for rights group Adalah and part of a legal team representing him.

"His family met him and now the family is taking the time with him and to be able to stay quiet for some time alone with Ahmed," she told AFP.

Umm Rifaat Radwan, the mother of a Gaza medic killed alongside 14 colleagues by Israeli soldiers, had hoped her son's body would not be among those retrieved after the attack.

Rifaat Radwan was part of a team of medics and rescuers from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and Gaza's civil defence agency who were shot dead on 23 March near Rafah as they responded to calls for help after an Israeli air strike.

"They began pulling them out two by two" from a hole, Umm Rifaat, 48, told AFP, describing how the bodies were retrieved from what rescuers called a "mass grave".

"I thought maybe he wasn't among them, perhaps he had been detained. I even prostrated after the afternoon prayer in gratitude."

"Then my husband told me that Rifaat had been found inside the hole," she said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reports that 50,887 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began on 7 October 2023.

An additional 115,875 have been wounded, with thousands still missing.

A Hamas official said Thursday that the militant group welcomed the announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron that Paris could recognise a Palestinian state by June, hailing it as an "important step".

"France, as a country with political weight and a permanent member of the (UN) Security Council, has the ability to influence the course of fair solutions and push towards ending the occupation and achieving the aspirations of the Palestinian people," Mahmud Mardawi told news agency AFP.

Israel's Supreme Court has dismissed a petition against the government's decision to cut electricity to the Gaza Strip, according to Haaretz.

Israel's highest court ruled the matter falls under the authority of the executive branch and declined to examine the original petition, citing the resumption of Israeli attacks since the ceasefire collapsed.

Petitioners argued the power cut could endanger hostages held in Gaza and violate international law. The Supreme Court acknowledged their concerns but said the decision followed appropriate consultations and was beyond judicial review.

Israel cut Gaza’s electricity supply last month to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining Israeli captives, following the resumption of Israel's brutal military campaign on the Strip.

Amnesty International condemned the move as "cruel and unlawful."

Police in London said they have arrested at least five people after Greenpeace activists poured red dye into a pond outside the US embassy on Thursday in protest against arms sales to Israel.

The campaign group said a dozen activists poured 300 litres of biodegradable dye into the pond outside the embassy in southwest London, using containers bearing the words "Stop Arming Israel".

"Five people have so far been arrested nearby on suspicion of criminal damage and conspiracy to cause criminal damage," the Metropolitan Police force said.

Greenpeace UK said six people had been arrested, including one of its heads but the police did not provide the names of those detained.

Will McCallum, Greenpeace UK's co-executive director was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause criminal damage, the group said in a statement.

"These arrests are further proof that the right to protest is under attack in the UK. This protest used biodegradable pond dye that is designed to disperse and wash away naturally," said co-executive director Areeba Hamid.

Police said the pond could be reached by a public footpath and that "there was no breach or attempted breach of the secure perimeter" of the embassy site in Nine Elms.

Greenpeace is calling for the UK and US governments to impose an arms embargo on Israel, which renewed its offensive in Gaza last month.

UK campaigners have criticised the arrests of climate and pro-Palestinian protesters under beefed-up anti-protest powers granted to the police.

Greenpeace UK activists have turned the U.S. embassy red, calling out their role in funding and arming genocide in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/EndQuO4XuA

— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) April 10, 2025

Palestinian news agency Wafa has reported that a young Palestinian man was wounded by Israeli gunfire amid an Israeli military campaign on the Askar refugee camp, east of West Bank's Nablus.

According to Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), its emergency teams transported the male victim to a hospital following his injury in the thigh.

Wafa reported that witnesses detailed having seen Israeli soldiers targeting residents using live ammunition and gas canisters as they raided the camp.

Palestinians recently freed from Israeli detention have arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Al Jazeera English reports.

Medical staff told the publication the release came without prior notice from international organisations.

The hospital expressed concern over the detainees’ physical condition, noting severe malnourishment.

Iran may suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if external threats continue, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader said on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump again warned of military force if Tehran does not agree to a nuclear deal.

Iranian and American diplomats will visit Oman on Saturday to start dialogue on Tehran's nuclear programme, with Trump saying he would have the final word on whether talks are reaching a breakdown, which would put Iran in "great danger".

"Continued external threats and putting Iran under the conditions of a military attack could lead to deterrent measures like the expulsion of IAEA inspectors and ceasing cooperation with it," Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, published on X, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"Transferring enriched material to safe and undisclosed locations in Iran could also be on the agenda," he wrote.

(Reuters)

The Israeli military has announced an airstrike conducted on Wednesday that killed at least 35 Palestinians also killed a commander of Hamas's Shujaiya Battalion, according to Times of Israel.

The military said that Haitham Razek Abd al-Karim Sheikh Khalil, who led the attack against Kibbutz Nahal Oz on 7 October 2023, was the fourth commander of the battalion killed by Israel during the war.

Palestinians on Thursday hailed the release of 23-year-old Ahmad Manasra, who was freed by Israeli authorities after nine and a half years in prison and extended periods of solitary confinement.

Manasra was arrested at the age of 13, facing interrogation and beatings in prison.

While in prison, he developed serious mental and physical health conditions, including schizophrenia. His lawyers' request for early release due to his health were repeatedly denied. 

Manasra's lawyer, Khaled Zabarqa, confirmed his release on Thursday, while others pointed out how frail he looked as photos emerged of him.

According to the Jerusalem-based Palestinian photo-journalist and activist Abdalafo Bassam, Manasra was released "far away from the prison, despite knowing his family was waiting for him at the prison gates".

Ahmed Manasra was arrested and put behind bars at age 13 after he was charged with allegedly stabbing and wounding two Israelis near the Pisgat Zeev settlement in occupied east Jerusalem in 2015.

As he was considered underage under Israel's Youth Law at the time, court proceedings were postponed until he reached age 14.

Manasra's subsequent arrest garnered worldwide attention at the time due to video footage showing him being interrogated by three Israeli men who shouted and threatened him, leaving him looking visibly distressed.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, despite being found by courts not to have participated in stabbings. The Supreme Court later reduced the sentence to nine and a half years in August 2017.

الأسير المحرر أحمد مناصرة بعد تحرره من سجون الاحتلال. pic.twitter.com/kJnZMe3nrZ

— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) April 10, 2025

The Israeli military has confirmed the demolition of Mohammed Shahrour’s apartment in Tulkarem, West Bank, according to Israeli news site Haaretz.

Shahrour is accused of carrying out a November attack that killed an Israeli general and injured four border guards.

Home demolitions of Palestinians suspected of attacking Israelis have been a longstanding Israeli practice, drawing criticism from human rights groups as a form of "collective punishment" that could amount to war crimes.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said on Thursday the Iran-aligned group is ready to enter talks with the Lebanese government on a national defence strategy, with the focus on ensuring the removal of Israeli troops from Lebanon's territory.

U.S.-backed President Joseph Aoun, who pledged to establish a state monopoly on the control of arms when he took office in January, is set to start talks with Hezbollah about its weapons arsenal, three Lebanese political sources told news agency Reuters.

In a televised speech, Fadlallah said: "We have expressed our readiness for dialogue to find a defense strategy for Lebanon."

He said any meaningful discussions should focus on confronting Israeli "aggressions" and removing Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.

"We are in constant contact with President Aoun. When he calls for dialogue and sets national foundations for it, we are ready," he added.

A senior Hezbollah official told the agency on Wednesday that the group was prepared to engage in talks with Aoun about its weapons if Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon and halted its military strikes.

At least five Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since dawn, bringing the total death toll to 45, including 35 from a bombing in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood, reports Al Jazeera English.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Israeli Air Force reservists who signed a letter criticising the Gaza war "fringe extremists" and backed the Air Force chief's decision to dismiss them, according to The Times of Israel.

The signatories, however, clarified they were calling for the return of captives and an end to the war, not refusing service.

Al Jazeera Arabic has reported that dozens of Israeli settlers have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

Such incursions by Israeli settlers are frequent, often occurring under the protection of Israeli forces, and target Islam’s third-holiest site.

Turkey and Israel held their first technical meeting in Azerbaijan on Wednesday to discuss establishing a deconfliction mechanism aimed at preventing unwanted incidents in Syria, Turkish ministry sources told news agency Reuters on Thursday.

The sources said the talks marked the beginning of efforts to set up a channel to avoid potential clashes or misunderstandings between the two countries' operations in the region.

"Efforts will continue to establish this mechanism," one of the sources said, without providing further details on the scope or timeline of the talks.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denounced French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that Paris could recognise a Palestinian state by June, saying it would be a "prize" for terrorism.

"A unilateral recognition of a fictional Palestinian state, by any country, in the reality that we all know, will be a prize for terror and a boost for Hamas," Saar said on X late on Wednesday.

"These kind of actions will not bring peace, security and stability in our region closer -- but the opposite: they only push them further away."

Senior Hamas figure Mousa Abu Marzouk has formally submitted a legal request to UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, calling for the removal of the group’s designation as a terrorist organisation.

Marzouk, who heads international relations and legal affairs for Hamas’s political bureau, stated in the filing that Hamas is a "Palestinian Islamic liberation and resistance movement whose goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project".

The legal submission, spanning over 100 pages, cites contributions from 20 academics, including former International Court of Justice ad hoc judge John Dugard.

It contends that proscribing Hamas breaches the UK’s international legal obligations by making it complicit in alleged acts of genocide.

The application further argues that the designation infringes on Hamas’s rights to freedom of expression and assembly and is disproportionate.

Riverway Law, representing Marzouk, asserted in its court filing that while Hamas’s conduct may fall within the legal definition of terrorism under UK legislation, the same could be said of actions by the Israeli military, Ukraine’s armed forces, and even the British military.

"The client’s application situates the significance of bringing such an application in the UK due to the historic and continued role the British government has played in the dispossession of the Palestinian people," the firm said in a post on X.

Nothing in these posts invites any individual to support, or express support for any proscribed organisation listed by the British Home Secretary under the Terrorism Act 2000. These posts are only to provide a summary of the legal application to summarise its significance.

— Riverway Law (@riverwaylaw) April 9, 2025

At least three people were killed overnight in suspected US airstrikes on Yemen, according to Houthi officials. 

The strikes reportedly targeted the al-Sabeen district in southern Sanaa, the rebel-held capital.

The area includes al-Sabeen Square and a prominent mosque, which has been a frequent site for anti-war demonstrations linked to the conflict in Gaza.

Additional airstrikes were also reported across other parts of Sanaa, as well as Kamaran Island in the Red Sea.

The latest attacks follow Tuesday night’s strikes in the al-Hawak district of Hodeida, which the Houthis say killed 13 people and wounded 15 others. 

They described the incident as one of the deadliest single attacks in the current US campaign, which began on 15 March.

Many of the victims were said to be women and children, though specific figures were not provided.

At least 35 Palestinians have been killed and over 55 injured following multiple Israeli airstrikes on residential buildings in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood on Wednesday.

According to Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, around 80 people remain unaccounted for and are believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.

Rescue efforts are ongoing, but emergency teams are struggling due to a lack of specialised equipment.

The densely populated neighbourhood was struck by Israeli forces, destroying a block of residential homes.

Among the dead are several children, as medical teams continue to treat dozens of wounded in local hospitals.

🇵🇸 #Palestine - 🇮🇱 #Israel: At least 35 Palestinians were killed in Gaza’s Shujayea neighborhood after the IDF launched airstrikes yesterday. As many as 80 are believed to be trapped beneath the rubble as search efforts take place. pic.twitter.com/zUAGoYapnB

— POPULAR FRONT (@PopularFront_) April 10, 2025

The Health Ministry in Gaza has updated its figures, stating that 50,846 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations on the territory since 7 October 2023.

An additional 115,729 individuals have been wounded during Israeli strikes on the enclave within the same timeframe, according to the ministry.

In the most recent 24-hour reporting period, 36 fatalities were recorded and taken to hospitals, alongside 41 people who were admitted with injuries.

These latest figures bring the total number of deaths to 1,482 since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, following the collapse of a ceasefire agreement.

The ministry also reported that 3,688 people have been injured since hostilities resumed.

Gaza medic Mundhir Abed feared for his life as Israeli forces opened fire on a convoy of rescuers near Rafah last month, killing 15 of his colleagues in a brazen assault.

Abed, 45, was the only survivor of the attack on March 23, in which medics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and Gaza's civil defence agency were gunned down as they responded to urgent calls for help following an Israeli air strike.

"I was terrified they would kill me," Abed, a medic from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, told news agency AFP.

He had been in the first ambulance sent to the area after distress calls came in from residents. What followed, he said, was a sudden and violent ambush.

 Abed recalled being with driver Mustafa al-Khawaja and paramedic Ezzedine Shaat -- both now dead -- as their ambulance, sirens blaring and lights flashing, drove toward the strike site.

"As soon as we reached the area, sudden and heavy gunfire from Israeli soldiers directly hit the vehicle," he said.

"I dropped to the floor in the back of the vehicle to shield myself. Then I heard no more sounds from my colleagues -- only the rattle of death."

Abed said he panicked as the gunfire continued and was unable to use his phone. Then, he said, he heard voices speaking Hebrew.

"The vehicle door was opened, and there were armed Israeli special forces in full military gear. They pulled me out of the vehicle," Abed said.

A medic murdered and buried in Gaza spoke from the grave—thanks to video found on his phone.

He was one of 15 aid workers whose corpses were found in a mass grave in Rafah, Gaza, late last month—along with a buried ambulance.

Israeli forces responded to the shocking discovery… pic.twitter.com/Gh3i1ZRvdU

— Nury Vittachi (@NuryVittachi) April 5, 2025