Israel’s war on Gaza updates: 70 percent of UNRWA schools in Gaza bombed

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Palestinians inspect a UN school sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 16, 2024. [Ramadan Abed/Reuters]

By Mersiha Gadzo and Joseph Stepansky

This live page is now closed. You can continue to follow our coverage of the war in Gaza here.

16 Jul 2024 - 23:59

(23:59 GMT)

Thanks for joining us

This live page is now closed.

For more context on the conflict, read about a string of attacks on schools in Gaza here.

Learn why experts think accountability for war crimes may be elusive in the Israeli justice system here.

Or read about Trump’s vice president pick JD Vance’s position on Gaza here.

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday [Ramadan Abed/Reuters]

16 Jul 2024 - 23:45

(23:45 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

We will soon be closing this live page. Here are the top updates from today:

At least 25 people were killed in an attack on an UNRWA school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, with 18 others killed in a strike near tents housing displaced people in Khan Younis.
The UN has said an Israeli strike hit close to its joint operation centre in Deir el-Balah, from where it coordinates the humanitarian response in Gaza.
An investigation has found that far-right groups in Israel that block humanitarian aid to Gaza have been allowed to receive tax-deductible donations from the US and Israel.
Lebanon’s state news agency has said five people, reportedly all civilians, have been killed as Hezbollah and Israel continue to exchange cross-border attacks.

16 Jul 2024 - 23:30

(23:30 GMT)

Israeli military reportedly raiding Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank

Wafa news agency has reported the raid, saying that Israeli military vehicles entered several neighbourhoods of the city.

Israeli forces then raided a residential building amid “violent confrontations”.

Raids in the occupied West Bank have spiked throughout the war, with the Palestinian death toll nearing 600.

16 Jul 2024 - 23:15

(23:15 GMT)

US legal advocacy group asks Biden administration for information on ICC Israel investigations

The Center for Constitutional Rights filed a request to the administration of US President Joe Biden for all internal communications related to the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s investigation into crimes committed by the Israeli government during its war on Gaza.

In late May, the chief prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, said that his office had applied for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders for alleged crimes committed during the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza.

The legal group said that it is particularly interested in any ongoing efforts by the US to halt or delay the issuance of these arrest warrants, and wishes to obtain the information via a request under the Freedom of Information Act. These requests, under US law, must be answered by the government.

16 Jul 2024 - 23:00

(23:00 GMT)

US State Dept says Israeli strikes aren’t aimed at derailing ceasefire talks

Speaking during a news conference today, spokesman Matt Miller was asked about Hamas’s claim that recent deadly Israeli strikes were meant to derail recently renewed truce talks.

The last two weeks have seen Israeli air strikes on some six schools in Gaza, including today’s strike on a UN-run school that is functioning as a shelter for the displaced in Nuseirat, central Gaza. These strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians. You can read more about some of these strikes here.

“No, I don’t think the strikes that they are taking have anything to do with a ceasefire deal,” said Miller, who said the strikes were in line with Israel’s stated goal of “trying to degrade and ultimately end Hamas’s ability to launch attacks”.

He added that Israel has told US officials “they are committed to trying to reach a ceasefire”.

16 Jul 2024 - 22:45

(22:45 GMT)

WATCH: At least 23 killed in latest Israeli attack on Gaza school

Gaza’s Government Media Office says at least 23 people were killed and 73 more injured in an attack on a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp sheltering displaced people today.

UNRWA, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, says 70 percent of its schools in Gaza have been bombed during the war, and that the vast majority of them, 95 percent, were being used as displacement shelters at the time they were attacked.

Watch our video to learn more:

16 Jul 2024 - 22:30

(22:30 GMT)

Turkey’s top diplomat holds call with Hamas’s Haniyeh

Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s foreign minister, and Hamas political head Ismail Haniyeh discussed the latest ceasefire negotiations and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported.

The call comes after Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted Haniyeh in Istanbul in April.

16 Jul 2024 - 22:15

(22:15 GMT)

Justice for Israeli war crimes unlikely in Israeli courts: Opinion

In defending the Israeli army, Israeli allies often refer to the opportunity to seek justice for crimes in Israeli courts.

But a closer look at the Israeli judicial system reveals that such prosecution of justice for war crimes committed by Israeli officials is unlikely to yield results, Taj Hussain, a lawyer and researcher, and Laurent A Lambert, an associate professor at the Doha Institute, write in a new opinion piece.

Israel’s legislative and judicial authorities do recognise international law and conventions, they write.

However, through legal exceptions, they also create spaces for the total disregard of international law by Israeli officials and security and military forces. This erodes the prohibitions from international law on matters of grave importance, the pair argues.

Read their piece here.

Chief Justice Esther Hayut and fellow Israeli Supreme Court judges attend a hearing at the High Court in Jerusalem on January 5, 2023 [Reuters/Ronen Zvulun]

16 Jul 2024 - 22:00

(22:00 GMT)

Photos: Pro-Palestine protesters flood streets of Tunisian capital

Demonstrators gesture during a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Tunis, Tunisia on July 16, 2024 [Jihed Abidellaoui/Reuters] (Reuters)

Protesters carry banners and flags in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Tunis, July 16 [Jihed Abidellaoui/Reuters]

A demonstrator carries a placard reading ‘Palestine will be free’ [Jihed Abidellaoui/Reuters]

16 Jul 2024 - 21:45

(21:45 GMT)

Macron discusses Gaza war with Egypt, Qatar and Bahrain

The French president has spoken with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to discuss the Gaza war, Macron’s office said.

France is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the country has both large Jewish and Muslim populations. Also, captives holding French citizenship were killed in the October 7 attack.

“The President condemned recent Israeli air strikes that have targeted UN schools as well as displaced citizens in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp which have left a large number of civilian victims,” Macron’s office said in a statement.

“He also reaffirmed France’s insistence that Hamas immediately release the hostages,” it added.

16 Jul 2024 - 21:30

(21:30 GMT)

Armed group attacks Iraqi base housing US personnel in first since pause

Two armed drones have targeted the Ain al-Assad base, two Iraqi military sources told the Reuters news agency.

The reported attack represents the first time armed groups in the country have attacked a site housing US personnel in months.

Despite an increase in attacks by Iran-aligned groups in opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza in the months following October 7, a pause was imposed in February in what many saw as an indication Tehran was trying to prevent wider escalation.

No casualties were reported in today’s attack.

16 Jul 2024 - 21:15

(21:15 GMT)

Israeli forces raid Jenin

Wafa news agency reports that soldiers have stormed the villages and towns of Yabad, Arrabeh, Faqqua and Jalbun, in the occupied West Bank’s Jenin Governorate.

Security sources told the news agency that troops drove their vehicles through the municipalities, deployed infantry and searched neighbourhoods.

No arrests have been reported at this time, but we will keep you updated as developments come in.

16 Jul 2024 - 21:00

(21:00 GMT)

Palestinians killed as Israeli army hits central Gaza

Al Jazeera’s correspondent in the Gaza Strip reports that two deadly Israeli air strikes have hit the central Strip this evening, leaving casualties.

In the first attack, two Palestinians were killed and others were injured by an Israeli raid on a house in the Nuseirat camp.

In the second, seven Palestinians were killed and others were injured by an Israeli air strike on a house in the az-Zawayda area.

16 Jul 2024 - 20:45

(20:45 GMT)

Parents of female captives demand immediate meeting with Netanyahu

A group representing the loved ones of those held captive in Gaza has released still images of the five female captives taken on October 7 and held a press conference in Tel Aviv, calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with them.

The identities of the captives were verified from their faces, which match photographs previously released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Their families also confirmed their identities.

The captives in the released pictures were Naama Levy, Agam Berger, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev, Reuters reported.

During the press conference, the parents of the captives demanded a meeting with Netanyahu immediately, asking him not to depart to Washington, DC before he does so.

16 Jul 2024 - 20:30

(20:30 GMT)

What is Trump VP pick Vance’s stance on Israel-Palestine?

Today marks the second day of the Republican National Convention in the US, where former President Donald Trump has officially been named the Republican Party’s presidential nominee.

Yesterday, Trump also named Senator JD Vance as his vice presidential pick.

Al Jazeera’s Urooba Jamal took a look at Vance’s foreign policy positions, which can best be surmised as “America first with an Israel exception”.

That staunch support for Israel has seen Vance lead efforts to stop special immigration protections for Palestinians and to withhold federal funds from colleges where there have been pro-Palestine protests in recent months.

Read the story, here.

16 Jul 2024 - 20:15

(20:15 GMT)

WATCH: Gaza healthcare workers struggle with severe challenges amid Israel’s ongoing war

Nine months into Israel’s war on Gaza, healthcare workers continue to struggle with treating the wounded.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud visited an intensive care unit at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, where a foreign doctor described daily challenges. The doctor recounted being limited to one suitcase upon entering Gaza, which barely suffices for the medical needs of 10 patients for a day or two.

Healthcare workers are torn between their duty to patients and concern for their families amidst constant Israeli attacks.

Watch the full report below:

16 Jul 2024 - 20:00

(20:00 GMT)

Pentagon says still no timeline to reinstall Gaza aid pier

Speaking to reporters, spokesman Pat Ryder has said there is also no timeline for when the pier’s operation would end.

The US Pentagon announced last week that the pier, which was launched in May but has faced several setbacks, would soon be taken out of commission permanently.

The pier has been docked at the Ashdod port in Israel due to sea conditions, raising the prospect it may not be again used to deliver aid before the mission is concluded.

16 Jul 2024 - 19:45

(19:45 GMT)

Some detainees sexually assaulted in Israeli prisons: Lawyer

Editor’s note: This reporting contains graphic descriptions of torture and sexual assault.

A lawyer for the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs has said that a prisoner gave eyewitness testimony of other detainees being sodomised or sexually assaulted.

According to the commission and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, Khaled Mahajna spoke with journalist Mohammed Arab, who was detained in Gaza and taken from Sde Teiman in the Negev Desert and was later taken to Ofer prison, near Ramallah.

At Sde Teiman, Arab said he witnessed prisoners “being raped, including a detainee who was completely stripped and had a fire extinguisher hose inserted into his rectum, and the extinguisher was discharged inside him. The detainee is in a very serious physical and psychological condition”.

“Another detainee was completely stripped and electrocuted, his genitals were yanked, in addition to other methods of sexual abuse that are difficult to describe,” Arab told Mahajna, according to the organisations’ statement.

16 Jul 2024 - 19:30

(19:30 GMT)

Hezbollah, Israel claim cross-border attacks as civilians reportedly killed

Earlier, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that three Syrian children were killed in an Israeli raid in Umm al-Tut in southern Lebanon.

Prior to that, the agency reported that two people riding a motorcycle were killed in an attack near Kfar Tebnit in southern Lebanon. A Lebanese security source told AFP that the two killed were “civilians” of Syrian nationality who were working in the area.

Following that, Hezbollah said it launched “dozens of Katyusha rockets” at northern Israel’s Kiryat Shmona “in response to the Israeli enemy attacks”. The group cited “the death of two civilians”.

Israel, meanwhile, said its air force “struck a launcher in the area of Blat that was identified firing projectiles toward the Kiryat Shmona area”, as well as “a Hezbollah terrorist cell” in the Yarin area, which is nearby to the location where the children were reportedly killed.

16 Jul 2024 - 19:15

(19:15 GMT)

Israeli attack hit close to joint humanitarian centre: UN spokesman

Speaking to reporters, Stephane Dujarric has said colleagues in Gaza reported the attack “just a few hundreds metres” from the centre in Deir el-Balah.

He said the centre is used to coordinate UN and other NGO humanitarian operations throughout the enclave.

“I think one can only imagine how much it impacts our humanitarian colleagues who are actually working in that place,” Dujarric said. “They are already under tremendous stress. They’re already continuing to work in an active warzone.”

“And if you know if there was a strike 100 [328 feet] metres away from the place where you … work, it just adds to an already overwhelming level of stress for our colleagues, not to mention the impact it has on the civilians who are routinely killed in the streets,” he said.

The war debris contains unexploded ordnance, harmful substances and bodies, according to a UN report.

Hundreds of demonstrators protest around the Republican National Convention in downtown Milwaukee.

Israel can “kill 2.3 million people by simply claiming that it was to kill Hamas.”