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Israel hits home in Gaza City’s Shujayea killing at least 20 Palestinians, including children

Israel hits home in Gaza City’s Shujayea killing at least 20 Palestinians, including children
By Stephen Quillen, Virginia Pietromarchi, Jillian Kestler-D'Amours and Maziar Motamedi
Published On 9 Apr 2025

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9 Apr 2025 - 23:59
 (23:59 GMT)

Thanks for joining us

This blog is now closed.

To find out more about French President Emmanuel Macron saying Paris could soon recognise a Palestinian state, read this.

See our reporting on the Israeli military’s attack on a residential block in northern Gaza’s Shujayea neighbourhood, here.

And you can follow our full coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza here.

9 Apr 2025 - 23:45
 (23:45 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

We’re going to be closing this live page soon. Here’s a recap of today’s events:

  • At least 35 Palestinians been killed in Israeli attacks on the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City, with 80 still missing.
  • Hospitals are overwhelmed and lacking critical supplies across the Palestinian enclave amid Israel’s continued blockade.
  • The Israeli army raided Nablus and the nearby Balata refugee camp as it continued its crackdown on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
  • Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says the army is seizing “large areas” of Gaza and will retain control of a key buffer zone near the border with Egypt.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron says France could recognise a Palestinian state as early as June.
9 Apr 2025 - 23:30
 (23:30 GMT)

UN chief again stresses need for ‘unimpeded humanitarian access’ in Gaza

UN chief Antonio Guterres has reiterated his push to get humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip.

“As the occupying power, Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law – including international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Yet currently no humanitarian supplies can enter Gaza,” he wrote on X.

9 Apr 2025 - 23:15
 (23:15 GMT)

Israel hits back at France for recognising Palestinian state

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has expressed the country’s strong opposition in reaction to Macron’s suggestion that France could recognise a sovereign Palestinian state by June.

“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,” he wrote on X. “These kind of actions will not bring peace, security and stability in our region closer – but the opposite: they only push them further away.”

Close to 150 member states of the UN recognise Palestinian statehood, but major Western powers and allies like US, UK, France, Germany and Japan have not.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaks during a news conference at Czech Foreign Ministry headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic, November 28, 2024 [David W Cerny/Reuters]
9 Apr 2025 - 23:00
 (23:00 GMT)

UN forced to shut down most humanitarian work in Gaza

Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Gaza, has this update for Al Jazeera as the Israeli military blockade of all aid to the enclave nears 40 days:

  • Services in the humanitarian sector are almost non-existent.
  • There is no safe place in Gaza.
  • Israel briefed us on the aid monitoring mechanism.
  • We can distribute aid according to humanitarian principles.
  • Closures of crossings and hostilities restrict our movement.
Palestinian children gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, April 8, 2025 [Ramadan Abed/Reuters]
9 Apr 2025 - 22:45
 (22:45 GMT)

‘Not much time left’ to save Palestinians

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on Palestine, warned that Israel will continue its violence against Palestinians unless action is taken, saying there is “not much time left” to save the Palestinian people.

Albanese told the Anadolu news agency that Israel has never respected the ceasefire since it began in January.

Albanese said that Israel has no intention of halting its actions for several reasons, saying that “Netanyahu will be the target of justice when he stops the war against the Palestinians.”

“You may have noticed that Netanyahu was going to appear in court the day after he ordered a new attack against the people of Gaza. So, the question is: Was there a connection? Maybe,” she added.

9 Apr 2025 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)
EXPLAINER

Devastating Israeli strikes on Shujayea: What to know

Hospitals in northern Gaza were once again overwhelmed earlier today after a series of Israeli air strikes destroyed an entire residential block, killing at least 35 Palestinians, wounding dozens and leaving another 80 missing.

At least three of the victims were children.

Emergency responders and neighbours who narrowly escaped death have been digging with their bare hands to get through the rubble amid an absence of equipment.

“They have nothing to do with the fighting. They are children, they are innocent,” said Anas el-Titr, who lived in one of the homes that was hit by the Israeli warplanes. “They are women staying at their homes. They have nothing to do with the fighting. Why would they hit them?”

With ambulances full, many of the victims had to be transported using donkey carts. Emergency workers, who are being killed by Israeli attacks at an alarming rate, are overwhelmed.

9 Apr 2025 - 22:15
 (22:15 GMT)

WATCH: Mahmoud Khalil’s wife afraid he will miss birth of their first child

Detained Columbia University grad student Mahmoud Khalil could miss the birth of his first child.

His wife, Noor Abdalla, was already in her third trimester when authorities from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Mahmoud in their apartment building in New York City last month.

“That’s also a fear for him, missing the birth of his child and missing those first hours. But, you know, at this point, unfortunately, it’s out of both of our control.”

Authorities have detained and attempted to deport Mahmoud, a permanent US resident, after he played a key role in Columbia’s pro-Palestine student protests last spring. He remains in ICE custody without criminal charges.

Watch an AJ+ interview with his wife below:

9 Apr 2025 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

No more military aid to Netanyahu: Bernie Sanders

US Senator Bernie Sanders had put forward two motions seeking to block billions of dollars worth of weapons transfers to Israel, but the measures were voted down in the Senate last week.

In a social media post, Sanders slammed Netanyahu’s support for a Trump administration plan to force Palestinians out of Gaza.

“He calls it ‘voluntary migration’,” Sanders wrote, referring to Netanyahu. “It’s not voluntary if you bomb & starve those who stay. It’s ethnic cleansing. It’s a war crime.”

9 Apr 2025 - 21:50
 (21:50 GMT)
Developing

At least 3 killed after more US air strikes hit Yemen

The Ministry of Health in Sanaa says at least three civilians were killed after US warplanes attacked the Sabeen district of the Yemeni capital.

Several more strikes have also been reported by Houthi-run media in other areas of Sanaa, including the Bani Hushaysh district in the east.

US fighter jets also bombed Kamaran island located in the port city of Hodeidah in western Yemen.

9 Apr 2025 - 21:45
 (21:45 GMT)

‘Elements of Israeli negotiating team undermined me’: Netanyahu

Opening a new chapter in his efforts to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, the Israeli prime minister has accused him of “collaborating with Qatar” while conducting a “futile investigation”.

“Time and time again, elements of the negotiating team have undermined the prime minister’s directive and echoed Hamas’s dictates of surrender,” PM Benjamin Netanyahu said in remarks released by his office in reference to the Gaza ceasefire talks. “The political investigations must stop.”

Some of Netanyahu’s ministers and coalition lawmakers have insisted he should ignore an injunction by the High Court that leaves room for an agreement over the issue by April 20 and force out Bar now.

9 Apr 2025 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

‘Dear friend’: Netanyahu congratulates new US ambassador to Israel

Israel’s PM has described Mike Huckabee as a “dear friend”.

“This is a great day for the Israeli-American alliance,” Benjamin Netanyahu wrote while congratulating Huckabee on his appointment.

A devout evangelical Christian and former governor of the US state of Arkansas, Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Israel and of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. In 2017, he told CNN that “there is no such thing as the West Bank”.

9 Apr 2025 - 21:15
 (21:15 GMT)

Macron says France could recognise Palestinian state by June

France’s President Macron said the country will move towards recognising the State of Palestine.

“We’re fighting for Gaza, the return of peace and security, humanitarian [aid] and a political solution. We must move towards recognition – and so in the coming months, we will,” Macron said during an interview with France 5 programme, C a vous.

He said recognition of Palestine could also help ensure the recognition of Israel’s “right to exist” and regional security.

An official announcement of “reciprocal recognition” could be made in June, when France co-chairs an international conference on Palestine with Saudi Arabia in New York, Macron said.

9 Apr 2025 - 21:09
 (21:09 GMT)

Trump says Israel will ‘be very much involved’ if US takes military action against Iran

Trump said discussions set for this weekend are the “start” of a process for talks between the US and Iran.

“We’re not going to let them have a nuclear weapon,” he said, adding that his administration would take military action against Tehran “if necessary”.

“With Iran, if it requires military, we’ll have military. Israel will obviously be very much involved in that, be the leader of that. But nobody leads us. We do what we want to do.”

9 Apr 2025 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)
Explainer

How is the Israeli military expanding its ‘buffer zone’ in Gaza?

The Israeli military has gradually expanded the so-called “buffer zone” that it has carved inside Gaza by moving in its soldiers and tanks, occupying more of the Palestinian territory while destroying all buildings and infrastructure inside.

The buffer zone has expanded from several hundred metres to around two kilometres (1.2 miles) in most areas of Gaza, according to the Times of Israel.

This week, the Israeli army said the entire city of Rafah and its surrounding neighbourhoods would fall inside a forced evacuation zone, which constitutes about a quarter of Gaza’s total territory. This is to facilitate the construction of the “Morag corridor” to separate Rafah and Khan Younis in the south.

In addition to Rafah, the neighbourhoods of al-Sahaba, al-Samah, al-Awda, al-Zwaida and al-Salah in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza are now reportedly under forced displacement orders.

Israeli soldiers conducting operations in a location given as Tal as-Sultan area, Rafah in this image released on April 2, 2025 [Israeli Army handout via Reuters]
9 Apr 2025 - 20:45
 (20:45 GMT)

Israeli Air Force commanders threaten reservists over Gaza fighting letter

Senior commanders in the Israeli Air Force have been reportedly calling and meeting with reserve officers and soldiers to threaten them with dismissal if they do not withdraw their signatures from a letter calling for an end to the fighting in Gaza.

The talks were conducted by commanders with the rank of brigadier general in the army on orders of Air Force chief Tomer Bar, according to the Haaretz news outlet.

It said about 970 air crew, including senior reservist officers and pilots, signed the letter. Only 25 of them have so far asked to take back their signatures, and at least eight more have asked to have their names added to the letter due to the latest threats.

The full text of the letter has not been published, but Israeli media has reported that the letter states the war in Gaza is continuing based on political gain, not to safeguard Israel.

9 Apr 2025 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

If you’re just joining us

Here’s a quick look at the latest developments:

  • Claiming it was hitting Hamas, the Israeli military launched massive air strikes levelling many homes in the Shujayea neighbourhood in northern Gaza, killing at least 35 Palestinians and wounding many more.
  • Israeli warplanes launched an attack on Lebanon and flew at low altitudes across the southern parts of the country, with an aircraft crashing in Lebanese territory due to malfunction.
  • Several Palestinians were wounded with bullets and more were beaten and arrested after Israeli forces launched more raids in Nablus and Balata in the occupied West Bank.
  • Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed that the country has been holding direct technical talks with Israel over deconfliction in Syria.
  • Nearly 60,000 children are “at risk of severe health complications due to malnutrition” as Israel continues to block all humanitarian aid into the enclave.
9 Apr 2025 - 20:15
 (20:15 GMT)

Netanyahu meets CIA chief in Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with the US’s CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Netanyahu’s office said.

The meeting comes just days after Netanyahu visited the US for talks with US President Donald Trump and other senior officials.

9 Apr 2025 - 20:00
 (20:00 GMT)

Israeli military seizing ‘large areas’ of Gaza: Defence minister

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz says the country will retain control of a buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt, including the critical Philadelphi Corridor, even if a deal is reached to end the war.

Speaking during a visit to the new “Morag corridor” between the southern Gaza cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, Katz said the Israeli government is also working to advance Trump’s plan to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza.

“Large areas are being seized and added to Israel’s security zones, leaving Gaza smaller and more isolated,” said Katz.

He threatened that the military would “move to more intense fighting throughout Gaza until the hostages are freed and Hamas is defeated”.

Palestinians and human rights advocates have rejected that proposal as amounting to ethnic cleansing.

9 Apr 2025 - 19:45
 (19:45 GMT)
Analysis

‘The international community has miserably failed Palestinians’: Public policy professor

Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says Israel has become more emboldened to complete its “ethnic cleansing project” against Palestinians.

Qarmout told Al Jazeera that this is because Israel senses “an indifference” from the world.

“The world has become used now to these images and scenes: burned kids, burned journalists, people dying under the rubble, genocide in Gaza, displacement in the West Bank. It got normalised,” he explained.

“With this indifference and lack of action, of course this settler-colonial project will increase its speed. Sadly, that’s where we are now. The international community has miserably failed Palestinians.”