Live blog update| Israel's war on Gaza
This is an entry from: Live: Trump envoy urges Netanyahu to reach ceasefire deal

Evening recap

9 January 2025 23:56 GMT

Good evening Middle East Eye readers. On Thursday, Israeli forces killed at least 22 Palestinians in its attacks on Gaza.

Throughout the first nine days of 2025, Israel has killed roughly 500 Palestinians, with the death toll now officially topping 46,000 — experts say the actual number of Palestinians killed is much higher.

US President Joe Biden claimed that progress was made in the ceasefire talks, however, he didn't offer further details. Biden blamed Hamas for the delays in achieving a deal.

Inside the US, the crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech, and criticism of Israel, ramped up this week from the university level all the way to the federal government.

At New York University, administrators banned nearly a dozen students for taking part in anti-war protests, while the House of Representatives passed a bill to sanction the International Criminal Court for issuing arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.

Here's what else you need to know about Thursday's developments in Israel's war on Gaza:

  • Poland's government adopted a resolution promising senior Israeli officials — including Netanyahu — can freely travel to Poland without risk of facing arrest by the ICC.

  • Israel's military said they have downed a total of 40 surface-to-air missiles and 320 drones that were launched from Yemen by the Houthi movement, officially known as Ansar Allah.

  • The UK's charity regulator said "it is not lawful" for British charities to raise funds or send money to soldiers fighting for the Israeli army.

  • Channel 12 Israel reported that over 800 parents of soldiers currently deployed in Gaza have sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding an immediate end to the war.

  • A Quaker organisation advocating for peace announced it scrapped a planned advertisement in The New York Times after the paper refused to allow the term "genocide" to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza.

  • The Israeli paper Yedioth Ahronoth has reported that at least 10 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the launch of the most recent military operation in Beit Hanoun.

  • Pope Francis intensified his critique of Israel's military onslaught in Gaza on Thursday, describing the dire humanitarian conditions in the besieged Palestinian enclave as "very serious and shameful."

  • The Palestinian Authority said it arrested 247 individuals during its controversial "Homeland Protection" operation in the Jenin refugee camp.

  • Palestinian Authority security forces handed over a rocket-propelled grenade launcher to Israel after seizing it during its operations in Jenin. 

  • Musa Abu Marzouk, a senior member of Hamas, told the Quds News Network that the group has long sought for Gaza to be governed by a unity coalition made up of various Palestinian factions. Abu Marzouk said Hamas was open to a governing body made up of technocrats.