Live: Six more Palestinians die of famine as Israel blocks Gaza aid

Egypt has discovered Israeli plots to target Hamas leaders in Cairo and has warned Israel that any attack will be responded to with force, senior Egyptian officials told Middle East Eye.

“Intelligence reports suggest that Israel has been plotting to assassinate Hamas leaders in Cairo for some time, as Egypt had already foiled an earlier attempt during ceasefire negotiations in the city over the past two years,” a high-level security source told MEE.

On Tuesday, around 12 air strikes struck residential buildings in the Qatari capital, Doha, about 4pm local time (1pm GMT), targeting Hamas leadership, an attack that has sparked condemnations across the region. 

Read more: Exclusive: Egypt discovers Israeli attempts to kill Hamas leaders on its soil

State Secretary Marco Rubio said on Thursday in Quito, Ecuador, that there will be a response from Israel for countries recognising a Palestinian state.

"We told all these countries if they do this recognition stuff, it's all fake, it's not real," Rubio said. "There's gonna be a response from Israel, you're going to make it harder to get a ceasefire."

He added that the focus should be on eliminating Hamas instead of recognising Palestine. "That being said, we don't like the humanitarian suffering. We've offered a lot of aid, provided a lot of aid, and are prepared to provide aid now and when the war ends, along with other countries around the world."

Rubio said Israel's annexation of the West Bank was not a done deal yet: "That's something that's being discussed among some elements of Israeli politics."

He said annexation was "wholly predictable, and we told all these countries that if they went through with this thing, there's not gonna be a Palestinian state".

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said that France's initiative to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September "harms Israel's national and security interests", in a phone call made to his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, according to a foreign ministry statement on Thursday.

Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated outside prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Jerusalem home calling for a hostage deal, Haaretz repoted on Wednesday.

Netanyahu accused the protestors of threatening to murder him and his family, and acting like "fascist militias," leading to an outcry by the families of hostages.

He also criticized the police for not doing enough to contain protesters.

Israel rejected Hamas's statement on Wednesday announcing its readiness to reach a ceasefire deal, describing it as "more spin from Hamas that contains nothing new".

Hamas has been waiting for Israel's response to a comprehensive cease-fire deal it agreed to several weeks ago – including the establishment of a technocratic government that would control Gaza.

Despite this, the Israeli security cabinet did not discuss the hostage deal over the last few weeks, despite meeting several times and protests across the country.

Instead, meetings have focused primarily preparations for a military takeover of Gaza City, Haaretz reported

A film about a five-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by the Israeli military received a 23 minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday.

The Voice of Hind Rajab left much of the audience and cast in tears after the screening.

It tells the story of Rajab who fled Gaza City with six of her family members in January 2024 when their vehicle was shelled by tanks. Her uncle, aunt, and three cousins all died in the attack.

Rajab and another cousin - who initially survived - contacted the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) by phone seeking help.

However, Israeli tanks also killed Rajab and the paramedics who came to help her.

Rajab's car was found to have more than 300 rounds fired into it.

Students at Columbia University renamed Hamilton Hall, calling it Hind’s Hall.

The Israeli military detained Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam at a military checkpoint, north of Ramallah, on Wednesday, the Ramallah Governorate said in a statement.

They held Ghannam at the checkpoint briefly and inspected her vehicle, before releasing her afterwards.

The UAE has said any move by Israel to annex parts of the occupied West Bank would be a "red line" for the Gulf state, as Israel ramps up discussions about the move.

The warning is notable because the UAE has emerged as one of the few Arab states to position itself alongside Israel despite its onslaught on Gaza, which human rights groups and experts say is a genocide.

"Annexation in the West Bank would constitute a red line for the UAE," said Lana Nusseibeh, the foreign ministry's assistant minister for political affairs, in a statement. "It would severely undermine the vision and spirit of the [Abraham] Accords."

The UAE is a signatory to the 2020 Abraham Accords, along with Morocco and Bahrain, which saw the Arab countries establish full diplomatic relations with Israel. The move was condemned by Palestinians and their supporters.

You can read more here.

Demonstrators disrupted Spanish cycling race Vuelta a Espana in Bilbao on Wednesday to protest against an Israeli team being allowed to participate.

Protesters held banners and flew Palestinian flags at the start of the race to protest Team Israel-Premier Tech's participation in the  157.4km long stage 11 race. 

Vuelta organisers announced that they would not be declaring a winner due to the disruption made by pro-Palestine protesters..

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said on Wednesday that at least 21,000 children have become disabled as a result of injuries sustained during Israel's war on Gaza over the last two years. 

The report noted that around 40,500 children had suffered war-related injuries since Israel began it's assualt on Gaza in October 2023

The report also said that aid restrictions "disproportionately affect people with disabilities, who face extreme difficulty reaching distribution points".

The committee noted that many were left without food, water, or sanitation and are dependent on others for survival.

One of the largest beauty retailers in Britain has shut its UK shops in a one-day demonstration of solidarity with Gaza. 

Alongside its more than 100 locations in the UK, Lush Cosmetics also closed its factories and website on Wednesday. 

“Across the Lush business we share the anguish that millions of people feel seeing the images of starving people in Gaza, Palestine,” said the company in a statement. 

“Like the rest of the world, we struggle to find ways we can help whilst the Israeli government is preventing urgent humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza. 

“One thing Lush can currently send into Gaza is our love and a strong message that we stand in solidarity.”

READ MORE: ‘Stop starving Gaza’: Cosmetics giant Lush closes UK stores in solidarity with Palestinians

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon said Wednesday that Israeli drones dropped four grenades near peacekeepers in "one of the most serious attacks" on its personnel since a November ceasefire.

The truce ended more than a year of hostilities and two months of open war between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, but the United Nations has reported several attacks on its positions in south Lebanon since.

"Yesterday morning, Israel Defense Forces drones dropped four grenades close to UNIFIL peacekeepers working to clear roadblocks hindering access to a UN position," the force said, referring to the Israeli military.

"One grenade impacted within 20 metres and three within approximately 100 metres of UN personnel and vehicles," it added.

Reporting by AFP

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has criticised Europe and the West for applying double standards to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, warning it could undermine their global credibility.

Speaking to the Guardian on Wednesday ahead of talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Sanchez called Israel’s genocide war on Gaza “perhaps one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century.”

He said Europe’s response to the Israeli war on Gaza had been weak. “It is a failure,” Sanchez said. “Within the European Union, there are countries that are divided when it comes to how to influence Israel. But in my opinion, it’s not acceptable and we can’t last longer if we want to increase our credibility when it comes to other crises.”

Sanchez, the first senior European leader to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, added: “The world is looking at the EU and also at western society and asking: ‘Why are you doing double standards when it comes to Ukraine and when it comes to Gaza?’”

He said Spain had advocated suspending the EU’s strategic partnership with Israel. “What we have done so far is advocate to suspend the strategic partnership that the EU has with Israel,” he said.

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said hospitals have received the bodies of 113 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and 304 wounded in the past 24 hours.

The ministry said this brings the total death toll from Israel’s genocide on Gaza since 7 October 2023 to 63,746, with 161,245 others wounded.

Israeli attacks have killed at least 33 people across Gaza since dawn, local officials say. Three of those killed were waiting for aid in the south of the enclave.

Gaza’s health ministry said six more Palestinians, including a child, died in the past 24 hours from “famine and malnutrition”.