Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic have shared video footage that captures the exact moment an Israeli missile destroys a house in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

Audio on the clips appears to indicate that the missile was launched from an Israeli jet fighter.

Additional video footage shows the vast destruction caused by such attacks on civilian targets.

صاروخ إسرائيلي يستهدف منزلا بمخيم جباليا شمال قطاع غزة#الأخبار #حرب_غزة pic.twitter.com/7pRxmE49kI

— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) May 4, 2024

‘No signs of slowing down’: Israeli attack on residential home kills 3 in Rafah

Israeli army says it has struck targets in central and southern Gaza

Search and rescue operation after Israeli strike on a house in Rafah

Palestinian civil defence members evacuate survivors of the Israeli bombardment on the Abu Alenan family home in Rafah early on Saturday.

Palestinian medics evacuate children wounded in an Israeli bombardment in Rafah.

Gaza death toll rises

Israel strikes hit mosque near Khan Younis

We are receiving updates on the previously reported Israeli raid around a house in Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Haaretz newspaper, quoting the army, said that five people were killed in the house and it was demolished after a 13-hour-long operation.

The Palestinian Wafa news agency, quoting medics, said that at least three people were killed.

There was a build-up of Israeli military vehicles and soldiers around Tulkarem – which was under siege since last night – before the special forces and people in the building engaged in clashes.

Israeli forces have shot a young Palestinian man in the chest in the town of Shuweika, near Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, reports the Wafa news agency. The man, in critical condition, has been brought to the Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in Tulkarem, according to Wafa.

The report comes hours after Israeli forces withdrew from the town of Deir al-Ghusun, also near Tulkarem, after a deadly 15-hour raid. The death toll from that raid has risen to six, after rescuers with the Palestine Red Crescent Society recovered another body underneath rubble in the town, reports Wafa.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the “only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas” and a deal with Israel should be a “no-brainer” for the group.

“We wait to see whether, in effect, they can take yes for an answer on the ceasefire and release of hostages,” Blinken said late on Friday, speaking at the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum in Arizona. “But maybe something else is going on [with Hamas], and we’ll have a better picture of that in the coming days,” he said.

Blinken added that negotiations with Hamas are complicated by the fact that the “ultimate decision-makers” are members of the group in Gaza, with whom mediators have no direct contact.

Israeli news media are reporting that Israel will not agree to end the war and that the army will go through with its planned incursion into Rafah.

“Contrary to publications, Israel will not agree to the end of the war – the [Israeli army] will enter Rafah whether or not there is a truce for the release of our hostages,” Israel’s Army Radio said on X, quoting a “political source”.

Channel 12 News also posted on X a quote from a “political official” responding to reports of progress in the ceasefire negotiations: “We will not agree to the end of the war, we will enter Rafah.”

Osama Hamdan, a Hamas senior spokesman, says ceasefire talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt are still ongoing.

“And it’s clear that we are moving forward. There are some good points,” Hamdan told Al Jazeera. “But till now, we are still talking about the main issue, which is the complete ceasefire and complete withdrawal from Gaza. We hope to find some good and positive answers today.”

Hamdan said one of the “key elements” discussed is Netanyahu’s aim of sending the army into Rafah.

“Unfortunately, there was a clear statement from Netanyahu saying that regardless to what may happen, if there was a ceasefire or not, he will continue the attack,” he said. “That means there will be no ceasefire, and that means that the attack will be continued, which is against what we are discussing.”

“At least we want to know exactly what does it mean, his statement, and the reaction from the mediators. Our understanding that any achievement for a ceasefire means that there will be no more attacks against Gaza and Rafah,” he added.

Osama Hamdan says that during three months of negotiations to end Israel’s war on Gaza, there have been “some forward steps”.

“I think the mediators, our brothers in Egypt and Qatar, they are doing a good job. This is why we are still hoping to achieve the main goal, a complete ceasefire and withdrawal from Gaza,” he said.

However, Hamdan said the war could end immediately if the US decided it should.

“We have to talk about the real position of the United States because that is the main issue which will affect the position of the Israelis, and mainly Netanyahu,” Hamdan told Al Jazeera. “If the United States administration has said clearly to Netanyahu, enough is enough… I assure you that will happen.”

Sources have confirmed to us that there is progress in the talks, and a Qatari technical team is working out the details of a potential deal with the Egyptians. They are both key mediators, and usually technical teams are indications that we are moving to the operational aspect of an agreement.

There are phases in this agreement, and they will try to pin down the details of those phases.

Hamas has been very much concerned about the implementation of the agreement. The talks have been focused on convincing Hamas that they have to stay away from talking about a permanent ceasefire for phase one, because it is not going to happen.

Instead, Hamas has been asking for a prolonged ceasefire – something more than a month – that would give a sense of normal that could convince the international community to say, “We need to have a deal.”

I have covered the talks for the last six or seven months, and this is the first time since December that I am getting a sense from the key mediators that they believe there might be a significant breakthrough.

How do we get to a ceasefire agreement as Netanyahu continues to say he’ll be attacking Rafah come what may – deal or no deal – something that is anathema to Hamas, that it will never accept?

And what of Hamas’s basic demand that Israeli forces eventually withdraw from Gaza, people returning home, and reconstruction?

If the United States guarantees Israel’s pledges, that means the clash of the wills is going to be between Biden and Netanyahu. It will be up to Washington to make sure those Israeli pledges are respected.

And according to Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan’s earlier comments to Al Jazeera, this could be enough to get a deal done.

“We are still talking about the main issues, which are the complete ceasefire and complete withdrawal [of Israel] from Gaza. We hope we can find some positive answers today.

“Unfortunately, there was a clear statement from Netanyahu saying regardless of any ceasefire or not he’ll continue the attack against Rafah – which means there will be no ceasefire. Our understanding to achieve a ceasefire means there will be no more attacks anywhere in Gaza, including Rafah.

“We have to talk about the real position of the United States because that is the main issue that will affect the position of the Israelis, mainly Netanyahu. Guarantees are important, but we need a clear statement that clarifies the positions of each side. Because as we all know, the Israelis are trying every time to get out of their commitments."

While there has been signs of optimism over the latest proposal after months of back-and-forth on a deal, both Israel and Hamas appear to be holding the line on their terms.

One Israeli source, who spoke anonymously, told AFP news agency that Hamas’s continued demand for a lasting ceasefire is stymying prospects of reaching a truce. “So far, Hamas has not given up its demand to end the war, thus thwarting the possibility of reaching an agreement.”

The official said a sign of progress in talks would be if Israel sent a delegation led by the Mossad chief David Barnea to Cairo. Currently, CIA chief William Burns is in Cairo meeting Egyptian mediators who are talking with a Hamas team.

Another unnamed Israeli official signaled the country’s core position remains unchanged, saying “Israel will under no circumstances agree to ending the war as part of a deal to free our hostages.”

Despite a police crackdown on student protests in support of Palestine, demonstrations continue across the United States and in other places across the world. In many universities across the US, pro-Palestinian rallies, sit-ins and police clampdowns on them have upended the final days of the school year.

More than 2,400 protesters have been arrested on campuses across the US to quell the largest student protests since the anti-Vietnam war protests in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Some universities have been forced to cancel their graduation ceremonies, while others have seen entire buildings occupied by protesting students.

Across the Atlantic, police entered France’s prestigious Sciences Po university in Paris on Friday and removed student activists who had occupied its buildings overnight in protest against Israel’s war on Gaza.

In Berlin, German police broke up a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Humboldt University in central Berlin on the same day, arresting several protesters.

Pro-Palestinian protests have also spread across British universities as tent camps grow at universities in London, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Warwick, Swansea and Bristol, according to local media.

Read and watch our content on the pro-Palestine university protests:

• Police remove pro-Palestinian students from Paris’s Sciences Po university
• In Texas, pro-Palestine university protesters clash with state leaders
• How do American universities make their money?
• How students around the world are taking a stand for Gaza
• Inside Story: Is the crackdown on US university campuses a threat to free speech?
• How a Gaza protest at Indiana University became a battle for free speech
• Palestinians in Rafah express thanks to US university protesters
• ‘Divest from Israel’: Decoding the Gaza protest call shaking US campuses

“This war in Gaza is one of the most brutal wars I’ve ever experienced. It’s the first time I feel so terrified,” says Muhammad Qndeel, a Palestinian photojournalist from Gaza.

Despite the dangers, he is determined to continue covering the fighting. “We are sharing what we see to make sure our message reaches the entire world that Gaza is under siege and the most heinous crimes are being committed here.”

A senior Hamas source close to the negotiations in Egypt told AFP news agency there has been “no developments” and the day’s talks “have ended”. “Tomorrow, a new round will begin,” the unnamed Hamas official said.

Israel has given a preliminary nod to terms that one source said included the return of between 20 and 33 hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a truce of several weeks.

Hamas is seeking guarantees for a permanent end to Israel’s devastating war on Gaza that has killed more than 34,000 people, mostly women and children, with famine now ravaging its north.


It seems Israel thinks that by lowering the amount of hostages to exchange they can get Hamas to agree to a humanitarian pause rather than a sustained ceasefire. 40 day ceasefire is now several weeks, getting shorter. Hamas isn't going to take that deal :/

Hamas: Israel still refuses to end war during ceasefire talks

‘Negotiate now, resign later’: Israeli protesters demand action from PM

_{People attend a protest calling for the immediate release of those kidnapped}

Israeli opposition leader demands Netanyahu send negotiators to Cairo

’50-50 chance’ of truce negotiations succeeding

‘A deal on the table, government needs to go ahead and sign’

Figures from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees show 37 children in Gaza lose their mother every day. It’s being described as a “war on women”.

“In no war in recent history have we seen this appalling, deliberate targeted attack on women and children as we’ve seen in the war on Gaza,” said Reem al-Salem, the UN special rapporteur on women and girls.

She said Israel has been targeting Palestinian women for decades, but the current war shows zero consideration for their safety. “They are experiencing a full-blown genocide, they are being exterminated. There are few places in the world where we’ve seen something like this.”

Al-Salem noted nearly 15,000 children and 10,000 women have been killed in seven months of Israeli attacks. “If this is not a deliberate plan to kill children and women – the foundations of Palestinian life and society – then I don’t know what is really.”

Israel bombs farmland as hunger spreads to southern Gaza

Bombing farmland, paid for with American tax payer money.

Palestinian employee of German development agency ‘abused’ in Israeli jail

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/3/palestinian-employee-of-german-development-agency-abused-in-israeli-jail

A Palestinian employee of Germany’s state-funded development agency has been imprisoned in Israel for more than a month. She alleges being beaten and subject to abusive and humiliating treatment.

Baraa Odeh, 34, works for the German Agency for International Cooperation and was detained by Israeli border guards on March 5 while returning to her home in Ramallah from a work trip to Germany. She was since sentenced to three months of administrative detention without charge.

Prisoner rights groups and released detainees have raised the alarm on Israel’s systematic use of torture in its prisons, especially in recent months.

Palestinian doctor denied entry to France after working in Gaza

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/4/palestinian-doctor-ghassan-abu-sitta-says-he-was-denied-entry-to-france

Ghassan Abu-Sitta, a doctor who spent 43 days in Gaza helping treat those wounded in Israel’s war, said he is being denied entry to France where he was scheduled to make a speech at the Senate.

Abu Sitta was placed in a holding zone at the airport and will be expelled, according to French Senator Raymonde Poncet Monge.

“Fortress Europe silencing the witnesses to the genocide while Israel kills them in prison,” the renowned British-Palestinian plastic surgeon said.

Student protests at University of Southern California continue

Pro-Palestine students are continuing their sit-in at the University of Southern California (USC).

“USC divest from genocide” and “Free Palestine” placards can be seen at the encampment setup at Alumni Park.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations and encampments have taken place across universities in the United States and spread to campuses around the world.

I’m here at USC where pro-Palestinian student protesters continue occupying Alumni Park, even after the Solidarity Occupation was swept by police last week, resulting in 93 arrests. pic.twitter.com/wv547wMIgF

— Jeremy Lindenfeld (@jeremotographs) May 4, 2024

Can it be any more peaceful??

When we could no longer perform surgeries in the north, I decided to head south, hoping that operating rooms there would still be functioning. I walked for six hours and saw unimaginably horrific scenes of mass destruction, corpses and body parts.

I cannot comprehend the horror of the moment we live in. A genocide is taking place live on TV – a genocide in which many states, politicians and respected institutions are complicit.

....

On October 17, I was in between surgeries when I heard the screeching of an approaching missile followed by the loud, cacophonous sound of impact.

As I stepped into the corridor, I saw the hospital courtyard lit up in an inferno; ambulances and cars were on fire. One man was bleeding profusely from his neck, and I had to apply pressure until the ambulance arrived to take us to al-Shifa. Later, as we walked through the courtyard, I saw bodies and body parts everywhere including a small arm, which clearly belonged to a child.

Despite its connection to Britain and reassurances from the bishop in England that it would be spared from destruction, al-Ahli Hospital was hit.

This incident served as a litmus test for what was to come: Israel’s full war on Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.

After al-Ahli was hit, and no one was held to account, the domino pieces began to fall rapidly. Hospitals were targeted one after the other. It became obvious that the attacks were systemic.

We quickly ran out of morphine and ketamine and resorted in desperation to using intravenous paracetamol as pain relief as there was nothing else available. Victims of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, including tens of thousands of children, underwent extremely painful procedures without anaesthetic; it felt criminal to perform these procedures. It’s indescribably heart-wrenching to hear children scream from pain that you are causing, even when you know you are only trying to save their lives.

One little girl in particular, only nine years old, had her body covered in shrapnel wounds. I had performed surgery on her, but the type of injury meant that the wounds needed disinfection every 36 hours to keep her alive. I spoke to her dad and explained that her temperature was rising and the infection was spreading to her blood and killing her slowly. Without morphine or ketamine, the only option was to disinfect the many wounds she had every 36 hours without sufficient pain relief. She was screaming in pain, her father was crying, and I was in tears too.

I treated many injuries caused by chemical bombs, which turn the human body into Swiss cheese. Chemical particles continue to burn through the skin for as long as they can access oxygen, reigniting when exposed to oxygen again. The first little boy, 13, I treated in the current onslaught on Gaza had such chemical burns down to the bone. Early on I had to come to terms with the fact that, due to the conditions we were in and the injuries we were dealing with, survival rates among the wounded would be very low.

....

After more than 200 days of this genocide, I keep thinking “surely we’ve seen it all”, and then a new atrocity is uncovered. Hospitals have been turned into rubble. They became sites of mass graves of Palestinians murdered in cold blood by Israeli forces, hands tied behind their backs. The heinous crimes committed at al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals were streamed live to our screens, but the world watched silently. Israel has faced no accountability. Countries, and academic institutions, continue to support and defend Israel. Many continue to provide it with weapons.


_{Palestinians inspect the damage outside Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital after the Israeli military withdrew from the complex housing the hospital on April 1, 2024}

Israel has dismantled all parts of life in Gaza: destroying bakeries, schools, mosques and churches; blocking humanitarian aid and restricting electricity. It has done so to ensure that Gaza becomes uninhabitable even after a ceasefire. When Israeli soldiers first broke into al-Shifa Hospital they destroyed medical equipment and machinery to ensure that the hospital could not function. Now, little remains of the hospital itself.

Osama Hamdan, a senior Spokesperson for Hamas, says that to agree to any ceasefire deal, his group needs a guarantee from the US that Israeli forces will not launch a ground assault on Rafah.

“We are still talking about the main issues, which are the complete ceasefire and complete withdrawal [of Israel] from Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera. “Unfortunately, there was a clear statement from Netanyahu saying regardless of any ceasefire or not, he’ll continue the attack against Rafah – which means there will be no ceasefire.

“Our understanding to achieve a ceasefire means there will be no more attacks anywhere in Gaza, including Rafah.”

Brother of Israeli captive urges Netanyahu to sign ceasefire deal

Police in riot gear have arrested 25 people and used pepper spray as they broke up a student encampment at the University of Virginia (UVA) in the US city of Charlottesville, according to media reports.

Jim Ryan, the president of the university, said state police were called in after protesters – including individuals unaffiliated with UVA – set up tents on the campus and refused to disperse.

He said attempts to resolve the situation “were met with physical confrontation and attempted assault”, resulting in the police declaring an unlawful assembly and arresting those who “continued to refuse dispersal”.

At about 10pm on Monday, April 29, I thought I would call it a night.

My student journalist colleagues and I had stayed late into the night on Columbia University’s campus the previous couple of days, reporting on a story that had grabbed the world’s attention: the pro-Palestine protests and encampment that had inspired similar campaigns in schools across the United States and globally.

As I slung my camera bag on my back and began to leave campus, walking by the camp, I got a tip from a passing protester: “I would stick around till about midnight,” they said. “Maybe go home first, though.” Got it. I went home to charge the backup camera batteries and grab spare memory cards before leaving for campus again.

Back at Columbia, it appeared that more than one of us had gotten the tip. Crowds of student journalists, all of us with matching paper badges and blue tape on our clothes, waited next to the encampment for whatever was to come. Our journalism faculty stood by our side, as they had been doing throughout.

Protesters grouped into “platoons”, and while we didn’t know what to expect, we kept eyes on different corners.

We split up to make sure different spots were covered; a few of us stuck by Pulitzer Hall, the home of Columbia Journalism School, where a small number of protesters had convened, while some others stood ready with cameras and recorders by the encampment.

That is when it all began. Campers began walking their tents off the lawn. One group began chanting. Another at the opposite end of the lawn sang protest hymns. I was with a small cohort of journalists who followed the tents to another small lawn, a clever decoy – whether intended or not – that meant many of us missed the moment, at the opposite end of campus, when protesters entered Hamilton Hall.


_{Student protesters playing music at the Columbia University encampment in New York City}

In my time covering the protest, the sounds at the encampment varied. Some days, you could hear the (Islamic) adhan, or the chants of (Jewish) Passover prayer. Or the sounds of the dumbek (drum) and sharp violins echoing microtonal hymns of Palestinian folk music and classical Andalusian muwashshah. Speakers amplified the melodies of iconic musicians like Abdel Halim Hafez and Fairuz.

Protesters shared donated hot meals – pizzas and samosas, bagels and eggs, sacks of mandarins and tubs of crackers, muffins and cookies spread on a tarp aptly called the “cornucopia”.

One camper had set up a makeshift nail parlour, painting red, white, black and green manicures matching the Palestinian flag. Cardboard “street signs” named the tight spaces between rows of tents “Walid Daqqa Road”, after the Palestinian novelist and activist who died of cancer in April, while in Israeli custody.

In the lawn’s centre, organisers routinely updated a whiteboard to reflect the day’s programmed activities: Dhuhr prayer and Shabbat dinner, with jazz in the mix, too.

Continued here https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/4/we-wont-stop-how-columbias-students-etched-a-new-gaza-protest-legacy including the police raid on Hamilton Hall and aftermath.