Israeli forces arrest Palestinians in raids across occupied West Bank

Israeli forces have conducted a series of early morning raids in the occupied Palestinian territory, making several arrests, according to the official Wafa news agency.

Israeli forces arrest young Palestinian man after storming Jenin hospital

Israeli soldiers have arrested a young man after storming the Jenin Government Hospital in the occupied West Bank, sources confirm to Al Jazeera.

The incursion took place in view of a number of staff, civilians and patients with the Wafa news agency reporting that a staff member was also detained before being let go.

Israeli occupation forces have killed at least 36 people and wounded or arrested dozens more since they launched their large-scale military incursion into Jenin and its refugee camp in January.

Israeli military intensifies deadly air, ground assault on Gaza

The situation in Gaza remains precarious as the Israeli military has intensified aerial and land attacks in the past few hours.

Three people were killed in Gaza City’s Tuffah, which has received forced evacuation orders. Some civilians have been forced to move, but others remain as they believe nowhere else is safe.

With the destruction of parts of the al-Ahli Hospital in the north, there is a grave sense of danger and urgency, particularly in Gaza City. We have received reports that Israeli drones also continue to hover at low altitudes in Gaza City.

A barrage of air strikes also hit the al-Mawasi area in the south, which is supposedly designated as a “humanitarian zone” by the Israeli military. We understand that at least one person has been killed and others have been transported to Nasser Hospital for medical care.

Many Palestinians feel that continued Israeli ground operations will bring them more suffering.


_{Volunteers search for survivors after Israel bombs Jabalia apartment building}

Palestinian farm union warns against Israel’s ‘campaign of mass starvation’ in Gaza

The Ramallah-based Union of Agricultural Work Committees urgently draws attention to the “deepening famine” in the Gaza Strip.

It called this “a catastrophe deliberately manufactured through the Israeli genocidal war” as it has blocked all aid from entering since March 2.

The union reminded that in April, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reaffirmed the Israeli commitment to enforcing famine in Gaza, declaring that “not even a grain of wheat” would be allowed into the enclave.

“This is not policy failure; this is a calculated campaign of mass starvation,” it said. “Today, the people of Gaza are starving by design.”

Satellite images confirm Israeli army controls about half of Rafah city

An analysis of satellite imagery and maps by Al Jazeera has revealed that the Israeli army has expanded its operations in Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.

It now controls an area estimated at approximately 30sq km (11.5sq miles), which is 47 percent of the total area of the city.

The army has also started paving a road extending from the Sufa crossing towards Salah al-Din Street, with a length of 4km (2.5 miles).

It comes days after the Israeli military said it had completed the construction of what it called the Morag Corridor, which cuts off Rafah from the rest of Gaza.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the Morag Corridor effectively turned Rafah into an “Israeli security zone” and added that the Netzarim Corridor, which divides the Strip in two, would also be expanded.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 50,983 Palestinians

The Health Ministry in Gaza reports that 38 people were killed in the past 24 hours and one person was rescued from under the rubble. This brings the death toll of Israeli attacks since the start of the war to 50,983 killed and 116,274 wounded.

Since March 18, when Israel ended the ceasefire by launching more attacks, at least 1,613 Palestinians have been killed and 4,233 wounded. A large number of victims are still believed to be trapped under the rubble or otherwise missing and unreachable.

Egypt, Qatar share ‘grave concern’ over escalation in Gaza

Egypt and Qatar have emphasised their support for the Palestinian people in a joint statement after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha.

“The two sides have expressed their grave concern over the continued escalation in the Gaza Strip and stressed the importance of continuing joint efforts to achieve an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, ensure the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to civilians, and support reconstruction efforts to alleviate the suffering of the brotherly Palestinian people,” the joint statement said.

It added that the leaders emphasised the “centrality of the Palestinian cause for Arabs”.

The statement also backed efforts to “achieve Palestinian national reconciliation and the need to unify Palestinian ranks” and affirmed support “for the Gaza reconstruction plan” proposed by Egypt and backed by the Arab League.

European pledge to increase funding not enough for ailing Palestinian Authority

The Palestinian Authority [PA] sees the European Union’s pledge to increase its financial support with a three-year package worth about 1.6 billion euros [$1.8bn] as a positive step that signals political engagement.

But in reality, this sum is like a Band-Aid or a plaster for a patient in the intensive care unit.

There is a $2bn deficit in the 2025 Palestinian budget, and that’s not because there isn’t enough income but because Israel takes 70 percent of the Palestinian government’s income under different pretexts.

The 1.6 billion euros from the EU will begin to be distributed from this year until 2027, and 620 million euros [$702.4m] of the earmarked money will go to the PA as direct assistance over the coming years.

Around 300 million euros [$339.9m] will be distributed for 2025. That’s barely enough to fund one month of government spending. PA civil servants are only paid around 70 percent of their income, and they haven’t yet been paid their salaries for March.

Macron urges ‘reform’ of PA for post-war Gaza plan

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for “reform” of the Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of a plan that would see the West Bank-based body govern a post-war Gaza without Hamas.

“It is essential to set a framework for the day after: disarm and sideline Hamas, define credible governance and reform the Palestinian Authority,” Macron said on X after a phone call with PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

“France is fully committed to securing the release of all hostages, the restoration of a lasting ceasefire, and immediate access for humanitarian aid to Gaza,” he added.

Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails show signs of torture

The nine Palestinian prisoners released today and brought to Al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza had been arrested at a checkpoint six months ago when Israeli forces besieged the Jabalia refugee camp.

We could see that they had signs of torture on their bodies. Doctors said they were deprived of food and basic necessities. Their families were also unaware of where they were being held.

There are thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli jails, and relatives who do not know where they are have been calling the ICRC [International Committee for the Red Cross] for information on their whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Israeli attacks continue across Gaza. There have been at least two air strikes since the morning. One took place in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, where six Palestinians were killed, and another one in Khuza’a in Khan Younis, where five Palestinians were killed.

Former Israeli officials, academics join call to end war and return captives: Report

In Israel, pressure on Netanyahu is growing as dozens of former ambassadors and senior Foreign Ministry officials support calls to return the captives even if that means an end to the war on Gaza.

The Israeli news outlet Ynet reported that the former officials signed a letter supporting air force veterans who last week began calling for the government to prioritise the captives over its war efforts.

A retired Supreme Court  justice and former Washington attache, Elyakim Rubinstein, signed the letter that read: “We demand immediate action to release the hostages in one fell swoop, even at the cost of stopping the war.”

Moreover, about 3,500 Israeli academics signed a petition demanding the return of the captives and an end to a war they said was serving the political and personal interests of the government. They added that the continuation of the war would lead to the deaths of the captives, Haaretz reported.

‘Scum’: Israeli minister lashes out against protesters demanding return of captives

A group of Israelis have used a new tactic to protest outside the home of Environment Minister Idit Silman in the city of Rehovot in central Israel.

They spelled out “one pita a day” using the flatbreads in a reference to the small rations that captives reportedly receive in Gaza. The message came during Passover, a time when it is forbidden for observant Jews to eat leavened bread.

The far-right minister and Likud party member called the protesters “scum” in a post on X with a picture of the pitas on the street.

“It’s not for the sake of the kidnapped. It’s not for democracy. It’s not even for politics. It’s just that they are despicable types, lacking basic human values. Zero concern for others, zero respect for Judaism, and zero civility.”

Relations between Israelis supportive of a deal that would secure the release of the captives and government members have grown increasingly tense with some ministers on occasion lashing out at family members of captives.

פסח. רחוב שרובו דתיים ושומרי מסורת. החלאות הללו באים לפזר פיתות על פני הרחוב.

זה לא למען החטופים. זה לא למען הדמוקרטיה. זה אפילו לא עבור פוליטיקה.

זה רק כי הם טיפוסים נאלחים, שאין בהם ערכים אנושיים בסיסיים. אפס אכפתיות לזולת, אפס כבוד ליהדות, ואפס תרבותיות. אפסים מוחלטים.… pic.twitter.com/3vKfR6h6uR

— Idit Silman - עידית סילמן (@iditsilman) April 14, 2025

Israeli forces launch raids across Tulkarem in occupied West Bank

Israeli forces have deployed military vehicles in Tulkarem after launching a series of raids in the West Bank city. Witnesses told the Wafa news agency that Israeli soldiers stormed the Fawaz Mall in southeastern Tulkarem, detaining people and subjecting them to field interrogations.

In the same area, a military checkpoint was erected where Israeli forces stopped and searched young Palestinian men. The Israelis inspected IDs and phones, but no detentions were reported.

In the city centre, Israeli soldiers raided a cafe and threw stun grenades near the Thabet Thabet Government Hospital and interrogated people inside.

In the Tulkarem refugee camp, soldiers were also heavily deployed in the al-Matar neighbourhood, storming and ransacking homes and forcing families to leave.

Just east of Tulkarem, residents in Jabal al-Salihin in the Nur Shams refugee camp were ordered to leave their homes without being allowed to retrieve their personal belongings.

UN warns Gaza is facing its ‘worst’ humanitarian situation since war began

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says Gaza is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began.

“The humanitarian situation is now likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of hostilities,” OCHA said in a statement.

The UN body added that since Israel blocked the deliveries of aid to Gaza at the beginning of March, no aid has reached the enclave, and the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.

WHO says Israel denying permission to bring medical aid into Gaza

Margaret Harris, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), has told Al Jazeera Arabic that the UN agency has been “working to bring in medical aid to treat those wounded in the ongoing bombing of Gaza”.

However, “we often do not receive permission to bring medical aid into the Gaza Strip”, she added.

Harris said the WHO was increasingly concerned about the population’s lack of access to clean water and the increasing levels of hunger, especially among children.

US air strikes target Yemen’s Marib: Report

Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reports 15 US strikes have targeted the districts of Raghwan and Madghal in Yemen’s Marib governorate.

The US strikes follow a Houthi missile launch against Israel on Sunday.

“The Israeli enemy, along with the Americans, must realize that beloved Yemen – its leadership, people, and army – will not back down from its steadfast position in supporting and backing the oppressed Palestinian people … regardless of the repercussions and the outcomes,” the Yemeni group said in a statement on Sunday.