Israel’s war on Gaza updates: New evacuation orders for Khan Younis

This live page is now closed.

Read about the Palestinians killed in Israel’s strike on Gaza City’s al-Tabin school, here.

For more on the US’s latest $20bn arms package for Israel, go here.

And you can always find all our latest coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, here.

We will be closing this live page shortly but before we do, here’s a recap of the day’s main developments:

• Amid more deadly attacks across the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for Khan Younis.
• Hamas launched two long-range rockets at Tel Aviv from Gaza, with the Israeli military reporting that one hit the sea off the central city and another fell short of Israel.
• The Israeli military has closed the Rafah humanitarian route.
• The US State Department approved more than $20bn of weapons sales to Israel, including fighter jets, advanced missiles, tank shells, mortar cartridges and military vehicles.
• The arms sales came as the US called on all sides to convene for negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire, with President Biden saying he expects a deal could prompt Iran to stop its planned retaliatory attacks on Israel.
• Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was roundly criticised and condemned after storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound with armed guards and far-right supporters to lead Jewish prayers.
• Hezbollah launched multiple rocket volleys at Israeli positions, also confirming the deaths of two of its fighters in one of the several Israeli air strikes targeting southern Lebanon during the day.
• The UN Security Council convened to hear arguments on the Israeli air strikes on the al-Tabin school in Gaza City which killed dozens of Palestinians.

As we reported earlier, the US has approved more than $20bn worth of weapons sales to Israel.

The deal includes fighter jets, missiles, tank shells and explosives, as well as tactical military vehicles.

The move comes despite concerns that Israeli forces are routinely violating international law in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and as Israel prepares for retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah following the assassinations of high-level Hamas and Hezbollah officials.

Read more here.

Protesters in Australia have tried to direct attention towards the dehumanising treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention, where countless victims have said they have been tortured and abused while others have died.

مشهد تمثيلي في أستراليا لتعذيب الاحتلال الأسرى الفلسطينيين#فيديو #حرب_غزة pic.twitter.com/cpnnXOzY04

— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) August 13, 2024

Translation: [Protesters acting out] a scene in Australia of the occupation torturing Palestinian prisoners.

The drone attack on a military base in Syria last week injured eight US soldiers, according to the Pentagon.

Air Force spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters the eight soldiers were treated for traumatic brain injury and smoke inhalation, adding that three personnel have already returned to duty.

There are currently about 900 US military personnel operating in Syria and about 2,500 more stationed in Iraq. The US is facing pushback for its military presence in both countries. The soldiers’ stated mission is to fight ISIL (ISIS) and “extremism”.

The Palestine Action network of activists says that two of its members continue to be held by the UK government without any “terrorism” charges specifically introduced even though they were detained along with five others under the country’s Terrorism Act.

“This not only vindicates the activists but proves the state was abusing their powers by holding them under draconian laws – all in a bid to protect an arms firm perpetrating genocide,” the organisation said.

British counterterrorism police charged seven people with violent disorder over a break-in at a building belonging to Israeli defence firm Elbit in southwest England.

BREAKING: Seven actionists imprisoned after six allegedly caused £1million in damages to Israel’s biggest weapons producer.

Despite being detained without charges for nearly a week under the Terrorism Act, no terror charges were brought.

This not only vindicates the activists,… pic.twitter.com/90c6tcOiHS

— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) August 13, 2024

IfNotNow, the US-based Jewish group that is against US support for the war on Gaza, reports that demonstrators shut down a freeway in Los Angeles in protest of the war.

JUST NOW: LA Jews & allies with @IfNotNowLA shut down the 405-S freeway on Tisha B'Av to demand an arms embargo on Israel and an immediate ceasefire.

Tisha B’Av is a day of immense sorrow.

Today, we mourn. Today, we say no more. Today, we say #NotAnotherBomb.

📸: Rocky Douieb pic.twitter.com/KX6mZPsZWT

— IfNotNow🔥✡️ (@IfNotNowOrg) August 13, 2024

The Israeli military says it has temporarily closed a route in Rafah, which is used to deliver humanitarian aid, after claiming that Hamas fighters opened fire in the area.

It said the area “has become an active combat zone” but did not provide any further details.

This comes after Hamas fired two rockets at Tel Aviv, with the Israeli military saying one fell in the sea off the central city and the other did not reach Israel.

The UN and international aid organisations continue to report that the Israeli military regularly and significantly hampers the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and that the aid that has come through Rafah bordering Egypt has been far lower than needs in the enclave.

Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old boy in the town of Anata, east of Jerusalem, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Wafa cited the town’s media office as saying the boy, identified as Shadi Wessam Sheiha, was working in a car wash when he was shot by an Israeli sniper from the nearby illegal settlement of Pisgat Zeev.

His killing brings the total number of those who lost their lives in the occupied West Bank since October 7 to 625.

The US Secretary of State says in a statement that the White House is “firmly against” Israel’s far-right national security minister leading prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Blinken said the move “demonstrated blatant disregard for the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem”.

“These provocative actions only exacerbate tensions at a pivotal moment when all focus should be on the ongoing diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire agreement and secure the release of all hostages and create conditions for broader regional stability.”

Backed by armed forces and far-right supporters, Ben-Gvir has stormed the compound multiple times since the start of the war, specifically when ceasefire talks have appeared to progress.

Blinken’s statement comes on the heels of his approval of more than $20bn worth of weapons sales to Israel, including fighter jets, missiles, tank shells and explosives, as well as tactical military vehicles.

Hezbollah has launched multiple rocket volleys at Israel, triggering air raid sirens across multiple border areas.

The Lebanese group confirmed three sets of rocket attacks on Israeli positions, with the first targeting a site in the occupied Kfarchouba hills. A second barrage was directed at “a deployment of Israeli enemy soldiers in the Jal al-Deir site” and a third targeted a military headquarters in Meron.

The Israeli military confirmed that at least 15 rockets were detected entering from Lebanon, which it said fell in open areas and did not cause any casualties.

The Israeli military said in its statement that it also launched air strikes on two rocket launchers that were ready to fire on Israeli positions from southern Lebanon.

Tens of rockets were launched from Lebanon towards the Israeli airbase in Meron pic.twitter.com/RhNpzreI5A

— Ali Hashem علي هاشم (@alihashem_tv) August 13, 2024

Palestine’s UN envoy Riyad Mansour has been addressing the UN Security Council’s urgent meeting over Israel’s August 10 attack on the al-Tabin School in Gaza City, which killed more than 100 Palestinians.

“Israel does not care about your condemnations, it dismisses your resolutions, it does not even listen to your debates,” Mansour told the UNSC.

“As countries, as a Security Council, you had a responsibility to act months ago to stop this impunity. As the genocide continues, you have a responsibility to react, to save human lives and preserve the foundation for peace and security,” Mansour said.

“Israel is a rogue state, with a rotten government” due to the impunity it has enjoyed so far, he added.

France has called Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s leading of prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound a violation of the historical status quo of the holy places in Jerusalem.

“This new provocation is unacceptable. France calls on the Israeli government to take all necessary measures to ensure respect for the historic status quo of the holy places in Jerusalem,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Asked by reporters if he expects Iran to hold off on carrying out a retaliatory strike against Israel if a Gaza ceasefire deal is achieved, US President Joe Biden responded by saying “That’s my expectation.”

The US, Egypt and Qatar are convening a summit aimed at finalising a ceasefire deal and the release of captives on Thursday.

Israel is sending a delegation, but Prime Minister Netanyahu is criticised even inside Israel for presenting demands aimed at thwarting a deal. Hamas has said both sides have already agreed to a deal and mediators need to present ways to implement it.

Here are the weapons sales to Israel that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has just approved.

Some, including the fighter jets, could take years to deliver while equipment like tank shells could arrive immediately.

• 50 F-15IA AND F-15I+ aircraft for $18.82bn
• Nearly 33,000 tank cartridges for $774.1m
• Modified M1148A1P2 family of medium tactical vehicles for $583.1m
• Advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles for an estimated $102.5m
• 120mm high explosive mortar cartridges for $61.1m

“The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability,” the US Department of State said about the F-15s, which are made by Boeing.

The atmosphere in the occupied Palestinian territory remains tense in the aftermath of an Israeli far-right minister’s leading of Jewish prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

A video circulating in Palestinian channels on Telegram, which has been verified by Al Jazeera, shows Israeli forces searching and abusing a young man in the Damascus Gate area of Jerusalem.

Another video showed a large number of Israeli settlers gathering near the Western Wall – also referred to as the Wailing Wall or the Buraq Wall in occupied Jerusalem – with Israeli soldiers also deployed in the area.

Twenty-four is the number of times the UN Security Council has met since October 7 for emergency meetings, dealing with Gaza.

That’s a lot. As you can tell from the briefings … we are in a place that’s getting worse, not better in Gaza.

The UNSC has passed four resolutions, primarily 2735, which was passed in June and calls for a ceasefire … that has been ignored and not implemented.

Algeria’s representative at the United Nations, Amar Bendjama, has been addressing the UN Security Council’s urgent meeting over Israel’s August 10 attack on the al-Tabin School in Gaza City, which killed more than 100 Palestinians.

“This is not how the council should address the Palestinians’ plea… [and] quest for justice,” Bendjama said.

“Our council has the legal and moral, [and] primary responsibility to act firmly to shoulder its mandate in preserving international peace and security.”

Bendjama called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and expressed Algeria’s support of mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the US.

“There is no room for delaying or overcomplicating negotiations by adding new conditionalities or new demands,” he said.

Lisa Doughten, of the Office for the UN Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), says reports indicate that Israel’s recent attack on Gaza City’s al-Tabin School was one of the “deadliest attack on a school sheltering displaced people” since October 7.

Doughten has been addressing the UNSC’s urgent meeting about the August 10 attack, which killed more than 100 Palestinians.

“Tragically, this is far from an isolated incident. Indeed, such attacks appear to be occurring with increasing frequency,” Doughten said, adding that it was at least the 21st attack on a school that has been serving as a shelter recorded since July 4.

Palestinians are “repeatedly being killed and injured in the very places they’ve been told were safe to go”, Doughten said.