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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
Israel yesterday handed over the bodies of 54 unidentified Palestinians, most of whom were then buried at a grave site in Deir al-Balah, Gaza. Forensic doctors at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital have been unable to identify roughly two-thirds of the bodies. The Israeli military said the deceased had been combatants in the Gaza Strip, but this has not been independently verified. Dr Ahmed Dheir, a senior forensic specialist at Nasser Hospital, said that many of the bodies had signs of traumatic injuries. Liam Stack and Bilal Shbair report for the New York Times.
The World Health Organization yesterday led a medical evacuation of 41 critical patients and 145 companions out of Gaza, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a social media post. Tedros added that around 15,000 more patients in Gaza are awaiting medical evacuation. Chandni Shah, Olivia Le Poidevin, and Emma Farge report for Reuters.
Israel’s Supreme Court today pushed back the hearing of a petition filed by the Foreign Press Association demanding independent access for journalists to Gaza. The Israeli State Attorney told the court that “the situation has changed” and requested an additional 30 days to examine the circumstances. No date has been set for the next hearing. Patrick Keddie and Urooba Jamal report for Al Jazeera.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel today following U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s visit this week. Rubio said yesterday that he plans to visit the new civilian military coordination centre in southern Israel, where U.S. troops are working alongside the Israeli military and delegations from other countries planning the stabilization of Gaza. Renata Brito and Josef Federman report for AP News.
Vance yesterday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “give a shot” to the ceasefire deal, two U.S. officials and one Israeli official told Axios. The implementation of the deal “takes monitoring … not in the sense of, you know, you monitor a toddler … It’s about the fact that it’s a lot of work,” Vance said following his meeting with Netanyahu. Barak Ravid reports.
The International Court of Justice yesterday issued an advisory opinion stating that “as an occupying power,” Israel is “obliged” to ensure the basic needs of the civilian population in Gaza are met. The opinion states that Israel must accept humanitarian support from U.N. entities, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Israel’s foreign ministry said on social media that it rejected the court’s finding and added, “Israel fully upholds its obligations under international law.” The U.S. State Department also responded to the advisory opinion yesterday, saying, “This so-called ‘court’ issues a nakedly politicizing non-binding ‘advisory opinion’ unfairly bashes Israel and gives UNRWA a free pass for its deep entanglement with and material support for Hamas Terrorism.” Stephanie van den Berg reports for Reuters; Faith Wardwell reports for POLITICO.
A bill applying “the sovereignty of the State of Israel” to the occupied West Bank won preliminary approval from Israel’s parliament yesterday. Netanyahu’s Likud party did not support the legislation, which was put forward by lawmakers outside his coalition and was passed by a vote of 25-24 out of 120 lawmakers. This is the first of four votes required for the law to pass. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that the United States was “not supportive of [the bill] right now,” adding “we think it’s potentially threatening to the peace deal.” Maayan Lubell reports for Reuters; Al Jazeera reports.
Dozens of Israeli settlers today attacked Palestinian olive pickers in Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission says it has documented 158 attacks against olive pickers since the beginning of the season two weeks ago. Patrick Keddie and Urooba Jamal report for Al Jazeera.