In the West Bank, Israeli settlers set fire to 4 Palestinian homes in al-‘Awja. Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian man during a late-night raid in Nur Shams refugee camp; the man is reportedly killed while he is filming the raid from his rooftop. Israeli forces also shoot and injure 2 Palestinians in Kafr Ra’i, blocking ambulances from accessing the injured. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and injure a Palestinian man in ‘Usarin. Israeli forces also shoot and injure a Palestinian man during a raid in Beit Umar. In East Jerusalem, 120,000 Palestinians take part in the last Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Haram al-Sharif compound; severe Israeli restrictions prevent thousands of Palestinians from entering East Jerusalem. Israeli forces violently disperse worshippers with tear gas dropped from drones and arrest 8 people. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Gaza City, Khan Yunis, Rafah, Beit Hanun, and Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least 54 people. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Khaim, Ayta ash Shaab, and Marjauoun, killing 6 people, including a medic in Khaim, 2 members of Hezbollah in Ayta ash Shaab, and 3 members of the Amal Movement in Marjayoun. In Morocco, protesters demand an end to Israeli-Moroccan normalization in Casablanca, Rabat, and Tangiers. (AJ, AP, HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 4/5; AJ 4/6; UNOCHA 4/8)
More than 33,091 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 13,750 children and 8,900 women, and around 75,750 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 448 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 112 children. More than 4,700 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured in Israel since 10/7/2023, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 255 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,549 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27/2023. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7/2023. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12/2023 due to the Israeli blockade. At least 70,000 housing units have been destroyed and 290,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7/2023, constituting over 60% of all housing units. 218 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. (AJ, HA, WAFA 4/5; UNOCHA 4/8)
Addameer reports that it has received testimonies from Palestinian children subjected to severe beatings during their time in Israeli prisons. (AJ 4/5)
The Israeli Civil Administration announces a plan to construct 234 settlement housing units in an industrial zone near the Kiryat Arba settlement. (PCN 4/5; WAFA 4/7)
The Israeli military dismiss a colonel and a major from their positions and reprimands the head of the Southern Command in response to its investigation into the killing of 7 aid workers from World Central Kitchen on 4/1. In a statement, the military says the “strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures.” 30 Israeli embassies shut down over fears that Iran will retaliate for the Israeli airstrikes on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on 4/1. The Guardian reveals the identity of the commander in charge of the military’s Unit 8200 as Yossi Sariel. Sariel is said to be advocating the increased usage of AI in Israel’s targeting of Palestinians. Israel also acknowledges that it killed a 68-year-old Israeli woman taken captive on 10/7/2023 while she was being transported in a vehicle. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AX, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU 4/5; AP 4/6)
The UN Human Rights Council adopts a resolution calling for a halt to arms transfers to Israel and for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. 28 countries vote in favor, 13 abstain, and 6 vote against, including Argentina, Bulgaria, Germany, Malawi, Paraguay, and the U.S. (AJ, AJ, AP, AP, AX, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA 4/5)
PA prime minister Mohammed Mustafa speaks to Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares, discussing strengthening cooperation. Mustafa thanks Albares for Spain’s support of the Palestinian people and its pledge to recognize the State of Palestine. Mustafa also speaks with World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres. (WAFA, WAFA 4/5; AJ 4/6)
Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah says in a speech marking al-Quds Day that an Iranian response to the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate on 4/1 is inevitable. (AJ, REU 4/5)
The UN Security Council meets to discuss the risk of famine in Gaza. PA ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour tells council members that it “is unfortunate that it took the killing of foreign nationals for some to fully acknowledge the fate reserved for Palestinians for 180 days now.” Russian ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzia suggests that the Security Council adopt measures relating to Israel that could include an arms embargo or sanctions. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres gives a speech marking the first 6 months of the Israeli attacks on Gaza, saying “nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” and calling the Israeli-induced famine “incomprehensible, and entirely avoidable.” Guterres also calls for an independent investigation into all 196 aid workers that have been killed in Gaza. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA 4/5)
U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken welcomes Israel opening up the Beit Hanun (Erez) crossing for aid deliveries but says it is not sufficient and calls for an “independent, thorough and fully publicized” investigation into the killing of the 7 World Central Kitchen aid workers on 4/1. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says the U.S. does not plan to conduct an independent investigation. Refugees International president Jeremy Konyndyk says that without a ceasefire aid groups will not be able to carry out an anti-famine operation. (AJ, AP, NYT, REU 4/5)
AP reports that U.S. president Joe Biden has written to Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatar emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, urging them to press Hamas to accept a ceasefire deal. (AJ, AP, HA, REU 4/5)
Colombia files a declaration of intervention in the South African genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. (AJ, AJ, REU 4/5)
40 Democratic members of the House of Representatives, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), sign letters to President Biden and Secretary Blinken calling on them to reconsider authorization of arms transfers to Israel and to suspend further approvals of arms transfers to Israel until a full investigation into the attack on the World Central Kitchen workers on 4/1 is completed. (AX, HA, NYT 4/5; AJ, AJ, HA, REU 4/6)
Australian foreign minister Penny Wong tells the Guardian that Prime Minister Netanyahu was attempting to “brush aside” the killing of 7 aid workers on 4/1 by saying that killings of aid workers happen during in wartime, adding that the Australian foreign ministry does not accept the explanation. (AJ 4/5)
Hackers from the group Anonymous for Justice claim responsibility for a cyberattack on the Israeli Justice Ministry, stealing 300 gigabytes of data. (AJ, HA 4/5)
Irish finance minister Michael McGrath says the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund will divest from 6 Israeli companies that operate in West Bank settlements. (REU 4/5; AJ, WAFA 4/6)