Middle East crisis live: Israel’s war cabinet to meet tonight to discuss ceasefire and hostage deal – The Guardian

Muhammad Luay al-Raqab is the first baby to be born after the reopening of the maternity ward at the al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis, said the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) on Thursday.

In late January, the PRCS said Israeli tanks had surrounded the, al-Amal hospital, which is the headquarters of the rescue agency. At the time, an Israeli military spokesperson denied its forces were storming the hospital in southern Gaza.

Here are some of the latest images on the newswires:

The Times of Israel, citing a Saudi Asharq newspaper article, reports that Egypt will invite Israeli and Hamas delegations to Cairo “to try to bridge gaps over a hostage release deal”.

The risk of exposure to unexploded ordnance in Gaza is at its “most dangerous stage”, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has warned.

Highlighting the warning in its flash update, the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA), reported that a 14-year-old boy was seriously injured and had to undergo limb amputations after opening a booby-trapped can of food.

Citing information shared by the Government Media Office (GMO) on 29 April, OCHA said that the can was found while the boy looked for belongings in his house in Khan Younis after it had been shelled by Israeli forces.

The OCHA writes:

The GMO indicated that many people have been recently injured due to the explosion of booby-trapped canned goods, urging the population to exercise maximum care.

Based on UN estimates of unexploded munitions, the GMO assessed that around 7,500 tons of unexploded ordnance (UXO) might be scattered throughout Gaza, appealing for assistance by the international community to remove explosive remnants of war (ERW) and mitigate the risk for civilians.

• Israel’s war cabinet will meet at 6.30pm [3.30pm GMT] tonight to discuss “the next steps in negotiations to achieve a hostage deal”. The full security cabinet will meet afterwards. Earlier this week, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would launch a ground operation in Rafah regardless of whether there was a deal or not.

• A senior Hamas official overnight has told the AFP news agency that at the moment the group’s response to the proposed truce deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar was “negative”, but that discussions were still under way. The official said Hamas “cannot under any circumstances raise the white flag or surrender to the conditions of the Israeli enemy.”

• The outline of the hostage release programme that has been proposed is believed to be a 40 day pause in fighting while initially female hostages are released in batches of three every three days in return for Palestinian detainees. Hamas and other groups are believed to have seized and abducted about 250 people on 7 October from inside southern Israel, with 133 of them thought still held captive, not all of whom are believed to be alive.

• At least 34,596 Palestinians have been killed and 77,816 injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, according to new figures released by the Hamas-led health ministry. During the same period 474 Palestinians including 116 children, have been killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem by either Israeli security forces or settlers. Israel says 263 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza since it launched its ground offensive. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.

• Two people have been arrested after shouting verbal abuse and throwing stones and eggs at a demonstration being held by relatives of those held hostage in Gaza which was attempting to block a highway in Tel Aviv.

• More than 1,600 people have been arrested at 30 schools in the US in the last couple of weeks during the protests about the Israel-Gaza conflict. You can follow our live coverage of that here.

• The EU has offered Lebanon a financial package of €1bn (£855m / $1.07bn) which among other measures includes supporting Lebanon’s armed forces with equipment and training for border management.

• Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, has issued a statement after speaking to the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell. He said there was a “need to end the Israeli regime’s crimes and genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, without delay and precondition.”

• Organisers of the Eurovision song contest in Sweden have said they will not allow people to bring in or display Palestinian flags at the event, in which Israel is competing.

International Rescue Committee UK has joined calls for the UK government to embargo arms sales to Israel. In a statement it said:

Israel’s ceaseless bombardment of Gaza is the most intense use of explosive weapons in a densely populated area this century. This, alongside the siege, has created an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, rendering Gaza nearly uninhabitable and depriving almost all of the population – millions of people – of essential food, clean water, and healthcare for six months.

An estimated 45,000 bombs were dropped on Gaza’s population in the first 89 days of conflict alone … relentless Israeli bombardment has also severely inhibited the ability of humanitarian actors to provide lifesaving aid to Palestinians in desperate need in Gaza.

IRC UK is joining over 250 organisations to urge the UK Government to immediately halt the transfer of weapons, parts and ammunition where there is a risk they may facilitate violations of international humanitarian law. In addition, the UK Government must leverage all its influence to achieve an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and secure the release of all hostages.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have had a phone call today.

“They spoke about efforts to release all hostages held by Hamas and about a ceasefire. Further improvements to humanitarian aid for the people in the Gaza Strip were also discussed,” Reuters reports a government spokesperson said in a statement.

Helena Smith is in Athens for the Guardian, with more details on the EU financial package for Lebanon:

Officials in Cyprus, who have pushed hard for an economic support package to be given to Lebanon, believe the financial aid will help the tiny country better manage migration, at a time when increased Middle East tensions have limited the ability of local authorities to curb flows.

The Mediterranean island, the EU’s easternmost member, has seen an unprecedented uptick in the arrival of boatloads of Syrians from Lebanon, with Nicosia appealing to Brussels for help.

Cyprus’ government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the economic aid package presented by European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen earlier today [See 10.05 BST] was “an initiative of president Christodoulides and the Republic of Cyprus and is a practical demonstration of the active role that the EU can play in the region.”

The Times of Israel is reporting that Israel’s war cabinet will meet at 6.30pm tonight to discuss “the next steps in negotiations to achieve a hostage deal”.

It reports the full security cabinet will meet afterwards. The war cabinet consists of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defense minister Yoav Gallant, and minister without portfolio Benny Gantz.

There are also three non-voting observer members of the war cabinet, former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot, minister for strategic affairs Ron Dermer, and the leader of Israel’s ultra-orthodox Shas party Aryeh Deri.

Still on Eurovision for a moment, Associated Press has announced that Palestinian flags will be banned from the event.

Michelle Roverelli, the head of communications for the European Broadcasting Union that runs the show each year, said ticket buyers are only allowed to bring and display flags that represent countries that take part in the event, as well as the rainbow-colored flag.

The Geneva-based EBU reserves the right “to remove any other flags or symbols, clothing, items and banners being used for the likely purpose of instrumentalizing the TV shows,” she told the Associated Press in a text message.

Reuters has spoken to Felix Krausz Sjögren, a guide at the synagogue in Malmö in Sweden, where the Eurovision song contest is being held next week. He told the news agency he was anxious about protests taking place because of Israel’s participation. He told them:

There’s a certain feeling of apprehension, of tension. I can’t say that I’m not worried. With Israel being in the Eurovision, the emotions will be even more heightened, and maybe the synagogue will be a target of protests. It’s not unthinkable.

Sjögren says he is nervous about wearing his Jewish kippah in public. “I probably wouldn’t do that during Eurovision week. I would be on the safe side and make sure to have something to cover it with.”

He said the Jewish community often invites school classes to the synagogue, and “If we have a class with many Muslim kids visiting, we often find that we have a lot in common. We have seen very positive encounters here. Eurovision will, of course, not be of help in that sense, but it will pass and then we’ll continue with our lives.”

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the contest, has refused calls for Israel to be banned from taking part for its actions in Gaza, in a similar way that Russia was banned for its invasion of fellow competitor Ukraine.

Israel’s song has, though, been rewritten at the EBU’s request, with its original title October Rain changed to Hurricane, as it was deemed to be a direct political reference to the Hamas assault inside southern Israel on 7 October.

Our community team would like to hear from students on US campuses, and those in the UK and other countries in Europe attending universities where demonstrations are taking place. They would like to hear from those who are participating as well as those who are not.

For those in the US, you can contact them via this page.

For those in Europe and the UK, you can contact them here.