Live blog update| Israel's war on Gaza
This is an entry from: Gaza live: Israel continues bombing central Gaza

Evening recap

27 April 2024 23:47 BST

Good evening Middle East Eye readers.

Our live coverage of Israel's assault on Gaza will shortly be closing for the evening.

Here are the day's main developments:

Israeli forces have killed at least 34,388 Palestinians and wounded 77,437 others in Gaza since 7 October, the Palestinian health ministry said on Saturday. The new death toll comes after 32 Palestinians were killed and 69 others wounded over the past 24 hours, the ministry added.

Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian men and wounded two others at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

Three Palestinian civilians were killed on Saturday afternoon and others wounded during Israeli air strikes on refugee camps in central Gaza, according to Wafa news agency.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said on Saturday that it had targeted northern Israel with drones and guided missiles after Israeli strikes on "civilian homes" killed three people, including two of its members.

The armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas released video footage on Saturday of two men held in Gaza and seen alive in the footage. Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum identified the two in a statement as Omri Miran, 47, and Keith Siegel, 64, who were taken to Gaza during the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.

Israel's foreign minister said on Saturday that a planned incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah could be suspended should there be a deal to secure the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas.

Hamas has said it is studying the latest Israeli counterproposal regarding a potential ceasefire in Gaza, a day after media reports said a delegation from Egypt had arrived in Israel in an attempt to jump-start stalled negotiations.

Other developments included:

  • US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia on Monday and Tuesday to meet with regional partners and discuss efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, the State Department said on Saturday.
     
  • British troops could be deployed in Gaza to assist with aid deliveries, after the US said it would not be sending any of its own ground forces. The US previously said a "third party" would be responsible for driving trucks along a floating causeway onto the beach, a role the BBC has learned could be filled by British forces.
     
  • Lebanon is moving towards accepting the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction to prosecute violations on its territory since 7 October. Beirut has accused Israel of repeatedly violating its sovereignty and breaching international law over the last six months, during which Israeli forces and Lebanese group Hezbollah have traded fire across the border. 
     
  • Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other international officials will be in the Saudi capital this weekend for Gaza ceasefire talks on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting, the WEF's president said on Saturday.
     
  • Ahead of general elections in South Africa next month, 13 political parties in the country have pledged solidarity with Palestinians. 
     
  • Protesters took to the streets of London for the latest mass march against Israel's war on Gaza. The march was co-organised by a number of groups, including the Palestinian Forum in Britain, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War coalition and Friends of al-Aqsa.