Israel-Hamas conflict as it happened: pro-Palestinian rally in Melbourne, Israel strikes Gaza again

About 100,000 people joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in central London on Saturday to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel two weeks ago.

Police estimated 100,000 people took part in the National March for Palestine, moving through London before massing at Downing Street.

Many of the chants and banners contained strong anti-Israeli slogans, and one protester held a banner with pictures of British Prime Ministe Rishi Sunak, US President Joe Biden, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the message “Wanted For War crimes”.

Police had cautioned that anyone showing support for Hamas would face arrest, and any incident of hate crime would not be tolerated.

The protest was mostly peaceful, and police said they had made 10 arrests.

World leaders met at a Cairo peace summit on Saturday aimed at de-escalating violence in the Gaza Strip but could not reach a consensus.

Many European leaders arrived knowing they could not sign Egypt’s draft declaration, which did not mention Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, according to European diplomats and officials involved in the summit preparations.

“Like any other country in the world, Israel has the right to defend itself and to defend its people against this terror,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a speech at the summit, adding that the defence must be “within the framework of international law.”

Egypt and Jordan criticised Israel over its actions in Gaza, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi rejecting talk of driving Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians into the Sinai Peninsula. Jordan’s King Abdullah called Israel’s siege and bombardment of Gaza a war crime.

In his opening remarks, Sisi said Egypt vehemently rejected “the forced displacement of the Palestinians and their transfer to Egyptian lands in Sinai”.

“I want to state it clearly and unequivocally to the world that the liquidation of the Palestinian cause without a just solution is beyond the realm of possibility, and in any case, it will never happen at the expense of Egypt, absolutely not,” he said.

Jordan already hosts the largest number of displaced Palestinians from previous Middle East wars.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads the Palestinian Authority, called for Israel to stop “its barbaric aggression” in Gaza.

“We will not leave, we will not leave, we will not leave, and we will remain in our land,” he told the summit.

Israel has ordered more than half of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate from north to south within the territory it has completely sealed off, in effect pushing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians toward the Egyptian border.

Despite the lack of a summit declaration, European officials said leaders from Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Spain, as well as the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, were eager to show up in Cairo, if only to demonstrate to their Arab partners that they were concerned about civilians in Gaza.

With AP, Reuters

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been advising 51 Australian citizens about the possibility of leaving Gaza after the opening of the Rafah border crossing.

It’s unclear whether those wishing to leave could do so, with the opportunity coming at short notice and DFAT advising those registered with Smartraveller as DFAT became aware of them.

A DFAT spokesperson said it was in close communication with all those Australians and their family members registered with Smartraveller in Gaza about their welfare and departure options through the Rafah crossing.

“We are also working with authorities on arrangements for those who may cross into Egypt. Australians who wish to leave Gaza and have not already registered should register via Smartraveller or call our consular emergency centre on +61 2 6261 3305,” the spokesperson said.

Australians already registered with DFAT do not need to register again.

Trucks carrying aid arrived in southern Gaza on Saturday, the first convoy of humanitarian supplies since Israel began a siege 12 days ago and after further heavy Israeli bombardment overnight that killed dozens of Palestinians.

Witnesses said 20 aid trucks exited the crossing after checks and proceeded into Gaza’s southern area including the major towns of Rafah and Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering.

However, Palestinian officials were disappointed that fuel supplies were not included and added that the relief was only 3 per cent of what used to get into Gaza in terms of medical and humanitarian aid before the crisis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “fight until victory” in Gaza, signalling no pause in his military’s bombardment and expected invasion of the enclave, after Hamas released two US hostages.

Israel continued to amass tanks and troops near Gaza ahead of its expected ground invasion in response to the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas, but experts say the release of American hostages Judith Tai Raanan, 59 and her daughter Natalie, 17 may have delayed the ground offensive.

Read more here.

Good morning and welcome to day 15 of our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

I’m Nicole Precel and I’ll bring you the latest developments for the first half of the day. It’s just past 11.30pm in Tel Aviv.

A quick summary of where things stand:

• The Gaza-Egypt border has opened allowing the first convoy of humanitarian supplies into southern Gaza since Israel began a siege, but the United Nations says at least 100 trucks a day are needed.
• It’s unclear if foreign nationals have been able to cross from Gaza and into Egypt, but the US embassy in Israel has warned people to expect a potentially chaotic and disorderly environment. Those crossing the border are urged to be careful.
• Hamas has released two US hostages, mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan, who were kidnapped as the terrorist organisation attacked southern Israel on October 7.
• World leaders met at a Cairo peace summit on Saturday, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Italy’s Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
• They condemned Israeli bombardment of Gaza, saying civilians should be shielded, but senior US and Israeli officials were absent so no agreement was made.

• At the summit, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinians would not be displaced or driven off their land.

• Tens of thousands of Pro-Palestinian protestors lined the streets in London on Saturday, demanding Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza, with similar calls made in cities across the world.