Israel war on Gaza updates: Deadly attacks ongoing as strikes intensify

Read more about the US court’s decision to allow the deportation case against Mahmoud Khalil to proceed here.

You can find more here on the UN’s grim findings on Israel’s war on Gaza highlighting how women and children were the only fatalities in at least three dozen air strikes since mid-March.

And you can find all our coverage of the Gaza war here.

We will be closing this live page soon. Here is a recap of today’s news:

• At least 20 people were killed in Gaza since dawn as Israeli bombing continued north to south.
• The United Nations said Palestinian women and children were the only deaths in at least three dozen Israeli air strikes on Gaza since mid-March.
• An immigration judge in Louisiana ruled Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported based on the federal government’s argument that he poses “a national security risk”.
• Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reiterated Cairo’s rejection of any plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza.
• Yemen’s Houthi group said it carried out a drone attack in central Israel’s Tel Aviv area in “a specific military operation” in support of Palestinians.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to “immediately dismiss” military personnel who signed petitions calling for an end to the war on Gaza.

The UN warned Israel’s latest evacuation orders are leaving Palestinians with shrinking space to survive in Gaza and further worsening the humanitarian crisis.

In a news conference, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Israel on Friday issued “two new displacement orders covering vast areas in northern and southern Gaza”.

“Several medical facilities and storage sites containing critical supplies are located within newly designated displacement zones,” he added.

Dujarric warned of “life-threatening consequences”.

“With this latest development, OCHA reports that more than two-thirds of the Gaza Strip is either under active displacement orders or designated as no-go zones. This leaves Palestinians with less than a third of Gaza’s area to live in, and that remaining space is fragmented.”

Many of the images from Israel’s war on Gaza have been seen for the last time.

With Gaza under siege from the Israeli military and tech companies censoring and taking down material, the responsibility falls on the people of Gaza to document and archive their own evidence of war crimes and genocide.

How will it survive?

Israeli forces are bombing buildings in the northern neighbourhoods of Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city.

Earlier, we reported one person was killed after Israeli forces bombed a tent in the al-Mawasi area “safe zone” in southern Gaza.

The Israeli military ordered all residents of Rafah in southern Gaza to flee. The army has already set up a significant “buffer zone” within Gaza, expanding an area that existed around the edges of the enclave before the war.

Iran seeks a “real and fair” agreement with Washington on its nuclear programme, a senior aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says, setting the stage for a diplomatic showdown this weekend in Oman.

“Far from putting up a show and merely talking in front of the cameras, Tehran is seeking a real and fair agreement, important and implementable proposals are ready,” Khamenei adviser Ali Shamkhani posted on X.

He confirmed Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is heading to Oman “with full authority for indirect negotiations with America”, adding if Washington shows goodwill the path forward would be “smooth”.

In advance of the talks, Trump reiterated military action is “absolutely” possible if they fail. Iran responded by saying Tehran could expel UN nuclear inspectors, prompting another US warning that this would be an “escalation”.

A Palestinian 17-year-old was wounded in the foot during an Israeli assault on Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, Wafa news agency reports.

Israeli forces entered the town and fired live ammunition and sound bombs, witnesses said.

Al Jazeera Arabic also reported raids across the occupied West Bank, including in Biddya and Qarawat Bani Hassan, west of Salfit.

President Emmanuel Macron has clarified France’s stance on the Gaza crisis in a statement shared on social media emphasising diplomacy, humanitarian aid, and a long-term political resolution.

“Here is France’s position – it is clear: Yes to peace. Yes to Israel’s security. Yes to a Palestinian state without Hamas,” Macron wrote.

“The only path possible is a political one,” he asserted, adding there’s an urgent need for “a lasting ceasefire”, the release of all captives, and resumption of humanitarian aid that has been blocked by Israel for more than a month.

“I support the legitimate right of Palestinians to a state and to peace, just as I support the right of Israelis to live in peace and security, both recognized by their neighbours,” Macron said.

Earlier this week, Macron said France could recognise a Palestinian state “in the coming months”.

Detained Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil could miss the birth of his first child. His wife, Noor Abdalla, was already in her third trimester when authorities from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested him in March.

“That’s also a fear for him, missing the birth of his child and missing those first hours. But, you know, at this point, unfortunately, it’s out of both of our controls.”

A judge has ruled for the US government to deport Mahmoud, a permanent resident, after he played a key role in Columbia’s pro-Palestine student protests last spring. He remains in ICE custody without criminal charges.

Our colleagues on the ground report one Palestinian has been killed when an Israeli drone bombed a tent housing displaced people in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis. Several others were injured.

Al-Mawasi has been designated by the Israeli army as a “safe zone” for forcibly displaced Palestinians in Gaza. However, it has repeatedly attacked the tent encampments during the war.

Israel’s military has confirmed it will fire air force reservists who signed an open letter that condemns the war in Gaza for only serving political interests instead of bringing the captives home.

In a statement to The Associated Press news agency, an army official confirmed there’s no room for any soldiers, including reservists on active duty, “to exploit their military status while simultaneously participating in the fighting”.

The official called the letter a breach of trust between commanders and subordinates.

The army said it decided any active reservist who signed the letter would not be able to continue serving. It did not specify how many people that included or if the firings had begun.

Nearly 1,000 Israeli air force reservists and retirees signed the letter, published in Israeli media Thursday, demanding the immediate return of captives held in Gaza – even at the cost of ending the fighting.

Israeli forces carried out raids in two towns in the occupied West Bank, Wafa news agency reports.

Citing local sources, it said soldiers stormed the town of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, as troops deployed in the western and central neighborhoods.

Israeli forces also fired sound bombs near homes.

Elsewhere, in the town of Qarawat Bani Hassan, west of Salfit, Israeli soldiers detained several Palestinians near the Qarawa Mall.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced the ruling by an immigration judge to deport the permanent resident for his “peaceful political activities” calling it a “dangerous, unconstitutional” decision.

“Although today’s ruling is just the first step in a long legal process, it should be alarming to all Americans who cherish the Bill of Rights and basic freedoms like free speech,” said Nihad Awad, CAIR’s national executive director, in a statement.

“We are confident that federal courts will see through the Trump administration’s lawless attack on free speech and that the movement against the Israeli government’s genocide will continue to grow in our nation, despite these Orwellian attempts to suppress free speech.”

UN investigators examined three dozen recent Israeli bombing raids on Gaza and found the only people killed were women and children. “What we found was indeed very shocking,” they said.

Watch the video below:

The court’s decision to deport her husband “feels like a devastating blow to our family” but she pledged not to stop advocating for his return to the US.

“My husband is a political prisoner who is being deprived of his rights because he believes Palestinians deserve equal dignity and freedom. There is nothing the government can say about my husband that can silence this truth,” Noor Abdalla told a news conference.

“This ruling is an indictment of this country’s immigration system and does not reflect truth justice or the will of the American people. In less than a month, my husband and I will welcome our first child. Until we are reunited, I will not stop advocating for my husband’s safe return home.”

The Israeli army has issued a statement saying its troops responded to gunfire in southern Gaza, killing two people.

One more person was killed by the Israeli air force, the statement said, without specifying the exact location. An Israeli officer was taken to hospital after being lightly wounded.

Israel has restricted Palestinians’ access to roughly two-thirds of Gaza. Among the restricted areas is a large swath of southern Rafah, where Israel’s military issued a displacement order on March 31.

Mahmoud Khalil is removable, in the opinion of the judge, who said the letter Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent to the court, detailing the justifications for the removal, was reasonable.

His legal and support team say he’s a political prisoner for speaking out against genocide in Gaza.

The Department of Homeland Security has met its burden, said the judge. However, Khalil is open to a relief application on April 23, and there’s a discussion of whether he should be deported to Syria or Algeria.

We’re told Khalil was calm throughout the proceedings and he addressed the court. He said nothing is more important than due process and fundamental fairness, and neither principle was present at court.

Khalil added, “This is where the Trump administration sent me to this court, thousands of miles from my family.”