gaza has fallen, page-152

A recap of events in the occupied West Bank

It’s just past 09:15am (06:15 GMT) in the occupied West Bank.

Here are the latest developments:

• Israeli forces have stormed the town of Biddu, northwest of Jerusalem, while confrontations are also taking place in Ni’lin, west of Ramallah.
• The army has raided el-Bireh city in Ramallah after a Palestinian allegedly opened fire at Biet El settlement.
• Israeli army vehicles have been shot at by Palestinian fighters in Ramallah, according to Al Jazeera’s journalist in el-Bireh’s al-Masaief area.
• Israeli forces have withdrawn from Nablus after carrying out an arrest campaign overnight that included the arrest of an elderly man.
• In Jerusalem, the army has stormed homes and assaulted residents in the town of Anata.

1h ago

(06:20 GMT)

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini calls on Arab states to do more to help Gaza

The head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “catastrophic” and Arab states need to do more to help Palestinians.

In a statement ahead of addressing Saturday’s extraordinary summit meeting of the League of Arab States in Riyadh, Lazzarini said “the people of the Gaza Strip have always relied on Arab support and solidarity”.

“They need it now, more than ever,” he said.

Arab states, he added, need to “bring back the hope and revive the political horizon of the Palestinian people before it is too late”.

More than 100 UNRWA staff have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, the highest number ever of UN workers killed in a conflict.