Over 90 Palestinians injured, three arrested amid protests

Live Updates: Dozens of air strikes pounded Gaza on Tuesday as US President Joe Biden expressed support for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A new front in the conflict opened as the Israeli military said it also shelled Lebanon in response to six failed rocket launches from southern areas in the neighbouring country.

Biden held his third phone conversation with Netanyahu since violence flared on May 10 and expressed support for a ceasefire. But the US president stopped short of demanding an end to the violence.

At least 213 Palestinians, including 61 children, have been killed in Gaza since the attacks began. About 1,500 Palestinians have been wounded. Twelve people in Israel have died, including two children, while at least 300 have been wounded.

Ankara will “never give up supporting the Palestinian cause”, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has told lawmakers in parliament.

Asserting that the atmosphere in Turkey on the Palestinian issue was one of joint solidarity, Cavusoglu said: “We need to be sensitive on preserving this.

“It is the duty of all of us to be careful not to carry this issue into the competitive language of domestic politics and not to make oppressed people happy who have the same mentality with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” he said.

Israeli forces have detained 1,700 Palestinians since April 13, according to a Palestinian NGO.

In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said more than 400 people were arrested in occupied East Jerusalem and 450 others in other areas across the occupied West Bank.

According to the statement, more than 850 Palestinian Israelis were arrested by Israeli police since May 9.

11 mins ago (14:31 GMT)

Egypt pledges $500m to rebuild Gaza, sends medical aid

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has pledged $500m to help reconstruction efforts in Gaza, his office has said.

“Egypt will provide $500m… for the reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip as a result of recent events, with expert Egyptian construction companies implementing the rebuilding,” the presidency said in a statement.

Cairo has sought to mediate a ceasefire between Gaza’s Hamas and Israel.

An emergency European Union video meeting is set to call for a ceasefire between Israel and  Hamas, offer more humanitarian aid and try to relaunch peace talks, Malta’s foreign minister has said.

Malta’s Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo told Reuters news agency that Biden’s openness to seek a solution to the conflict was crucial, “because unless we address the root causes, [the violence] will happen again”.

“I think I’m not being too optimistic [to say] that at a minimum, what will probably come out (of the EU meeting) is the call for a ceasefire, an offer of humanitarian aid, and then seeing how to restart the political process,” Bartolo said via video link.

After a ceasefire, the EU would “work with the United States, work with Russia to try and deal with the situation,” he added.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Jordan’s King Abdullah II have urged a “swift” ceasefire in a video call, her spokesman has said.

“They agreed that initiatives for a swift ceasefire should be supported to create the conditions for the resumption of political negotiations,” the spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in a statement.

In comments made before a video call of the EU’s 27 foreign ministers, Germany has called for a ceasefire and has offered more aid to help Palestinians.

“An end to the violence is the first priority,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a video statement streamed on social media.

“Today, I will lobby for a better humanitarian supply in Gaza,” Maas said, pledging 40 million euros ($48.86m) to ramp up humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.

With Israel bombarding Gaza for a second week, US President Joe Biden and his administration are sticking to a long-established script in Washington, expressing unequivocal support for Israel and its “legitimate right to defend itself” from Hamas rocket attacks.

That narrative fails to acknowledge the profound advantages the state of Israel enjoys over the Palestinians when it comes to military prowess, wealth and resources.

It also turns a deaf ear to growing cries from progressive Democrats in Congress to take a harder line with Israel over its military assault on Gaza.

A total of 97 Palestinians were injured as violence escalated with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

In a statement, the society said five people were injured by live bullets, another five by rubber bullets, while 84 suffered from gas inhalation.

Gaza-based journalist Youmna al-Sayed, reporting from Gaza City, said that the severity of the situation at Al-Shifa hospital is increasing.

“The ministry of health said that Gaza is struggling with an acute shortage of medical supplies and medicines, while it is calling for volunteers to donate blood,” she said, adding that the hospital is struggling with electricity and water shortages.