Middle East crisis live: it could take 14 years to clear Gaza Strip of rubble and unexploded bombs, says UN official | Israel-Gaza war

Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum report for the Guardian from Jerusalem:

The arrest and interrogation of a leading Palestinian legal scholar based at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem marks a new threat to civil liberties in Israel, her legal team and employer have said.

Prof. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian was detained by police on the afternoon of 17 April over comments made on a podcast more than a month earlier and held overnight in conditions her lawyers described as “terrible” and designed to humiliate.

“This case is unique,” ​​said Hassan Jabareen, her lawyer and the director of the human rights organization Adalah. “This is not only about one professor, it could be a [precedent] for any academic who goes against the consensus in wartime.”

Shalhoub-Kevorkian was released on bail the next day when a magistrate and a district court judge both ruled she did not pose a threat, but has been called for further questioning on Sunday.

Although there have been widespread detentions of Palestinian citizens of Israel who publicly criticized the war in Gaza, this is the first time an academic has been targeted over speech related to their work.

Read more of Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum’s report here: ‘Political arrest’ of Palestinian academic in Israel is civil liberties threat, say lawyers

Egypt sent a high-level delegation to Israel on Friday with the hope of brokering a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza, two officials have told the Associated Press.

Egypt’s top intelligence official, Abbas Kamelis said to be leading the delegation and plans to discuss with Israel a “new vision” for a prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, an Egyptian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the mission freely.

Friday’s talks will focus at first on a limited exchange of hostings held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners, and the return of a significant number of displaced Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza “with minimum restrictions,” the Egyptian official said.

Hebrew news site Ynet reports that the delegation has landed in Tel Aviv.

It reports that the main outline of the plan is for Israel to undertake to stop all preparations for entering Rafah, the release of all the Israeli abductees by Hamas in two stages with time intervals of 10 weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel , and a full ceasefire from both sides for a year.

Palestinian news agency Wafa has reported on the continued Israeli aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip. It writes:

Earlier today, Israeli fighter jets bombed a house belonging to the al-Shawa family in the al-Remal neighborhood. Subsequently, rescue and ambulance crews retrieved the bodies of three victims, including a child and a woman, along with several injured individuals from under the rubble of the targeted house.

Israeli warplanes also targeted the al-Zaytoun neighborhood south of Gaza City, as well as a residential building on al-Wehda Street in the city center, resulting in the killing of at least one civilian and the injury of others.

Simultaneously, Israeli artillery shelled the Nuseirat and Bureij camps in central Gaza, while the occupation forces demolished homes and facilities in the neighboring town of al-Maghazi.

The claims have not been independently verified, and due to restrictions on media access, it has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.

We reported earlier about a demonstration being staged outside the home of Israel war cabinet member Benny Gantz. [See 12.39 BST]

Israeli media are now reporting that two people were arrested at the protest.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said protests at US universities about Israel’s war in Gaza are a hallmark of American democracy, but criticized what he called the “silence” about Hamas.

Reuters reports that asked at a press conference in China whether he was taking on board the protesters’ message, Blinken said he understood the conflict elicited “strong, passionate feelings” and that the administration was doing it all it could to stop the war. He said:

In our own country, it’s a hallmark of our democracy that our citizens make known their views, their concerns, their anger, at any given time, and I think that reflects the strength of the country, the strength of democracy.

It is also notable that there is silence about Hamas, as if it wasn’t even part of the story.

But as I’ve also said repeatedly, the way Israel goes about ensuring that 7 October never happens again matters profoundly. And we’re working every day to try to minimize the damage that’s done to innocent people and to make sure that they have the assistance and support that they need.

Blinken is expected to visit Israel and other countries in the Middle East region early next week.

US police have made multiple arrests at several university campuses in order to disrupt protests, and allegedly used rubber bullets and teargas at university protest in Georgia.

In another demonstration against Israel’s military campaign, a delegation of American and Israeli rabbis from Rabbis for Ceasefire marched towards the Erez crossing to the Gaza Strip with food aid for Gaza civilians, calling for a permanent ceasefire.

In a statement the protesters said “The Israeli government is using hunger as a weapon against 2.3 million Gazans, preventing essential humanitarian aid and creating malnutrition and disease.”

The group was dispersed by Israeli security forces.

A group of people protesting against the war in Gaza have set up a camp outside the Scottish parliament building in Edinburgh. They accused the UK and Scottish governments of “complicity” in what they called the “ongoing genocide” in the territory.

In a statement the group said:

We are here in protest against Scottish and UK government complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. We will stay here until our demands are met. Every day we see the new worst thing we’ve ever seen. We receive condolences and empty outrage/condemnations from people in positions of power, and yet the sale of weapons and arms that enable this genocide to continue. We are here because we’ve had enough. We will not be complicit in genocide. We are here with demands. We are here in solidarity with Gaza, and we will continue the fight for a free Palestine.

The group has urged the Scottish government to apply pressure on the UK government to enact an embargo on all Israeli arm sales and call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Yesterday the UK government was one of 18 countries that signed a letter calling on Hamas to release the remaining hostages it has in captivity in Gaza, saying that on the table there was a deal to “bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza” if it did so.

My colleague Adam Gabbatt in the US has this profile of four people who are taking part in student protests about the war in Gaza at US universities.

The EU said on Friday it was giving an extra €68m (£58m / $73m) to provide desperately needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza, AFP reports.

“In light of the continued deterioration of the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the steady rise of needs on the ground, the (European) Commission is stepping up its funding to support Palestinians affected by the ongoing war,” an EU statement said.

“This support brings total EU humanitarian assistance to 193 million euros for Palestinians in need inside Gaza and across the region in 2024.”

The EU said the new aid would be focused on food deliveries, clean water, sanitation and shelters, and would be channeled through local partners on the ground.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Friday that campus protests sweeping the United States over the Middle East were part of democracy, but criticized the “silence” over the Palestinian militants Hamas, according to the AFP agency.

AFP reports Blinken was speaking in Beijing following a day of meetings with high-ranking officials.

It quotes Blinken saying such protests were a “hallmark of our democracy”. “Our citizens make known their views, their concerns, their anger, at any given time.

“I think that reflects the strength of the country.”

But he also reported as saying that protesters had not condemned Hamas, which carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.

“As I’ve also said before, this could be over tomorrow, it could have been over yesterday, it could have been over months ago, if Hamas has put down its weapons, stopped hiding behind civilians, released the hostages.”

“But of course they have chosen not to do that and it is notable there is silence about Hamas, it’s as if it wasn’t even part of the story.”

Police have carried out large-scale arrests in universities across the United States, at times using chemical irritants and tasers to disperse protests about Israel’s war with Hamas.