Middle East crisis live: New Zealand designates Hamas a ‘terrorist entity’; Gaza death toll reaches 30,000, says health ministry | Israel-Gaza war

New Zealand on Thursday became one of the last western countries to designate all of Hamas as a “terrorist entity”, saying its 7 October attacks on Israel had shattered the notion its political and military wings are separate, reports news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“The organisation as a whole bears responsibility for these horrific terrorist attacks,” Wellington said, announcing a move to freeze Hamas assets in New Zealand and ban citizens from providing the group with “material support”.

“The terrorist attacks by Hamas in October 2023 were brutal and we have unequivocally condemned them,” New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon said in a statement.

Luxon stressed the designation was about Hamas “and is not a reflection on the Palestinian people in Gaza and around the world” while indicating humanitarian support would continue.

“The designation does not stop New Zealand providing humanitarian and future development assistance to benefit civilians in Gaza,” he added.

New Zealand had designated the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, as a terrorist entity in 2010. But it has been reluctant to follow other western nations in extending the designation to the entire group – which is also a political party. Hamas won elections in Gaza in 2006 and has ruled without fresh polls ever since.

There was, however, political opposition to the move, particularly from the left, reports AFP. Some New Zealand political figures have argued that Hamas’s “terrorist” designation should be matched by a similar designation for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

They point to the IDF’s months-long campaign in the Gaza Strip – launched in response to the 7 October attacks – which has killed more than 30,000 people, according to the Hamas-controlled territory’s health ministry.

Such a move is highly unlikely, say AFP, but New Zealand on Thursday also announced sanctions on about a dozen “extremist Israeli settlers” accused of violence against Palestinians.

“We are imposing travel bans on a number of people known to have committed violent acts. These individuals will not be able to travel to New Zealand,” said foreign minister Winston Peters. The individuals were not named publicly.

Emma Graham-Harrison

Israel has stopped issuing visas for international staff of humanitarian organisations that work in occupied Palestinian territories, hampering efforts to get food and other vital supplies into Gaza.

Dozens of foreign aid workers, including heads of organisations, have had to leave Israel and the Palestinian territories, or are overstaying their visas and risking deportation so they can continue working, an alliance of aid groups has warned.

Emergency response teams, who have the specialist experience to deal with the multiple challenges of working in Gaza, are particularly affected, said Faris Arouri, director of the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), an umbrella group representing aid groups operating in the West Bank and Gaza.

Read Emma’s full piece here:

The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began, Agence France-Press reports.

The war between Israel and Hamas has been going on for nearly five months with the death toll updated on Thursday.

The latest figures do not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants and have not been independently verified.

Meanwhile, mediators say a truce deal between Israel and Hamas could be just days away, as aid agencies sound the alarm of a looming famine in Gaza’s north.

The latest overall toll for Palestinians killed in the war came after at least 79 people died overnight across the Gaza Strip, the health ministry said.

The war started after the 7 October attacks by Hamas, in which 1,200 people were killed and another 200 were taken hostage.

It’s 8:22am in Gaza and Tel Aviv, welcome to our latest Guardian live blog on the Israel-Gaza war and the wider Middle East crisis. I’m Reged Ahmad and I’ll be with you for the next while.

The Hamas-run health ministry has issued their latest death toll in Gaza and says more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war between Hamas and Israel began nearly five months ago, Agence France-Presse reports. The figure doesn’t distinguish between combatants and non-combatants and can’t be independently verified.

It’s as the US considers airdropping aid into Gaza from US military planes because the deliveries of essentials into the area has become more difficult, according to a US official who spoke to the Reuters news agency.

More on that in a moment but first, here’s a summary of the latest events so far:

• Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday the group is showing flexibility in negotiations with Israel but at the same time it was ready to continue fighting. Another Hamas official, Basem Naim, told Al Jazeera “The gap is still wide”. The two sides have been negotiating around a draft framework that would reportedly see a six week pause in fighting and the release of hostages held in captivity by Hamas for Palestinians who have been detained by Israel.

• Qatar has accused Israel of facilitating “the deliberate starvation of the Palestinian people” and called on the international community to apply more pressure on Israel, saying it was “painful” that the delivery of aid was still an issue. Foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said “There are two and a half million people living in complete absence of health and emergency services. Aid should be freely provided without restrictions.”

• Israel’s military has claimed it struck “eight significant terror targets” in Gaza overnight which it said had been responsible for rockets fired towards the Israeli city of Ashkelon. The IDF also announced that two further soldiers had been killed during its ground operation inside Gaza.

• Houthi leaders have denied they have targeted critical underwater sea telecommunication cables, as Yemen’s UN recognised government warned of an imminent marine environmental disaster if a cargo ship struck by the rebels last week was not quickly rescued. The stricken Belize-flagged Rubymar, which was en route from the UAE to Europe via the Red Sea when she was hit by a Houthi attack, has been drifting and begun to sink.

• A German naval frigate sent to protect commercial ships in the Red Sea nearly shot down a US drone by mistake, German media reported Wednesday, according to Agence France-Presse. The German defence ministry confirmed a drone incident involving an allied nation occurred on Monday, without naming the country. The “Hesse” frigate opened fire after efforts to identify an unknown drone “were unsuccessful”, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said during a visit to the German town of Oberviechtach, adding however that the target was “not hit”.

• Families of some of the hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza have started a four-day march to demand their release. The route started at the site of the Nova music festival, scene of some of the worst atrocities during the 7 October attack, and will finish in Jerusalem.

• New Zealand on Thursday became one of the last western countries to designate all of Hamas as a “terrorist entity”, saying the attacks of 7 October had shattered the notion its political and military wings could be separated. “The organisation as a whole bears responsibility for these horrific terrorist attacks,” the government said, announcing a move that spells a freeze on Hamas assets in New Zealand and a ban on providing it with “material support”.

• Russian media is reporting that representatives of Hamas and Fatah will meet in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the possibility of a united Palestinian government across both Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

• Israeli strikes killed two people in Lebanon’s south on Wednesday evening, while Hamas earlier fired a volley of rockets towards northern Israel from Lebanon amid escalating cross-border clashes in recent days, Agence France-Presse reports.

• Israel carried out strikes Wednesday near Damascus, Syria’s defence ministry said, according to Agence France-Presse. An AFP correspondent in the Syrian capital heard explosions followed by the sirens of ambulances. When asked about the strikes, the Israeli army told AFP: “We do not comment on reports in the foreign media.”