• Israeli forces have killed at least 13 people in Gaza on Tuesday, including a couple and their four children, in yet another violation of the ceasefire.

Mamdani says NYC lacks legal power to arrest Netanyahu under ICC warrant

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he supports the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu but that his administration does “not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant” against the Israeli prime minister.

He made the announcement in a video statement on X, calling Netanyahu the “architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinians”.

Mamdani said his “administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here”, but found that this ability rests only with the federal government.

“I want to be equally clear: Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large,” he said.

The statement came after Trump said the Israeli leader would not be arrested during any US visit, responding to Mamdani’s earlier remarks that he was considering the move.

The Hague-based ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 over war crimes committed during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Mamdani says Netanyahu is a war criminal, but New York cannot arrest him

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani releases a video statement calling for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to face trial for war crimes, citing the ICC’s arrest warrant.

But, after days of speculation, Mamdani says New York does not have the power to arrest Netanyahu.

Amnesty urges Luxembourg, EU states to block sale of Israel bonds

Amnesty International has urged Luxembourg, Ireland and other European Union states to block Israel’s ability to sell bonds and raise money in European markets, warning that failure to do so risks complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“Israel has become increasingly reliant on foreign investments to finance its genocide, apartheid and unlawful occupation, and to bankroll its crimes against Palestinians,” said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s regional director for Europe.

“Israel Bonds increase the funds available to the government and thereby help finance Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.”

According to Amnesty, Israel has sharply increased issuance of the bonds since October 2023 to help fund its military. The bonds are currently regulated by Luxembourg, after Ireland previously hosted the program. With Luxembourg’s prospectus set to expire on August 31, Amnesty has called on Luxembourg to reject its renewal, and on all EU states, including Ireland, to refuse to host or approve the bonds going forward.

“Allowing these bonds to be sold in EU markets comes with an enormous ethical and legal cost. International law is clear: all states have an obligation not to aid or assist in genocide, and an obligation to prevent it,” Cockburn said.

Hamas’s Zaher Jabarin congratulates new leader al-Hayya

In a statement released on Hamas’s Telegram page, senior Hamas member Jabarin said: “I congratulate the mujahid brother Dr Khalil al-Hayya (Abu Osama) on gaining the trust of our brothers, the members of the General Shura Council and his election as head of the movement’s Political Bureau.”

Jabarin, who leads Hamas’s operations in the occupied West Bank, also extended “sincere greetings” to Khaled Meshaal, “highly appreciating his pioneering journey and continuous contributions to leading the movement and serving its path of resistance, and affirming the continuation of his prominent role and high standing within the leadership and national action”.

He concluded: “We affirm our complete support for Brother Abu Osama, pledging to the masses of our great people and our nation to remain united in confronting the challenges and imminent dangers.”

On Monday, al-Hayya replaced Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in combat with Israeli forces in October 2024 as Hamas fought a full-scale, two-year war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Al-Hayya, a former deputy chairman of the Palestinian group and one of five members of its leadership council, won an internal ballot in a run-off against former political leader Meshaal, Hamas said in a statement on Monday.

Happened in the occupied West Bank

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reports:

• Israeli forces arrested six people from the city of Tulkarem, including former prisoners and a woman.
• Israeli soldiers arrested three people from the Fawwar and Arroub refugee camps in Hebron governorate and searched the home of media activist Muhammad Ayad Awad in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron.
• Israeli forces began demolishing two inhabited houses in the towns of Nahalin and Za’tara in Bethlehem governorate. Israeli courts had rejected a petition to stop the demolitions of 14 homes in the town of Nahalin. In Za’tara, they began demolishing the house of Raed Hassan Abu Ra’iya after notifying him on Tuesday to leave.
• Israeli soldiers raided a residential building in Nablus, targeting the Hattin building near An-Naja

Israel building earthen barrier that splits Gaza in half

Israeli forces are building an earthen barrier that will divide Gaza roughly in two, according to satellite imagery examined by The Associated Press.

A satellite image shows a section of an earthen barrier being built by Israel in the central Gaza Strip this month. On the left is the Maghazi refugee camp, and on the other side are homes demolished by the army [File: Planet Labs PBC via AP]

Israeli media reported this week that the military now controls close to 70 percent of Gaza, well beyond the roughly half of the territory its forces were expected to hold under the first phase of a US-brokered framework agreement aimed at ending Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. Israel and Hamas signed the plan in October.

More than 23km (14 miles) of the earthen barrier has been constructed in recent months, AP reported. It runs through Palestinian communities demolished by Israeli forces. That expanse is equivalent to more than half the length of the coastal territory, which is about 40km (25 miles) long and 11km (7 miles) wide and home to more than two million Palestinians.

Israeli forces confirmed to AP that they have built a physical barrier in the area of the “Yellow Line”, the boundary that its forces are meant to hold during a “ceasefire” agreed under the peace framework. It has continued to carry out near-daily attacks on Gaza.

Gaza death toll increases to 73,305, with 12 killed in last 24 hours

Gaza’s death toll from Israel’s genocidal war has risen to 73,305, with 173,918 others injured, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The ministry said that 12 Palestinians were killed and 12 others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza over the past 24 hours, as Israeli forces continue to violate the “ceasefire” and expand their control over the territory.

Many victims remain trapped under the rubble and on roads, according to the ministry, as ambulance and civil defence teams are still unable to reach them.

Gaza families await answers on missing loved ones

Thousands of Palestinian families have no idea if their loved ones are alive or dead, whether they are detained in Israeli prisons or buried under the piles of rubble across Gaza.

Some people have been missing for months, others for years. Israeli restrictions on heavy machinery entering the Gaza Strip mean the recovery of remains is slow, and Israeli forces rarely provide information on the Palestinians they detain.

One man has returned home more than a year after he disappeared.

New Hamas leader al-Hayya delivers statement

Khalil al-Hayya, the newly elected leader of Hamas, is delivering his first statement since his appointment on Monday.

• I say to the people of Gaza that we will continue working in every path and direction until we lift the harm and pain from you.
• Defending the occupied West Bank is a responsibility.
• I affirm a number of priorities, the first of which is the comprehensive cessation of Israeli aggression.
• Restoring a dignified life for our people in Gaza is one of our priorities, as it is an inherent right for our people.
• We will continue to act on all fronts for the sake of Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem and the prisoners.
• Our priority is also to achieve national unity, and for that reason we extend our hands to everyone.

New Hamas chief thanks mediators for efforts to stop more Gaza bloodshed

In his first statement since being appointed Hamas leader on Monday, Khalil al-Hayya thanked mediators for their attempts to prevent Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza.

“We appreciate the role of the mediators in Egypt and Qatar and Turkey who are exerting every effort to stop the cascade of bloodletting in the Gaza Strip.”

He also called on “the sponsoring states of the negotiation track to exert real pressure on the occupation government [Israel] to implement what has been agreed upon”.

Palestinian security is key to regional stability: Hamas boss

The newly appointed Hamas leader says the Middle East will only become stable once Palestine is.

“What the region is witnessing proves that the stability of the Palestinian people is the key to the stability of the region,” Khalil al-Hayya’s statement said.

Addressing the international community, the “standard of justice collapses entirely if you fail to protect the people of Gaza”.

Israeli drone strike in Gaza kills at least one, wounds several

At least one person has been killed and several others injured in an Israeli drone strike on Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, medical sources tell Al Jazeera.

The drone reportedly struck a tent sheltering displaced people inside the camp.

Since launching its genocidal war on the enclave almost three years ago, at least 73,300 Palestinians have been killed by Israel – 1,180 since the ceasefire with Hamas started last October.

Qatar welcomes Belgian and Dutch bans on imports from Israeli colonies

Qatar has welcomed a decision by Belgium and the Netherlands to ban imports from illegal Israeli colonies in the occupied Palestinian territory, calling on other countries to follow suit.

In a statement, the Gulf country’s Foreign Ministry described the moves as “an important step that supports efforts aimed at deterring the occupation’s settlement policies, which constitute a flagrant violation of international legitimacy resolutions, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 2334, and a brazen assault on the rights of the Palestinian people”.

Israeli colonies are illegal under international law and have been condemned by human rights groups, which say Israel’s occupation policies prevent the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a non-binding advisory opinion declaring Israel’s occupation “unlawful”.

The ICJ said Israel must end its occupation, dismantle all colonies, provide full compensation to affected Palestinians and facilitate the return of those displaced by its actions.

Hamas’s new leader calls for permanent Gaza ceasefire

In his first speech since being elected Hamas political chief, Khalil al-Hayya called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, a full Israeli withdrawal and faster reconstruction. He also urged Palestinian unity, rejected displacement and called for stronger regional ties amid the US war on Iran.

Wounded Gaza journalists call for urgent medical evacuation

A wounded and chronically ill Palestinian journalists held a protest calling for urgent medical evacuation from Gaza, saying the collapsed healthcare system cannot provide the treatment they need.