LIVE | Israel-Hamas War Day 27: Israeli troops advance as diplomatic efforts aim to pause Gaza fighting

Israel criticized Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia on Wednesday after the South American countries undertook a series of diplomatic moves to protest Israel’s military operations against Hamas in Gaza.

Other Latin American countries, including Argentina and Brazil, have also increased their criticism of the impact that Israel’s military operations are having on civilians.

Israel on Wednesday called on Colombia and Chile to “explicitly condemn the Hamas terrorist organisation, which slaughtered and abducted babies, children, women and the elderly,” according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The call came hours after Chile and Colombia both recalled their ambassadors to Israel on Tuesday evening amid criticism of the killing of civilians in Gaza.

“Israel expects Colombia and Chile to support the right of a democratic country to protect its citizens, and to call for the immediate release of all the abductees, and not align themselves with Venezuela and Iran in support of Hamas terrorism,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said.

Although the statement from Chile’s Foreign Ministry regarding the recall of its ambassador did not mention Hamas, President Gabriel Boric did mention Hamas in a separate statement on X, formerly Twitter, in which he said “innocent civilians” were the “main victims of Israel’s offensive”.

Chile “doesn’t doubt in condemning the attacks and kidnappings perpetrated by Hamas,” Boric wrote. “Humanity cannot sustain itself through ties that dehumanize.”

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has been more direct as he has shared lots of messages on social media condemning Israel’s actions.

“It’s called genocide; they’re doing it to remove the Palestinian people from Gaza and take it over,” Petro wrote on X. “The head of the state committing this genocide is a criminal against humanity.”

The diplomatic moves by the three South American countries, all of which are led by leftist leaders, come as others in the region have ramped up their criticism of Israel’s military activity.

Argentina on Wednesday criticised Israel’s attack in the Jabaliya refugee camp and said the “humanitarian situation in Gaza is ever more alarming.” Argentina’s statement came hours after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on Israel to end its bombing of Gaza.

“We are seeing, for the first time, a war in which the majority of those killed are children,” Lula wrote on X. “Stop! For the love of God, stop!”

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organisation, criticised Bolivia, Chile and Colombia for their diplomatic moves. (AP)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel and Jordan this week as Israel’s war in Gaza and international criticism of it intensify, the State Department has said.

Blinken will depart Washington on Thursday and will be in Israel and Jordan on Friday and Further stops in the Middle East are possible, meaning the trip may follow the frenetic pace of Blinken's last trip to the region shortly after the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel where last-minute schedule changes were frequent.

Blinken ended up travelling to Israel three times as well as six Arab nations during that trip.

Blinken will be entering a diplomatic maelstrom that will likely complicate his mission.

Jordan announced on Wednesday that it had recalled its ambassador to Israel and would not permit Israel's ambassador to Jordan to return to the country. It said it would not revisit those moves until the Gaza conflict was over.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken would once again underscore the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself but also stress the importance of minimizing civilian casualties and ensuring that humanitarian assistance reaches innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

Securing the release of hundreds of Israelis and others held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, easing the transit of dual Palestinian nationals and foreigners currently in Gaza into Egypt and preventing a broader regional war from erupting will also be key agenda items, Miller said.

At the same time, Blinken wants to begin a conversation with Israel and with Jordan about an end game for the Gaza conflict once it is over, Miller said. To that end, Blinken will push Israeli officials on reining in violence being committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank and will be re-stating US backing for the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, he said.

Although there was some progress in securing the evacuation of foreigners, including a small number of Americans, from Gaza into Egypt on Wednesday, thousands more want to leave. (AP)

Israeli forces raided the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank early Wednesday, killing three Palestinians, injuring scores more, and arresting a high-ranking Palestinian official, Palestinian health and Israeli military officials said.

The raid, which the military said was to root out militancy, included a drone strike — a once rare, but now increasingly common attack mode in the West Bank. The military said the strike targeted and hit several militants. Soldiers and militants exchanged fire in the camp. The military said soldiers found and destroyed an underground shaft full of ammunition.

In the overnight raid, soldiers arrested Ata Abu Rmeileh, Jenin’s highest-ranking Fatah official. Fatah is the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas’s main rival. The military said that Rmeileh, who was arrested with his son, was involved in promoting militancy in the area. Israel's military arrested 70 Palestinians overnight, bringing the total number of Palestinians arrested since the war began to 1,830, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club.

Videos circulating on social media showed lines of Israeli military vehicles streaming into the city, Israeli bulldozers traversing the camp's narrow streets and a puddle of blood on the floor of a major hospital.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7. Since then, Israeli forces and settlers killed 125 Palestinians there, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. (AP)

Jordan, a key US ally, said Wednesday it has recalled its ambassador from Israel and told Israel's ambassador to remain out of the country in protest over the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.

Jordan's deputy prime minister, Ayman al-Safadi, who is also the foreign minister, said the return of the ambassadors is linked to Israel “stopping its war on Gaza … and the humanitarian catastrophe it is causing.” Jordan signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994, the second Arab country after Egypt to do so. (AP)

A 65-year-old Palestinian father with mental disabilities was killed in the occupied West Bank with a single shot to the head Wednesday as Israeli forces operated nearby, according to an Israeli rights group with footage of the shooting.

The video, which came from a CCTV camera in the flashpoint city of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, shows a Palestinian man — identified as Majdi Awad by human rights group B'Tselem — walking down an alley in the early morning, before suddenly being shot and collapsing to the ground.

B'Tselem spokesperson Roy Yellin said it was not yet clear whether the man was shot by Israeli forces, but that the incident occurred just 100 metres from an area where Israeli forces stood. Awad was pronounced dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital and identified by his family members, Yellin said, adding that B'Tselem's preliminary investigation showed that Awad was likely shot by a sniper.

Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, 130 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank either by Israeli forces or by Jewish settlers. UN monitors say the period is the deadliest on record in the territory.

The military did not immediately respond to request for comment on the video or confirmation that soldiers had operated in Tulkarem Wednesday morning. (AP)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani says a handful of Italian citizens have crossed out of the Gaza Strip.

“I just spoke with the first four Italians who departed from the Gaza Strip,” Tajani wrote on the social media platform X. “They are tired but in good condition, assisted by the Italian consul in Cairo. We will continue to work so all the others can get out.” Tajani last week said there were 14 Italians in the Gaza Strip — seven with Italian citizenship and seven with dual Italian citizenship. (AP)

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, crossed into Gaza Wednesday, where he met with Palestinian communities and other UNRWA colleagues working in the territory.

He said he was shocked by the scale of humanitarian needs Gaza and called for scaling up assistance delivered to the strip's 2.3 million population.

“I was shocked by the fact that everyone there was asking for food, was asking for water ... I never, ever have seen something similar in Gaza,” he said in comments to journalists.

Lazzarini is the most senior UN official to enter the besieged enclave since the conflict erupted on October 7. (AP)

Cyprus’s government spokesman says a Cypriot initiative for the continuous flow of humanitarian assistance from Cyprus to Gaza will see ships sailing directly to the enclave where the United Nations personnel will receive it for distribution.

Spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “saw the initiative in a positive light” during a long telephone call with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides Tuesday evening.

Cyprus is working with other European Union member states and Arab countries to work out the logistics of delivering aid to Gaza as soon as conditions on the ground permit it.

Ships loaded with medical supplies, food and clothing will depart from Cyprus' main port of Limassol after being vetted to ensure that nothing being transported can be weaponised against Israel. (AP)

A Jewish human rights organisation has criticised Chile and Colombia for recalling their ambassadors to Israel, as well as Bolivia for breaking its diplomatic relations with Israel in protest of the continuing military operation in the Gaza Strip.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center noted Wednesday that Bolivia never mentioned the October 7 Hamas attack against Israel in its decision to sever diplomatic ties with Israel and said the Andean country's decision on Tuesday has to do with Bolivia's partnership with Iran.

“Bolivia's alliance with Iran is becoming clearer every day considering that the breakup is not due to the real interests of the Bolivian people,” Ariel Gelblung, the centre's director for Latin America, said.

The centre characterised the decision by the governments of Colombia and Chile to recall their ambassadors on Tuesday evening “a clearly coordinated action.” “Both leaders have always been hostile toward Israel and both have a history of diplomatic disagreements with representatives of the Jewish State,” the organisation said.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has devoted much of his account on X, formerly Twitter, to posting and retweeting criticism of Israel.

“The head of state who carries out this genocide is a criminal against humanity,” Petro wrote late Tuesday.

Bolivia, Chile and Colombia are all led by leftist governments. (AP)

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas’s ability to govern Gaza or threaten Israel. But it has said little about who would govern Gaza afterwards.

In congressional testimony Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested that “it would make the most sense” for President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority to govern and have security responsibility for Gaza.

Hamas drove the authority’s forces out of Gaza in heavy fighting in 2007, leaving it with limited control over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian support for the authority has plunged, with many dismissing it as little more than Israel's police force because it helps suppress militant groups while unable to prevent the spread of settlements in the West Bank. (AP)