al jazeera

By Kevin Doyle
   Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said it is “important that all forensic evidence be well preserved” from Gaza’s mass graves, but that a mandate from a UN legislative group is required to allow the world body to take legal possession of such material amid calls for an international investigation.

    The Palestinian Civil Defence says it will cooperate with an independent investigation into three separate mass graves found in Gaza containing 392 bodies.

    The US says it has begun construction on a pier on the Gaza Strip’s coast that will facilitate maritime aid delivery, after President Joe Biden announced the plan last month.

    A Hamas official says the group is “serious” about releasing captives, but only with a ceasefire.

    A senior Israeli official says the military is “moving ahead” with its planned ground invasion of Rafah, ignoring a growing chorus of international warnings to call it off.

    Israel’s Netanyahu liken US antiwar protests to ‘1930s Germany’, says ‘do more’ to stop students

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the outpouring of US student solidarity with the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza as “horrific” and “reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s”.

    Netanyahu said the wave of peaceful pro-Palestinian protests that has swept across US campuses “has to be stopped”.

    In a speech shared on social media, Netanyahu also said several university presidents had responded shamefully to the protesters, and he appeared to endorse a crackdown on the student-led rallies that have seen some 550 people arrested in the past week.

    “Now, fortunately, state, local, federal officials, many of them have responded differently but there has to be more. More has to be done,” he said.

    Ralph Nader calls out Biden’s support for Israel’s Netanyahu despite ‘slaughter’ in Gaza

    US author, well-known consumer advocate and one-time presidential candidate Ralph Nader has said Israel is entering a second stage of its “genocidal war” on Gaza, and still, US President Joe Biden “sticks to his master” – Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

    In a series of social media posts, Nader said mass graves have been discovered in Gaza amid “Netanyahu’s slaughter of Palestinian children, women and male civilians”.

    “Intelligence agencies report all this in their morning briefings to President Biden. Still, he sticks to his master, Netanyahu,” who is funded by the US taxpayer, Nader said.

    “Joe, at least demand that Israel allow US reporters into Gaza and get those obstructed 500 humanitarian aid trucks daily into that tiny enclave containing 2.2 million besieged Palestinians,” he added.

    Round up of arrests at pro-Palestinian protests on US campuses

    Reuters news agency reports that around 550 arrests have been made in the last week across major US universities as police crackdown on peaceful protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.

    Here’s what we know:

    Columbia University

    Police arrested more than 100 protesters when they tried to clear a Gaza solidarity encampment last week.

    University of Southern California

    More than 90 people were arrested on Wednesday night for alleged trespassing.

    University of Texas at Austin

    The campus was calmer on Thursday, a day after police arrested dozens of students.

    George Washington University 

    About 50 students set up a tent encampment on Thursday.

    Harvard University

    The university locked most gates into its famous Harvard Yard this week but a camp with still set up.

    California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt 

    The university said protesters continue to occupy two buildings on campus.

    Emerson College 

    Boston police said on Thursday that 108 people were arrested at an encampment.

    New York University

    Police said 133 protesters had been taken into custody on Wednesday.

    Emory University

    Police dismantled a camp on Thursday morning. The Associated Press news agency counted at least 17 people detained.

    Northwestern University 

    Administrators changed the student code of conduct on Thursday to bar tents on its campus as student activists set up an encampment. No arrests have been reported yet.

    Yale University 

    Protests continued Thursday after Monday’s arrest of 48 people.

    Fashion Institute of Technology 

    Protesters set up tents and occupied a building on Thursday at the institute, part of the State University of New York system.

    City College of New York 

    Police and campus security confronted protesters but failed to clear their encampment on Thursday.

    Indiana University Bloomington

    Police made a number of arrests on Thursday afternoon.

    Michigan State University East Lansing Campus

    Nearly 30 tents were set up on Thursday afternoon.