This blog is now closed. See our Full report here: Israel extends ground offensive into southern Gaza
A volunteer with the Palestinian Red Crescent has been killed in an Israeli strike on the al-Faluja neighbourhood north-east of Gaza City, the organisation has said on X.
Osama Tayeh was killed at his home, the Red Crescent said, while employee Muhammad Abu Rukba was injured in the attack.
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Al Jazeera is carrying a quote from Unicef’s global spokesperson, James Elder, who had this to say about conditions inside al-Nassar hospital in Khan Younis:
Everywhere you turn to, there are children with third-degree burns, shrapnel wounds, brain injuries and broken bones. Mothers crying over children who look as if they are hours away from death. It seems like a death zone right now.
The UKTMO has received a report of Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) activity including a potential explosion in the vicinity of the Bab el Mandeb originating from the direction of Yemen.
Vessels in the vicinity are advised to follow industry guidance on loitering munitions and advised to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.
Continue reading...Demonstration is first time abductees’ families have come together with other activists
Dozens of people attended a noisy fringe protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday night outside the Israeli military’s headquarters, protesting against the renewed bombardment on Gaza that they blame for the halt in the release of the estimated 130 hostages still held by Hamas.
The group gathered after the regular weekly rally demanding the release of all the hostages held by Hamas, and marched around the Israel Defense Force’s Kirya military base demanding an urgent meeting with the country’s war cabinet and pressing for a ceasefire.
Continue reading...As pressure grows on Israel to avoid civilian deaths, IDF believes killing leaders will collapse organisation
The Israeli military’s coming push into southern Gaza is driven by the belief that intelligence gleaned from hundreds of militants captured during the fighting in the north will allow them to find and kill leaders of Hamas.
Israel’s politicians and generals believe that taking out top commanders – and leader Yahya Sinwar – is their best chance of forcing the collapse of an organisation that is deeply embedded in Gaza, after nearly two decades controlling the enclave.
Continue reading...One lesson from the 1982 Lebanon war is that Israel’s enemy only needs to survive against superior firepower to gain an advantage
The scene is one familiar from many conflicts. Soldiers line up to get food from an outdoor canteen, weapons slung haphazardly over their shoulders, boots muddy, shirts undone. An armoured personnel carrier clanks by, the roar of its engine temporarily drowning out the boom of artillery. Officers shout orders. Tired men jump down from dusty vehicles and swear.
Even during the recent ceasefire, the rear areas of the massive Israeli military offensive in Gaza were busy. So too was Hamas, which used the seven-day pause in hostilities to reorganise its battered forces and reconstitute some of its degraded capabilities.
Continue reading...Online system designed to order precise evacuations inaccessible to those without power or network access
• Israel-Hamas war – live updates
Israel’s new grid system for targeted evacuation warnings in southern Gaza risks turning life in the territory into a “macabre game of Battleships”, aid workers have warned.
When Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza after a week-long ceasefire deal collapsed, it immediately signalled plans to intensify attacks on the south of the territory, in areas where Palestinian civilians had previously been urged to take shelter.
Continue reading...A team from Israel’s Mossad intelligence services has been ordered home after talks in Qatar about another pause in fighting in Gaza reach a ‘dead end’
Here are the latest images coming across the wires:
Israeli airstrikes killed two Syrian pro-Hezbollah fighters when they hit sites belonging to the Iran-backed group near Damascus early on Saturday, a war monitor told AFP.
Continue reading...Israel orders Palestinians to evacuate southern city of Khan Younis, where it says Hamas leadership is based
Israel has signalled that it is preparing to launch a ground assault in southern Gaza in a significant escalation of the war, as it attacked the Strip on Friday after the end of a seven-day truce, leaving at least 178 Palestinians dead.
The country’s military dropped leaflets in parts of Khan Younis, where Israel believes Hamas’s leadership is based, warning citizens to evacuate farther south to Rafah, prompting humanitarian groups to say that Palestinians risked being forced completely out of the territory.
Continue reading...Safety of civilians held by Hamas in further doubt after expiration of truce that allowed hostage-prisoner swaps
The families of hostages being held in Gaza have said they are terrified about the safety of their loved ones after the end of a seven-day ceasefire.
Fighting resumed on Friday after the expiry of the truce, during which Hamas released 80 Israeli hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
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Palestinian media is reporting Israeli military strikes in northern Gaza, Reuters has snapped.
The Israeli military has resumed combat against Hamas in Gaza, the military announced, saying Hamas had violated the truce and fired towards Israeli territory, Reuters has snapped.
Continue reading...More than 170 Palestinians killed as Red Cross head warns ‘nightmarish situation’ for civilians has returned
Israel attacked targets across Gaza after the end of a seven-day ceasefire on Friday, leaving more than 170 Palestinians dead after negotiations over further hostage releases fell apart overnight.
Israel’s military said it had attacked 200 targets from land, sea and air across the north and south of the strip by lunchtime, including in Khan Younis, a southern city from which it had ordered civilians to evacuate.
Continue reading...Mia Schem was abducted from music festival on 7 October; lawyer Amit Soussana has also been released
Mia Schem, a French-Israeli woman who was abducted from the Supernova music festival in Israel and shown in the first Hamas video of a hostage speaking from captivity, has been released.
She was one of eight hostages released in two tranches on Thursday.
Continue reading...Philippe Lazzarini urges Israel to think of consequences of offensive if truce is not further extended
An Israeli military assault into the south of Gaza may lead to 1 million refugees, the head of the UN’s Palestine relief agency UNRWA has warned.
After a second overnight visit to Gaza where he met overwhelmed Palestinians, Philippe Lazzarini urged Israel to think through the consequences of an offensive in the south if the temporary truce in the fighting is not extended.
Continue reading...Tears and joy as 17 Thai nationals who were seized in Hamas attacks on Israel land in Bangkok
Pornsawan Pinakalo’s three great aunts would not have missed his return for the world. Kularb Pinakalo’s knees couldn’t quite get her up to the room in Bangkok airport where her nephew was meeting other family members for the first time since being taken hostage in Gaza. But after travelling for four hours by van to the Thai capital, the 63-year-old was ready and waiting for him to emerge in the arrivals hall, alongside 84-year-old Nangnoi Pattataysan and Noi Prakobkan, 82.
“I just want to give him a hug,” Kularb said. She was so overwhelmed that she could hardly think of what to say to him, she added.
Continue reading...Anthony Hurndall, whose son was shot by the IDF in 2003, has called on governments to challenge Israeli claims about deaths of women and children
Western governments are “actively encourag[ing] the killing of women and children” in Gaza, because they are not willing to challenge Israeli accounts of the war there, the father of a British peace activist killed by an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) sniper has warned.
Anthony Hurndall’s son, Tom Hurndall, was shot in the head in April 2003 in Rafah, while he was helping Palestinian children.
Continue reading...IDF and Hamas agree at last minute to extend truce into seventh day as Antony Blinken arrives in Israel as part of diplomatic efforts to avoid a return to fighting in devastated Gaza Strip
Israel’s military confirmed on Thursday that a truce with Hamas will continue, allowing further hostage and prisoner releases and the possibility of more a durable pause in hostilities.
There were frantic diplomatic efforts through the night to prolong the six-day halt to fighting in Gaza which was set to end at 7am local time (5am GMT) on Thursday. The current extension appears to be only for 24 hours, though this has yet to be explicitly confirmed by all parties.
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China’s government has released a position paper on the Israel-Hamas conflict. The country this month took the chair of the UN security council, and the position paper’s release coincided with an address to the council by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi.
The five point proposal reiterated much of China’s ongoing position on the conflict, which is that a two-state solution remains the answer, and again called for an immediate ceasefire, and an end to the fighting. It said humanitarian corridors had to be safe and unimpeded, and expansion of the conflict must be prevented.
Pursuant to the Charter of the United Nations, the Security Council shoulders primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and should thus play an active and constructive role on the question of Palestine.
Any arrangement on the future of Gaza must respect the will and independent choice of the Palestinian people, and must not be imposed upon them.
Continue reading...Four Thais were released late on Wednesday after two on Tuesday, having spent seven weeks in captivity
Thailand’s foreign minister has met Thai hostages in an emotional welcome after their release by Hamas from seven weeks of captivity, saying he hoped for freedom soon for the remaining hostages from his country.
Four Thai workers were released late on Wednesday, bringing the total released to 23.
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Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries have said in a joint statement that they support the further extension of the truce and future pauses in order to increase assistance and facilitate the release of all hostages.
The group urged Hamas to release all the hostages “immediately and unconditionally”.
Continue reading...Recently released Eitan Yahalomi, 12, suffered ‘horrors’ at the hands of militant Palestinian group, according to family member
A 12-year-old boy who was held hostage in Gaza for 52 days was forced in captivity to watch videos of the 7 October atrocities, his aunt has claimed.
Eitan Yahalomi, a French-Israeli national, was kidnapped from the Nir Oz kibbutz with his father, Ohad Yahalomi, who remains captive.
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