Israel launches strikes on Gaza as fighting resumes after truce expires

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...

French-Israeli woman seen in Hamas hostage video is freed

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...

Israeli assault on southern Gaza could lead to 1m refugees, UNRWA chief warns

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...

‘We haven’t slept a wink’: families welcome freed Thai hostages home

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...

West ‘encourages’ killing of civilians in Gaza, says father of activist shot dead by IDF

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...

Israel-Hamas war: ceasefire extended for a day amid last-minute mediation efforts

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.

Continue reading...

Blinken keen for truce to ‘continue to move forward’ – as it happened

This blog is now closed. Follow the latest on our new liveblog here.

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...

Thai foreign minister greets hostages freed by Hamas in emotional meeting

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.

Continue reading...

Qatar mediator says latest prisoner release would comprise 16 children and 14 women – as it happened

This blog is now closed. Follow the latest updates in our new Israel-Hamas blog

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...

Boy held by Hamas ‘forced to watch videos of 7 October attacks’, says aunt

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.

Continue reading...

Israeli intelligence leak details extent of warnings over Hamas attack

Officer who reviewed intelligence considered risk of big attack ‘an imaginary scenario’, leak suggests

Israel’s military and intelligence officials were given a highly detailed warning that Hamas was actively training to take over kibbutzim on the Gaza border and overrun military posts with the aim of inflicting substantial fatalities, according to reports in the Israeli media.

The claim made by Israel’s Channel 12 on Monday evening was based on leaked emails from the Israeli military’s 8200 cyber-intelligence unit discussing the warnings.

Continue reading...

Israel says 30 Palestinians released after 12 hostages returned from Gaza – as it happened

Israel says Palestinians have been freed after nine women, a child and two foreign nationals were handed to the Red Cross

Another batch of 10 Israeli hostages are expected to be released by Hamas today, in line with the extension of the ceasefire. The Guardian has been keeping track of those released so far here:

A London surgeon has described witnessing a “massacre unfold” during 43 days spent under bombardment in Gaza, saying the destruction of the Palestinian health system was a military objective of the war.

Continue reading...

More Israeli hostages and Palestinians freed as ceasefire extension agreed

Celebrations as Hamas releases 11 hostages from Gaza in exchange for 33 Palestinians in Israeli jails as truce extended by two days

Eleven more Israeli hostages have been freed from Gaza in return for dozens of Palestinians held in Israeli jails, as the two sides agreed to extend the existing ceasefire by two days.

Hamas released the hostages – nine children and two women – late on Monday, with all of them from the Nir Oz kibbutz, according to officials from the community. A further release in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails is scheduled to take place later on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Deal agreed to extend Gaza ceasefire for two days, say Hamas and Qatar

Palestinian group says it has agreed to continuation of truce with same conditions, but Israel has not commented

A deal to extend the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas by two days has been agreed after a frantic dash by mediators with just over 12 hours remaining before hostilities in Gaza were due to resume.

Hamas said it had agreed to the extension of the four-day truce by 48 hours after the intervention of Qatar and Egypt, the principal mediators for the initial agreement, and with the same conditions.

Continue reading...

London surgeon says he saw ‘massacre unfold’ while working in Gaza hospitals

Prof Ghassan Abu-Sittah claims destruction of Palestinian health system was an Israeli objective

A London surgeon has described witnessing a “massacre unfold” during 43 days spent under bombardment in Gaza, saying the destruction of the Palestinian health system was a military objective of the war.

Speaking at a press conference in London, Prof Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, who will later give evidence to Scotland Yard, told of horrific scenes at al-Ahli Arab and Dar al-Shifa hospitals as they ceased to function and said he witnessed the use of white phosphorus munitions. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have denied using such weapons.

Continue reading...

Israel-Hamas war: 57 journalists killed in conflict, Committee to Protect Journalists says – as it happened

This blog has now closed. Follow our new live blog here

Hani Mahmoud, reporting for Al Jazeera from Khan Younis inside Gaza, says that people there consider it “an incomplete and unfair truce” as they are being forbidden from travelling from the south back to their homes and families in the north.

He says Palestinians are “taking this opportunity to secure necessities such as food and water. It’s also an opportunity to grieve properly and to hold proper funerals”.

Continue reading...

Israel and Hamas exchange more hostages and prisoners as US hopeful of truce extension

Israel frees more prisoners in exchange but insists its military campaign in Gaza is far from over

The third exchange of hostages and prisoners between Hamas and Israel has taken place as the US expressed hope that a fragile four-day truce in Gaza would be extended beyond Monday, while Israel indicated its campaign was far from over.

Israel said 17 hostages were released by Hamas, including a Russian national and three Thai nationals. The Israelis were all women or children. Thirty-nine Palestinian prisoners, also women and children, were freed from Israeli jails, authorities said.

Continue reading...

‘We hoped and prayed’: four-year-old American girl among hostages released

Abigail Mor Edan, who was one of three US hostages, was among the 17 captives freed on Sunday under cease-fire terms

A four-year-old Israeli American girl who was among three US hostages held by Hamas was released Sunday.

President Joe Biden confirmed on Sunday that the girl – Abigail Mor Edan – was in the hands of Red Cross officials.

Associated Press contributed reporting

Continue reading...

Israeli foreign minister accuses Irish taoiseach of legitimising terror over hostage statement

Eli Cohen criticised Leo Varadkar’s description of nine-year-old Emily Hand as being ‘lost’, not ‘kidnapped’

The Israeli government has accused Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, of legitimising terror and losing his moral compass by saying a freed Irish-Israeli hostage had been “lost” as opposed to kidnapped.

Eli Cohen, Israel’s foreign minister, on Sunday summoned the Irish ambassador to the foreign ministry in Jerusalem for a formal reprimand over Varadkar’s response to the release of nine-year-old Emily Hand, who was reunited with her family after 50 days as a hostage in Gaza.

Continue reading...