Israeli airstrikes kill at least 72 across Gaza

Thirty-eight killed in Khan Younis including 13 children from same family, as survivors sift through rubble

Middle East crisis – live updates

At least 72 people have been killed in Israeli operations across Gaza in the past day, hospital officials in the besieged territory have said, although communication difficulties in the north of the strip mean the final toll could be much higher.

In the central town of Khan Younis, 38 people, including at least 13 children from the same family, were killed in airstrikes early on Friday, hospital records showed. Relatives cradled their bruised and broken bodies in the morgue of the nearby European hospital before they were buried, in some cases several children to a shroud.

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Israel must stop ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Gaza, Jordan tells US

Jordanian foreign secretary warns ‘we stand at brink of regional war’ as he meets Antony Blinken in London

Jordan’s foreign minister has called for pressure on Israel to end what he called the “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, as he met the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, in London.

Blinken, who is still hoping Gaza peace talks can be revived, stopped over in the UK to brief leaders from Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan after he had been unable to meet them on his recent tour of the Middle East.

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Blasts reported near Imam Khomeini international airport in Iran – as it happened

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Lebanon’s health minister, Firass Abiad, has told reporters that over 163 rescuers and health workers had been killed and 272 injured in Israeli airstrikes during more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, the Iranian backed Lebanese militant group, began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Palestinians on 7 October 2023, the day after its ally Hamas’s attack on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed.

We have been very clear that this cannot lead - should not lead - to a protracted campaign and that Israel must take the necessary steps to avoid civilian casualties and not endanger UN peacekeepers or the Lebanese armed forces.

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Israel’s plan to ban Unrwa from accessing Gaza marks new low in its relations with UN

US only nation likely to be able to persuade Netanyahu to drop plan condemned by 123 member states

Worsening relations between the United Nations and Israel appear to have reached a nadir with the imminent passage of a bill in the Israeli Knesset designed to make it impossible for the UN relief and works agency for Palestinians (Unrwa) to operate in Gaza and West Bank.

Unrwa has long been a target of Israel, predating its claims that up to 12 members of the group’s staff took part in the 7 October attacks , but the move to ban the agency altogether signals a fresh polarisation that may take years to reverse.

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US warns against ‘protracted’ campaign in Lebanon as Israel strikes Beirut

In a visit to the region, secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US was working to progress ceasefire talks for Gaza and Lebanon

Israeli strikes hit Beirut on Thursday evening, after the US warned against Israel being led into a “protracted” campaign in Lebanon and efforts got under way to hold renewed talks over a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.

Lebanese state media said several strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday, about half an hour after Israel issued evacuation warnings for the Hezbollah bastion after intense strikes the night before.

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Israeli airstrike reported in south Beirut; Gaza is ‘dying’, aid group chief says – as it happened

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Warning sirens have again sounded in northern Israel.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that later today India will deliver 33 tons of medical aid to Lebanon.

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Macron warns Netanyahu against ‘sowing barbarism’ in remarks on Lebanon

Conference convened by French president raises $800m in humanitarian aid and $200m to strengthen Lebanese army

Emmanuel Macron has warned Benjamin Netanyahu that “civilisation is not best defended by sowing barbarism ourselves”, as a conference convened by the French president in Paris raised $200m (£154m) for Lebanon’s official military and $800m in humanitarian aid for the country.

Macron also vowed to help train 6,000 extra Lebanese official forces, and called for a ceasefire and an end to Israeli attacks on UN peacekeepers, for which he said there was no justification.

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At least 17 killed in Israeli strike on school turned shelter in Nuseirat

Deaths in central Gaza come as Al Jazeera accuses Israel of targeting its journalists working in the war zone

At least 17 people, nearly all women and children, have been killed in Israeli bombing of a school turned shelter in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, medics in the territory have said.

The strike, the latest bombing of a school sheltering displaced people across Gaza, came as the Qatari television network Al Jazeera accused Israel of turning its journalists reporting from north Gaza into targets after the Israeli military claimed a day earlier that six reporters were members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

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Israeli assault on northern Gaza forces postponement of polio vaccination campaign

WHO says ‘escalating violence’ in northern Gaza has led to postponement of vaccines to more than 100,000 children

Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 42 people on Wednesday as the military intensified a siege on northern parts of the Palestinian territory, forcing the World Health Organization to pause the latest phase of its polio vaccination campaign, medics and officials said.

Israeli forces began the operation in the north about three weeks ago with the declared aim of preventing Hamas fighters from regrouping. The operation has intensified since the killing of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar a week ago, despite hopes from the US that his death could provide a fresh impetus for peace.

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Strike on Iran will make world understand Israel’s might, says defence minister

Yoav Gallant says his country still intends to strike back in response to 1 October missile attack by Tehran

Planned airstrikes on Iran will make the world understand Israel’s military might, the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has said.

The Middle East has been braced for more than three weeks for a threatened Israeli response to Iran’s 1 October missile attack, which was in turn a reprisal for Israel’s killing of the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

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Israelis told to urgently leave Sri Lankan tourist areas after terrorist threat

Israel tells citizens in Arugam Bay area to hide Jewish identity and not gather in large groups

Israel’s national security council has warned Israelis to immediately leave popular tourist areas in southern Sri Lanka after threats of a possible terrorist attack.

According to the council, Sri Lankan authorities had informed it of “a terrorist threat focused on tourist areas and beaches” around the popular surfing area of Arugam Bay in the south of the island.

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Hezbollah claims to have hit Tel Aviv factory – as it happened

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In a statement on its official Telegram channel, Israel’s military has claimed that overnight it struck at weapons storage facilities in Beirut in Lebanon.

In the message, the IDF said the targets were “manufacturing facilities and command centres belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization which were located within civilian infrastructure.”

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Israel confirms killing of Hashem Safieddine, presumed next leader of Hezbollah

IDF says strikes in Beirut in early October also killed the head of the militant group’s intelligence branch

Israel has confirmed the killing of the presumed next leader of Hezbollah in an airstrike on southern Beirut earlier in October.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the Israeli military said strikes in the suburb of Dahiyeh had killed Hashem Safieddine and Ali Hussein Hazima, the head of the militant group’s intelligence branch, three weeks ago.

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Israel says it killed Hezbollah’s presumed next leader in early October – as it happened

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As Israel continues its war in Gaza and assault on Lebanon, a growing number of international airlines are suspending flights to the region or to avoid affected airspace.

Reuters has helpfully compiled a list of some of them:

Aegean Airlines: The Greek airline cancelled flights to and from Beirut until 6 November and to and from Tel Aviv until 5 November.

AirBaltic: Latvia’s airBaltic cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv until 30 November.

Air Algerie: The Algerian airline suspended flights to and from Lebanon until further notice.

Air France-KLM: Air France extended its suspension of Paris-Tel Aviv flights until 29 October and Paris-Beirut flights until 30 November. KLM extended the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv until the end of this year at least.

Air India: The Indian flag carrier suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until further notice.

Bulgaria Air: The Bulgarian carrier cancelled flights to and from Israel until 31 October.
Cathay Pacific: Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific cancelled flights to Tel Aviv until 25 October 2025.

Delta Air Lines: The US carrier paused flights between New York and Tel Aviv through March 2025.

EasyJet: The UK budget airline stopped flying to and from Tel Aviv in April and will resume flights on 30 March.

Egyptair: The Egyptian carrier in September said it had suspended flights to Beirut until “the situation stabilises”.

Emirates UAE’s state-owned airline cancelled flights to Beirut through to 31 October and flights to Baghdad and Tehran until 30 October.

Ethiopian Airlines: The Ethiopian carrier suspended flights to Beirut until further notice, it said in a Facebook post on 4 October.

FlyDubai: The Emirati airline suspended Dubai-Beirut flights until 31 October.

Iran Air: The Iranian airline cancelled Beirut flights until further notice.

Iraqi Airways: The Iraqi national carrier suspended flights to Beirut until further notice.

ITA Airways: The Italian carrier extended the suspension of Tel Aviv flights through to 30 November.

LOT: The Polish flag carrier cancelled flights to Tel Aviv until 26 October. Its first scheduled flight to Beirut is planned for 1 April.

Lufthansa Group: The German airline group extended the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv until 10 November, while its low cost carrier Eurowings suspended them until 30 November. Flights for Tehran are cancelled until 31 October and to Beirut until 30 November.

Pegasus: The Turkish airline cancelled flights to Beirut until 28 October.

Qatar airways: The Qatari airline temporarily suspended flights to and from Iraq, Iran and Lebanon, while flights to Amman will operate only during daylight hours.
Ryanair: Europe’s biggest budget airline cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv until the end of December. Group CEO Michael O’Leary said in early October that the suspension was likely to be extended until end-March.

Tarom: Romania’s flag carrier extended the suspension of Beirut flights until 15 November.
United Airlines: The Chicago-based airline suspended flights to Tel Aviv for the foreseeable future.
Virgin Atlantic: The UK carrier extended suspension of Tel Aviv flights until end-March.

Wizz Air: The Hungary-based airline suspended Tel Aviv flights through 14 January.

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Israel mulls using private security contractors to deliver aid to Gaza

Discussion about letting private firms bid for contracts comes before Knesset vote on banning UN relief agency from operating in Israel

Israel is weighing the use of private security contractors – possibly involving UK special forces veterans – to deliver aid to Gaza, as conditions in the north of the strip worsen dramatically, the Guardian has learned.

According to an Israeli official, the security cabinet discussed the issue on Sunday, before an expected vote in the Knesset next week on two bills that would ban the UN relief agency, Unrwa, from operating in Israel. If passed, the bills would severely curtail the operations of by far the biggest aid operation in Gaza.

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‘Horror and tears’ as Lebanon’s hospitals fear same fate as Gaza

Israeli strikes near Rafik Hariri hospital and its claims that a second Beirut facility is hiding Hezbollah stash cause anxiety and panic

The rescuers struck at the concrete with jackhammers, excavators and even pickaxes, pausing occasionally and demanding silence, straining to hear anyone still trapped under the collapsed building.

Beneath the rubble, nothing stirred. They resumed, many working through the night after Israel carried out airstrikes on residential buildings across the street from Rafik Hariri university hospital, killing 18 people, including four children, and wounding 60 on Monday night.

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No 10 says Starmer ‘shares public anger’ at early prisoner releases but system facing paralysis without it – as it happened

Downing Street says government ‘shocked’ at inheriting prisons crisis as hundreds of prisoners get early release. This live blog is closed

The funeral of Alex Salmond, the former Scottish first minister who died suddenly earlier this month after delivering a speech in North Macedonia, will be held on Tuesday 29 October, his family has announced.

The funeral will be at Strichen parish church in Aberdeenshire. It will be conducted by Rev Ian McEwan, a friend of the family, and only family and close friends are invited. Salmond will be laid to rest in Strichen cemetery.

According to the Eurostat data, England and Wales had 144 prisoners per 100,000 head of population, the 8th highest rate among EU countries and the highest amongst western European jurisdictions. Scotland had the 9th highest with 137 prisoners per 100,000. Northern Ireland had 76 prisoners per 100,000 of population and was ranked 24th.

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‘Utter ruin’: Gaza economy would take 350 years to return to pre-conflict level, UN says

Report says ‘intense military operations in Gaza have left unprecedented humanitarian, environmental and social catastrophe’

Gaza’s economy has been left in “utter ruin” by the year-long war between Israel and Hamas, and it would take 350 years to return to its pre-conflict levels, the United Nations has warned.

In a report on the economic costs of the war prepared by its trade and development wing (Unctad), the UN said the fighting since Hamas killed more than 1,000 Israelis on 7 October last year had devastated the remnants of Gaza’s economy and infrastructure.

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Blinken meets Netanyahu in renewed US push for Gaza ceasefire

US secretary of state urges Israeli PM to capitalise on death of Hamas leader by securing release of hostages and ending conflict

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has arrived in Israel to encourage efforts to revive the stalled Gaza ceasefire negotiations after Israel’s killing of the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, last week.

Meeting the Israeli prime minister, Blinken urged Benjamin Netanyahu to capitalise on the death of the Hamas leader by securing the release of the 7 October attack hostages and ending the conflict in Gaza.

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FBI investigates intelligence leak of potential Israel plans to attack Iran

John Kirby says Biden administration unsure if leak or hack led to secret documents appearing online on Telegram

The FBI has launched an investigation into the unauthorized release of classified documents describing Israel’s preparation for a potential retaliatory attack on Iran.

The White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said on Monday that the Biden administration was still not certain if the classified information was leaked or hacked but that officials did not have any indication at this point of “additional documents like this finding their way into the public domain”.

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