Detainees say they were sent into unexplored houses and tunnels before soldiers, in violation of Geneva conventions

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After they burned down his family home in northern Gaza, Israeli troops separated Ramez al-Skafi from his family and detained him. They had a particular job in mind for him, he said.

For the next 11 days in early July, the 30-year-old Palestinian said he was sent into one house after another in his home district, Shuja’iya, watched by his Israeli military minders. According to the account he gave the Guardian, they turned him into a human shield against booby-traps and Hamas gunmen.

More than 60 deaths recorded in territory in past day as Israel launches more airstrikes and sends in more troops

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Israel has launched new airstrikes and sent more troops into Gaza, dashing brief hopes among many residents of the territory that the killing of the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, could bring an end to the devastating conflict.

Sinwar, 62, was killed on Thursday by tank fire directed at a building in Rafah in the far south of Gaza after exchanging fire with an Israeli patrol.

The mastermind of the 7 October attack that triggered the current war in Gaza has been killed in a neighbourhood of Rafah

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Israel has killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in southern Gaza. Here is what we know so far:

Israel’s military said it had killed Sinwar, who is seen as the architect of the 7 October attack in Israel, in Gaza. In a statement, the IDF said: “After completing the process of identifying the body, it can be confirmed that Yahya Sinwar was eliminated.”

The statement came shortly after the Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, also said Sinwar had been killed. “Mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, who was responsible for the massacre and atrocities of 7 October, was killed today by IDF soldiers,” Katz said in a statement.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, described Sinwar’s death as “the beginning of the end” but warned the “task before us is not yet complete”. In a press conference, Netanyahu said Israel will continue to work until the end of the war.

To the people of Israel, Netanyahu said that there are “a lot of challenges still facing us” and that “we have to remain resilient” and “stand firm on our ground and to continue to fight”. He added: “We will not stop the war. We will go into Rafah.”

The US president, Joe Biden said Israeli reports that Sinwar had been killed marked a “good day” for Israel, the US and the world and compared it to how Americans felt after Osama bin Laden’s death. Biden said in a statement that DNA tests confirmed Sinwar’s death. Biden reportedly spoke to Netanyahu and they agreed to work towards a deal to free the remaining hostages.

Kamala Harris, the US vice-president, said “justice has been served” after Sinwar’s death was announced. She said “this moment gives us an opportunity to end the war in Gaza” and stressed the need to end suffering in Gaza.

Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, has commended the Israeli military, the Shin Bet intelligence agency, and the security services for the killing of Sinwar. In a post to X, Herzog described Sinwar as the “mastermind” behind the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel and for being “responsible for heinous acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians” for years. He added: “His evil endeavors were dedicated to terror, bloodshed, and destabilizing the Middle East.”

In a statement, the Israeli prime minister’s office said that no hostages were believed to have been present at the site of the killing in the Gaza Strip, where Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said “three terrorists were eliminated”. Some in the defence establishment had believed that Sinwar was likely to have surrounded himself with human shields as he sought to evade Israeli troops.

Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has recently spoken with his US counterpart, defence secretary Lloyd Austin, according to a US official. The call came moments after Katz announced Sinwar was dead, the official said. According to CNN, Austin was passed a note about Sinwar’s death during a Nato meeting in Brussels earlier today.

Israel’s Kan Radio reported that the Hamas leader was killed “by chance”, and not as a result of intelligence gathering. The station also said the bodies found at the site were found with large amounts of cash and fake IDs.

Death toll of at least 28 reportedly includes doctors and children at site IDF said was used by Islamic Jihad members

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At least 28 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school turned shelter in the Jabaliya neighbourhood of Gaza City, amid accusations Israel intends to forcibly expel the remaining population in a renewed ground campaign.

The bombing of Abu Hussein school in Jabaliya on Thursday killed 28, including doctors and several children, and injured dozens more, according to health officials, who warned the final toll was likely to be higher. Another 11 people were killed in two separate airstrikes in Gaza City, and it was unclear how many were killed in other strikes in central and southern Gaza.