Israel-Hamas war Highlights: Israel strikes ambulance in Gaza; reports of multiple casualties

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted increasing pressure from the United States for a "humanitarian pause" in the month-long conflict, aimed at safeguarding civilians and facilitating aid to Gaza. Netanyahu emphasized that a temporary cease-fire will not be considered until the approximately 240 hostages held by Hamas are released.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his third visit to Israel since the onset of the war, reiterated American support for Israel's campaign to confront Hamas after their devastating attack on southern Israel on October 7. He also echoed President Joe Biden's appeal for a brief cessation of hostilities to address the deepening humanitarian crisis.

Concerns have escalated due to rising Palestinian casualties and the worsening conditions for civilians, resulting from weeks of Israeli airstrikes and an expanding ground offensive that poses a heightened risk to civilian lives. Gaza's overwhelmed hospitals are on the brink of collapse, with critical shortages of medicine and fuel compounded by the Israeli blockade. The United Nations reported that as of Friday, around 1.5 million people in Gaza, comprising 70% of the population, have been displaced from their homes.

A distressing video from Gaza, shared on social media and verified by Reuters on Friday, revealed the presence of at least seven lifeless bodies strewn along a road south of Gaza City. The city currently remains under siege by Israeli forces.

The footage was pinpointed by Reuters as originating from the al-Rashid coast road, situated between Gaza City and Wadi Gaza. While the precise date of the video could not be immediately verified, it was confirmed that the video had not been in circulation on social media before Friday. The identity of the person who filmed the video, as well as the individuals depicted in it, could not be ascertained by Reuters.

In the face of escalating cross-border incidents between Israel and Lebanon, the remaining residents of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel, who have not left due to the increased cross-border fire from Lebanese militants, expressed their readiness for whatever may transpire, AFP reports.

Tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border have risen with tit-for-tat exchanges, primarily involving Israeli forces and Hezbollah, following a surprise attack on Israel by Palestinian militants from Hezbollah ally, Hamas, on October 7. These developments have raised concerns about a potential broader regional conflict.

Both Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon are backed by Iran, Israel's adversary.

Kiryat Shmona recently experienced a rocket barrage, with both Hezbollah and the Lebanese arm of Hamas claiming responsibility for attacks on multiple targets in northern Israel. Residents like Boaz Shalgi, who resides in Kibbutz Gonen approximately 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the border, affirmed their readiness and resilience, stating, "We are ready, we're not worried. We are Israeli people, we are tough people ... we will do whatever it takes."

Israel targeted an ambulance in Gaza City on Friday, claiming it was transporting militants. However, health authorities in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip have asserted that the ambulance was engaged in evacuating injured individuals from the besieged northern area to the southern part of the territory, AFP reports.

Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry, disclosed that the ambulance was part of a convoy that came under Israeli attack as it was leaving al-Shifa Hospital. He further stated that a significant number of people were killed and injured in the incident, although precise figures were not provided.

Qidra reported that the Israeli strikes targeted the ambulance convoy at multiple locations, including the gate of al-Shifa Hospital and Ansar Square, which is approximately a kilometer (0.6 miles) away.

Jordan has announced that it will facilitate a meeting on Saturday between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. The meeting will also include the participation of Palestinian officials, Reuters reports.

The leader of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group in Lebanon, issued a warning to the United States on Friday, stating that if Israel's assault on Gaza continued, it could escalate into a wider regional conflict. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made this statement in his first address since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7, reported Reuters.

Nasrallah also implied that his Iran-backed paramilitary organization was prepared to confront U.S. warships in the Mediterranean, hinting at potential tensions with Israel's main ally, the United States. Hezbollah, a heavily armed ally of Gaza's Hamas militants, has been involved in clashes with Israeli forces along the Lebanon-Israel border, marking the most significant escalation since their conflict in 2006.

A UN official on Friday said that UN buildings in Gaza are no longer safe as shelters due to fighting by Israel and Hamas as more than 50 buildings have been "impacted" so far.

After Hezbollah's warning to the US, the White House on Friday said that the Iran-backed group should not try to take advantage of the ongoing Gaza conflict.

The Gaza health ministry on Friday said that scores of Palestinians were killed and injured in Israeli targeting of an ambulance convoy carrying critically wounded people in Gaza.

A deadly Israel strike has struck near Gaza's biggest hospital, said Hamas on Friday, reported AFP.

Hezbollah chief on Friday said that his militia is not deterred by US' warnings to stay out of the Israel-Hamas war and that they are prepared for all options. "Your fleets in the Mediterranean ... will not scare us,” he said in a televised speech.

The leader of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah praised “martyrs” in Lebanon and elsewhere who have been killed in fighting against Israel since the Israel-Hamas war began.

In his first speech since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Lebanon's Hezbollah chief thanked the Iraqi and Yemeni people who “joined the battle”.

Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is set to break weeks of silence since the war broke out between Hamas and Israel.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said that Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself as it continues to pummel the Gaza Strip with an air and ground assault. “Israel has not only the right but the obligation to defend itself... to make sure that this October 7 never happens again,” he told the media in Tel Aviv.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari on Friday said that the Hamas group is still holding 241 Israelis as hostages.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it would cost an estimated $1.2 billion to meet the needs of 2.7 million people in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip and 500,000 people in the West Bank until the end of the year. According to OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke, the situation in the two regions has grown “increasingly desperate”.

The health ministry in Gaza on Friday said that 9,227 Palestinians including 3,826 children have been killed in Israeli strikes so far.

The Palestinian health ministry on Friday said that the Israeli forces killed six Palestinians in raids across the West Bank. Reportedly, three men aged between 17 and 26 were killed in the northern city of Jenin - a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups and the target of frequent military incursions.

As reports of Israel sending Palestinian workers who have been stranded in the country amid the war back to Gaza, the United Nations said that it is “deeply concerned” with the move.

Israel on Friday began sending thousands of Palestinian workers back to Gaza who have been stranded inside Israel since its war with Hamas erupted, reported AFP citing a Gaza border official.

Messaging app Telegram has b access blocked several channels affiliated with the Palestinian armed group Hamas group amid the Gaza war.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar describes Israel's actions in Gaza as "something approaching revenge", reported Reuters. This is the strongest criticism of Israel by a leader of a European Union member state.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel, according to an AFP correspondent travelling with him said.

Before his departure for Israel, Blinken said that he would seek "concrete measures" from Israel to ensure that harm to Palestinian civilians is reduced.

Gulf Arab nation, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has issued a warning on Friday, about the potential for the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza to “spill over into the broader region”. The UAE said that it is making relentless efforts to secure a humanitarian ceasefire.

Noura al-Kaabi, a minister of state for foreign affairs, at a policy conference held in the capital, Abu Dhabi said, “As we continue working to stop this war we cannot ignore the wider context and the necessity to turn down the regional temperature that is approaching a boiling point.”

She further said, “The risk of regional spillover and further escalation is real, as well as the risk that extremist groups will take advantage of the situation to advance ideologies that will keep us locked in cycles of violence.”

(With Reuters inputs)