Israel-Hamas War highlights: Two rockets launched from Syria toward Israeli territory, says army

Families, along with their belongings packed into vehicles, including cars, trucks, and donkey carts, crowded onto a major road in an attempt to leave Gaza City. Israeli airstrikes continued to relentlessly target the small and besieged territory, causing critical shortages of essential supplies like food, fuel, and drinking water due to the ongoing Israeli blockade. To address this dire situation, Egyptian officials announced that the southern Rafah crossing would reopen, allowing foreigners to leave.

Israel announced that Palestinians could safely travel along two main routes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time. Reports indicated that "hundreds of thousands" of Palestinians had already begun their journey south. However, some residents lived as far as 20 kilometres away from the designated routes, and the extensive damage from airstrikes had rendered many roads impassable, while fuel supplies remained critically low.

An Egyptian official has confirmed that Egypt, Israel, and the United States have reached an agreement to allow foreigners in Gaza to cross the Rafah border into Egypt. Israel has agreed not to strike areas used by these foreigners as they leave the besieged Palestinian territory. This diplomatic effort also involved Qatar and received approval from Palestinian militant groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. At the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, officials have received instructions to reopen it for foreigners arriving from Gaza, with the process set to resume on Saturday afternoon.

A Hamas militant who Israel said led a unit of commando forces that gunned down civilians in last week's attack on southern Israel has been killed in an air strike, the military said Saturday.

Israeli military "aircraft killed Ali Qadi, a company commander of the Hamas 'Nukhba' (elite) commando force," a statement said.

The Israeli army said on Saturday it was aware of the incident in southern Lebanon in which a Reuters journalist was killed and that it was being investigated.

"We are aware of the incident with the Reuters journalist. We are looking into it. We already have visuals. We're doing cross-examination. It's a tragic thing," a military spokesperson told reporters.

Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah was killed and six other journalists injured in southern Lebanon on Friday when missiles fired from the direction of Israel struck them, according to a Reuters videographer who was at the scene.

Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 324 people in the past 24 hours alone, including 126 children, the Hamas-controlled health ministry said.

There were 88 women among those killed, it said, adding that 1,018 were wounded over that period.

Jordan on Saturday said any move by Israel to impose a new displacement of Palestinians would push the region to the "abyss" of a wider regional conflict.

Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also said Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid to Gaza and forcing its residents to leave their homes as it escalates its military action were a "flagrant" breach of international law.

The Israeli army is “very sorry” for the death of a journalist in Lebanon, a spokesperson said, according to AFP.

Reuters video journalist, Issam Abdallah, was killed and six others were injured in southern Lebanon on Friday when missiles fired from the direction of Israel struck them.

Egypt, the only Arab state to share a border with Gaza, and Jordan, which is next to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, have both warned against Palestinians being forced off their land. Read on.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov may meet Hamas officials in Qatar next week and discuss a possible release of hostages who were taken from Israel to Gaza on October 7, Reuters reported, citing
Russian state news agency RIA.

Hamas has released footage of Israeli children whom they claim they held hostage during the deadly attack on Southern Israel, reported The Jerusalem Post.

The Hamas group shared the video on their Telegram channel, with the caption, “Hamas fighters, showing compassion for children in the midst of the Kibbutz 'Holit' battles on day one of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.” Read more.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has urged Israel to give more time to people in Gaza to evacuate ahead of any military action, reported AP.

Welcoming Israel's decision to warn Gazans, Josep Borrell said that the tight time frame could create a humanitarian crisis given the lack of shelters and transportation.

The United Nations and other organisations have warned of a disaster if a large number of people are forced to flee Gaza, reported Reuters.

"We need immediate humanitarian access throughout Gaza, so that we can get fuel, food and water to everyone in need. Even wars have rules," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement is saying that it would be "fully prepared" to join its Palestinian ally Hamas in the war against Israel when the time is right.

"We, as Hezbollah, are contributing to the confrontation and will (continue) to contribute to it within our vision and plan," the group's deputy chief was quoted as saying by AFP. Read on.

“The Israeli Defence Force will allow safe movement for Gazans on two main roads south in the territory between 10 am to 4 pm (local time),” a spokesperson wrote on X.

A senior Hamas military commander has been killed in the airstrikes by Israel, the country's army says.

The army added that Murad Abu Murad was killed when fighter jets struck an operational centre of Hamas in Gaza from where the group carried out its “aerial activity”, according to Reuters.

The Israeli army has resumed artillery shelling from gunboats and tanks towards the eastern and western Gaza Strip, reported Al Jazeera, citing an Anadolu correspondent from the ground.

Thailand on Saturday said that the number of its nationals killed in the Hamas attack on Israel has risen to 24, according to CNN. It added that 16 Thai nationals are also believed to have been taken hostage by the militant group.

The Israeli military has said it is seeing a "significant movement" south of Palestinian civilians, a day after ordering Gaza City residents to flee, reports AFP.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza have been "complicated" as terrorist group Hamas is using civilians as “human shields”, reported ANI.

"We know the humanitarian situation is urgent. We are actively engaged with partners, including Qatar, to get aid to those who need it."

Israel's Lt Col Conricus says that Israeli soldiers are in formation all around the Gaza Strip and are getting ready for the next stage of operations, BBC reports.

"Our aim is very clear, the end stage of this war is that we will dismantle Hamas and its military capabilities, and fundamentally change the situation so that Hamas never again has the ability to inflict any damage on Israeli civilians or soldiers."

Israel says it has confirmed that over 120 civilians are being held captive in Gaza by the Hamas terrorist organization. They were abducted during the attack on Israel on October 7.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Saudi Arabian counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud on Friday as part of India’s outreach to Arab states in light of the attack by Hamas on Israel.

The conversation comes a day after Jaishankar held a talk with UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Read on.

The war between Israel and Hamas entered its Day 7 on Saturday. Here are some of the latest updates.

• The war has claimed at least 3,200 lives on both sides.
• Thousands of Palestinians fled Saturday to southern Gaza seeking refuge.
• Benjamin Netanyahu warned that nearly a week of fierce bombardment was just the beginning.
• A Reuters journalist was killed and six others were injured in southern Lebanon in a missile attack from the direction of Israel.
• Joe Biden said that his administration was “working like hell” to rescue American hostages held by Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Israel's week-old retaliation for the Hamas assault from Gaza was "only the beginning," though he did not elaborate on what might follow or for how long.

"We are striking our enemies with unprecedented might," Netanyahu said in a brief statement which, unusually, was televised after the Jewish sabbath had begun. "I emphasise that this is only the beginning."

A Reuters video journalist, Issam Abdallah, was killed and six other journalists injured in southern Lebanon on Friday when missiles fired from the direction of Israel struck them, news agency Reuters reported.

The group of journalists were working near Alma al-Shaab, close to the Israel border, where the Israeli military and Lebanese militia Hezbollah have been trading fire in border clashes. More details here.