Israel-Hamas war highlights: Israel steps up ground operations; lost touch with staff in Gaza, says WHO chief
Israel-Hamas war highlights: The Israeli military has been carrying out brief raids across the Gaza border to ‘prepare for battlefield’ ahead of an expected large-scale ground incursion into the besieged Palestinian enclave. In their second such raid, the Israeli troops engaged with Hamas fighters and targeted anti-tank weapons there. Meanwhile, Arab leaders made a joint plea for a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel has imposed a suffocating seige in the encalve by cutting off the supply of water, electricity and other essentials, ever since Hamas carried out the devastating airstrike followed by its cross-border rampage and hostage-taking. The European Union has also called for ‘humanitarian corridors and pauses’ in the war....Read More
The Palestinian ambassador to UN pleaded to ‘stop the bombs and save lives’, however, Israel reiterated its vow to ‘not rest until Hamas is obliterated’.
Israel lost 1,400 lives during Hamas' cross-border raids and over 200 others have been taken hostage. According to Palestinian health officials, over 7,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the fighting erupted.
Israel slams UN resolution on Gaza conflict as an 'infamy'
Israel on Friday angrily dismissed a UN resolution urging a "humanitarian truce" in Gaza, with the country's ambassador calling it an "infamy" and saying Israel would continue to defend itself.
"This is a dark day for the UN and for mankind," Israel's UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said, vowing his country would use "every means" in fighting Hamas.
"Today is a day that will go down as infamy. We have all witnessed that the UN no longer holds even one ounce of legitimacy or relevance," he said.
Hamas armed wing says fighting Israeli forces inside Gaza
"We are confronting an Israeli ground incursion in Beit Hanoun (in the northern Gaza Strip) and in east Bureij (in the centre) and violent engagements are taking place on the ground," the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.
Israel-Hamas war: ‘We have lost touch with our staff in Gaza,’ says WHO chief
“We have lost touch with our staff in Gaza, with health facilities, health workers and the rest of our humanitarian partners on the ground. This siege makes me gravely concerned for their safety and the immediate health risks of vulnerable patients. We urge immediate protection of all civilians and full humanitarian access,” writes Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.
Israel-Hamas war: UNGA passes resolution calling for a `humanitarian truce'
UN General Assembly approves resolution calling for a `humanitarian truce' in Gaza leading to a halt in Israel-Hamas war.
Israel is starting its payback of Hamas: Israeli PM adviser
Palestinian militant group Hamas will pay for its crimes against humanity and Israel is starting its payback, Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told MSNBC in an interview on Friday.
Israel-Hamas war: ‘Humanitarian system in Gaza is facing a total collapse,’ says UN secretary-general
“The humanitarian system in Gaza is facing a total collapse with unimaginable consequences for more than 2 million civilians. Needs are growing ever more critical & colossal. Food, water, medicine & fuel must be allowed to reach all civilians swiftly, safely & at scale.” writes United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres
Israeli army says ground forces are 'expanding' activities in Gaza, where internet has collapsed
Internet and phone services collapsed in the Gaza Strip under intensified bombardment Friday night, largely cutting off its 2.3 million people from the outside world and each other, as Israel's military said it was “expanding” its ground operations in the besieged territory.
The military's announcement signaled it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza, where it has vowed to crush the ruling Hamas group after its bloody incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago
Palestinians rally in West Bank in support of Gaza
Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated on Friday in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, where some expressed support for Hamas amid Israel's ongoing war against the militant group in Gaza.
The crowd chanted slogans including: "liberate Gaza" and "the people want the Al-Qassam Brigades" in reference to Hamas's armed wing.
Israel army says Hamas 'wages war from hospitals' in Gaza
The Israeli army accused Hamas of using hospitals in the Gaza Strip as operational centres for directing attacks against Israel.
"Hamas wages war from hospitals" in Gaza, military spokesman Daniel Hagari told journalists.
Macron calls for 'humanitarian truce' amid Hamas-Israel conflict
"A humanitarian truce is useful today to be able to protect those who are on the ground, who have suffered bombings," Macron said.
Israel keeps tight curbs on Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa holy site
Israeli forces stopped young Palestinians from reaching Al-Aqsa mosque on Friday, requiring them to say Muslim prayers outside Jerusalem's Old City , before letting several thousand elder worshippers enter under continued tight curbs.
Almost half of Israelis oppose to 'immediate' Gaza ground invasion, says poll data
Nearly half of Israelis are opposed to an "immediate" military ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, a survey published on Friday said.
According to the poll by the Panel4All institute, 49 percent of respondents said it would be better to "wait" before launching a ground offensive on the besieged Palestinian territory.
Israel-Hamas war: Death toll hits 7,326
According to a statement from the health ministry in Gaza, almost 7,326 people have been killed since the eruption of war in Israel on October 7.
Israel-Hamas war: Lack of fuel threatens UN food aid to Gaza
U.N. food agency said on Friday that "severe fuel shortages" may force it to stop supplying emergency food aid to thousands of displaced families in Gaza Strip.
"Only two of our contracted bakeries have fuel to produce bread at the moment and tomorrow there might be none," WFP Representative Samer Abdeljaber said.
Israel-Hamas war: US puts new sanctions on Hamas
The U.S. on Friday issued a second round of sanctions on the Palestinian group Hamas. "Today’s action underscores the United States’ commitment to dismantling Hamas’s funding networks by deploying our counterterrorism sanctions authorities and working with our global partners to deny Hamas the ability to exploit the international financial system,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said.
Israel-Hamas war: Russia defends decision to invite Hamas delegation to Moscow
Defending its decision to invite a Hamas delegation to Moscow, Russia on Thursday, said that it believes that it was necessary to maintain contacts with all sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Israel-Hamas war: Aid trucks enter Gaza via Rafah crossing
A medical team and 10 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Friday via the Rafah crossing with Egypt, carrying water, food and medicine, a Palestinian border official told Reuters.
Israel-Hamas war: WHO receives estimates of some 1,000 unidentified bodies buried under the rubble in Gaza
A World Health Organization official said on Friday the agency received estimates that some 1,000 unidentified bodies were still buried under the rubble in Gaza.
Israel-Hamas war: Hamas says ceasefire needed before hostages can be freed - Russian newspaper reports
Russian newspaper Kommersant quoted a member of a Hamas delegation as saying that it needed time to locate all those hostages taken from Israel to Gaza by various Palestinian factions in a Hamas attack on Oct. 7.
"They seized dozens of people, most of them civilians, and we need time to find them in the Gaza Strip and then release them," said Hamid a member of the Hamas delegation that visited Moscow.
Israel-Hamas war: Eight more aid trucks expected to cross into Gaza on Friday
Eight more aid trucks carrying food, medicine and water are expected to cross into the Gaza Strip on Friday, a senior United Nations official has said. "We have gotten in approximately 74 trucks. We're expecting another eight or so today," Lynn Hastings, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told reporters in Geneva.
Israel-Hamas war: Unidentified drone crashes in Egypt
Egypt's army spokesperson said that an unidentified drone crashed on Friday morning near a hospital building in the Red Sea town of Taba, near the Sinai Peninsula border with Israel, injuring six people.
Israel-Hamas war: Australia warns citizens against travellng to Lebanon
Australia has warned its citizens to avoid travelling to Lebanon in the wake of volatile security situaion amid the ongoing conflict between neighbouring Israel and Gaza.
"The Australian Government has serious concerns over the volatile security situation in Lebanon and the risk of the situation deteriorating further. Do not travel to Lebanon and if you're an Australian in Lebanon, you should consider leaving via the first available option," Australian foreign minister wrote on X.
Israel-Hamas war: Israeli drone crashes in Gaza
Palestinian media reported that a small surveillance drone crashed in a Gaza City neighbourhood. The Skylark model drone was on a reconnaissance mission when it fell down. The reason is unknown.
Israel-Hamas war: 4 Palestinians killed in West Bank
Palestine's Wafa news agency reported at least four Palestinians were killed and 12 injured during the overnight raid conducted by Israeli forces in northern West Bank.
Ayser Mohammad Al-Amer, a commander in Palestinian Islamic Jihad, was among those died in the raid.
Israel-Hamas war: Israeli soldier, injured during Oct 7 attack, dies
An Israeli solider injured during the Hamas attack on October 7 succumbed to his wounds on Thursday, Times of Israel reported citing military inputs.
The latest death added to the toll of slain soldiers, officers along with reservist to 310.
Israel-Hamas war: White House says Biden's remark on possible reason for Hamas attack ‘misunderstood’
Referring to US President Joe Biden's remark on possible reason for Hamas attack, the White House clarified his comments were not made in relation to the India Middle East Europe Economic Corrirdor and they were made in connection with Israel-Saudi Arabia normalisation drive.
"I think you misunderstood him. What he said was that he believed that the normalization process and the agreement that we were trying to reach between Israel and Saudi Arabia for normalization, which we believe is an important stepping stone to getting to a two-state solution, was what may have motivated Hamas to conduct those attacks. I think you misunderstood what he actually said," White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said responding to a question.
Israel-Hamas war: What Israelis say on conducting invasion of Gaza?
Almost half of Israeli citizens want to hold off any invasion of Gaza. A recent poll published on Friday indicate a dip in support for a planned ground invasion into the Palestinian enclave as a part of Israel's 3-phase retaliatory move.
Asked if the military should immediately escalate to a large-scale ground offensive, 29% of Israelis agreed while 49% said "it would be better to wait" and 22% were undecided, the poll published in the Maariv newspaper said.
Israel-Hamas war: Destruction caused by US attack in Syria
Precision attack in Syria was carried out in the area connected to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which is thought to be a main conduit for weapons transfers between Iran and Syria or Lebanon, via Iraq. The attack struck weapons and ammunition storage.
Israel-Hamas war: Why US attacked Iran-backed targets in Syria?
The strike at targeted sights in Syria came as a retaliatory action after US and its coalition troops were attacked by Iran-backd forces in Iraq and Syria at least 19 times over the past week. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Lebanon's Hezbollah are all backed by Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said at the United Nations on Thursday that if Israel's offensive against Hamas did not stop, the United States will "not be spared from this fire".
Israel-Hamas war: 3 top Hamas operative killed in airstrike, says IDF
The Israel Defence Force said its fighter jet has struck three senior Hamas operatives. According to the Israeli military, these operatives played significant role in the invasion and murderous attack against Israel on October 7. The battalion, in which the operatives were associated, ‘is considered to be the most significant brigade of the Hamas terrorist organization’.
Israel-Hamas war: How do parts of Gaza look like from space now? Total wasteland
Satellite mages shot by Maxar Technologies show areas of northern Gaza lies in ruins as the terrain in the area transformed into moonspace follow several airstrikes by Israel. Four-five storey buildings could be seen flattened or in various states of collapse. Widespread area could be traced in pattern of colour of ash.
Israel-Hamas war: US strikes Iranian-backed targets in Syria
The US military carried out strikes at targets in Syria that were used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Pentagon said.
The US and its coaltion troops have been attacked at least 12 times in Iraq and four times in Syria by Iran-linked forces amid soaring tension over Israel-Hamas war.
Israel-Hamas war: EU calls for pause in fighting to ensure aid reaches Gaza
Leaders of the European Union have called for humanitarian corridors and putting breaks in the Israel-Hamas war in order to allow aid into Gaza. During their meeting in Brussels, EU urged ‘continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs’.
Israel-Hamas war: Nearly 50 Israeli hostages in Gaza
Hamas' military wing al-Qassam on Thursday claimed that the Israeli airstrikes have killed nearly 50 hostages.
"Al-Qassam Brigades estimates that the number of Zionist prisoners killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of Zionist bombing and massacres reached approximately 50 people," the group said on its Telegram channel.
However, they didn't give further details on the death of hostages.
Israel-Hamas war: US deploys over 900 troops in Middle-East
Pentagon on Thursday said around 900 US troops have been or are being deployed in the Middle-East amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The Pentagon spokesperson did not reveal the specific locations of their deployment, however, he assured that these troops are not heading to Israel but to support regional deterrence efforts as well as further bolster US force protection capabilities.
"I can confirm that since our initial Force posture announcement approximately 900 troops have subsequently deployed or are in the process of deploying to the US Central Command area of responsibility these include forces that have been on prepared to deploy orders and which are deploying from the continental United States," Brigadier General Pat Ryder said during a press briefing.
Israel-Hamas war: 5 wounded after rocket crashes in Egypt
5 people were reportedly wounded after a rocket crashed in an Egyptian town situated near the Israeli border. "As part of the current escalation in Gaza, a rocket crashed in Taba, injuring five people and damaging a residential building," reported local news channel.
