Israel-Hamas War LIVE: Israel Objects Temporary Ceasefire Until All Hostages Are Freed, Says PM Netanyahu
Israel-Hamas War Live: Follow this space for all the live and latest updates on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
In his first public address since the war began, the Hezbollah chief said that his group got involved in the cross-border clashes over the past few weeks and that their “action won’t just be limited to this”.
According to the AP report, Hezbollah attacked the military positions in north Israel, injuring several civilians on Thursday.
“We are in a high state of readiness in the north, in a very high state of alert, to respond to any event today and in coming days,” Israel military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said, as quoted by the news agency.
On Friday evening, at least two rockets were witnessed landing in the Israeli city of Sderot, one of which struck the courtyard of a daycare. Shrapnel struck the building's windows as well as many neighbouring automobiles, CNN reported.
That rocket landed fewer than 100 metres (328 feet) from where several journalists are stationed in the city, gazing out over Gaza.
There were no casualties recorded.
“Israel is objecting a temporary ceasefire which does not include freeing all our hostages,” PM Netanyahu said during televised remarks on Friday, CNN reported. “Israel does not allow fuel into the Gaza Strip and is objecting to funds being transferred into Gaza strip.”
After meeting with top Israeli officials in Tel Aviv on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that more needed to be done to safeguard Palestinian civilians.
“We need to do more to protect Palestinian civilians,” he said at a press conference.
During a news conference in Tel Aviv on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken termed it "striking" and "shocking" that the severity of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel "has receded so quickly in the memories of so many."
“We stand strongly for the proposition that Israel has not only the right but the obligation to defend itself and to do everything possible to make sure that this, October 7, can never happen again,” Blinken said, CNN reported. “How Israel does this matters. And it is very important that when it comes to the protection of civilians who are caught in the crossfire of Hamas’ making, that everything be done to protect them and to bring assistance to those who so desperately need it, and were not in any way responsible for what happened on October 7. So we’re working on all of that together.”
On Friday morning, twenty ambulances from the Egyptian Red Crescent crossed the Rafah border crossing into Gaza to pick up injured Palestinians, an Egyptian border officer told CNN on the ground.
According to the official, the ambulances are anticipated to transport 29 individuals, including nine cancer-stricken youngsters.
PM Netanyahu's office said, “Those workers from Gaza who were in Israel on the day of the outbreak of the war will be returned to Gaza”
In a separate post on X, it said that the security cabinet also decided to deduct all funds designated to the besieged territory from Palestinian Authority funds.
Civilians trying to leave Gaza City were blocked off and were targeted by Israeli forces. According to Reuters, the main road, Salah al-Din, was completely blocked, there was no way for people or cars to move on that road. Al-Rashid road, the coastal line, was not only blocked by [Israeli] tanks, but it was also heavily bombarded by naval forces and air strikes, Reuters reported.
Reuters further stated that the Red Cross was working hard to coordinate the evacuation of people, but their calls for securing a safe passage were rejected by the Israeli army.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials. He touched down in Tel Aviv along with newly confirmed US Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, reported CNN.
This is Blinken's third visit to Israel since the October 7 Hamas attack.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday travelled to Israel to press the Netanyahu government on its ongoing offensive in Gaza amid growing international condemnation and a steadily mounting civilian death toll. Blinken travelled twice to Israel last month in the wake of the deadly Hamas attack, and during this meet, he will be meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with other senior officials as the US continues to attempt to balance support for Israel’s defense with an increasingly public call for them to protect civilians, reported CNN.
According to Al Jazeera, Israeli forces have launched new air strikes in the vicinity of the Al-Quds Hospital. This medical facility is situated in the Tal al-Hawa area west of Gaza City. Israel has continuously threatened to hit it with direct air strikes.
The World Health Organization had earlier warned that striking the said facility, currently housing 14,000 displaced Palestinians, as well as injured and sick patients, would be illegal under international law and it could be considered a war crime, reported Reuters.
The US Intelligence has come to know that Russia's Wagner Group is preparing to deliver an advanced air defence missile system to Hezbollah following the recent clashes of the Lebanese militia group with Israel, as reported by the New York Post.
American officials are currently keeping an eye on the discussions between the Wagner mercenary group and Lebanon's Hamas-supporting militia on the possible delivery of the SA-22, a system which uses anti-aircraft missiles and guns to combat airstrikes, reported the New York Post while citing the Wall Street Journal report.
Russia will soon send a shipment of 28 tonnes (around 31 US tons) containing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, as stated by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry. This aid will consist of medicine, hemostatic agents and dressing materials, and it “will be handed over to representatives of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society for further shipment to the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said.
The assistance was organized at the direction of President Vladimir Putin and Russia has already delivered 27 tonnes (around 30 US tons) of food to the besieged enclave in October, as reported by CNN.
According to the latest figures from the health figures, four people have now been killed in this operation, as reported by Reuters.
Background
Israel-Hamas War Live: Hello and welcome to the live blog on the Israel-Hamas War. Follow this space for all the live and latest updates.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has been on for the last 25 days bringing destruction to the region with terrifying pictures coming forth from the Hamas-controlled enclave. Israel launched a counter-offensive in the Gaza Strip after Hamas' October 7 surprise attack. Massive explosions tore through a densely populated Palestinian refugee camp on Tuesday, leaving two large craters in the area, news agency AFP reported. Rescue teams scrambled to navigate through the debris, concrete blocks, and twisted metal in search of survivors and bodies. Disturbing footage from AFP showed the recovery of at least 47 lifeless bodies.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 8,525 people have been killed since 7 October, including 3,542 children and 2,197 women, and 21,543 injured. This is in addition to the 2,000 reported missing, presumably under the rubble of destroyed buildings, including 1,100 children. It is estimated that 1.4 million people are currently displaced in the Gaza Strip. In addition to those currently in UNRWA shelters, many others have sought refuge with host families, or in hospitals, government schools and other public facilities.
People are trying to flee the war-torn Gaza in an attempt to save their lives. Around 7,500 foreign passport holders would leave Gaza over about two weeks. The Gaza Borders and Crossings Authority earlier published a list of more than 500 foreigners and dual citizenship holders, calling them to head towards the crossing in order to leave Gaza.
On Thursday, loud explosions were heard around the al-Quds hospital in Gaza City, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, Reuters reported.
Israeli authorities have warned the hospital to evacuate immediately. U.N. officials have said that evacuation is impossible without endangering the lives of patients.
Scores of people and cars moved through the gates as Gaza suffered a "complete interruption of all communications and internet services” for the second time, reported Al Jazeera.
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