Israel-Hamas War HIGHLIGHTS: Hamas Using Hospital Fuel To Power Its Infrastructure, Says IDF
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 Israeli military has claimed that Hamas is using hospital fuel to power its infrastructure. "Hamas is using hospitals as shields for its underground terror networks," an IDF spokesperson said.
The Israeli military has claimed that Commander of the Hamas's Western Khan Yunis Battalion Madhath Mubashar was eliminated by an IDF aerial strike. "Furthermore, the IDF struck 250+ Hamas targets including a terrorist tunnel network in Gaza that detonated the secondary explosions," Israel claimed in an X post.
Souad Al-Alem, 90, who fled the Palestinian town of al-Majdal after being caught up in the war, told CNN, “I see death 20 times every day, in the sky and on earth. Even the force of every blast affects us psychologically. It feels like it is on top of our heads when it’s next to us or nearby”.
Israeli military conducted “targeted raids” in Gaza for a second straight night before withdrawing, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Friday, as reported by CNN.
A small Israeli military surveillance drone crashed in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, The Times of Israel reported, citing Palestinian media reports. The unmanned aerial vehicle, a Skylark model, was on a reconnaissance mission when it fell out of the sky for unknown reasons.
The number of people killed after the latest Israeli strikes in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza has risen to 15, as reported by Al Jazeera, citing a medical source. That brings to at least 40 the total number of people killed across Gaza on Friday.
Israeli forces have carried out “a very limited incursion” at night into the outskirts of the town of Beit Hanoun, north of the Gaza Strip, as well as in the al-Bureij refugee camp, Al Jazeera reported, citing sources.
At least 19 Palestinians, including a woman, were arrested by Israeli forces after another raid across the occupied West Bank before dawn on Friday, as reported by Aljazeera
In Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, the Israeli forces arrested four citizens during their storming of the town of Ni’lin, west of Ramallah, according to the Palestinian news agency, Wafa. In Hebron, among those who who were arrested was Dr. Farouk Ashour, according to an Al Jazeera Arabic post on X, formerly Twitter.
Four others were arrested in the village of Kafr Ni’am also in Ramally, and another four in the occupied East Jerusalem. The rest of those who were arrested were from Nablus, Jericho and al-Aghwar Governorate.
The U.S. military launched airstrikes early Friday on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Pentagon said, as reported by the news agency AP.
On Thursday, Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, warned that if Israel's retaliation against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip doesn't end, then the United States will "not be spared from this fire."
Speaking at the UN, Amirabdollahian said, "I say frankly to the American statesmen, who are now managing the genocide in Palestine, that we do not welcome an expansion of the war in the region. But if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire," as quoted by Reuters.
After a spate of attacks on American forces in the Middle East, United States President Joe Biden has warned Iran against targeting U.S. personnel in the Middle East, the White House said on Thursday.
At least six people were injured after a missile fell near a medical facility in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Taba, next to the Israeli border, Egypt’s Al Qahera News reports.
The IDF stated that it is aware of a security incident on the other side of its border with Egypt. However, it is not clear whether the missile was related to the Gaza war or whether it was an errant launch.
The health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, in a statement, has responded to US President Joe Biden's questioning of the reliability of Palestinian casualty figures in the conflict with Israel on Thursday.
The ministry published a report listing the names of thousands of what it described as “documented deaths since October 7th” in Gaza, which it blamed on Israeli military "aggression," as reported by CNN. The ministry also declared its “commitment to accuracy and accountability” in tabulating the numbers.
The Israel Defense Forces will continue ground raids into Gaza in the coming days to prepare for the next stages of the war against Hamas, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said on Thursday, as reported by CNN.
He stated that the IDF continues its strikes against Gaza from air and sea and is focusing on killing senior Hamas commanders and destroying Hamas infrastructure. "There will be more," vowed Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant at a news briefing Thursday, CNN reported.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at Thursday’s briefing that representatives of Hamas are currently visiting Moscow. She didn’t elaborate further, saying the ministry will provide additional information later. The state RIA Novosti news agency said that the Hamas delegation is led by a member of the group’s political wing, Moussa Abu Marzouk. (AP Input)
Israel on Thursday called on Russia to expel a visiting Hamas delegation, saying their invitation to Moscow was “deplorable.” “Hamas is a terrorist organization worse than ISIS. The hands of senior Hamas figures are covered with the blood of more than 1400 Israelis who were slaughtered, murdered, executed and burned, and they are responsible for the abduction of more than 220 Israelis, including babies, children, women and the elderly,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. (Reuters Input)
Israeli airstrikes hit a densely populated refugee camp in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis on Thursday, leveling more than eight homes belonging to an extended family and killing at least 15 people.
Ambulances raced to the scene as dust from the collapsing buildings hung in the air.
The blast zone was like so many others in Gaza, a chaotic wasteland of crumbled concrete and twisted metal. People shouted instructions while others praised Allah as they searched through the rubble for casualties. (AP Input)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the European Union on Thursday for failing to call for a cease-fire in Gaza and accused the West of indifference toward the suffering of Muslims. “How many more children must die before the EU Commission calls for a cease-fire,” he said in a televised speech.
“How many more tons of bombs must fall on Gaza before the United Nations Security Council can take action?” Mr.Erdogan accused the West of failing to see the violence unfolding in Gaza “because the blood being shed is Muslim blood.” In his speech, Mr. Erdogan also said Turkey has so far dispatched 10 planeloads to Egypt carrying humanitarian aid, including generators, destined for Gaza. Twenty-five Turkish medical personnel have also left for Egypt, he said. (AP Input)
Lebanese state media say Israel conducted airstrikes and drone attacks early Thursday in southern Lebanon, near the tense Israel-Lebanon border where exchanges between Israeli forces and Lebanese Hezbollah militants have intensified amid the war in Gaza. No casualties were reported but the strikes ignited fires in the fields near in the border town of Aita al Shaab, the National News Agency reported. (AP Input)
The Hamas-run health ministry said Thursday that at least 7,028 people have been killed in Gaza by Israeli strikes since the militant group's October 7 attacks on Israel.
Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah protest against the war in Gaza.
Israel has revised the number of hostages taken by Hamas into the Gaza Strip from 222 to 224.
At least 85 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces that conducted overnight raids at several parts of West Bank including Nablus, Hebron, and East Jerusalem.
Palestinian journalist Duaa Sharaf and her child were killed in an Israeli attack that bombed her house in Gaza, reports Al Jazeera.
The UN Security Council is preparing a new draft resolution to be put forward in coming days after Russia and China vetoed a US resolution that called for a pause to allow humanitarian aid access instead of a ceasefire.
Israeli Defence Forces conducted overnight incursion in Gaza Strip, it said in a post on X.
"In preparation for the next stages of combat, the IDF operated in northern Gaza. IDF tanks & infantry struck numerous terrorist cells, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts. The soldiers have since exited the area and returned to Israeli territory," it said.
The Libyan Parliament has demanded ambassadors stationed in the country who support Israel to leave the country.
“We demand that the ambassadors of the states which support the Zionist entity (Israel) in its crimes leave the territory (of Libya) immediately,” the statement says.
Tokyo requested for a temporary suspension of fighting in Gaza as Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met with Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen, reports Al Jazeera.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Japanese foreign ministry said that the meeting between the two diplomats late on Wednesday was aimed at pressing Israel to suspend fighting and allow the delivery of more humanitarian assistance to the more than two million civilians living in the besieged Palestinian territory.
US President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the two discussed “ongoing efforts to locate and secure the release of hostages to include American citizens we believe are held by Hamas," said the White House in a statement.
“They also reviewed ongoing discussions to ensure safe passage for foreign nationals wishing to depart Gaza as soon as possible,” the readout says. “The president discussed ongoing US support for the continuous flow of humanitarian support to the civilian population in Gaza and welcomed efforts to increase this support over the coming period.”
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 war between Israel and Hamas entered its 20th day on Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country was preparing for a ground offensive on Gaza.
In an address on Wednesday, Netanyahu said that the two main aim of the war were "to eliminate Hamas by destroying its military and governance capabilities, and to do everything possible to get our captives home".
He said that a ground incursion on Gaza was coming but won't tell the details of it.
"We are preparing for a ground incursion. I won't specify when, how, how many. I also won’t detail the range of considerations, most of which the public is not aware of. And that's the way it is supposed to be. This is the way, so that we protect our soldiers' lives," Netanyahu said.
Gaza's health ministry on Wednesday said that the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has soared to 6,546. “The fatalities included 2,704 children, 1,584 women, and 364 elders,” the ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told a press conference in Gaza City, as per an Anadolu report.
The pan-Arab Al Jazeera TV said in a statement that family members of one of its correspondents were killed in the Israeli airstrikes.
According to Reuters, the channel aired a live video of its reporter Wael Al Dahdouh sobbing as he saw his family members lying lifeless in a hospital.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday came under fire after he said that the attacks by Hamas “did not happen in a vacuum” irking Israel as it called for the UN chief’s resignation and apology.
The UN chief said it is "important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation".
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