Israeli Hostilities
Live Reporting
Health ministry in Gaza says death toll since Oct 7 at 39,790
The health ministry in Gaza has said that at least 39,790 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the territory, now in its 11th month, AFP states.
The toll includes 91 deaths in the previous 48 hours, according to ministry figures which do not appear to include Saturday’s pre-dawn Israeli strike on a school housing displaced people in Gaza City, which killed 93 people according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.
Israeli security minister extends ban by 1 month on family visits for Palestinian prisoners: reports
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir extended a ban on visits to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails for an additional month, Anadolu reports according to Israeli media.
The Maariv newspaper in Israel said Ben-Gvir “signed an order last night extending the ban on all visits to detainees by one more month”.
“Since the beginning of the war, family visits to prisoners have been completely halted,” it said. The decision is part of a broader policy to tighten restrictions on Palestinians in prisons, according to the newspaper.
US troops attacked in Syria, no initial reports of injuries: official
US troops in northeastern Syria were attacked by a drone, a US official has told Reuters on Friday, although there were no injuries according to initial reports.
This is the second attack in recent days against US forces in the Middle East as the region braces for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies.
“Initial reports do not indicate any injuries, however, medical evaluations are ongoing. We are currently conducting a damage assessment,” the US official said on the condition of anonymity about the attack in Syria.
Hamas says Israeli strike on Gaza school ‘dangerous escalation’
Hamas denounced a “dangerous escalation” on Saturday after an Israeli strike on a school in Gaza killed between 90 and 100 people, according to the territory’s civil defence agency.
“The massacre at Al-Tabieen School in the Daraj neighbourhood in central Gaza City is a horrific crime that constitutes a dangerous escalation,” AFP quoted Hamas as saying.
Overcrowded Al-Mawasi struggles to accommodate thousands
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says between 60,000 and 70,000 people have to leave Khan Younis in southern Gaza towards already densely crowded al-Mawasi area due to Israeli operation.
Lebanese on edge amid fears of all-out Israel-Hezbollah war
BEIRUT (Lebanon) (AFP) – Fears of a major escalation between Israel and Hezbollah have left many Lebanese on edge, exacerbating mental health problems and reviving traumas of past conflicts in the war-weary country.
One 29-year-old woman, who lives near the southern city of Sidon, said she dreaded the thunderous, explosive boom of Israeli jets regularly breaking the sound barrier.
Israel strike in south Lebanon kills Hamas commander
BEIRUT (Lebanon) (AFP) – An Israeli strike on a vehicle in the south Lebanon city of Sidon on Friday killed a Hamas commander, the Palestinian militant group and the Israeli military said.
It is the first strike of its kind in Sidon since Hamas launched its October 7 attack on Israel, triggering war in Gaza and prompting its Lebanese ally Hezbollah to begin trading near-daily cross-border fire with the Israeli army in a bid to tie down its troops.
'Extra-tense': powder-keg Israeli port braces for bombardment
HAIFA (Israel) (AFP) – Haifa's residents gaze warily on to the sprawling industrial port that flanks their Israeli city, knowing the potential for a major blast as they brace for bombardment from Hezbollah.
The historic city cascades down a steep hillside to the very edge of the port, a complex which contains Israel's biggest oil refinery, giant fuel tanks and other highly flammable targets.
US tells Israel that escalations in Middle East serve no one
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a phone call on Friday (Aug 9) that the escalation of tensions in the Middle East was "in no party's interest" while also stressing the need for a Gaza ceasefire, the State Department said.
There has been an increased risk of escalation into a broader Middle East war after recent killings of Palestinian group Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and of Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut drew threats of retaliation against Israel.
Families flee new Israeli assault in Gaza's Khan Younis
GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli tanks returned to the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Friday (Aug 9), forcing families to evacuate along congested roadways, as Palestinian fighters continued to attack Israeli troops from the ruins, residents and the military said.
Thousands of people fled eastern Khan Younis in vehicles and on foot, belongings heaped on donkey carts and motorcycle rickshaws as they made their slow escape along congested roads.
