08:04GMT — Israel hits school in Gaza, causing numerous casualties
At least five civilians were killed when the Israeli military targeted a school where displaced Palestinians had sought refuge in southern Gaza.
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli forces shelled the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza overnight.
The attack on the school, serving as a shelter for displaced Palestinians, resulted in the death of at least five individuals, with dozens more reported injured.
The violence escalated as the night unfolded, with the home of the Palestinian "Abu Nasr" family in western Khan Younis being struck by Israeli forces, claiming the lives of four.
Additionally, reports indicated that Israeli warplanes bombed a civilian residential area near Kuwait Hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza, resulting in a significant number of casualties.
07:27 GMT - 5 killed, dozens injured as Israeli army targets school sheltering displaced people in southern Gaza
At least five Palestinians were killed and dozens of others injured on Friday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a school sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Palestinian media reported.
It was the Israeli army's second major attack on Palestinian civilians as earlier, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that “five people were killed and dozens others injured at dawn on Friday in an Israeli bombing that targeted a school sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, southern the Gaza Strip.”
The news agency had earlier reported that “at least four Palestinians, including children, were killed, and many others injured, in an Israeli bombing targeting the Abu Nasr family home in western Khan Younis.”
The Israeli artillery shelling on several neighborhoods in Khan Younis since Thursday night has also resulted in dozens of casualties and injuries, the media out let said.
05:39 GMT - Israeli army drops leaflets in Gaza
The Israeli army has dropped leaflets over besieged Gaza, inciting displaced Palestinians to spy on their leaders and offering financial rewards for information leading to the capture of top figures of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
Palestinian activists circulated images online of the leaflets, in which the army incited residents to provide information about Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, and his brother Muhammed Sinwar, a prominent military leader in Hamas’s armed wing Al Qassam Brigades, in addition to Mohammed Deif, the general commander of Al Qassam Brigades, and Rafaa Salameh, who commands the Khan Younis Battalion.
"Those who provide information will receive a financial reward as follows: Yahya Sinwar, $400,000; Muhammed Sinwar, $300,000; Rafaa Salameh, $200,000; Mohammed Deif, $100,000."
The leaflets, bearing the name and emblem of the Israeli army, said: "People of Gaza, Hamas has lost its strength. The end of Hamas is near."
08:00 GMT - US Jewish group protests in eight cities for Gaza ceasefire
An anti-Zionism Jewish group demanding a ceasefire in Israel's war in Gaza held protests in eight US cities on the eighth night of Hanukkah, blocking rush hour traffic on busy streets and bridges in Washington and Philadelphia.
In Washington, the group Jewish Voice for Peace said about 90 protesters blocked the overpass to New York Avenue in the northwestern part of the US capital. Police said the demonstration closed the intersection of New York Avenue and North Capitol Street and urged people to use alternate routes.
"On the 8th night of Hanukkah, 8 cities, 8 bridges," Jewish Voice for Peace said on X, formerly called Twitter. "We are here, gathering across the country in massive, growing numbers, to say no more."
07:30 GMT - Casualties as Israeli tanks and planes bombard besieged Gaza
Invading Israeli tanks and planes have intensified bombardment of the northern Gaza neighbourhoods of Shejaia, Zeitoun and Daraj as well as Khan Younis in the south of the enclave, residents said.
Four Palestinians, including two children, were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli air strike on a house in Khan Younis in southern Gaza early on Friday, Palestinian health officials said.
Israel has been pounding the 40-kilometre length of Gaza with no sign of a pause in hostilities or a ceasefire that would enable delivery of more desperately needed basic supplies for civilians to survive as their homes have been destroyed.
06:20 GMT - UN urges Israel to allow more access to Gaza as many face starvation
A top official for the UN food agency has urged Israel to allow more access to Gaza and ensure security to deliver desperately needed aid, pointing to a survey during the recent seven-day pause in war that found half the territory's population starving.
Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, told a UN press conference that commercial trucks should also start to return to Gaza where supermarkets and other stores are empty.
This would enable WFP to resume its pre-war cash voucher system which enabled Palestinians in Gaza to buy food and other essentials, he said.
05:40 GMT - Netanyahu says Red Cross should pressure Hamas into allowing officials to check on captives
Israeli far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued with the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross during a meeting to discuss the fate of over 100 Israeli captives believed to be in Hamas detention.
Netanyahu called on Mirjana Spoljaric to put more public pressure on Hamas, which has refused to allow the Red Cross to visit the captives or deliver medicines to them.
Spoljaric has publicly called on Hamas to allow visits to the hostages and to release them immediately. She is in Israel meeting the country's leaders and relatives of the captive Israelis.
04:48 GMT - Sullivan discussed shift to low-intensity Gaza war: US official
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has discussed moves to shift Israel's invasion and bombardment on besieged Gaza to lower-intensity attacks focused on high-value targets during his visit to Israel, but it would be "irresponsible" to give specific time frames for such a change, a senior administration official told reporters.
The official said Sullivan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had very detailed discussions about efforts to get remaining captives out of besieged Gaza, and there was broad agreement that the future of Gaza should be Palestine-led.
"There was never an anticipation that there would be major ground clearance operations going on indefinitely," the official said.
04:00 GMT - US Secretary of Defense to head to Middle East on Saturday
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will travel to the Middle East on Saturday to meet with some of his counterparts, including Israel's defence minister.
"Secretary Austin will travel to the Middle East region on December 16 to meet with leaders in Bahrain, Qatar and Israel," Pentagon spokesman told reporters, adding he is also expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Ryder said Austin will "underscore the US's enduring support for Israel's right to defend itself from terrorism and reinforce the importance of taking civilian safety into account during operations and the critical need to increase delivery of humanitarian assistance."
For our live updates from Thursday, December 14, click here.
