Saturday, August 3, 2024
14:10 GMT — At least 10 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced persons in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, the media office has said.
Gaza civil defence also said that an Israeli strike killed at least 10 Palestinians at a school compound.
"There are 10 martyrs and several wounded due to Israeli bombardment on Hamama school," agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
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14:51 GMT — Israel demolished 135 homes, facilities in occupied West Bank in July
The Israeli army has demolished 135 homes and other facilities in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in July alone, the Palestinian Colonisation and Wall Resistance Committee has reported.
According to the committee's monthly report, "Israeli authorities carried out 98 demolition activities in July, affecting 135 structures, including 62 inhabited homes, 14 uninhabited homes, and 12 agricultural facilities."
The report also noted that the Israeli army issued demolition notices for 16 homes and other structures in several occupied West Bank provinces.
14:39 GMT — Israeli army bombs university in Gaza City
The Israeli army has bombed the University College of Applied Sciences in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood of southwest Gaza City, destroying campus buildings, the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza has reported.
Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said in a press release that "Israeli occupation forces, which have penetrated the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood, executed operations of bombing and destroying the university buildings, leading to their total demolition."
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that massive explosions were heard around the university premises, and thick clouds of smoke were seen rising from the area.
13:39 GMT — Palestinian premier calls on Israel to cease attacking civilians in Gaza
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa has strongly condemned Israeli intensified attacks on Gaza, emphasising that the priority is to "stop the aggression and achieve national unity."
He made these remarks during the 15th meeting of the Yasser Arafat Foundation's Board of Trustees, which was held in conjunction with the "National and International Day of Solidarity with Gaza and the Prisoners," according to a statement issued by his office.
Mustafa declared that the Palestinian people are facing "comprehensive aggression" from Israel, emphasising that Israeli attacks target Palestinians of all ages and genders, particularly women and children in Gaza.
11:26 GMT — A 'short-range projectile' killed Hamas leader, says Iran
Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran by a short-range projectile with a warhead of about 7 kg, Iran's Revolutionary Guards has said in a statement.
Tehran's revenge for the attack will be "severe and (taken) at an appropriate time, place, and manner," said the statement, which blamed Israel - "the adventurous and terrorist Zionist regime" - for his death.
Iran's latest claim comes on top of reports that Israel assassinated Haniyeh with an explosion of a bomb that was planted in the guest house where he was staying months ago. Tehran denies anything like that happened.
10:31 GMT — Israeli, British military chiefs talk about regional security in Tel Aviv
Nine months into Israel’s war on Gaza, Israel's Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi and his British counterpart Adm. Tony Radakin met in Tel Aviv to discuss strategic security issues and areas of cooperation between their countries.
In a statement, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the meeting involved a joint assessment of the security situation, focusing on enhancing strategic cooperation in the region.
On the same day, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hosted his British counterpart John Healey on his first visit to Israel since taking office.
10:28 GMT — Israeli air strikes on southern, central Gaza kill 9 Palestinians
At least nine Palestinians, including a child, were killed and several others injured in three Israeli air strikes targeting southern and central Gaza.
An Israeli drone targeted a gathering of Palestinians east of the Zeitoun neighbourhood southeast of Gaza City killing two and wounding another, a medical source at the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the city told Anadolu.
In southern Gaza, “five citizens, including a child, were martyred in an Israeli air strike targeting a home in southern Khan Younis,” the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Israeli warplanes bombed a house belonging to the Abu Hassaneh family in the Miraj area between the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, killing five family members, including a child and three women, it added.
10:11 GMT — Israel arrests 30 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank raids
At least 30 more Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces in military raids in the occupied West Bank, two prisoner affairs groups said.
“The detainees were subjected to abuse, severe beatings, and threats to their families, in addition to widespread acts of sabotage and destruction of citizens’ homes,” the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.
The arrests took place in Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Hebron, Tubas, and Jerusalem.
The new arrests brought to 9,920 the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since last Oct. 7, according to Palestinian figures.
10:05 GMT — Iran says expects Hezbollah to hit deeper inside Israel
Iran said it expects Lebanon's Hezbollah group to hit deeper inside Israel and no longer be confined to military targets after Israel killed the Hezbollah military commander.
Hezbollah has been exchanging near-daily fire with Israeli forces, saying it is targeting military positions over the border, since October 7.
But a strike claimed by Israel in an overcrowded residential area of South Beirut changed the calculus, Iran's mission to the United Nations said.
"We expect... Hezbollah to choose more targets and (strike) deeper in its response," said the mission quoted by the official IRNA news agency.
"Secondly, that it will not limit its response to military targets."
10:00 GMT — Five killed in Israeli West Bank air strike
An Israeli drone strike killed five people in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian press agency Wafa reported, while the Israeli military said it struck "five terrorists" on their way to carry out an attack.
According to Wafa, an Israeli military drone targeted a vehicle "with two missiles" which caught fire, killing five men.
The director of the Thabet Thabet Hospital in Tulkarem said in a statement that "five martyrs" had arrived at the facility after "an Israeli drone strike on a Palestinian vehicle close to the village of Zeita in Tulkarem".
Israel's military said its air force "struck five terrorists in a vehicle... who were on their way way to carry out" an attack.
09:22 GMT — Gaza death toll surpasses 39,500 as Israel kills 31 in 24 hours
The Israeli army killed 31 more Palestinians in attacks in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll to 39,550 since last October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said.
A ministry statement added that some 91,280 other people have been injured in the Israeli attacks so far.
“Israeli forces killed 31 people and injured 62 others in three ‘massacres’ against families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.
“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
08:30 GMT — 7 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes on southern, central Gaza
At least seven Palestinians, including a child, were killed and several others injured on Saturday in two Israeli air strikes targeting the southern and central Gaza.
“Five citizens, including a child, were martyred in an Israeli air strike targeting a home in southern Khan Younis,” the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Israeli warplanes bombed a house belonging to the Abu Hassaneh family in the Miraj area between the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, killing five family members, including a child and three women, it added.
Separately, civil defence crews said that in central Gaza, two Palestinians were killed and three others injured when Israeli warplanes bombed a house belonging to the Al-Dayah family in the Bureij refugee camp.
07:17 GMT — Israel, US preparing for 'unpredictable' Iranian retaliation
Israel and the US are preparing for an "unpredictable Iranian retaliatory strike on Israel as soon as this weekend," the Wall Street Journal has reported.
"There is no point. Israel crossed all the red lines. Our response will be swift and heavy," the Journal quoted an Iranian diplomat.
The diplomat, who his government briefed, said attempts by various countries to convince Tehran not to escalate had been and would be "fruitless" given Israel's recent attacks, according to the newspaper.
06:25 GMT — Egypt, Saudi foreign ministers discuss regional tensions
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry that Badr Abdelatty and his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan, have discussed the "dangerous" regional escalation following assassinations by Israel.
They discussed "the alarming regional tensions resulting from Israel's extremist policies and the pattern of assassinations," it said in a statement in reference to the assassination Wednesday of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau in the Iranian capital of Tehran.
Abdelatty emphasised the urgency of "halting the ongoing escalation and underscored the responsibility of major international powers, particularly the US, in curbing the escalation."
05:49 GMT — Hamas leader reiterates group would not recognise Israel
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has reiterated that the movement will not recognise Israel, asserting that the assassination of the head of the group's political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, "only strengthens our people."
He made the remarks during the funeral ceremony for Haniyeh's bodyguard, Wasim Abu Shaban, at the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque in Doha, Qatar.
"We will not compromise on principles and will not recognise Israel. Our people will maintain our national unity, continuing the path of jihad, resistance, and reclaiming our rights," said Meshaal.
04:42 GMT — US deploys cruisers, destroyers, missile defences to Middle East
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered navy cruisers and destroyers to the Middle East region, the Pentagon has said, after Israeli assassinations in Iran and Lebanon heightened regional tensions.
US is also deploying additional fighter jet squadron and land-based missile defences to the region, Pentagon added.
The expected changes come as the United States is bracing for Iran and its allies to make good on their pledge to respond to the assassinations of Hamas peace negotiator Ismail Haniyeh two days ago in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah figure in Beirut as Israel's genocidal war on Gaza rages.
04:16 GMT — Israel kills 5 Palestinians, including 3 children, in Gaza
Israel has killed five Palestinians, including three children, after air striking a home in Gaza City, Palestinian Civil Defense said.
In a statement, it said, "Our teams removed five martyrs, including three children, and a number of injured after an Israeli warplane targeted a home for the Abu Hasira family in Al-Sabra neighbourhood" in Gaza City.
03:30 GMT — Hamas doubts Netanyahu's intentions after Israel announces delegation to Egypt
Palestinian resistance group Hamas has doubted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's intentions after he said he would send a delegation to negotiate a ceasefire deal.
"Netanyahu does not want to stop the war and is using these empty statements to cover up his crimes and evade their consequences," Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said.
Abu Zhuri was commenting on an earlier statement from Netanyahu's office that said: "The negotiating team for a hostage deal will depart for Cairo on Saturday night or on Sunday."
For our live updates from Friday, August 2, 2024, click here.
