Friday, August 23, 2024
1515 GMT –– Lebanon's Health Ministry has said that Israeli strikes killed eight people including a child in different parts of the south.
The ministry said an "Israeli enemy drone strike" killed two people including a "seven-year-old" in Aita al-Jabal, and that three other Israeli strikes killed six people in three other locations in the south.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said a "hostile drone" targeted a house in Aita al-Jabal with "two guided missiles". The ministry said Israeli strikes included a raid "on the village of Tayr Harfa that killed three people", with Hezbollah later mourning three members killed by Israeli fire, including a man from that same village.
1652 GMT –– Israeli army reports two rockets fired from Gaza towards southern Israel
The Israeli army has said two rockets were fired from Gaza towards the southern city of Sderot.
The statement noted that a rocket was intercepted by the army's air defences, while the other landed in an open area, causing no damage or casualties.
Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said sirens wailed in Sderot and other surrounding areas for the first time in three weeks over the rockets firing.
1650 GMT –– One more Israeli soldier killed, 4 injured in central Gaza fighting
The Israeli army has said that another soldier was killed and four others seriously injured in fighting in central Gaza.
In a statement, the military identified the killed soldier as Sgt. First Class Evyatar Atuar, 24, of the army's 6,310th Battalion.
The soldier's death brings the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza on Oct. 27, 2023 to 333, while total army deaths since the launch of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023 jumps to 696.
1614 GMT –– Palestine calls for international pressure on Israel to facilitate Abbas' visit to Gaza
Palestine on Friday called for international pressure on Israel to help ensure President Mahmoud Abbas's planned visit to Gaza.
Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, Palestinian Authority's minister of state for foreign affairs, told Anadolu that Palestine "is moving forward with plans for President Abbas's visit to Gaza."
She urged for international pressure on Israel to make the visit possible, saying: "All countries aware of the visit should participate in its arrangements and exert pressure on the occupying state (Israel). We hope the visit will happen."
1459 GMT –– At least 15 Palestinians killed in series of Israeli attacks across Gaza
At least 15 Palestinians have been killed and others injured in a series of Israeli raids across Gaza, sources and witnesses said.
A medical source told Anadolu that 10 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in several areas of the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, including a strike on a gathering of people.
In Rafah, also in southern Gaza, Israeli forces destroyed re sidential buildings and a cemetery, according to witnesses. In central Gaza, four Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a home belonging to the Siyyam family in Nuseirat refugee camp, a medical source said.
A Palestinian was killed and another injured by an Israeli drone which struck them while they were collecting pieces of wood in the Bureij refugee camp, according to a statement by the civil defence unit.
1444 GMT –– 'Progress made' in Cairo talks on Gaza truce: White House
Talks in Cairo on reaching Gaza truce have made progress, the White House has said, also confirming that CIA chief William Burns was taking part.
"There has been progress made. We need now for both sides to come together and work towards implementation," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said, describing talks Thursday as preliminary in nature ahead of more in-depth discussions.
1400 GMT –– US, Israeli defence chiefs discuss Israeli-Lebanese border situation
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant discussed continued exchanges of fire on the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Austin said that he called Gallant the day prior to exchange views on "the risk of escalation from Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah, and Iran-backed terrorist groups across the Middle East."
"I confirmed the United States commitment to Israel’s security and shared that the United States is well postured across the region to defend Israel and protect US personnel and facilities," he said on X.
Austin said they also discussed progress towards securing a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the release of all hostages.
1340 GMT –– Former Israeli hostage denies reports of torture
A former Israeli captive in Gaza denied reports suggesting that she had been beaten and had her hair cut while in detention.
In an Instagram post, Noa Argamani said: "I can't ignore what has been going on in the media here in the last 24 hours, things are out of context."
"They (Palestinians) didn't beat me and didn't cut my hair. I was in a building (in Gaza) that was blown up by the (Israeli) Air Force," she stressed.
11:59 GMT –– Hamas slams Israeli 'refusal' of Gaza deal over border troops
A Hamas official has accused Israel's prime minister of refusing to agree to a final truce accord for Gaza, where the presence of Israeli troops on the Egyptian border remained a major sticking point.
An Israeli team was in Cairo "negotiating to advance a hostage (release) agreement", Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesperson Omer Dostri told AFP.
But Hamas representatives were not taking part and an official from the resistance movement, Osama Badran, told AFP that Netanyahu's insistence that troops remain on the Philadelphi border strip reflects "his refusal to reach a final agreement".
11:45 GMT –– Three more Hezbollah members killed fighting Israeli army
Three of Hezbollah's fighters were killed in clashes with the Israeli army, the Lebanon-based group said in a statement.
The group identified the fighters as Qassem Saleh Harqous, 20, Hassan Wissam Harqous, 19, and Aqeel Qassem Gharib, 34, who were killed "on the road to Jerusalem," referring to the group members fighting Israel in support of Palestinians facing the onslaught on Gaza.
The new fatalities brought the total number of Hezbollah fighters killed in combat with Israeli forces since last October to 424, according to an Anadolu tally.
10:39 GMT –– Baby in Gaza paralysed by polio amid Israel's limit on supplies
A 10-month-old baby in Gaza has been paralysed due to polio, a first case in more than 25 years, the UN has confirmed.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), has warned that polio would not “make the distinction between Palestinian and Israeli children”, highlighting fears of regional spread.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the case late on Thursday as UN agencies active in Gaza rush to organise a polio vaccination campaign which is constantly disrupted by Israel's restrictions on medical supplies and aid.
09:40 GMT –– Egyptian-Israeli talks in Cairo seeking Gaza ceasefire, prisoner exchange stall
The negotiations between Egyptian and Israeli delegations in Cairo seeking a Gaza ceasefire and a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas failed to progress, reported Israeli media.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported that the talks, which were aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners between Israel and Hamas, “made no progress,” leaving the situation at a standstill.
The latest round of mediated negotiations ended on August 16 in Doha, Qatar with the US presenting the parties with what the White House described as a "final bridging proposal" that it put on the table for Israel and Hamas, claiming it is consistent with the principles supported by Biden on May 31.
09:00 GMT –– Israel's evacuation orders displaced 90% of Gaza residents: UN
Successive Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza, including 12 just in August, have displaced 90 percent of its 2.1 million residents since Israel's war on the enclave began in October, the top United Nations humanitarian official for the Palestinian territory says.
Muhannad Hadi said the evacuation orders are endangering civilians instead of protecting them. “They are forcing families to flee again, often under fire and with the few belongings they can carry with them, into an ever-shrinking area" that is crowded and unsafe.
Civilians are being deprived of medical care, shelter, water wells and humanitarian supplies, “running from one destroyed place to another, with no end in sight," he said.
08:28 GMT –– Israeli soldiers share videos documenting ‘war crimes’ in Gaza
In a disturbing revelation, videos circulated on social media by Israeli soldiers have shown graphic evidence of "war crimes" committed in Gaza during the ongoing Israeli onslaught that began last October 7.
The footage has sparked outrage, depicting acts of violence and destruction carried out by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians and their properties.
The videos, which were quickly shared by activists across social media platforms, include footage of Israeli soldiers arresting individuals in Gaza and destroying a mosque.
Other clips reveal horrifying scenes of Palestinian bodies left in the streets to be scavenged by stray dogs.
07:22 GMT –– Israeli army claims it targeted Hezbollah sites in Lebanon
The Israeli army claimed that it carried out strikes against Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon.
In a statement, the Israeli army said that its forces "identified a cell" that was allegedly "planning to launch rockets towards Israel".
The Israeli army "eliminated the cell in the area of Tayr Harfa in southern Lebanon," it added.
The army claimed that following the airstrike, a rocket launch was detected from the same area, suggesting the presence of additional weapons and rockets at the site.
06:47 GMT –– Israeli attacks on civilian gathering, displaced camp kill four
Israeli air attacks on two civilian gatherings in southern Gaza overnight killed at least four Palestinians, including a child, and injured several others.
According to medical sources at the Nasser Hospital, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the hospital received the bodies of three victims, including a child, after an attack on a gathering in the town of Abasan.
Additionally, another Israeli air strike on the Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City resulted in one death and multiple injuries.
04:40 GMT — Palestine invites those 'who have spine' to visit besieged Gaza
Palestine's envoy to the UN has reiterated his call for a ceasefire in besieged Gaza and invited the UN Security Council members to witness firsthand the "horror" endured by Palestinians during the last 10 months of Israeli carnage.
Speaking at a Security Council session on Palestine, Riyad Mansour said he calls on "all those who have spines to come and say we are coming to demand a ceasefire and to demand it now in the Gaza Strip."
"Gaza does not need more paralysis and death. First by bombs and bullets, now combined with occupation-sponsored famine and disease, Gaza has witnessed life destroyed. It needs life to be restored, and it needs it right now," Mansour said.
04:12 GMT — Houthis claim attacks on ships in Red Sea, Gulf of Aden
Yemen's Houthi group has said it targeted two ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for violating its ban on accessing "ports of occupied Palestine" via international shipping lanes.
"In response to American and British aggression against our country, the (Houthi) armed forces conducted two military operations in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden using several war boats, ballist ic and cruise missiles and drones," the group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a recorded video message.
He added that the group's forces "targeted the (Greek-flagged) oil tanker SOUNION in the Red Sea, causing it to sink, and the (Panama-flagged commercial) vessel SW North Wind I in the Gulf of Aden, hitting it accurately."
03:20 GMT — UN slams new Israeli ultimatum for Gaza residents
The UN has warned of the adverse effects of Israel's new ultimatum for tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, saying such ultimatums are endangering the lives of civilians.
"There has been an average of one evacuation order every two days this month – forcing as many as a quarter of a million Palestinians to uproot their lives yet again," Dujarric quoted Hadi as saying.
"Hadi said that if these evacuation orders are meant to protect civilians, they are in fact doing the exact opposite. They are forcing families to flee again – often und er fire and with the few belongings they can carry with them – into an ever-shrinking area that is overcrowded, polluted, with limited services and – like the rest of Gaza – unsafe," Dujarric noted.
02:52 GMT — Northern Israel hit by rocket fired from Lebanon
A house in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel has been hit by a rocket fired from southern Lebanon, the Israeli media reported.
According to the public broadcaster, KAN, a house in the Zarit settlement was "directly hit" and sustained material damage due to a rocket fired from southern Lebanon, with no casualties reported.
The broadcaster also noted that sirens sounded in several areas of the Upper Galilee.
02:30 GMT — US, UK, China demand end to Israeli settler violence in West Bank
Several UN Security Council Members, including the US, UK and China, have condemned Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and urged the Israeli government to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
"Actions in the West Bank that could escalate tensions at this fragile moment must stop," US envoy to UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a UN Security Council session on Palestine, describing the attacks by Israeli settlers as "unacceptable" and called for their cessation.
Meanwhile, China's Fu Cong criticised Israel's ongoing military operations and the expansion of illegal settlements, saying: "Blind faith in achieving a total victory in Gaza through military means will only result in more civilian casualties."
For our live updates from Wednesday, August 21, 2024, click here.
