20:10 Zambia evacuates 77 nationals from Israel
Zambia on Thursday announced that 77 nationals have been evacuated from Israel due to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Foreign Minister Stanley Kakubo told parliament in the capital Lusaka that 77 nationals, including 72 students, arrived in the country on Wednesday.
The minister said 172 Zambians are living in Israel, including 143 students, adding that some students insisted on staying back in Israel.
20:05 GMT 18 more Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza's Jabalia camp
At least 18 more Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting several houses in Jabalia camp in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, Interior Ministry in Gaza announced on Thursday evening.
The ministry said a large number of people have also been injured in the airstrike that targeted several houses in Anwar Aziz Mosque Square in Jabalia camp.
The ministry shared images on its official Facebook account showing the civil defense and medical teams at Kamal Adwan Hospital (in northern Gaza) dealing with the fatalities and the injured.
19:58 GMT US Navy warship shoots down cruise missiles, drones 'potentially' targeting Israel
A US Navy warship intercepted cruise missiles and drones launched by Yemen's Houthi group that were "potentially" targeting Israel, the Pentagon said Thursday.
The USS Carney was operating in the northern Red Sea when it intercepted three "land attack cruise missiles, and several drones" that were launched by the Houthis, Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters.
"This action was a demonstration of the integrated air and missile defense architecture that we have built in the Middle East, and that we are prepared to utilize whenever necessary to protect our partners and our interests in this important region," he said.
"There were no casualties to US forces and none that we know of to any civilians on the ground."
18:52 GMT - Israel evacuates embassies in Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco: Israeli Broadcasting Authority
Israel has evacuated several of its embassies in the Middle East, including in Bahrain, Jordan, and Morocco, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority's official website on Thursday.
Without giving details, the authority reported that Israel has evacuated several of its embassies in the Middle East, including the embassies in Bahrain and Morocco.
The Israeli authority further stated: “The embassy in Jordan was evacuated at the start of the war by the order of the Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and the Ministry's Director-General.”
18:42 GMT - ‘Leave West Bank now,’ Germany advises its citizens
Germany advised its citizens to leave the West Bank due to intensifying violence in the region.
“We recommend all German nationals to leave the West Bank now,” the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday, warning against traveling to Israel and the Palestinian territories "due to the escalation of violence in the region."
Underlining that Israel is formally in a state of war, the ministry said: "A further aggravation of the situation and an expansion of the conflict cannot be ruled out."
18:08 - Arab ambassadors in Brussels demand EU take action against Israel
Arab ambassadors to the EU demanded that the bloc stop Israel's aggression in Gaza and violations of international law.
Palestinian Ambassador Abdalrahim Alfarra on Thursday pointed out in a news conference in Brussels that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pursued an "extremist" policy since he began leading the country and cited the situation in Gaza during the 17-year blockade.
Alfarra, speaking on behalf of other Arab ambassadors, said Israel is taking action in front of the eyes of the international community "to wipe Palestine off the map."
He demanded that the EU and member states stop the "massacre of civilians" in Gaza and take action against Israel's violations of international law.
17:05 GMT – UN Chief Guterres calls for ceasefire in Gaza
UN Secretary-General Antonio has said that a ceasefire in Gaza is essential to guarantee safe delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave.
Guterres has also urged Hamas to release Israeli captives, underscoring the need to respect the international humanitarian law.
Guterres has added that Gaza is in dire need of aid.
16:21 GMT WHO urges Israel to list fuel as life-saving supply
The World Health Organization urged Israel to count fuel as a life-saving supply following the country's decision to not block the entry of water, food, and medicines into Gaza from Egypt.
Welcoming the decision taken on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing in Geneva: "Fuel is also needed for hospital generators, ambulances and desalination plants."
"We urge Israel to add fuel to the life-saving supplies allowed to enter Gaza," Tedros said on Thursday.
Noting that the trucks of WHO are loaded and ready to go, he said: "We are working with the Egypt and Palestine Red Crescent Societies to deliver our supplies into Gaza as soon as the Rafah crossing is opened, hopefully, tomorrow."
16:11 GMT - 9 more Palestinians killed by Israeli army in West Bank, bringing death toll to 77
Nine Palestinians, including two teenagers, were shot dead by Israeli forces in the West Bank, bringing the death toll in the occupied territory since October 7 to 77, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.
A ministry statement said a 16-year-old Palestinian was shot in the head in Tulkarm, while a 32-year-old man was shot in the chest in the town of Budrus, west of Ramallah.
A 17-year-old Palestinian also lost his life after being shot in the head within the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, it added.
Four Palestinians were also killed in an Israeli military raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm, the statement said. According to witnesses, an Israeli drone struck a site inside the camp.
15:05 GMT No UEFA matches in Israel ‘until further notice’: Football body
The UEFA Executive Committee decided that no UEFA matches will be played in Israel until further notice because of the conflict between Palestinians and Israel.
The decision came on Thursday after an evaluation of the current safety and security situation in Israel, according to a statement.
The Israel Football Association and Maccabi Haifa FC and Maccabi Tel-Aviv clubs previously proposed alternative venues and stadiums, which must comply with all applicable UEFA regulations, outside Israel for home matches.
14:44 Bangladesh declares national day of mourning for those killed in Gaza
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the nation will observe a national day of mourning for the killings in Gaza.
"National flags will be hoisted at half-mast on the day," Hasina said in Dhaka on Thursday.
A notification released later said a one-day state mourning will be observed Saturday for Palestinians killed in Israel's brutal attack on Gaza.
All government and private buildings, educational institutes and Bangladeshi missions have been asked to fly the national flag at half-mast.
14:36 GMT - Mediterranean journalist group condemns attacks on reporters in Gaza
The Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies (AMAN) demanded safety and free access for reporters as the death toll among journalists covering the Palestine-Israeli conflict in Gaza nears 20.
AMAN expressed sorrow and concern about the tragic attacks against journalists and urged “all sides involved in this conflict to protect journalists, photo-reporters and TV crews and facilitate them in reporting from conflict zones.”
At least 19 journalists are among the more than 5,100 dead on both sides since the war began on October 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“AMAN joins forces with other news agency alliances and media groups in protecting the free press coverage and the safety of journalists in war-torn areas,” it said in a statement on Thursday.
13:56 GMT - Jordan, Egypt call for immediate end to Israel's war in Gaza, reject displacement of Palestinians
Jordan and Egypt called for an immediate end to Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip and reiterated their rejection of attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians from the territory.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II held talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah a l-Sisi.
The two leaders “underlined their rejection of the policy of collective punishment, siege, starvation and displacement of brothers in Gaza,” the Jordanian Royal Court said in a statement on Thursday.
“Any attempt to forcibly displace (Palestinians) to Jordan or Egypt is rejected,” they stressed.
13:34 - Russia’s Lavrov warns Israel-Gaza conflict could spark regional crisis
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that the conflict in Gaza risks spilling into a regional crisis, saying efforts to pin blame on Iran were adding fuel to the fire, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.
The remarks by Russia’s top diplomat on Thursday came days after President Vladimir Putin said he believed no major actors wanted the war between Israel and Hamas to escalate.
This week, Russia proposed amendments to a draft UN resolution that would have called for an “immediate full” ceasefire and ending attacks on civilians, but it was rejected by the Security Council. The final draft, which called only for humanitarian pauses, was vetoed by the United States, with Russia abstaining.
13:26 - The UN should debate the atrocities in Palestine: Pakistan President
In a show of solidarity with the Palestinian people, Pakistani President Arif Alvi on Thursday visited the Palestine Embassy in Islamabad, as the South Asian nation flew tons of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, currently under the siege of Israel.
According to a statement issued by the presidency, Alvi met with Palestinian Ambassador Ahmed Jawad Rabei and expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan.
"The United Nations should debate the atrocities that happened in Palestine, and the UNSC should pass a resolution to stop Israeli atrocities," Alvi said.
12:06 GMT - Sunak: Britain supports Israel's 'right to defend' itself
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says over the last two weeks Israel has gone through something that "no country, no people should have to endure."
At a joint news conference with Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Sunak said: "We absolutely support Israel's right to defend itself in line with international law to go after Hamas, to take back hostages, deter further incursions and to strengthen your security for the long term."
Referring to the World War II battle in Britain, Netanyahu said: "Eighty years ago, prime minister, the civilized world stood with you in your darkest hour, this is our darkest hour, It's the world's darkest hour".
12:00 GMT - Israeli bombs kill 3,780 in Gaza, more than 1,500 are children
At least 3,785 Palestinians have been killed and more than12,000 others injured in Israeli air strikes in besieged Gaza since October 7, according to the Health Ministry.
Of the total death toll, 1,524 were children and 1,000 were women, ministry spokesman Ashraf al Qudra told a press conference on Thursday.
Israeli airstrikes have also forced four Gaza hospitals and 14 medical centres to stop treatment due to a lack of fuel and electricity, the health ministry added.
11:48 GMT - Egypt repairs roads at Gaza crossing for aid delivery
Machinery to repair roads has been sent through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza in preparation for the delivery of some of the aid stockpiled in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, two security sources have said.
More than 100 trucks were waiting close to the crossing on the Egyptian side, though it was not expected that aid would enter before Friday, Egyptian security sources said.
Rafah is the only crossing not controlled by Israel but has been out of operation since the first days of the conflict in Gaza following Israeli bombardments on the Palestinian side of the border.
10:50 GMT - UN demands investigation into hospital attack in Gaza
The UN has demanded an investigation into the attack on a hospital in Gaza.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said "it is essential that there could be some form of investigation into this."
When asked if the UN intends to investigate as it did in 2014 into the Israeli shelling of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) schools in Gaza, he responded: "I don't want to get ahead of ourselves here, and I'm not going to speculate what the future might hold."
9:33 GMT - Israel asked Gaza hospital 'three times' to evacuate before deadly strike
In the days before the devastating attack on the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of people, the church supervising it got three Israeli orders to evacuate the facility, the Anglican Church in Jerusalem has said.
“We received three orders to evacuate the hospital, on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The hospital was bombed on Tuesday,” Anglican Archbishop Hosam Naoum said, adding: “Most of these orders were given over the phone”.
Archbishop Naoum's revelation weakens Israel's claim that a misfiring rocket by Islamic Jihad led to the carnage that the Gaza-based Health Ministry says killed nearly 500 people.
8:13 GMT - Israel says its military deaths rise to 306
The Israeli army said that its military deaths in the current conflict with Palestinian groups have risen to 306.
The army announced the names of two additional security officers and a reservist soldier killed in clashes near the border with Gaza in an online statement on Thursday.
The Israeli Health Ministry says that 4,629 Israelis have been injured and a further 1,400 killed while the health authorities in Gaza recorded 3,478 deaths and more than 13,000 injuries as at October 18.
7:39 GMT - China 'deeply disappointed' after US vetoed UN resolution on ceasefire
China says it is "deeply disappointed" by the United States' decision to veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for a "humanitarian pause" in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
"China is deeply disappointed in the United States' obstruction of the Security Council's adoption of a draft resolution on the Palestinian issue," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, calling on the Security Council to "play its role in reaching a ceasefire and stopping the war".
7:15 GMT - Russia to deliver 27 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza
Russia early has announced that it is delivering 27 tons of humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza amid the ongoing conflict in the region.
A statement by the country’s Emergency Situations Ministry on Telegram said that a special aircraft took off from Moscow in the direction of the El-Arish airport in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, carrying flour, sugar, rice, and pasta.
“Russian humanitarian aid will be handed over to representatives of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society for delivery to the Gaza Strip,” the statement added.
3:30 GMT - Israeli air strike hits civilian home
A number of Palestinians have been killed by an Israeli air strike on a house close to a school sheltering displaced people in southern Gaza.
Israeli warplanes struck a home near Ahmed Abdelaziz School run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Khan Younis refugee camp, the official WAFA news agency reported.
It said at least nine Palestinians were killed, including seven children, in the Israeli air strike on the home of the al Bakri family. It added there are family members still under the rubble.
3:25 GMT - Toddler killed in attack on camp
In the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, a toddler was killed and other people sustained wounds from an Israeli air strike on the camp.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu news agency that Israeli raids on residential buildings in Rafah city south of Gaza left at least 20 Palestinians dead.
Israeli forces also shot dead two Palestinian teenagers in the occupied West Bank during protests, Palestinian officials said, while WAFA news agency said Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank village of Budrus.
3:00 GMT - Israel bombs house and kills 13 more in Jabalia — Palestine
At least 13 civilians have been killed and over a dozen others wounded in an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in the town of Jabalia, north of Gaza, Palestine's official news agency reported.
"Israeli warplanes bombarded a house belonging to the al-Hawajri family in Jabalia, killing at least 13 people, and injuring around 15 others, most of whom were children and women," WAFA news agency reported.
2:50 GMT - Israel allows limited aid into Gaza from Egypt
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi has agreed to open the Rafah crossing into besieged Gaza to allow a first batch of humanitarian aid trucks through, US President Joe Biden said.
"He agreed to ... let up to 20 trucks through to begin with," Biden told reporters after calling Sisi from Air Force One while returning from a visit to Israel.
Both leaders agreed to work closely on encouraging an "urgent and robust" response to a humanitarian appeal by the United Nations, the White House said.
2:30 GMT - UK PM Sunak to visit Israel on Thursday
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will arrive in Israel and meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, before travelling on to other regional capitals, his office said, as Israel continued to bomb Gaza's neighbourhoods.
"Every civilian death is a tragedy. And too many lives have been lost following Hamas’ horrific act of terror," Sunak said in a statement ahead of his visit.
He said a deadly blast at besieged Gaza hospital on Tuesday, which killed hundreds of Palestinians, should be "a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict", pledging Britain would be at "the forefront of this effort".
2:04 GMT - Egypt's Salah calls for an end to Gaza 'massacre'
Liverpool and Egypt football star Mohamed Salah has called for humanitarian aid to be allowed into besieged Gaza as he pleaded for an end to "massacres" amid Israel's war on the blockaded enclave.
"It is not always easy to speak in a time like this. There has been too much violence and too much heartbreak and brutality," Salah said in a video posted to his 62.7 million followers on Instagram.
"The escalations in recent weeks are unbearable to witness. All lives are sacred and must be protected. The massacres need to stop; families are being torn apart."
For our live updates from Wednesday (October 18), click here.
