Israel-Palestine war news LIVE: Hamas official says group ‘willing to release all hostages in an hour if Gaza bombing stops’ as ‘hospital attack kills hundreds of people’

Biden has left the White House for his trip to Israel

'Words fail me': UN human rights chief condemns hospital strike as 'totally unacceptable'

The deadly strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday is ‘totally unacceptable’, the UN human rights chief said, insisting that the perpetrators must be held to account.

‘Words fail me. Tonight, hundreds of people were killed – horrifically – in a massive strike at Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, including patients, healthcare workers and families that had been seeking refuge in and around the hospital.

‘Once again the most vulnerable. This is totally unacceptable,’ Volker Turk said in a statement.

Palestinian protester 'shot dead by Israeli forces during confrontations near the West Bank'

A Palestinian protester has been shot dead by Israeli forces during confrontations in the Nabi Saleh village, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Palestinian health ministry has said.

Palestinian girl, 13, trapped in Gaza describes the horror of living amid constant bombing and insists 'nowhere is safe'

A 13-year-old Palestinian girl trapped in Gaza has described the horror of living amid constant bombing and insists ‘nowhere is safe’.

Zaina has been fearing for her life amid Israeli air strikes and has been left scared that she may lose loved ones.

After Hamas’ launched its attack last Saturday, Israel began a campaign of air attacks across Gaza in revenge.

Zaina and her family had to leave Gaza City and head south, to an area that Israel assured them would be safe.

WATCH: Awful scene of Gaza hospital explosion as injured people rushed to be treated

Hundreds gather outside French embassy as they denounce 'allies of Zionists'

Hundreds of angry protesters have gathered outside the French embassy in Tunisia, also denouncing the US, after a strike on a Gaza Strip hospital killed at least 200 people.

The health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said at least 200 people died in the strike, which it blamed on Israel. The Israeli army, however, said a misfired militant rocket was responsible.

‘The French and Americans are allies of Zionists,’ demonstrators shouted.

Protesters demanded the recall of both countries’ ambassadors and shouted: ‘No American embassy on Tunisian territory.’

Hundreds of people gather to protest against Israel in Tunis

Lebanon's Hezbollah calls for 'day of rage' over Gaza hospital strike

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group denounced what they said was Israel’s deadly attack on a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds of Palestinians.

The group announced ‘a day of unprecedented anger” against Israel and Biden’s visit to the country, according to a statement released by Hezbollah late on Tuesday.

‘The attack reveals the true criminal face of this entity and its sponsor…the United States, which bears direct and complete responsibility for this massacre’, according to the statement.

Hospital explosion that killed hundreds was 'unprecedented in scale,' WHO say

The attack on the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip that killed hundreds was ‘unprecedented in scale,’ the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, condemning the blast.

The strike was the bloodiest single incident in Gaza since Israel launched a bombing campaign against the densely populated Gaza Strip in retaliation for a deadly cross-border Hamas assault on Israeli communities on Oct. 7.

‘This attack is unprecedented in scale,’ said Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the West Bank and Gaza. ‘We have seen consistent attacks on healthcare in the occupied Palestinian territory.’

Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said there were patients, healthcare workers and internally displaced people in the hospital when it was struck.

‘The hospital was one of 20 in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military,’ he said.

‘The order for evacuation has been impossible to carry out given the current insecurity, critical condition of many patients, and lack of ambulances, staff, health system bed capacity, and alternative shelter for those displaced,’ he added.

Islamic State claim responsibility for Brussels shooting that left two dead

Islamic State claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack in Brussels, according to the group’s channel on Telegram on Tuesday, which said one of its fighters carried out the attack that killed two people.

A man suspected of shooting dead two Swedish football fans and wounding another in Brussels was a 45-year-old Tunisian who had an asylum application rejected in 2020 but continued to live in Belgium illegally, according to Belgian officials.

After an overnight manhunt, police fatally shot the suspect at a cafe in the Schaerbeek district of northern Brussels this morning

Gulf Cooperation Council on Tuesday announces $100 million in emergency aid for the Gaza Strip

The Gulf Cooperation Council on Tuesday announced $100 million in emergency aid for the Gaza Strip, as Israel bombards targets in the enclave during its war against Hamas militants.

After an extraordinary meeting in Muscat, the bloc’s foreign ministers pledged ‘an urgent humanitarian relief operation’ with ‘relief aid worth $100 million’.

The top diplomats of the six GCC countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – met as at least 200 people were killed in strikes on a Gaza hospital compound sheltering displaced people, said Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

Israel blamed a misfired rocket from Islamic Jihad, another Gaza-based militant group which has claimed to be fighting alongside Hamas.

WATCH: The CCTV clip Israel says shows Hamas was behind hospital attack

Russia and UAE call for emergency UN Security Council meeting following 'hospital attacl

Russia and the United Arab Emirates have called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting following the deadly strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip that left hundreds dead.

‘Russia and the United Arab Emirates have called for an urgent public meeting of the United Nations Security Council in the morning of October 18 over the strike on a Gaza hospital,’ the Russian ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanski, said on Telegram.

Hamas leader says 'US is responsible for hospital attack'

The United States is responsible for the attack on a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds of Palestinians, Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a televised speech.

The terrorist leader stressed that Washington gave Israel ‘the cover for its aggression.’

‘The hospital massacre confirms the enemy’s brutality and the extent of his feeling of defeat,’ he said, adding that the attack will be ‘a new turning point.’

Haniyeh called on all Palestinian people ‘to get out and confront the occupation and the settlers.’

He also called on all Arabs, and Muslims to stage protests against Israel.

People clash with Palestinian security forces during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip

Turkish President accuses Israel of being 'devoid of … basic human values' as Jewish nation denies involvement in hospital tragedy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned a deadly strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip as ‘the latest example of Israeli attacks devoid of the most basic human values’, in a message on social media.

‘I invite all humanity to take action to stop this unprecedented brutality in Gaza,’ Erdogan said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said Israeli air strikes on the hospital compound sheltering displaced people had killed at least 200 people.

Erdogan accused Israel of ‘striking a hospital sheltering women, children and innocent civilians’.

Turkey’s foreign ministry also condemned ‘these barbaric attacks in the strongest terms,’ in a statement.

Breaking: Israel army denies responsibility and says rocket misfired by Gaza militants hit hospital

Israel’s military denied responsibility for an attack on a Gaza hospital on Tuesday, saying military intelligence suggested the hospital was hit by a failed rocket launch by the enclave’s Palestinian Islamic Jihad military group.

‘An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit,’ a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

‘Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza.’

European Council President says alleged attack on Gaza hospital 'seems to be confirmed'

European Council President Charles Michel, responding to a reported Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital, said on Tuesday that attacks on civilian infrastructure were not in line with international law.

After an emergency video conference of European Union leaders, Michel said the report ‘seems to be confirmed’ and added: ‘An attack against civilian infrastructure is not in line with international law.’

Authorities in Gaza said an Israeli air strike killed at least 300 people at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday.

Israel’s military said it was ‘still ironing out all the details’ on reports of strikes on the hospital and a school.

Palestinian security forces use tear gas and stun grenades on protestors taking to the streets against President Mahmoud Abbas

Palestinian security forces in central Ramallah fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protesters throwing rocks and chanting against President Mahmoud Abbas, as popular anger boiled over after a deadly Israeli attack on a Gaza hospital on Tuesday.

Clashes with Palestinian security forces broke out in a number of other cities in the occupied West Bank late on Tuesday, according to witnesses.

Palestinians rally in solidarity with the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip in the West Bank city of Ramallah

Dozens of protesters attempt to storm Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan

Jordanians gather outside King Abdullah Mosque to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets relatives of German hostages held by Hamas in Israel

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met for 40 minutes in Tel Aviv with relatives of German hostages held by Hamas and said the German government would do whatever it can to secure the hostages’ release, the relatives said.

‘We are getting out of this meeting a little bit more affirmed but still of course worried about our dear ones and the fate and safety of all the people being held hostage by the most barbaric, cruel human beings on this earth at the moment,’ said Gili Romann, brother of 35-year-old Yardan Romann, who was among the hostages.

Shaked Haran, 10 of whose relatives are among those being held hostage, said the families needed information on their relatives’ whereabouts and wellbeing.

The families said they will hold a rally in Berlin on Sunday to call for their relatives’ release.

Officials have said 1,300 Israelis, many civilians, were killed since Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, and nearly 200 hostages taken back to Gaza. Authorities in Gaza, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, say more than 3,000 people have been killed in Israel’s 11-day bombardment, around a quarter of them children.

Scholz met on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel and planned to travel on to Egypt for meetings on Wednesday with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

World Health Organization condemns alleged Israeli strike on Gaza hospital

The World Health Organization condemned a deadly strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip and demanded the immediate protection of civilians and health care in the Palestinian enclave.

‘WHO strongly condemns the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital’, the UN health agency’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said Israeli air strikes on the hospital compound sheltering displaced people had killed at least 200 people.

‘Early reports indicate hundreds of deaths and injuries,’ said Tedros.

‘We call for the immediate protection of civilians and health care, and for the evacuation orders to be reversed.’

Palestinian Authority President cancels meeting with Joe Biden

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has canceled a planned meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, following an Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital on Tuesday that killed hundreds, a senior Palestinian official said.

The meeting was due to take place in Jordan. The senior Palestinian official said Abbas was returning to Ramallah, the seat of his government in the occupied West Bank.

Egypt calls on Israel to 'targeting the area of the Rafah crossing' to enable aid to travel to Gaza

Egypt’s foreign ministry said world leaders must ‘call on Israel to stop targeting the area of the Rafah crossing’ to enable the delivery of aid into the beseiged Gaza Strip.

Convoys of aid have been stuck in Egypt for days, after four strikes over the past week on the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing – the only passage in and out of Gaza not controlled by Israel.

Palestinians march on their own President demanding his 'fall' after strike on Gaza hospital is claimed to have killed hundreds

Hundreds of Palestinians have marched through central Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority, protesting President Mahmud Abbas shortly after a strike on a Gaza hospital is claimed to have killed at least 200 people.

‘The people want the fall of the president,’ protesters chanted, referring to Abbas, apparently over his conciliatory tone since war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza began earlier this month.

The Authority has partial administrative control in the Israel-occupied West Bank.

People gather around bodies of Palestinians Hamas claim were 'killed in Israeli airstrikes on the al-Ahli Hospital hospital in central Gaza'

People gather around bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on the al-Ahli Hospital hospital in central Gaza on Tuesday after they were transported to Al-Shifa hopsital.

The al-Ahli Hospital was housing hundreds of ‘sick’, ‘wounded’ and ‘forcibly displaced’ people when it was attacked, Hamas has claimed.

The terrorist group, in a statement on its Telegram channel, alleged that most of the casualties at al-Ahli Hospital were ‘displaced families, patients, children and women’.

IDF may have hit the hospital by 'mistake'

The IDF may have hit the hospital by ‘mistake’, Alistair Bunkall, Sky News Middle East correspondent, reported.

Mr Bunkall told the broadcaster: ‘This is a Christian-run hospital in Gaza. I understand the IDF are looking into it, saying they may have hit a missile depo that caused a far bigger explosion or whether this was a direct hit which might have been a mistake.’

He added that people head to the hospitals for shelter during bombardments because they believe the Israeli forces are ‘very well aware of where schools and hospitals are’ and presumed they ‘will not be hit’.

Justin Trudeau condemns alledged Israeli strike Gaza hospital as 'horrific and absolutely unacceptable'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said a reported Israeli strike on a hospital in Gaza was ‘horrific and absolutely unacceptable.’

Trudeau made his remarks when asked about the strike, which health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave said had killed hundreds of people.

Canada has stressed that Israel must abide by international law as it strikes back against Hamas over attacks that killed more than 1,300 people.

‘The news coming out of Gaza is horrific and absolutely unacceptable … international law needs to be respected in this and in all cases. There are rules around wars and it’s not acceptable to hit a hospital,’ Trudeau told reporters.

Israel’s military said it did not have any details on the reported bombing.

UK flies more than 900 people back from Israel

The UK says it has flown more than 900 people back from Israel amid ongoing uncertainty in the country.

‘All British nationals registered with the Foreign Office and wanting to leave Israel on government organised flights have been allocated seats,’ the department said in a statement.

‘We have successfully brought back more than 900 people,’ it added.

Any other UK citizens wanting to leave have until Wednesday morning to book.

‘We encourage any British nationals who want to leave Israel to register their presence and book a flight before the portal closes,’ added the statement.

Israel is at war with militants Hamas after they crossed from Gaza and attacked border communities on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people.

Egypt denounces 'in strongest terms' alledged 'Israeli strike on Palestinian hospital' after Hamas claimed alledged attack 'killed 500'

Egypt denounced ‘in strongest terms’ an Israeli air strike on a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds of Palestinians, after Hamas claimed 500 were killed in the alledged attack.

They say the international community must urgently intervene to stop such violations, according to a foreign ministry statement.

Scores of injured people are being taken to Al-Shifa Hospital following alledged Israeli airstrike

Palestinian President declares three days of mourning after Hamas claim '500 dead in hospital hit by Israeli air strike'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning following a deadly air strike on a hospital in Gaza, killing at least 500 Palestinians on Tuesday, state media reported.

‘What is taking place is genocide. We call on the international community to intervene immediately to stop this massacre. Silence is no longer acceptable,’ a statement issued by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation said in response to the attack.

Breaking: Hamas 'willing to release all civillian hostages in the next hour if Israeli bombing stops'

Hamas will release all their civilian hostages in the next hour if the Israeli bombardment stops, Sky News have reported.

UN warn Palestinian civilians being 'packed into an ever-smaller area' and supplies have run out

The United Nations have warned that Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip are being ‘packed into an ever-smaller area’ and life-saving essentials have essentially run out, appealing for a humanitarian truce to allow aid access.

‘It is now estimated that as many as 1 million people have fled their homes to other parts of Gaza,’ senior U.N. aid official Joyce Msuya told a meeting convened by Arab envoys on the enclave, which is controlled by Hamas militants.

Israel last week ordered some 1.1 million people in Gaza – almost half the population – to move to south as it prepares for a ground offensive in retaliation for the worst Hamas attack on civilians in Israel’s 75-year-old history.

‘In reality, civilians have nowhere to go, nowhere to escape the bombs and missiles, and nowhere to find water or food, or to escape the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe,’ Msuya said, urging a ‘humanitarian suspension of hostilities.’

Hamas claimed '500 killed after Israeli strike hits hospital' would be deadliest attack in 15 years if confirmed

An Israeli air strike has hit a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, killing hundreds, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

If confirmed, the attack would be by far the deadliest Israeli air strike in five wars fought since 2008.

Photos from the al-Ahli Hospital showed fire engulfing the hospital halls, shattered glass and bodies scattered across the area.

The ministry said at least 500 people had been killed.

Several hospitals in Gaza City have become refuges for hundreds of people, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said there were still no details on the hospital deaths, adding: ‘We will get the details and update the public. I don’t know to say whether it was an Israeli air strike.’

Man accused of gunning down two Swedish football fans in Brussels had served a prison sentence in Sweden

A man accused of gunning down two Swedish football fans in Brussels had served a prison sentence in Sweden during 2012-2014, the Swedish Migration Agency has revealed.

‘He served a prison sentence in Sweden during 2012-2014,’ agency spokesman Jesper Tengroth said, declining to elaborate on the crime he was convicted of and how long a sentence he served.

Police officers stand guard in front of the house in the Schaerbeek area of Brussels

About 3,000 Palestinians dead, health authorities claim

The Palestinian death toll from Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has climbed to about 3,000, health authorities said, and at least six people were killed in an Israeli air strike that hit a school run by the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee agency.

The violence raged as Washington announced that U.S. President Joe Biden would visit Israel on Wednesday to show support for its war on Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

Israel has vowed to annihilate the Islamist group after Hamas gunmen crossed the border and killed 1,300 people, mainly civilians, during a rampage through southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, the deadliest single day in Israel’s 75-year history.

Since then Israel has flattened parts of densely urbanised Gaza with air strikes, driven around half of its 2.3 million population from their homes, and imposed a total blockade on the enclave, halting food, fuel and medical supplies.

Palestinian emergency services and local citizens search for victims in buildings destroyed during Israeli raids in the southern Gaza Strip

'At least 500 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital', Hamas claims

At least 500 people have reportedly been killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a hospital in Gaza today, Hamas has claimed.

Unverified photographs circulating on social media showed fire engulfing the al-Ahli Hospital halls, shattered glass and body parts scattered across the area.

Hundreds of people were reportedly seeking shelter at the hospital at the time of the blast. 

Several hospitals in Gaza City have become refuges for hundreds of people, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.

Breaking: Gaza Health Ministry says death toll in Gaza City hospital blast rises to at least 500

Israeli air strikes on a Gaza hospital compound Tuesday killed at least 200 people, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory has claimed.

‘Two hundred to 300 displaced people killed in occupation (Israeli) strikes on the yard’ of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza, the ministry said.

‘Hundreds of victims are still under the rubble,’ it added.

The media office of Gaza’s Hamas government described the attack as a ‘war crime’.

‘The hospital was housing hundreds of sick and wounded, and people forcibly displaced from their homes’ because of other strikes, a statement said.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the hospital bombing when contacted.

Around 3,000 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip since the war erupted on October 7.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, the majority gunned down by Hamas militants who crossed from Gaza and attacked border communities.

Breaking: At least 200 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital complex, Hamas claim

Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories, Oct 17, 2023 (AFP) – Israeli air strikes on a Gaza hospital compound Tuesday killed at least 200 people, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said.

‘Two hundred to 300 displaced people killed in occupation (Israeli) strikes on the yard” of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza, the ministry said.

‘Hundreds of victims are still under the rubble,’ it added.

Russia 'does not need to obey restrictions' on giving missile tech to Iran

Russia said it need no longer obey U.N. Security Council restrictions on giving missile technology to its ally Iran once they expire, without saying whether it now planned to support Tehran’s missile development.

‘Supplies to and from Iran of products falling under the Missile Technology Control Regime no longer require prior approval by the U.N. Security Council,’ Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The restrictions were defined in Resolution 2231 of 2015 endorsing a deal by which Britain, China, the European Union, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S. removed sanctions against Iran in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear programme.

Breaking: Rishi Sunak to visit Israel

Rishi Sunak is to visit Israel, Sky News have reported.

Last week, foreign minister James Cleverly travelled to Israel to show solidarity with the Israeli people following attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

U.S. President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday.

'If Hezbollah makes a mistake, it will be annihilated': Israeli chief threatens Israel will retaliate if Hezbollah escalate conflict

Israeli military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi threatened that Israel would retaliate aggressively should Hezbollah escalate.

It comes as Israeli forces and armed groups in Lebanon have engaged in a series of low-level skirmishes since the outbreak of the latest war in Gaza between the Israeli military and the Hamas militant group. Hezbollah has announced the death of 10 militants since skirmishes began.

‘This is a war on the home,’ Halevi said after meeting with Israeli troops near the northern border with Lebanon. ‘If Hezbollah makes a mistake, it will be annihilated.’

Earthquake hits southern Iran measuring 5.8

An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 struck southern Iran, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said on Tuesday.

The quake was at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) GFZ said.

Breaking: UN says Israeli strike killed six sheltering in Gaza school

An Israeli strike killed at least six people Tuesday who were sheltering in a school in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said.

‘At least six people were killed this afternoon when an UNRWA school was hit in Al-Maghazi refugee camp’, in central Gaza, the agency said.

‘This is outrageous, and it again shows a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians.’

Clashes along the Lebanon-Israel border have left five Hezbollah fighters dead

Clashes along the Lebanon-Israel border have left five Hezbollah fighters dead, marking the largest number of casualties for the militant group in a single day as tensions with Israel escalate.

Israeli forces and armed groups in Lebanon have engaged in a series of low-level skirmishes since the outbreak of the latest war in Gaza between the Israeli military and the Hamas militant group.

Hezbollah has announced the death of 10 militants since skirmishes began.

The escalation comes amid fears that the war could spread into Lebanon, where Hezbollah has expressed strong support to the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

Israel considers the heavily-armed group in Lebanon an even bigger threat than Hamas. So far, artillery exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel have been limited to several towns along the border.

Israel has threatened that if Hezbollah opens a new front, all of Lebanon will suffer the consequences.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a draw. Since then, apart from limited clashes and escalated rhetoric, Hezbollah’s military caliber has significantly increased, and became a key military actor in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere in the region.

An Israeli soldier mans a checkpoint near the northern Kibbutz Sasa close to the border with Lebanon

Israel has attacked 5,000 targets in Gaza since Hamas attack – as Jewish nation will eliminate them 'even if it takes months or years'

Israel has attacked around 5,000 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip since Oct 7 and has cancelled a ‘large number’ of other strikes in an effort to avoid Palestinian civilian casualties, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday.

Briefing Reuters on condition of anonymity, the official did not elaborate on the number of strikes cancelled during a days-long bombardment of Gaza that has killed around 3,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.

They said only that every such operation is ‘approved at the highest level’ of the Israeli military.

In the wake of the devastating Oct 7 incursions by Hamas, Israel was determined to eliminate the Palestinian Islamist group in Gaza ‘even if it takes months or years,’ he said.

Palestinian emergency services and local citizens search for victims in buildings destroyed during Israeli raids in the southern Gaza Strip

Has Israel decided NOT to launch ground invasion? IDF says effort to wipe out Hamas 'might be something different' despite massing troops and tanks at Gaza border

Israel’s Defence Forces have spent the past week preparing for a massive operation to crush Hamas after some 360,000 reservists were called up to encircle Gaza with tanks, artillery and armoured vehicles.

But now the expected ground assault appears to be on hold, with IDF spokesperson Lt Col Richard Hecht refusing to confirm his troops will deploy into the Palestinian enclave.

Israel PM says world must unite to 'defeat Hamas'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Tuesday for broad international support in the country’s war against Gaza rulers Hamas after the militant group’s deadly attack on Israel.

Senior Hamas commander killed by Israeli airstrike

Around 3,000 Gazans killed in Israeli strikes, according to Health Ministry

Around 3,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said on Tuesday.

More than 12,500 others have been wounded since Israel started bombarding Gaza on October 7, in retaliation for Hamas attacks in Israel which killed more than 1,400 people.

Israel bombs areas of southern Gaza where it told Palestinians to flee, killing dozens of people

Israel has bombed areas of southern Gaza where it told Palestinians to flee ahead of an expected invasion, killing dozens of people.

2,000 US troops put on deployment alert amid Middle East crisis: Pentagon

The US military has put 2,000 troops on deployment alert, the Pentagon has said, in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin placed the personnel and a range of units ‘on a heightened state of readiness through a prepare to deploy order,’ the Pentagon said in a statement, to be able ‘to respond quickly to the evolving security environment in the Middle East.’

Jordan to host summit between Biden and Egyptian and Palestinian leaders

Jordan on Wednesday will host a four-party summit in Amman with U.S. President Joe Biden and Egyptian and Palestinian leaders to discuss the ‘dangerous’ repercussions of the war in Gaza for the region, state media said.

JK Rowling condemns 'despicable and wholly unjustifiable' kidnapping of children by Hamas

JK Rowling condemned the kidnapping of children by Hamas as she posted a picture of an abducted autistic Harry Potter fan.

Exclusive: How U.S. taxpayer funds can 'flow freely' to Hamas and Hezbollah because of the UN's failure to label them terrorist organizations – it's evidence of 'anti-Israel bias' at UN says Nikki Haley

U.S. taxpayer dollars are able to ‘flow freely’ to Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah because the United Nations Security Council has failed to label them as ‘terrorists,’ warn top security experts.

WATCH: IDF destroy Hamas headquarters in Gaza

WATCH: Israel ground forces prepare to advance near Gaza border

Reuters demands 'swift' Israeli probe into journalist's death

Reuters has called on Israel to conduct a quick and comprehensive investigation into cross-border fire that killed one of its journalists and wounded other reporters in Lebanon last week.

Video journalist Issam Abdallah died and six other journalists were injured – including two from AFP – in firing near the village of Alma al-Shaab in southern Lebanon on Friday.

The journalists believe they were hit by fire coming from the Israeli side of the border.

‘I am reiterating my call to the Israeli authorities, who have said they are investigating, to conduct a swift, thorough and transparent probe into what happened,’ Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni said in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday.

‘By transparent, I mean an investigation with clear evidence and explanation, and I also reiterate my call to the Israeli Defense Forces for clarity regarding the terms of engagement in this conflict,’ she added.

Prince William pens letter to Chief Rabbi offering support during 'traumatic time' for Jewish people after Hamas terror attack which he condemns 'unreservedly'

Prince William has sent a letter to the Chief Rabbi offering support during a ‘traumatic time’ for Jewish people.

The Prince of Wales wrote a letter to the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis dated on 10 October, expressing his ‘solidarity’ in the wake of Hamas’ terror attack in Israel three days earlier.

He told Sir Ephraim, 67, who posted the letter to X, formerly Twitter, last night, that it was ‘truly a traumatic time for the Jewish community’ in the UK and condemned that attacks ‘unreservedly’.

IDF soldiers set to invade Gaza face bloodbath hand-to-hand combat with terrorists in 40ft deep 'Gaza Metro' rat-run rigged with booby-traps

Israeli hostage paraded in Hamas video is seen dancing and smiling at music festival in footage shared by her family

The heartbroken mother of abducted Israeli Mia Schem said she is ‘begging the world to bring my baby back home’ after Hamas terrorists paraded her in a disturbing hostage video.

Keren Schem, whose daughter is a French and Israeli citizen, appealed for her child and all the other 199 hostages taken on October 7 to be returned home.

She said the 21-year-old, who was shot at and then abducted while at the Nova Festival near the Israeli border, ‘only went to a party, to a festival party to have some fun… and now she’s in Gaza.’

Iran says 'no one can stop resistance' if Israel keeps bombing Gaza

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that “no one can stop resistance forces” if Israel keeps up its bombardment of Gaza in response to the shock October 7 attack by Hamas.

Iran has been in close contact with its regional allies, including Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and pro-Tehran Iraqi militias, since Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, breaking through the heavily fortified border from Gaza and killing more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians.

‘No matter what the Zionist regime does, it cannot make up for the scandalous failure it suffered,’ Khamenei said.

On Monday, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke of possible ‘pre-emptive action’ against Israel by the ‘resistance front’ while President Ebrahim Raisi said time was running out to reach a political solution.

Tehran, which financially and militarily backs Hamas militants, celebrated the Hamas assault but insisted it was not involved.

Clashes again erupt on the Lebanon-Israel border after an anti-tank missile is fired from Lebanon

Clashes erupted again on the border between Lebanon and Israel this morning, where Israeli forces and armed groups in Lebanon have engaged in a series of low-level skirmishes since the outbreak of the latest war in Gaza.

An anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon landed in the town of Metula in northern Israel, injuring three people, according to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed.

No group in Lebanon has immediately claimed responsibility. It was not clear if the injured were civilians or soldiers, but Israel has ordered civilians to evacuate the area near the border with Lebanon.

Israel responded by striking several areas along the border in southern Lebanon with artillery fire and white phosphorus, the state-run National News Agency in Lebanon reported. The Israeli military said its tanks fired back into Lebanon after an anti-tank missile was launched across the border.

Earlier today, the Israeli military said it killed four militants who had attempted to plant explosive devices on a border wall between Israel and Lebanon. A video from an Israeli army reconnaissance drone showed the militants near the separation wall as they were targeted, causing an explosion.

President Biden will make critical war time visit to Israel tomorrow to 'reaffirm solidarity' and press to get humanitarian aid into Gaza

President Joe Biden will visit Israel today in order to ‘reaffirm solidarity’ with its closest ally in the Middle East, as well as to press for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the announcement after six hours of talks with Israeli officials. Biden was invited at the weekend by Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Blinken said that Biden’s visit was in ‘solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security.’

British girl, 13, missing after Hamas attack has been killed, her family say

A 13-year-old British girl who went missing after Hamas terrorists launched their barbaric attack in Israel has been murdered, her heartbroken family have revealed.

Yahel, 13, disappeared after the terrorists attacked Be’eri Kibbutz and killed her British mother Lianne, who was born in Bristol.

Her family have now confirmed that the teenager was also massacred in the attack, reports the BBC. Yahel’s older sister Noiya, 16, and their Israeli father Eli are still missing.

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