Israeli troops continue drive into southern Gaza amid ‘apocalyptic’ humanitarian crisis
Israeli forces continues to push on Sunday into southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled in search of shelter from bombardments and intense fighting with Hamas militants.
Agence France-Presse reports that aid groups have sounded the alarm on the “apocalyptic” humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, warning it is on the brink of being overwhelmed by disease and starvation.
Hamas, which runs Gaza, said on Sunday that Israel had launched a series of “very violent raids” targeting the southern city of Khan Younis and the road from there to Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
A source close to Hamas and Palestinian militants Islamic Jihad told AFP both groups were involved in “fierce clashes” with Israeli forces on Sunday near Khan Younis. An AFP journalist reported strikes in the area.
At least 17,700 people, mostly women and children, have died in two months of fighting in the narrow strip of territory, according to the latest figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Key events
Opening summary
Welcome to our rolling live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war – this is Adam Fulton and I’ll be with you for the next while.
Leading the headlines, Israeli forces are continuing their push into southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled in search of shelter from Israeli bombardments and fighting with Hamas militants.
Aid groups spoke of an “apocalyptic” humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, warning it is on the brink of being overwhelmed by disease and starvation.
Hamas, which runs Gaza, said on Sunday that Israel had launched a series of “very violent raids” targeting Gaza’s main southern city of Khan Younis and the road from there to Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
On Saturday, Israel ordered residents out of the centre of Khan Younis, including parts of the city centre that had not been subject to such orders before, as it pounded the length of the territory.
More on that story shortly. In other news as it nears 7.45am in Gaza City and Tel Aviv:
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The Biden administration has used an emergency authority to sell about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review. The state department on Friday used an Arms Export Control Act emergency declaration for the tank rounds, worth $106.5m, for immediate delivery to Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement.
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The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said it had only been able to distribute aid in a very small part of southern Gaza “because of the intensity of the fighting and the bombardment since the humanitarian pause stopped”. Its deputy executive director, Carl Skau, said earlier: “About half the population in Gaza are starving … The humanitarian operation is collapsing. With the chaos with this active fighting it’s not possible to do the work that is needed.
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The Israeli military says five of its soldiers have died in the war. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) named the five in a post on X and said four of them died in battle in southern Gaza and one succumbed to his wounds after fighting on 7 October.
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A UN peacekeeping position in southern Lebanon was hit without causing casualties, the UN force said, adding it was seeking to verify the source of the fire. Lebanon’s national news agency reported that an “Israeli Merkava tank” targeted the UN interim force in Lebanon (Unifil) position near the border across from Metula in northern Israel on Saturday. An Israeli army spokeswoman said it : “did not aim at Unifil, we did not hit a Unifil position.”
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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded the US for vetoing a UN security council resolution which called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gazawhere more than 17,700 Palestinians have been killed. Netanyahu said on Saturday: “I greatly appreciate the correct stance that the US has taken in the UN security council. Other countries need to understand that.” US secretary of state Antony Blinken has continued to speak with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and elsewhere amid open criticism of the US opposition to an open-ended truce.
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Israeli fighter jets “completed an attack on Lebanese territory during which targets of the terrorist organisation Hezbollah was attacked”, the Israeli Defense Forces’ spokesperson tweeted on Saturday. Daniel Hagari added: “Among the targets that were attacked, a number of military positions from which launches were made into the territory of the country, military sites where the organisation’s terrorists operated and other terrorist infrastructures.”
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The Gulf Cooperation Council is holding Israel legally responsible for killing thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. The GCC countries said on Saturday that they had renewed their condemnation of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza strip and were holding Israel legally responsible for ongoing attacks that resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians in Gaza.
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Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian boy in the West Bank town of Azzun, in Qalqilya, on Saturday, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The boy has been identified as Mahmoud Abu Haniya by the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Local reports say Haniya was caught up in gunfire by an Israeli military unit and was fatally shot in the back.
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Scotland’s first minister has criticiced the UK government for its abstention in the United Arab Emirates-led UN security council resolution that called for an humanitarian ceasefire on Friday. Humza Yousaf said in a tweet on Saturday: “How can you choose to be complicit in the killing of thousands of children? Shame on the UK Government & Keir Starmer’s Labour Party who refuse to back a #CeasefireNow.”
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The Palestinian foreign ministry has reported that more than 130 Palestinian families have been forcibly displaced from Bedouin communities by Israeli forces and extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank since 7 October. At least 260 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by extremist Israeli settlers since then, Palestinian health minister Mai al-Kaila said.
