Assault on Khan Younis intensifies
- At least 190 people killed and 340 wounded in Gaza over the last 24 hours.
- Dozens reported killed in the besieged southern city of Khan Younis as Israeli forces target hospitals, ambulances, and schools where thousands of civilians are sheltering.
-
Hezbollah fighter killed
The Lebanese group has identified the slain fighter as Haidar Hussein Ibrahim.
Without providing details, Hezbollah said Ibrahim was killed “on the road to Jerusalem” in a nod to its ongoing clashes with Israel, which the group says are in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
Israeli survey respondents back ‘demilitarised’ Palestinian state
The opinion poll suggests that a slight majority of Israelis back a plan that would see the release of captives held in Gaza in exchange for an end to the war, a normalisation agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia and an Israeli agreement for the eventual establishment of a demilitarised Palestinian state.
A survey carried out by the Midgam Institute and commissioned by the Geneva Initiative saw 51.3 percent of respondents back the deal with 28.9 percent opposing. Half the respondents also said they would not support the presence of Israeli troops in Gaza for another three years with 32 percent saying they would be supportive.
Many Palestinians oppose the concept of a “demilitarised” state, seeing it as effectively limiting their sovereignty.
US evades addressing Netanyahu’s rejection of two-state solution
Netanyahu has repeatedly and unambiguously said he rejects the establishment of a Palestinian state. But the Biden administration, which promotes a two-state solution to the conflict, has been trying to evade addressing the prime minister’s comments as it maintains unconditional support for Israel.
Asked about Netanyahu’s open rejection of a Palestinian state, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters: “I’m just not going to characterise the prime minister’s remarks.”
Days earlier, Biden had suggested Netanyahu does not oppose the two-state solution, but the prime minister left no place for doubt, crediting himself this week for thwarting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
In the latest comments from the White House, national security spokesperson John Kirby was also reluctant to talk about Netanyahu’s remarks.
“They had a very constructive conversation, and I think I just need to leave it at that,” Kirby said, describing a call on Saturday between Biden and Netanyahu. “The prime minister should speak to his comments, and I’m sure he has and he will.”
Iraqi airline rejects US sanctions
Fly Baghdad has refuted accusations by Washington that the airline is transporting weapons, money and Iran-linked fighters to Syria and Lebanon, challenging the US Treasury to provide evidence against the company and its management.
“The company has worked for years under direct supervision of the Iraqi government, represented by the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Transport,” Fly Baghdad said in a statement.
It added that all of its trips “are subject to central inspections at all airports”.
According to its website, Fly Baghdad offers flights from Iraq to India, the UAE, Tunisia, Lebanon and Syria, amongst other destinations.
The airline said that its flight operations continue as normal and have not been disrupted “due to any reason”.
Hezbollah announces another attack against Israeli forces
The Lebanese group has said it fired rockets at a gathering of Israeli troops around the town of Even Menachem and achieved “direct hits”.
Earlier, Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli positions in the Shebaa Farms – a disputed area that Lebanon claims as its own but that remains under Israeli occupation.
US calls for probe into killing of Palestinian American teen by Israel
The administration of US President Joe Biden has said it is “devastated” by the killing of 17-year-old Tawfiq Ajaq in the occupied West Bank.
According to his family, Ajaq – who was born and raised in the US state of Louisiana – was killed after Israeli forces and settlers shot live ammunition towards his car in the village al-Mazra’a al-Sharqiya.
“We have called for an urgent investigation to determine the circumstance of his death and accountability be met as appropriate as well,” US Department of State spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.
The US similarly demanded an investigation when Israeli forces killed US citizens Omar Assad and Al Jazeera’s Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022. But the Biden administration appeared to drop the cases and push on with its support for Israel after Israeli authorities refused to pursue criminal probes in both incidents.
Humanitarian conditions in Gaza ‘dangerously disastrous’: Hamas official
Osama Hamdan says media reports cannot describe the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where people are facing hunger without access to basic goods.
“We hold the Israeli occupation and American administration that supports it fully responsible for the genocide and crimes and heinous massacres that the Palestinian people are facing in Gaza through murder, destruction and starvation,” Hamdan said.
He also called on international groups and agencies, including the World Health Organization, the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to pressure the US and Israel to allow aid into Gaza.
Israeli defence minister says attacks against Hezbollah will continue
Yoav Gallant has met with his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu and expressed gratitude for Paris’s “commitment to changing the security situation in southern Lebanon, and to distancing Hezbollah forces from the border”, the Israeli government said in a statement.
“Minister Gallant reiterated the preference of Israel to pursue the diplomatic channel, while also maintaining military readiness,” it added.
“Minister Gallant added that even if Hezbollah ceases fire unilaterally, Israel will not cease fire until it can guarantee the safe return of the northern communities to their homes, following a change in the security situation along the border.”
Red Sea attacks starting to have impact on prices of goods
Stavros Karamperidis, a lecturer in maritime economics at the University of Plymouth, says that the increased costs for shipping companies are beginning to be felt by consumers.
“Now we’re seeing the knock-on effects,” Karamperidis told Al Jazeera. “Now we see vessels queuing outside the European ports, we’ve seen disruptions to the supply chain. Of course it’s not been super catastrophic, but we see those kinds of delays, freight rates are increasing, and those costs are being passed on to the final consumers, unfortunately.”
Karamperidis said that companies were assessing the risks of passing through the Red Sea, with both travelling through the vital waterway and taking the longer route around Africa adding to expenses.
“A lot of the shipping companies are still trying to use the Red Sea passage,” he said. “We’ve seen naval forces escorting some of the vessels. There are still attempts to keep the overall artery open, but of course, as you can imagine, some of the companies are not willing to take the risk.”
Karamperidis added that insurance fees for ships passing through the Red Sea had increased greatly.
Islamic Resistance in Iraq claims responsibility for attack on US base in Syria
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq says it is responsible for the attack on a US military base near the Koniko gasfield in eastern Syria.
It said in a statement that the attack was in response to Israel’s war on Gaza and the US occupation of Iraq and involved two missile salvos fired at different times on Monday.
WATCH: Relatives of captives storm Knesset
The protesters berated a finance committee meeting for not prioritising the release of their family members.
Israeli military releases names of three soldiers killed in Gaza
The army has identified the soldiers as David Nati Alfasi, Ilay levy Eyal and Mevorach Twito, saying they were killed in fighting in southern Gaza. It added that two other soldiers were seriously injured.
The Israeli military has confirmed that nearly 200 soldiers have been killed since the start of the ground invasion of Gaza and a total of 535 since October 7.
