Blinken in Qatar to push ceasefire deal
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Doha for talks on a potential UN-backed ceasefire deal.
- Gaza’s Ministry of Health warns that hospitals, health centres and the only oxygen station in the Gaza City governorate are at risk of going out of service due to a lack of fuel.
-
Israel’s military claims attack that killed senior Hezbollah commander
In a post on X, Israel’s military confirmed reports that it killed four Hezbollah members on Tuesday, including senior commander Sami Taleb Abdullah.
The military claimed Abdullah was one of Hezbollah’s “most senior commanders in southern Lebanon”, responsible for planning and waging attacks on Israeli civilians.
The strike that killed Abdullah near the town of Jouaiyya, 15kms (nine miles) from the border, was part of an attack on a “Hezbollah command and control center”, according to the military.
As we’ve been reporting, cross-border strikes between Israel and Hezbollah have since escalated, with the Lebanese group firing a major rocket barrage at northern Israel today and Israel carrying out a series of raids in southern Lebanon.
Israeli military claims to strike 30 Gaza targets in last day
Israeli ground troops and air forces have continued operating in Rafah and central Gaza, targeting fighter cells, weapons depots, launch sites and other military infrastructure, according to Israel’s military.
This included carrying out close-quarter combat in Rafah, said the military, claiming its forces have destroyed several fighter cells and booby-trapped structures in the last day.
It also included targeted air strikes throughout central Gaza, which hit an armed fighter cell and a weapons depot, the military added.
Israel’s latest attacks throughout Gaza have also killed numerous civilians, including a child in a home in Rafah, according to the Wafa news agency.
Israeli forces launch numerous raids in southern Lebanon
Israeli forces have launched raids on the towns of Markaba, Odaisseh, and Deir Siriane in southern Lebanon, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent reports.
Lebanese armed group Hezbollah meanwhile said it targeted Israeli spy equipment in the Ruwaisaat al-Alam site in the Kfarchouba hills.
The news comes as part of an escalation witnessed on the Lebanese front since this morning, as Hezbollah bombed many Israeli settlements and sites with about 170 missiles in response to the Israeli forces’ assassination of four Hezbollah members Tuesday evening, including a senior commander.
Blinken lands in Doha
The US secretary of state has arrived in Doha for the third stop of his regional tour, reports AFP.
As we reported earlier, Blinken will meet with Qatar’s emir and prime minister as he pushes for a UN-backed Gaza ceasefire deal in which Qatar is a key mediator.
Blinken is then expected to give a news conference before later flying to Italy, where he will join President Biden at the G7 Summit.
Keep following us for updates on Blinken’s trip throughout the day.
Qatari mediators hoping Blinken will come to Doha with guarantees
As momentum appears to build towards a Gaza ceasefire deal, major sticking points remain, notably on the terms of a permanent ceasefire, which Hamas considers mandatory, according to Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid from Doha.
Qatari mediators hope that Blinken, due to arrive in Doha today, would bring guarantees they could relay to Hamas on this point, said Javaid.
However, he added, it would be a difficult task because Israel continues to insist it would not stop the war without destroying Hamas, raising questions about the prospects of such a ceasefire.
“You have two sides on their maximalist positions. They have dug their heels in,” Javaid said. “The Israeli prime minister has said … he will wipe out Hamas, politically, militarily and from any presence in the Gaza Strip. Whereas with this negotiation, he actually has to accept that Hamas is still an entity on the ground, and he has to deal with it.”
Nevertheless, mediators believe they have found some leeway within both Israel and Hamas’s parameters and “are hopeful that things are going to move forward”, added Javaid.
Death toll in Gaza City attack rises to 14
Six people have now been confirmed killed in an Israeli air attack on a home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, reports Wafa news agency.
This brings the total number of people killed by Israeli attacks since dawn to 14, with a number of others wounded.
A House in Jerusalem: A film that holds the memories and grief of Nakba
A House in Jerusalem, a film directed by Palestinian filmmaker Muayad Alayan, tells the story of a British Jewish girl and her father moving into a home they inherited from her grandfather in Jerusalem.
Released in the UK last month, the film depicts the intersecting traumas across generations in the imposing house of the title, located in a city divided since 1948 and under occupation since 1967.
“Thousands and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced in the Nakba in 1948,” Alayan tells Al Jazeera. “But never, ever did I imagine that the film would be released during such a time when, once again, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are displaced, their homes are destroyed and bombed … thousands of people are killed and injured.”
Health Ministry calls for fuel to operate generators
Gaza’s Ministry of Health warns that hospitals, health centres and the only oxygen station in Gaza City Governorate are at a risk of going out of service due to a lack of fuel.
“This exposes the lives of dozens of sick and wounded people to inevitable death,” it said in a statement, adding that medicines stored in refrigerators will be damaged due to a lack of diesel fuel operating generators.
“We appeal to all relevant, international and humanitarian institutions to intervene quickly to bring in the necessary fuel, in addition to the electric generators and spare parts needed for maintenance.”
