Israel war on Gaza live: Israeli forces kill 9 in occupied West Bank raids
- At least nine Palestinians have been reported killed in the occupied West Bank as the Israeli military continues its biggest raid in close to two decades, involving hundreds of troops and air attacks in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarem.
- Israel’s foreign minister has called for the displacement of Palestinians from areas of the northern occupied West Bank, comparing the situation to the country’s war on the Gaza Strip.
Israel sending military, Mossad, Shin Bet officials to Qatar: Report
An Israeli delegation attending ceasefire talks in Qatar today will include officials from the military, Mossad intelligence agency and Shin Bet security service, reports Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.
The Israeli team is expected to work with mediators to “narrow the gaps” that are blocking a potential deal, according to Haaretz. However, there has not yet been a breakthrough on the status of Gaza’s Philadelphi or Netzarim corridors, which Netanyahu insists on security control of, it reported, citing Israeli sources.
Israel strike hits Hezbollah missile truck: Report
A Lebanese security source told the AFP that an Israeli air strike hit a truck loaded with Hezbollah missiles overnight.
“The Israeli Air Force targeted two Hezbollah lorries” some 10km (6 miles) from Baalbek, a stronghold of the Iran-aligned group in eastern Lebanon, the source said on condition of anonymity.
“One of the vehicles was hit and a series of explosions were heard in the area.”
One person was wounded in the strike, the Health Ministry said.
A source close to Hezbollah confirmed the hit and said, “the munitions which were inside the lorry caught fire”.
WATCH: Journalist and his sister among latest victims of Israel’s war on Gaza
A journalist and his sister are among the latest victims of Israeli air strikes in the central Gaza Strip. They were killed in their family home in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Seventeen people have been killed since the early hours of Wednesday.
Gaza ceasefire talks resuming today in Doha: Report
Reuters reports that Israeli, US, Egyptian and Qatari officials are meeting in Doha today for more Gaza ceasefire talks.
Citing a source informed on the talks, Reuters described the meeting as “technical”, “working-level” ceasefire talks.
They come after mediators held a round of ceasefire negotiations in Cairo last week that failed to produce a deal. Israel’s team has demanded continued security control of several corridors in Gaza, while Hamas insists on Israel’s full withdrawal from the enclave.
We’ll bring you more information on today’s talks as we have it.
PA presidency condemns Israel’s ‘dire and dangerous’ West Bank raid
The spokesman for the presidency of the Palestinian Authority, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said that Israel’s escalating war in the occupied West Bank on the cities, villages and camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, Tubas, in addition to the war in the Gaza Strip, will lead to “dire and dangerous” results.
Abu Rudeineh added that the military operation that began at dawn today on the northern West Bank which has so far led to the killing of nine people and the injury of dozens, continues a comprehensive war on the Palestinian people, their land and holy sites.
He said Israel’s escalating policy, the destruction of cities, the killing of citizens, detentions and colonisation, will not bring security and stability to anyone.
Abu Rudeineh called on the US to intervene immediately and force Israeli authorities to stop their comprehensive war on the Palestinian people, “The world must take immediate and urgent action to curb this extremist government that poses a threat to the stability of the region and the world as a whole,” he said.
One killed in Rafah strike
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting an Israeli strike in the Oreiba area, north of Rafah, that killed one Palestinian and injured another.
Meanwhile, Israeli artillery fire injured several more people in the central Abu Arif area, near Deir el-Balah, our colleagues report.
The casualties follow our reports of earlier strikes in az-Zawayda and Khan Younis, which together killed at least 11 people.
Air strikes slam central Gaza with no warning
Israeli air raids today have mainly been concentrated in central Gaza. Drones and sky predators are often used to carry out these attacks. Most concerning, they often happen with no prior warning … hitting residential homes unpredictably.
Within the last couple of hours, a car on a main road between az-Zawayda and Deir el-Balah was targeted. Three people were killed on the spot and some of those passing by were critically injured. They were transferred to Al-Aqsa Hospital.
In earlier hours, the Israeli military conducted a sudden ground incursion into an area in southeastern Khan Younis, causing mayhem and panic for an already traumatised population there.
And overnight, a journalist, his sister and a neighbour next to a residential home that was attacked were reported killed.
Israeli forces kill 9 in occupied West Bank: Where it happened
As we reported earlier, a major Israeli military incursion took place overnight in different locations in the northern occupied West Bank.
Here is where they took place:
Situation in the occupied West Bank is ‘getting worse’
Residents across cities and towns in the occupied West Bank confirmed to Al Jazeera that three strikes have taken place in three different locations overnight.
Nine Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, but the Israeli army is talking about an operation that could last for days – it is considered the largest since 2002, when Israeli forces raided different cities all across the occupied West Bank during the second Intifada.
Now we are seeing a similar situation where hundreds of troops are involved in this major military operation.
The Jenin governor said that the director of one of the city’s hospitals was informed that the Israeli army intends to raid the medical facility and that is why they have ordered them to evacuate the facility.
This is a hospital with 200 employees and 150 patients and we have seen how undercover Israeli units manage to get inside hospitals and arrest or kill Palestinians.
We are talking about a tense situation as in the past few weeks the situation in the West Bank has gotten worse.
Israel’s priority is the West Bank
Israel’s intense raids in the occupied West Bank, where they have continued to expand settlements during the Gaza war, shows that exerting control over the territory is a top priority, says Hassan Barari, a professor of international affairs at Qatar University.
“Israel’s objective number one is not Gaza, it is the West Bank. This is the heart of what they say is the biblical land,” Barari told Al Jazeera, adding that Israel aims to expel even more Palestinians.
However, the Israeli military is likely to continue facing fierce resistance from a new generation of hardened fighters who are just as committed to protecting their homeland, he says.
The Palestinians “born after the second Intifada are more insistent to realise their objectives, even by violent means”, Barari said, without putting their hopes in the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Greek-flagged oil tanker appears to be leaking oil: Pentagon
The tanker, carrying a million barrels of crude oil, is on fire and appears to be leaking oil after being attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, a spokesperson for the US Department of Defense has said.
In a statement on Tuesday, Pat Ryder said the vessel was attacked while sailing from Iraq to Greece with a crew of 23 Filipino and two Russian sailors. They have been all evacuated, he added.
“The MV Delta Sounion now sits immobilized in the Red Sea, where it is currently on fire and appears to be leaking oil, presenting both a navigational hazard and a potential environmental catastrophe,” Ryder said.
The Sounion was targeted last week by multiple projectiles off Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah. The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous regions, said they attacked it in the Red Sea, in line with the Iran-aligned group’s attacks on ships in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Ryder added that a third party had tried to send two tugs to help salvage the Sounion, but the Houthis threatened to attack them.
