Gaza live: Israeli attack hits Unrwa centre

Iran’s mission to the United Nations said that Hezbollah can defend both itself and Lebanon against Israel, warning that “perhaps the time for the self-annihilation of this illegitimate regime has come.”

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the UN mission said: “Any imprudent decision by the occupying Israeli regime to save itself could plunge the region into a new war.”

Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have intensified following a televised speech by the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Wednesday. Nasrallah warned that there would be “no safe” place in Israel if it initiated a “full-scale war” against his group.
 

Qatar has reported some progress in the Gaza ceasefire talks, though gaps remain between Israel and Hamas.

Qatar's prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said that "there was progress to an extent in the situation” but acknowledged there are "still some gaps".

Speaking in Madrid during the Qatari-Spanish Strategic Dialogue, the Qatari PM said: “We continue our endeavours and there have been successive meetings with the Hamas movement in a bid to bridge the gap between the two sides and reach an agreement to achieve a ceasefire and exchange hostages and prisoners."

He added: “Efforts are still ongoing. We have not yet reached a format that would be suitable... and once we reach that, we will communicate it to the Israeli side to bridge the gap and reach a deal as soon as possible."

The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed alarm on the rising tensions between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel.

He warns that the tensions could lead to uncontrollable consequences.

“One rash move – one miscalculation – could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the border, and frankly, beyond imagination,” Guterres told reporters.

“Let’s be clear: The people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,” he added.

The Palestine Red Crescent has said that at least 18 Palestinians have been killed and 35 injured in an Israeli strike on tents housing displaced people in the southern city of Rafah.

The attack, which took place on Friday afternoon, hit tents in Mawasi in the west of Rafah. 

At least 10 Palestinians have been killed and 17 wounded after Israeli forces bombed a house in al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, Al Jazeera has reported. 

The dead and wounded were taken to Al Ahli Baptist hospital on Friday afternoon.

Israeli tank fire and shelling on tents in an area of Rafah that had been designated a humanitarian zone has killed at least 16 Palestinians, according to Al Arabi TV. Dozens more were wounded.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement: "Our crews are dealing with a large number of martyrs and injuries after an Israeli bombing of the tents of displaced persons in the Al-Mawasi area, west of the city of Rafah."

Driving along a street in Ilford, a few miles from where East London meets the county of Essex, a middle-aged Muslim man sticks his head out of the window and shouts, “Yes, yes, Leanne, go for it!” 

Leanne Mohamad, 23 years old, raised here by Palestinian parents, smiles. She has been out on these streets every day since announcing that she is standing as an independent candidate in the UK's upcoming general election, and while the odds are stacked against her, she’s beginning to feel as though she might have a shot at winning. 

Certainly, she’s becoming something of a local celebrity. On a canvassing session one afternoon and evening last week, people approached her in the street to offer support, ask how she was doing or take a selfie.

Alongside four other activists, she knocks on door after door. When the voters who answer don’t know who she is, she emphasises that she is an independent and tells them that the two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, have failed them.

She speaks about her childhood and life in Ilford and how she will always represent the constituency of Ilford North as a local. The young human rights activist, who volunteered at her local mutual aid group throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, wears a hijab and a Palestine necklace as she moves from one door to the next.

Read more: Could anger over Gaza topple a Labour heavyweight?

Israeli police have confirmed in a statement that it killed two Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank city of Qalqilya on Friday.

The police said the two men belonged to Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The group did not immediately claim them as its members. 

"Handguns were found on the two terrorists. One of the neutralised terrorists was planning to carry out an attack in the area," the Israeli police said in a statement.

According to local media, Israeli troops opened fire on a vehicle in Qalqilya, killing the two men inside, before cordoning off the area and preventing medical crews from arriving at the scene.

At a funeral procession for an Israeli Druze soldier killed in Gaza this week, mourners wore T-shirts bearing his face next to an Israeli flag. Loved ones kissed Wessam Mahmoud's casket, which was draped in the blue-and-white Star of David.

What was noticeable about the scene were the portraits of prominent Syrian and Lebanese Druze leaders seen adorning a wall as the procession passed through the Druze village of Beit Jann, in northern Israel.

The paintings of historic Syrian Druze figures Sultan al-Atrash and Lebanese Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) founder Kamal Jumblatt, an ardent advocate of Palestinians before his death in 1977, raised eyebrows in Lebanon, home to a significant Druze community.

“I am so ashamed of this image that Druze from Palestine are raising the portraits of Sultan Attrache and Kamal Jumblatt behind an Israeli flag covering the coffin of an IDF (Israeli army) soldier,” Walid Jumblatt, son of Kamal and a de facto leader of Lebanon’s Druze community, wrote on X a day later. 

“What an insult to the memory of these two great Arab heroes,” he added in the post. 

Read more: Sight of Israeli Druze fighting in Gaza horrifies Lebanon's community

Israeli forces have killed two Palestinian men in a targeted assassination in Qalqilya, in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian media. 

Arab 48 reported that a special Israeli unit stormed a market area in Qalqilya with regular cars, rather than military vehicles. 

They opened fire on a vehicle, killing the two Palestinians inside it. 

The soldiers then cordoned off the area, preventing ambulance crews and residents from reaching it, according to Wafa news agency. 

Amos Hochstein, known in Lebanon for his mediation role in the country’s maritime border deal with Israel, has become a central figure in US attempts to contain clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.

The US presidential envoy just completed another trip to the two countries, carrying with him a stronger message to Hezbollah than usual.

Middle East Eye reported that Hochstein delivered “blunt” warnings to Lebanese officials that Israel is planning to launch a limited offensive on Hezbollah, and that it would have the support of the United States. 

It was a surprisingly threatening message from the US envoy, reportedly prompting Hezbollah to release video footage taken from a drone identifying military and civilian targets in Haifa.

Hochstein is unusual as an interlocutor in Lebanon as he was born in Israel, which since 1948 has been an enemy state.

READ MORE: Amos Hochstein's Israeli army past no barrier to Lebanese mediation efforts

More than eight months into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, a defining moment for Palestinian people the world over, it is important to examine the specific situation of Palestinian citizens of Israel.

Living under the control of Israeli institutions and in close proximity to the Israeli public, many of whom support the devastating war on Gaza, these Palestinians will play a crucial role in the liberation struggle in the years ahead.

Firstly, it’s important to note that Israeli security discourse has long focused on five fronts: Gaza to the south, Lebanon to the north, the occupied West Bank and Iran to the east, and finally, Palestinian citizens within Israel.

The 7 October Hamas attack appeared to catch Israel unprepared, leading to escalation in Gaza and, soon afterwards, in Lebanon. As the Israeli army fights battles on those two fronts, Palestinian citizens of Israel face unprecedented political persecution, including arrests, disciplinary actions at school and work, and physical assaults. 

READ MORE: Gaza war has exposed hollow nature of Palestinian citizenship of Israel, opinion by Abed Abou Shhadeh

The Marie Colvin Journalists’ Network (MCJN) has declared "full solidarity and support" for Maha Hussaini, an award-winning journalist, Middle East Eye contributor and a member of the network.

International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) rescinded Hussaini's 2024 Courage in Journalism Award following a "vicious campaign" led by the Washington Free Beacon, which falsely accused her of supporting terrorism.

The decision was made without any prior consultation with Hussaini.

"We are extremely disappointed that IWMF took this decision and we remain concerned for Maha’s safety," the MCJN's statement reads.

"The Marie Colvin Journalists’ Network believes in freedom of speech, and that journalists in Gaza should have the same rights to express themselves as elsewhere in the world."

Residents in Rafah are reporting fierce fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas fighters, as they tell Reuters Israel is trying to complete the capture of Gaza's southernmost city.

Israeli tanks are reportedly forcing their way into the western and northern parts of the city while strikes are being carried out by planes, tanks and ships off the coast, forcing a new wave of residents to flee.

The UN had previously said that only 65,000 people remain in Rafah, while over 1.4 million were sheltering there prior to Israel's offensive on the city.

"The city lives through a humanitarian catastrophe and people are dying inside their tents because of Israeli bombardment," said Ahmed al-Sofi, the mayor of Rafah.

An Israeli strike on a Gaza City municipality facility killed five people, including four municipality workers, according to Gaza's Civil Defence.

Rescue teams are still searching the rubble for more missing victims.