Live: Five Palestinian journalists killed, Gaza media office says

Saudi Arabia held military exercises with Iran and other countries recently in the Sea of Oman, the Saudi defence ministry spokesman said in a statement to AFP on Wednesday.

"The Royal Saudi Naval Forces had recently concluded a joint naval exercise with the Iranian Naval Forces alongside other countries in the Sea of Oman," Saudi Brigadier General Turki al-Malki, said. 

The exercises show how far Gulf states are going to distance themselves from Israel, as the region waits for a potential Israeli strike on Iran. 

Iran and Saudi Arabia have patched up bitter relations in recent years. 

Israel is attacking the Palestinian civil defence in Gaza, the organisation said in a statement. 

"Our work has completely stopped in the northern governorate and the situation has become catastrophic there, and the citizens there are now without humanitarian services," the Palestinian civil defence said. 

Israel arrested five first responders from the organisation in northern Gaza's Sheikh Zayed area and attacked a team of first responders in Beit Lahia. According to the civil defence, three members were injured. 

Israeli tanks also shelled the only remaining firefighting vehicle in the area causing it to catch fire. 

Hezbollah said on Wednesday that its fighters killed more than 70 Israeli troops since Israel launched a ground invasion of Lebanon earlier this month.

That number marks an increase from the 55 Israeli troops Hezbollah said it killed last week. It is substantially higher than the 20 soldiers Israel says have been killed fighting in Lebanon since ground operations began.

 An Israeli strike on Wednesday destroyed an office used by Al-Mayadeen broadcaster, according to Reuters. 

Al Jazeera media network has slammed as "unfounded" Israel's allegations that six of its journalists are "terrrorists". 

“Al Jazeera categorically rejects the Israeli occupation forces’ portrayal of our journalists as terrorists and denounces their use of fabricated evidence,” the company said in a statement. 

Israel earlier named six Al Jazeera journalsits in Gaza as members of Hamas. 

Hezbollah said on Wednesday that its fighters used surface-to-air missiles against Israeli warplanes. 

Hezbollah said Israeli warplanes left Lebanese airspace on Wednesday evening after the event. 

Israel enjoys air superiority over Hezbollah. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hezbollah planned to attack Israel "with jeeps, with motorbikes, with rockets, with missiles," via underground tunnels.

Netanyahu made the remarks in an interview with French broadcasters CNews and Europe 1. 

Ben Saul, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter Terrorism, said Israel's strikes on financial institutions linked to Hezbollah are illegal under international law. 

"Israel’s military strikes on financial institutions in Lebanon violate international humanitarian law, which does not permit attacks on the financial infrastructure of an adversary, even if they indirectly sustain its military activities".

Israeli began bombing offices linked to al-Qard al-Hassan, a Hezbollah linked lender across Lebanon on Monday. 

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he is “very concerned" about delays in the next phase of Gaza's polio vaccination campaign. 

"I am very concerned about the postponement of the latest phase of the polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza as a result of escalating violence & a lack of access," Guterres wrote on X. 

"We must stop the polio outbreak before more children are paralyzed and poliovirus spreads further".

The Israeli army said air raid sirens were activated across central Israel after projectiles were fired from across the border with Lebanon on Wednesday. 

"Sirens were sounded in a number of areas in central Israel due to projectiles fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory," said the statement.

At the same time, Hezbollah said it had fought off an Israeli "infiltration" in southern Lebanon. 

The Turkish parliament has extended its troops' participation in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon by a year, state news agency Anadolu reported on Wednesday.

Turkey has contributed to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) since 2006 and currently has 97 troops deployed in Lebanon. 

"Turkey has undertaken an important task in the efficient execution of peacekeeping operations thanks to its contributions to Unifil," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Turkey asked Italy this week to join it in condemning Israel's attacks on UN peacekeepers. 

Hezbollah said it launched drones towards a military base near the north Israel city of Haifa on Wednesday, dedicating the attack to the group's assassinated chief, Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah fighters launched "an air attack with a swarm of explosives-laden drones" on the base south of Haifa, the group said, adding it came "in response to" Israel's attacks on Lebanon. 

Israel's war on Lebanon is set to wipe out nine percent of the Lebanese economy's wealth, as measured in GDP, the UN said on Wednesday. 

“GDP is projected to decline by 9.2 percent compared to a no-war scenario, indicating a significant decline in economic activity as a direct consequence of the conflict,” the UN Development Programme said. 

The economic toll, roughly $2bn, surpasses that of the 2006 Lebanon war. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists said it is aware of accusations made by the Israeli military alleging that six well-known Palestinian reporters in Gaza are members of Hamas. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists pointed to previous unproven Israeli claims that raise doubts about the validity of Israel's recent allegation. 

"Israel has repeatedly made similar unproven claims without producing credible evidence," The Committee to Protect Journalists said.

"After killing Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail Al Ghoul in July, the IDF previously produced a similar document, which contained contradictory information, showing that Al Ghoul, born in 1997, received a Hamas military ranking in 2007 – when he would have been 10 years old". 

At least 42 people have been killed by Israeli strikes across Gaza on Wednesday, Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting, citing medical sources.