Live: 15 killed in Israeli bombing of camp in central Gaza

The Israeli army on Monday said it had deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon, making it the third troop grouping at division strength to be used in the ground fight against Hezbollah.

"The soldiers of the 91st division began localised and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon," said a statement from the army. 

Reporting by AFP

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• On the one year mark since Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, the group launched rockets on southern Israel. Israel says it intercepted three of them, while a fourth one fell in an open area
• Israel has bombed central Gaza's al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, injuring at least 11 displaced Palestinians
• Lebanon's health ministry said that at least 12 people have been killed, including several children, in two separate Israeli attacks on the country
• The Israeli army announced the death of another soldier fighting on the border with Lebanon

The US has spent a record $17.9bn on military aid to Israel since the start of the war on Gaza, according to a report for Brown University’s Costs of War project, released on the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

An additional $4.86bn has gone into stepped-up US military operations, including the cost of a navy-led campaign against Yemen's Houthis, the researchers say in the findings provided to the Associated Press.

The calculations were made by Linda J Bilmes, a professor at Harvard’s John F Kennedy School of Government, who assessed the cost of US wars since the September 11 attacks, along with researchers William D Hartung and Stephen Semler.

Families of Israeli captives held in Gaza marked one year since Hamas' attack on Israel, starting with a minute of silence at 6:29am near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home in Jerusalem.

At least 20 family members of hostages still held in Gaza were present at the gathering.

An Israeli campaign group on Monday announced the death of a hostage held in Gaza, as the country marked the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Idan Shtivi, 28, was abducted from the site of the Nova festival and his "body is still held captive by Hamas".

Reporting by AFP

Our live coverage from Gaza will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are some of the day's key developments:

• The death toll of Palestinians killed in Gaza by Israeli forces has reached 41,870, with another 97,166 injured, the Palestinian health ministry said today

• The ministry added that 45 people have been killed and 256 injured in a series of deadly attacks in the last 24 hours

• The Government Media Office in Gaza said that Israeli forces have committed 3,654 massacres in the Gaza Strip since 7 October

• The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza reported retrieving the bodies of three individuals, including a child, from the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City

• At least 24 Palestinians, including children, have been killed in two separate Israeli attacks on a mosque and school where hundreds of displaced people were sheltering in central Gaza

• Israeli strikes across Lebanon yesterday killed 23 people and injured 93 others, the country's health ministry said today

• The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) reported that about 20,000 Palestinian refugees have been forcibly displaced by Israeli strikes in Lebanon

• Wafa news agency earlier reported that journalist Hassan Hamad was killed in an Israel air strike on his home in northern Jabalia during the military's latest incursion into the camp

• Around 40 per cent of Lebanon’s 1.25 million schoolchildren have been displaced by ongoing Israeli airstrikes, according to Imad Achkar, the director general of education

• Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof that Tehran delayed retaliating for the assassination of Hamas chief Ismael Haniyeh, hoping that ceasefire efforts in Gaza would succeed

Like thousands of Palestinian Americans, Nasser checks his phone the moment he wakes up and immediately reads the latest news updates from Gaza.

After scrolling through messages from friends and family, he turns to social media, trawling through photos and videos to find missing loved ones.

Sometimes, Nasser finds himself dialling his brother's number. 

But the call doesn't connect.

And he knows why.  

On 22 November, the Israeli military bombed the building in which his brother and more than three dozen other family members were living.

In total, 42 family members - men, women and children - were immediately buried under the rubble.

Read more: 'I call my brother knowing he won't pick up': The anguish felt by Palestinian Americans over Gaza

Hassan Nasrallah's body remains in Lebanon and will be buried in the southern suburbs of Beirut when circumstances permit, according to Mahmoud Qmati, a senior official with Hezbollah, in a statement to Reuters. 

Qmati noted that the group is currently being led collectively until a new leader can be appointed, a process that will take time. “What’s important is that [a] joint command is in place,” he explained.

“The method of choosing a replacement for the secretary-general takes time and requires appropriate circumstances, and for that reason, we suffice today with temporary joint command.”

The Israeli military claimed that five rockets were fired from Lebanon, targeting the port city of Haifa.

Israeli media indicated that at least five individuals were injured when a restaurant, a residence, and a main road were struck.

In addition, sirens were activated in Tiberias, and alerts were issued in the Upper Galilee region after detecting a total of 15 rockets.

Iran announced it has lifted flight restrictions at certain airports that were affected earlier in the day. Iranian state media reported, “all flight restrictions are lifted after ensuring favourable and safe conditions."

All flights from Iran's airports have were canceled earlier today, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency. 

Lebanon’s state media has reported that at least two Israeli air strikes targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The Israeli military had earlier issued forced expulsion orders for areas that have already been repeatedly targeted

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the opening of parliament last week, he warned that after Israel's wars on Gaza and Lebanon end, Turkey could potentially be next.

"The next place [Israel] will set its eyes on, I tell you clearly, will be our homeland," he said. "[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's dreams include Anatolia. Whatever the cost, Turkey will continue to stand against Israel and invite the world to this honourable stance," he added.

It was a stark departure from comments the 70-year-old made just a year ago when he met Netanyahu on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Back then, officials were boasting to the media that years after ties broke down in acrimony, they were finally on the up. According to the officials, both countries were ready to embark on a gas pipeline deal that could transport Israeli energy to Europe through Turkey.

But now, a year on, many of the extensive negotiations aimed at restoring bilateral relations have fallen by the wayside, with the leaders of both countries continually engaging in verbal spats.

Read more: Israel-Turkey ties continue to sour one year into the war on Gaza

A sergeant in the Internal Security Force has died from injuries suffered earlier today during an Israeli military strike on Jdeideh Marjayoun, according to the National News Agency (NNA).

The NNA identified the sergeant as Habib Abu Mrad, noting that he is originally from the town where he was injured.

The Government Media Office in Gaza said that Israeli forces have committed 3,654 massacres in the Gaza Strip since 7 October.

According to their statements, 25,973 children are now without one or both parents due to what they describe as a war of extermination by Israel. 

Additionally, the report states that 34 hospitals and 80 health centers have been rendered inoperable as a result of the Israel's war on Gaza.

Furthermore, it reported that 162 health facilities and 131 ambulances have been targeted by Israel since the onset of the onslaught. 

Esmail Qaani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force, has been unreachable since Israeli air strikes targeted Beirut last week, according to two senior Iranian security officials who spoke to Reuters.

Qaani had traveled to Lebanon following the assassination of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli air strike last month.

Sources indicate he was in the Dahiyeh area during the strikes on Thursday, which reportedly aimed at Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, but he was not meeting with Safieddine at the time.

Since the attacks, Iran and Hezbollah have lost contact with Qaani. The Quds Force, which is part of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, manages relationships with allied militias across the Middle East, including Hezbollah.

Notably, Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, another senior figure in the Revolutionary Guards, was killed alongside Nasrallah during the Israeli bombing of their bunker on September 27.