Gaza live: Israel strike kills 30 Palestinians, mostly children

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Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• As the region braces for Iran and Hezbollah's response to Israel's major assassinations, Axios says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told G7 counterparts that the retaliation could take place as early as Monday
• Israel continued its bombing of northern and central Gaza, hitting Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and the Nuseirat refugee camp
• US President Joe Biden is expected to speak with Jordan's King Abdullah and convene his national security team to discuss the escalating tensions in the Middle East
• An Israeli army officer and a soldier were moderately wounded in a Hezbollah rocket attack near Ayelet HaShahar in northern Israel, the Israeli military says

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

Here are some of the day's key developments:

- Israeli army says two Hezbollah operatives killed in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah confirms and names the fighters as Muhammad Hassan Farhat and Ali Mustafa Amr.

- Turkey has issued an advisory warning against travelling to Lebanon, and has advised all its citizens there to leave amid rising tensions in the region.

- Iran’s President Pezeshkian says the assassination of  Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was “the big mistake" of the Israelis, which will not go unanswered.

- Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi concluded a rare visit to Iran to “deliver a message from His Majesty King Abdullah II to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the situation in the region and bilateral relations”.

- The Israeli Channel 12 reported that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided not to seek normalisation with Saudi Arabia before the upcoming US presidential elections in November.

- Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described Israel’s blockage of humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza enclave as crimes against humanity and the “first phase of the genocide,” during his visit to the Egyptian al-Arish port and the Egyptian Rafah border with Gaza.

- The Palestinian Civil Defence has reported recovering at least 30 bodies from al-Nasr and Hassan Salama schools following Israeli strikes.

- The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Tel Aviv is experiencing heavy disruptions to GPS apps, likely as part of Israel's preparation for a potential attack from Iran.

-An Israeli military court has extended the detentions of five reserve soldiers suspected of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee, according to the Times of Israel.

Several Palestinian media outlets are reporting that fighting has erupted between Palestinians and Israeli forces raid in the town of Sa’ir, located northeast of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

One of the videos shared online is showing a vehicle in flames as smoke plumes in the town’s skyline.

Meanwhile, rocket sirens sound in northern Israel, according to Haaretz.

The Lebanese group of Hezbollah said two of its members have been killed, and named them as Muhammad Hassan Farhat and Ali Mustafa Amr.

The Israeli army has earlier said that it killed two Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon in two separate strikes.

Turkey has issued an advisory warning against travelling to Lebanon, and has advised all its citizens there to leave amid rising tensions in the region.

The Israeli army said it killed a Hezbollah operative in the village of Hula southern Lebanon, as he was entering a weapons depot.

It released footage in which it says it shows the operative as he enters the depot.

The Israeli army also says it killed another Hezbollah member in a drone strike in the area of Beit Lif area, also in southern Lebanon.  It reports that it launched more strikes on Aita al-Shaab to target Hezbollah infrastructure.

Iran’s President Pezeshkian says the assassination of  Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was “the big mistake" of the Israelis, which will not go unanswered.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran expects all Islamic countries and the free people of the world to strongly condemn such crimes,” said Pezeshkian.

The Israeli Channel 12 reported that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided not to seek normalisation with Saudi Arabia before the upcoming US presidential elections in November.

It says the decision was made after considering to wait and see whether Republican nominee and former US president Donald Trump will be re-elected or not.

The report, which does not attribute sources, comes one week after an Israeli official told reporters that a normalisation agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabic could be possible before November’s US elections, and that Netanyahu has discussed this issue with US president Joe Biden.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said he came to “deliver a message from His Majesty King Abdullah II to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the situation in the region and bilateral relations” during a rare visit he made to Iran.

In the first official visit paid by a senior Jordanian official in more than 20 years to Iran, Safady met with the Iranian acting foreign minister in Tehran Ali Bagheri Kani, and told him that he is not carrying a message to Tehran from or to Israel.

He refutes statements of an Iranian official to Al Jazeera, in which he said Safady is visiting Tehran with messages from his country, Israel and the US.

Safady said Jordan wants the escalation in the region to end.

"Jordan has always been proactive in defending the Palestinian cause and the rights of the Palestinian people. It has condemned the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and rejected all of Israel's escalating measures that prevent achieving security, stability, and a just peace,” Safady said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described Israel’s blockage of humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza enclave as crimes against humanity and the “first phase of the genocide”.

His statement came during his visit to the Egyptian al-Arish port and the Egyptian Rafah border with Gaza.

He called upon the international community to act against “Israel’s oppression” and exert “greater efforts” to help in facilitating continuous aid into Gaza.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted an Israeli army spokesperson saying that the military has presented political leaders with alternatives to Gaza border control.

Meanwhile, the Times of Israel reported that Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is meeting with army officials to discuss “the security developments and the various options to exact a price for attempted attacks from Iran and its proxies”.

The Palestinian Civil Defence has reported recovering at least 30 bodies from al-Nasr and Hassan Salama schools following Israeli strikes.

On the Telegram messaging app, the agency said another 16 displaced Palestinians are still missing under the rubble of the al-Nasr school.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Tel Aviv is experiencing heavy disruptions to GPS apps, likely as part of Israel's preparation for a potential attack from Iran.

The Israeli army has previously acknowledged using satellite disruptions “in a proactive manner for various operational needs”.

According to Haaretz, these disruptions are intended to counter the threat of drones or missiles that rely on GPS.

An Israeli strike killed dozens of Palestinians sheltering in schools in the Gaza Strip. 

The Palestinian news agency Wafa said at least 25 Palestinians were injured when the strike hit several schools in the Gaza Strip. 

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson of the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces had committed "a massacre in every sense of the word" by bombing the al-Nasr and Hassan Salama schools. 

Basal described the scenes as "difficult and tragic", noting that at least 80 percent of the casualties were children.