Israeli air strikes kill 38 Palestinians in Gaza
Separately, an Israeli official said the country's security cabinet had, on Saturday night, approved sending aid into the northern part of Gaza, where civilians are suffering from acute food shortages.
Meanwhile, in Yemen, a spokesperson for the Houthi rebel group announced in a pre-recorded message that the organisation had launched ballistic missiles targeting Ben Gurion airport overnight. The Israeli military said these had been intercepted.
US president Donald Trump has floated a plan for an initial 60-day ceasefire that would include a partial release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for an increase in humanitarian supplies allowed into Gaza. The proposed truce calls for talks on ending the 21-month war altogether.
Some 20 people were killed and 25 wounded after Israeli strikes hit two houses in Gaza City, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa Hospital that services the area.
In southern Gaza, 18 Palestinians were killed by strikes in Muwasi, an area on Gaza's Mediterranean where many displaced people live in tents, officials at Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis told The Associated Press. Five of the dead belonged to the same family, according to the hospital.
The Israeli military made no immediate comment on the individual strikes, but said it had struck 130 targets across the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours.
It said the strikes targeted Hamas command and control structures, storage facilities, weapons and launchers, and that they had killed a number of militants in northern Gaza.
The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage.
Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry.
The ministry, which is under Gaza's Hamas government, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The UN and other international organisations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.
The strikes occur as efforts to reach a ceasefire deal appeared to gain momentum. Mr Netanyahu's office said his government would send a negotiating team to Qatar on Sunday to conduct indirect talks, adding that Hamas was seeking 'unacceptable' changes to the proposal.
The planned talks in Qatar come ahead of Mr Netanyahu's scheduled visit to Washington on Monday to meet Mr Trump to discuss the deal. It is unclear if an agreement will be reached ahead of the Israeli prime minister's White House meeting.
Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Previous negotiations have stalled over Hamas demands of guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war's end, while Mr Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the militant group's destruction.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
31 minutes ago
- Spectator
Israel's campaign to destroy the Houthis has intensified
Last night, Israeli fighter jets struck multiple military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime in Yemen, marking one of the most expansive and targeted responses to date. Among the sites hit were the ports of Al Hudaydah, Ras Isa, and Salif, as well as the Ras Kanatib power plant. The IDF confirmed that the Galaxy Leader, a commercial vessel seized by the Houthis in November 2023 and repurposed for terrorist use, was also among the targets struck. The Israeli military described the operation as a direct and forceful response to the repeated missile and drone attacks launched by the Houthis against Israeli territory. The Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia operating from northern Yemen, have fired dozens of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and armed drones at Israel since the outbreak of the war with Hamas on 7 October 2023. While many of these threats have been intercepted, several have reached Israeli territory, causing injuries, disruption, and, on at least one occasion, loss of life. This latest operation represents a new phase in Israel's strategy, directly confronting the Houthis' ability to launch long-range attacks and to use civilian infrastructure, including ports and energy facilities, for military purposes. The Israeli Air Force acted on intelligence gathered by the IDF Intelligence Directorate and the Israeli Navy, which revealed that these sites were being exploited for weapons transfers from Iran and for launching attacks against both Israeli territory and international maritime traffic. The campaign follows a sustained pattern of escalation by the Houthis. On 19 July last year, a Houthi drone struck an apartment building in Tel Aviv, killing one civilian and injuring several others. On 4 May this year, a ballistic missile fired from Yemen landed within the perimeter of Ben Gurion Airport, injuring eight and halting operations. A subsequent missile was intercepted over the same area days later, triggering renewed alarm and calls for a robust Israeli response. The Houthis have also conducted a campaign of maritime disruption in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait. More than 100 vessels have been attacked using a mix of drones, missiles, naval mines, and armed assaults. At least two commercial ships have been sunk, four civilian sailors killed, and one vessel, the Galaxy Leader, was hijacked and held for months, then turned into what Israel now identifies as a platform for terror activity. The most recent Houthi maritime assault, on 6 July, targeted the Magic Seas, a Greek-owned cargo vessel. The Houthis launched a coordinated, multi-pronged attack involving drones, missiles, and small arms fire, forcing the crew to abandon ship. Though the vessel had no verifiable Israeli link, the Houthis claimed responsibility, continuing their pattern of indiscriminate aggression under the guise of 'resistance'. Israel's 60 retaliatory strikes last night were as much strategic as symbolic. They targeted not only military infrastructure but also the logistical arteries that enable Iran's proxy war from Yemen. By striking at the Ras Kanatib power station and three key ports used to transfer weapons from Iran to the Houthis, Israel aimed to degrade the group's operational capacity and to send a clear message: use of civilian infrastructure for terrorist activity will not be tolerated. These events unfold against the backdrop of Israel's broader regional campaign against Iranian proxies. Over the past year, Israel has conducted a series of high-impact operations, including most recently its impressive strikes inside Iran, damaging key facilities in its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Before that 12 day war, it also succeeded in undermining Hezbollah's operational capabilities through targeted assassinations, the disruption of supply routes in Lebanon, and the destruction of weapons stockpiles. In Syria, Israeli strikes rolled back Iran's efforts to establish a permanent military presence, dismantling command centres and ensuring the post-Assad regime could not rely on nearly as much capability against Israel. Israel's coordinated and multifront campaign to neutralise the threats posed by Iran's regional network, from Gaza and southern Lebanon to Syria, Iraq, and now Yemen, continues relentlessly. It has restored its military deterrence in the region, and continues to send a clear message to its hostile neighbours. Now it seems it is the turn of the Houthis, once viewed as a distant menace, to discover Israel's determination to eliminate its greatest threats.
BBC News
43 minutes ago
- BBC News
Cautious optimism for Gaza ceasefire breakthrough as Netanyahu visits US
After 21 months of war, there are growing hopes of a new Gaza ceasefire announcement as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets US President Donald Trump in previously told reporters he had been "very firm" with Netanyahu about ending the conflict and that he thought "we'll have a deal" this week."We are working to achieve the deal that has been discussed, under the conditions we have agreed," the veteran Israeli PM said before boarding his plane. "I believe that the conversation with President Trump can definitely help advance this outcome, which we all hope for."Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on a US-sponsored proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal resumed in Qatar on Sunday it is unclear whether key differences that have consistently held up an agreement can be overcome. Only cautious optimism is being expressed by weary Palestinians living in dire conditions amid continuing daily Israeli bombardment, and the distressed families of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas."I don't wish for a truce but a complete stop to all war. Frankly, I'm afraid that after 60 days the war would restart again," says Nabil Abu Dayah, who fled from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza to Gaza City with his children and grandchildren."We got so tired of displacement, we got tired of thirst and hunger, from living in tents. When it comes to life's necessities, we have zero."On Saturday evening, large rallies took place urging Israel's government to seal a deal to return some 50 hostages from Gaza, up to 20 of whom are believed to be relatives questioned why the framework deal would not free all captives immediately."How does one survive under such conditions? I'm waiting for Evyatar to return and tell me himself," said Ilay David, whose younger brother, a musician, was filmed by Hamas in torment as he watched fellow hostages being released earlier this year during the last, two-month-long ceasefire."This is the time to save lives. This is the time to rescue the bodies from the threat of disappearance," Ilay told a crowd in Jerusalem."In the rapidly changing reality of the Middle East, this is the moment to sign a comprehensive agreement that will lead to the release of all the hostages, every single one, without exception." Netanyahu is visiting the White House for the third time since Trump returned to power nearly six months the leaders will be meeting for the first time since the US joined Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and then brokered a ceasefire between Israel and is a strong sense that the recent 12-day war has created more favourable circumstances to end the Gaza months of low popularity ratings, the Israeli PM has been bolstered by broad public support for the Iran offensive and analysts suggest he now has more leverage to agree to a peace deal over the strong objections of his far-right coalition partners, who want Israel to remain in control of is seen to have been further weakened by the strikes on Iran - a key regional patron - meaning it could also be more amenable to making concessions needed to reach an Trump is keen to move on to other priorities in the Middle include brokering border talks between Israel and Syria, returning to efforts to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and completing unfinished business with Iran, involving possible negotiations on a new nuclear deal. For months, ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have been deadlocked over one fundamental has been ready to commit to a temporary truce to return hostages but not an end to the war. Hamas has demanded a permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza and a full pullout of Israeli latest proposal put to Hamas is said to include guarantees of Washington's commitment to the deal and to continued talks to reach a lasting ceasefire and the release of all the has been officially announced, but according to media reports the framework would see Hamas hand over 28 hostages - 10 alive and 18 dead - in five stages over 60 days without the troubling handover ceremonies it staged in the last would be a large surge in humanitarian aid entering the return of the first eight living hostages on the first day of the agreement, Israeli forces would withdraw from parts of the north. After one week, the army would leave parts of the Day 10, Hamas would outline which hostages remain alive and their condition, while Israel would give details about more than 2,000 Gazans arrested during the war who remain in "administrative detention" - a practice which allows the Israeli authorities to hold them without charge or seen before, large numbers of Palestinians would be released from Israeli jails in exchange for hostages. President Trump has described this as the "final" truce proposal and said last week that Israel had accepted "the necessary conditions" to finalise Friday, Hamas said it had responded in a "positive spirit" but expressed some reservations.A Palestinian official said sticking points remained over humanitarian aid - with Hamas demanding an immediate end to operations by the controversial Israeli and American-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and a return to the UN and its partners overseeing all relief is also said to be questioning the timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals and operations of the Rafah crossing between southern Gaza and office stated on Saturday that the changes wanted by Hamas were "not acceptable" to prime minister has repeatedly said that Hamas must be disarmed, a demand the Islamist group has so far refused to discuss. In Israel, there is growing opposition to the war in Gaza, with more than 20 soldiers killed in the past month, according to the Israeli military's chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said last week that it was nearing the completion of its war goals and signalled that the government must decide whether to move ahead with a deal to bring home hostages or prepare for Israeli forces to re-establish military rule in indicate that two-thirds of Israelis support a ceasefire deal to bring home the Gaza, some residents express fears that the current wave of positivity is being manufactured to ease tensions during Netanyahu's US trip - rationalising that this happened in May as Trump prepared to visit Arab Gulf coming days will be critical politically and in humanitarian situation in Gaza has continued to deteriorate, with medical staff reporting acute malnutrition among UN says that with no fuel having entered in over four months, stockpiles are now virtually gone, threatening vital medical care, water supplies and launched its war in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 others being taken attacks have since killed more than 57,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The ministry's figures are quoted by the UN and others as the most reliable source of statistics available on casualties.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemns ‘reprehensible' antisemitic Melbourne synagogue attack
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says an antisemitic attack on a Melbourne synagogue is 'reprehensible' and has demanded Anthony Albanese 'take all action' to end similar hate crimes. A 34-year-old man from New South Wales has been charged after allegedly entering the grounds of the East Melbourne Hebrew congregation on Albert Street at about 8pm on Friday and pouring a flammable liquid on the front door of the building, setting it on fire. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Two other potentially linked incidents, including an arrest after an incident between protesters and police at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne's CBD, also took place overnight on Friday. 'I view with utmost gravity the antisemitic attacks that occurred last night in Melbourne, which included attempted arson of a synagogue in the city and a violent assault against an Israeli restaurant by pro-Palestinian rioters,' Netanyahu said via series of posts on X on Sunday morning. 'The reprehensible antisemitic attacks, with calls of 'Death to the IDF' and an attempt to attack a place of worship, are severe hate crimes that must be uprooted. 'The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community, and we demand that the Australian government take all action to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law and prevent similar attacks in the future.' Netanyahu was joined on social media by Israeli president Isaac Herzog, who overnight said via X that he 'condemn[ed] outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne's historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath' and that the attack must be Australia's 'last'. 'It is intolerable that in 2025, we are still faced with the chilling image of an attempt to burn Jews alive as they pray, and attacks on Jewish businesses,' he said, urging the government to confront the 'stain' of antisemitism with 'urgency and resolve'. Foreign minister for Israel, Gideon Sa'ar, said on Saturday via X that Israel 'stands firmly with the Jewish community in Australia' and that the Australian government 'must do more to fight this poisonous disease'. On Sunday, Tony Burke said the synagogue incident was an 'attack on Australia'. '[This] is not simply an arson attack, what matters here is there is an attack on Australia, an attack on Australian values. And we are here today in solidarity to stand together with the community,' the home affairs minister told reporters in Melbourne. He said the Israeli ambassador to Australia had called to thank him for heading to Melbourne in the attack's aftermath, where he met with community leaders and the synagogue's Rabbi Dovid Gutnick. Burke said authorities hadn't yet drawn links between the three incidents, but that the attacks were linked to 'bigotry'. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion He was joined outside the synagogue by former attorney general and Jewish MP, Mark Dreyfus, and said he had twice been briefed by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) and the Australian federal police, and had spoken with the Victorian police commissioner and home affairs boss. The prime minister previously said the people responsible for the 'shocking acts must face the full force of the law'. Sarah Schwartz, executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, condemned the arson attack and said attacks on synagogues were 'attacks on the entire Jewish community', adding that the council stood in solidarity with those impacted. 'All people are entitled to practice their religion in safety, she told Guardian Australia on Sunday. She said the act of antisemitism had been 'used for political gain, to smear the Palestine solidarity movement'. 'These responses fuel division. We urge politicians not to engage in knee-jerk responses, and to instead support grassroots efforts between communities to combat racism.' The Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive, Alex Ryvchin, said the events were a 'severe escalation' and that the antisemitism crisis was 'getting worse'. 'Those who chant for death are not peace activists. Those who would burn houses of prayer with families inside do not seek an end to war. There is a violent ideology at work in our country that operates on the fringes of politics and social movements, that taps into anger and prejudice,' he said in a statement.
