Hamas says five more Israeli soldiers killed in northern Gaza
Here are the live updates on the Israel-Hamas war
Summary
- 105 medical facilities 'deliberately targeted' by Israeli forces: Gaza health ministry
- Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll hits 9,488
- At least 12 people killed in Israeli bombing of UN school
- An attack on an ambulance convoy in Gaza City on Friday killed at least 15 people, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Israel confirmed that it hit an ambulance, but said that Hamas fighters had been the target, without providing evidence.
- A school hosting displaced civilians and people evacuating south were also hit by Israel, according to the ministry, killing at least 20 and 14 people respectively.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a trip to Israel on Friday, where he met Prime Minister Netanyahu. He will travel to Jordan on Saturday for a summit with several Arab leaders.
- At least 9,227 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel. At least 24 Israeli soldiers have been killed since ground operations began in Gaza.
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8:05pm
Hamas says five more Israeli soldiers killed in northern Gaza
Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades says its fighters have killed five more Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza. Al Jazeera reports.
In a statement, it said: "Al-Qassam forces attacked a Zionist force holed up in a building northwest of Gaza City."
It said its forces confronted Israeli forces "with machine guns and bombs, and killed five soldiers and wounded others".
This week the Israeli army expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless air raids.
7:00pm
'Our children are starving and bleeding'
Survivors of today's Israeli bombing on al-Fakhoora school have spoken to Al Jazeera from the Indonesian Hospital:
"I was with my children trying to get some fresh eggs to feed them," one mother said. "They have been starving for days. I managed to get my hands on some food and on the way back, missiles were fired on the school building. My daughter was hit by the shrapnel."
Another woman, sitting in a corner of the emergency room, said: "As our homes were shelled, we had no where to go but the UN school buildings. We thought the school could be safer. Now, nowhere is safe; schools are shelled by missiles.
"There is no food or water; there is no electricity; our children are starving," she said in tears. "Even clothes – we ran for our lives barefoot. We were showered with missiles; our starving children were killed, torn to pieces; others suffered critical wounds. Our children are starving and bleeding; the whole world is watching."
6:26pm
Israeli military says it will allow traffic on key Gaza highway for three-hour period
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it will allow traffic on one of Gaza's two main north-south highways so residents in the north can flee to the south of the Strip, BBC reports.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, the IDF's Arabic spokesperson says the Salah al-Din road will be traversable for three hours, from 13:00 to 16:00 local time.
The message says Hamas leaders were already taking care to protect themselves and urged civilians to do the same by heeding instructions to move south.
The Israeli military says it has encircled Gaza City.
6:00pm
105 medical facilities 'deliberately targeted' by Israeli forces: Health ministry
Here is some more information Al Jazeera received from Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra at a press briefing:
- 150 paramedics have been killed since October 7
- 27 ambulance vehicles have been totally destroyed, including two carrying the convoy of victims headed for Rafah on Friday
- 105 medical facilities have been deliberately targeted, 16 of which are now out of service
- 32 primary care medical facilities are out of service, either due to lack of fuel or their total destruction.
5:06pm
Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll hits 9,488
The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Saturday at least 9,488 people were killed in the Palestinian territory since war with Israel erupted last month, AFP reports.
The ministry said at least 3,900 children were among those killed since Israel began striking the Gaza Strip in retaliation to the October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas militants in southern Israel.
5:00pm
Blinken meets Lebanon and Qatar prime ministers
A little more from Jordan now, where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with leaders and ministers from around the Middle East.
First on the agenda was a discussion with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who, according to his office, stressed to Blinken the importance of working towards a ceasefire in Gaza.
4:49pm
At least 12 people killed in Israeli bombing of UN school: Health Ministry
The Ministry of Health in Gaza says at least 12 people have been killed in the Israeli bombing of the al-Fakhoora school, which had been sheltering displaced people in the Jabalia refugee camp. Al Jazeera reports.
The director of al-Shifa Hospital has reported at least 15 people were killed in the attack with dozens injured.
"The number [of people killed] is expected to rise," Muhammad Abu Silmeyeh was quoted as saying by Reuters.
3:19pm
Two more mosques destroyed
The Israeli army has bombed two mosques in southern Gaza City in the last few hours, an Anadolu correspondent has reported, Al Jazeera reports.
The attacks destroyed the Ali bin Abi Talib and the Al-Istijabah mosques in the Al-Sabra neighborhood.
3:07pm
At least 41 children killed in occupied West Bank: Save the Children
At least 41 children have been killed in the occupied West Bank since October 7, while thousands of children have been killed by ongoing bombardment of Gaza, Save the Children has said, Al Jazeera reports.
"Children across the occupied Palestinian territory are increasingly caught up in a horrifying spiral of violence, while the world is watching. But the conflict's devastating impact on children did not start on 7 October," Save the Children's director for the occupied Palestinian territory, Jason Lee said in a statement.
"Violence and displacement have been ongoing for years, with children paying the highest price for a conflict they have no part in. By September this was already the deadliest year on record for children in the West Bank, and we're nearing the same number in less than a month.
"Time and time again, children are shot at, locked-up, harassed. This has to stop.
"The international community must use its influence to ensure that international law is respected, as is their obligation," he said.
2:56pm
State Department officer files dissent cable over US policy on Israel: Report
A junior officer in the US State Department has drafted a dissent cable to demand a change in the White House's support for Israel's military operations inside Gaza, according to a report by Axios. Al Jazeera reports.
A dissent cable is supposed to be a way to express criticism privately inside the State Department through a classified system without risk of retribution. The email is the latest sign displaying disagreement among government staff over the US's policy on Israel. Last month, State Department official Josh Paul resigned, citing "our continued lethal assistance to Israel".
"In light of Hamas's heinous attack on October 7, the ensuing response by the Government of Israel, and the seemingly full endorsement by the U.S. government to the response, we have drafted a dissent cable calling for a significant change in the Administration's short and long-term policy surround the conflict," Sylvia Yacoub, a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of Middle East Affairs, wrote in an email seen by the news outlet.
2:17pm
Blinken touches down in Jordan
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Jordan today for talks with several Arab leaders and ministers today, BBC reports.
His schedule includes meetings with Jordanian King Abdullah II and the prime minister of Qatar. He has already met with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Blinken will also hold discussions with foreign ministers from Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE.
The US secretary of state will also hold a meeting with UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) commissioner general Phillipe Lazzarini and a video call with his Gaza-based staff.
1:58pm
Israeli air raid destroys solar panels of al-Wafa Hospital
Al Jazeera said they have some more details on reports about Israeli forces striking the power generator of al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza City.
Israeli jets also bombed the solar panels of the hospital for the elderly and medical rehabilitation, an Anadolu correspondent has reported.
The bombing resulted in a significant fire in the hospital's courtyard, which was eventually controlled by civil defense teams after several hours, the correspondent said.
The attack caused extensive damage to the hospital's solar energy system, leading to a power outage in the facility.
11:25am
Iranian, British foreign ministers discuss war
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his British counterpart, James Cleverly, have held a phone call discussing the situation in Gaza and bilateral ties, reports Al Jazeera.
"I recommend that the British government look at the developments in the region with a realistic approach," Iranian media quoted Amirabdollahian as saying.
"In any approach, it should be known that the root of the Palestinian crisis goes back to the occupation of the Israeli regime,"Amirabdollahian said, adding within the framework of international law, the principle of proportionality should be taken into account during a war.
9:00am
UN Secretary-General 'horrified' by Israel's attack on ambulances
A statement from UN chief Antonio Guterres has just come in.
"I am horrified by the reported attack in Gaza on an ambulance convoy outside Al-Shifa Hospital," Guterres said. "The images of bodies strewn on the street outside the hospital are harrowing."
Guterres added that the conflict "must stop".
7:36am
US expects Israeli air attacks to decrease soon: CNN
A senior US official has told CNN that the US expects Israel to change its tactics in its conflict against Hamas in the coming days, and shift from its current intense air bombardment of Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians, and instead adopt "more of a tactical focus on the ground campaign" aimed at clearing out Hamas's underground tunnel network.
The official, however, distanced the US from support for a ceasefire, and instead said that the US was emphasising "humanitarian pauses".
7:35am
Relief in Lebanon as Hezbollah's Nasrallah holds off on wider Israel war: Al Jazeera
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday called for a ceasefire in Gaza while holding off on announcing any broader conflict with Israel, bringing relief to Lebanon where many were fearing the prospects of war, reports Al Jazeera.
Nasrallah claimed that Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel, which set off the current war, was carried out without Hezbollah or Iran's knowledge, in a live televised address on Friday.
7:30am
A recap of the latest developments
Here's a recap of the developments in the last few hours.
- Israeli attacks have struck near at least three hospitals in Gaza, according to local health authorities, including one that hit a medical convoy near the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, killing 15 people and injuring 16 others.
- A school hosting displaced people in the Saftawi neighbourhood also was hit in an Israeli attack that killed at least 20 people, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.
- In a separate attack, children are among at least 14 Palestinians killed while escaping south along Gaza's coastal road, according to officials.
- Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Israel is pursuing a goal it cannot achieve, as he delivered his first public speech since the start of the war.
- The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said it can no longer provide safety at shelters under the UN flag. UNRWA said at least 38 people have died in UN facilities since the war began.
- At least 9,227 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel.
Disclaimer: The information and infographics provided in this thread have been gathered from sources, including BBC, Reuters, Al Jazeera, and other news networks.
