Seven Palestinians killed after Israel bombing of Gaza's Al-Maghazi refugee camp

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Israeli forces raided occupied East Jerusalem's Kafr Aqab neighbourhood and the Qalandia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

Seven Palestinians were killed following Israeli bombing of a home in Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

The near-term risk of a broader war in the Middle East has eased somewhat after Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah exchanged fire without further escalation but Iran still poses a significant danger as it weighs a strike on Israel, America's top general said on Monday.

Air Force General C. Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to Reuters after emerging from a three-day trip to the Middle East that saw him fly into Israel just hours after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel, and Israel's military struck Lebanon to thwart a larger attack.

Brown noted Hezbollah's strike was just one of two major threatened attacks against Israel that emerged in recent weeks. Iran is also threatening an attack over the killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran last month.

Asked if the immediate risk of a regional war had declined, Brown said: "Somewhat, yes."

"You had two things you knew were going to happen. One's already happened. Now it depends on how the second is going to play out," Brown said while flying out of Israel.

"How Iran responds will dictate how Israel responds, which will dictate whether there is going to be a broader conflict or not."

Brown also cautioned that there was also the risk posed by Iran's militant allies in places such as Iraq, Syria, and Jordan who have attacked US troops as well as Yemen's Houthis, who have targeted Red Sea shipping and even fired drones at Israel.

"And do these others actually go off and do things on their own because they're not satisfied – the Houthis in particular," Brown said, calling the Shia group the "wild card".

(Reuters)

Confrontations broke out with Israeli forces in front of the entrance to Al-Arroub refugee camp in the occupied West Bank's Hebron province, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

Confrontations broke out between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the town of Al-Khader near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received on Monday a report of an incident 61 nautical miles southeast of Yemen's Mokha.

UKMTO reported that the captain of a vessel observed an uncrewed surface vessel, or USV, in its proximity, along with two other small boats about two nautical miles to the north of the USV.

Separately, British security firm Ambrey said on Monday that it was aware of an incident approximately 80 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's Aden.

Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel's war on Gaza.

(Reuters)

Israeli aircraft bombed a home in the Al-Katiba area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

The Israeli army demolished a number of residential buildings northwest of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

Israeli aircraft launched a number of raids on Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

Seven Palestinians were killed and others injured after Israeli strikes on a home on Yafa Street in Gaza City, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

Israeli settlers shot dead one Palestinian and wounded three others in the occupied West Bank's Bethlehem, the Palestinian health ministry said early on Tuesday.

(Reuters)

Two young people were wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets and dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation during confrontations with Israeli forces in Idhna, a town in the south of the occupied West Bank.

The injured were treated on scene, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

Israel said on Monday it carried out an airtrike on the occupied West Bank, while Palestine reported five killed in the incident.

"A short while ago, an aircraft struck an operational centre in the area of Nur Shams," an Israeli military spokesperson said, without providing a casualty count or specifying who was targeted.

"Five citizens were killed and others were injured," the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

Israeli violence in the West Bank has surged alongside the war on Gaza, with more than 640 Palestinians killed by Israeli troops and settlers since the war began on 7 October, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.

At least 19 Israelis have also died in Palestinian attacks during the same period, according to Israeli officials.

A correspondent for Wafa reported hearing four loud explosions and said Monday's strike targeted a house in the Nur Shams refugee camp.

The United Nations on Monday said humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip has taken a serious blow after Israel ordered a new evacuation in the centre of the besieged enclave.

On Sunday the Israeli military ordered people to "evacuate immediately" a part of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, sparking a rapid exodus of civilians and displacing UN and NGO workers.

"Our humanitarian colleagues are particularly worried about the order" which "effectively upends a whole lifesaving humanitarian hub that was set up in Deir Al-Balah following its evacuation from Rafah back in May", the UN's humanitarian office OCHA said in a statement.

The order affected 15 premises hosting UN and NGO aid workers, UN warehouses, a water desalination plant and medical facilities, including the key Al-Aqsa hospital, one of a few still operating in Gaza, it said.

"It severely impacts our ability to deliver essential support and services," the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in the statement.

Speaking to AFP on Sunday from her hospital bed outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Tamam Al-Raei said she did not know where to seek safety.

"I have a war injury. I have broken bones and have had an amputation, and I have been receiving treatment for that," she said.

"Where do we go? Where do I get treatment," added the woman, surrounded by other war-weary Palestinians being evacuated from the hospital in a frantic bid to stay ahead of feared Israeli bombardment.

A senior official for the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said "the space and the ability of the UN system, of the humanitarian system to operate in Gaza is becoming increasingly difficult", as the UN said it had to halt the movement of aid and workers within Gaza due to the Deir Al-Balah evacuation order.

The United States assesses there is still a threat of a new attack on Israel by Iran or its proxies, the Pentagon said Monday, after Lebanon's Hezbollah launched a rocket and drone barrage over the weekend.

Iran and its regional allies have threatened to attack Israel in response to high-profile killings in Tehran and Beirut late last month, and Hezbollah said its recent strikes on Israel were in response to one of those assassinations.

"We continue to assess that there is a threat of attack, and we… remain well postured to be able to support Israel's defence as well as to protect our forces should they be attacked," Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told journalists.

On Sunday, the Israeli military said it launched airstrikes on Hezbollah targets that posed an imminent threat, with around 100 fighter jets striking more than 270 targets, most of them short-range rockets aimed at northern Israel.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said the Israeli strikes came half an hour before his group launched more than 300 Katyusha rockets at 11 Israeli military sites, and that drones then targeted deeper inside the country, in response to the killing of senior commander Fuad Shukr in July.

Ryder said that the US was not involved in the pre-emptive strikes or in shooting down the projectiles, but that it did "provide some intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance support – ISR – in terms of tracking incoming Lebanese Hezbollah attacks".

He also said that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin "has ordered the presence of two carrier strike groups to remain in the region" as part of support for Israel.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad's armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, says it shelled a position of Israeli soldiers and vehicles in central Gaza with a number of mortars, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

The White House said Monday that Gaza truce talks in Cairo have made progress and were expected to continue at a working level for several days despite clashes between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

"There continues to be progress, and our team on the ground continues to describe the talks as constructive," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

"So despite the rocket and drone attack by Hezbollah over the course of the weekend, which Israel did a terrific job defending against, it has not affected the actual work on the ground by the teams trying to get this ceasefire deal in place," Kirby said.

Israel launched airstrikes into Lebanon on Sunday, while Hezbollah fired rockets and drones at Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The United States has repeatedly voiced optimism for talks on reaching a truce proposed by President Joe Biden in the more than 10-month war, despite repeated differences voiced between Israel and Hamas.

Kirby said that senior White House official Brett McGurk stayed in Cairo for an extra day to allow further talks at a lower level.

"He'll probably depart relatively soon and leave the discussion and the work to working group members," Kirby said.

"We expect that these working group discussions will at least take place over the next few days, but whether it goes longer, or could end sooner, I think really is going to be up to those in the room," he said.

Three Palestinians were killed and others were injured following Israeli targeting of food stall on Al-Houja Street in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Palestinian media report.

Three Palestinians were killed and others wounded following Israeli bombing of a group of people near a school in Gaza City's Al-Zeitoun neighbourhood, Palestinian media report.

Air France will resume its flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut on Tuesday after a two-day halt following Israeli airstrikes into Lebanon, the airline said.

The French carrier's low-cost subsidiary Transavia will also resume services to both destinations, it said in a statement to AFP on Monday.

Air France suspended its Sunday and Monday flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut due to heightened Middle East tensions.

Tuesday's resumption of the services would be subject to an assessment of the security situation at both destinations, Air France said

Jordan's flag carrier, Royal Jordanian, is set to resume flights to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, starting on Tuesday morning, Jordan's state news agency reported on Monday.

Jordan's carrier briefly suspended flights to Beirut on Sunday after tensions between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-aligned Hezbollah movement escalated earlier in the day.

(Reuters)

The United States continues to assess that the threat of attack against Israel by Iran and its proxy groups still exists, the Pentagon said on Monday, after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander.

"I would point you to some of the public comments that have been made by Iranian leaders and others ... we continue to assess that there is a threat of attack," Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters.

(Reuters)

United Nations humanitarian aid operations in Gaza ground to a halt on Monday after Israel issued new evacuation orders for Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip late on Sunday, a senior UN official said.

"We're unable to deliver today with the conditions that we're in," the official said anonymously.

"We're not leaving (Gaza) because the people need us there," the official said. "We're trying to balance the need of the population with the need for safety and security of the UN personnel."

The official said UN staff on the ground had been directed to find a way to continue operating.

The official said the United Nations had relocated its main command operations for the Gaza Strip and most UN personnel to Deir Al-Balah after Israel ordered the evacuation of Rafah in the south of Gaza.

(Reuters)

Palestinian journalist Ali Taima was reportedly identified among the several killed after an Israel drone strike targeted a civilian vehicle in the "safe zone" Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis.

Over 170 journalists have been killed since 7 October in Gaza.

Moments ago, Israeli occupation drones attacked a civilian vehicle within the displacement camps in Mawasi Khan Yunis, killing and wounding a number of Palestinians in the area.

Al-Mawasi area has been designated as a "safe" zone by Israeli occupation forces, who have been… pic.twitter.com/NGre3eTpEr

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 26, 2024

Oil prices jumped Monday after an escalation of hostilities between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah raised fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Brent, the global benchmark, rose over three percent to trade at more than $81 per barrel.

Stock markets were mixed, taking a breather after US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell boosted investors last week by signalling that an interest rate cut was coming.

Israel and Hezbollah traded a barrage of fire Sunday after 10 months of cross-border clashes.

Hezbollah said it had launched a large-scale drone and rocket attack on Israel.

Israel said it conducted air strikes into Lebanon that destroyed "thousands" of Hezbollah rocket launchers and thwarted a significant attack.

Israeli officials and media reacted on Monday after a long-expected missile attack by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement appeared to have been largely thwarted by Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said Hezbollah had suffered a "crushing blow" from the Israeli strikes but that a longer-lasting solution was still needed.

"The current situation is not sustainable," he told a briefing, referring to the tens of thousands evacuated from their homes in northern Israel, a situation mirrored on the other side of the border in southern Lebanon. "Israel will do its duty and return its population to our sovereign territory."

(Reuters)

Iran on Monday praised the drone and missile assault by Lebanon's Hezbollah group on Israel, saying its arch-foe had lost the ability to prevent such attacks amid heightened regional tensions.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday said the group, which is backed by Tehran, had launched a large-scale attack on Israel, targeting "the Glilot base -- the main Israeli military intelligence base".

Israel's military said the installation was not hit.

"The Zionist regime may be able to hide, distort or censor some facts regarding Lebanese Hezbollah operations, but it knows very well that the existing facts will not change," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani posted on X.

"The Israeli terrorist army has lost its effective offensive and deterrent power and now must defend itself against strategic strikes."

Kanani noted that the Hezbollah attack "extended deep into the occupied territories", and said the "strategic balance has undergone fundamental changes" to the detriment of Israel.

He also criticised the United States for its "comprehensive" support for Israel, which had failed to "predict the time and place" of Hezbollah's actions.

Egypt reiterates that it has not accepted an Israeli presence in the Rafah border crossing or Philadelphi corridor, state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV quoted a senior source as saying on Monday.

A key sticking point in Gaza ceasefire talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar has been Israel's insistence on a presence in the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow 14.5-km-long (9-mile-long) stretch of land along Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

(Reuters)

Israel issued new evacuation orders for Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip late on Sunday, forcing more families to flee.

In recent days, Israel has issued several evacuation orders across Gaza, the most since the beginning of the 10-month war, prompting an outcry from Palestinians, the United Nations and relief officials over the reduction of humanitarian zones and the absence of safe areas.

The Deir Al-Balah municipality says Israeli evacuation orders have so far displaced 250,000 people.

In a statement posted on X, the Israeli military urged residents in certain zones to move immediately to the west, as the area they are in is "considered a dangerous combat zone".

The new orders forced many families and patients to leave Al-Aqsa Hospital, the main medical facility in Deir Al-Balah, where hundreds of thousands of residents and displaced people had taken shelter, for fear of bombardments.

The hospital is close to the area covered by the evacuation notice.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in a statement on X on Sunday night that an explosion approximately 250 meters (820 feet) away from the MSF-supported Al-Aqsa Hospital triggered panic.

"As a result, MSF is considering whether to suspend wound care for the time being, while trying to maintain life-saving treatment."

From around 650 patients, only 100 remain in the hospital, with seven in the intensive care unit, it said, citing Gaza's health ministry.

"This situation is unacceptable. Al Aqsa has been operating well beyond capacity for weeks due to the lack of alternatives for patients. All warring parties must respect the hospital, as well as patients' access to medical care," it added.

Gaza's Ministry of Health called for the 100 patients inside the hospital, and the medical teams who had remained to care for them, to be protected.

Israeli forces issued an evacuation order in the vicinity of MSF-supported Al Aqsa Hospital, Deir Al Balah, Central Gaza, urging people to flee.

An explosion approximately 250 meters away triggered panic with many choosing to leave the hospital. 1/4

— MSF International (@MSF) August 26, 2024

Out of the 18 water wells in Deir Al-Balah, only 3 are still functioning - according to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The organisation says it is a result of an 85 percent water shortfall.

This comes as the Israeli forces continue their ground invasion of the area, with the army ordering their latest evacuation order on Sunday, further displacing more Palestinian civilians.

"Not only are people in #Gaza in constant fear for their lives, but they struggle to meet even their most basic needs. #CeasefireNow," UNRWA said on X

Due to ongoing military operations in Deir Al-Balah, only 3 out of 18 water wells there are still functioning, resulting in an 85% water shortfall.

Not only are people in #Gaza in constant fear for their lives, but they struggle to meet even their most basic needs. #CeasefireNow pic.twitter.com/d8N3ZB2tvu

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) August 26, 2024

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday that at least 40,435 people have been killed since 7 October.

The toll includes 30 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also list 93,534 people as wounded in the Gaza Strip.

At least seven Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike near Gaza City beach, Palestinian health officials said.

The toll is still rising.

(Reuters)

A senior official has reportedly survived an Israeli drone strike targeting a car in the city of Sidon, southern Lebanon - according to Lebanese media reports.

Reports said the strike hit a vehicle in Aabra.

A senior official in the resistance has reportedly survived the Israeli airstrike which targeted a car this morning in the city of Sidon, southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese reports. pic.twitter.com/qQCV85gT7l

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 26, 2024

Israeli forces detained at least 15 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, including former prisoners, in a series of detentions since Sunday evening. 

The detentions took place in Nablus, Qalqilya, Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, the Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS) and the Authority of the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners said in a statement.

The ongoing Israeli incursions involve widespread raids, beatings, and threats against detainees and their families and destroying and damaging civilian homes.

Over 9,550 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces since 7 October.

Settlers, under the protection of Israeli police, stormed into Al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday morning, performing rituals.

According to Wafa, witnesses reported dozens of settlers entered the compound, conducted "provocative tours", and performed rituals while the police restricted worshippers from entering the mosque.

At the same time, after Ben Gvir said he would allow the construction of a synagogue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, "there is no change to the status quo on the Temple Mount".

The head of the opposition National Unity Party, Yair Lapid, said on X that "Israel is committed to preserving this historic status and has no intention of changing it” while slamming Netanyahu's leadership, claiming "he is unable to control the government."

“The freedom of worship will always be guaranteed at the holy site,” Lapid said.

כל האזור רואה את חולשתו של נתניהו מול בן גביר. הוא לא מסוגל לשלוט בממשלה אפילו כשזה ניסיון ברור לערער את הביטחון הלאומי שלנו. אין מדיניות, אין אסטרטגיה, אין באמת ממשלה. pic.twitter.com/OzH7BrAwWe

— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) August 26, 2024

Israel has lost its deterrent power as it was unable to anticipate the time and place of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah's "limited and managed attack", Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a post on X on Monday.

(Reuters) 

🔹جنبش حماس:
ما پاسخ منحصربه فرد حزب‌الله علیه چندین اهداف حیاتی و استراتژیک در عمق رژيم صهیونیستی را تمجید و تبریک می‌گوییم. پاسخ قاطع حزب‌الله ثابت کرد که جنایات دشمن بی‌پاسخ نمی‌ماند.

🔹جنبش جهاد اسلامی فلسطین ضمن تبریک عملیات حزب‌الله در عمق اراضی اشغالی:
این حملات نشان داد… pic.twitter.com/Sq6UbSaTZD

— Nasser Kanaani (@IRIMFA_SPOX) August 26, 2024

Healthcare workers detained by Israeli forces have been tortured since 7 October - according to a report from Human Rights Watch.

Doctors, nurses and paramedics who were released from Israeli custody told HRW their mistreatment, including humiliation, beatings, forced stress positions, prolonged cuffing and blindfolding, and denial of medical care.

"The torture and other ill-treatment of doctors, nurses, and paramedics should be thoroughly investigated and appropriately punished, including by the International Criminal Court (ICC)," said Balkees Jarrah, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

HRW said the detention of healthcare workers, in the context of Israel's ongoing attacks on hospitals in Gaza, has "catastrophic degradation of the besieged territory’s healthcare system".

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would build a synagogue at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem - according to Israeli Army Radio.

While Al-Aqsa is a highly revered site for Muslims, many Jews refer to the mosque as the "Temple Mount", believing it to be the location of their two ancient temples.

The Greek-flagged ship Sounion has been on fire since 23 August after an attack by Yemen's Houthis with no apparent signs of an oil spill, EU Red Sea naval mission Aspides said in a post on X on Monday.

The EU mission published photos dated Sunday showing fire and smoke coming from the vessel's main deck.

Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous regions, said on Thursday that they attacked the Sounion oil tanker in the Red Sea. The Iran-aligned group has been attacking ships in solidarity with Palestinians in the war on Gaza.

Fires were observed on at least five locations on the main deck of the vessel, Aspides said. Additionally, part of the superstructure is on fire too.

(Reuters)

Update on M/V SOUNION:

The MV SOUNION has been on fire since August 23rd.

An EUNAFOR ASPIDES 🇪🇺 unit transiting the area reported that there are fires on at least 5 locations observed on the main deck of the vessel. It is estimated that these are located around the hatches of… pic.twitter.com/ta0IuLhIoY

— EUNAVFOR ASPIDES (@EUNAVFORASPIDES) August 26, 2024

Some 60 media and rights organisations on Monday urged the European Union to suspend a cooperation accord with Israel and impose sanctions, accusing it of "massacring journalists" in Gaza.

"In response to the unprecedented number of journalists killed and other repeated press freedom violations by the Israeli authorities since the start of the war with Hamas, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and 59 other organisations are calling on the European Union to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel and to adopt targeted sanctions against those responsible", the groups said in a joint statement.

The call came ahead of a meeting by EU foreign ministers in Brussels on 19 August.