Northern Gaza death toll rises amid UNRWA outrage

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Israeli media reported late on Tuesday that at least 33 Israeli soldiers have been killed in south Lebanon since the start of this month.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sent a letter Tuesday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denouncing a new law that will cripple the UN agency responsible for aiding Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

The regulations approved by the Israeli parliament ban UNRWA from operating in Israel and occupied east Jerusalem, and will prevent it from communicating and coordinating with Israeli authorities. The ban is due to start in three months.

In the letter, Guterres said the law could have "devastating consequences" for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank because there is no reasonable alternative to UNRWA for providing the aid and assistance these people need.

"I appeal to you and to the government of Israel to prevent such devastating consequences and to allow UNRWA to continue carrying out its activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in accordance with its obligations under international law," Guterres wrote.

Israeli forces detained at least three Palestinians late on Tuesday, two of them being children, in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reported. 

The arrests took place in the city of Bethlehem, where soldiers raided the Husan village and stormed several homes. 

Various reports state Israeli forces open fire and used tear gas on residents. 

This comes after several raids carried out by Israeli forces around the West Bank earlier on in the day - with at least 15 Palestinians detained. 

An Israeli strike on the town of Sarafand, located south of the city of Sidon in Lebanon, has killed at least 10 people, the mayor said late on Tuesday. 

Most of those killed are women and children, reports state. 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday the appointment of Naim Qassem to succeed Hassan Nasrallah as Hezbollah chief would "strengthen" the resistance.

Pezeshkian expressed confidence that Qassem's appointment "will strengthen the will of the resistance", while hoping for "the cessation of aggression by the illegal Zionist regime [Israel] and the establishment of peace, tranquillity and security in Gaza, Lebanon, and the entire region," according to his website.

Israel's military chief vowed on Tuesday to hit Iran "very hard" if it retaliates against Israel for its attacks on the Islamic republic over the weekend.

"If Iran makes the mistake of launching another missile barrage at Israel, we will once again know how to reach Iran... and strike very, very hard" Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said.

Addressing military personnel who took part in the weekend strike, Halevi said that certain targets had been set aside "because we may be required to do this again".

"This event is not over; we are still in the midst of it," he said, according to a statement issued by the military.

On Saturday, Israeli fighter jets carried out pre-dawn air strikes against Iranian military targets and missile production facilities in retaliation for a major ballistic missile attack by Tehran earlier this month.

That attack, which involved around 200 missiles, was itself launched in retaliation for the killing of several Tehran-aligned militant leaders, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, and a Revolutionary Guards commander.

Iran confirmed that the Israeli attack had targeted military sites in the capital Tehran and other parts of the country, but said it had caused "limited damage".

The Israeli military confirmed latte on Tuesday that an Israeli soldier died from wounds sustained in south Lebanon.

Earlier today, the Israeli army said four soldiers were killed in north Gaza and another was severely injured. 

Lebanon's health ministry on Tuesday announced that the death toll from Israeli attacks has reached 2,792 with at least 12,772 others wounded since October 2023. 

The ministry added that in the last 24 hours, Israel killed 82 people and wounded 180 others. 

The US has asked Israel to clarify a "horrifying" strike on north Gaza, after over 100 people were killed in the area.

Israel targeted residential buildings in Beit Lahia, causing immense destruction and killing dozens. 

Washington contacted Israeli officials and "made clear we want to know exactly what happened, how you could have a result that produces, according to reports, dozens of children dead, and we don't yet know the answer to that question," US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.

The attack was a reminder of why the US wants to see a ceasefire to bring an end to the war on the Strip he said, arguing that was in Israel's interest.

"It is critically important... that Israel be mindful of achieving a larger strategic success, and that (Israel) be mindful of finding a way to end this campaign in a way that brings the hostages home, in a way that ensures their security, and not just continuing in an endless, perpetual conflict," he added.

The Biden administration earlier this month sent a letter to Israel urging it to take steps in 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on U.S. military aid.

The United States has so far not seen enough progress on the points set out in the letter, Miller said.

Miller also said Washington was "deeply troubled" by legislation passed by Israel on Monday banning the U.N. relief agency UNRWA and said there could be consequences under U.S. law and policy if the legislation is implemented. 

(Reuters)

Israel's military confirmed late on Tuesday that four of its soldiers were killed in combat in north Gaza.

The military added one officer was also severely injured, bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since October 2023 to 776. 

Israeli strikes have killed at least 143 Palestinians since dawn on Tuesday, Al-Jazeera reported. 

Medical sources in Gaza said 132 of those were killed in north Gaza, where Israel has imposed an over three-week long siege. 

No ambulances, emergency services or hospitals are functioning in north Gaza due to incessant Israeli bombardment, meaning many wounded Palestinians are still trapped under the rubble. 

Norway on Tuesday said it would ask the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) to clarify Israel's aid obligations to Palestinians, a day after Israel banned the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

Despite global concerns, Israeli lawmakers on Monday overwhelmingly voted to bar UNRWA from operating in Israel and east Jerusalem, even though the organisation has been providing vital support for over seven decades to Palestinians. 

Norway said it was "requesting that the ICJ pronounces on Israel's obligations to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population, delivered by international organisations, including the UN and states," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in a statement.

He said Norway would submit a resolution to the UN General Assembly with the request that the ICJ give an advisory opinion on the matter.

Norway angered Israel in May when it recognised the Palestinian state, together with Ireland and Spain.

And, unlike other donors, it increased its aid to UNRWA in June despite Israel claiming UNRWA employees were involved in the 7 October Hamas led attack on Israel. 

"The Israeli government's policy is making it increasingly difficult for Palestinians to access life-saving assistance and basic services such as healthcare and education," Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in the same statement.

The UNRWA ban would have "severe consequences for millions of civilians already living in the most dire of circumstances," he said, adding that it "also undermines the stability of the entire Middle East".

"Israel's behaviour contravenes international law and undermines efforts to establish a viable Palestinian state and the two-state solution," Barth Eide said.

The US expressed "concern" over the alarmingly high death toll in Gaza's Beit Lahia following intense Israeli bombing on Tuesday evening. 

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller called it a "horrific incident with a horrific result". 

Medical sources say at least 109 Palestinians were killed in the attacks. 

Hamas senior official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Tuesday that the group was open to discuss a deal that secures an end to the war in Gaza and a complete Israeli army pull-out.

The Gaza Civil Defense reported that four Palestinians were killed, and around 80 were injured due to Israeli strikes targeting civilians gathered at Al-Sahaba market in eastern Gaza and the Al-Sudaniya area in the northwest of the Gaza Strip.

UK Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer voiced concern that Israel’s parliamentary vote on UNRWA jeopardises humanitarian efforts in Gaza.

Speaking to BBC World Service, he emphasised the UK’s intent to urge Israel to reconsider its stance on UNRWA, both publicly and in private.

Falconer rejected the notion that UNRWA should be dismantled or replaced, underscoring the agency's vital role in supporting Palestinian communities.

Al Jadeed TV reports that five residents were killed in an Israeli air raid on Lebanon's Haret Saida, located southeast of Sidon.

Lebanon's National News Agency added that at least four others were wounded and transported to Hammoud Hospital University Medical Center.

The U.N. World Food Programmed called on Tuesday for immediate action to avert famine in the Gaza Strip, warning that the humanitarian crisis there could soon worsen amid what it said were severe restrictions on aid flows.

A global monitor warned this month that the whole of the Palestinian enclave remained at risk of famine, with Israeli military operations adding to concerns and hampering humanitarian access.

"Now, as the situation in northern Gaza continues to deteriorate, the likelihood of a larger group being impacted by famine will surely increase unless conditions on the ground improve," said WFP, the United Nations' food agency.

WFP said that it had approximately 94,000 tonnes of food standing by in Egypt and Jordan that could feed 1 million people for four months, but that could not bring it into Gaza because too few entry points were open and others were not safe enough.

Since Israel seized the Rajah crossing with Egypt in May - months after it began its offensive in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023 - all routes into Gaza have been controlled by Israel.

"Restrictions on humanitarian aid coming into Gaza are severe," WFP said, adding that only 5,000 tonnes had entered the Gaza Strip this month.

Other constraints that needed to be addressed to improve aid flows in Gaza include approval of trucks and truck drivers and delays at check points, it said.

Norway on Tuesday said it will put forward a U.N. General Assembly resolution to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an opinion on Israel's obligations to facilitate aid to Palestinians that is delivered by international groups, including the United Nations, and states.

The move comes in response to Israel's decision on Monday to ban the operation of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA and other obstacles faced by other U.N. agencies in their aid work over the past year, Norway said in a statement.

The United States rejects "any Israeli efforts to starve Palestinians in Jabalia, or anywhere else" in the Gaza Strip, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Tuesday.

"Israel's words must be matched by action on the ground. Right now, that is not happening. This must change - immediately," she told the UN Security Council.

The United States told its ally Israel in a letter on October 13 that it must take steps within 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid.

Israel began a wide military offensive in northern Gaza earlier this month. Thomas-Greenfield said on October 16 that Washington was watching to ensure Israel's actions on the ground show it does not have a "policy of starvation" in the north.

On Monday, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said around 100,000 people were marooned in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza without medical or food supplies.

The number could be verified independently. 

 Israel’s attack on Iran likely damaged a base run by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that builds ballistic missiles and launches rockets as part of its own space program, satellite images analysed by The Associated Press on Tuesday showed.

The damage at the base in Shahroud raises new questions about Israel’s attack early Saturday, particularly as it took place in an area previously unacknowledged by Tehran and involved the Guard, a powerful force within Iran’s theocracy that so far has remained silent about any possible damage it suffered from the assault.

Iran only has identified Israeli attacks as taking place in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces — not in rural Semnan province where the base is located.

It also potentially further restrains the Guard’s ability to manufacture the solid-fuel ballistic missiles it needs to stockpile as a deterrent against Israel.

Tehran long has relied on that arsenal as it cannot purchase the advanced Western weapons that Israel and Tehran’s Gulf Arab neighbors have armed themselves with over the years, particularly from the United States.

Satellite photos earlier analysed by the AP of two military bases near Tehran also targeted by Israel shows sites there Iran uses in its ballistic missile manufacturing have been destroyed, further squeezing its program.

“We don’t know if Iranian production has been crippled as some people are saying or just damaged,” said Fabian Hinz, a missile expert and research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies who studies Iran.

“We’ve seen enough imagery to show there’s an impact.”

 Spain's Interior Ministry said on Tuesday it was cancelling a contract to buy ammunition from an Israeli firm, widening a Spanish pledge not to sell weapons to Israel to include purchases too.

Cadena Ser radio earlier reported that the Guardia Civil police force had agreed to buy more than 15 million 9-mm rounds for six million euros ($6.48 million) from Guardian LTD Israel.

Spain said it would stop arms sales to Israel in October 2023 when Israel's war in Gaza started.

"The Spanish government maintains the commitment not to sell weapons to the Israeli state since the armed conflict broke out in the territory of Gaza," it said in a statement. "Although in this case it is an acquisition of ammunition, the Interior Ministry has initiated the administrative procedure to cancel the purchase," it said.

The ministry said that Israeli companies would also be excluded from any outstanding tenders.

The contract was tendered in February and awarded on Oct. 21, with two of the three lots awarded to an Israeli company, it added.

Spain has been one of the European Union's harshest critics of Israel's campaign in Gaza and more recently in south Lebanon.

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged other EU members to respond to Spain's and Ireland's request to suspend the bloc's free trade agreement with Israel over its actions.

Qatar has condemned the Israeli parliament's decision to bar the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from operating, warning of "disastrous consequences" for the region.

Majed al-Ansari, a foreign ministry spokesman, stated that "the international community cannot stand silent in the face of this disregard for its international institutions."

UNRWA has provided vital support, education, and healthcare to Palestinians for over 70 years, but has faced significant losses during the ongoing conflict, with many staff members killed and facilities damaged or destroyed.

Ireland's Prime Minister Simon Harris urged the EU to review trade ties with Israel Tuesday over Israeli lawmakers' "despicable" ban of the UN's Palestinian aid agency UNRWA.

The Irish leader criticised the Israeli parliament's "shameful" banning of the agency, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza.

The move has stirred a growing international backlash, including from Israel's ally the United States and European powers.

"The most important action that the European Union could take right now is reviewing trade relations," Harris told reporters in Dublin before meeting incoming European Council president Antonio Costa.

"What Israel and the Israeli Knesset did last night was despicable, disgraceful and shameful. More people will die, more children will starve," he said.

Harris added there was "no alternative" to UNRWA, and that he would discuss with Costa "how Europe now needs to find the moral courage... to act in relation to this.

"Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia and others have been calling for more actions at an EU level. I think that would be a very effective way and I'll be continuing to make that case," he said.

 Israel's decision to ban the UN relief agency UNRWA could result in the deaths of more children and represent a form of collective punishment for Gazans if fully implemented, UN agencies said on Tuesday.

A law passed by Israel on Monday to ban the UN Palestinian refugee agency from operating inside Israel has raised concerns about its ability to provide relief in Gaza after over a year of war.

The agency, which employs thousands of people in Gaza, provides nearly the entire population of the coastal enclave with basic supplies and needs access through Israel.

"If UNRWA is unable to operate, it'll likely see the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza," said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, who has worked extensively in Gaza since the Oct. 7 war began.

"So a decision such as this suddenly means that a new way has been found to kill children."

Palestinian health authorities' data show that over 13,300 children whose identities have been confirmed have been killed in the Gaza war. Many more are believed to have died from diseases due to a collapsing medical system and food and water shortages.

Other UN agencies described UNRWA's work as indispensable.

 Israel's economy lost about 14 billion shekels ($3.75 billion) since the military conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon escalated over the past month, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday.

In an updated forecast, the ministry's economists estimated growth of 0.4% in 2024, down from a prior forecast of 1.1% and well below a projected 1.9% in May.

"This scenario is no longer relevant since the fighting expanded starting at the end of September to the northern arena," the ministry said in a report.

Since its last estimate in September, the geopolitical situation changed drastically - the fighting intensified in Lebanon as Israel responded to Hezbollah rockets with airstrikes and a ground incursion.

That required a large call up of more army reservists, while Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel sent citizens into shelters, hurting the economy by 0.7 percentage point, or about 14 million shekels, the ministry said.

It previously had believed that intense fighting would continue through the first quarter of 2025 but its latest forecast expects the worst of the fighting to end in 2024.

Growth, it said, looks to be 4.3% in 2025 - down from a prior 4.6% - as the economy starts to rebound.

Should fighting continue into 2025 and the return of the economy to normal is delayed, growth this year would be 0.2% and 3.4% next year, the ministry said.

The Bank of Israel earlier this month trimmed its 2024 economic growth estimate to 0.5% from 1.5% and foresees 2025 growth of 3.8% in 2025.

Eight Austrian soldiers belonging to the UN peace-keeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) sustained slight and superficial injuries in a rocket strike on Camp Naqoura near the Israeli border, Austria's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

"We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms and demand that it be investigated immediately," the ministry said in a statement, adding that it was not clear where the attack came from and none of the soldiers needed urgent medical care.

France and the UK have issued separate statements to emphasise its opposition to the Israeli parliament's vote to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

The French foreign ministry said in a statement that it "very strongly regrets" Israel's ban, adding that the "implementation of these laws would have very serious consequences for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which is already catastrophic, but also all of the Palestinian territories."

Meanwhile, a spokesperson of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the legislation would lead to "making Unrwa’s essential work for Palestinians impossible."

"There is a risk that this situation in the region could seriously destabilise… Just because the Knesset [Israeli parliament] has passed this Bill, it does not mean that it has to be implemented, and we urge the Israeli government not to implement this legislation," the statement continued.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has characterised the appointment of Naim Qassem as Hezbollah’s new leader as merely "temporary."

In a post on X, Gallant wrote: "Temporary appointment. Not for long."

The defence minister’s remarks appear to reference Israel’s targeting of Hezbollah’s leadership, including the assassination of the group’s chief, Hassan Nasrallah, in a strike on his underground headquarters in Beirut in late September.

Hamas has extended its congratulations to Hezbollah following the announcement of Naim Qassem as the group's new Secretary-General.

In a statement, Hamas expressed, "We consider this election as evidence of the party’s recovery from the targeting of its leadership bodies, and we affirm our support for the new leadership of the party."

The group wished Qassem and Hezbollah success in "confronting the Zionist enemy and its colonial ambitions in Lebanon, Palestine and the region."

According to Al Jazeera, 109 Palestinians have been killed in the earlier airstrike on a residential building in Beit Lahiya, as reported by medical officials.

In total, 115 people have since been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since dawn.

The Gaza government media office has denounced what it calls a "horrific massacre against civilians, children, and women" following an Israeli attack on a residential building in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza.

In a statement on Telegram, the office urged countries worldwide to condemn the attack, which has reportedly killed 93 people, with many others wounded or missing.

The office also warned that this assault aligns with efforts to dismantle the health system in northern Gaza, demanding the immediate entry of medical teams and supplies to aid the injured.

Top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu discussed developments in Syria, Libya and the escalation in the Middle East with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, RIA news agency said, citing Russian Security Council.

The Israeli army said Tuesday that four of its soldiers fell in combat in the northern Gaza Strip during a single incident in which one other soldier was severely wounded.

"During the incident in which Captain Yehonatan (Joni) Keren, Staff Sergeant Aviv Gilboa, Staff Sergeant Nisim Meytal and Staff Sergeant Naor Haimov fell, an officer in the Multidimensional Unit (888) was severely injured," the army said in a statement, adding the wounded officer was evacuated to hospital.

The health ministry in Gaza said on Tuesday that at least 43,061 people have been killed in the year-long war on the besieged territory.

The toll includes 41 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 101,223 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since last year.

According to the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner's Society, 15 Palestinians were arrested across the occupied West Bank- taking place in the Bethlehem, Nablus and Tubas governorates. 

The groups add that every 1 in 5 Palestinians has been arrested and charged- with the rate among Palestinian men higher than for women.

Over 11,500 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank and East Jerusalem  since the outbreak of the war on Gaza last year.

Lebanese state media said Tuesday that Israeli tanks have rolled into the outskirts of the village of Khiam, their deepest incursion yet into south Lebanon in the ground operation launched last month.

The official National News Agency reported the entry of "a large number of tanks belonging to the Israeli occupation army" into the eastern outskirts of Khiam, some six kilometres (nearly four miles) from the border with Israel.

Qatar will work with US President Joe Biden's administration "until the last minute" before the Presidential election to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal, the Qatari foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

"We don't foresee any negative result of the elections on the mediation process itself. We believe that we are dealing with institutions, and in a country like the United States, the institutions are invested in finding a resolution to this crisis," ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told a press conference. 

(Reuters)

The director-general of Gaza's government media office in Gaza told Al Jazeera Arabic that 93 individuals have been killed and around 40 are missing following the Israeli attack in the Beit Lahia area of northern Gaza.

Ismail al-Thawabta added that numerous wounded individuals have been arriving at Kamal Adwan Hospital, which is no longer operational and unable to provide treatment.

He noted that the building targeted by Israel housed around 200 people, and as of now, 83 individuals have been buried.

Dozens of victims are currently being transported in animal-dragged carts for burial in the Beit Lahiya market area following the horrific massacre committed by the Israeli army this morning. pic.twitter.com/QSlD8DxVQs

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 29, 2024

A barrage of projectiles was fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Tuesday, killing at least one person in the town of Maalot, Israeli emergency services and the military said.

"We saw an unconscious male with no pulse and no breathing... but his injury was critical and we had to pronounce him deceased," emergency service providers Magen Adam David said in a statement after sirens were activated in Maalot.

The Israeli military said in a separate statement that some 50 projectiles had been identified crossing from Lebanon into the Upper and Western Galilee regions on Tuesday morning.

The rocket fire came as Israel continued to pound southern Lebanon.

According to official figures, at least 1,700 people have been killed in Lebanon since September 23, when the fighting escalated as Israel launched an air and ground offensive in the country.

According to Israeli official figures at least 63 people have been killed on the Israeli side, including 12 in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, since cross-border exchanges with Hezbollah erupted in October last year.

The military has lost 37 soldiers in its Lebanon campaign since it launched ground operations on September 30.

The Guardian reports that Ireland's Foreign Minister Micheál Martin plans to advance legislation aimed at sanctioning exports from the occupied Palestinian territories.

The UK news publication added that an imminent election in the country means there likely isn’t enough time for the Occupied Territories Bill to pass entirely.

However, Martin expressed hope it could reach the committee stage, with constitutional and legal amendments prepared to strengthen its viability.

Originally introduced in 2018, the bill gained renewed momentum two weeks ago after receiving clearance from the attorney general, following a July ruling from the International Court of Justice which deemed the occupation of Palestinian territories "unlawful."

 Israeli strikes on Lebanon's Bekaa Valley overnight killed more than 60 people across a dozen towns, the district governor said on Tuesday, the deadliest day yet in the area in more than a year of hostilities.

Rescue workers were still pulling bodies out of the rubble on Tuesday morning.

No evacuation orders were given for any of the towns struck overnight. District governor Bachir Khodor said 67 people had been killed and more than 120 wounded and the death toll was expected to rise.

"That's only the people who've been removed from under the rubble and we still don't have the final toll. This is the most violent day for Baalbek in the last year," Khodor told news agency Reuters.

The toll included nine people killed in Ram, its mayor Nazih Noun said, including a woman and her four children.

 Yemen's Houthis launched drones towards an industrial zone in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, the group's military spokesperson said on Tuesday.

"The UAV (drone) force of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a specific military operation targeting the industrial zone of the Israeli enemy in the Ashkelon region," a Houthi military statement said.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday morning that sirens sounded in Ashkelon after a drone crossed into Israeli territory but fell in an open space in the area.

Turkey's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Israel's decision to ban the UN relief agency UNRWA from operating inside of the country was a clear violation of international law that aimed to prevent displaced Palestinians from returning home.

Israel's parliament passed a law on Monday to ban UNRWA from operating inside Israel, alarming some of Israel's Western allies who fear this will worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the move aimed to disrupt efforts to reach a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding UNRWA provided vital help to Palestinians.

"It is the legal and moral obligation of the international community to take a strong stance against attempts to ban UNRWA, which was established by a U.N. General Assembly resolution," the ministry said.

"As the Chair of the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA, Türkiye will continue to provide political and financial support to the Agency," it added.

Turkey has been fiercely critical of Israel's offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.

It has halted all trade with Israel, applied to join a genocide case against Israel at the World Court, and repeatedly called for an end to Western support of Israel along with international measures to stop its assaults.

In an official statement, Hezbollah confirmed Naim Qassem's selection as the successor to Hassan Nasrallah as the group's Secretary-General, highlighting that Qassem was chosen for his "adherence to the principles and goals of Hezbollah."

"The Shura Council of Hezbollah agreed to elect His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem as Secretary-General of Hezbollah, carrying the blessed banner in this journey, asking God Almighty to guide him in this noble mission in leading Hezbollah and its Islamic resistance," the statement declared.

Lebanon's Hezbollah has announced the appointment of Naim Kassem as its new leader, following the reported death of Hassan Nasrallah.

More updates to come.

Jordan said Tuesday the Israeli parliament's decision to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees was a violation of international law and part of its bid to dismantle the organisation.

In a statement, the kingdom's foreign ministry said Monday's vote was "part of the systematic targeting" of UNRWA and a "continuation of Israel's frantic efforts to assassinate the UN agency politically, in addition to its aggressive war on the Palestinian people".

According to officials in north Gaza's Beit Lahiya, they have reported that at least 77 people, including 17 children under the age of 12, have lost their lives following an Israeli attack on a residential building.

The confirmed death toll has risen steadily as rescue workers continue to recover more bodies, among them many women and children, from beneath the rubble.

Distressing images reveal the ongoing rescue efforts, with individuals being carefully extracted from the debris.

Al Jazeera English reports that Al-Awda Hospital, located nearby in northern Gaza, remains operational but is struggling to handle the overwhelming influx of casualties.

Many of the wounded arriving at the hospital are critically injured, some bleeding profusely or suffering from severe crush injuries due to the collapse of heavy concrete slabs while they slept.