- Britain’s foreign minister, David Lammy, has told parliament he is reassured that the UN Palestinian refugee agency had taken steps to “ensure it meets the highest standards of neutrality”. He confirms the United Kingdom will provide 21 million pounds ($27m) to UNRWA.
- The Israeli army bombed its ninth school shelter in the Gaza Strip in recent days, this time in Gaza City. The attack killed at least two Palestinians who were sheltering there among other internally displaced people.
- Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports that at least five people were killed when the Israeli army shelled a house in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. The attack was followed by shelling that killed at least eight people in the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp.
- At least 38,848 people have been killed and 89,459 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. The death toll in Israel from Hamas-led attacks on October 7 is estimated at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive in Gaza.
- Hezbollah claims three more attacks on Israeli targetsWe have reported earlier today that the Lebanese armed group claimed three separate attacks on Israeli targets.Since then, Hezbollah announced hitting three more, including “a direct hit” on Israeli soldiers which resulted in a fire in an area in the vicinity of the Ramim military barracks with a Burkan missile.It also claimed to have shelled an Israeli military site near Metula in northern Israel, before targeting “the enemy’s artillery positions in Khirbet Ma’ar” with dozens of Katyusha and Al-Falaq rockets.
- UK’s new Labour government to resume funding to UNRWABritain’s foreign minister, David Lammy, has told parliament he is reassured that the UN Palestinian refugee agency had taken steps to “ensure it meets the highest standards of neutrality”.Britain was one of several countries to halt their funding to the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA following accusations by Israel that some of the agency’s staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.“I can confirm to the house that we are overturning the suspension of UNRWA funding, Britain will provide 21 million [pounds, $27m] in funds” to the agency, he said.
- Tit-for-tat strikes pushing Israel, Hezbollah into fiercer conflictReporting from Safad El Battikh, southern LebanonThere is widespread destruction in the souther Lebanese town of Safad El Battikh, near the Israeli border, with a four-storey building hit by an Israeli strike overnight.At least two people were killed here, two members of Hezbollah. We understand from security sources that one of them was a field commander with its elite unit, the Radwan Force. Nineteen civilians were also injured.This is part of the ongoing violence along the border between the Israeli military and Hezbollah. We cannot rule out further escalation. Hezbollah officials believe Israel is not able to widen the scope of its attacks. They say the Israeli army is bogged down in Gaza and its resources have been exhausted. But the Israelis are threatening.What Israel wants is for Hezbollah to pull back from the border at least 8-9km so that 70,000-80,000 Israeli citizens can return to their homes in the north.Hezbollah is refusing to discuss any new arrangement on the border until after the war on Gaza ends. The longer these tit-for-tat strikes continue, you cannot rule out the possibility of this conflict widening.
- Iranian-designed drone used in Tel Aviv attack from Yemen: IsraelThe Israeli military believes the deadly drone that landed in Tel Aviv was launched by the Houthis from Yemen, and was an improved version of the Samad-3 drone designed by Iran with extended flight range.“Iran supports, finances, and praises its agents in the region from Gaza to Judea and Samaria, all the way to Lebanon and Yemen,” said Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari, referencing the occupied West Bank with its biblical name.He said the same drones have been repeatedly launched at Israel from Yemen since the start of the war on Gaza, most of which have been shot down by US forces or Israeli fighter jets.Hagari said the military will continue to assess the drone attack in the coming days to adjust its defences and decide on a suitable “offensive response”.
- Israel’s Gallant promises to ‘settle the score’ after Tel Aviv attackIsrael’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has promised retaliation following a deadly Houthi-claimed drone strike on Tel Aviv.“We will settle the score with anyone who harms the State of Israel or directs terror against it,” Israeli Army Radio quoted Gallant as saying.The remarks come after Gallant met with a group of top military and intelligence officials, including Israel’s military chief of staff Herzi Halevi, for an assessment of this morning’s drone attack, which killed at least one person and injured 10 others.
Israel’s war on Gaza live: UK to resume funding to UNRWA
