Israel-Hamas war updates: Israeli attack kills Al Jazeera’s Samer Abudaqa

This live page is now closed. Follow along with our coverage of the Israeli war on Gaza on our new page, here.

To read testimonies from Al Jazeera colleagues who have bid Samer Abudaqa farewell, read our story here.

How are people around the world defying Israel? Read our explainer here.

We will soon be closing this live page. Below is a recap of the day’s main developments:

• An Israeli attack on Farhana school in Gaza’s Khan Younis kills Al Jazeera journalist Samer Abudaqa and injures the network’s Gaza chief Wael Dahdouh.
• Attack also kills another Palestinian journalist, Rami Budair, and three civil defence team members.
• The Israeli army says its forces killed three captives after “mistakenly” identifying them as a threat in Shujayea.
• Israel approves the opening of the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) border crossing to allow the entry of aid into Gaza.
• PA President Abbas reiterates the urgent need to stop Israeli attacks on Gaza during a meeting with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

Freedom House, which describes itself as “the leading American organization devoted to the support and defense of democracy around the world”, said the humanitarian crisis for Palestinians is growing “increasingly dire”.

“The number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli military campaign is unacceptable and continues to rise. Israel must adhere to international law,” the group said in a social media post.

“We urge the United States and the international community to find a pathway to freedom and security for Palestinians and Israelis, including through the establishment of a democratic Palestinian state that upholds freedom for its people and peace with Israel.”

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) highlighted the vital role that Palestinian journalists play in conveying what’s happening in Gaza.

“We condemn these latest war crimes, including the targeting of independent journalists in Gaza, and we call on the Biden administration to do the same,” CAIR executive director Nihad Awad said in a statement.

“Because the Israeli government refuses to allow Western journalists safe and regular access to Gaza, local journalists like Wael al-Dahdouh are the only sources of independent reporting on the impact of the Israeli government’s war crimes.”

Axios’s Barak Ravid says that the director of Israel’s spy agency David Barnea is expected to meet Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe this weekend to discuss the resumption of talks on a deal to secure the release of captives held in the Gaza Strip.

Ravid reports that this will be the first meeting between senior Qatari and Israeli officials since a seven-day truce between Israel and Hamas broke down earlier this month.

This report emerges as the families of the captives in Gaza are protesting the accidental killing of three of their loved ones by the Israeli military.

Speaking to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic from Brussels, Yazan said his father was dedicated to journalism.

“He was a journalist. He wasn’t a fighter – just a journalist conveying the message to the world about the crimes of the occupation in Gaza,” said Yazan, stressing that the Israeli army “assassinated” him.

“What did he do? Did he hold a gun? Did he hold a rocket? He only held a camera to show the world what the Israelis are doing.”

He added that his father was beloved by everyone. “His smile was always out there for those who loved him. He treated us both as friends and children.”

Riyad Mansour says Israel is targeting the “present and future” of Palestine by killing Palestinian academics, engineers and journalists, including Al Jazeera’s Abudaqa.

“Enough is enough,” Mansour said in a session of the UN General Assembly.

“This is how Israel conducts its assaults, through atrocities,” he continued.

“Because its goal is not security – not the security of those held captive in Gaza, not the security of the Israeli people – but the destruction and displacement of the Palestinian people, even if that means prolonging the conflict indefinitely.”

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society says Israeli forces have detained at least 16 Palestinians in the last 24 hours.

The arrests took place in Nablus, Hebron, Tubas, Qalqilya, as well as in occupied East Jerusalem.

The prisoner’s society said the total number of Palestinians detained since October 7 in the West Bank and East Jerusalem now stands at 4,420.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby has expressed Washington’s “deepest sympathies and condolences” for the killing of the Al Jazeera journalist.

“We know it’s a heavy loss indeed. And we’re grateful that he and your colleagues are still out there covering this war,” Kirby told reporters.

“Journalists need to be able to have the freedom to cover conflicts around the world … It’s never acceptable to deliberately target them.”

Although Israel has killed dozens of media workers in Gaza, Kirby said the US does not have “any indications that they are deliberately targeting journalists”.

Kirby previously said that the US is not drawing any red lines for Israel as it supplies its ally with weapons and bombs in a conflict that UN experts have said poses a “risk of genocide” to Palestinians.

That number includes Al Jazeera’s Samer Abudaqa.

The CPJ has confirmed the deaths of 64 journalists and media workers in total since October 7. In addition to the Palestinians, four Israelis have been killed, as well as three Lebanese.

Many others have been injured, arrested, or are missing.

Lloyd Austin of the US and the UK’s Grant Shapps spoke about the matter during a phone call today, the Pentagon says.

Both officials agreed that “the scale and frequency of these attacks constitute a significant international problem that must be addressed,” according to a readout the call.

We’ve been reporting on attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. One such attack occurred as recently as this afternoon with a Liberian-flagged cargo ship being hit by a projectile and catching fire.

IfNotNow decried Israel’s “indiscriminate and excessive force” in Gaza after the military said it mistakenly shot three Israeli captives in the Palestinian territory.

“We are horrified by the killing of three Israeli hostages by Israeli military,” the youth-led group said in a statement.

“This indiscriminate massacre in Gaza spares no one. The killing of hostages by Israel demonstrates how much this reckless war is a product of Netanyahu’s military failure and Biden’s diplomatic failure.”

Top US officials have rebuked Israel for attacks on the Lebanese military over the past two months, according to a report by CNN.

“The Israelis have struck Lebanese Armed Forces positions more than 34 times since October 7, including with small arms and artillery fire, drones and helicopters,” CNN said.

CNN cited US officials as saying the strikes are “unacceptable”.