Israel war on Gaza updates: Israel-Hezbollah tensions may derail ceasefire
Attack on Golan Heights has ‘toughened’ Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance, as Israel’s spy chief concludes Rome meeting with mediators.
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- After convening Israel’s security cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have been authorised to choose when and how Israel responds to the deadly attack on the occupied Golan Heights.
- Tanks have pushed deeper into Gaza’s two main southern cities as battles between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters surge with a new evacuation order issued for overcrowded central areas.
- Iran warns against “any ignorant action of the Zionist regime”, saying Israel will be held responsible for “the unforeseen consequences … to such stupid behaviour”.
- At least 66 Palestinian people have been killed and 241 injured in Israeli strikes across Gaza over the past 24-hour reporting period, the health ministry says.
- At least 39,324 people have been killed and 90,830 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 taken captive.
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Here’s what happened today
This live page will close soon. Here’s a recap of today’s events:
- Israeli PM Netanyahu said, after convening the country’s security cabinet, that he and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have been authorised to decide when and how Israel retaliates for a deadly attack on the occupied Golan Heights yesterday. Israel blames Lebanon’s Hezbollah for the attack, a charge the group denies.
- The Israeli army issued new evacuation orders for residents of Nuseirat and Bureij in the central Gaza Strip, affecting about 29,000 people, the UN said.
- The UN also said that only 14 of Gaza is not currently under Israeli army evacuation orders.
- An Israeli delegation led by the country’s spy chief met with mediators in Rome over a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
- Tanks pushed deeper into Gaza’s two main southern cities, Rafah and Khan Younis, as battles between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters surged.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey might intervene in Israel’s war on Gaza, prompting condemnation from Israeli officials.
Jordanian foreign ministry warns of ‘dangerous escalation’ in southern Lebanon
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry has warned of a “dangerous escalation” in southern Lebanon which could lead to a regional conflict.
Ministry spokesperson Sufian Qudah said it was important to support Lebanon’s security, stability and the wellbeing of its people and institutions, The Jordan Times reported.
Qudah also called for an international effort to immediately stop the conflict.
Israeli army fighting Palestinians north of Jerusalem: Wafa
The Israeli army is fighting with Palestinians in the town of al-Issawiya, north of Jerusalem, the Wafa news agency reported.
The confrontations began as the military stormed a medical centre in the town, Wafa reported, citing local sources.
One man, identified as Muhammad Yasser Darwish, was arrested.
More countries issue travel warnings for Lebanon
We reported earlier that the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Beirut encouraged all Norwegian citizens to leave Lebanon amid escalating tensions with Israel.
The Irish government also said that it “strongly advises all Irish citizens currently in Lebanon to leave now, while commercial options remain available.”
“In light of the unpredictability of the situation, events could escalate throughout the country with very little warning. This could affect exit routes out of Lebanon,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
The US Embassy in Beirut told its citizens to “monitor their flight status closely, to be aware that itineraries could change with little or no warning, and to make alternate plans” after Lebanon’s MEA company changed its flight schedule citing security concerns.
“The security environment in Lebanon remains complex and can change quickly,” it added.
WHO gives update on al-Shifa Hospital repairs
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director of the World Health Organization, says on X that WHO teams managed to reach al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza to “assess progress being made to restore emergency care and ongoing services in the hemodialysis unit”.
Tedros shared a video showing the progress of the rehabilitation efforts.
In the video, Dr Marwaan Abu Saadah, the hospital’s acting director, says that he hopes al-Shifa’s new emergency department will be ready to receive patients within two weeks.
Repairs are going well, Tedros said. But, he added: “The hospital lacks specialised personnel, medical supplies and equipment. WHO and partners are working to deploy international medical teams and mobilise medical and surgical supplies.”
Al-Shifa Hospital has been the target of multiple attacks and raids by Israeli forces since the war on Gaza began last October.
Most recently, in late March, the army conducted a two-week raid on the medical complex, leaving behind destruction and dead bodies.
Earlier this week @WHO and partners managed to reach Al-Shifa hospital in northern #Gaza to assess progress being made to restore emergency care and ongoing services in the hemodialysis unit.
Work is underway to rehabilitate the hospital’s former outpatient department and… pic.twitter.com/l1hHmLqJz3
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) July 28, 2024
Starmer tells Israel ‘immediate steps’ needed towards Gaza ceasefire
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has delivered this message to Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, Starmer’s office says in a statement.
“The Prime Minister said there must be immediate steps towards a ceasefire, so that hostages can be released and more humanitarian aid can get in for those in desperate need,” the statement reads.
“The Prime Minister reiterated his ongoing support for Israel’s right to self-defence in accordance with international law,” the statement added.
Several strikes reported in southern Lebanon
Lebanese media has reported several strikes on towns in southern Lebanon, amid rising tensions with Israel after a strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights yesterday killed 12 people.
Lebanese media reported raids on Hula, Markaba, Aita al-Shaab, Khiam, Shaheen, Yaroun, Meiss el-Jabal, Kfar Kila and Bourj al-Shamali.
These towns have been targeted multiple times since Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging fire in October, but Lebanon is now bracing for the possibility of a wider Israeli attack following the rocket that hit Majdal Shams, in the occupied Golan Heights.
Cabinet authorises Netanyahu to decide on Golan Heights attack response
After the meeting of Israel’s security cabinet ended, Netanyahu’s office said the cabinet “authorised the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister to decide on the manner and timing of the response”.
Lebanon has asked the US to urge restraint from Israel, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Reuters. Bou Habib said the US had asked Lebanon’s government to pass on a message to Hezbollah to show restraint as well.
There are expectations of a strong response following the security cabinet meeting convened by Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.
Israel’s Katz sends warning to Erdogan after comments
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has responded to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement on possibly entering Israel to defend Palestinians.
“Erdogan follows in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel,” Katz said on X, referring to the former Iraqi leader.
“Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended.”
Hussein was executed in 2006 after being sentenced to death by an Iraqi court, convicted of crimes against humanity.
Turkey might enter Israel to help Palestinians: Erdogan
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkey might enter Israel as it had done in the past in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, though he did not spell out what sort of intervention he was suggesting.
Erdogan, who has been a fierce critic of Israel’s war on Gaza, made his statement during a speech praising his country’s defence industry.
“We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine. Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them,” Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling AK Party in his hometown of Rize.
“There is no reason why we cannot do this … We must be strong so that we can take these steps,” Erdogan added in the meeting, which was televised.
In 2020, Turkey sent military personnel to Libya to support the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord of Libya. Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who heads the Government of National Unity in Tripoli, is backed by Turkey.
Turkey has denied any direct role in Azerbaijan’s military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh, but said last year that it was using “all means”, including military training and modernisation, to support its close ally.
Harris’s support for Israel ‘ironclad’ after attack on Golan Heights
US Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for Israel’s security is “ironclad,” her national security adviser Phil Gordon says, adding that she has been briefed and is closely monitoring a rocket attack on a football ground in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
“The Vice President has been briefed and is closely monitoring Hezbollah’s horrific attack on a soccer field in Majdal Shams in northern Israel yesterday which killed a number of children and teenagers. She condemns this horrific attack and mourns for all those killed and wounded.
“Israel continues to face severe threats to its security, and the Vice President’s support for Israel’s security is ironclad,” Gordon said in a statement.
Families of children killed in Golan attack refuse to meet Netanyahu: Report
According to Haaretz, Netanyahu’s office unsuccessfully tried to organise a meeting today or tomorrow between the premier and several relatives of the children killed in the rocket attack on Majdal Shams.
The report said that senior members of Netanyahu’s office contacted a few relatives and were told that the families prefer not to meet the prime minister.
Lebanon’s parliament deputy speaker: ‘We do not want war’
Elias Bou Saab has given an interview to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic, as Israel appears poised to retaliate against Hezbollah for an attack on the occupied Golan Heights yesterday, which killed 12.
Israel blames Hezbollah, the Lebanese political party and paramilitary force, for the attack – a charge it has denied.
Here are a few of the deputy speaker’s key points:
- Hezbollah has no interest in bombing the town of Majdal Shams.
- The mediators are in constant contact with us and trying to avoid a major escalation.
- We do not want war but the Israelis want to cover up what is happening in Gaza by escalation.
- US envoy Amos Hochstein is well aware of the difficulty of controlling the fronts while the war on Gaza continues.
- Lebanon is united and will be more united if Israel decides to expand its attacks.
- Israel must realise that war is not what will bring the residents back to their towns in the north.
- If civilian casualties occur or if Beirut and its suburbs are targeted, we will not consider this a measured and limited response.
Israeli security cabinet meetings ends, reports say
Israeli media is reporting that the cabinet, which was convened earlier by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has authorised him and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to decide on the country’s response to yesterday’s deadly attack on Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth reports that the military will take “limited” but strong action against Hezbollah, the group in Lebanon that Israel blames for the attack.
Hezbollah has denied all responsibility.
Tensions between Netanyahu, Gallant over Golan Heights attack
Israeli media is reporting that PM Benjamin Netanyahu has been angered by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s response to the strike on Majdal Shams yesterday, in the latest sign of disagreement within the government.
The Kan public broadcaster said Netanyahu was angered by Gallant’s statement that he had discussed “options for action” with security chiefs before the prime minister returned from Washington.
Netanyahu was also angered by Gallant’s remark that he had “determined the courses of action and instructed the defence establishment accordingly.”
Netanyahu denies children exit from Gaza to UAE for treatment
According to Israeli media reports, Israel had perviously given approval to allow 150 critically ill children from Gaza to receive treatment in the UAE.
However, following the incident in Majdal Shams, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended this decision, the reports said.
Tania Hary, executive director at Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, said the children were meant to leave tomorrow via Israel’s Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing.
Reports say Israel will delay a convoy of children who were meant to exit Gaza tomorrow via Kerem Shalom xing to the UAE for medical treatment, for fear of public backlash after the horrific attack on Majdal Shams.
We should be working towards fewer children suffering, not more! https://t.co/C1Ul0AKCVA— Tania Hary (@taniahary) July 28, 2024
No dignified survival for the displaced: UN OCHA
The United Nations humanitarian agency’s branch for the occupied Palestinian territories has said that about 29,000 people were staying in the area designated by the Israeli military for evacuation today.
“Over 200,000 have already been displaced over the past week by previous orders,” the agency said, adding that it comprises 9 percent of Gaza’s population.
“Recurrent displacement is depriving civilians of dignified survival,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
About 29,000 people were in the area the Israeli military designated for evacuation today.
Over 200,000 have already been displaced over the past week by previous orders – 9% of #Gaza's population.
Recurrent displacement is depriving civilians of dignified survival. #EndTheWar pic.twitter.com/OeE3vtujYF
— OCHA oPt (Palestine) (@ochaopt) July 28, 2024
Qassam, al-Quds Brigades claim series of attacks on Israeli military
The military wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad say their fighters:
- Used 114mm short-range Rajoum rockets to target an Israeli military command centre in the Netzarim Corridor, which Israel set up during the war to separate northern Gaza from the south.
- Targeted a group of soldiers located south of Gaza City.
- Shelled the kibbutz of Nahal Oz and the adjacent military base near the northern Gaza Strip.
- Shelled Sderot, the closest Israeli city to the Gaza fence, as well as other cities close to the besieged coastal enclave.
- Held back a group of Israeli soldiers invading the eastern part of Khan Younis, south of the Strip.
- Shelled a group of soldiers raiding Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis.
- Targeted with machine-gun fire a military helicopter that was flying low in az-Zanna area, east of Khan Younis.
- Fired antipersonnel weapons on a group of soldiers stationed inside a house in Tal al-Hawa, south of Gaza City.
- Targeted a military personnel carrier with Yasin-105 rockets also in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood.
- Shelled groups of soldiers in Juhor ad-Dik in the central Gaza Strip.
256 detainees have died inside Israeli prisons since 1967: Group
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society has said that there are 28 prisoners whose bodies are still being held by Israeli authorities.
Seventeen of the 28 have died since October 7 and their bodies have not been returned to their families for burial, the organisation said.