Israeli attack on tents housing journalists in Gaza kills at least two people, medics say
Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Israel’s continuing war on Gaza.
Israel struck tents outside two major hospitals in the Gaza Strip overnight, killing at least two people, including a local reporter, and injuring nine, including six reporters, Palestinian medics said.
One of the Israeli airstrikes hit a media tent outside Nasser hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, setting it ablaze, killing Helmi al-Faqawi of Palestine Today TV, and another man. Two of the six reporters injured in the airstrike are in a critical condition, with one suffering from severe burns and the other with a head injury, according to reports.
Under international law, journalists are protected civilians who must not be targeted by warring parties. But more than 200 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli forces since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.
Israel also targeted tents on the edge of the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in central Gaza, which said two people were killed and three injured in an Israeli airstrike on a home in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
In some other developments:
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At least three people were killed by Israeli attacks on the Zeitoun district of Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.
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US airstrikes on Sana’a yesterday killed at least four people and injured over 20 others, including women and children, according to health officials and local reports.
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Hamas said yesterday it had fired rockets at cities in Israel’s south in response to Israeli “massacres” of civilians in Gaza. Israel’s military said about ten projectiles were fired, but most successfully intercepted. Israeli emergency services said they were treating one person for shrapnel injuries.
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A war crimes complaint against 10 Britons who served with the Israeli military in Gaza is to be submitted to the Met police by one of the UK’s leading human rights lawyers.
Key events
French President Emmanuel Macron has met his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a visit to Cairo.
Here are some of the highlights of what Macron said after the talks:
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Macron said he strongly opposed any displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. “We are firmly opposed to the displacement of populations and to any annexation of both Gaza and the West Bank,” Macron told journalists. “This would be a violation of international law and a serious threat to the security of the entire region, including Israel,” he said.
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Macron said Hamas, which has run Gaza since 2007, should have no part in governing the strip after the war and reiterated his support for a reconstruction plan for the territory endorsed by the Arab League. “I salute here the crucial work of Egypt on this plan, which offers a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and should also pave the way for new Palestinian governance in the enclave led by the Palestinian Authority,” he said. “Hamas must have no role in this governance, and must no longer constitute a threat to Israel.”
In a symbolic move, Macron will reportedly go tomorrow to the Egyptian port city of El-Arish, located about 50km (31 miles) from Gaza where humanitarian aid is gathered.
For over a month Israel has shut off all sources of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies for the Gaza Strip’s population of more than 2 million Palestinians. It’s the longest blockade yet of its 17-month war on Gaza, with no sign of it ending.
Aid workers have stretched supplies, but warn of a catastrophic surge in severe hunger and malnutrition.
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