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Israel and Hezbollah trade border fire
Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired a guided missile at an Israeli tank on Tuesday afternoon, according to reports, and Israel said it responded by striking an observation post belonging to Hezbollah, in a third day of violence at the Lebanese-Israeli border.
The Israeli army said no injuries were reported in Tuesday’s attack by Hezbollah, three of whose fighters were killed on Monday by Israeli shelling into Lebanon, Reuters reported.
A salvo of rockets was also fired from Lebanon into Israel in an attack a security source in Lebanon said was carried out by Palestinian factions, according to the news agency. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army said a helicopter struck an observation post belonging to the Hezbollah. No injuries were reported, it said.
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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party said it was taking “big steps” towards forming a unity government on Tuesday.
A party statement said Netanyahu invited the head of the key opposition National Unity party, Benny Gantz, to meet tonight.
The statement comes after an earlier announcement that all partners in Netanyahu’s coalition had approved a proposed expansion of the government to include politicians now in the opposition.
Palestinian death toll rises to more than 830 killed, says Gaza's health ministry
The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli military action has reached at least 830, Gaza’s health ministry said.
The Palestinian health ministry said more than 4,250 have been wounded since Saturday.
The ministry’s last update, on Tuesday morning, listed the death toll at 770 Palestinians and 4,000 wounded.
Lisa O'Carroll
After much confusion and diplomatic stress in the past 24 hours over an announcement by the European Commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, that all €691m payments from the EU to Palestine were to be suspended, the European Commission has provided an explanation.
It transpires that much of the funding Várhelyi was referring to was allocated in 2021 and 2022, with just €82m allocated to the United Nations relief and works agency that has already been disbursed.
The European Commission chief spokesperson said on Tuesday that the humanitarian aid amounted to just €26.9m.
Israel and Hezbollah trade border fire
Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired a guided missile at an Israeli tank on Tuesday afternoon, according to reports, and Israel said it responded by striking an observation post belonging to Hezbollah, in a third day of violence at the Lebanese-Israeli border.
The Israeli army said no injuries were reported in Tuesday’s attack by Hezbollah, three of whose fighters were killed on Monday by Israeli shelling into Lebanon, Reuters reported.
A salvo of rockets was also fired from Lebanon into Israel in an attack a security source in Lebanon said was carried out by Palestinian factions, according to the news agency. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army said a helicopter struck an observation post belonging to the Hezbollah. No injuries were reported, it said.
Patrick Wintour
Speaking before the EU foreign ministers meeting, the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said she was urging Palestinian leaders “in no uncertain terms” to distance themselves from terrorism.
There can be no justification for it. As the Palestinian Authority, you have an obligation to act responsibly, also in the interests of your own people. The violence must not be allowed to spread to the West Bank.
On the issue of suspending EU aid to Palestine, she said:
Germany, like the European Commission, regularly reviews its assistance for the Palestinian territories. In this emergency situation we are once again scrutinising not only our development cooperation but also our humanitarian assistance, in close consultation with the United Nations. We agree, however, that it would be quite wrong at this point in time to halt vital humanitarian assistance for the civilian population.
Emma Graham-Harrison
Israeli forces have freed 30 people who had spent three days in hiding after Hamas militants attacked their kibbutz in the south of the country, Israeli media reported.
Israel Defence Forces reached the group late on Monday evening, after getting a notice that a group of 16 Israelis and 14 Thai citizens were missing, The Times of Israel said.
They announced the rescue on Tuesday. The group lived in Ein Hashlosha kibbutz, just a few kilometres from Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
An officer from the Home Front Command was quoted saying the rescue “brought a little bit of light”. There were no other details given about where or how they had hidden, and a spokesperson for the IDF declined to comment further.
The US president, Joe Biden, is expected to speak on the hour about the unprecedented terror attacks carried about by Hamas and to reaffirm US support for Israel.
Biden will express concern about the potential that some Americans are being held hostage by Hamas, a senior White House official said.
He will also strongly condemn Hamas’s attacks and provide an overview of the actions the US is taking with allies around the world to support Israel, another official said.
Biden’s speech from the White House, slated for 1pm eastern time (1700 GMT), will come after holding his third phone call in four days with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The White House’s national security spokesperson, John Kirby, told reporters on Monday that the US does not plan to put American military forces on the ground in Israel.
Reports of injuries as Hamas attacks Ashkelon with rocket fire
We are hearing reports of injuries in the Israeli costal city of Ashkelon, which Hamas militants targeted with rockets after giving residents just hours to flee.
A 54-year-old woman was treated by medics after she was moderately hurt by the rocket attack on Ashkelon, the Times of Israel reported.
Rocket-warning sirens have been sounding in Ashkelon and the surrounding area.
Israeli military and rescue services entered communities near the border with Gaza to find burned cars, destroyed homes and bodies. Here’s our video report on the latest:
Warning: video contains graphic images that viewers may find distressing.
The body of a four-year-old girl was among the dead pulled from the rubble of a building in Gaza where many were sheltering, and which was damaged during an Israeli airstrike.
The girl was named as Shahid Abu Rokbah, Reuters reported. Rescuers said her family had fled from east of the Khan Younis district to inside the city in search of safety.
One rescuer said:
They tried to escape death only to find it … They came to find shelter. They were taking refuge next to the stairs where it could have been a safe place. They targeted them and killed them.
Rescuers said they were hopeful of finding survivors, as they dug through rubble.
Some injured people were sleeping here. This is their blood. Here there was a mother and her children. We removed the woman in the evening and the children were martyred and we just took them out from under rubble
Gaza’s health ministry said Israel’s retaliatory strikes had killed at least 770 people and wounded more than 4,000.
