Israel’s war on Gaza live: Spate of deadly attacks as Iran fallout looms
At least 11 people – including five children – have been killed in the latest Israeli strikes on southern Rafah where 1.5 million displaced Palestinians fear an imminent ground invasion.
Qatar’s prime minister says the country is reviewing its mediator role in Gaza ceasefire talks, accusing “some parties” of using the process for “narrow political interest”.
The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to vote on Friday on a Palestinian request for full UN membership – a move the United States, Israel’s staunchest ally, is expected to block.
At least 33,899 Palestinians have been killed and 76,664 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139 with dozens of captives held in Gaza.
9:15 am
Nine killed in overnight attacks by Israeli warplanes, 15 missing: Report
At least nine people have been killed, several wounded and 15 are reported missing under the rubble following another night of deadly attacks by Israeli forces on civilian houses in the Gaza Strip.
Wafa, the official Palestinian state news agency, reports that at least four people were killed when Israeli aircraft attacked a house in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City.
Three people were also killed and several wounded when Israeli fighter jets hit a residence in the Sheikh Radwan area north of Gaza City. Fifteen people are still missing and believed to be under the rubble of the destroyed building, Wafa reports.
The bodies of two people were also recovered following an air attack on a house in Nuseirat in central Gaza.
Palestinian women react as they sit on the rubble of a residential building housing their apartments, following an Israeli raid, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, April 18, 2024. REUTERS/Doaa Rouqa
Palestinian women sit on the rubble of a residential building that housed their apartments in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on April 18, 2024 [Doaa Rouqa/Reuters]
2:43 pm
Lebanon accuses Mossad of assassinating Hezbollah-linked money man
“Lebanese security agencies have suspicion or accusations that Mossad was behind this operation,” Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi told The Associated Press, referring to the Israeli spy agency. “The way the crime was carried out led to this suspicion.”
Mohammad Srour, 57, who was sanctioned by the US, was found dead with thousand of dollars in cash scattered around him, in a resort town near Beirut. Pistols with silencers and gloves in a bucket were found at the scene, with chemicals used to remove fingerprints.
Mawlawi gave no evidence for his allegations but said Lebanon’s investigation is continuing.
The suspicion that Israeli agents killed Srour comes during intensifying clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli troops.
2:40 pm
Iran’s top diplomat to speak at UN Security Council
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian landed in New York City and will later address the UN Security Council as tit-for-tat attacks with Israel raise fears of a wider war in the Middle East.
He said the UNSC meeting will “focus on the Palestinian issue”, adding Israel’s war on Gaza has reached a boiling point.
“The spillover of this situation is clearly visible in the region,” he told reporters. “It is an opportunity to explain Iran’s views in line with the necessity of establishing lasting peace and security in the region.”
