"We will not agree to a cessation of hostilities," says Netanyahu; Israeli soldier freed in Gaza: Day 24 of the Israel-Hamas war

Thanks for following our LIVE blog on day 24 of the Israel-Hamas war. We will be back tomorrow with more news updates.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the US is responsible for the "deadly chaos" in the Middle East, reported AFP.

Putin added that "ruling elites in the US are main beneficiaries of the global instability," according to Reuters.

He said that "Palestinians can only be helped by fighting those who are behind this conflict," stating that Russia "is fighting them in Ukraine."

The United States said it has put pressure on Israel to restore internet access in the Gaza Strip, reported AFP.

Communications were cut off on Friday during intense Israeli shelling.

"We made it clear to the government of Israel over the weekend that communications networks needed to be restored, and we're pleased that they've taken steps in that direction," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

"We are protecting and defending the area near Lebanon ... the Air Force are prepared in order to provide a response to any threat that might evolve from the north," said Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a press conference tonight.

"Hezbollah is paying a heavy price and we are saying once again, we do not want war. But if anyone tries to drag us into this reality they will pay a very heavy price," he added.

We received more information on the bombardments that happened in Alma Shaab, South Lebanon, around an hour and a half ago:

Residents of the town told L'Orient Today's correspondent in South Lebanon that Israel targeted a house there and caused damage to it but without causing casualties.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netyanhu is speaking at a press conference, after an Israeli solider was freed from Hamas during a ground campaign, according to the Israeli military.

"Will not agree to a cessation of hostilities ... calls for a ceasefire are a call for Israel to surrender to Hamas and to surrender to terrorism ... That will not happen ... This is a time for war," Netanyahu said in his speech.

"Even the most just wars have unintended civilian casualties," he said.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said today that Israel had been "let down" by the global body, saying its agency chiefs had not done enough to condemn Hamas.

"Generally, the United Nations has let down the people of Israel," Israeli Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar told reporters, naming the World Health Organization (WHO).

10 members of staff from The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) have been killed in Gaza in the last 72 hours, according to a statement by the organization.

UNWRA confirmed that 63 staff members have been killed since Oct. 7.

They added that 672,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) sheltering in UNRWA installations across the Gaza Strip are “facing increasingly desperate conditions."

They said a 36-hour disruption in communications across the Gaza Strip, since Oct. 27 into the early hours of Oct. 29, has hindered its ability to provide lifesaving assistance.

UNRWA said it is running out of critical medicines, but that it has received a one-month supply of insulin through the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Israeli Army shared details about one of their soldiers who has been freed after being held hostage by Hamas, in a post on their X (formerly Twitter) account.

"She is home," they said. They added that Private Ori Megidish, who was abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, was released tonight during Israel's military ground operations, and that she is in good medical condition.

An Israeli soldier has been freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza during a ground operation, announced the Israeli military in a statement, according to Reuters.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani today, Blinken's office reported in a statement.

They discussed "the humanitarian situation in Gaza, in the context of the Israeli military operations in response to Hamas's horrific and relentless terrorist attacks," the text read.

Blinken "reiterated his thanks to the Qatari government for its action in favor of the exit of American citizens and foreign nationals from Gaza, the release of hostages held by Hamas, including two American citizens, and the continuation of efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading," according to the statement.

The two leaders stressed the need to "protect all civilian lives and provide sustained humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people."

Al Jazeera said it is "shocked and outraged" by reports of a "threat claiming to be from Israeli forces” towards their journalist Youmna Elsayed and her family in Gaza, according to their account on X (formerly Twitter).

Al Jazeera said the journalist and her family were forced “to leave their homes” in the Gaza strip, because the area where they live is being heavily bombarded by the Israeli Army.

This comes a few days after the family of Al Jazeera Arabic journalist, Wael al-Dahdouh, were killed in Israeli bombing in Gaza, after being asked to move south.

At least 29 journalists have been killed since the start of the war, including 24 Palestinians, the news organization added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli Army is progressing "methodically" in the Gaza Strip, reported AFP.

The Israeli Army "has extended its land entry into the Gaza Strip, it is doing so in measured and very powerful steps, progressing methodically step by step," he said at the opening of the cabinet meeting.

Nazih, son of Hezbollah member Mounir Youssef Achour, who was killed in southern Lebanon amidst tension between Israel and Hezbollah, lies on top of his father's coffin during his funeral in Chaqra, Lebanon, Oct. 30, 2023. (Credit: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

"The solution cannot be military; it must be political," said caretaker Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, in a discussion with Russia's Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Rodakov in Beirut today, according to his remarks relayed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X (formerly Twitter).

"This war is the result of an Israeli policy that has sabotaged the foundations of the two-state solution for decades," continued Bou Habib.

In addition, the minister received the representative of the Vatican in Lebanon, and said to him that "Israel must agree to cease fire immediately in Gaza."

Earlier in the day, Bou Habib had spoken by phone with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong, telling her that "Israel's threat to strike and destroy Lebanon is pointless."

Hezbollah fighters targeted an Israeli post at Jal al-Allam, opposite to Naqoura (southern Lebanon), with guided missiles this afternoon, the party announced in a statement. It also claimed to have caused damage to their equipment.

The Israeli Army said it attacked what it called "a terrorist cell" in Lebanese territory which had tried to launch mortar bombs towards Israel in the area of ​​Rosh Hankara, in Western Galilee, according to an X (formerly Twitter) post by Israeli Army spokesperson Daniel Hagari. He did not specify which group was responsible.

"Following the initial report of a warning in the Moshav of Elkosh (a moshav is a type of Israeli settlement, a cooperative agricultural community), two missiles were identified that crossed into Israeli territory and fell in open areas," Hagari added.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for targeting the technical equipment of the Pranit barracks at 4 p.m. today with appropriate weapons, adding that they directly hit the barracks and its garrison.

Security sources confirmed to L'Orient Today that Israel shelled the outskirts of the town of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district).

A security source also told our correspondent in the South that an Israeli helicopter fired a missile at the outskirts of the town of Alma Shaab (Sour district) and that an Israeli missile shell targeted a house in the municipality of Shihine, near a mosque, without causing any casualties.

Hamas' military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, said it is currently "engaged in armed clashes with automatic weapons and 'Yasin 105' rockets" against Israel in northwestern Gaza, according to a post by Hamas on their official telegram channel.

Israeli news website Haaretz reported that sirens are sounding in the "Gaza-border community."

TESTIMONY: Haneen, who is living in Gaza, told L'Orient Today, "I'm not in a camp. I was fortunate to find an apartment to rent in Deir al-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip. There are nearly 50 of us living there."

She added that over the past two days, it has been particularly challenging to communicate with her family and friends in Gaza. "The Internet connection is unstable, sometimes mobile data only works for a few seconds," she said.

She added that it's "impossible for people to set up tents in the streets, as they are continuously being bombed."

"I spoke with my aunt, who is still in Gaza City, the place from which we were advised to evacuate ... she told me that the sky remains dark even in the middle of the day, and it's impossible to have even 15 minutes of respite from the bombing," she concluded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the video released by Hamas of three women held hostage since the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 as "cruel psychological propaganda," according to a statement reported by AFP.

"I turn to Yelena Trupanob, Daniel Aloni and Rimon Kirsht who have been kidnapped by Hamas, which is committing war crimes ... Our hearts go out to you and to all the other kidnapped people," he added.

A meeting of the Lebanese cabinet is scheduled for Wednesday Nov. 1 at 10 a.m., the Grand Serail announced on X (formerly Twitter).

The meeting's agenda includes 19 items, none of which mention the tense security situation in southern Lebanon since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

However, a parliamentary meeting is scheduled on Tuesday 11 a.m., to discuss an emergency plan with the caretaker cabinet in view of the hostilities on the border with Israel.

Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas, succeeded in "countering the Israeli army from all sides and inflicting heavy losses on its members and equipment," said member of Hamas's political bureau Ghazi Hamad on the group's Telegram channel.

According to him, 881 families have been targeted by the Israeli army's "massacres" in Gaza. He deplored the fact that 42% of those killed in the enclave are children.

"The Israeli occupation is currently threatening hospitals in Gaza, in flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law," he added. 

Hamas recalled that only 110 trucks of aid had entered the Strip since the start of the offensive.

Residents of the village of Alma Shaab (Sour district) urged caretaker Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayad on Monday to "take swift action to restore power to the village," where public electricity has been cut off for 21 days, according to a statement published by state-run National News Agency (NNA).

The residents of Deir Zahrani (Nabatieh) are in the same situation, the statement said. These villages, located in southern Lebanon, have been regular targets of Israeli bombardment since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel.

"Israel's threat to strike and destroy Lebanon is pointless," said Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib in a telephone conversation with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong on Monday, according to the ministry's X (formerly Twitter) account.

"How does Israel benefit from the mass murder of Palestinian civilians? Doesn't this encourage them to react and further defend themselves?" he asked, stressing "the need for the Israeli war to stop."

Hamas released a video today of three women presented as hostages among those it has been holding in the Gaza Strip since Hamas's attack on Oct. 7.

The 76-second video, broadcast by Hamas media under the title "A number of Zionist detainees send a message to [Benjamin] Netanyahu and his government," showed one of the three women calling on the Israeli Prime Minister to conclude a prisoner swap with the Islamist movement to secure their release.

The Israeli Army said that it attacked a Hezbollah military infrastructure in Lebanon today, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari.

He said that Hezbollah fired at one of their military posts with no casualties. The Israeli Army responded with artillery fire and attacked a "military infrastructure of Hezbollah in Lebanese territory."

Meanwhile, a security source told L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South that the vicinities of Deir Mimas, Odaisseh, Kfar Kila (Marjayoun district) and Labbouneh (Sour district) were shelled.

Residents of the town of Jibbayn (Sour district) also told L'Orient Today that a shell fell at the entrance of a house in their town. Residents of the town of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district) also confirmed that two shells fell on the outskirts of the town.

Security sources told our correspondent in the south that the Israeli naval position in Ras al-Naqoura (Sour district) was targeted with rocket shells.

L'Orient Today contacted a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson but he was not immediately available for comment.

The Lebanese Army released a statement today saying that it seized between today and yesterday 21 rocket launchers in the southern villages of Wadi al-Khansa and Khreibeh in Hasbaya and Qleileh in Sour.

The statement said that one of the rocket launchers had a rocket that was ready to go.

A senior source in the Lebanese Army told L’Orient Today that no one was found next to the launchers or arrested and that the rockets work on a timer. 

Hezbollah announced in a statement that its fighters attacked the "technical equipment" in an Israeli position at the northern border Israeli village of Metula at 3 p.m.

Image: Palestinians carry belongings as they flee the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, on Oct. 30, 2023. (Credit: Mahmud Hams/AFP)

BREAKING: Hamas has published a video of three women who are purportedly hostages.

Rocket sirens sound in northern Israel near the Lebanese border, Haaretz reported just after 3 p.m.

Image: An Israeli tank is positioned in the western Galilee area, near Israel's northern border with Lebanon on Oct. 30, 2023. (Credit: Jalaa Marey/AFP)

Hezbollah says that at 1 p.m. it targeted an Israeli position facing the southern Lebanese village of Blida. A statement from the party says it destroyed Israeli army spying devices in the strike. It added that Hezbollah had targeted two other Israeli positions. The outskirts of Blida were earlier this afternoon targeted by the Israeli army.

Rocket alert sirens have blared in Jerusalem and several blasts were heard from within the city, AFP reports its correspondents as saying.

The sirens sounded at around 2:29 p.m. (12:29 GMT) and were followed by at least five blasts, as the war in Gaza raged for the 24th day since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in southern Israel.

SOUTH LEBANON: The outskirts of the village of Blida in Marjayoun was hit by the Israeli army earlier this afternoon, two of the village's mokhtars told L'Orient Today.

Recalling his own childhood amid war, the World Health Organization's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has pleaded with global leaders to unite for peace.

The WHO has called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas for the safe delivery of food, medical supplies and other aid into the Gaza Strip.

Tedros said on X, formerly Twitter, today that he ios making "a humble plea for ceasefire and peace."

"As a child trapped in the shadows of war, I intimately knew its smell, sounds and sights. I empathize deeply with those now caught in the middle of conflict, feeling their pain as if it were my own," he said.

"War brings only devastation, horror, and destruction. Nothing else.

"In this critical moment, let us rise above the divisions and embrace the path of peace. The truest display of courage lies in choosing peace. I call on world leaders to unite and lead the world towards peace." 

Rocket alert sirens are sounding in Jerusalem, AFP reports.

Mikati: 'We are trying to spare the country from war'

“Lebanon is at the heart of the storm. We are trying to spare the country from war,” caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has told Sky News Arabia.

“We demand an end to Israeli provocations at the border. The Lebanese people do not want war,” he added. According to Mikati, "the decision on war is in Israel's hands if it continues its border violations."

“If Lebanon goes to war, it will not be limited to the country,” Mikati further warned, estimating that “the region will find itself in chaos.”

The caretaker premier lastly assured that he had “coordinated with international organizations to put in place an [emergency] plan in case war breaks out.”

A parliamentary meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at 11 a.m. to discuss an emergency plan with the caretaker cabinet in view of the hostilities on the border with Israel.

Image: Israeli tanks maneuver inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from Israel, on Oct. 30, 2023. (Credit: Amir Cohen/Reuters)

Iran says attacks on US forces in Iraq and elsewhere in the region are a result of "wrong American policies," including support for Israel in its war against Hamas. Click here for more details.

Image: Iranian Jews hold an anti-Israel gathering in Tehran in support of Palestinians in Gaza on Oct. 30, 2023. (Credit: Atta Kenare/AFP)

Germany has called on Israel to "protect" Palestinians in the occupied West Bank from attacks by "extremist" Israeli settlers. Click here for more details. 

According to Israeli police, a Palestinian has been shot dead after stabbing and seriously wounding an Israeli police officer in annexed east Jerusalem on Monday. More details here. 

Image: Israeli police officers stand next to the body of an alleged attacker as Israeli security personnel secure the scene following an incident in Jerusalem, Oct. 30, 2023. (Credit: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)

In recent days, a Hezbollah-allied Sunni group has been active near Lebanon’s southern border. Our journalist Jeanine Jalkh asks, just who are the resistance brigades anyway? Click here to read her report. 

Image: The funeral of a Hezbollah fighter recently killed near the southern border, Oct. 23, 2023. (Credit: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

Cyprus is bracing for a migrant influx as fears abound of an imminent war in Lebanon.

Cypriot authorities said yesterday that 194 Syrians arrived late on Saturday aboard four boats from Lebanon and were taken to the Pournara reception center outside Nicosia.

The first boat that arrived on Saturday held 110 people, and the second a further 52. Both had been heading for the southeastern coastal resort of Ayia Napa.

Later, two more vessels were intercepted with a combined 32 people on board and taken to the southern port of Larnaca. Click here to read more.

South Lebanon: The Israeli army hit the outskirts of the southern border village of Aita al-Shaab earlier today with multiple strikes that resulted in a fire in forested areas, a spokesperson for the Civil Defense, whose team is working on extinguishing the fire, tells L'Orient Today.

CASUALTY UPDATE: 8,306 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including 3,457 children, since Israel launch retaliatory airstrikes on the enclave on Oct. 7, the Gaza Health Ministry says, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the occupied West Bank has risen to 329 Palestinians since January, Reuters reports, citing the Palestinian Health Ministry.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that 329 Palestinians had been killed in the occupied West Bank since Oct. 7. This number in fact reflects the number of Palestinians killed there since January.

BREAKING: The Israeli tanks approaching the outskirts of Gaza City have now retreated, according to the head of the Hamas government office in Gaza, according to al-Jazeera.

“There’s absolutely no ground advance inside the residential neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip. What happened on Salahadin Street was the incursion of a few occupation army tanks and a bulldozer,” Salama Maarouf said in a statement.

Unidentified aircraft targeted a truck convoy stationed on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq last night, Reuters cites an Iraqi border official as saying today.

Multiple airstrikes destroyed part of a 10-truck convoy that had used the Qaim border crossing from Iraq to cross into Syria on Saturday, the border official reportedly said.

Click here to read more. 

Image: Smoke billows in the background as a car drives through a deserted street in eastern Gaza City on Oct. 30, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and Hamas. (Credit: Bashar Taleb/AFP)

Image: A Palestinian boy on his bicycle looks at destroyed buildings following the Israeli bombardment of the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 30, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed Abed/AFP)

BREAKING: Al Jazeera reports that a Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, Hazem Qasem, has confirmed that Israeli tanks are approaching the outskirts of Gaza City.

“The Palestinian resistance attacked the Israeli tanks in Salahadine Street,” the media outlet quotes Qasem as saying, noting that he added that Israeli tanks have also invaded an area in southeast Gaza after destroying it earlier with airstrikes.

“The Palestinian resistance is always ready for any Israeli attempts at ground invasions,” Qasem continued, according to Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera's reporter in Gaza City, Wael al-Dahdouh, says that Palestinian fighters are engaging Israeli forces trying to enter the city. 

The body of the Israeli-German hostage Shani Louk has been found, the family of the 22-year-old woman confirmed in a statement relayed by the German news agency (DPA, Deutsche Presse-Agentur). She was one of the hostages captured during a rave party near the Gaza Strip border on Oct. 7. Her family had been able to recognize her in the early days of the conflict through a video provided by her ex-partner that was widely circulated on social media.

According to the German news agency, Shani's mother, Ricarda Louk, said that it took some time to locate her daughter's body. Ricarda Louk believes her daughter passed on Oct. 7, the news agency reported.

A tense calm prevails on Lebanon's southern border this morning, following significant cross-border shelling yesterday evening and into the night.

Four Palestinians were killed during an early-morning Israeli raid in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin, the Palestinian Health Ministry said today.

According to the official Palestinian agency Wafa, "more than 100 military vehicles and two bulldozers" took part in the raid, which took place in the city and its refugee camp.

The four were aged between 23 and 28, and another nine people were wounded, a ministry statement said. Click here to read more. 

Image: Palestinian firefighters survey damaged stores following an Israeli military raid on the Jenin Palestinian refugee camp, in Jenin in the occupied northern West Bank on Oct. 30, 2023. (Credit: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)

Israel will not confirm the location of Israeli forces in Gaza, even if material appears on social media, Reuters cites Israel's military spokesperson as saying.

Israel is "gradually moving ahead according to plan" in the Gaza Strip, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said during a regular press briefing this morning.

Hagari said the forces killed dozens of Gaza militants overnight but refused to confirm the location of the ground forces in the enclave after images on social media appeared to show Israeli tanks advancing on a main road in Gaza.

Witnesses reported to AFP on this morning that Israeli tanks had reached the outskirts of the al-Zeitoun neighborhood in the city of Gaza, where they "blocked the Salahedine road (connecting north to south) and fired at any vehicle traveling on it."

Daniel Hagari also clarified that "forces are deployed along the northern border [with Lebanon] and are ready for any eventuality." He also mentioned that "planes killed several militants in Jenin, in the West Bank."

Finally, the spokesman emphasized, 'The world and its institutions must ensure the safety and return of hostages in Gaza."

Image: Palestinian gunmen from the Jenin Palestinian refugee camp wait near the hospital for the bodies of killed fighters to be released for burial following an Israeli military raid on the refugee camp, in Jenin in the occupied northern West Bank on Oct. 30, 2023. (Credit: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)

AFP reports witnesses as saying Israeli tanks are now on the edge of Gaza City and that a key road has been cut.

Israeli tanks have entered the edge of Gaza City and cut a key road from the north to the south of the war-torn Palestinian territory, witnesses told AFP.

The witnesses said tanks were seen in the Zaytun district. "They have cut the Salahedin road and are firing at any vehicle that tries to go along it," said one resident.

Israeli forces have stepped up a ground offensive in recent days as part of their military response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

Iran tells US to stop blaming it for Hamas attack on Israel

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson says the US should refrain from blaming Tehran for Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, Reuters reports.

"Stop it," Nasser Kanaani said according to Reuters when asked by a journalist about statements by US officials, including President Joe Biden, accusing Iran in relation to developments in Gaza.

According to Haaretz, a rocket fired this morning from the Gaza Strip hit a residential building in Netivot, an Israeli town located not far from the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Haaretz reports that the building was empty at the time of impact.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has told Reuters that his country is working on a humanitarian pause to get aid to the people of Gaza.

"We’re working extensively with the Egyptians, with the Israelis and others to try and have a humanitarian pause, a temporary pause so that we can get that humanitarian aid to the people that need it," Reuters reports Cleverly as telling the news agency at the UK ambassador’s residence in Abu Dhabi.

"It’s trickling through but we need a significant increase in the volume," Cleverly is cited as adding.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 33 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, marking the largest convoy since the first trucks since Oct. 7 entered on Oct. 21. In total, 117 trucks have entered Gaza since that date, according to a report published today.

Reuters also reports that Cleverly said the UK had spoken to the political leaders of countries neighboring Israel, including Lebanon, and is working to ensure that the situation does not escalate into a regional conflict.  He also reportedly added that the UK does not want militias or organizations that we know are funded by Iran to become involved and noted that  it would not be in Iran's interest to see the situation worsen.

The Israeli army claims to have struck "more than 600" targets in Gaza in 24 hours, AFP reports.

Image: A man stands in front of his store as he surveys the destruction following an Israeli military raid on the Jenin Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin in the Israeli occupied northern West Bank on Oct. 30, 2023. (Credit: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)

Hezbollah has announced the death of another of its fighters: Monir Yousef Ashour, from the southern Lebanon village of Shakra. The party did not specify the date or circumstances of Ashour's death. According to our count, this brings to 49 the number of Hezbollah fighters killed since Oct. 7.

Al-Jazeera reports, citing one of its correspondents on the ground, that the Israeli army is currently bombing the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza. Tel al-Hawa, in the northern part of the enclave, is where the al-Quds hospital is located, which the Israeli army has called for the evacuation of in recent days. The Palestinian news agency Wafa has also reported this information, while the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has, for the time being, only reported that sirens have started to sound in Israeli communities along the border with the Gaza Strip.

Syrian state TV says that Israeli airstrikes targeted two army posts in Daraa, Reuters reports, adding that according to Syrian media, the raids led to "some material losses."

The Israel army said this morning on X that it "continued and expanded" ground operations in Gaza overnight, killing in excess of 20 Hamas operatives.

The Israeli army this morning also said it had struck several targets in Syria in response to rocket fire. “A combat aircraft recently attacked the launchers from which shots were fired from Syrian territory towards Israeli territory yesterday evening,” the Israeli army said on X (formerly Twitter). A few hours earlier it had reported several rocket attacks falling in an “open area.” According to Israeli public radio Kan, the sites struck are in the Deraa region of southern Syria and are linked to Iran's allies.

This morning, a spokesperson for the Israeli army announced that an Israeli soldier was killed and two others were injured in a tank accident in northern Israel yesterday, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports, adding that the army said an investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of the incident.

To catch up on what happened yesterday and over the weekend, click here to read our Morning Brief.

Image: A poster of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on display in the south Lebanon town of Qana on Oct. 24, 2023. (Credit: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

Good morning, we're back with our live coverage of the Hamas-Israel war, on its 24th day. 

Yesterday, the death toll in Gaza since Oct.7 rose to 8,005 people, including 3,324 children, the Health Ministry in Gaza said.