This concludes our cover today of the war in Gaza. Be sure to return tomorrow for more of our live coverage.
Have a blessed Eid!
Israeli war cabinet minister and Benjamin Netanyahu's top political opponent Benny Gantz said that Hamas had been "defeated" in Gaza but that the war would continue, AFP reports.
"From a military point of view, Hamas is defeated. Its fighters are eliminated or hiding, its abilities are cut off, and we will continue to fight what remains of it," he said.
In his interview on Al-Jazeera, Haniyeh explained that his children were visiting relatives for the Fitr holiday in the al-Shati camp in the north of the Gaza Strip when they were targeted by the Israeli strike. He denounced the "brutality" of Israel, which is "driven by the spirit of revenge" and "respects no norms or laws."
According to the Hamas leader, 60 members of his family have been killed since the start of the war, which he described as "ethnic cleansing and genocide." He added that the Palestinian leadership "will not back down, even if their families and homes are targeted."
Ismail Haniyeh confirmed to al-Jazeera the death of three of his children, Hazem, Amir and Mohammad, in an Israeli strike.
"Through the blood of the martyrs and the pain of the wounded, we are creating hope, we are creating the future, we are creating independence and freedom for our people and our nation," Haniyeh told the channel.
Three sons of Hamas's political bureau head Ismail Haniyeh and several of his grandchildren were killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza, according to Qatar's Al Jazeera.
The news was relayed by other media, including Israel's Haaretz, which quoted Palestinian media. According to Haaretz, Haniyeh's sons were killed in an attack on their vehicle in the Al Shati refugee camp in Gaza City.
Haniyeh has been living in Qatar for several years.
An update on the situation in southern Lebanon since this morning:
- In the morning, the Israeli army attacked the towns of Naqoura and Kfar Kila (Marjayoun) with artillery and shot at the area with machine guns, according to residents quoted by our correspondent.
- At midday, mortar shells were reported in Adaisseh and Blida (Marjayoun).
At 2:30 p.m., the Israeli army struck Tallet al-Hamames south of Khiam (Marjayoun) with artillery fire and an interceptor missile exploded in the sky over Kfar Kila.
- Israeli fighter jets also targeted an empty house in the town of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil) in the afternoon, according to security sources quoted by our correspondent. The town of Khiam was also bombed by Israeli aircraft. No casualties were reported.
The health ministry in Gaza announced that the death toll in the enclave has risen to 33,482 since fighting began after 122 people were killed in the last 24 hours.
The ministry added that an additional 76,049 others have been injured since Oct. 7 with 56 injuries in the last 24 hours.
The head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, felt that Israel will reach a point "when it realizes that it cannot continue the war in Gaza," at an event in the village of Toula, in tribute to a party member who died in southern Lebanon. "Israel will have to negotiate with [Hamas] resistance fighters to recover the [Israeli] hostages held by Hamas," he added.
He added that "if Israel manages to defeat the resistance in Gaza, it will turn to Lebanon and try to bring down the resistance [of Hezbollah], thanks to the Western support it enjoys."
Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that "there is no specific day for the operation in Rafah," according to sources cited by Haaretz.
On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that an operation in Rafah "will happen," and that "a date has been set."
Meanwhile, according to Haaretz, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a joint press conference with the British foreign secretary in Washington that the Americans "do not have a date for any operation, at least one that's been communicated to us by the Israelis. What we have is an ongoing conversation with Israel on any operation."
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the US "still hasn't seen a credible and executable plan to account for Rafah evacuation and civilian care."
Some 110 tons of humanitarian cargo were dropped on Tuesday over the Gaza Strip in an international operation, the largest of its kind in which France has taken part to date, the French armed forces said on Wednesday.
"Faced with the humanitarian emergency in Gaza, France continues to deliver medicines and food to the population. Together with Jordan and other partners, today's air operation delivered more than 110 tons of freight. The effort is continuing," wrote French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday evening on the X social network.
This is "the biggest operation of its kind in which France has taken part to date," the military staff told AFP.
(Credit: NNA)
A march in support of Gaza was organized this morning in the Palestinian camp of Bourj al-Shemali (southern Lebanon), after the Fitr prayer, "to denounce Israeli hostilities and genocide in Gaza," according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
Commenting on the ongoing hostilities along the Lebanese-Israeli border, the commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Aroldo Lazaro, said that "the danger of escalation is real" and that "there is no military solution to the current confrontation and violence." "A political and diplomatic solution is the only way forward," he added in a statement issued on the occasion of the Fitr holiday. He also called for a "cessation of hostilities and a move towards a permanent cease-fire and a long-term solution to the conflict."
Across the Gaza Strip, Palestinians sadly celebrated the first day of Eid al-Fitr today, gathering to pray in their makeshift shelters, around a few sweets or small cakes prepared despite the shortages.
In Jerusalem, tens of thousands of worshippers gathered on the Esplanade of the Mosques, surrounded by Israeli security forces, were all reminded of the tragedy in Gaza. "This is the saddest Fitr we've ever experienced. In the mosque you could see the sadness on the faces," said Rawan Abd, a 32-year-old nurse from East Jerusalem, the Palestinian part of the city occupied and annexed by Israel.
"Usually we come to al-Aqsa for a celebration, this year we've only come to support each other. All thoughts are turned to what's happening in Gaza," added Zaki, a 37-year-old man.
Israel is maintaining its plans for a ground offensive on the town of Rafah, on the border with Egypt in the south of the Gaza Strip, which it presents as the last major Hamas stronghold, despite the presence of one and a half million people, according to the UN, mostly displaced persons who have fled the war further north.
"We will complete the elimination of Hamas battalions, including at Rafah. No force in the world will stop us," said Netanyahu on Tuesday. According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, however, such an operation does not seem "imminent."
On Sunday, Israel announced the withdrawal of its troops from the nearby town of Khan Younis, destroyed after months of fighting, in preparation for the offensive on Rafah. Thousands of people immediately returned, wandering through the dusty ruins in search of their homes.
Hamas said it would "study the proposal" before sending its response to the mediators. These statements were deemed "not very encouraging" by the White House.
US President Joe Biden, Israel's most powerful ally, called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct of the war in Gaza "a mistake," in an interview broadcast Tuesday by the Spanish-language channel Univision. "What I'm asking is that the Israelis call a cease-fire, that they allow for the next six or eight weeks full access to food and medicine coming into the country," said Biden.
However, this interview took place before the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from the south of the Gaza Strip on Sunday, and the increase in humanitarian aid authorized by Israel to enter the territory in recent days.
Eid Mubarak!
Thank you for joining us for our continued live coverage of the ongoing war in Gaza and its regional and global impact.
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