We are now closing our LIVE coverage of the region for the night. We will be back tomorrow morning with more news updates in our live news section.
More than 100 activists from Jewish Voice for Peace are staging a peaceful sit-in protest at Senator Chuck Schumer's New York office, demanding that the U.S. allow aid into Gaza and pressure Israel for a cease-fire, Haaretz reports.
The group describes itself as a “Jewish organization in solidarity with Palestine.”
The Israeli army chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, said that if no agreement is reached soon regarding the hostages held in Gaza, the army will “intensify and expand” its offensive against Hamas “as much as possible,” according to The Times of Israel.
“We will continue to strike the terrorists until Hamas is defeated and dismantled ... we already control 75 percent of the Gaza Strip,” Zamir told troops during a visit to the enclave on Friday.
“We are approaching a very critical moment. In the coming days, we will know whether or not there is an agreement,” he added.
The chief of staff specified that “if an agreement is reached, we will pause and prepare ourselves according to the guidelines set by political decision-makers.”
“If there is no agreement, my directive to the southern command is to intensify and expand the fighting as much as possible, beyond what we are currently doing,” he continued, indicating that the army "will enter other areas and continue its operations as it has done so far ."
The Israeli army announced that it had detected a missile fired from Yemen toward Israel, according to Israeli media.
On Friday, Hamas released a video showing proof of life of Evyatar David, an Israeli hostage held in Gaza, Haaretz reports.
An informed source told Haaretz that all embassy representatives had been evacuated from the United Arab Emirates, noting that this measure was unusual but not unprecedented. According to the same source, prominent figures in the Jewish community were also evacuated.
This information contradicts previous statements by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, which said that its missions in the United Arab Emirates were open on Friday and that representatives were continuing to operate at the embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in Dubai.
On Thursday, Israeli media reported that Israel was evacuating most of its diplomatic staff in the Emirates after the Israeli National Security Council stepped up its warning to Israeli nationals staying in the Gulf country.
According to Al-Jadeed TV, the U.S. administration has decided to reassign the Lebanese dossier to Morgan Ortagus, the U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East, who the Trump administration dismissed in early June after stating that Lebanon's financial problems could be resolved without resorting to the International Monetary Fund.
However, a U.S. State Department official later told Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath that Al Jadeed's reports were unfounded.
President Emmanuel Macron said Friday France had carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, after U.N.-backed experts warned the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian territory was slipping into famine, according to AFP.
"Faced with an urgent humanitarian crisis, we just conducted a food airdrop over Gaza," Macron said in English on X.
"But airdrops are not enough. Israel must grant full humanitarian access to address the risk of famine," he said.
He thanked France's Jordanian, Emirati and German partners for their support.
Several tonnes of food supplies will be delivered to Gaza "over several days," the French foreign and defense ministries said in a joint statement.
"France is also working on land transport, by far the most effective solution for the large-scale and unhindered delivery of humanitarian goods desperately needed by the population," the statement added.
France will air-drop 40 tonnes of aid into Gaza from Friday, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said earlier this week.
US envoy Steve Witkoff says he spent more than 5 hours in Gaza today
"At Donald Trump's request, Michael Huckabee and I met with Israeli officials yesterday to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Today, we spent more than five hours inside the Gaza Strip, establishing the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with the GHF and other agencies," U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff posted on his X account.
“The purpose of this visit was to give Donald Trump a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and to help develop a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza,” he wrote.
US President Trump says he is working on plan to 'feed the people' in Gaza: Reuters
Increase in aid 'far from sufficient to meet needs of population on ground,': OCHA
Olga Cherevko, a staff member of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza, explains that while Israel is now allowing slightly more aid into the enclave, its extensive bureaucratic restrictions on aid flows have continued to make it impossible to combat widespread malnutrition.
“The slight increase in aid is far from sufficient to meet the needs of the population on the ground,” she told Al Jazeera from Deir al-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip.
She described Palestinians as continuing to suffer from “deep despair, malnutrition, and starvation.” “There are so many factors on the ground that show that, despite the slight easing of [Israel's] various constraints on the entry of aid, we are still in the same situation,” Cherevko said.
“People continue to die of hunger, malnutrition rates continue to rise, people are risking their lives to obtain food, and there is no substantial or operational change,” she concluded.
Hamas condemns latest violence committed by Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank
Abdel Hakim Henini, a senior Hamas official, condemned Israeli settlers who set fire to the car of foreign activists in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera reports.
“This attack is not only aimed at our people and our cause, but also sends an aggressive message to all free peoples of the world who support us, to intimidate them and prevent them from denouncing the crimes of the occupation,” Hamas said in a statement quoting Henini.
The repeated attacks on civilian property reflect an “organized campaign to impose a reality of colonization by force at the expense of the Palestinian presence,” Hamas said, condemning the Israeli army's protection of these settlers. In addition to burning the vehicle on Thursday evening, the settlers also threw Molotov cocktails and stones at a residential house, according to the Wafa news agency, Al Jazeera reported.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said its missions in the United Arab Emirates were open on Friday and that representatives continued to operate at the embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in Dubai, in cooperation with local authorities, particularly to ensure the protection of Israeli diplomats, Reuters reported.
On Thursday, Israeli media reported that Israel was evacuating most of its diplomatic staff from the Emirates after the Israeli National Security Council stepped up its warning to Israeli nationals staying in the Gulf country.
Syria: Protest in Sweida to demand withdrawal of government troops
Hundreds of residents of Sweida in southern Syria protested on Friday, demanding the withdrawal of government troops and an end to what they say is a “blockade” imposed on this predominantly Druze province, which is recovering from deadly violence, AFP reports.
A cease-fire on July 20 ended a week of inter-communal clashes that left hundreds dead, but the situation remains tense and access to the province difficult.
In the city of Sweida itself, some 200 demonstrators, including women and children, gathered in the main square, according to an AFP correspondent. They carried placards calling for “an end to the blockade” or “the opening of a humanitarian corridor with neighboring Jordan.”
Some waved the five-color Druze flag. “We demand the lifting of the blockade imposed on the province of Sweida and the withdrawal of government forces from all villages,” said Rawan Abu Assaf, a civil society activist.
Residents accuse government forces, deployed in parts of the province but not in the city itself, of imposing a blockade on them, which the authorities deny. According to another protester, Khaled Salloum, “the situation in Sweida is catastrophic, the aid that is coming in is not enough.”
Palestinian found dead after Israeli strike on Gaza City
A Palestinian was found dead following an Israeli airstrike on the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza City, according to a source at al-Ahli Hospital cited by Al Jazeera. Additional Israeli airstrikes targeted southern Gaza, including the Hamad district of Khan Younis, with no immediate reports of casualties.
83 Gaza residents killed in the past 24 hours, reports Gaza Health Ministry
The Gaza Health Ministry said in a statement that 83 people were killed and 554 injured by Israeli army fire across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours.
According to the statement, 53 of those killed and over 400 of the injured were seeking humanitarian aid. The ministry noted that the total number of aid seekers killed since the start of the war has reached 1,383, with more than 9,218 wounded.
Palestinian Found Dead After Gaza City Strike; Germany Begins Aid Airdrops
A Palestinian was found dead following an Israeli strike on the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza City, according to a source at al-Ahli Hospital cited by Al Jazeera. Additional Israeli airstrikes were reported in southern Gaza, including the Hamad district of Khan Younis, though no casualties were immediately confirmed.
Meanwhile, Germany has begun air-dropping humanitarian aid into Gaza. The Bundeswehr’s first two Luftwaffe flights delivered nearly 14 tons of supplies, the German Defense Ministry confirmed. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius acknowledged the drops are only a limited contribution, urging Israel to facilitate broader humanitarian access.
Germany also pledged an additional €5 million to support the World Food Programme’s efforts in Gaza, as part of its ongoing response to the deepening humanitarian crisis.
Germany begins humanitarian aid drops to Gaza, pledges more funding
The German Bundeswehr has started air-dropping nearly 14 tons of humanitarian supplies to Gaza. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius acknowledged the aid can only provide limited relief and hopes Israel will facilitate fuller humanitarian deliveries. Germany also committed an additional €5 million ($5.7 million) to support the World Food Programme’s efforts in Gaza amid the escalating crisis.
In Gaza, US ambassador to Israel praises GHF’s work
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy visited a humanitarian aid distribution center in the Gaza Strip this morning, according to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
“This morning, I joined [...] Steve Witkoff for a visit to Gaza to see firsthand the truth about the GHF aid sites,” Huckabee posted on X, sharing a photo of himself with the U.S. envoy. “We were briefed by the Israeli military and spoke with people on the ground,” he added, praising the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) — backed by the U.S. and Israel — for delivering “100 million meals in two months.”
“Hamas hates GHF because it allows food to reach people without being looted by Hamas,” Huckabee also told AFP.
Photos shared on Huckabee’s X account show Witkoff, wearing a bulletproof vest and a red MAGA cap, listening to various briefings and stepping off a helicopter.
US special envoy visits Gaza aid center
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy visited a humanitarian aid distribution center in Gaza this morning, Ambassador Mike Huckabee confirmed.
“I went to Gaza today and observed a U.S.-launched food aid program called GHF,” Huckabee posted on X, along with a photo standing beside Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff.
Gaza Civil Defense reports 11 killed in Israeli attacks
Gaza’s Civil Defense said Friday that 11 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes and gunfire across the Palestinian territory, including two who were waiting near an aid distribution site, AFP reports.
According to Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal, five people were killed in an airstrike near the southern city of Khan Younis, and four others in a separate strike targeting a vehicle in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.
The Israeli army told AFP it could not confirm the strikes without specific location coordinates.
Bassal added that two more people were killed and over 70 wounded by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid near a food distribution center operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the United States, between Khan Younis and Rafah. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Israeli drone drops leaflets targeting former local official in Yaroun
Early Thursday afternoon, an Israeli army drone dropped leaflets over the town of Yaroun, in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon, once again threatening Mohammad Chahine, a former mokhtar (local elected official), according to our correspondent in the region.
The leaflets read: “Mohammad Chahine, are you still afraid?” The message was accompanied by the same photo previously distributed by the Israeli military in leaflets dropped over the same village on June 4. The image shows a man on the phone, gesturing upward toward an object above his head — appearing to address a drone.
To the left of the image is the Hezbollah logo crossed out in red. Below it, a message invites the reader to tune into a radio station for “more information.”
The number of people killed near an aid distribution site in Khan Younis has risen to seven
At least seven aid seekers were killed by Israeli gunfire near a food distribution point south of Khan Younis, Al Jazeera Arabic reported, citing sources at Nasser Hospital.
Suspension of Gaza evacuations to France amid investigation into student accused of antisemitism
France will suspend the evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza to its territory until the conclusion of an investigation into how a student accused of antisemitic remarks was allowed to enter, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced, according to AFP.
“No such operation, no evacuation of any kind, will take place until we have drawn the conclusions of this investigation,” Barrot said on Franceinfo.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived at the Morag corridor in the Gaza Strip, according to Haaretz. He is expected to later visit a GHF aid distribution center near Khan Younis.
Two of the men killed in Thursday evening’s series of Israeli airstrikes in South Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley were Hezbollah fighters, the group confirmed. The first, Hassan Ghamlouch, will be buried in Jbaa, the second, Ali Hammoud, will be laid to rest in Kfar Melki.
According to our correspondent in the Bekaa, a third person, Hassan Horchi from Sohmor in West Beqaa, was also killed in the strikes. It was not immediately clear whether he was affiliated with Hezbollah.
Islamic Jihad releases video of Israeli hostage in Gaza
The military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a video of a hostage, identified by his family as 21‑year‑old Israeli-German Rom Braslavski, taken on Oct. 7, 2023. In a six-minute clip, he speaks in Hebrew and urges the Israeli government to secure his release. The group noted they had lost contact with him over a week ago, implying the footage is older.
Trump voices displeasure over plans to recognize Palestinian state
Donald Trump expressed his dissatisfaction and disagreement with the leaders of France, the UK, and Canada regarding plans to recognize a Palestinian state. His spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, argued such recognition rewards Hamas at a time when it remains the primary obstacle to a cease-fire and hostage release.
Germany calls Gaza’s humanitarian crisis “beyond imagination”
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul urged Israel to allow a “fundamental improvement” in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation “totally intolerable.” He described people—including children — dying of hunger, calling for immediate change.
US envoy Witkoff to visit Gaza aid sites
Today, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff will visit the Gaza Strip to inspect aid distribution centers and meet residents — a rare foreign diplomatic trip. He previously visited Gaza in January amid a ceasefire, before the Israeli offensive resumed on March 18. According to the White House, Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee will evaluate distribution methods and propose expanded food delivery plans.
Israeli airstrikes kill two in South Lebanon’s Jezzine
On Thursday evening, the Israeli army carried out eight air raids on hills around Mahmoudieh, Jormok, and Aishieh in Jezzine district. Sources reported at least two fatalities, believed to be Hezbollah members.
Slovenia bans arms trade with Israel
Slovenia announced it will ban all arms import, export, and transit to and from Israel, citing failures by the EU to take meaningful measures amid Gaza’s crisis. Ljubljana described the move as its duty to act responsibly, recognizing Palestine in June 2024.
Israeli airstrikes kill two in South Lebanon’s Jezzine
On Thursday evening, the Israeli army carried out eight air raids on hills around Mahmoudieh, Jormok, and Aishieh in Jezzine district. Sources reported at least two fatalities, believed to be Hezbollah members.
Welcome to our live coverage of Middle East events
From Gaza, where Israeli strikes continue across the enclave, hitting aid seekers, from Lebanon, where targeted attacks are ongoing, as well as developments in Iran and Syria.
Catch up on what you missed yesterday and what to look out for today by reading our 👉 Morning Brief
Qatar to boost electricity supply to Syria
The Qatar Fund for Development announced it will increase its electricity program for Syria by paying for Azerbaijani gas transported via Turkey. The power will be delivered to the Aleppo power plant and distributed across cities and neighborhoods, raising capacity to 800 megawatts per day to mitigate long daily blackouts in post‑Assad Syria.
Welcome to our live coverage of Middle East events
From Gaza, where Israeli strikes continue across the enclave, hitting aid seekers, from Lebanon, where targeted attacks are ongoing, as well as developments in Iran and Syria.
Catch up on what you missed yesterday and what to look out for today by reading our 👉 Morning Brief
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