Belgian Air Force drops humanitarian aid over Gaza | Live

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An Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade on the outskirts of Yaroun (Bint Jbeil), near the municipal stadium, without causing any injuries, reports L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region.

Death toll rises to 79 on Sunday, 41 of whom are awaiting humanitarian aid

Hospital sources in Gaza told Al Jazeera that 79 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire since dawn on Sunday, including 41 who were waiting for humanitarian aid.

United States condemns death of Palestinian-American after settler attack

The State Department confirmed on Sunday the death in the West Bank of an American-Palestinian man, who was asphyxiated, according to the Palestinian Authority, in fires started Thursday during an attack by Israeli settlers.

"We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in the West Bank town of Silwad ... We condemn any criminal violence perpetrated by anyone" in the occupied Palestinian territory, a State Department spokesperson told AFP in an email.

"Khamis Abdel-Latif Ayad, a 40-year-old Palestinian, died from smoke inhalation from fires started by settlers in homes and vehicles in the village of Silwad at dawn" on Thursday, the Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry said at the time.

Death toll rises to four in renewed sectarian violence in Sweida

At least four people were killed in renewed clashes Sunday in the Druze-majority province of Sweida in southern Syria, despite a cease-fire in late July following inter-communal violence, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), quoted by AFP.

In the first resurgence of deadly violence in the region since July 20, three members of the Syrian security forces were killed "in clashes that erupted with local factions in Tal Hadid, in the west of Sweida province," the SOHR said.

Previously, according to the NGO, which also reported injuries, "a member of the local factions, originally from Sweida" had been killed in Tal Hadid, "a strategic point" to control the west of the province.

An Israeli drone dropped incendiary substances, causing a fire in the Hamoul-Naqoura Valley (Sour), reports L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region.

Macron denounces Hamas's 'abject cruelty' and 'limitless inhumanity'

Emmanuel Macron denounced on X the "abject cruelty" and "limitless inhumanity" of Hamas after the latest broadcasts of videos of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, showing emaciated and weakened men.

"Abject cruelty, limitless inhumanity: this is what Hamas embodies. The unbearable images ... showing Israeli hostages held in Gaza are a horrific reminder of this," wrote the French president, who stressed that "the absolute priority and imperative for France is the immediate release of all hostages."

Belgian Air Force drops humanitarian aid over Gaza

The Belgian Air Force dropped the first of a series of aid packages on Gaza on Sunday, in cooperation with Jordan, the Belgian Defense Ministry said in a statement, quoted by Reuters.

For more on the emergency airdrops in Gaza, read Clara Hage's story here.

Kurdish-led SDF announces five members killed in Islamic State attack in Syria on Thursday

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Sunday that five of its members were killed in an attack by Islamic State fighters on a checkpoint in eastern Syria's Deir al-Zor on July 31, Reuters reported.

The SDF was the main U.S.-allied fighting force in Syria during the fighting that led to the territorial defeat of the Islamic State in 2019, after the group declared a caliphate across vast territories in Syria and Iraq. The city of Deir al-Zor was captured by the Islamic State in 2014, but the Syrian army recaptured it in 2017.

Six more people die of starvation; 57 killed since dawn, including 27 queuing for humanitarian aid

In the Gaza Strip, six more people have died of starvation due to the famine and malnutrition that is plaguing the enclave, the Gaza Health Ministry reported, quoted by Al-Jazeera. The number of famine victims has risen to 175, including 93 children.

Meanwhile, since dawn, 57 people have died, including 27 waiting in line to receive humanitarian aid, according to hospital sources quoted by the channel. The Health Ministry in the enclave reported that hospitals in the strip have received 119 deaths and 866 wounded in the past 24 hours.

Two dead in communal violence in Sweida despite cease-fire 

At least two people were killed in renewed clashes Sunday in the Druze-majority province of Sweida in southern Syria, despite a cease-fire that came into effect on July 20 after intercommunal violence, according to an NGO.

"A member of the security forces was killed and seven others wounded" in clashes "with local factions around Tal Hadid, in the west of the province of Sweida," SOHR said.

Previously, according to the NGO, "a member of the local factions, originally from Sweida" had been killed in Tal Hadid, "a strategic high point" in the west of the province.

Israeli drones and fighter jets fly over south Lebanon

Israeli warplanes and drones are flying over southern Lebanon, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region reported, also reporting mock raids.

Israeli army stormed four sites in southern Syria last night

On Saturday night, the Israeli army simultaneously stormed four sites, where it discovered and seized a large arsenal of weapons, according to a statement on X from the Arabic-language spokesperson for the army, Avichay Adraee. The Israeli army also reportedly "interrogated several suspects involved in arms trafficking in the area of the village of Hader."

"The forces of Division 210 are deployed on the ground to prevent the establishment of terrorist elements on the Syrian border and to protect the citizens of the State of Israel," the post stated.

One dead, several injured in attack on Syrian security forces in Sweida

Armed groups attacked Syrian internal security forces in Sweida, killing one member and wounding others, Syrian state broadcaster Ekhbariya reported on Sunday, citing a security source, according to Reuters.

According to this source, the armed groups violated the cease-fire reached last month in this predominantly Druze region, after intercommunal clashes that left hundreds dead.

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Thank you for joining us for our live coverage today.

Palestinian Red Crescent worker killed in Israeli strike

A Palestinian Red Crescent employee was killed and three others wounded in an Israeli strike targeting the organization's headquarters in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the organization announced on Sunday.

The strike caused the first floor of the building to catch fire, the Palestinian Red Crescent added in a statement posted on X.

On Saturday, 32 Palestinians were killed by renewed Israeli gunfire and shelling, including 14 who were waiting for aid, according to the Civil Defense in Gaza. Meanwhile, the army announced that it had killed a mid-ranking commander in Hamas's armed wing in Gaza.

Assange among tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters in Sydney

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange joined tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters who marched in Sydney, crossing its iconic Harbour Bridge.

Protesters marched in the pouring rain, chanting "cease-fire now" and "free Palestine," while banners bore the names of thousands of children killed in the war.

Assange, who returned to Australia in June 2024, walked near the head of the procession with his family and did not speak to reporters. After seven years of seclusion in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, the activist spent five years behind bars in England, fighting at every opportunity to be extradited to the United States, which was pursuing him for publishing top-secret diplomatic and military information.

"Moral stupor, cowardice and complicity have allowed Israel to do what it has done with impunity," Green Party Senator Mehreen Faruqi said at the demonstration.

Netanyahu in 'shock' over hostage video

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was "shocked" by the latest videos released by Hamas of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip and spoke with the families, a statement said.

"The Prime Minister expressed deep dismay at the recordings released by the terrorist organization Hamas and told the families that efforts to bring back all our hostages continue and will continue continuously and relentlessly," according to a statement from his office, released overnight.

The publication since Thursday by Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad of three videos showing two emaciated hostages has caused a stir in Israel and rekindled the debate on the need to reach an agreement as quickly as possible to free them.

According to the statement, Netanyahu "had a long conversation this evening with the families of the hostages, Rom Breslevski and Avyatar David," both of whom were featured in the latest videos. "Hamas's cruelty has no limits," he said, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

French Foreign Minister denounces 'despicable images' of hostages

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Saturday denounced "despicable images" after Hamas and another Palestinian Islamist group published videos of Israeli hostages in Gaza, reiterating his call for their "unconditional" release.

"The images are despicable and unbearable, depicting Israeli hostages held for 666 days in Gaza by Hamas. Their ordeal must end," the minister posted on X, according to AFP.

"They must be released unconditionally. Hamas must be disarmed and excluded from the governance of Gaza," he said, adding that "humanitarian aid must flow into the territory en masse."