Israel-Hamas live: US hits targets in Syria as Palestinian ministry publishes names of 7,000 dead

The US says its fighter jets have struck two Iranian facilities in Syria, after repeated attacks on US coalition forces in the region by an Iran-backed militia in the past week.

A US official said the strikes were not carried out in coordination with Israel, which has been engaged in its own clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah forces on the border with Lebanon.

Earlier Gaza’s ministry of health published a list of names of 7,000 people it says have been killed by Israel in the last three weeks.

The Hamas list - which has not been verified - is more than 200 pages long and includes the age and gender of the victims.

On Wednesday, US president Joe Biden said he had “no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using” for the death toll.

Israel says that more than 1,400 people were killed in the Hamas attacks on 7 October that sparked the latest wave of violence in the war-torn region.

Key Points

• Israel conducts overnight raid in Gaza with tanks

• More than 750 Gazans killed in one day, says health ministry

• Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders discuss how to achieve 'victory'

• Israel calls for UN chief’s resignation

• Aid workers could be forced to stop work due to fuel blockade, UN warns

EU position on Israel-Hamas is ‘evolving’, says Irish premier

11:47 , Adam Forrest

Irish premier Leo Varadkar has said he believes the EU position on Israel-Palestine is “evolving” and that it would have a role to play in any future peace conference.

Mr Varadkar has said it is “possible” that EU states could update their statement to call for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire in the future.

On Thursday, EU leaders reiterated a condemnation of Hamas for “brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks across Israel”.

The European Council also strongly emphasised “Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international law”, while reiterating the importance of protecting civilians.

Israel-Hamas conflict won’t affect UK’s support for Ukraine, Sunak says

11:35 , Katie Devlin

Rishi Sunak has spoken to Volodymyr Zelensky, to reassure him the UK’s support for Ukraine will not change despite the Israel-Hamas war.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said the Prime Minister spoke to the Ukrainian President this morning “to reiterate the UK’s support for Ukraine.

“The Prime Minister underscored the UK’s long term and unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and reiterated that the conflict in the Middle East would not change that.”

Mr Sunak added that “the principle of a rules based order, in which people could live in peace and stability, needed to be protected both in Ukraine and the Middle East”.

US sanctions Hamas and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard

11:20 , Alexander Butler

The US has issued a second round of sanctions on Hamas by targeting a senior official, as well as members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“Today’s action underscores the United States’ commitment to dismantling Hamas’s funding networks by deploying our counterterrorism sanctions authorities and working with our global partners to deny Hamas the ability to exploit the international financial system,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said

A Gaza-based entity that Treasury said has served as a conduit for illicit Iranian funds to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group was also targeted, the department said. Iran backs Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East.

Watch: Sadiq Khan calls for Gaza ceasefire as Labour rebellion against Starmer stance grows

11:05 , Alexander Butler

IDF kills top Hamas commander, Israel says

10:49 , Alexander Butler

Israel has killed a senior Hamas commander, according to the Israeli Defence Forces.

“The IDF and the Shin Bet tonight killed Midhat Mabasher, the commander of the West Khan Yunis Battalion in the terrorist organization Hamas,” the IDF said.

The Israeli military said Mabasher took part in sniping attacks and used large explosives against IDF forces and Israeli settlements.

WHO: 1,000 people still under rubble in Gaza

10:40 , Alexander Butler

Up to 1,000 people are still stuck under the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza, according to a World Health Organisation official.

“We also get these estimates that there are still 1,000 plus people under the rubble which have not been identified yet,” Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, said in response to a question about the death toll in Gaza.

More than 7,000 people have been killed by Israeli bombardments in response to deadly cross-border attacks on Israel by Hamas gunmen on 7 October, Gazan health authorities say.

At least 57 UN staff members killed in Gaza

10:30 , Alexander Butler

Up to 57 staff members from the United Nations have been killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said.

“At least 57 colleagues of mine are confirmed killed,” said Mr Lazzarini. “Wonderful people who have just dedicated their lives to their communities.”

Mr Lazzarini also said Gaza’s death figures, which were challenged by the US, had been accurate in previous conflicts between Israel and Hamas.

“In the past, the five, six cycles of conflict in the Gaza Strip, these figures were considered as credible and no one ever really challenged these figures,” he said.

Pictured: Gaza

10:20 , Alexander Butler

London mayor Sadiq Khan calls for ceasefire

10:10 , Alexander Butler

London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Thousands of innocent civilians have already been killed in Israel and Gaza,” he said.

“With the humanitarian crisis set to deteriorate even further, I’m calling for a ceasefire.”

Israeli forces kill four Palestinians in West Bank clashes

10:00 , Alexander Butler

Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians during raids in the occupied West Bank, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said. Two of the dead were identified by militant factions as their members.

As it wages a now three-week-old war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel has also stepped up operations against Islamist groups in the West Bank, killing scores of Palestinians and arresting hundreds. One Israeli soldier was killed in a clash.

The Israeli military said that during West Bank arrest operations its troops came under attack in the city of Jenin and fired back, killing Ayser al-Amar of the Islamic Jihad faction.

Islamic Jihad confirmed al-Amar belonged to the group. Hamas said one of its men, Jawad al-Turki, was killed during the Jenin fighting.

Up to 229 confirmed hostages held by Hamas, Israel says

09:50 , Alexander Butler

The number of hostages currently being held by Hamas militants as 229, the Israeli said.

It brings the number up from the previously confirmed 224. So far, four hostages have been released.

An American mother and daughter have been released, as well as two elderly Israeli women. Qatari negotiators hope for a full release within the next few days.

Eight more lorries carrying aid set to enter Gaza

09:40 , Alexander Butler

Eight lorries carrying food, medicine and water are expected to cross into the Gaza Strip on Friday, a senior United Nations official said.

“We have gotten in approximately 74 trucks. We’re expecting another eight or so today,” Lynn Hastings, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said.

Aid workers have said repeatedly that the convoys meet only a tiny fraction of the territory’s mounting humanitarian needs. Prior to the war, an average of 500 trucks entered Gaza each day, according to reports.

09:30 , Alexander Butler

The Israeli military said an “aerial threat” had been spotted in the Red Sea region and linked this to a projectile that landed on Egyptian coastal territory there.

“In recent hours, an aerial threat was spotted in the Red Sea region. Combat helicopters were scrambled in response to the threat, and this matter is now being investigated,” chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.

“To our understanding, the strike that took place in Egypt originated in this threat,” he said in a televised briefing. “Israel will work with Egypt, and the United States, and bolster regional defences against threats from the Red Sea region.”

Egypt has said an unidentified drone landed near a hospital building in Taba, injuring six people.

Gaza invasion will lead to ‘significant escalation’ of violence across Middle East, says ex-Obama adviser

09:20 , Adam Forrest

Ben Rhodes, the former deputy national security advisor in the Obama administration, said the current US government was worried about wider conflict – particularly attacks by Iran’s proxies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

“I don’t know how you have that ground invasion [in Gaza] without having a significant escalation across the region – including perhaps Hezbollah getting involved in northern Israel and the West Bank becoming much more violent and Iranian proxies being further activated in Iraq, Yemen and Syria,” he told BBC Radio 4.

Mr Rhodes added: “If there’s not a de-escalation, if there’s further escalation in Gaza I think it’s likely we see further incidents … if you continue to light that tinder box on fire at some point it’s going to catch.”

He said the Joe Biden administration had “caused the Israelis to at least consider the risks” from an invasion, but warned: “It does not seem like that message has caused them to fundamentally changed their calculus.”

What can we expect next in Israel-Hamas war? Ask our expert Kim Sengupta anything about the conflict

09:10 , Alexander Butler

What happens to Gaza if Israel make good on their promise to destroy Hamas? Who will govern it and have the responsibility of restoring a destroyed land?

If you have a question for The Independent’s World Affairs Editor Kim Sengupta me submit it now, or when I join you live at 12pm today for the “Ask Me Anything” event.

Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article linked below. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to leave your question. For a full guide on how to comment click here.

Ask expert Kim Sengupta anything about political fallout from Israel-Hamas war

Moment Hamas spokesman storms out of interview after being questioned on terror attack

09:00 , Alexander Butler

Families of Israeli victims urge world to stand against Islamist violence

08:50 , Alexander Butler

The world must take a stand against Islamist violence to avoid it spreading and take action to ensure the swift release of hostages taken by Hamas militants, families of victims said.

A delegation of relatives visited Rome to hold talks with authorities, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as part of a campaign to bolster world efforts to free the more than 200 people taken captive.

The group included Avi Eylon, whose 23-year-old daughter, Shira, was killed with a friend while attending a music festival.

“Please wake up. To the people in the world, to the people in Europe, please wake up, because this is not a land conflict, this is a religious conflict,” he said, saying the reason why Hamas murdered his daughter was that she was Jewish.

Pictured: Destruction in Gaza

08:40 , Alexander Butler

Iran launches military exercises

08:30 , Alexander Butler

Iranian ground forces have launched two days of exercises to test the flight readiness of more than 200 helicopters, according to reports.

The drills, which had been planned earlier, are aimed confronting possible threats facing the Islamic Republic, spokesperson Brigadier General Amir Cheshak told state media.

He said troops and military equipment had been transferred from seven of Iran’s provinces for the drills in Nasr Abad in the central Isfahan province.

It comes after the US said its fighter jets struck two Iranian facilities in Syria, after repeated attacks on US coalition forces in the region by an Iran-backed militia in the past week.

IDF strike Hamas 'missile launch sites' and 'command centres' in Gaza

08:20 , Alexander Butler

More than 250 lawyers urge Britain to call for a ceasefire

08:10 , Alexander Butler

More than 250 British lawyers have called on the UK government to press for a ceasefire in Gaza, claiming Israel is breaching international law.

The letter, addressed to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, calls on the British government to “urgently fulfil its international legal obligations”

“We are moved to intervene because, in a region already accustomed to great suffering, the death and other harm visited on individuals, families and whole communities in the last 20 days has been truly terrible.

“The starvation of a civilian population as a method of warfare, including wilfully impeding adequate relief supplies, as Israel is doing in Gaza, is strictly prohibited under customary international law... and constitutes a war crime.

“Hamas’s war crimes cannot be justified by reference to prior war crimes by Israel; neither do they justify further such crimes by Israel in its response, which must comply with international law,” it says.

Hostages can’t be released until ceasefire, Hamas claims

07:56 , Alexander Butler

Hostages seized by the Hamas terror group during its cross-border raid which killed up to 1,400 Israelis cannot be released until there is a ceasefire, the group has claimed.

“They seized dozens of people, most of them civilians, and we need time to find them in the Gaza Strip and then release them,” Hamas official Abu Hamid told Russian newspaper Kommersant.

A calm environment was needed to complete this task, the newspaper quoted him as saying. On Thursday, Hamas said around 50 of the hostages had been killed in Israeli air strikes.

But Israel has urged Russia to expel the visiting Hamas delegation, calling their invitation to Moscow “deplorable”.

Nearly half of Israelis want to hold off on Gaza invasion, poll finds

07:37 , Alexander Butler

Nearly half of Israelis want to hold off on any invasion of the Gaza strip, a new poll has found.

Twenty-nine per cent of Israelis agreed while 49 per cent said “it would be better to wait” when asked if the IDF should immediately escalate to a large-scale ground offensive. Meanwhile, 22 per were still undecided, the poll published in the Maariv newspaper said.

The paper said the results contrasted with its poll last week which found 65 per cent of Israelis supported a major ground offensive.

IDF strikes Hamas targets overnight

07:28 , Alexander Butler

The Israel Defence Forces said it had conducted more air strikes on Hamas terrorist targets over the last 24 hours.

“IDF ground troops, fighter jets and UAVs struck anti-tank missile launch sites, command & control centers and Hamas terrorist operatives. The troops exited the area and no injuries were reported,” the Israeli military said.

Unprecedented death toll in Gaza

07:07 , Namita Singh

The rising death tolls in Gaza are unprecedented in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Even greater loss of life could come if Israel launches an expected ground offensive aimed at crushing Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 and survived four previous wars with Israel.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said on Wednesday that more than 750 people were killed over the past 24 hours, higher than the 704 killed the previous day.

The figures could not be independently verified and the ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

By comparison, 2,251 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed in the entire six-week-long war in 2014, according to UN figures.

Iran’s foreign minister said Hamas is ready to release civilian prisoners abducted from Israel but that the international community must take responsibility for releasing 6,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Hossein Amirabdollahian told an emergency meeting of the UN General Assembly on Thursday that Iran “stands ready to play its part in this very important humanitarian endeavour, along with Qatar and Turkey”.

Rafah crossing checks 'slow aid to dribble’

07:07 , Jane Dalton

Overly stringent checks on lorries at the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza were slowing the flow of humanitarian aid to a “dribble” as hunger grows among Palestinians there, UN World Food Programme executive director has said.

The Rafah crossing, which is controlled by Egypt and does not border Israel, has become the main point of aid delivery since Israel imposed a “total siege” of Gaza in retaliation for an attack by Hamas militants on 7 October.

The United States is leading negotiations with Israel, Egypt and the UN to try to create a sustained delivery mechanism for aid to Gaza.

“We’ve gotten a few – a dribble, just a dribble – of trucks in,” Cindy McCain told Reuters. “We need to get a large amount in. We need safe, unfettered access into Gaza so that we can feed and make sure that people don’t starve to death, because that’s what’s happening.”

In video: Al Jazeera reporter Wael Al Dahdouh continues to report on Gaza after the loss of family

07:05 , Namita Singh

US will ‘not be spared from this fire’, warns Iran foreign minister

06:59 , Namita Singh

On Thursday, Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said at the United Nations that if Israel’s retaliation against Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip doesn’t end, then the United States will “not be spared from this fire.”

“I say frankly to the American statesmen, who are now managing the genocide in Palestine, that we do not welcome (an)expansion of the war in the region. But if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire,” he told a meeting of the 193-member General Assembly on the Middle East.

One way Iran projects power is by arming and funding militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen and Shi’ite militias in Iraq.

In the last such known US retaliation, the US military carried out multiple air strikes in Syria on 23 March against Iran-aligned groups it blamed for a drone attack that killed an American contractor, wounded another and hurt five US troops.

Biden sent message warning Iran’s Khamenei against targeting US troops

06:52 , Namita Singh

President Joe Biden has sent a rare message to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning Tehran against targeting US personnel in the Middle East, the White House said on Thursday after a spate of attacks on American forces in the region.

“There was a direct message relayed,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said at a news briefing, declining to elaborate.

US officials want to avoid a wider conflict in the Middle East following the 7 October attack by the militant Hamas group on Israel that killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

About 900 additional US troops are headed to the Middle East or have recently arrived there to bolster air defenses to protect US personnel amid a surge in attacks in the region by Iran-affiliated groups, the Pentagon said.

US troops have been attacked at least 12 times in Iraq and four times in Syria in the past week, it added.

US fighter jets strike Syria after attacks by Iran-backed militia

06:43 , Namita Singh

Two US fighter jets struck weapons and ammunition facilities in Syria on Friday in what Washington said was a retaliation for attacks on US forces by an Iran-backed militia.

Joe Biden ordered strikes on the two facilities used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and militia forces it backs, the Pentagon said, warning the US will take additional measures if attacks by Iran’s proxies continue.

US and coalition troops have been attacked at least 19 times in Iraq and in Syria by Iran-backed forces in the past week, the US officials said. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Lebanon’s Hezbollah are all backed by Tehran.

Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said at the United Nations on Thursday that if Israel’s offensive against Hamas did not stop, the United States will “not be spared from this fire”.

The US air strikes took place at roughly 4.30am on Friday in Syria near Abu Kamal, a Syrian town on the border with Iraq, and were carried out by two F-16 fighter jets using precision munitions, a US defence official said.

“These precision self-defence strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on 17 October,” US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

“These Iranian-backed attacks against US forces are unacceptable and must stop,” Mr Austin said.

Explainer: What is Gaza’s ministry of health and how does it calculate death toll?

06:06 , Jane Dalton

Doctors scribble on notepads in overflowing morgues, struggling to account for bodies trapped under rubble and tossed in hastily dug mass graves. Yet the Gaza-based Ministry of Health continues to tally casualty numbers:

EXPLAINER: What is Gaza's Ministry of Health and how does it calculate the war's death toll?

Republican senators want to separate Israel funding from Ukraine aid

05:05 , Jane Dalton

A group of conservatives in the US Senate are pushing to drive a wedge between military aid for Ukraine and Israel at a time when passing legislation to support the former seems more uncertain than ever:

Republican senators want to separate Israel funding from Ukraine aid

Israel claims to have killed Hamas spy chief

04:04 , Jane Dalton

The Israeli military said an airstrike killed one of two masterminds of the Hamas massacre – Shadi Barud, the head of Hamas’ intelligence unit.

The military says it only strikes militant targets and accuses Hamas of operating among civilians in an attempt to protect its fighters.

New photos show destruction as Israel tanks raid Gaza

03:03 , Jane Dalton

An online geolocating platform has posted photos of military vehicles and identified the location of Israel’s tanks at the northern border of the Gaza strip:

Gaza map shows scale of destruction of tiny strip as Israel tanks raid north

Hostages’ families stage demonstration in Tel Aviv

02:02 , Jane Dalton

Family members of the Israeli hostages who were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip held a demonstration calling for their government to bring them back:

The evidence on who is to blame for Gaza hospital bomb

01:01 , Jane Dalton

Hamas blame the deaths on an Israeli airstrike; Israel blames a jihadist group’s failed rocket:

Who is to blame for Gaza hospital bomb - we scrutinise the evidence

EU leaders stress Israel’s ‘right to defend itself’

Friday 27 October 2023 00:02 , Jane Dalton

Leaders of the European Union’s 27 nations have emphasised Israel’s right to defend itself “in line with international law and international humanitarian law”.

The summit in Brussels was the leaders’ first in-person meeting since the attack that prompted Israel to bombard and blockade Hamas-run Gaza.

In their declaration, the leaders also repeated a call for Hamas to immediately release all hostages “without any precondition”.

They reiterated their previous condemnation “in the strongest possible terms” of the 7 October assault on Israel by Hamas.

“The European Union will work closely with partners in the region to protect civilians, provide assistance and facilitate access to food, water, medical care, fuel and shelter, ensuring that such assistance is not abused by terrorist organisations,” the declaration also said.

In pictures: Lights memorial for the kidnapped

Thursday 26 October 2023 23:01 , Jane Dalton

A display of lights signifying those abducted by Hamas light the sky in Jerusalem:

Reporter whose family were killed ‘felt duty’ to continue working

Thursday 26 October 2023 22:30 , Jane Dalton

An Al Jazeera reporter who was on air when he was told his wife and children had been killed in an Israeli airstrike has spoken of why he has continued working despite his agony.

Wael Al-Dahdouh said: “Thank you for all your solidarity and condolences and prayers. They were really important ... I felt it was my duty to get back to work as quickly as possible, despite everything.

“As you can see, the firing is going on everywhere...

“I felt that it was my duty, despite the pain and the open wound, to get back in front of the camera and to communicate with you on social media as soon as possible.”

UK Border Force set to help Britons escape Gaza

Thursday 26 October 2023 22:00 , Jane Dalton

UK Border Force teams are in Egypt to help trapped British nationals escape from Gaza when a crossing is opened, Rishi Sunak has revealed.

Around 200 Briton stuck inside the besieged enclave have been in touch with the Foreign Office, the prime minister said:

UK Border Force in Egypt to help trapped British nationals escape Gaza

EU summit calls for 'humanitarian corridors and pauses' in Gaza

Thursday 26 October 2023 20:50 , Sam Rkaina

EU leaders agreed at a summit on Thursday to call for the establishment of “humanitarian corridors and pauses” to get urgently-needed aid into Gaza.

“The European Council expresses its gravest concern for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and calls for continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs,” a declaration adopted by the leaders said.

“The European Union will work closely with partners in the region to protect civilians, provide assistance and facilitate access to food, water, medical care, fuel and shelter, ensuring that such assistance is not abused by terrorist organisations,” added the declaration, issued at the summit in Brussels.