Closing Summary
It is approaching 7pm in Gaza and Tel Aviv and we are closing the Israel-Gaza war live blog. Here is a recap of the key events from today:
At least 274 Palestinians were killed in a Israeli hostage rescue raid yesterday, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. The ministry also said about 700 people were wounded in the operation that was centred on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The operation resulted in the rescue of four Israeli hostages who had been held captive since Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel. Israel celebrated the release of Noa Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 41. Israel has now rescued a total of seven hostages since the outbreak of the war, with over 100 thought to remain in Gaza.
Hamas has asserted that three hostages were killed in the Israeli rescue operation yesterday, including a US citizen. No evidence was provided and the Guardian could not independently verify the claims. Hamas has released a video showing three unidentifiable corpses with censor bars over their faces, and warned that conditions would worsen for the remaining captives after the attack.
The EU’s foreign minister, Josep Borrell condemned the “massacre” of Palestinian civilians, saying the “bloodbath” resulting from Israel’s rescue mission must end immediately. The UN’s aid chief Martin Griffiths called for a ceasefire and for all Israeli hostages to be released as he described in graphic detail scenes of “shredded bodies on the ground” after the operation.
Israel continued to attack central Gaza today. Reuters reported that separate Israeli airstrikes on houses in the city of Deir Al-Balah and in nearby Al-Bureij killed three Palestinians in each location earlier today, while tanks shelled parts of nearby Al-Maghazi and Al-Nuseirat.
Israeli tanks also advanced into two new districts of the southern city of Rafah. It appears to be an apparent effort to complete the encirclement of the entire eastern side of the city.
Yemen’s Houthis said they targeted two commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea with missiles. The militant group also claimed to have hit British destroyer HMS Diamond, but the British MoD denied these claims.
Aid has been delivered into Gaza from a newly repaired American-built pier after it suffered storm damage. In a post on X, US Central Command confirmed aid was delivered in Gaza via the pier yesterday morning.
That’s it from me, Donna Ferguson. Thanks for following along. If you want to continue following news on the war, go to Israel-Gaza war.
Updated
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has told Reuters it received a report of an incident 89 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s port city of Aden, adding that authorities are investigating.
Earlier, Yemen’s Houthi group said it had fired ballistic missiles at a British destroyer, HMS Diamond, in the Red Sea. Reuters reported that the British Ministry of Defence said the assertions were false, at the time (see earlier blog post, 2.14pm)
