Closing summary
The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad fired a barrage of rockets into Israel on Monday. The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, said its fighters fired rockets towards several Israeli communities near the fence with Gaza in response to “the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our Palestinian people”. The volley of about 20 rockets caused no casualties, the Israeli military said.
The Israel Broadcasting Authority has quoted the country’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, as saying the Israeli army needs 10,000 additional soldiers immediately. According to Al Jazeera, Gallant told the foreign affairs and defence committee that 4,800 of those required can be recruited from Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community, which makes up about 13% of people in Israel.
Gaza’s health ministry said 23 people were killed and 91 others injured in Israeli strikes over the past day.
A political row broke out in Israel after about 50 Palestinian detainees from Gaza were released, including Muhammad Abu Salamiya, director of the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right internal security minister, described it as “security recklessness”, while Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that he had ordered an immediate inquiry.
WhatsApp messages from inside the Israeli government reported by Hebrew news outlet Ynet appear to show that Ben-Gvir has called for the resignation of the head of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service.
The Palestinian health authority said a woman and a child were killed by Israeli security forces during a raid into Tulkarm in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian news agency Wafa named those killed as Muhammad Ali Sarhan, 15, and Nisreen Khaled Damiri, 47.
We are closing this blog now, but you can stay up to date on the Guardian’s Middle East coverage here.
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The Lebanese army has received an additional $20m (£15.8m) from Qatar in support for its troops, Lebanon’s state agency NNA reported.
Qatar has given tens of millions of dollars annually for fuel and salaries to the Lebanese army in recent years, according to reports.
The support comes at a crucial time, with the Israeli military and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah trading fire across Lebanon’s southern border in parallel with Israel’s war on Gaza.
The Lebanese army is not involved in the hostilities but one Lebanese soldier was killed by Israeli shelling in December.
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