Summary of the day …
The US has said that “gaps” remain between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage release deal. Talks are set to continue in Doha on Wednesday and in Cairo on Thursday, after an Israeli delegation headed by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar returned on Tuesday from Cairo. Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed efforts for a Gaza truce with CIA director William Burns in Cairo on Tuesday
Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that at least 26 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday by Israeli strikes on Gaza. The health ministry in Gaza, which is Hamas-led, now puts the casualty toll at 38,243 killed and 88,033 people wounded since 7 October
The Palestine Red Crescent Society has said the latest forced evacuation orders from Israel’s military has put all of its medical facilities in Gaza City out of order
Israel’s military claims that during a week of fighting in the Shejaiya area, it has “engaged in close-quarters combat with terrorist cells and eliminated more than 150 terrorists, dismantled terrorist infrastructure and encountered and destroyed booby-trapped buildings and explosives”
The recent deaths of several more children from malnutrition in the Gaza Strip indicate that famine has spread throughout the territory, a group of independent human rights experts mandated by the United Nations has said. Gaza health authorities say at least 33 children have died of malnutrition, mostly in northern areas
The family of Daniella Gilboa, an Israeli soldier being held captive in Gaza, have allowed the publication of a video featuring her which Hamas released in January. Although the release of the video had been reported at the time, it was not widely shown. In releasing the footage, her mother Orly Gilboa told Israeli media that she hoped it would underline the importance of securing a hostage release deal
Two people were killed on Tuesday in an Israeli strike on a vehicle belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah group in the Damascus countryside near the Lebanese border. Earlier another Hezbollah member was killed in southern Lebanon. Israeli media reports that at least 350 Hezbollah operatives have been killed since 7 October
Overnight Israel attacked targets in the northern Syrian city of Baniyas. The Syrian army reported no casualties but some slight damage to property
Israel’s military has said it intercepted two explosive drones approaching Israel from Lebanon. It also said it intercepted an aerial target approaching Israel from the east, and a projectile fired into southern Israel from Rafah in the Gaza Strip
Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm claim to have located 12 explosive devices and neutralised a booby-trapped car. Earlier Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, claimed to have detonated a high-explosive device aimed at Israeli security forces in the area
Hezbollah has release drone imagery of Israeli military infrastructure in the occupied Golan Heights. If follows a previous release of video which showed that the Iran-backed militant group was able to carry out surveillance of Israeli infrastructure in the Haifa area
Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant has approved a plan on Tuesday to start drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into Israel’s military, a move likely to further strain relations within Benjamin Netanyahu’s fractious right-wing coalition, Reuters reports.
His government relies on two ultra-Orthodox parties that are fiercely opposed to the conscription plans. Previously ultra-Orthodox men were exempted on religious grounds, but Israel’s army is seeking to bolster its ranks after nine months of war in the Gaza Strip.
Israelis are bound by law to serve in the military for 24-32 months. The longtime military waiver for the ultra-Orthodox has sparked protests in recent months by Israelis angry that the risk of fighting in Gaza is not being equally shared. For their part, ultra-Orthodox protesters have blocked roads under the banner “death before conscription”.
