The Israeli army said on Sunday it had uncovered the biggest Hamas tunnel in the Gaza Strip so far, just a few hundred metres from the heavily fortified Erez border crossing. The discovery raises new questions about how Israeli surveillance missed preparations by Hamas for the militants' deadly October 7 assault. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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Summary:
- The Israeli military said Sunday it has discovered a large tunnel shaft in Gaza just a few hundred meters (yards) from the heavily fortified Erez crossing and a nearby Israeli military base. The army said Sunday that the tunnel facilitated the transit of vehicles, militants, and supplies in preparation for the October 7 attack.
- At least 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes on the central city of Deir al-Balah on Sunday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. Witnesses also reported Israeli air and artillery strikes on the southern municipality of Bani Suhaila east of Khan Yunis, the Gaza Strip's second city.
- The Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza opened on Sunday for the first time for aid trucks since the outbreak of the war, a spokesperson from the prime minister's office said.
- A more precise picture of Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel has emerged from social security data, confirming the unprecedented scale of the violence but also challenging some initial testimonies. The final death toll from the attack is now thought to be 695 Israeli civilians, including 36 children, as well as 373 security forces and 71 foreigners, giving a total of 1,139. This excludes five people, among them four Israelis, still listed as missing by the prime minister's office.
- At least 18,800 people have been killed in Israel's ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip and at least 51,000 people injured, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. At least 7,600 people are missing, according to the Hamas media office.
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Key developments from yesterday:
- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu seemed to suggest on Saturday that new negotiations were under way to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas following a meeting on Friday between the chief of Mossad intelligence and the prime minister of Qatar, a country mediating with Hamas.
- The families of hostages held in Gaza on Saturday called on Israel to make an urgent deal to secure their release after the army admitted "mistakenly" killing three captives in the Palestinian territory.
- Al Jazeera has decided to refer the case of what it called "the assassination" of one of its cameramen in Gaza to the International Criminal Court, the Qatari-based network said in a statement on Saturday.
- At least 14 people died Saturday morning from air strikes that hit two houses on Old Gaza Street in Jabalia and dozens more were killed in a separate air strike that hit another home in Jabalia, according to the official Palestinian WAFA news agency.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
