Live updates | Day 7 of the latest Israel-Hamas war
Israel’s military ordered hundreds of thousands of civilians living in Gaza City to evacuate Friday ahead of a feared Israel ground offensive. The directive came on the heels of what the United Nations said was a warning they received from Israel to evacuate 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza within 24 hours.
Suffering in Gaza has been rising dramatically with Palestinians desperate for food, fuel and medicine and the territory’s only power plant shut down for lack of fuel. The morgue at Gaza’s biggest hospital overflowed as bodies came in faster than relatives could claim them.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was set to visit on Friday, a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The war has claimed at least 2,800 lives on both sides since Hamas launched an incursion on Oct. 7.
Here's what's happening on Day 7 of the latest Israel-Hamas war:
BAGHDAD — It was not possible to evacuate the many wounded from Gaza’s hospitals, Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said Friday, and hospital staff would not heed Israel’s evacuation warning.
“These warnings are a violation of international law and the fourth Geneva Convention, which stipulates ensuring the continuity of health services,” he said. “We have a duty and a humanitarian mission, and we cannot evacuate hospitals and leave the wounded and sick to die.”
“The illegal warnings are considered killing of patients and we cannot be part of this killing,” he said in comments to The Associated Press.
BEIRUT — Top Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari denied that they have killed hostages held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
“We have our own information and do not believe the lies of Hamas. We have verified information that reaches us,” Hagari said in an interview on Al Jazeera Arabic television, and denied that Israel has targeted civilian infrastructure, saying Hamas used hospitals and United Nations buildings as command centers by digging tunnels.
He renewed calls for Palestinians in Gaza to flee southward to Wadi Gaza.
“We will follow your movement. We are not targeting you when you head towards the south,” he said, addressing Gaza residents. “We know that Hamas is obstructing the roads to the south.”
Protests were staged after Friday prayers in Muslim communities around the world — including Sri Lanka, Indian-controlled Kashmir and Baghdad — condemning Israel’s attacks on Gaza and showing support for Palestinians in the wake of the deadly surprise attack launched in southern Israel by the militant group Hamas on Oct. 7.
In the cold desert region of Ladakh’s Kargil district, thousands marched in the main town while raising slogans against Israel and the United States.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered Friday in Tahrir Square in the center of Baghdad, and similar protests are expected in Lebanon, Syria and other Arab countries following afternoon prayers Friday.
The protests come as Israel appears to be gearing up for a ground offensive in Gaza. Israel’s military delivered sweeping evacuation orders for almost half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people Friday, according to U.N. agencies.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people in Tehran staged a rally in support of Palestinians. Iran does not recognize Israel and supports anti-Israeli militant groups in the region like Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah.
BEIRUT — Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah said that the deterrence between the militant group and Israel has been maintained since a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a draw, despite clashes over the past week.
Fadlallah’s comments came minutes after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian held separate meetings with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and key ally Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Lebanon’s caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makari said the Lebanese government is committed to supporting the Palestinians in Gaza but maintaining calm along the southern border with Israel to avoid a new war.
“At the same time, the government will study the possibility of being ready for — God forbid — a deterioration of the situation,” Makari said.
Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged shelling since Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel almost one week ago, but the clashes have remained limited and contained thus far.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The main synagogue in Copenhagen canceled Friday’s planned open-doors event that is part of the annual Culture Night where museums, government agencies, associations and shops are open all evening, saying “in the current situation, we will unfortunately have to prioritize the tasks differently. We hope for your understanding.”
In a separate statement, the synagogue said it would hold “a solemnity for the victims of terror in Israel” on Saturday. Denmark’s Queen Margrethe is scheduled to participate. The service also will include speeches by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, among others.
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungarian police banned a Palestinian solidarity demonstration planned for Friday in the capital, Budapest, saying it “would directly endanger public safety and public order.”
In a post on Facebook, the Budapest Police Headquarters said that participation in the rally, which aimed to bring together supporters of Palestine to “stand with Gaza and its brave people,” would result in “sanctions.”
Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview with state radio that there were “sympathy protests with terrorists” across Europe, but that his government would not allow any pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
KFAR KILA, Lebanon — An eerie quiet prevailed Friday in south Lebanon and northern Israel in the wake of Israel’s call for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza City ahead of an expected ground invasion. Many analysts believe a ground invasion could be the catalyst for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, a Hamas ally with a much larger arsenal, to enter the war.
The Lebanese army had beefed up its troops at the Lebanese-Israeli border on Friday as Hamas and Hezbollah called for rallies in many cities in Lebanon. Military vehicles patrolled near the separation wall in the Kfar Kila border town and many new checkpoints were erected on the roads leading to the border with Israel.
The Israeli town of Metula appeared like ghost town from the Lebanese side, with no civilians in the streets while some Israeli army units appeared to be methodically searching the houses.
JERUSALEM — The Israeli Foreign Ministry says an employee at its embassy in Beijing has been attacked and is now hospitalized.
There were few details regarding the attack in the Chinese capital. In a message sent to journalists, the ministry said its officials were trying to confirm the details of the attack.
China did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
Israel has been critical of China's initial government statement following Hamas’ unprecedented Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
BEIRUT — Iran’s foreign minister says the aim of his visit to Beirut is to preserve security in Lebanon amid regional tensions.
Hossein Amirabdollahian called in comments after meeting caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Beirut for leaders of the region to hold a meeting in order to discuss the situation.
He warned that the violence in Gaza could spread to the region if Israel does not stop “the destructive war against the Gaza Strip.” He added that what Hamas did over the weekend was in response to the policies of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
JERUSALEM — The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency known as UNRWA has transferred only its international staff to its compound in southern Gaza.
Juliette Touma, a spokesperson for the agency, said that UNRWA was not aware of any evacuation plans for its thousands of Palestinian staff members and their families in Gaza. She said that local UNRWA workers were making their own decisions about whether to stay in their homes in Gaza City, transfer to the U.N. compound in the south, or flee elsewhere within the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA also said it was not evacuating its dozens of schools-turned-shelters, home to hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians across the territory.
UNRWA provides basic services and funding to 1.3 million people registered as Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip
JERUSALEM — Confrontations across the West Bank continued into late Thursday night, with Palestinian Health officials reporting three Palestinians had been killed overnight. That brings the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank up to 35 in the seven days since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war, with 650 Palestinians wounded in that time.
The highest ever monthly total for West Bank deaths since the U.N. started recording in 2005 is 47.
Overnight, Israeli forces arrested at least 26 Palestinians in a large-scale detention raid in southern region of the volatile territory, Palestinian state media reported. Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to request for confirmation.
The area has seen violent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces. Israeli authorities have sealed off the territory, closing crossings and checkpoints between cities.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas says Israel’s heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed 13 hostages, including foreigners, held by the group.
Hamas’ military wing said in a statement Friday that the 13 were killed in various locations over the past 24 hours. It did not give the nationalities of the foreigners. There has been no confirmation from Israel.
CAIRO — Egypt has taken “unprecedented measures” to prevent a breach to its borders with Gaza, a senior Egyptian security official said Friday, calling Israel’s potential ground invasion of the territory a “grave mistake.”
The official said they have beefed up security along the borders with Gaza by deploying thousands of security forces. He said Egypt is working “around the clock” with Israel’s allies, including the U.S. and European governments, to prevent such a ground invasion, and eventually stop the war.
He said they have proposed establishing “safe zones” inside Gaza and allow the delivery of aid through Rafah crossing point. Though they have received support from some Western officials, including the EU chief diplomat, Israel has yet to respond to the proposal, he said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists.
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