Live Updates: Israel bombs Gaza, Lebanon as US seeks commitment to Doha talks

Saturday, August 17, 2024

04:46 GMT — Israel bombs Gaza, Lebanon as US seeks commitment to Doha talks

Israel has killed at least six people and wounded three others in a strike on a residential building in Nabatieh city, in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

Tensions have soared in the region in recent weeks after Israel assassinated a top Hezbollah commander in the suburbs of Beirut.

Hezbollah has also vowed to retaliate against Israel, as has Iran, for Tel Aviv's assassination in Tehran of the political chief of the Palestinian Hamas group, Ismail Haniyeh.

04:00 GMT — Biden 'optimistic' about Gaza ceasefire deal

US President Joe Biden hass said he is "optimistic" about a ceasefire deal in the Gaza.

"As of an hour ago, it’s still in play. I’m optimistic. Not — it’s far from over. Just a couple more issues. I think we’ve got a shot," Biden told reporters when asked about the talks.

"That remains to be seen," Biden said after he was asked a question about when would a ceasefire would start.

03:23 GMT — Israel bombs Al Zawaida town in central Gaza

Israel has killed at least four Palestinians and wounded many in an air strike targeting barracks sheltering displaced people near the entrance to Al Zawaida town in the Gaza.

It comes after US President Joe Biden urged no party in the Middle East should undermine efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal that he claimed was now in sight, but he warned that it was "far from over."

02:50 GMT — US says Gaza truce efforts must succeed amid new Israeli demands

US President Biden has urged all sides not to undermine efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, as he said that a deal was nearing.

Biden said in a statement that Secretary of State Antony Blinken was travelling to the Middle East in part "to underscore that with the comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal now in sight, no one in the region should take actions to undermine this process."

"I am sending Secretary (of State Antony) Blinken to Israel to reaffirm my iron-clad support for Israel's security, continue our intensive efforts to conclude this agreement and to underscore that with the comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal now in sight," Biden said in a statement.

02:30 GMT — First case of polio confirmed in a 10-month-old child in Gaza

Palestinian health officials have reported the first case of polio in an unvaccinated 10-month old-child in the Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, the first case in 25 years in the coastal enclave that has been engulfed in Israel's genocidal war since October.

After discovering the child's symptoms, tests were conducted in Jordan’s capital of Amman and the case was confirmed to be polio, said the ministry.

The potentially fatal, paralyzing disease mostly strikes children under age 5 and typically spreads through contaminated water.

02:00 GMT — Israeli drones kill 5 Palestinians in Gaza City

Israeli army has carried out a drone attack in Gaza City, killing five Palestinians and wounding several others, according to multiple sources.

In a statement, Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Civil Defense Service in Gaza, said that three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a gathering of people in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood, southern Gaza City.

He added a number of Palestinians were wounded in another drone strike on a home for the Hussein family in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of the city.

For our live updates from Friday, August 16, 2024, click here.