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Israel-Hamas conflict as it happened: Israeli ambassador says Gaza humanitarian situation is ‘fair’ as death toll continues to rise

Mike Foley, James Lemon and Latika Bourke
Updated ,first published

Key Posts

Israeli forces make ‘biggest incursion yet’ into Gaza
Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad leaders plan next steps
Biden calls for ‘path towards peace’ once crisis is resolved
Israeli MP rejects Australian call for ‘humanitarian pause’
US seeks delay in Gaza ground invasion to put air defences in place
Australians in Lebanon not taking advice to leave: DFAT
Queen Rania of Jordan slams West’s ‘double standard’
Macron warns Israel against ‘massive’ ground invasion
UN warns fuel running out in Gaza
Australia helped 600 flee Israel-Gaza conflict: Wong

Wrapping up

By Latika Bourke

And that is where we will end our live coverage of Day 20 of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

To recap:

  • Israel launched a targeted raid inside Gaza overnight
  • The IDF said it detained 46 Hamas members in the raids
  • The number of hostages being held by Hamas is now believed to be 224
  • A bitter row emerged between Israel and the UN Secretary-General with Israel calling on Antonia Guterres to quit for saying the Hamas attack on October 7 did not happen in a vacuum
  • The UN said nowhere in Gaza was safe, with Israeli bombardments hitting targets in the south, where Palestinians had been urged to evacuate ahead of an Israeli ground invasion
  • The UK said it had sent Border Force officials to the Gaza-Egypt border to evacuate its citizens

Thank you for joining us today. We will resume our coverage in the morning.

Benny Gantz: ‘We will not be wiped out’

By Latika Bourke

Retired Israeli army general and former defence minister Benny Gantz is speaking to the media.

Now a member of Israel’s war cabinet, Gantz said the only criteria in the war against Hamas for Israel was winning, changing the strategic situation in the south and bringing back the hostages.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Benny Gantz earlier this month.

“We are making decisions only based on our own interests,” Gantz said.

“Only we will defend ourselves and every Jew … We will not be the ones at risk of being wiped out.”

“That will be the fate of those who seek to do us ill.”

Israel says Hamas holding 224 hostages

By Latika Bourke

The Israel Defence Forces has again increased the number of hostages it says were taken by Hamas terrorists on October 7.

The military said the number had increased to 224. So far, Hamas has released just four hostages.

In Tel Aviv, a woman touches photos of Israelis missing and held captive in Gaza.AP

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Malaysia angry at TikTok, Meta for blocking pro-Palestinian content

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Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has threatened a “firm response” to social media companies TikTok and Meta for allegedly restricting pro-Palestinian content.

“If this issue is ignored, I will not hesitate to take a very firm approach and stance,” Fadzil said in a posting on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Representatives of TikTok and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Fahmi said Malaysians have a right to freedom of speech regarding the Palestinian cause, adding that right will not be taken away.

The government of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has refused to condemn Hamas.

Israel told Gazans to move south. Why is it attacking it?

By Crispian Balmer

Israel has told civilians in the northern Gaza Strip to move to the south of the enclave, saying it will be safer there as it attacks Hamas following its October 7 cross-border assault.

However, Israeli warplanes have continued to hit sites in southern Gaza, spreading fear among the evacuees that they are just as vulnerable there as they were in their homes in the north.

Distraught Palestinians outside a hospital in Deir Al-Balah, in the southern Gaza Strip.AP

Since telling Gazans to head south, the Israel Defence Forces have continued to pound targets across the area, killing an unknown number of civilians. In all, authorities in Gaza say 6546 Palestinians have been killed since Israeli strikes started in retaliation for Hamas’ terror attack on Israel that killed 1400 people on October 7.

Residents said the bombardment of the south intensified on October 25. One strike brought down several apartment buildings in Khan Younis, some 10 kilometres from the Egyptian border.

The military has said the homes where terrorists live are “legitimate targets” even if civilians live alongside them.

Read more: Israel told Gazans to move south. Why is it attacking it?

Brits call snap cabinet emergency meeting

By Latika Bourke

Hello, Latika Bourke logging on from London to take you through developments this evening.

The UK’s Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden will chair a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee called COBRA.

“We will discuss the hostages and we’ll discuss the wider situation in the region and we will also discuss ... securing humanitarian aid,” Dowden, who will chair the meeting, said in an interview with Sky News.

Britain and Australia are alike in calling for a humanitarian pause to allow more aid to enter Gaza.

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Australia gives more aid to Gaza relief

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Australia is putting in an extra $15 million in humanitarian relief for Gaza as the foreign minister continues to call for a safe passage for innocents out of the besieged strip.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has asked Israel to carefully consider its actions in Gaza.Alex Ellinghausen

Recent humanitarian aid into Gaza – where Israel is enforcing a blockade on fuel and supplies – was welcome but not enough, Foreign Minister Penny Wong told a Senate hearing on Thursday.

“We are deeply distressed that international efforts to secure civilian passage out of Gaza and efforts Australia has engaged in and is actively supporting are yet to be successful,” she added.

The foreign minister also urged Israel to consider how it responds to Hamas’ deadly attack.

Iran making moves in Sudan with all eyes on Gaza

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Iran is quietly rebuilding ties with Sudan, stoking concern the Islamic Republic will widen its military influence on the fringes of the Middle East and deepen a disastrous civil war.

With ceasefire talks for Sudan’s six-month-old conflict set to resume in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, Tehran’s recent rapprochement with the North African nation’s army throws a potential wildcard into a crisis already vulnerable to outside interference.

Sudanese protesters take part in a rally against military rule in Khartoum, Sudan.AP

Western powers are concerned a return of Sudan-Iran co-operation after a roughly seven-year pause may see the Sudanese military receive Iranian weapons and expertise in its struggle against the rival Rapid Support Forces, according to foreign officials following the conflict.

The battle for control of Sudan, a resource-rich nation situated on the Red Sea near a choke-point for global shipping, has already killed more than 9000 people and forced 5.6 million from their homes.

Gazans return to evacuation zone, citing Israeli strikes in south

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Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip: Mahmoud Shalabi did not evacuate his home in northern Gaza despite the frightful Israeli warnings of a looming, far more brutal assault to come as it presses ahead with its war against the Hamas militant group.

The Palestinian aid worker is among hundreds of thousands who have remained. Others who initially heeded the Israeli warnings to head south have returned to the territory’s north, where Israel says it considers all those who stay possible “accomplices” of Hamas.

Shalabi said leaving his home in Beit Lahia didn’t make sense considering the relentless bombardment of southern Gaza, where Israel has repeatedly urged the more than 1 million northern residents like him to seek refuge. The overcrowded shelters and shortages of water and food in the south played a part in their decisions, said Shalabi and others who remained.

Risk death at home, or elsewhere in Gaza, they said.

People search through buildings that were destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip this week.Getty
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Israeli forces make ‘biggest incursion yet’ into Gaza

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Israeli ground forces operated within the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, attacking multiple Hamas targets before withdrawing, the Israeli Defence Forces said in a statement on what Israel’s Army Radio described as the biggest incursion of the current war.

Video of the overnight action issued by the military showed armoured vehicles proceeding through a sandy border zone. A bulldozer is seen levelling part of a raised bank, tanks fire shells, and explosions are seen near or amid a row of damaged buildings.

The military statement posted online said the incursion was carried out “in preparation for the next stages of combat”, a possible reference to the large-scale invasion that Israeli leaders have threatened as part of the war to destroy Hamas.

“The soldiers have since exited the area and returned to Israeli territory,” the military statement added.

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