Israeli strike kills eight Palestinians in northern Gaza, say medics

The Municipality of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza has declared the town a disaster area amid weeks of relentless Israeli bombardment and military siege, reported Al Jazeera.

Israeli forces have shelled tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in the al-Mawasi area west of Rafah city in southern Gaza, reported Al Jazeera.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday the appointment of Naim Qassem to succeed Hassan Nasrallah as Hezbollah chief would “strengthen” the resistance.

Pezeshkian expressed confidence that Qassem’s appointment “will strengthen the will of the resistance”, while hoping for “the cessation of aggression by the illegal Zionist regime (Israel) and the establishment of peace, tranquillity and security in Gaza, Lebanon, and the entire region,” according to his website.

The United States on Tuesday voiced concern about a “horrifying” Israeli strike in Gaza that killed a large number of children and said it was asking its ally for answers.

“We are deeply concerned by the loss of civilian life in this incident. This was a horrifying incident with a horrifying result,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, pointing to “reports of two dozen children killed” in the bombing that destroyed the five-story block in Beit Lahia.

Gulf states Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Gaza war mediator Qatar all condemned on Tuesday the Israeli parliament’s decision to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees from operating in Israel.

“We emphasise that stopping support for UNRWA will have disastrous consequences,” Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told reporters in Doha.

“The international community cannot stand silent in the face of this disregard for its international institutions,” he added.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry in a statement also denounced the Israeli decision, calling it “a flagrant violation of international law”.

It said the move “contravenes international legitimacy” amid the “indescribable humanitarian catastrophe” for Palestinians in Gaza.

The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry, in a post on X, “strongly condemned” the new Israeli law.

At least 10 people were killed in an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of Sarafand, most of whom were women and children, the town’s mayor told Reuters late on Tuesday.

Israel’s military confirmed on Tuesday that four soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza, with one officer severely injured.

Separately, the military said another soldier died from wounds sustained in battle in southern Lebanon, bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since October 2023 to 777.

The UN’s special coordinator for Middle East peace warned Tuesday that the region was at its “most dangerous juncture” in decades, as the war between Israel and Iran-backed groups risked spiralling into a broader conflict.

“We have now entered the second year of this horrific conflict, and the region is on the verge of yet another serious escalation,” Tor Wennesland told the Security Council.

“Every effort — by all of us — must be made to de-escalate the situation and establish a different trajectory toward greater peace and stability in the region,” he said.

“We are witnessing not only a horrific humanitarian nightmare, but a rapidly accelerated unravelling of the prospects for a sustainable resolution to this conflict.”

Ireland’s Prime Minister Simon Harris urged the EU to review trade ties with Israel Tuesday over Israeli lawmakers’ “despicable” ban of the UN’s Palestinian aid agency Unrwa.

The Irish leader criticised the Israeli parliament’s “shameful” banning of the agency, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza.

“The most important action that the European Union could take right now is reviewing trade relations,” Harris told reporters in Dublin before meeting incoming European Council president Antonio Costa.

“What Israel and the Israeli Knesset did last night was despicable, disgraceful and shameful. More people will die, more children will starve,” he said.

The move has stirred a growing international backlash, including from Israel’s ally the United States and European powers.

Iran’s government has proposed to triple its military budget, its spokeswoman said Tuesday, as tensions with arch-rival Israel rise following recent tit-for-tat missile strikes.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani outlined the move that would see “a significant increase of more than 200% in the country’s military budget” at a news conference in Tehran.