Fresh Israeli raids in Gaza, West Bank; Pope wraps Lebanon visit

TNA’s live coverage of the latest from the war on Gaza concludes for today. Join us again at 0800 GMT for updates from the besieged Palestinian enclave.
 

An Israeli organisation has reportedly been told by Guinness World Records that the company is no longer accepting submissions from Israel or the Palestinian territories, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 12.

The charity "Matnat Chaim," which facilitates voluntary kidney donations, contacted Guinness regarding an upcoming event that aims to gather 2,000 donors in Jerusalem. The group hoped to have a photograph from the gathering included in the next Guinness World Records book.

However, the organisation was informed that Guinness is not currently accepting submissions from Israel or from the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, Channel 12 reported.

Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has accused Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara of being a “criminal” after she called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to examine Ben-Gvir’s alleged politicisation of the police.

"Gali Baharav-Miara is a criminal who disrupted investigative procedures in matters in which the High Court of Justice determined that she had a conflict of interest," Ben-Gvir said.

"She is framing elected officials, public servants and senior military officers, demonstrably striving to carry out a coup against a democratically elected government, to annul laws, thwart decisions and thwart appointments, and now the climax – an attempt to dismiss elected officials," he added.

"I will not rest or remain silent until her actions are investigated – Israel will not be a mafia state."

US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz is set to become the latest senior Trump administration official to visit Israel next week, The Times of Israel reported on Tuesday.

He will travel alongside his Israeli counterpart, Danny Danon.

Several members of the administration have made visits to Israel since the ceasefire came into effect in October.

US President Donald Trump had to "personally interact" with all parties involved in order to secure the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement reached in October, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Rubio praised Trump’s role, stating, "What he achieved in Gaza – not just because he hates war and he thinks it's a waste of money and lives, but he's the only leader in the world who can."

He continued, "I can't get into the details – the vice president knows what I'm talking about – but that deal doesn't happen without the president's direct interaction with the leaders involved in this decision-making."

"Every day is a challenge, but it's been driven personally by the president," Rubio added.

Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli told attendees at the Israel Hayom conference in New York City on Monday that he believes conservative commentator Tucker Carlson is being financially supported to promote Sharia law.

He stated, "I believe Tucker is being paid to push Sharia Law."

Chikli went on to say that Israel should confront those who fund what he described as antisemitic figures, alleging that Qatar is paying influencers such as Carlson.

Israeli police said on Tuesday that they had received from Hamas the remains of one of the last two captives who died while being held in the Gaza Strip.

The two remaining deceased captives are Israeli national Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak. The remains handed over will undergo identification at Israel’s national forensic institute.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas is required to return the bodies of 28 captives in exchange for 360 deceased Palestinians held by Israel.

Israel was expected to release 390 Palestinians in total, but is estimated to have returned only 345 so far. Many of the bodies handed back reportedly showed signs of mutilation or torture.

To date, only 99 of the Palestinians returned have been identified.

Israel has not provided detailed information about the individuals it released, and Gaza lacks a forensic institute capable of carrying out formal identification.

Leading humanitarians say Israel’s genocide in Gaza has continued despite the ceasefire.

According to prominent organisations, although the pace of Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza has slowed since the ceasefire was announced, the war has effectively carried on. The agreement, which took effect on 10 October 2025, was intended to halt Israel’s genocidal campaign against Gaza.

Two months later, however, Israel has reportedly breached the ceasefire more than 500 times, killing at least 356 Palestinians and pushing the overall death toll in Gaza to more than 70,000.

Amnesty International has highlighted the ongoing devastation, publishing a legal assessment last week describing what it called the "ongoing genocide in the Occupied Gaza Strip".

"The world must not be fooled. Israel’s genocide is not over," said Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Amnesty’s analysis refers to the number of Palestinians killed since the ceasefire began, Israel’s ongoing restrictions on humanitarian, medical and relief supplies, and the way the siege and blockade have created famine conditions that increase susceptibility to disease.

£So far, there is no indication that Israel is taking serious measures to reverse the deadly impact of its crimes and no evidence that its intent has changed," Callamard added.

Before the ceasefire, on 1 October, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said that around 100 people in Gaza were dying every day, mostly due to Israeli attacks or shootings at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution centres.

Even after the ceasefire, people continue to be killed by ongoing military operations- albeit at a reduced daily rate- while the foundations of Palestinian society in Gaza remain devastated.

Palestinians gathered in the ruins of southern Gaza to celebrate the mass wedding of more than 50 couples on Tuesday, a rare moment of hope after two years of devastation, death and conflict.

Weddings are a key part of Palestinian culture but have become rare in Gaza during the war, and a tradition that some couples have been able to restart in the wake of a fragile ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call on Monday asked US President Donald Trump for more support as the embattled leader pushes for a pardon from Israel's president, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing two US officials and an Israeli official.

Netanyahu on Sunday submitted an official request to Israeli President Isaac Herzog for a pardon in his long-running corruption trial.

The Palestinian Authority said Israel had informed it that 17-year-old Muhannad Tariq Mohammed al-Zaghir had been killed by Israeli soldiers in Hebron- while that 18-year-old Mohammed Raslan Mahmoud Asmar was fatally shot by Israeli forces north of Ramallah.

According to the Israeli military, the two killed were named as assailants over alleged attacks against Israeli soldiers in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank.

The army claimed the first attack took place Monday evening near Hebron, in the south of the Palestinian territory, where a female soldier was slightly injured in a car ramming attack.

In a statement, the army said that after pursuing the attacker, Israeli forces tried to apprehend him.

The attacker "attempted to flee while endangering the forces, who responded with live fire", killing him, the military statement said.

The Israeli military said the second attack took place near Ramallah, in the centre of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Soldiers were dispatched to the area of the Israeli settlement of Ateret after surveillance cameras there "identified a suspect", the army said in a statement.

Israeli forces "approached him to conduct a security check", during which "the terrorist stabbed two soldiers".

"The soldiers responded with fire and eliminated the terrorist," the statement said.

Germany is prepared to contribute to Gaza’s reconstruction, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Tuesday, stressing that a planned conference in Egypt must take place soon as humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian enclave remain dire.

“We are committed to this process, and we encourage Egypt to invite participants to this conference now,” Wadephul said during a meeting in Berlin with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty.

Wadephul noted that Germany is willing to take part and offer support for rebuilding efforts. Abdelatty added that Egypt is coordinating with the United States to agree on a date for the conference

Israel’s High Court of Justice on Tuesday instructed Defence Minister Israel Katz and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to clarify why no formal policy exists regarding the conscription of Palestinian citizens of Israel, whether for military service or compulsory civilian service, according to local media.

The directive follows a petition submitted by ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) citizen Mordechai Yair Balens, who questioned why the court is moving to compel the government to begin drafting yeshiva students, yet has allowed an exemption for Palestinian citizens "since Israel was founded."

Lawyers for the UK government Tuesday defended a contentious ban under anti-terror laws of activist group Palestine Action, as three days of hearings challenging the move concluded.

The government's legal team argued the decision to criminalise the direct action organisation, announced in July, was proportionate following an "escalation" in its activities.

The move makes being a member of the group or supporting it a serious criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

That has resulted in at least 2,300 arrests of demonstrators, according to protest organisers Defend Our Juries, and sparked concerns over free speech and civil liberties.

(AFP)

The Israeli military says it killed three Palestinians who crossed into Israeli-occupied territory in Gaza on Tuesday.

In a statement on X, the army claimed the people posed a threat to its forces, describing them as "terrorists".

Gaza hospitals said this afternoon that five Palestinians have been killed in Israeli fire on Tuesday.

US Syria envoy Tom Barrack was in Syria on Tuesday for talks with Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Syria's foreign ministry said on its Telegram channel.

The meeting came as US Lebanon envoy Morgan Ortagus met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

This comes a day after US president Donald Trump called on Israel to enter into a "strong and true dialogue" with Syria during a phone call with Netanyahu.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met delegations from US oil major Chevron and the Syrian Petroleum Company to discuss cooperation in oil and gas exploration fields on Syrian shores, the Syrian state news agency said on Tuesday.

(Reuters)

Five Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Tuesday despite the ceasefire, medical sources have told Al Jazeera.

The Israeli military has killed more than 350 Palestinian and injured more than 900 others in the weeks since the ceasefire came into effect on 10 October.

Countries participating in the Eurovision Song Contest may vote on whether Israel can compete in 2026, as some nations threaten to withdraw if it is not excluded due to its genocidal conduct in Gaza.

European Broadcasting Union members will convene to discuss new rules designed to prevent governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to influence voters after controversy this year over Israel's second-place win.

If members are not convinced the rules are adequate, there will be a vote on participation, the EBU said, without naming Israel specifically.

Public broadcasters from Slovenia, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands have all threatened to boycott the event, scheduled for May in Austria, if Israel is allowed to take part, citing concern over the country's onslaught on Gaza, which has killed more than 70,000 people and flattened most of the territory.

(Reuters and TNA staff)

US envoy Morgan Ortagus held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, according to The Times of Israel.

Ortagus, along with US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, has led the Trump administration's diplomatic efforts in Lebanon.

She also met with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who wrote on X they had a "good discussion" about disarming Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel has received from the Red Cross the possible remains of one of the two dead captives left in Gaza, the Israeli prime minister's office said Tuesday afternoon.

The "findings" will be transferred to Israel's centre for forensic medicine for identification, it wrote in a post on X. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday demanded the demilitarisation of swathes of southern Syria in return for a security deal with Damascus.

Netanyahu spoke a day after US President Donald Trump, whose administration has been trying to broker a non-aggression pact between the two countries, said it was important for Israel to hold a "strong and true dialogue" with Syria.

"What we expect Syria to do is, of course, to establish a demilitarised buffer zone from Damascus to the buffer area, including the approaches to Mount Hermon and the Hermon peak," Netanyahu said while visiting wounded soldiers in central Israel. 

Israel has occupied hundreds of square-kilometres of southern Syria since invading the country in the wake of the overthrow of the Assad regime in December 2024.

Israeli forces killed 13 Syrians in the Damascus countryside last week in the latest in a series of raids on Syrian territory.

(Reuters and TNA staff)

A Hamas official has told Reuters it is handing over the remains of one of the two dead Israeli captives that remain in Gaza.

The Israeli prime minister's office said earlier that it is preparing to receive "findings" to be transferred from the Palestinian territory.

A Gazan photojournalist was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Khan Younis on Tuesday, according to Nasser Hospital.

The man has been identified as Mahmoud Wadi, a drone photographer who before the war photographed weddings.

The attack, which took place in Hamas-controlled territory, is the latest ceasefire violation, which have been committed on almost a daily basis by Israeli forces.

Israel is preparing on Tuesday to receive from the Red Cross "findings" transferred from Gaza that will be sent for forensic examination, the prime minister's office said.

There are two remaining captive bodies still in Gaza, those of Israeli captive Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak.

Pope Leo XIV told a crowd in Lebanon on Tuesday that the Middle East needed new approaches to rejecting violence and overcoming divisions, while urging Christians in the region to "have courage".

"The Middle East needs new approaches in order to reject the mindset of revenge and violence, to overcome political, social and religious divisions, and to open new chapters in the name of reconciliation and peace," he said at the conclusion of a mass in Beirut attended by some 150,000 people.

Addressing Lebanon, he said, "I especially pray for beloved Lebanon. I ask the international community once again to spare no effort in promoting processes of dialogue and reconciliation."

"Christians of the Levant, citizens of these lands in every respect, I repeat, have courage. The whole Church looks to you with affection and admiration," he added.

Gaza talks mediator Qatar said on Tuesday it hoped Israel and Hamas could be brought to a new phase of negotiations for a peace deal in the Palestinian territory following their agreement of a ceasefire in October.

"We think that we should be pushing the parties to stage two very, very soon," Qatar foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said, adding that the talks would include issues such as Hamas fighters still in tunnels in Israeli-controlled areas of the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli quadcopter drone dropped explosives on a home in southern Lebanon on Tuesday morning, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The attack occurred in the town of Aitaroun, close to the Blue Line that separates Lebanon from Israel.

The Israeli military has violated its ceasefire with Hezbollah thousands of times in the year since it came into effect, killing more than 127 civilians.

Some 150,000 people were attending an outdoor Mass held by Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday on Beirut's waterfront, the Vatican's press service said, citing figures from Lebanese authorities.

Tens of thousands of people had streamed towards the service from the early morning on the third and last day of the pope's visit to the crisis-hit country.

(AFP)

Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man to the east of the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital.

The Israeli military has killed at least 356 Palestinians and wounded 909 others since the ceasefire came into effect on 10 October, according to the Gaza health ministry.

(Associated Press and TNA staff)

Israeli forces on Tuesday shot and killed two Palestinians the military claimed were suspects in a pair of attacks that wounded three Israelis in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military said that troops shot and killed a suspect who stabbed two soldiers as they were confronting him near Ateret, an illegal Israeli settlement north of Ramallah.

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces killed an 18-year-old Palestinian north of Ramallah, but it wasn't immediately clear if it was the same incident.

Israel's Mada rescue service said two soldiers were lightly wounded.

In the southern West Bank, the army said it shot and killed a Palestinian who had earlier carried out a car-ramming attack that wounded a female soldier.

(Associated Press)

A Palestinian teenager was killed in Israeli fire in Hebron on Tuesday morning as the military raids sites in the city following last night's car-ramming attack that wounded an Israeli soldier.

The health ministry named the child as 17 year-old Muhannad Tariq Muhammad al-Zughair.

Palestinian news agency WAFA is reporting that Israeli forces stormed the entrances of three hospitals in Hebron and reinforced military checkpoints at northern entrances to the city.

Israeli forces are continuing to flatten buildings in areas of Gaza under their control, Al-Jazeera reported on Tuesday.

The army reportedly detonated a robot close to the Shujaiya intersection, east of Gaza City, and demolished residential buildings in the Tuffah suburb of the city.

Thousands of Lebanese faithful were making their way to Beirut's waterfront ahead of Pope Leo XIV's Mass on Tuesday morning, the highlight of the Catholic leader's visit to the capital.

Before the service, the pope prayed at the site of a catastrophic port explosion on the final day of his Lebanon visit.

The pontiff arrived from Turkey on Sunday on his inaugural visit abroad as pope and brought a message of hope, particularly to young people in Lebanon, whose faith in their beleaguered country has dwindled.

Israeli forces reportedly shelled areas east of Khan Younis and opened fire near Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza this morning, sources on the ground tell Al Jazeera.