Dozens killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza as Qatari PM to meet top US officials

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.
 

Former Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi has admitted that more than 200,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza — over 10 percent of the enclave’s population — The Guardian reported.

“This isn’t a gentle war. We took the gloves off from the first minute,” Halevi said, adding that during his 17 months as chief of staff, “not once” did military legal advice restrict his operational decisions.

His remarks match casualty figures published by Gaza’s Health Ministry, which Israel dismisses but international agencies consider credible.

Analysts say Halevi’s comments reveal that Israeli military lawyers served as “rubber stamps,” providing legal cover instead of placing real limits on attacks that caused widespread civilian deaths and displacement.

Thirteen New York police chiefs are in Israel for a counterterrorism programme, according to JNS, even as rights groups accuse Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

The officers- already criticised for clamping down on pro-Palestine protests in New York- are receiving training on Israeli security, protecting Jewish communities, and antisemitism.

The trip comes the same week Israel carried out air strikes in Qatar, killing six, and in Yemen, where at least 46 were killed.

Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs has run the exchange for six years, dubbing it “Birthright for American police chiefs.”

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Israel’s September 9 strike in Doha, which targeted the group’s delegation, was a “direct hit” on US President Donald Trump’s proposed ceasefire deal.

Hamdan argued the attack exposed “who is really obstructing the agreement” and added that Hamas is now awaiting the outcome of Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani’s talks in Washington to revive negotiations.

Israel has released 13 Palestinians from Gaza after months of detention under what medical staff and rights groups described as harsh and degrading conditions.

The detainees were freed at the Kissufim crossing in central Gaza and transferred by the ICRC to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.

Doctors reported they were malnourished and bore injuries consistent with abuse.

Rights organisations, including the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, say thousands of Gazans have been detained since Israel’s war on the enclave began nearly two years ago, with many subjected to enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention, and severe mistreatment.

Israeli military operations killed 50 people in Gaza on Friday, the territory's civil defence agency said, as the army stepped up its attacks on Gaza City.

The United Nations and members of the international community have warned against the assault for fear it will worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza City, where the UN has declared a famine.

Britain, France and Germany called in a joint statement for an "immediate" halt to the offensive, saying it was causing civilian casualties and destroying key infrastructure.

Gaza's civil defence agency said 35 people were killed in the city on Friday, along with another 15 in other parts of the territory.

The Israeli military said it was continuing "its wide-scale strikes on terrorist infrastructure and high-rise structures" in Gaza City.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met the new head of the US military's Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper in Damascus on Friday, his office and CENTCOM said.

The United States has for years maintained a troop presence at a series of bases in Syria as part of efforts against the Islamic State jihadist group, which overran swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014.

"The meeting addressed prospects for cooperation in the political and military fields in the service of shared interests and consolidating the foundations of security and stability in Syria and the region," the Syrian presidency said in a statement.

The meeting, which was joined by US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, "reflected the positive atmosphere and shared interest in strengthening the strategic partnership and expanding channels of communication between Damascus and Washington", it added.

A CENTCOM statement said Cooper and Barrack thanked Sharaa for "his support to counter ISIS in Syria", using another acronym for the jihadist group.

"Eliminating the ISIS threat in Syria will reduce the risk of an ISIS attack on the US homeland while working towards President (Donald) Trump's vision of a prosperous Middle East and a stable Syria at peace with itself and its neighbours," CENTCOM said.

They also "offered praise to Syria for supporting the recovery of US citizens inside the country", it added.

US President Donald Trump will meet Qatar's prime minister on Friday after an Israeli strike on Hamas in the key US partner, the White House said.

Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff "will be having dinner" with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, it said in a brief statement.

• Deal with Russia: He said a past arrangement with Moscow, made in Aleppo, stopped Russian intervention in return for safeguarding its interests. The current government, he added, will also honour it.

• Role in Assad’s fall: Al-Sharaa noted that his rebel offensive coordinated with the Druze-led Rijal al-Karama movement and some Daraa factions to oust the former Assad regime.

• On northeastern Syria: He stressed that Arabs make up over 70% of the region’s population, and that the Kurdish-led SDF does not represent all Kurds.

• On criticism: Al-Sharaa said he welcomes valid criticism, even harsh, as it helps clarify state policies.

• On governance: He rejected a system where the president decides everything, saying Syrians would not accept it.

• On media freedom: He argued that a healthy state requires broad press freedom with minimal restrictions.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in an interview with state channel Al-Ikhbariyah on Friday that the fall of the former Syrian government under Bashar al-Assad on 8 December created a historic opportunity for the region.

He added that Syria has managed to build good relations with the US and the West, maintain calm ties with Russia, and improve its relationship with Egypt.

On Israel: Al-Sharaa claimed that Israel was displeased with the fall of the former regime, saying it had wanted Syria to remain a perpetual battleground for regional conflicts and proxy wars, including with Iran. He accused Israel of planning to divide Syria and being surprised by the regime’s collapse.

Talks on the 1974 Agreement: The president revealed that Syria and Israel are engaged in negotiations over the 1974 disengagement agreement. He said Israel treated the Assad regime’s fall as Syria’s withdrawal from the deal, despite Damascus reaffirming its commitment from the outset.

He added that Syria notified the UN and asked for UNDOF forces to return to their previous positions. Negotiations, he said, are ongoing to restore the 1974 accord or a similar security arrangement.

Spain summoned Israel’s acting ambassador in Madrid Friday in response to comments made by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office that accused the European nation’s prime minister of threatening Israel.

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called in Dana Erlich, Israel’s charge d’affaires in Spain and the highest-ranking diplomat in the country “to categorically reject the false and slanderous statements from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office,” an official at Spain’s Foreign Ministry said.

The Foreign Ministry official was not authorized to speak publicly and declined to be named.

It's the latest development in an ongoing diplomatic tit-for-tat between the two countries that ensued after Spain's prime minister announced measures Monday to pressure Israel to end the Gaza war.

In a post Thursday on social platform X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had made a “blatant genocidal threat," in reference to comments made by the Spanish leader when he announced the steps the Spanish government was taking.

“Spain, as you know, doesn’t have nuclear bombs, nor aircraft carriers or large oil reserves. We alone can’t stop the Israeli offensive,” Sánchez said in a televised address Monday.

The measures included an embargo on weapons, ammunition and military equipment sold to or from Israel and blocking Israel-bound fuel deliveries from passing through Spanish ports.

Since then, Israel and Spain have each banned a pair of ministers from the opposite country.

Hamas announced that its top official, Khalil al-Hayya, led the funeral prayers in Doha on Thursday for his son Hamam and others killed in an Israeli air strike earlier this week.

The group said the prayers took place in Qatar under strict security measures.

Six people were killed in Tuesday’s strike, including five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer, in what Hamas described as a failed assassination attempt.

The British, French and German foreign ministers condemned Israel's September 9 air strikes on Doha, saying that the bombing, which targeted Hamas leadership, violated Qatar's sovereignty and risked further escalation.

"Such action poses a serious risk to achieving a negotiated deal," they wrote in the statement issued on Friday, three days after the strikes.

"We express our solidarity with Qatar and fully support the vital role it continues to play in mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas." 

Lebanon said that one person was killed Friday in an Israeli strike on the country's south near the border, the latest deadly raid this week despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

"An Israeli enemy strike on the town of Aitaroun killed one person," the country's health ministry said in a statement.

Israel has continued to carry out attacks on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah operatives or sites, in spite of the November truce that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed group.

A day earlier, the health ministry said one person was killed in a strike in south Lebanon, while five others died Monday in strikes in the country's east that the Israeli army said targeted Hezbollah positions.

Under heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, the Lebanese government last month ordered the military to draw up a plan to disarm the once-dominant Hezbollah, and last week said the army would begin to put it into action.

Hezbollah, badly weakened by the recent war, has opposed the disarmament push, which Lebanon says is part of implementing the ceasefire deal.

Palestinian vice president Hussein al-Sheikh welcomed on Friday a UN vote in favour of a Hamas-free Palestinian state, saying it was an "important step towards ending the (Israeli) occupation".

"I hail the adoption of the resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations... on the implementation of the two-state solution and the creation of an independent Palestinian state," Sheikh posted on X.

"This resolution expresses international willingness to support our people's rights and constitutes an important step towards ending the occupation and achieving our independent state on 1967 borders with (Israeli-annexed) east Jerusalem as its capital," he added.

Israel rejected on Friday the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voting to endorse a declaration outlining steps towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

"Once again, it has been proven how much the General Assembly is a political circus detached from reality: in the dozens of clauses of the declaration endorsed by this resolution, there is not a single mention that Hamas is a terrorist organization," Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said in a post on X on Friday.

The Eurovision Song Contest will respect countries' decisions on participating in next year's competition, its chief said Friday, after several European broadcasters threatened a boycott if Israel takes part.

"We understand the concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East," Eurovision director Martin Green said in a statement sent to AFP.

The organisation said in July it was launching a consultation with all members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the song contest over the issue.

It would discuss "how we manage participation, geopolitical tensions, and how other organisations have approached similar challenges".

Those consultations were still ongoing, Green said Friday.

"Broadcasters have until mid-December to confirm if they wish to take part in next year's event in Vienna," he said.

"It is up to each member to decide if they want to take part in the contest and we would respect any decision broadcasters make."

Israeli attacks over the last 24 hours have killed 38 Palestinians and wounded a further 200 others, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health, which said that 14 of those killed were attempting to receive aid.

Additionally, two, one of whom was a child, died from starvation.

The UN General Assembly voted Friday to back the "New York Declaration," a resolution which seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine - without the involvement of Hamas.

The text was adopted by 142 votes in favor, 10 against - including Israel and key ally the United States - and 12 abstentions.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Israel next week in a show of support for the country before the UN meets for what is expected to be a contentious debate on the creation of a Palestinian state, the State Department said Friday.

Despite tensions between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, notably over Israel's attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar, Rubio will arrive in Israel on Sunday for a two-day visit. He is expected to travel to a controversial archeological site in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim for the capital of an eventual state.

The State Department said Rubio would "convey America's priorities in the Israel-Hamas conflict and broader issues concerning Middle Eastern security, reaffirming the US commitment to Israeli security with an emphasis on the Trump administration’s commitment "to fight anti-Israel actions including unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state."

His trip also comes as efforts to broker a hostage release and ceasefire deal to end Israel's war on Gaza have stalled and Israel has moved ahead with plans to occupy Gaza City.

In Rubio's meetings, the department said Rubio and Israeli leaders would discuss Israel's "operational goals and objectives" in Gaza and shared attempts to persuade European nations not to recognise a Palestinian state.

Three other people have been arrested in connection with a stabbing in a hotel in West Jerusalem, according to Al Jazeera, citing Israel's police. 

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares summoned the Israeli charge d'affaires in Madrid on Friday over recent comments about Spain made by the office of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Albares summoned Dana Erlich - currently Israel's top diplomat in Madrid - to "categorically reject the false and slanderous statements from the Israeli prime minister's office", Spain's foreign ministry said in a statement.

In an X post on Thursday, Netanyahu's office had accused Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of making "genocidal threats", in reference to Sanchez's announcement on Monday of new measures against Israel-bound arms and fuel deliveries.

Sanchez had justified the measures by saying Spain lacked nuclear bombs, aircraft carriers or large oil reserves to exert pressure on Israel to stop what he qualified as "genocide".

Israel has strongly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide, and it is fighting a case at the International Court of Justice in the Hague that accuses it of genocide.

The US State Department also expressed concern over Madrid's limitations on ships and aircraft delivering weapons or military-grade jet fuel to Israel, as well as entry bans on the Israeli national security and finance ministers.

The number of people killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza so far today keeps rising, with medical sources now putting the death toll to at least 50, Al Jazeera reported.

The figure includes at least 37 people killed in Gaza City and the north of the besieged territory.

Israeli drone fire has killed a child and wounded others in Gaza City’s Daraj neighbourhood, the New Arab's Arabic language edition reported, citing a source from Gaza.

In central Gaza’s Nuseirat, a separate drone attack also killed a man, the report added.

The Netherlands has joined Ireland in saying it will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel participates in the event due to the scale of the suffering in Gaza, Dutch broadcaster AvroTros said on Friday.

A day earlier, Irish broadcaster RTE said Israel's participation was "unconscionable" given the "ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza."

Recent editions of Eurovision have been overshadowed by protests at Israel's inclusion over its continuing military assault on Gaza.

AvroTros said it had also taken into account the high number of journalists that have died in Gaza in deciding to boycott the 2026 contest, which was watched by 166 million people on television this year, if Israel attends.

Israel has denied targeting journalists in the enclave.

The European Broadcasting Union which organises the event said on Thursday it understood the "concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East".

"We are still consulting with all EBU members to gather views on how we manage participation and geopolitical tensions around the Eurovision Song Contest," director Martin Green said in an emailed statement.

The United Arab Emirates said it summoned Israel's deputy ambassador in Abu Dhabi on Friday, in a formal rebuke of his country's attack targeting Hamas leaders in Gulf neighbour Qatar.

"Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, summoned the Israeli Deputy Head of Mission in the United Arab Emirates, David Ohad Horsandi, to strongly condemn and denounce the blatant and cowardly Israeli attack that targeted the State of Qatar, as well as the hostile statements made by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani will meet US President Donald Trump in New York on Friday, following Israel's deadly strike on Doha that has triggered concern in Washington over the future of Gaza ceasefire talks hosted by the Gulf state.

The move is seen as a major diplomatic mobilisation by the Gulf state in the wake of the unprecedented attack on the country by Israel, which will include an emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha next Sunday and Monday to discuss the regional response to the issue.

The Qatari leader is also expected to meet Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff during his visit to Washington, D.C, according to Politico.

Axios reported that Sheikh Mohammed would arrive in the US capital on Friday morning, where he will first hold a meeting with Rubio at the White House, before returning to New York in the evening for talks with Trump and Witkoff.

The meetings come as the Trump administration has voiced growing concerns with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the strike in Qatar. Politico, citing a source close to Trump's national security team and a US official, said Trump and his top aides have questioned whether Netanyahu is deliberately trying to sabotage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Two Israelis were injured in a stabbing attack in a hotel at Kibbutz Tzuba, west of Jerusalem, according to The Times of Israel, citing the Israeli police. 

According to the police, the suspect, who is in custody, is from Shuafat in East Jerusalem.

An Israeli strike on the Katiba neighbourhood of Khan Younis killed three Palestinians, according to Al Jazeera's Arabic language service, citing staff at the Nasser Medical Complex in the city.

Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, has welcomed the UN Security Council's condemnation of Israel's attack on Doha.

In a post on X, Al Thani said that the "treacherous" attack "undermines the international order", adding that Qatar was "committed to our humanitarian and diplomatic role, and right to protect our sovereignty and security."

Qatar welcomes condemnation of Security Council of treacherous Israeli attack on Hamas delegation, which undermines the international order, as I emphasized to the Council. We're committed to our humanitarian and diplomatic role, and right to protect our sovereignty and security. pic.twitter.com/P0mo9hJHr5

— محمد بن عبدالرحمن (@MBA_AlThani_) September 12, 2025

The UN General Assembly will vote on Friday whether to back the "New York Declaration," a resolution which seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine - without the involvement of Hamas.

Although Israel has criticised UN bodies for nearly two years over their failure to condemn Hamas's attack on 7 October 2023, the declaration, presented by France and Saudi Arabia, leaves no ambiguity.

Formally called the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, the text states "Hamas must free all hostages" and that the UN General Assembly condemns "the attacks committed by Hamas against civilians on the 7th of October."

It also calls for "collective action to end the war in Gaza, to achieve a just, peaceful and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the effective implementation of the Two-State solution."

The declaration, which was already endorsed by the Arab League and co-signed in July by 17 UN member states, including several Arab countries, also goes further than condemning Hamas, seeking to fully excise them from leadership in Gaza.

"In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State," the declaration states.

The vote precedes an upcoming UN summit co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris on 22 September in New York, in which French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to formally recognise the Palestinian state.

The United States imposed a fresh round of sanctions targeting Yemen's Houthis on Thursday in what the Trump administration said was Washington's largest such action aimed at the Iran-aligned group.

The US Treasury Department said it was issuing sanctions against 32 individuals and entities as well as four vessels in an effort to disrupt the Houthis' fundraising, smuggling and attack operations.

Among the targets are several China-based companies that Treasury said helped transport military-grade components, as well as other companies that help arrange for dual-use goods to be shipped to the Houthis. The sanctions also target petroleum smugglers and Houthi-linked shipping companies, a Treasury statement said.

In response, China's foreign ministry said on Friday that it opposed the US "abuse of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction", which "violated international law and the basic norms governing international relations."

The United Arab Emirates on Friday summoned the Israeli ambassador over Israel's attack on Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday, Israeli broadcaster KAN reported.

There was no immediate comment from the UAE and Israeli foreign ministries.

Doha will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit this Sunday and Monday to discuss the Israeli attack.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has toured Gulf countries this week to coordinate positions after the attack, his diplomatic adviser said on Thursday.

Hamas's armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, released a video on Thursday that it said showed the destruction of an Israeli tank in an attack that killed four soldiers.

According to the group, the operation took place on 9 September in the Al-Omari area of central Jabaliya, northern Gaza, as part of its "Staff of Moses" campaign.

The footage showed fighters preparing an explosive device inside a damaged house, before one man was seen climbing onto a tank and placing an object inside it, followed by an explosion.

On Telegram, the group also shared a photograph of four men it identified as the soldiers killed in the strike, with the caption: "We will repeat it again".

The Israeli military confirmed the deaths of four soldiers on 10 September.