Israel targets school, houses as Gaza City onslaught continues

The live blog is now closed and will be back tomorrow at 9am BST. You can read more of The New Arab's coverage of Israel's war on Gaza here.

King Abdullah II of Jordan on Sunday reaffirmed his "absolute refusal" towards any efforts by Israel to annex the occupied West Bank during a visit to the UAE, the royal palace said.

The message came after several Israeli officials suggested that the country could proceed with the annexation of large tracts of the territory in response to moves by Western governments to recognise Palestinian statehood this month.

According to a palace statement, Abdullah reiterated "Jordan's absolute refusal of any Israeli measures aimed at annexing the West Bank and forcing Palestinians to leave".

He also rejected any plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza or to separate the two Palestinian territories.

He was joined by Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in expressing opposition to Israeli plans to expand settlements in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967.

They also rejected "Israeli plans aimed at perpetuating the occupation of Gaza and expanding military control".

The United Arab Emirates warned this week that annexation would be a "red line".

The Israeli military has said it has hit another high-rise building in Gaza City it claimed was being used by Hamas. 

Israeli strikes on Gaza City's Zarqa area have killed two Palestinians, according to Al Jazeera, citing medical sources at the Al Ahli Hospital. 

Strikes were also reported in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the army was "deepening" its assault in and around Gaza City, as it seeks to step up pressure on the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israeli air strikes this week have flattened two high-rises in Gaza City as troops intensified their operations in the area, aiming to conquer the Palestinian territory's largest urban centre.

"We are deepening the manoeuvre on the outskirts of Gaza City and within Gaza City itself," Netanyuahu told ministers at the start of a cabinet meeting, according to a video shared by his office.

Israel has not publicly announced the start of a major offensive to seize Gaza City, which Netanyahu's cabinet approved last month, but troops have intensified bombings and operations in the area for weeks.

"We are destroying terrorist infrastructure, we are demolishing identified terror towers," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli military's Arabic language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, has issued a displacement order against the al-Ru'ya building in Gaza City, saying, "The [Israeli military] will strike the building soon due to the presence of Hamas terror infrastructure inside or nearby", according to a Times of Israel journalist.

A drone launched from Yemen injured a man when it fell on Ramon airport in southern Israel on Sunday, Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said.

"Paramedics are providing medical treatment... to a 63-year-old male in mild condition, fully conscious, with shrapnel injuries to his limbs," the service said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Israel's airports authority said the drone "hit the arrivals hall" and that operations at Ramon airport had been halted.

The Israeli military said the drone was the fourth launched from Yemen within minutes of each other on Sunday.

A total of 890 people were arrested in London during a protest this weekend in support of the banned group Palestine Action, the capital's Metropolitan Police said Sunday.

The force said that 857 people had been arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 for supporting a proscribed group during Saturday's demonstration, with an additional 33 arrested for other offences including assaults on police officers.

Israel's Airports Authority said on Sunday that a drone launched from Yemen struck the arrivals hall at Ramon Airport near the Red Sea city of Eilat.

It said takeoffs and landings at the airport were halted, while it was working to restore normal operations as soon as possible.

The Israeli military said on Sunday it was investigating the crash of a drone that was launched from Yemen and fell in the airport's area.

The Israeli military said the incident was under review without providing details on the impact. It did not specify if the drone had fallen after it was intercepted or if it had been a direct hit.

The airport located near the resort city of Eilat on the border with Jordan and Egypt mostly handles domestic flights.

The Israeli military said it intercepted on Sunday three drones launched from Yemen, whose Huthi rebels have vowed to avenge the killing of their prime minister in an Israeli air strike last month.

"A short while ago, the IAF (Israeli air force) intercepted three UAVs that made their way from Yemen," the military said in a statement, adding that two were downed before entering Israeli airspace. It did not specify what happened to the third drone.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has called for justice for the killing of Hind Rajab and two first responders by Israeli forces in response to an award given to a new film depicting the killing at the Venice Film Festival.

The PRCS said: "'The Voice of Hind Rajab', directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, won the Silver Lion award at the Venice Film Festival - the festival’s second-highest honor."

"The film recounts the killing of Palestinian child Hind Rajab, along with Palestine Red Crescent medics Yousef Zaino and Ahmad Al-Madhoun, by Israeli occupation forces while they tried to rescue her - a crime that exposed the brutal targeting of civilians and first responders.

"May mercy be upon Hind and our heroic colleagues Yousef and Ahmad. Justice has yet to be served, and we continue to demand it."

The Voice of Hind Rajab”, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, won the Silver Lion award at the Venice Film Festival — the festival’s second-highest honor.
The film recounts the killing of Palestinian child Hind Rajab, along with Palestine Red Crescent medics Yousef Zaino and Ahmad… pic.twitter.com/tcV9T2Oqih

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) September 7, 2025

Gaza's Ministry of Health has said that five Palestinians have died from starvation in the enclave, including three children. 

The total death toll from starvation in Gaza is 387, which includes 138 children.

Gaza's Ministry of Health has said that 87 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in the past 24 hours, with a further 409 injured.

64,368 have been killed since the war began, the ministry said, with 162,776 being wounded.

Several Palestinians were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a tent housing displaced persons near the al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera, citing medical sources.

The UN's agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned that Gaza faces a "menstrual hygiene emergency," as "less than a quarter of the sanitary pads needed each month in Gaza are available." 

"Menstruation has become a source of shame, panic, and isolation," the agency said, adding that "UNRWA has hygiene supplies ready, but they have not been allowed in by Israeli Authorities since 2 March".

The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said it fired two rockets at Israel today. The Israeli army said that one of the rockets was intercepted, while another landed in an open area.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday that the war in Gaza could end if Israeli captives were released and Palestinian militant group Hamas laid downs its weapons.

His statements during a press conference with his Danish counterpart in Jerusalem come a day after Hamas reiterated its long-standing position that it would free all the captives if Israel agreed to an end to the war and withdraw its forces from Gaza City.