Israeli airstrikes kill 28 in Gaza; Hamas condemns 'dangerous escalation'

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The US Commerce Department said on Wednesday it has authorized the export of advanced American semiconductors - the equivalent of up to 35,000 NVIDIA Blackwell chips - to two companies in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The two companies are G42, which is a state-run AI company based in Abu Dhabi, and Humain, which is a Saudi government-backed AI venture.

"Both companies are receiving approvals to purchase the equivalent of up to 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips (GB300s)," the Commerce Department said in a statement.

(Reuters)

Sudan's sovereign council, headed by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said on Wednesday that it was willing to cooperate with the United States and Saudi Arabia to seek peace in the country.

In a statement, the council thanked Washington and Riyadh for "their continued efforts to stop Sudanese bloodshed", and expressed its "readiness to seriously engage with them to achieve the peace that the Sudanese people hope for".

It came after US President Donald Trump said he would work with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to end the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

(AFP)

Israeli authorities issued new demolition notices targeting residential buildings and livestock buildings in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Wednesday.

Israeli forces reportedly entered the village of Jinba and ordered residents to demolish a mosque, a public park, two agricultural structures and a tent.

Demolition orders were also issued for residential structures in the nearby village of Khirbet al-Halawa.

Residents of Masafer Yatta, a collection of Bedouin hamlets in the South Hebron Hills, are increasingly under threat of forcible displacement by extremist settlers and Israeli troops.

Hamas denounced a series of Israeli air strikes Wednesday in the Gaza Strip as a "dangerous escalation", warning they jeopardised a fragile ceasefire.

At least 28 Palestinians - mostly women and children - were killed in a series of airstrikes across the territory, according to medics.

"We consider this a dangerous escalation through which the war criminal [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu seeks to resume the genocide against our people," Hamas wrote in a statement.

Israel claimed the strikes were in response to a Hamas violation of the ceasefire, an accusation the group denied.

The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza earlier today has risen to 28, medical sources tell Al Jazeera.

Among the dead were 17 women and children.

US president Donald Trump said Wednesday he would start "working" to end the war in Sudan, after visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked him to help solve the devastating conflict.

Trump has until now barely commented on the conflict between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 12 million since its outbreak in April 2023.

"His majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan," Trump said at a Saudi-US business forum attended by Prince Mohammed.

"It was not on my charts to be involved in, I thought it was just something that was crazy and out of control," he added.

"But I just see how important that is to you, and to a lot of your friends in the room, Sudan. And we're going to start working on Sudan."

Despite the conflict being off Trump's radar, Washington has stepped up efforts in recent months to finalize a truce between the warring parties.

Saudi Arabia supports Sudan's army-aligned government. The army accuses the United Arab Emirates of backing the RSF with weapons and mercenaries, which the UAE denies.

(AFP)

US president Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman could join the international authority set to oversee Gaza's redevelopment under the US-led ceasefire plan.

"I believe we’re going to be lucky enough to have the crown prince be a very distinguished member of the board," Trump said at a US-Saudi investment summit in Washington.

Bin Salman has not confirmed whether he will sit on the board, which is expected to be helmed by the US president.

The Israeli military on Wednesday accused Hezbollah attempting to re-establish itself in southern Lebanon after it launched airstrikes on several villages.

"The Hezbollah terrorist organisation has been working to rebuild its capabilities in the village of Beit Lif in southern Lebanon, in a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon," Israel's military said in a statement.

The military said it "identified dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites in the area of the village, including headquarters and weapons storage facilities", some of which were placed inside civilian homes.

Israel has itself violated the November 2024 ceasefire hundreds of times over the past year by launching airstrikes in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa valley.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 25 Palestinians on Wednesday in a part of Gaza under Hamas control in what was the latest violation of the nearly six-week ceasefire by the Israeli military.

Medics said 10 people were killed in the Gaza City suburb of Zeitoun, two in Shujaiya suburb to the east and the rest in two separate attacks in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The Israeli military claimed it had carried out the attacks after Hamas members fired on its troops.

(Reuters and TNA staff)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the "very public" visit by Israel's prime minister to troops deployed in Syria in a buffer zone intended to separate the two countries Wednesday "concerning."

"This very public visit is concerning to say the least. We call on Israel to respect the the 1974 disengagement agreement," said Guterres's spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Gaza's civil defence agency said 22 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday after Israel's military announced it was hitting "Hamas targets" throughout the Palestinian territory, without providing evidence of said "targets" being present..

Raising an earlier toll of 11, a spokesman for the agency said 12 people were killed in the north of the Strip, in the Gaza City area, while a further 10 were killed in strikes in the south, around Khan Younis.

Israeli airstrikes killed 10 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in a part of the enclave under Hamas control since a shaky ceasefire took effect in October, health authorities said.

Medics said two people were killed in Shujaia suburb east of Gaza City and four in the nearby suburb of Zeitoun. A third airstrike killed four Palestinians in the Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis in the south of Gaza.

All three attacks were far beyond an agreed-upon imaginary "yellow line" separating the areas under Israeli and Palestinian control, according to medics, witnesses and Palestinian media.

The Zeitoun attack was on a building belonging to Muslim religious authorities, and the Khan Younis attack was on a UN-run club, both of which house displaced families.

Damascus condemned a trip Wednesday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials to Syria's south, where they visited troops deployed in a buffer zone intended to separate the two countries' forces.

Syria "condemns in the strongest terms the illegal visit... considering it a serious violation of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity", the foreign ministry said in a statement, calling it "a new attempt to impose a fait accompli that contradicts relevant Security Council resolutions".

Israel's war has now killed over 69,513 Palestinians since October 2023 - the Gaza Health Ministry has revealed.

A further 170,745 have been wounded. Along with seven bodies received over the past 48 hours by Gaza hospitals, two were recovered from beneath the rubble.

The toll does not include the thousands missing or trapped under the rubble presumed dead.

The United States has approached Yemen about joining an international force to be deployed in Gaza as part of President Donald Trump's peace plan, five Yemeni government sources, including top officials, told AFP.

The UN greenlit Trump's peace plan this week, but its realisation faces major hurdles, with Arab and Muslim nations hesitant to participate in an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) that could clash with Palestinian militants.

The Yemeni government is yet to make a decision, the sources, including a top Yemeni diplomat, a military official and an official from the Presidential Leadership Council, said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday told Israeli troops deployed in Syria in a buffer zone intended to separate the two countries' forces that their presence was hugely important for safeguarding Israel.

"We attach immense importance to our capability here -- both defensive and offensive," Netanyahu said in a video released by his office, adding: "This is a mission that can develop at any moment, but we are counting on you."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli troops deployed in Syria beyond a ceasefire line on Wednesday, an Israeli government spokesman told AFP.

Netanyahu was accompanied by Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, Defence Minister Israel Katz, the army's Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and the head of the Shin Bet security service David Zini, the spokesman said.

The Israeli military carried out powerful airstrikes in two villages in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, witnesses said, pressing a campaign of near-daily attacks in the border region where Israel says it is targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The Israeli military claimed it was striking "several Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites" in the region, without providing any evidence to back up their claim.

Earlier, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning to residents of specific buildings in the southern villages of Deir Kifa and Chehour, ahead of what it said were imminent attacks.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the latest strikes.

Crammed into flimsy tent camps hard up against the seashore, Gazans have been flooded by heavy rain and storm surges in recent days, destroying some shelters, soaking mattresses and blankets and bringing new misery even after a ceasefire.

The Hamas-run Gaza government has estimated losses from the stormy weather at around $4.5 million, including 22,000 tents, spoiled food and medicines and damage to infrastructure, while local aid groups say 300,000 new tents are urgently needed.

The Gaza government media office head, Ismail al-Thawabta, said flooding had destroyed more than 22,000 tents along with tarpaulins, mattresses and cooking equipment, amounting to more than $2 million of damage. Emergency shelters also collapsed in areas, turning camps into pools of water and mud, he said.

Further expensive damage also hit water and sanitation systems, including temporary water lines and sewage pits, as well as small solar installations that provide nearly all the electricity Gazans rely on.

A Gaza company that operates water desalination plants serving nearly half of the enclave's population said on Tuesday it had resumed operations after Hamas-led security freed a staff member whom they detained on Monday.

A statement issued by the Abdul Salam Yassin Company, whose services reach more than 1 million people, said the decision to resume operations came after the issue was resolved, adding that the staff member was "fine and in good health".

The company apologised for what it said was a "misunderstanding" that led to the detention of its employee and affirmed its respect for the Hamas-led government in Gaza.

Hamas government officials declined comment on the arrest, but a source on Wednesday confirmed the employee had been freed, without elaborating on the reasons for his detention.

The Palestinian group has been gradually reasserting control in areas of Gaza from which Israeli forces have withdrawn under a 10 October ceasefire deal as talks over the war-devastated Palestinian territory's future grind on.

Israel halted all water and electricity supply to Gaza early in the war, but partially eased the utilities blockade later.

At least one Palestinian was killed in an Israeli attack in southern Gaza, a report by Nasser Hospital revealed.

The Israeli attack took place in the Qizan an-Najjar neighbourhood in southern Khan Younis.

The Israeli army has ordered the evacuation of villages in southern Lebanon because it will be attacking "military infrastructure" belonging to Hezbollah, without providing any evidence to back up its claims.

Writing on X, Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army's spokesperson, announced the army will be attacking Deir Qanun Al-Nahr and Shhour.

"Remaining in the area of the designated building puts you at risk," Adraee wrote on X.

#عاجل ‼️ إنذار عاجل إلى سكان جنوب لبنان وتحديدًا في قرية دير كيفا:
🔸سيهاجم جيش الدفاع على المدى الزمني القريب بنى تحتية عسكرية تابعة لحزب الله الإرهابي وذلك للتعامل مع المحاولات المحظورة التي يقوم بها حزب الله لإعادة إعمار أنشطته في المنطقة
🔸نتوجه إلى سكان المبنى المحدد بالأحمر… pic.twitter.com/GwSU5MYkAb

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 19, 2025

As the Israeli army continues to raid parts of the occupied West Bank, its forces have demolished houses in the region.

Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian house as they stormed the village of Marj Ghazal, north of Jericho. While soldiers also took down a house in Anata, east of occupied Jerusalem, belonging to a Palestinian whose house had been demolished before.

The army claimed the house was built without a permit.

At least 200 Palestinians were interrogated as the Israeli army raided Beit Ummar in the occupied West Bank near Hebron.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) revealed that 200 people were targeted, with “extensive” field interrogations still ongoing, along with harassment, beating and property being destroyed.

The European Union wants to train up to 3,000 Palestinian police officers in the Gaza Strip under a scheme similar to one it already runs in the West Bank, an EU official said Wednesday.

There will be a "need to stabilise Gaza with an important police force" if the current ceasefire endures, said the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

The EU has struggled to exert influence during the two-year war in Gaza due to splits within the bloc between countries supporting Israel and those closer to the Palestinians.

Keen to reclaim a role in the region, the EU will propose training Palestinian police officers, who are not affiliated with Gaza's Hamas rulers, as part of efforts to restore long-term security in the territory.

Israeli settlers attacked several Palestinian farmers and destroyed their olive trees in the town of Deir Ballut, west of Salfit, Wafa reports.

The farmers sprayed the farmers with pepper spray, stole their money and destroyed their farming equipment. 

In another incident, a group of settlers attacked Palestinian farmers, forced them to leave their land and destroyed their olive trees.

Three Palestinian fishermen were detained by Israeli forces near the ruins of Gaza port, Wafa reports.

The fishermen, who were in the area, were detained by Israeli forces stationed around the port and sent to an unknown location.

The Israeli army often prevents fishermen from working by blocking access to the sea, killing and arresting dozens of them, and destroying their boats.

Israel has killed at least 279 people since the 10 October ceasefire came into effect, Gaza’s Government Media Office announced. 

The state has carried out 393 attacks, which violate the terms of the ceasefire, which calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

A Palestinian woman and her child were injured after an Israeli drone strike targeted Gaza’s Khan Younis.

The strike targeted the woman and her child near the Shireen Abu Aqla roundabout in Bani Suheila.

The Israeli military claimed it had killed two Hezbollah members in strikes the previous day in south Lebanon, where Israel has carried out repeated attacks despite the ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

The military said in a statement it had "struck and eliminated two Hezbollah terrorists in the areas of Bint Jbeil and Blida in southern Lebanon" on Tuesday, without providing any evidence.

It said the Hezbollah member killed in Bint Jbeil was involved in rebuilding the group's military capacities, severely weakened by the recent war with Israel.

The statement also said the Hezbollah member killed in Blida had been gathering intelligence on the Israeli military.

At least 14 people in south Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes targeting the region. 

An Israeli strike targeted a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, killing at least 13 people, with Israel claiming it targeted a Hamas compound.

Hamas denied it had military installations in Palestinian camps in Lebanon and called Israel's claims "lies".

An AFP correspondent saw firefighters putting out a blaze on the lower floor of a stricken building, as gunmen fired shots to clear crowds from the path of ambulances that were streaming into Ain al-Helweh, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, located on the outskirts of the coastal city of Sidon.

At least one Lebanese civilian was killed, and several, including students, were wounded after an Israeli strike targeted the town of Al-Tayri, southern Lebanon.