Israeli strikes kill 65 across Gaza, as Egypt offers new ceasefire proposal

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Israeli occupation forces arrest a young Palestinian during a raid in the Al-Naqqar neighborhood of Qalqilya. pic.twitter.com/gkGqeuoHdi

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) March 25, 2025

At least three Palestinians, including a child, have been killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting tent shelters in Hamad City, Khan Younis, according to reports from Al Jazeera Arabic. Several other children were also injured in the attack.

Earlier, another Israeli airstrike on Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza left three more Palestinians dead.

The Houthis in Yemen have claimed responsibility for firing two missiles at central Israel on Monday night, following their interception by the Israeli forces. Sirens were activated across the region, but the army reported no casualties.

In a statement, the group declared the missile attack as a show of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, saying the assault was aimed at Ben Gurion Airport in the occupied Yafa region.

The statement read: "Triumphing for the oppressed Palestinian people and in support of their beloved and valiant resistance, the missile force targeted Ben Gurion Airport in the occupied Yafa region with two ballistic missiles. The operation successfully achieved its objective."

A Korean American Columbia University student, who is a legal permanent US resident and has participated in pro-Palestinian protests, sued the administration of President Donald Trump on Monday to prevent her deportation, a court filing showed.

Yunseo Chung, 21, has lived in the U.S. since she was seven, but her legal team was informed two weeks ago that her lawful permanent resident status was being revoked, according to the court filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Trump administration says her US presence hinders its foreign policy agenda, according to the lawsuit.

Chung has not yet been arrested. Immigration agents have made multiple visits to her residences looking for her.

#Statement | The Foreign Ministru expresses Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of the Israeli occupation authorities’ announcement on the establishment of an agency that aims to displace Palestinians from the #Gaza Strip, as well as the approval of the separation of 13 illegal… pic.twitter.com/cvZv7vKarA

— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) March 24, 2025

One person was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon late Monday, after a wave of intensive air attacks in the region over the weekend, state media reported.

"A raid by an enemy Israeli drone on a vehicle in the area of Qaqaiyat al-Jisr left one dead," the National News Agency (ANI) said, attributing the toll to the Lebanese health ministry.

Israel launched air strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing eight people, in response to rocket fire that hit its territory for the first time since a ceasefire took effect on November 27.

No party has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, which a military source said was launched from an area north of the Litani River, between the villages of Kfar Tebnit and Arnoun, near the zone covered by the ceasefire agreement.

Breaking | Israeli occupation forces storm the town of Attil, north of Tulkarm, in the northern West Bank. pic.twitter.com/h7pRMZmuUY

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) March 24, 2025

Egypt could lose American economic support if it refuses to take in hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza, a message conveyed to Cairo from the president of the United Arab Emirates has indicated, a source told The New Arab’s sister site.

Egyptian diplomatic sources revealed to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s brief visit to Cairo over the weekend included discussions the UAE leader had with American officials on Gaza, where Israel resumed its offensive last week.

Al Nahyan had met with US President Donald Trump during his recent visit to Washington.

An Israeli air strike has killed at least three Palestinians in northern Gaza.

Israeli forces were targeting a house in the town of Beit Lahiya. The attack has also left several other people injured, according to Al Jazeera.

A US journalist was inadvertently included in a group chat in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and other top American officials discussed upcoming strikes against Yemen's Huthi rebels, the White House confirmed Monday.

President Donald Trump announced the strikes on March 15, but in a shocking security breach, The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg wrote that he had hours of advance notice via the group chat on Signal.

"The message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain," National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said.

Israeli forces have urged Palestinians to evacuate area in north Gaza ahead of strike.

A Palestinian family returned to their West Bank home on Monday after breaking their Ramadan fast to find Jewish settlers had taken over their building with Israeli soldiers blocking their path.

The seizure took place in Hebron at iftar time with a video of the incident showing settlers storming the building in the Tel Rumeida area and raising the Israeli flag. Soldiers prevented the building's Palestinian residents from returning to their homes.

"It is time to stop the absurdity that a handful of messianic settlers determine the foreign and security policy of an entire country," said the Peace Now advocacy group.

Read the full story here

The United Nations has announced plans to reduce its international staff in Gaza due to increasing security risks from ongoing Israeli attacks.

Despite having over 13,000 employees in the region, the majority of whom are Palestinians working in vital roles like healthcare and humanitarian aid, the UN will scale back its international presence.

The move follows the deaths of more than 250 UN employees over the past 15 months, a tragic toll amid the escalating violence. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that of the 100 international staff members currently in Gaza, about 30 will be evacuated for their safety.

Israeli forces have confirmed an attack on a Red Cross building in Rafah, located in southern Gaza, after mistakenly identifying it as a threat. According to a military statement, the Israeli army targeted the building following suspicions about potential threats to their soldiers. 

The statement noted that while no casualties were reported, the building sustained minor damage. Following an internal investigation, the army acknowledged that the identification had been erroneous, revealing that the structure belonged to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). At the time of the attack, the building’s affiliation had not been known to the military.

The ICRC condemned the assault, stating that its Rafah office had been struck by an explosive projectile, although none of its staff were injured. "The ICRC strongly decries the attack against its premises," the organisation said.

A group of settlers just lynched Hamdan Ballal, co director of our film no other land. They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called, and took him. No sign of him since.

— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) March 24, 2025

Air raid sirens sounded across central Israel, including Tel Aviv, after a projectile was launched from Yemen.

According to Israeli forces, the sirens were activated after the missile was launched from Yemen, which was intercepted before crossing into Israel.

The United Nations said Monday a strike on its buildings in Gaza last week that killed one employee and injured several others was caused "by an Israeli tank."

"Based on the information currently available, the strikes hitting a UN compound in Deir Al Balah on 19 March were caused by an Israeli tank," said the secretary-general's spokesman Stephane Dujarric, adding that the UN has decided to temporarily reduce its international staff within the Palestinian territory.

Israel's military said in a statement it intercepted two "projectiles" launched on Monday from the Gaza Strip, nearly one week after Israel resumed intensified bombing of Gaza.

"Following the sirens that sounded at 19:02 in the communities near the Gaza Strip, two projectiles that crossed into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip were intercepted" by the Israeli Air Force, the statement said.

The United Nations will reduce its footprint in Gaza after five staff members of the organisation's Palestinian relief agency were killed in the fighting, but remains committed to providing aid to civilians, a spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.

"The Secretary-General has taken the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza, even as humanitarian needs soar and our concern over the protection of civilians intensifies," the statement said.

(Reuters)

Hamas's armed wing released a video on Monday showing two Israeli captives held in Gaza since the 7 October attacks.

The footage, which lasts a little over three minutes and whose exact recording date could not be verified, shows two men sitting on the floor speaking in Hebrew to a captive who has since been released, asking him to recount his experiences in captivity in order to speed up their release.

More than 10,000 people in Finland on Monday urged the country's public broadcaster, Yle, to push for Israel to be banned from the Eurovision Song Contest due to the war in Gaza.

The broadcaster received two petitions on Monday demanding it pressure the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which manages the event, to block Israel from participating, the petitions' initiator, the Finnish Palestine Network group Sumud, said in a statement.

One of the petitions was signed by more than 500 music and cultural industry professionals, while a public petition was signed by over 10,000 people.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its office in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, was damaged by an explosive projectile on Monday, adding that no staff were wounded.

"Today, an office of the ICRC in Rafah was damaged by an explosive projectile despite being clearly marked and notified to all parties. Fortunately, no staff were injured in this incident, but this has a direct impact on the ICRC's ability to operate. The ICRC strongly decries the attack against its premises," the organisation said in a statement.

An office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Rafah in southern Gaza was damaged by an explosive projectile on Monday, the aid organisation said, adding no one was injured in the incident.

"The ICRC strongly decries the attack against its premises," the organization said in a statement.

The attack has a direct impact on the ICRC's ability to operate, it said. The ICRC did not blame any party for the attack. 

(Reuters)

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army is doing its best not to target civilians amid its attacks on Gaza.

"Israel is not fighting the civilians in Gaza and is doing everything that international law requires to mitigate harm to civilians," Katz said in a statement.

He said Hamas "fights in civilian dress, from civilian homes and from behind civilians”, putting them in danger.

Hossam Shabat, a Palestinian journalist and contributor to Al Jazeera Mubasher, has been killed after an Israeli airstrike targeted his car in northern Gaza. Several pedestrians were also wounded.

Witnesses saw the journalist's vehicle hit in Beit Lahiya, Al Jazeera reports.

Since October 2023. 208 Journalists have been killed.

Lebanese leaders have been in intensive contact with Washington and Paris to prevent Israel from bombing Beirut, a Lebanese official said Monday, after heavy Israeli strikes on the country at the weekend.

The official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam "made diplomatic contact with France and the United States... as well as with the UN to achieve de-escalation following Israeli threats to target Beirut".

Israel launched air strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing eight people, in response to rocket fire that hit its territory for the first time since a ceasefire took effect on 27 November.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that following rocket fire on Metula, a town in northern Israel, "Metula's fate is the same as Beirut's".

Iran said on Monday it was open to indirect talks with the United States, after President Donald Trump had demanded negotiations for a new nuclear deal.

"The way is open for indirect negotiations," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, dismissing the prospect of direct talks "until there is a change in the other side's approach towards the Islamic republic".

The top Iranian diplomat said Tehran would not engage in direct talks with Washington under threats and so long as Trump maintain his "maximum pressure" policy.

Lebanese Defence Minister Michel Menassa will visit Syria on Wednesday to discuss recent tensions along the border between the two countries, a Lebanese official said.

"The defence minister will head a security delegation to Damascus to meet with his counterpart, Murhaf Abu Qasra," the official told AFP on Monday on condition of anonymity.

The aim of the visit was to "discuss ways to manage the situation at the border, strengthen bilateral coordination and prevent cross-border aggression", the source said.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on Monday during a visit to Jerusalem that Israeli strikes on Syria and Lebanon threatened to worsen the situation.

The most intense escalation since a November ceasefire, which ended the war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, occurred on Saturday. In Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites since Islamist-led rebels overthrew Bashar al-Assad in December. Israel says it wants to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new authorities it considers jihadists.

"Military actions must be proportionate, and Israeli strikes into Syria and Lebanon risk further escalation," Kallas said at a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

"We feel that these things are unnecessary because Syria is right now not attacking Israel and that feeds more radicalisation that is also against Israel, which we don't want to see," Kallas told journalists.

Kallas will hold talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in the occupied West Bank later on Monday.

Germany condemns the Israeli security cabinet's decision to recognise 13 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, a spokesperson for the foreign office in Berlin said on Monday.

"We strongly condemn this decision. It promotes an expansive settlement policy that actively undermines the division of the two-state solution," the spokesperson told a government press conference.

The spokesperson declined to comment when asked about possible diplomatic measures in response to the move.

Mohammed Mansour, a Palestinian journalist, was killed after an Israeli airstrike targeted a house in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip.

The Gaza Health Ministry said on Monday that 730 people had been killed since Israel resumed bombardments on the Palestinian territory on March 18, including 57 in the past 24 hours.

The ministry said in a statement that it recorded "730 deaths and 1,367 injuries" since air strikes resumed and 57 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll since the war started on October 7, 2023, to 50,082.

France's main Jewish association on Monday distanced itself from an unprecedented invitation for two key figures in the French far-right to attend a conference this week in Israel on the fight against antisemitism.

Jordan Bardella, party leader of the National Rally (RN), and his fellow MEP Marion Marechal, who leads another far-right movement and is the niece of three-time RN presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, have been invited by the Israeli government to attend the conference on March 26 and 27.

This invitation "has come from Israel" and "does not involve the Jewish institutions of France", said Yonathan Arfi, head of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF), the main umbrella association of French Jewish groups.

Arfi told the RMC broadcaster that French Jewish institutions had traditionally held a position of "distrust towards the National Rally" motivated by "historical reasons".

He stressed the need for "critical distance" towards the RN, and said the fight against anti-Semitism "cannot be exploited politically".

Germany said on Monday that civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip were "extremely worrying" as Israel's military presses a renewed assault on the Gaza Strip.

"It is now very clear that we must quickly return to negotiations and to the ceasefire that was in place," foreign ministry spokesman Christian Wagner said in Berlin.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on Monday during a visit to Jerusalem that Israeli strikes on Syria and Lebanon threatened to worsen the situation.

"Military actions must be proportionate, and Israeli strikes into Syria and Lebanon risk further escalation," Kallas said at a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) denounced on Monday the "extremely precarious" situation of Palestinians displaced by the ongoing Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank.

The situation of the displaced Palestinians is "extremely precarious", said MSF, which is operating in the area.

Palestinians "are without proper shelter, essential services, and access to healthcare", the NGO said.

"The mental health situation is alarming."

According to the United Nations, some 40,000 residents have been displaced since 21 January, when the Israeli army launched its offensive in the territory.

The Israeli operation started two days after a truce agreement came into effect in the Gaza Strip between the Israeli military and the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas will visit Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories on Monday to urge an immediate resumption of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, her office said.

"The mission will be an occasion to discuss the conflict in Gaza; recall the importance of unimpeded access and sustained distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale into and throughout Gaza; and call for an immediate return to the full implementation of the ceasefire-hostage release agreement," it said.

The top European diplomat will meet senior Israeli and Palestinian ministers.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed during a phone call on Sunday Israel's military operations in Gaza, the State Department said in a readout of the conversation.

(Reuters)

The Palestinian Prisoners Club non-governmental organisation said Monday that a Palestinian 17-year-old died in Israel's Megiddo prison in unknown circumstances.

In a statement, the Palestinian body in charge of coordination with Israeli authorities announced "the death of Walid Khaled Abdullah Ahmad (17 years old), a minor detainee from the town of Silwad, east of Ramallah, in Megiddo Prison" in Israel, adding he was the 63rd Palestinian to die in Israeli jails since the start of the war in Gaza.

AFP could not immediately confirm the death with Israeli prison authorities.

Israeli police said on Monday that officers "neutralised" a gunman who carried out an attack in the country's north which first responders said killed one man and wounded another.

"A terrorist opened fire at civilians and was immediately neutralised by police forces present at the scene" at a junction southeast of the city of Haifa, a police statement said, with first responders reporting a 70-year-old man was killed and a 20-year-old wounded.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Israel's internal security chief, whose dismissal was blocked by the Supreme Court, of investigating far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir without his consent.

"The claim that the prime minister authorised Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to gather evidence against minister Itamar Ben Gvir is yet another exposed lie," Netanyahu said, responding to a report that Bar had spent months secretly investigating far-right infiltration of the police and its links to Ben Gvir.

Gaza's Health Ministry says Israel has struck the largest hospital in southern Gaza.

At least five civilians were killed and several were wounded - a fire also broke out in the building.

The ministry said Israeli forces "have just targeted the surgery building inside the Nasser Medical Complex, which houses many patients and wounded individuals, and a large fire has erupted at the site."

The strike killed a member of Hamas's political bureau, Ismail Barhoum, as he underwent treatment in hospital, a source in the Palestinian group said after Israel confirmed it targeted "a key terrorist".