At least 62 killed in Israeli raids on Gaza in 24 hours

The kingdom’s Foreign Ministry has expressed “strong condemnation and denunciation of the Israeli occupation forces’ bombing of the town of Koya in Syria”.

“The Kingdom reiterates its categorical rejection of the continued attempts of the Israeli occupation authorities to undermine the security and stability of Syria and the region through their blatant and repeated violations of relevant international laws,” it added.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry said six people had been killed in the attack on Koya, a town in the southern province of Deraa, adding that the toll was expected to rise due to serious injuries sustained from the attack.

Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reports that the US has carried out three additional air strikes on the Sahar district in Saada, northwest Yemen - marking a second round of attacks on the same area.

The Trump administration has intensified its air campaign against the Houthis, who have been launching missiles toward Israel in a bid to pressure it to halt its assault on Gaza.

UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed held a phone call with former US President Donald Trump to discuss the situation in the Middle East and ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, according to the UAE’s official news agency WAM.

Bin Zayed emphasised the urgent need to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gaza’s population amid the worsening crisis, and reiterated his support for a two-state solution as the path to “comprehensive, just and lasting” peace.

The UAE and Israel have continued to strengthen their security and economic ties since formalising relations in 2020.

The UN humanitarian office (OCHA) reports that Israeli-issued displacement orders now cover roughly 15 percent of Gaza, forcing 120,000 people to flee since 18 March.

Throughout the war, Palestinians in Gaza have faced repeated displacement, as Israeli officials continue to signal intentions to annex parts of the enclave.

"Once again, OCHA stresses that civilians must be protected whether they move or stay. Civilians who leave for safer areas must be allowed to return as soon as circumstances allow," the agency said in a statement.

"OCHA reiterates that civilians must be able to receive the humanitarian assistance they need, wherever they are. All of this is required by international humanitarian law."

The Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reports that two US air strikes have targeted the Sahar district of Saada in northwest Yemen.

The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that its peacekeeps were collaborating with the Lebanese Armed Forces to "clear roads, make repairs and remove explosives" in the area.

"This will help open roads for safe patrols and allow civilians to return safely to their villages," the peacekeepers said in a statement.

Large parts of southern Lebanon have been heavily damaged, with Israel blowing up homes, mosques, and schools in border villages -even after the ceasefire took effect in November last year.

The Israeli military has announced a large-scale training exercise set to take place along the northern border with Lebanon on Wednesday.

According to a statement, the drill will simulate various scenarios, including area defence and rapid response to field threats, with joint operations across multiple military branches.

The army warned of increased activity during the exercise, including the movement of troops, aircraft, and naval vessels.

Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, in breach of the ceasefire agreement reached last year.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry says it denounces "in the strongest terms" the Israeli attack on the southern Syrian town of Koya that killed at least five people, calling it a " dangerous escalation and flagrant violation of international law".

"The Foreign Ministry warns that the ongoing aggressions by the Israeli occupation against Syria and Lebanon and the continuation of its barbaric war on Gaza could ignite the cycle of violence in the region," it said in a statement.

Doha called on the international community to "pressure Israel to abide by international resolutions"".

According to Al Jazeera citing medical sources, 37 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since dawn.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Tuesday that he would start meeting candidates to replace internal intelligence agency chief Ronen Bar, whose sacking brought thousands of Israelis out on the streets last week.

"After the Supreme Court rejected the government's legal advisor's attempt to prevent the start of the process to appoint a new Shin Bet chief, the Prime Minister will begin interviewing candidates for the position as early as tomorrow," Netanyahu spokesman Omer Dostri said in a statement.

The French Foreign Ministry has condemned the attack and detention of Hamdan Ballal, with Haaretz quoting the ministry as saying: "France condemns the violence perpetrated by extremist settlers against the Palestinian population, which is increasing across the West Bank, particularly Massafer Yatta and Susiya. The Israeli authorities must punish the perpetrators of this violence, which continues with complete impunity, and protect Palestinian civilians." 

"France condemns in particular the attack on director Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the film No Other Land, winner of the Anna Politkovskaya-Arman Soldin Prize for Journalistic Courage from the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs," it added.

The spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has entered into a spat with the families of Israeli captives, saying that reports Netanyahu and head of the captive negotiating team Ron Dermer were not meeting with captives families as fake news from "Deep State" media, colluding with the families against Dermer.

In response, the families asked if they themselves were part of the "Deep State." 

"Why do you refuse to meet with dozens of hostages' family members whose loved one's condition is shrouded in mystery? Meet with us, this is your basic duty," they said.

Syria condemned on Tuesday the latest Israeli attacks on its territory and called on Syrians to reject any attempts to displace them or enforce any new realities on the ground.

The Syrian foreign ministry's statement came after Israeli shelling killed six people in southern Syria earlier on Tuesday. Israel's military said its troops had clashed with militants there who had opened fire on them. 

(Reuters)

An Oscar-winning Palestinian director and two others detained with him by Israeli troops have been released.

Reporters without Borders (RSF) has condemned the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Hossam Shabat on Monday while urging the "international community to urgently pressure the Israeli government to end the massacre of Palestinian journalists."

In a statement RSF also said that it had found Israeli accusations that Shabat, as well as other journalists killed by Israel in its war on Gaza, was a combatant "severely lacked proof".

Jonathan Dagher, the head of RSF's Middle East Desk said that the organisation had warned Shabat was at high risk of being killed.

"The Israeli army's accusations against Hossam Shabat in October 2024 can in no way justify his murder, as they are based on documents that in no way constitute that the journalists had any affiliation with the army.

"This all-too-familiar pattern fuels the unprecedented massacre of journalists happening in Gaza, which had slowed with the ceasefire in January. RSF calls on the international community to do everything in their power to pressure the Israeli authorities to instate protections for journalist in Gaza," he added.

Palestinian director Hamdan Ballal, who was part of the Oscar-winning team for the documentary 'No Other Land', has been freed from Israeli detention, according to co-director Yuval Abraham in a post on X.

On Monday Ballal had been detained by Israeli forces after being severely beaten by Israeli settlers who attacked the village of Susiya in the Masafer Yatta area of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli MK Ofer Cassif responded to the post, saying "I'm on my way to meet him."

Israel's parliament passed a state budget on Tuesday, a move that shores up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition.

The budget's passing could grant Netanyahu months of political stability at a time when he faces serious public pressure over the war in Gaza and other contentious government decisions.

The budget vote was seen as a key test for Netanyahu's coalition, which is made up of ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties. They had demanded and largely received hefty sums for their constituents in exchange for support for the funding package.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that if Palestinian militant group Hamas continues its refusal to hand over hostages, Israel will take territory and neutralize group operatives until it is completely defeated.

The UN's Palestine Refugee Agency UNRWA has said that 124,000 people have been displaced by Israel's bombardment of Gaza.

"Families carry what little they have with no shelter, no safety, and nowhere left to go," the agency said on X.

124,000 people in #Gaza have been displaced in just days, forced to flee relentless bombardment. Families carry what little they have with no shelter, no safety, and nowhere left to go.

The Israeli authorities have cut off all aid. Food is scarce and prices are soaring. This is… pic.twitter.com/QlXsU2gbwv

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) March 24, 2025

The health ministry in Gaza said Tuesday that 792 people had been killed in the week since Israel resumed bombardments on the Palestinian territory, including 62 in the past 24 hours.

The ministry said in a statement that it recorded "792 martyrs and 1,663 injuries" since strikes resumed, bringing the total death toll recorded since the war started on 7 October 2023, to 50,144, although that number is believed to be higher when considering the thousands believed to be dead under the rubble.

The United Nations is cutting its international staff in Gaza by around a third, a UN spokesperson said on Tuesday, citing safety concerns.

"We are trying to reduce the number of international staff by about one third and this is really because the Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) doesn't have the power of guaranteeing the safety of UN staff," UN spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci told a Geneva press briefing, saying that this meant around 30 of 100 international staff.

The agencies affected included the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and the UN children's agency, she added. 

(Reuters)

Israel's president said on Tuesday he was shocked that the issue of hostages being held by Palestinian militants in Gaza was no longer a top priority in the country.

"I am quite shocked how suddenly the issue of the hostages is no longer at the top of the priority list and at the top of the news," Isaac Herzog said in a video issued by his office, adding it was important to keep working towards "bringing the hostages home, down to the last one".

A Palestinian has been shot dead by Israeli forces in Shakoush near Gaza's southern city of Rafah, according to Al Jazeera.

The Israeli army said it had exchanged fire with a number of armed people in southern Syria on Tuesday morning.

(Reuters)

Israel's military on Tuesday said it had killed a journalist working for Al Jazeera in Gaza a day earlier, claiming he was a "sniper terrorist" for Hamas.

"Yesterday (Monday), the IDF (military) and the Shin Bet (security agency) eliminated... a sniper terrorist from the Beit Hanoun Battalion of the Hamas terrorist organization, who was also employed as a journalist by Al Jazeera," a joint statement from the military and security agency said, referring to Hussam Shabat.

Al Jazeera condemned the killing, saying Shabat was killed in an Israeli strike on his vehicle in northern Gaza on Monday.

At least five people were killed Tuesday in Israeli shelling of the southern Syrian province of Daraa, said local authorities, who also reported an Israeli incursion.

Provincial authorities, in a statement posted on Telegram, reported a provisional toll of "five people killed in the Israeli bombardment of the town of Kuwayya... west of Daraa", adding that residents had fled Israeli tank shelling.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel has issued a statement calling on Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who heads the Israeli negotiating team, to either complete a deal for the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza or resign.

The forum said that "the campaign that began this morning stems from the understanding that Minister Dermer is the key figure in the negotiations. He was appointed by Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] to assist in the return of the hostages, but in reality - the negotiations are at a deep standstill and no progress has been made." 

"Reach an agreement that will result in the release of all 59 hostages at once, or vacate your position and resign," the forum added.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has said that it is still unable to contact nine of its ambulance crew members who it says were besieged and targeted by Israeli forces in Rafah, adding that Israel refuses to coordinate with international organisations to rescue the teams.

"The Palestinian Red Crescent expresses its deep concern for the safety of its teams and holds the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for their fate."

🚨For the third consecutive day, the fate of nine Palestine Red Crescent ambulance crew members remains unknown after they were besieged and targeted by Israeli occupation forces in #Rafah.

⭕️Meanwhile, the occupation authorities continue to reject all coordination attempts by…

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) March 25, 2025