Six killed after Israeli strike hits UN-run school in Gaza’s Jabalia camp

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Lebanon reported Thursday that an Israeli air strike killed one person in the country's south, with the Israeli military saying it killed a Hezbollah member.

The health ministry said "the raid carried out by the Israeli enemy on the locality of Aitaroun left one dead", a day after Israeli strikes in the same region killed two people.

In the latest incident, the Israeli military said it "eliminated the terrorist Ali 'Ibar al-Nabi Khadi, deputy head of Hezbollah's Mhaibib military outpost in southern Lebanon".

The military had said earlier that it struck "Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites" in southern Lebanon overnight.

Yemen's Houthi rebels said US air strikes on Thursday on the oil port of Ras Issa left at least 13 dead and 30 wounded.

The US military said it carried out the strikes to cut off the Huthis' fuel supply and a source of funds. "Thirteen workers and employees at the Ras Issa port were killed and 30 others injured in the American aggression on the port," Houthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi said in a social media post.

Two Palestinian teenagers were killed after the Israeli army raided a village in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs reported that the army opened fire, killing a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old, while their bodies were withheld.

A 20-year-old sustained gunshot injuries and was treated.

A Chinese satellite company is supporting attacks by Yemen's Houthis on American interests, the State Department said Thursday, as the US military announced strikes on a fuel port it said was used by the rebels.

"Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company...is directly supporting Iran-backed Huthi terrorist attacks on US interests," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told journalists.

"Their actions, and Beijing's support of the company, even after our private engagements with them, is yet another example of China's empty claims to support peace," she said.

Bruce did not initially provide details on the nature of the company's support for the rebels, but later referred to "a Chinese company providing satellite imagery to the Huthis."

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for Israel to deepen the fighting in Gaza, after Hamas signalled its rejection of the most recent ceasefire proposal.

"The time has come to open the gates of hell on Hamas, to deepen the fighting until the full conquest of the Gaza Strip," Smotrich said, following an announcement by the Palestinian militant group that it would not accept a "partial" ceasefire.

Hamas's chief negotiator declared on Thursday that the Palestinian militant group would not accept any "partial" ceasefire deal in Gaza, signalling rejection of Israel's latest proposal.

"Partial agreements are used by (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu as a cover for his political agenda... we will not be complicit in this policy," Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised statement, adding that the group "seeks a comprehensive agreement... in return for stopping the war".

American forces destroyed the Ras Issa fuel port in Yemen Thursday in a bid to cut off a source of supplies and funds for the country's Houthi rebels, the US military said.

Washington has hammered the Huthis with near-daily air strikes since March 15 in a bid to end their attacks on civilian shipping and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The rebels began their attacks in late 2023, claiming solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

"US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Huthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Huthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years," the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

"The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Huthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen," CENTCOM said.

Hamas' Gaza chief said the group was ready to immediately negotiate a deal to swap all captives with an agreed number of Palestinians jailed by Israel within a deal that would end the war in the enclave.

In a televised speech, Khalil Al-Hayya, who leads the Hamas negotiating team for the indirect talks with Israel, said the group refuses an interim truce deal.

(Reuters)

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday that one of its bases in Gaza was damaged by an explosive, in the second such incident in three weeks.

The ICRC said on X that it was "outraged that on 16 April an ICRC premises in Gaza was struck and damaged by an explosive".

It did not say who carried out the attack. A tank shell struck another of the organisation's premises in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory on 24 March.

"Both incidents occurred despite the buildings being clearly marked and regularly notified to all parties," the ICRC said.

The organisation said the strikes "highlight the risks to which civilians, medical staff and humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip are exposed today".

The ICRC is outraged that on 16 April an ICRC premises in Gaza was struck and damaged by an explosive.

This is the second such incident in three weeks; another premises in the area was struck by a tank shell on 24 March. pic.twitter.com/B3l1jutHrW

— ICRC in Israel & OT (@ICRC_ilot) April 17, 2025

Five Palestinians have been killed after Israeli strikes targeted Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Rafah in the south. 

Wafa reports that two civilians were killed in central Gaza, while a separate strike targeting a vegetable stall killed a young man and a young girl.

A 23-year-old was killed after an Israeli drone strike targeted north of Rafah.

A Palestinian man was shot after an Israeli settler, dressed in military gear, opened fire while he was working on his land, sustaining a gunshot wound to the leg.

Mohammed Raba’i, head of the Twaneh Village Council, told Wafa the man had previously survived assassination attempts by Israeli settlers, threatening to kill him if he did not leave his land.

Lebanon reported Thursday that an Israeli airstrike killed one person in the country's south, with the Israeli military saying it killed a Hezbollah member.

The health ministry said "the raid carried out by the Israeli enemy on the locality of Aitaroun left one dead", a day after Israeli strikes in the same region killed two people.

In the latest incident, the Israeli military said it "eliminated the terrorist Ali 'Ibar al-Nabi Khadi, deputy head of Hezbollah's Mhaibib military outpost in southern Lebanon".

The military had said earlier that it struck "Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites" in southern Lebanon overnight.

It added that it would "operate against any attempts by Hezbollah to rebuild or establish a military presence under the guise of civilian cover".

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has warned that nearly 70 percent of Gaza is now under Israeli "evacuation orders", as the territory endures a crippling humanitarian crisis under a complete aid blockade that began on 2 March.

In its latest update, UNRWA confirmed that no humanitarian supplies have entered the Gaza Strip for weeks- marking the longest sustained interruption of aid since the war began in October 2023.

"Approximately 69 percent of the Gaza Strip is subject to evacuation orders," the agency said, noting that around 420,000 people have been newly displaced since hostilities resumed.

Ongoing bombardments and the breakdown of supply routes have severely hampered efforts to deliver urgent humanitarian assistance.

Aid agencies warn that the situation is rapidly worsening, with food, clean water, and medical care increasingly inaccessible for much of the enclave’s 2.3 million population.

Palestinians are marking Prisoners’ Day today, drawing attention to the thousands being held in Israeli jails- many without charge or trial.

According to Addameer, a Palestinian prisoners’ rights organisation, nearly 10,000 Palestinians are currently imprisoned by Israel.

Of those, more than 3,500 are being held under administrative detention, a policy that allows indefinite imprisonment without formal charges or trial. The detainees also include around 400 children and 27 women.

Former prisoners have consistently reported enduring systematic torture, abuse, and starvation while in custody.

Since October 2023, Israel has barred humanitarian visits to its detention centres, making it difficult to verify conditions and track the number of detainees.

Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, reportedly cut short his visit to the United Kingdom following a legal move by human rights groups seeking his arrest.

According to the UK-based Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Saar left the country a day after they, along with the Hind Rajab Foundation, formally submitted a request to British authorities to issue an arrest warrant against him.

GLAN stated on social media platform X: "He is a suspect in a live investigation of serious crimes. If seen, contact the London Met Police immediately."

The group accuses Saar of involvement in alleged war crimes tied to Israel’s actions in Gaza, though the specific charges or legal basis of the warrant request have not been publicly detailed.

The development comes amid growing international scrutiny of Israeli officials over their conduct in the war on Gaza, with legal and diplomatic pressures mounting across Europe.

Neither Saar nor the Israeli government has officially commented on the claims.

URGENT: We are told that Gideon Sa'ar is now cutting short his visit & fleeing the UK. He is a suspect in a live investigation of serious crimes. If seen contact the London Met Police immediately. Please do not approach the suspect as he is likely accompanied by armed security. pic.twitter.com/djC3T6U0c9

— GLAN | Global Legal Action Network (@GLAN_LAW) April 16, 2025

The Israeli military has claimed it has killed a senior Hamas figure near Khan Younis, alleged to be the head of the group's "weapons smuggling network".

In a statement, the military said its air force had struck more than 110 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past two days.

Among the sites hit was what it described as a significant military post belonging to Hamas’s naval unit in Nuseirat, in central Gaza.

Israeli forces have reportedly stormed an ancient archeological site in the town of Yatta, south of Hebron.

The forces surrounded the Carmel archaeological site, closed roads leading to it, while snipers were deployed on the rooftops of several houses, one local activist told the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The move was carried out with the aim of allowing settlers entry to archaeological site to perform biblical rituals amid the ongoing Passover holiday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Thursday that Israel would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, while US President Donald Trump attempts to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Tehran.

"As the prime minister has stated many times: Israel will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons," a statement from Netanyahu's office said. "The prime minister has led countless overt and covert actions in the battle against Iran's nuclear programme, without which Iran would today possess a nuclear arsenal. These actions delayed Iran's nuclear programme by nearly a decade," the statement added.

The humanitarian aid system in Gaza is "facing total collapse" due to Israel's blockade on aid supplies since March 2, the heads of 12 major aid organisations warned Thursday, urging Israel to let them to "do our jobs".

"This is one of the worst humanitarian failures of our generation," the chief executives of 12 NGOs, including Oxfam and Save the Children, wrote in a statement.

Israel has vowed to maintain its blockage on humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged territory, arguing it is the only way to force Hamas to release the 58 hostages still held there.

"Every single person in Gaza is relying on humanitarian aid to survive.

"That lifeline has been completely cut off since a blockade on all aid supplies was imposed by Israeli authorities on March 2."

 Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday told Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani that it was important for Moscow to discuss the Israel-Palestine conflict and the future of Syria during the Qatari ruler's visit to Moscow.

An Israeli drone strike has killed six people at a UN-run school in the Jabalia refugee camp, where hundreds of displaced Palestinians had taken shelter.

Gaza’s Health Ministry states that at least 40 people have been killed and 73 injured over the past 24 hours.

The Israeli military has released a statement claiming it targeted "a terrorist" who was located within a Hamas command and control centre, allegedly involved in planning and carrying out operations against Israel.

The statement also claimed that "many steps" were taken to reduce the risk to civilians during the strike.

Breaking | An Israeli suicide drone strike targeted a UNRWA school sheltering displaced families in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, killing 6 people and injuring several others — most of them children.pic.twitter.com/EeaGI5BiSn

— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) April 17, 2025

Gaza's civil defence agency said Thursday that a rash of Israeli air strikes killed at least 40 people, most of them in encampments for displaced civilians, as Israel pressed its offensive in the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the strikes, which came as Hamas officials reported that internal deliberations on the latest Israeli truce offer were nearly complete.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said two Israeli missiles hit several tents in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern city of Khan Yunis, resulting in at least 16 deaths, "most of them women and children, and 23 others were wounded".

After Israel declared Al-Mawasi a safe zone in December 2023, tens of thousands of Palestinians flocked there seeking refuge from bombardment, but the area has since been hit by repeated Israeli strikes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later on Thursday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

"He will meet him today," Ushakov told state media.

Araghchi is on a visit to Moscow to discuss Tehran's nuclear programme among other topics, less than a week after Iranian and US officials held talks in Oman.

Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said Thursday that Israel had failed to respect January's ceasefire agreement in Gaza, as he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

"As you know, we reached an agreement months ago, but unfortunately Israel did not abide by this agreement," said the ruler of Qatar, a key mediator of the deal.

Members of the largest organisation representing British Jews have said they can no longer "turn a blind eye" to the war in Gaza, adding "Israel's soul is being ripped out".

In a major break with the Board of Deputies of British Jews' policy of supporting the Israeli leadership, 36 of its members criticised the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Gaza in an open letter published in the Financial Times.

"The inclination to avert our eyes is strong, as what is happening is unbearable, but our Jewish values compel us to stand up and to speak out," said the letter, signed by around one in eight members of the Board of Deputies.

It is the first time since the start of the war that members of the body have publicly criticised the Israeli government.

"We cannot turn a blind eye or remain silent" about the loss of life since a two-month truce collapsed on March 18, as negotiations over the return of Israeli hostages broke down, the letter added.

The signatories accused the "most extremist of Israeli governments" of "openly encouraging violence against Palestinians in the West Bank."

"We stand against the war. We acknowledge and mourn the loss of Palestinian life," they added.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has criticised what it describes as a "clear and shameless double standard" in the international response to detainees, highlighting the contrast between calls for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and the global silence over thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons- including women and children.

In a statement marking Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, PIJ said the "international community is tarnished by its silence regarding the suffering of tens of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, which has continued for decades."

According to support groups, around 10,000 Palestinians are currently imprisoned by Israel. Of these, 3,498 are reportedly detained without charge or trial under the practice of "administrative detention."

PIJ claims that the prisoners include 400 children and nearly 30 women. The group also said that since 7 October 2023, approximately 2,000 people from Gaza have been detained by Israeli forces.

It added that 63 detainees have died in Israeli custody due to alleged medical neglect and torture.

Referring to the 7 October attacks on Israel, PIJ stated they were carried out "primarily to impose a genuine prisoner exchange deal that would free prisoners from the occupation’s prisons and alleviate the suffering of our people."

"Their liberation has become an unwavering goal in the battle for dignity and freedom," the group said.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following a report that former US President Donald Trump blocked an Israeli plan to attack Iran’s nuclear sites. Lapid claims he had proposed targeting Iranian oil fields back in October, but says Netanyahu "was afraid, and halted it."

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who is expected to compete with Netanyahu for right-wing support in the upcoming election, has also weighed in—accusing the prime minister of being behind the leak to The New York Times.

"The Netanyahu doctrine is to threaten, threaten, threaten and then leak [to the media] that he meant to but was prevented from doing it," Bennett said in a statement, warning that “this is another dangerous conception that mustn’t blow up in our faces. There won’t be another such opportunity."

Gaza's civil defence agency reported Thursday that a wave of Israeli air strikes across the territory killed 37 people, most of them displaced Palestinians.

Agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said an overnight strike targeted several tents in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern city of Khan Younis, resulting in 16 deaths.

"At least 16 martyrs, most of them women and children, and 23 others were wounded following a direct strike by two Israeli missiles on several tents housing displaced families in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis," Bassal told news agency AFP.

Bassal also confirmed two other strikes on encampments of displaced people.

One in the northern town of Beit Lahia killed seven people sheltering in tents, while a similar attack on a tent near the Al-Mawasi area left a father and son dead, he said, adding several others were wounded in the strikes.

Separately, the civil defence agency reported two more attacks on displaced people in Jabalia -- one that killed at least seven members of the Asaliya family, and another on a school being used as a shelter that killed three.

The agency also reported two people killed by Israeli shelling in the Shujaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes, but said it was looking into the reports.

Hamas accused Israel on Thursday of attempting to starve the population of Gaza following Israel's renewed declaration the previous day that no humanitarian aid would be allowed into the Palestinian territory.

"This is a public admission of committing a war crime, including the use of starvation as a weapon and the denial of basic necessities such as food, medicine, water, and fuel to innocent civilians for the seventh consecutive week," the Palestinian group said in a statement.

An intense series of suspected U.S. airstrikes hit sites across Yemen held by the Houthi rebels into Thursday morning, with at least one person reportedly being killed in the capital, Sanaa.

The strikes took place around multiple governorates in the country overnight, with the Houthis providing few details about the sites hit. The U.S. military's Central Command has provided no specifics on targets as well in its campaign, which has been hitting sites in Yemen since March 15.

The U.S military has been conducting strikes from the aircraft carriers the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea and the USS Carl Vinson, now in the Arabian Sea.

The U.S. also has stationed stealth B-2 bombers in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, which likely also are being used in the strikes.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani arrived in Moscow on Thursday, Russian state news agency TASS reported, for a visit during which he is expected to meet President Vladimir Putin. 

Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman arrived in Tehran on Thursday for meetings with officials, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, in a visit ahead of weekend talks between Iran and the United States over the Iranian nuclear program.

The United Nations raised alarm over the mounting impact of Israel’s six-week-old blockade preventing all food and other supplies from entering Gaza.

The U.N. humanitarian office, known as OCHA, said that almost all of Gaza’s more than 2 million people now rely for food on the only 1 million prepared meals produced daily by charity kitchens supported by aid groups.

Other food distribution programs have shut down for lack of supplies, and the U.N. and other aid groups have been sending their remaining stocks to the charity kitchens.

The only other way to get food in Gaza is from markets. But most cannot afford to buy there because of spiraling prices and widespread shortages, meaning humanitarian aid is the primary food source for 80% of the population, the World Food Program said in its monthly report for April on Gaza’s markets.

“The Gaza Strip is now likely facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the 18 months since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023,” OCHA said.

Most people in Gaza are now down to one meal a day, said Shaina Low, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council. “It’s far lower than what is needed,” she said.

Al Jazeera reports that dozens of Israeli settlers have entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

According to the long-standing status quo in Jerusalem, non-Muslims may visit the site but are prohibited from engaging in religious rituals.

The incident is part of a series of settler incursions that have taken place during the Jewish Passover holiday, which is currently in its fifth day.

The Israeli military said Thursday it struck Hezbollah infrastructure sites in south Lebanon overnight, without specifying how.

"Overnight, the [Israeli military] struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon," the military said. "The [Israeli military] will operate against any attempts by Hezbollah to rebuild or establish a military presence under the guise of civilian cover."

Despite a November 27 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes in Lebanon.

Hezbollah, significantly weakened by the war, insists it is adhering to the ceasefire, even as Israeli attacks persist.

Rocket fire from Lebanon into Israel has also been reported since the truce was struck, although no group has claimed responsibility for the launches.

On Wednesday, the Lebanese army said it had arrested several people suspected of firing rockets at Israel from Lebanon.

A security official told news agency AFP that three of those detained were members of Hezbollah's Palestinian ally Hamas.

Hundreds of Palestinians staged a protest against Gaza's Hamas rulers on Wednesday in the territory's northern city of Beit Lahia, calling for an end to the war, witnesses said.

Protestors directly targeted the Palestinian group with chants such as "Hamas out, out" or "Hamas is all rubbish", said Abu Ismail Washah.

Washah, a 45-year-old resident of northern Gaza, said that he joined because he supports "any movement that calls for ending the war, because right now we are under siege, facing destruction and constant suffering."

Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, after a brief but violent conflict with rival Palestinian group Fatah, which dominates the Palestinian Authority.

Levels of discontent towards Hamas are difficult to gauge, in part because of its intolerance for public expressions of dissent.

On Wednesday, some held posters reading "Hamas does not represent me."

A senior Hamas official told news agency AFP on Wednesday that the group is still preparing its response to an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

"The movement's response is still in preparation, and we affirm that there is no room for any partial deal," Mahmoud Mardawi said, insisting that the group's "weapons will not be subject to any negotiations".

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday met Russian nationals freed from captivity in the Gaza strip after Hamas' October 2023 attacks on Israel and said Moscow's longstanding ties with Palestinians helped secure their freedom.

"The fact that you are now free is a result of Russia's many years of stable relations with the Palestinian people, with the representatives of different organisations," Russian news agencies quoted Putin as telling former hostage Alexander Trufanov and members of his family.

"Here we have to offer a word of gratitude to the leadership and to the political wing of Hamas for a gesture made to us in carrying out this humanitarian act," the agencies said he told the late-night Kremlin meeting.

Russia, Putin said, "had truly done everything possible" to secure Trufanov's liberation and would undertake whatever was necessary to ensure those still in captivity would be freed.

Trufanov was freed after nearly 500 days in captivity in February as part of talks leading to a ceasefire. He thanked Putin for helping secure his release and hoped for the release of all remaining hostages whom he viewed "like brothers".