UN chief condemns Israel after airstrikes in Gaza leave 109 dead

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Israel has approved the construction of 1,300 new settlement units in an illegal settlement bloc south of occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli media is reporting.

The government’s Special Planning and Building Committee in Gush Etzion unanimously approved the plan earlier this week, according to Channel 14.

Republican and Democratic US senators called for a strong response from President Donald Trump's administration after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized new territory in Sudan, reportedly attacking civilians.

Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for the US to officially designate the RSF as a foreign terrorist organisation.

"The horrors in Darfur’s El-Fasher were no accident - they were the RSF's plan all along. The RSF has waged terror and committed unspeakable atrocities, genocide among them, against the Sudanese people," he said in a statement on X on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the committee's top Democrat, said she most likely would back such a response from Washington. Asked whether she would back an FTO designation, Shaheen told reporters, "Probably," but added she would like to take a longer look at the issue.

Shaheen criticised the United Arab Emirates, which is accused by the Sudanese army of providing military support to the RSF.

"The UAE has been an irresponsible player who has contributed to one of the worst humanitarian crises that we have on the planet right now," she said.

(Reuters and TNA staff)

Kurdish forces in northern Syria killed two Syrian soldiers and wounded another in a missile attack on Wednesday, official state media reported, with the Kurds denying involvement and blaming landmines.

Citing the Syrian defence ministry, SANA news agency reported that the two soldiers were killed and a third "seriously injured" when their position near Tishrin Dam was targeted by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces with a guided missile.

The SDF denied any involvement in the deaths, saying in a statement "we categorically affirm that this information is incorrect" and blaming the incident on "landmine explosions".

Damascus accused the Kurdish forces of "violating the previous agreements".

(AFP and TNA staff)

Israeli forces will not seize more territory in Gaza in response to alleged ceasefire violations by Hamas following talks between Israeli and American officials yesterday, Israeli media is reporting.

Officials said yesterday the military would move beyond the withdrawal line deeper into the Palestinian territory.

A decision to remain inside the 'Yellow Line' was made during US-Israel talks on Tuesday evening, according to Kan.

"Right now we’re not expanding the area," the public broadcaster quoted an official as saying.

Hamas has condemned Israel's decision to ban the Red Cross accessing Palestinian detainees, saying that it adds to "a series of systematic and criminal violations they are subjected to, including killing, torture, starvation, medical neglect, and the withholding of information".

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz earlier on Wednesday signed an order barring Red Cross representatives from visiting Palestinian prisoners.

In a statement on its Telegram channel, Hamas urged the international community and rights groups to stop Israel’s "brutal measures against Palestinian prisoners in prisons".

"We urge them to work diligently for their release, to expose the occupation’s brutal practices, and to hold its leaders accountable for their unprecedented crimes against humanity," it said.

The Gaza Government Media Office has said that 109 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza over the past 12 hours, almost of whom were children.

Of the dead, 52 children and 23 women, it said in a statement.

It accused Israel of running a "systematic campaign of misinformation, forgery, and lies aimed at distorting the truth and covering up its ongoing crimes against civilians in the Gaza Strip".

The head of the Sudanese paramilitary group accused of massacring thousands of civilians in El-Fasher vowed on Wednesday to defeat the army through "peace or through war".

"The liberation of El-Fasher is an opportunity for Sudanese unity, and we say: Sudanese unity through peace or through war," Rapid Support Forces head Mohammad Hamdan Daglo said in a speech broadcast on his official Telegram channel, without specifying his location.

His declaration came three days after RSF forces captured the strategic western city, giving them control of the vast region of Darfur.

The RSF has waged a brutal war against the Sudanese army since April 2023. Earlier this year it set up a parallel government in Nyala in southern Darfur.

Its forces have been accused of committing acts of genocide, mass killing, ethnic cleansing and sexual violence during the war.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Save The Children has issued a statement condemning the killing of 35 children in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

"These reports are excruciating," said Ahmad Alhendawi, regional director for MENA and Eastern Europe.

"This cannot become the new normal under a ceasefire. A lasting ceasefire must mean safety, relief, and recovery for children not continued suffering. It must be fully respected and upheld," he said.

"We are pleading: stop this now. Protect the ceasefire, protect children, and give Gaza’s families a step towards the genuine peace they have been waiting for."

The head of the World Health Organisation said Wednesday that more than 460 people were killed in a hospital in El-Fasher, a city in the western Darfur region that was overrun by Sudanese paramilitary forces over the weekend.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said he was "appalled and deeply shocked" by reports of the massacre, which reportedly took place at the Saudi Maternity Hospital.

The city was taken by the Rapid Support Forces over the weekend after more than 500 days of siege.

(Associated Press and TNA staff)

The Elders - a group of former world leaders originally set up by Nelson Mandela - have called on Israel to immediately release imprisoned Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti.

Barghouti - often described as the 'Palestinian Nelson Mandela' - has been imprisoned for more than two decades and is serving five life sentences after being convicted of involvement in attacks against Israelis.

A senior Fatah member, he is widely seen as a potential successor to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and a unifying figure among Palestinian factions.

Though Israel refused to pardon him as part of the ceasefire agreement, US president Donald Trump said recently that he is considering pressuring Netanyahu for his release.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Elders appealed to Trump to free Barghouti, calling his release "an important step towards reviving a lasting two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict".

"Marwan Barghouti has been a long-term advocate for a two-state solution by peaceful means, and is consistently the most popular Palestinian leader in opinion polls. But Israel has so far refused to release Barghouti as part of President Trump’s deal," the group said.

"[Barghouti] has a vital role to play as a unifying figure, whose reputation as a supporter of a two-state solution has grown over his 23 years of imprisonment ... Freeing him now would send a signal that Israel is serious about pursuing a peaceful, political path to resolve the conflict."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "strongly condemns" Israel's latest deadly military strikes in Gaza, his spokesman said Wednesday.

"The Secretary General strongly condemns the killings due to Israeli airstrikes of civilians in Gaza yesterday, including many children," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

(AFP)

Al Jazeera English, citing a medical source at al-Shifa Hospital, reports that two people have been killed in the Israeli attack on the al-Salatin neighbourhood in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya.

The Israeli army stated that it targeted a “storage facility for ground and air weaponry posing immediate threat to area.”

Israel has continued its attacks on Gaza despite previously claiming it is “enforcing” the US-brokered ceasefire, after killing more than 100 Palestinians over the past 24 hours, most of them children and women.

The death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 68,643 since October 2023, following a fresh wave of deadly Israeli attacks overnight.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that the number of Palestinians injured by Israeli forces has reached 170,655 since the conflict began.

Over the past 24 hours alone, Israeli strikes killed 104 Palestinians, including 46 children and 40 women, according to the ministry.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was "deeply concerned" by recent Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that killed over 100 Palestinians, stressing they highlighted the ceasefire’s fragility.

Addressing Parliament, Starmer urged both parties to uphold the US-brokered truce, calling it "the only route to long-term peace for Israelis and Palestinians."

He said the UK was working closely with the United States and regional partners to promote de-escalation, adding that "the immediate priority remains getting aid in at the speed and volume needed."

Israeli soldiers have detained six journalists in the northern Jordan Valley, located in the occupied West Bank.

According to the official Wafa news agency, the journalists were arrested while carrying out their reporting duties in the area.

Israel’s military has repeatedly targeted journalists working in the occupied West Bank and has also been accused of deadly attacks on media personnel during its two-year war on Gaza.

The Israeli military said it struck a weapons storage site in northern Gaza on Wednesday, hours after announcing it was renewing its enforcement of the ceasefire following a wave of overnight strikes.

"A short while ago, the IDF (Israeli military) conducted a precise strike in the area of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip targeting a terrorist infrastructure site where weapons and aerial means were stored, intended to be used for the execution of an imminent terror attack against IDF soldiers and the State of Israel," a military statement said.

The United Nations on Wednesday called the deaths in Israel's new military strikes on Gaza "appalling", as it urged all sides not to let peace "slip from our grasp".

Israel said it had carried out strikes on dozens of Hamas targets following the death of a soldier, with the Gaza Strip experiencing its deadliest night of bombing since a US-brokered truce went into effect earlier in October.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said the attacks had reportedly hit schools, homes and tents for internally displaced people within the Palestinian territory.

"Reports that over 100 Palestinians were killed overnight in a wave of Israeli airstrikes mainly on residential buildings, IDP tents and schools across the Gaza Strip, following the death of an Israeli soldier, are appalling," he said in a statement.

"The laws of war are very clear on the paramount importance of protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure."

Turk said Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law, and would be accountable for any violations.

"It is distressing that these killings occurred just as the long-suffering population of Gaza started to feel there was hope that the unrelenting barrage of violence may be at an end," he said.

Turk called for all parties in the conflict to act in good faith and implement the ceasefire, and urged other countries, particularly those with influence in the region, to do everything in their power to ensure compliance.

"The past two years have brought untold suffering and misery, and the near wholesale destruction of Gaza," he said.

"We must not allow this opportunity for peace and a path towards a more just and secure future to slip from our grasp."

Mediator Qatar said Wednesday it expected a US-backed ceasefire to hold in Gaza despite a "violation" as Israel carried out strikes in response to Palestinian fire.

"Fortunately I think the main parties -- both of them -- are acknowledging that the ceasefire should hold and they should stick to the agreement," Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Council on Foreign Relations on a visit to New York.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday expressed "deep concern" after the deadliest night of bombing in Gaza since a US-brokered truce went into effect earlier this month.

Gaza's civil defence agency said the strikes had killed more than 100 people, including at least 35 children, according to various reports.

"We appeal to Israel to exercise military restraint in order to prevent further suffering," Wadephul said in a ministry statement released ahead of a planned trip to the region.

Israel carried out strikes on dozens of Hamas targets overnight to Wednesday following the death of a soldier.

After the strikes, the Israeli military said it had begun "renewed enforcement of the ceasefire".

Hamas has issued calls for mediators of the ceasefire to pressure Israel to suspend its attacks on Gaza after a night of heavy airstrikes on the coastal enclave.

In a statement, reported by Al Jazeera, the group said there was a "clear Israeli intention to undermine the ceasefire agreement" and blamed the US for "complicity" in Israel's actions.

"The movement also calls upon the mediators and guarantors to assume their full responsibilities regarding this escalating aggression, and to immediately pressure the occupying government to halt its massacres and fully adhere to the terms of the agreement," the statement added.

The European Union on Wednesday called on "all parties" to respect the Gaza ceasefire, but a senior EU official went further in slamming Israel's air strikes on the Palestinian territory.

"We need a chance for peace, not excuses for new strikes," European Commission vice president Teresa Ribera said in a social media post.

Her criticism of Israel was not echoed by the EU's executive arm.

"We reiterate our call to all parties to continue to respect the ceasefire," commission spokesman Anouar El Anouni said, without mentioning Israel's air strikes this week that Gaza's civil defence agency said killed more than 100 people.

"We urge all parties to fully commit to implementing all phases of the plan to end the conflict in Gaza and to refrain from any action that could jeopardise the agreement," El Anouni added.

"There is no military solution to this conflict," he said.

Al Jazeera Arabic reported that a group of Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles owned by Palestinians in the village of Atara, located north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, early Wednesday morning.

Since October 2023, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have faced a sharp rise in attacks and harassment by Israeli settlers and military forces.

At least 1,059 Palestinians have been killed, around 10,000 injured, and more than 20,000 arrested — including 1,600 children — during this period.

At least 279 Israeli soldiers have attempted suicide over the past 18 months amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, according to a report by the Knesset Research and Information Center.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported that the study revealed “worrying data regarding suicide attempts among Israeli soldiers” between January 2024 and July 2025, with 36 of those attempts resulting in death.

The report found that between 2017 and July 2025, a total of 124 Israeli soldiers died by suicide. Of these, 68 percent were in compulsory service, 21 percent were reservists, and 11 percent were permanent service members.

Cases among reservists have risen sharply since 2023, coinciding with the increase in active-duty deployments following Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has signed an order prohibiting representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from visiting thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

According to Katz, the visits "constitute a serious harm to state security," following a professional recommendation from the Shin Bet security agency.

The ban applies to thousands of detainees whose names are listed in a confidential annex attached to the order.

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not resuming "full-scale war" in Gaza after the Israeli military announced it would return to the ceasefire.

“Once again, Hamas murders one of our soldiers during a ‘ceasefire,’ and once again, the Prime Minister chooses to conclude the incident with a ‘measured response’ and an immediate return to the ceasefire, while continuing to allow in ‘humanitarian’ aid, instead of returning to full-scale war and striving to quickly achieve the primary goal: the destruction of Hamas,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X.

He added that if Netanyahu abandons the objective of dismantling Hamas, "the government will have no right to exist."

The Government Media Office in Gaza reports that 256 journalists have been killed since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, following the death of journalist Muhammad Al-Munirawi.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza reports that Israeli attacks across the enclave since last night have killed at least 104 Palestinians, including 46 children, and injured at least 253 others.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas leaders on Wednesday that they would have no immunity after a wave of Israeli air strikes on Gaza that followed recent clashes.

"There will be no immunity for anyone in the leadership of the terrorist organisation Hamas -- neither for those in suits nor for those hiding in tunnels," Katz said, referring to several Hamas political leaders residing in Doha.

"Whoever raises a hand against an (Israeli) soldier will face severe consequences. The (Israeli military) has been instructed to act decisively against every Hamas target and will continue to do so."

Israeli media outlets have reported that military operations in Gaza may soon pause, with a ceasefire expected to resume at 10am local time.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, the assault on Gaza is anticipated to halt, while i24NEWS quoted an unnamed Israeli official saying that the attacks are "nearing their end" after Israeli forces struck dozens of targets and carried out assassinations against alleged Hamas members.

An Israeli strike on a house in central Gaza has killed two Palestinians, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

Citing a medical source at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, the report said the bombing hit a home in southern Deir el-Balah, injuring two others in addition to the fatalities.

The Israeli military has announced that a 37-year-old soldier was killed "in battle" in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a brief statement, the army did not provide details on when the soldier died but confirmed that his family had been notified prior to the public announcement.

The Israeli military said Wednesday it had reinstated the Gaza ceasefire after carrying out a series of strikes on dozens of militant targets since the previous day.

"Following a series of strikes, in which dozens of terror targets and terrorists were struck, the [Israeli military] has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire in response to Hamas' violations," the military said.

"As part of the strikes, the IDF and ISA struck 30 terrorists holding command positions within the terrorist organisations operating in the Gaza Strip," it added.