Extract from ABC News
The heads of multiple UN agencies say residents in Gaza's north are facing severe difficulties accessing food and basic necessities. (Reuters: Abdul Karim Farid )
In short:
United Nations chiefs say disease, famine and ongoing violence risk an escalation in deaths in war-ravaged North Gaza.
UN aid agency UNRWA says Israeli bulldozers damaged its office in the West Bank's Nur Shams camp on Thursday.
Israeli attacks in the central Gaza Strip killed 47 people and injured dozens of others on Thursday night, according to the WAFA Palestinian news agency.
The heads of several United Nations organisations have urged all sides to immediately cease fighting in the war-torn Middle East, expressing alarm about the welfare of civilians living in North Gaza.
Israel launched a fresh ground and air assault on the region last month amid concerns Hamas militants might seek to regroup there.
In a joint statement on Friday, the heads of organisations that form the UN Inter-Agency Joint Standing Committee warned residents in North Gaza were now facing "apocalyptic" conditions.
"The entire Palestinian population in North Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence," the statement said.
"The area has been under siege for almost a month, denied basic aid and life-saving supplies while bombardment and other attacks continue.
"Just in the past few days, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, and thousands have once again been forcibly displaced."
The joint statement was signed by the heads of the UN's humanitarian, health, food, rights, migration, refugee, development, children and women's agencies.
It warned humanitarian aid was not keeping up with "the scale of needs due to access constraints".
Some 1,200 people were killed during the October 7 attack, according to Israeli tallies, which sparked the current war in Gaza.
Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and reduced most of the enclave to rubble, Palestinian authorities say.
On Friday, Israel's military claimed it had killed one of Hamas's last senior officials, Izz al-Din Kassab, in an air strike in Khan Younis.
Meanwhile, at least 41 people were killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon's Baalbek region on Friday, the regional governor said.
IDF denies UNRWA chief's claim Israeli bulldozers 'severely damaged' its office on West Bank
Israeli bulldozers reportedly damaged the office of UN aid agency UNRWA in the West Bank. (Reuters: Raneen Sawafta)
Israeli bulldozers damaged the office of UN aid agency UNRWA in the West Bank's Nur Shams camp on Thursday, the agency's chief says.
Philippe Lazzarini, who heads the UN Palestinian refugee agency, said on X that the office was "severely damaged" and was no longer usable.
The Israeli military issued a statement denying responsibility for any damage to the building, and claiming the damage was instead inflicted by "terrorists" who "planted explosives" near the building.
Israel passed a law on Monday banning UNRWA from operating in the country, legislation that could impact its work in war-torn Gaza.
Mr Lazzarini said the vote to ban UNRWA set a "dangerous precedent" that opposes the UN charter and violates Israel's obligation under international law.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said UNRWA workers "involved in terrorist activities" must be held accountable, referencing to allegations some members were involved in Hamas' October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel.
The Israeli military issued a statement denying responsibility for any damage to the building. (Reuters: Raneen Sawafta)
In August, the UNRWA said an investigation found nine of its members were possibly involved in the attack and had been fired. It said the overwhelming majority of its staff adheres to its principles of neutrality.
Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Friday, local time, that 47 people had been killed and dozens injured overnight in an Israeli bombardment of the central Gaza Strip.
One of the attacks occured in the the Nuseirat camp. (Reuters: Khamis Said)
The attacks occurred in the city of Deir Al-Balah, the Nuseirat camp and the town of Al-Zawayda, it said.
Medics said one strike on Friday, on a school sheltering displaced people in the Nuseirat camp, killed 10 people.
The Israeli military said its troops had identified and eliminated "several armed terrorists" in central Gaza and had eliminated "dozens of terrorists" in targeted raids in northern Gaza's Jabalia area.
Iran could change nuclear doctrine, adviser to supreme leader says
An adviser to Iran's supreme leader says the country stands prepared to change its nuclear weapons doctrine and allow their development if it faces an "existential threat".
Speaking on Iranian TV, Kamal Kharrazi said Tehran was likely to increase the range of its ballistic missiles.
The development of nuclear weapons in Iran is currently outlawed by a fatwa from the nation's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
However, Mr Kharazi said that doctrine could be revisited and he reiterated an Iranian government vow to respond to "Israeli aggression".
The Israel Defense Forces last week said Israel had targeted military sites in several regions of Iran in response to Tehran launching a series of missiles last month.
Israel has long accused Iran of backing groups such as Hezbollah that are hostile to Israel.
And the West has long accused Iran of aiming to develop nuclear weapons.
Thai nationals killed in rocket attack on Israeli town
Four Thai nationals were killed and one was injured by rocket fire near the Israeli town of Metula, close to the border between Lebanon and Israel, Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa posted on X on Friday.
Four Thai nationals were killed and one was injured by rocket fire near the Israeli town of Metula. (AFP)
"Thailand continues to strongly urge all parties to return to the path of peace, in the name of the innocent civilians gravely impacted by this prolonged and deepening conflict," he said.
The head of the regional council in Metula said late on Thursday that five people had been killed in the rocket strike from Lebanon, including one local farmer and four foreign farm workers.
A spokesperson for Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nikorndej Balankura, added that the Thai workers' employer had received permission from the Israeli military to bring the workers to the area for about 1 to 2 hours.
The employer was also killed, he said.
The worker who was injured was in a serious condition and was being treated at a hospital in Haifa, he said.
Mr Nikorndej said Thailand has called on Israel to refrain from granting permissions for Thai workers to enter closed military zones from now on, to prevent such losses from happening again.
"Thailand reiterates its call on all conflicting parties to immediately cease any retaliatory actions to prevent the situation from prolonging and aggravating, and to restore regional peace and stability in the Middle East region," he said.
Metula is Israel's northernmost town, surrounded by Lebanon on three sides, and has sustained heavy damage from rockets.
The town's residents evacuated in October 2023, and only security officials and agricultural workers remain there.
Thai authorities say about 30,000 nationals live in Israel, while 46 were killed during the October 7 attack and six are believed to still be held as hostages.
The National News Agency said the IDF had resumed bombing in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (AP: Hussein Malla)
The rocket fire from Lebanon came as Israel continued its air and ground offensive on the country, with Lebanon's Health Ministry reporting three people were killed and five wounded in IDF strikes on the mountain town of Qamatiyeh on Friday.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said on Friday that the IDF had resumed bombing in the southern suburbs of Beirut, destroying dozens of buildings and causing fires in the area.
It also said the IDF struck the eastern city of Baalbek, home to ancient Roman ruins and a designated UNESCO World Heritage site.
The UN's special coordinator for Lebanon on Friday said the country's cultural heritage was being endangered by Israeli strikes on the ancient cities of Tyre and Baalbek.
The eastern city of Baalbek is home to ancient Roman ruins and a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. (AP: Hassan Ammar)
"Ancient Phoenician cities steeped in history are in deep peril of being left in ruins," Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said in a social media post.
She added that "Lebanon's cultural heritage must not become yet another casualty in this devastating conflict."
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday it was deeply concerned about rising attacks on healthcare workers and facilities in Lebanon, having verified reports of 55 attacks on the sector since Israel's current conflict with the country began.
WHO official Margaret Harris said the actual number of incidents was likely to be significantly higher.
"We are again and again and again emphasising that healthcare is not a target; health workers are not a target," she said.
Israeli strike in Syria kills 10: war monitor
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 10 people were killed on Thursday in strikes on Syria's Qusayr region bordering Lebanon.
The Britain-based war monitor said strikes targeted the town of Qusayr and surrounding areas.
One strike targeted "a weapons depot and a fuel storage facility for Hezbollah in the industrial city of Qusayr", killing seven civilians and three Syrian Hezbollah fighters, the Observatory said.
At least 11 other people were wounded, it said, adding that the other strikes targeted warehouses near the Lebanese border and a bridge south of Qusayr.
IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee confirmed the IDF struck weapons depots in the Qusayr region.
Mr Adraee said the strikes sought to thwart attempts to "transfer weapons from Iran via Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon".
Israel also said it intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launched from Syria.
The UAV was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory, it said.
'Expansion' of Israeli attacks on Lebanon indicate ceasefire stubbornness, PM says
Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday criticised Israel's "expansion" of its attacks on the country, saying they indicated a rejection of efforts to broker a ceasefire deal.
"The Israeli enemy's renewed expansion of the scope of its aggression on Lebanese regions, its repeated threats to the population to evacuate entire cities and villages, and its renewed targeting of the southern suburbs of Beirut with destructive raids are all indicators that confirm the Israeli enemy's rejection of all efforts being made to secure a ceasefire," Mr Mikati said.
"Israeli statements and diplomatic signals that Lebanon received confirm Israel's stubbornness in rejecting the proposed solutions and insisting on the approach of killing and destruction."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said ceasefire talks centred on a 2006 UN resolution.
Mr Netanyahu told US envoys on Thursday that Israel's ability to counter threats to its security from Lebanon and return displaced people to the north were key elements of any ceasefire deal with Lebanon.
"The main issue is … Israel's ability and determination to enforce the agreement and thwart any threat to its security from Lebanon," Mr Netanyahu's office cited him as telling two US envoys.
The envoys, Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, were in Israel on a new push to secure ceasefires in both Lebanon and Gaza.
Lebanon's prime minister on Wednesday expressed hope that a ceasefire deal was imminent.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday there had been progress toward understanding how to effectively implement the resolution.
The United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1701 in 2006 with the aim of keeping peace on the border between Lebanon and Israel.
"It's important to make sure we have clarity, both from Lebanon and from Israel, about what would be required under 1701 to get its effective implementation," Mr Blinken told a press conference.
"I can tell you that based on my recent trip to the region, the work that's ongoing right now, we have made good progress on those understandings."
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also discussed "opportunities for regional de-escalation" with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant during a phone call, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
Mr Austin "also reviewed steps Israel is taking and should continue to advance to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, and prospects for a hostage release and ceasefire deal", according to the readout.
ABC/wires
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