Israel-Hamas war LIVE: Israeli strike at UN-run school kills 15, injures dozens in besieged Gaza

The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 9,227, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.

Israeli military strikes killed multiple civilians Saturday at a U.N. shelter and hospital in the main combat zone in the Gaza Strip as the assault intensified on the besieged enclave’s Hamas rulers, amid growing international uproar over the soaring death toll and deepening humanitarian crisis.

Alarm has grown over spiralling Palestinian deaths and deepening misery for civilians from weeks of Israeli bombardment and a widening ground assault that risks even greater casualties.

The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 9,227, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 140 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.

Israel’s military said it had encircled Gaza City, the target of its offensive to crush Hamas, but on Saturday offered a three-hour window for residents trapped by the fighting to flee south.

The new attacks came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the region seeking ways to ease the plight of civilians caught in the fighting.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a “humanitarian pause” in the Israel-Hamas war.

(inputs from AP, AFP, PTI)

Live updates:

Israel will 'find and eliminate' Hamas Gaza chief: defence minister

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant vowed Saturday that Israeli forces would "find and eliminate" Yayha Sinwar, the head of Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"We will find Sinwar and will eliminate him," Gallant told a news conference, as Israeli forces fought street battles with Hamas militants inside the Palestinian territory.

Turkey recalls ambassador to Israel over ‘humanitarian tragedy in Gaza’

Turkey says it has recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations over Israel’s sustained bombing of civilians in the Gaza Strip and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday that Sakir Ozkan Torunlar was being recalled “in view of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by the continuing attacks by Israel against civilians and Israel’s refusal of calls for a ceasefire and the continuous and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid.”

Read story here.

Israeli strikes kill multiple civilians at shelters in Gaza combat zone

On Saturday, two strikes hit a U.N. school-turned-shelter just north of Gaza City, killing several people in tents in the schoolyard and women who were baking bread inside the building.

The new attacks came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the region seeking ways to ease the plight of civilians caught in the fighting. He met with Arab foreign ministers on Saturday in Jordan, the day after talks in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who insisted there could be no temporary cease-fire until all hostages held by Hamas are released.

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Israel's military and Hezbollah exchange fire along the tense Lebanon-Israel border

The escalation came a day after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his powerful group is already engaged in unprecedented fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border. He threatened a further escalation as Israel’s war in Gaza with Hamas, Hezbollah's ally, nears the one-month mark.

Hezbollah is prepared for all options, Nasrallah declared, “and we can resort to them at any time.”

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Hamas health ministry updates toll in Israeli strike on Gaza UN school to 15

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 15 people were killed Saturday when Israel struck a United Nations school where thousands of displaced Palestinians were sheltering.

"The massacre at the Al-Fakhura school committed by the occupation (Israel) this morning left 15 martyrs and 70 wounded," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said at a press conference.

The ministry had earlier said that 12 people had been killed and 54 wounded.

Israel- Hamas war Day 29 | Key developments so far

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that at least 15 people had been killed when Israel struck a United Nations school where thousands of displaced Palestinians were sheltering.

United Nations on Saturday denounced the "sharp rise in hatred globally" since the war between Hamas and Israel began on October 7.

Supporters for Palestinian people stage a die-in rally demanding actions to urge Israel to suspend attacks on the Gaza Strip, in Seoul, South Korea.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Arab leaders over to find ways to ease Gaza’s humanitarian crisis

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he was left “horrified” when seeing the aftermath of a deadly Israeli strike on an ambulance convoy on Friday that killed at least 15 Palestinians.

At least 9,227 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli air strikes on Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attack, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

Airstrikes were also reported in Gaza City, the focus of Israel’s campaign to crush Gaza’s ruling Hamas militants.

Average Gazan is living on two pieces of bread a day: UN official

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Jordan's King Abdullah II Saturday after leaving Israel empty-handed in his efforts to secure humanitarian "pauses" in its war to destroy Hamas.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has condemned the targeting of a convoy of ambulances in Gaza by Israeli forces on Friday, which it says killed 15 people and wounded more than 60 others.

Israel resists US pressure to pause the war, wants hostages back first

In pictures: Pro-Palestinian protests in South Korea

Supporters for Palestinian people stage a rally to urge Israel to suspend attacks on Gaza Strip, in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday (Photo | AP)

Supporters for Palestinian people stage a die-in rally demanding actions to urge Israel to suspend attacks on Gaza Strip, in Seoul (Photo | AP)

Supporters for Palestinian people march during a rally to urge Israel to suspend attacks on Gaza Strip, in Seoul (Photo | AP)

Hamas health ministry says 12 killed at Gaza UN school in Israeli strike

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Saturday that at least 12 people had been killed when Israel struck a United Nations school where thousands of displaced Palestinians were sheltering.

The ministry reported in a statement "12 martyrs and upwards of 54 wounded so far as a result of targeting Al-Fakhura school, which is sheltering thousands of displaced people in Jabalia (refugee) camp in the northern Gaza Strip".

An earlier statement by the interior ministry said it was an "occupation (Israeli) strike" that hit the school. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

UN deplores 'sharp rise in hatred' worldwide since October 7

The United Nations on Saturday denounced the "sharp rise in hatred globally" since the war between Hamas and Israel began on October 7.

"The impact of this crisis... has sent shockwaves across every region, dehumanizing both Palestinians and Jews. We have witnessed a sharp spike in hate speech, violence, and discrimination, deepening social fractures and polarization," UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

Blinken meets Arab leaders over to find ways to ease Gaza’s humanitarian crisis

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Arab foreign ministers on Saturday to find ways to ease Gaza’s growing humanitarian crisis. His mission is complicated by Israel’s insistence there can be no temporary cease-fire until all hostages held by Hamas are released.

The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 9,227, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. READ FULL REPORT HERE

Palestinians report Israeli airstrikes overnight; including southern Gaza

Palestinians in Gaza reported Israeli airstrikes overnight into Saturday across the besieged enclave, including the southern part where Israel had told civilians to seek refuge as its ground operation intensifies in northern Gaza.

Airstrikes were also reported in Gaza City, the focus of Israel’s campaign to crush Gaza’s ruling Hamas militants. Strikes hit the western outskirts of the city and near Al-Quds Hospital.

Average Gazan is living on two pieces of bread a day: UN official

The Palestinian refugee agency, known as UNRWA, is supporting about 89 bakeries across Gaza, aiming to get bread to 1.7 million people.

The Gaza director for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Friday the main refrain now being heard in the street is “Water, water,”.

There is only saline and brackish water as only three water lines from Israel are operational. (Read here)

Blinken in Jordan as Gaza war rages; will meet with Palestinian Authority representative

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Jordan's King Abdullah II Saturday after leaving Israel empty-handed in his efforts to secure humanitarian "pauses" in its war to destroy Hamas.

Blinken arrived late Friday in Amman where he will also join a meeting of foreign ministers of five Arab countries.

A representative of the Palestinian Authority (PA) led by President Mahmud Abbas, a rival of Hamas is also participating.

Palestinian Red Crescent condemns Israeli strike on Gaza ambulance convoy

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has condemned the targeting of a convoy of ambulances in Gaza by Israeli forces on Friday, which it says killed 15 people and wounded more than 60 others.

The PRCS said in a statement early Saturday that one of its ambulances was struck "by a missile fired by the Israeli forces", about two metres from the entrance to the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

Deliberately targeting medical teams constituted "a grave violation of the Geneva Conventions, a war crime", added the organisation, part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. (Read more)

Israel resists US pressure to pause the war, wants hostages back first

After talks with Netanyahu, Blinken said a temporary halt was needed to boost aid deliveries and help win the release of the hostages Hamas took during its brutal incursion.

But Netanyahu said he told Blinken that Israel was “going with full steam ahead" unless hostages were released.

U.S. officials initially said they were not seeking a cease-fire, but rather short pauses in specific areas to allow aid deliveries or other humanitarian activity, after which Israeli operations would resume. Netanyahu has not publicly addressed the idea and has instead repeatedly ruled out a cease-fire.

Read full report here