Says Iranian official

Israeli forces battled Hamas fighters in the narrow alleyways of Jabalia in northern Gaza in some of the fiercest engagements since they returned to the area a week ago, while in the south militants attacked tanks massing around Rafah.

A $320m floating pier built for delivering aid has been attached to Gaza’s shore and began being used to deliver aid on Friday, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) says. Washington has provided billions of dollars in aid as well as weapons that Israel has used in Gaza since October 7.

A crude oil tanker was hit by a missile off the coast of Yemen’s southwestern city of Mokha overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait, maritime security firm Ambrey said yesterday.

Just last week, US Representative Ogles introduced a bill called the Study Abroad Act that would take away student visas “for rioting or unlawful protests, and for other purposes”.

New divisions have emerged among Israel’s leaders over post-war Gaza’s governance, with an unexpected Hamas fightback in parts of the Palestinian territory piling pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel must comply with international law in Gaza and address the devastating humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave, a group of Western nations wrote in a letter to the Israeli government seen by Reuters yesterday.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it yesterday launched “more than 60” rockets at Israeli military positions in retaliation for overnight air strikes on the country’s east.

Democrats are deeply divided over President Joe Biden’s handling of both the offensive in Gaza and the US campus protests against it, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found, fraying the coalition that he relied on four years ago to defeat Republican Donald Trump.

Israeli troops fought Hamas members across Gaza yesterday, including in the southern city of Rafah that had been a refuge for civilians, in an upsurge of the more than seven-month offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

India's foreign minister has said his company will work to communicate the benefits of a strategic port project in Iran after the United States said Indian firms working on the project risked sanctions

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said yesterday that nearly 450,000 people have been displaced from Rafah since Israel began issuing evacuation orders for the south Gaza city eight days ago.

India and Iran yesterday signed a 10-year contract to develop and equip the strategic Chabahar port in Iran as India seeks to grow trade in west and central Asia.

Pro-Palestinian protesters yesterday occupied university buildings in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Groningen and Eindhoven, condemning Israel’s offensive in Gaza, the Dutch protest group behind the action said in a statement.

Israeli forces pushed deep into the ruins of Gaza’s northern edge yesterday to recapture an area where they had claimed to have defeated Hamas months ago, while at the opposite end of the enclave tanks and troops pushed across a highway into Rafah.

Israel sent tanks into eastern Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip early yesterday, after a night of heavy aerial and ground bombardments, as the death toll in the Palestinian enclave exceeded 35,000 people. 

About a dozen students arrested by police clearing a sit-in at a Denver college campus emerged from detainment to cheers from fellow pro-Palestinian protesters, several waving yellow court summons like tiny victory flags and imploring fellow demonstrators not to let their energy fade.   

Israeli strikes yesterday hit parts of Gaza including Rafah where Israel expanded an evacuation order and the UN warned of “epic” disaster if an outright invasion of the crowded city occurs. 

The United Arab Emirates hit out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday after the Israeli leader said the Gulf state could be involved in aiding a future government in Gaza after the war. 

Iran’s conservatives and ultra-conservatives clinched more seats in a partial rerun of the country’s parliamentary elections, official results showed yesterday, tightening their hold on the chamber.