Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates: Israel pounds Gaza City as tens of thousands flee their homes

09:59 (IST)

Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates

Israel pounds Gaza City as tens of thousands flee their homes

Israeli air strikes hammered Gaza City Thursday as soldiers fought street-by-street with Hamas terrorists, and tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing the embattled area to the south.

Hundreds of thousands of people remain trapped in a "dire humanitarian situation" in conflict zones after more than a month of intensive shelling, according to the United Nations.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant stated on Wednesday that his forces were "tightening the stranglehold" around Gaza City, as part of an incursion begun in response to Hamas strikes on October 7 that killed 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians.

09:42 (IST)

Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates

Netanyahu pursuing ‘policy of vengeance’ against Palestinians, ex-French PM says

Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told France Info that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government bears "direct responsibility" for failing to defend his country on October 7.

Villepin, a former French foreign minister, stated that Netanyahu's second failing is adopting "an occupation and colonisation policy."

Villepin stated in response to the October 7 Hamas attack that "force does not ensure the security" of the Israeli people.

He went on to say that the rationale for the Gaza bombs is incorrect, and that the Netanyahu government is following “a policy of vengeance”.

While Israel has the right to defend itself, it does not have the right to carry out indiscriminate killing of civilians.

09:39 (IST)

Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates

Palestinians flee on foot from northern Gaza, describing hunger, thirst and relentless bombing

Thousands of Palestinians fled on foot from northern Gaza on Wednesday, carrying just what they could fit in their arms or on their backs: families, children, and elderly people with wailing babies.

In an Associated Press video, they can be seen going down Gaza's major north-south route, heeding Israeli military orders to escape during a five-hour window while Israeli troops combat Hamas terrorists deep within Gaza City. Some refugees were pushing wheelchair-bound relatives, while one older adult was transported down the road in a hand truck.

09:03 (IST)

Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates

Israeli military tour of north Gaza reveals ravaged buildings, former weapons lab

An Israeli tank rolls across a sand moonscape littered with rubble. Damaged structures may be seen from every angle. Trees have fallen along the Mediterranean coast.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military escorted international journalists into the northern Gaza Strip, allowing them to see the aftermath of 12 days of intensive warfare in the area.

Since the Islamic terrorist group carried out a devastating cross-border raid on October 7, killing over 1,400 people, largely civilians, and capturing nearly 240 others, Israel has been at war with Gaza's Hamas leadership. After weeks of continuous bombardment, Israel launched a ground attack on October 27.

08:58 (IST)

Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates

Deaths reported as Israeli air strikes hit vicinity of two Gaza hospitals

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, an Israeli air strike at dawn on Thursday hit the neighbourhood of Al-Nasr Hospital in western Gaza, killing at least three Palestinians and injuring scores more.

Wafa also stated that Israel fired multiple missiles near the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, causing missile parts to fall into the hospital courtyard.

The major medical facility in the besieged Palestinian territory is Al-Shifa Hospital.

At the same time, Israel launched flares into Gaza City's sky, with a special focus on the al-Shati Camp.

Shells and missiles were also shot towards Rafah. There were no immediate reports of casualties as a result of the strike.

08:43 (IST)

Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates

Rare aid delivery reaches Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City: UN

The UN said a rare supply of emergency medical supplies and pharmaceuticals arrived at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza's war-torn north on Wednesday, but warned that significantly more was required.

The chiefs of the United Nations agency that helps Palestinian refugees and the World Health Organisation said in a joint statement that aid has reached Gaza's largest hospital "despite huge risks to our staff and health partners due to the relentless bombardments."

They emphasised that the shipment of life-saving equipment was only the second to arrive to the hospital in Gaza City since the conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted over a month ago.

08:31 (IST)

Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates

IDF claims to have destroyed Hamas tunnel near UNRWA school

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) claimed to have destroyed a Hamas tunnel near a UNRWA-sponsored school in the Beit Hanoun neighbourhood of northern Gaza.

The IDF made the claim in a statement issued on Wednesday, along with a video purportedly showing the wreckage "near the school" as seen through a drone camera.

08:19 (IST)

Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates

Israel-Hamas fight heats up in Gaza City, accelerating exodus of Palestinians to the south

Palestinians in the heart of Gaza's main city said Wednesday that they could see and hear Israeli ground forces moving in from all sides, hastening the evacuation of thousands of residents as food and water become scarce and urban warfare between Israel and Hamas intensifies.

The Israeli army has not provided details on military deployments as it escalates its ground offensive, aiming to defeat Hamas following their deadly October 7 attack inside Israel. Residents, meanwhile, reported that Israeli forces had moved into Gaza City's inner neighbourhoods amid intense bombing from the north.

08:13 (IST)

Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates

Gaza aid conference to open in Paris

France's President Emmanuel Macron will host a conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza on Thursday, but Israel, which has been bombarding the area since a Hamas attack on October 7th, will be absent.

Despite this, all governments, including Israel, have "an interest in the humanitarian situation improving in Gaza," a Macron advisor told reporters ahead of the meeting.

According to Israeli officials, Hamas terrorists poured across the border from Gaza into Israel on October 7, killing over 1,400 people, predominantly civilians, and seizing over 240 captives.

08:11 (IST)

Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates

‘No Gaza evacuations into Egypt,’ says Hamas militants

According to media reports, no wounded Palestinians or dual nationals were evacuated from Gaza to Egypt via the Rafah crossing on Wednesday. According to AFP, the crossing point remained restricted due to Israel's rejection to allow the list of wounded to be evacuated.

The Rafah crossing, which connects the besieged Gaza Strip to Egypt, reopened on November 1 to allow foreigners and dual nationals stranded in the small Palestinian territory to be evacuated.

07:57 (IST)

Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates

No ceasefire in Gaza but allowing for humanitarian pauses: Israel's military spokesperson

Hamas has lost control of northern Gaza as thousands of residents have moved south, Israel's military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised briefing on Wednesday.

"We saw 50,000 Gazans move from the northern Gaza Strip to the south. They are moving because they understand that Hamas has lost control in the north," Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. "Hamas has lost control and is continuing to lose control in the north."

Hagari added that there would be no ceasefire but Israel has been allowing for humanitarian pauses at specific times to allow for residents to relocate south.