Dozens of people have been reportedly killed in two Israeli strikes on refugee camps in northern and central Gaza. Elsewhere, a drone was launched at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house from Lebanon this morning – although the premier was not in the vicinity at the time.
Saturday 19 October 2024 23:15, UK
That’s all for our live coverage of the conflicts in the Middle East this evening.
Before we go, here is a recap of the key developments over the course of the day.
An Israeli official has accused Hamas of “exaggerating” numbers reportedly killed in airstrikes on northern Gaza this evening.
Initially, Hamas-run media said 10 people had died in strikes on the northern town of Beit Lahyia.
But this number has since increased to 60 (see 9.30pm post) and then 73.
The unnamed Israeli official said it “appears numbers published by the Hamas media office are exaggerated and do not match the information the Israeli military has”.
They are “checking preliminary reports” of the casualties, it added.
The Israeli military has said it is launching an investigation into the death of a Hezbollah detainee while in its custody, according to its army radio.
No further details have yet been given.
Separately this evening, it announced the death of one of its sergeant majors after being wounded in fighting in southern Lebanon on 9 October.
In the past few hours, US presidential candidate Kamala Harris has been speaking at a campaign event in Detroit.
Asked by reporters what the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar means, she replied: “This creates an opening that I believe we must take full advantage of – to dedicate ourselves to ending this war and bringing the hostages home.
“As it relates to the issues in the Middle East and in particular in that region, it has never been easy. But that doesn’t mean we give up. It’s always going to be difficult. We can’t give up.”
The vice president avoided a question on whether anger over Gaza among Muslim communities in Michigan could cost her votes there.
But she said: “I speak publicly all the time about the fact that there are so many tragic stories coming from Gaza.
“What’s critically important as we look at this moment, is … acknowledging the tragedy of what has happened in Gaza, in terms of the extraordinary number of innocent Palestinians that have been killed, and taking that seriously and speaking truth about that.”
At least 60 people have been killed and several wounded in Israeli strikes on northern Gaza, medics and Hamas-run media outlets say.
The strikes destroyed several houses in the town of Beit Lahyia on Saturday, they said.
It follows deadly strikes on the Gazan refugee camp of Jabalia, in Lebanon overnight and in the early hours of today.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu following the drone attack on his house.
A spokesperson for Sir Keir said of the call this afternoon: “The prime minister said he was alarmed to hear about the drone launched towards Prime Minister Netanyahu’s home this morning.”
The spokesperson said they also discussed the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who Sir Keir described as a “brutal terrorist” and that “the world is a better place without him”.
“He also discussed with prime minister Netanyahu the opportunity presented by Sinwar’s death to halt the fighting and get the hostages out,” he added.
“The prime minister also stressed the importance of getting much more aid into Gaza.
“Finally, the leaders also discussed Lebanon and the importance of making progress on a political solution.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has posted on X following the killing of Hamas’s leader Yahya Sinwar earlier this week.
He writes in Hebrew: “Hamas is alive and will stay alive.”
Iran backs and provides funding for both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Israeli Air Force has said it “intercepted an unmanned aircraft that crossed into territory of the State of Israel from the direction of Syria” this evening.
It said the drone entered Israeli airspace over the Golan Heights between 9.40pm and 9.45pm local time (7.45pm UK).
For context: The Golan Heights were part of Syria until 1967, when Israel captured most of the area in the Six Day War, occupying it and effectively annexing it in 1981.
Syria tried to regain the Heights in the 1973 Middle East war, but was thwarted. Israel and Syria signed an armistice in 1974.
In 2000, Israel and Syria held their highest-level talks over a possible return of the Golan and a peace agreement. But the negotiations collapsed and subsequent talks also failed.
By Adam Parsons, news correspondent, in Jerusalem
When Israeli forces killed Yahya Sinwar, they released footage of him that went around the world. In their eyes, he looked broken and pathetic – hurling a stick at a drone in a pitiful state just before his death.
But that isn’t how those pictures played in many places. For his supporters, they were images of the leader of Hamas, in his final moments, wearing a traditional scarf, mortally wounded and yet still producing one final act of defiance.
That’s the context behind the IDF’s decision to put out more footage (see 7.30pm post) – a concerted effort to paint Sinwar as a coward who hid in tunnels during the attacks of 7 October and then remained underground for the following year.
Israel also seems to want to rein back the narrative that Sinwar was killed as something of an accident. What was previously painted as a lucky accident of war is now being presented as the outcome of a concerted intelligence effort.
But what should resonate most from this is the sense that comes from both Israel and Hamas that Sinwar’s death has not hastened a move towards a ceasefire.
“We will not rest until we bring all our hostages home by any means possible,” said IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari.
The prime minister, whose home was targeted in a drone attack today (8.07am) that he described as an attempted assassination, is similarly uncompromising. A peace deal feels a long way off.
Police have arrested a “number” of protesters after they blocked London’s Tower Bridge following the pro-Palestine rally in Trafalgar Square earlier today.
The group blocked the bridge over the Thames just after 6pm, the Met said.
Just before 8pm, the force confirmed it had arrested those involved.
A small group of people have “moved onto Whitehall”, it added.
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