Closing summary
Here is a recap of today’s events
Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited and prayed at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site on Sunday, triggering fears that the provocative move could further escalate tensions. The visit to al-Asqa mosque came as hospitals in Gaza reported that 27 more Palestinians seeking food aid were killed by Israeli fire.
During his visit, Ben-Gvir renewed calls for Israel to “declare sovereignty over Gaza” and to “encourage voluntary migration”.
Ben-Gvir’s visit was swiftly condemned as an incitement by Palestinian leaders as well as Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Sufyan Qudah, spokesperson for the foreign ministry in neighbouring Jordan, which serves as the custodian of the al-Aqsa mosque, condemned what he called “provocative incursions by the extremist minister” and implored Israel to prevent escalation.
The Palestinian ministry of health reported that 119 people were killed in the past 24 hours amid ongoing Israeli strikes, including 15 bodies recovered from beneath rubble. The ministry said the total death toll since the start of the war on 7 October 2023 has now reached 60,839, with 149,588 people injured.
The health ministry also reported that six adults have died as a result of famine and severe malnutrition within the past 24 hours. According to the ministry, this brings the total number of deaths attributed to hunger related causes in Gaza to 175, including 93 children.
The humanitarian organisation Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that one of its staff members was killed and three others wounded in an Israeli attack on its Khan Younis headquarters in southern Gaza early this morning.
Thousands of Palestinians protested in the occupied West Bank’s major cities, rallying against the war in Gaza and in support of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Fresh clashes broke out in Syria, straining a fragile ceasefire and calling into question the ability of the transitional government to exert its authority across the whole country.
French president Emmanuel Macron has condemned Hamas’ “inhumanity without bounds” after the group released videos showing two visibly emaciated Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister conducting a Jewish prayer on the Al-Aqsa compound in east Jerusalem drew condemnation from the Palestinian Authority, which called it a “dangerous escalation”, as well as Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Itamar Ben Gvir publicly carried out the highly contentious move - that violates a long-held understanding at the site - on Sunday.
In a statement filmed at the compound, Ben Gvir said that Israel should respond to the “horror videos” of two Israeli hostages released by Palestinian militant groups this week by “extending Israeli sovereignty over the entire Gaza Strip” the same way it imposed it on the Temple Mount.
Israel occupied and annexed east Jerusalem in 1967, in a move not recognised by much of the international community.
Ben Gvir’s action was described by the Israeli left-wing newspaper Haaretz as a “provocation”.
Renewed sectarian clashes in southern Syria’s Druze-majority Sweida province killed at least four people on Sunday, a war monitor said, as Damascus accused local groups of violating last month’s ceasefire.
The province witnessed deadly clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouins in July that drew the intervention of government forces and tribal fighters who came to support the Bedouins.
Syrian state-run news agency SANA accused Druze groups loyal to influential spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri of breaching the ceasefire by attacking government troops in Tal Hadid, killing one security forces officer and injuring others.
In a statement, the Syrian interior ministry accused local groups of “launching treacherous attacks against internal security forces in several locations and striking some villages with rockets and mortars, resulting in the killing and wounding of a number of security personnel”.
They came in full force in the pouring rain, armed with umbrellas and ponchos and waterproof prams. One man even carried a surfboard. This is Sydney, after all.
At least 100,000 people marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday as part of a growing global call for a ceasefire in Gaza. It was double the estimated turnout, described by New South Wales police as the largest protest to descend on the city in memory.
The massive column of rain-soaked marchers snaked their way across the entire 1.2km length of the bridge. Police temporarily ordered a halt over fears of a crowd crush because of the “huge number of people taking part”.
On Saturday, after the NSW supreme court had ruled in favour of the march proceeding, the Palestine Action Group had crystal ball gazed and said Sunday’s bridge crossing would be an “immense march for humanity”.
Pro-Palestine protesters crossed the Harbour Bridge on a wet and wintry Sydney day, armed with umbrellas and ponchos and waterproof prams. One man even carried a surfboard. This is Sydney, after all. Read the full piece here:
Protesters gathered in Tel Aviv over the weekend to demand an end to the war in Gaza and the return of all hostages still held in the territory.
The rallies took place after Hamas released video footage of the hostage Evyatar David who was in an emaciated state.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, has said that four tankers of UN fuel had entered Gaza to help in operations of hospitals, bakeries, public kitchens and other essential services.
Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza but, in response to a rising international uproar, it announced steps last week to let more aid reach the population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys.
UN agencies say airdrops are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and open up access to the territory to prevent starvation among its 2.2 million people, most of whom are displaced amidst vast swathes of rubble.
COGAT said that during the past week over 23,000 tons of humanitarian aid in 1,200 trucks had entered Gaza but that hundreds of the trucks had yet to be driven to aid distribution hubs by UN and other international organisations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he spoke with the International Red Cross’s regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza.
Macron condemns ‘abject cruelty’ of Hamas hostage videos
French president Emmanuel Macron has condemned Hamas’ “inhumanity without bounds” after the group released videos showing two visibly emaciated Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Hamas and its Islamic Jihad ally have released clips showing captives Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, who were kidnapped during the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
“An abject cruelty, an unlimited inhumanity: this is what Hamas embodies,” Macron posted on X.
“France’s absolute priority and imperative is the immediate release of all hostages,” he added.
Macron, who has said France will recognise a Palestinian state in September, promised to work “tirelessly” to “promptly restore the ceasefire, and to enable the massive delivery of humanitarian aid, still blocked at Gaza’s borders”.
He also argued that Hamas must have no part ruling Gaza once the war ends.
“We demand the total demilitarisation of Hamas, its complete exclusion from any form of governance, and recognition of Israel by the state of Palestine.” he said.
‘We don’t take lessons in democracy from those who kill civilians’: Athens mayor rebukes Israeli ambassador
The mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, has sharply criticised Israel’s ambassador to Greece following claims that the city authorities were failing to tackle antisemitic graffiti.
In an interview published on Sunday by the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, ambassador Noam Katz said Israeli tourists felt “uncomfortable” in the capital and accused Athens of inaction against “organised minorities” responsible for antisemitic vandalism.
Doukas responded on X: “We have proved our strong opposition to violence and racism, and we do not take lessons in democracy from those who kill civilians.”
He went on to call the ambassador’s focus on graffiti “revolting” at a time when “an unprecedented genocide is taking place in Gaza.”
Family of Israeli hostage held in Gaza accuses Hamas of starving him
The family of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza said that Hamas is starving him after the release of a video in which he appeared emaciated and weak.
The footage, released on Saturday, shows Evyatar David speaking in what appeared to be a Hamas tunnel in Gaza. In scenes that have caused outrage and dismay in Israel, he is shown digging what he says could be his own grave. In comments made under duress, he urges the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to agree to a ceasefire.
The family of David released a statement responding to the video, accusing Hamas of starving David for propaganda.
“We are forced to witness our dear son and brother Evyatar being deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza – a living skeleton buried alive. Our son has only a few days left to live in his current condition,” the family said.
They called for humanitarian aid that enters Gaza to be allowed to reach David and urged the US and Israeli governments to do everything possible to secure his release.
Read the full story here:
Gaza health ministry reports 119 killed and 866 injured in past 24 hours
The Palestinian ministry of health has reported on Telegram that 119 people were killed in the past 24 hours amid ongoing Israeli strikes, including 15 bodies recovered from beneath rubble.
Hospitals across Gaza recorded 866 injuries in the same period, with emergency crews reportedly unable to reach many victims still trapped in debris or lying in the streets.
The ministry says the total death toll since the start of the war on 7 October 2023 has now reached 60,839, with 149,588 people injured.
Between 18 March and today, the ministry has documented 9,350 deaths and 37,547 injuries.
Among those killed in the last 24 hours, 65 were reportedly attempting to access humanitarian aid, raising the total number of such deaths to 1,487, with more than 10,578 wounded in similar circumstances.
Fresh clashes break out in Syria as the interim government struggles to ease tensions
New outbreaks of violence overnight into Sunday rocked Syria at two flashpoints, straining a fragile ceasefire and calling into question the ability of the transitional government to exert its authority across the whole country.
In the north, government-affiliated fighters confronted Kurdish-led forces who control much of the region, while in the southern province of Sweida, they clashed with Druze armed groups.
The outbreaks come at a time when Syria’s interim authorities are trying to maintain a tense ceasefire in Sweida province after clashes with Druze factions last month, and to implement an agreement with the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that would reintegrate large swaths of northeastern Syria with the rest of the country.
Palestinians stage protest in the occupied West Bank
Thousands of Palestinians protested in the occupied West Bank’s major cities on Saturday, rallying against the war in Gaza and in support of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
One of the largest marches took place in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority located just north of Jerusalem, with hundreds gathering at the main square, waving Palestinian flags.
Many protesters carried photos of Palestinians killed or imprisoned by Israel, as well as photos depicting the hunger crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where UN-backed experts have warned that a “famine is unfolding”.
“My son is in [Israel’s] Megido prison and he suffers from many things, such as the lack of medicine the lack of food,” Rula Ghanem, a Palestinian academic and writer who took part in the march, told AFP.
She said that her son had lost 10 kilograms and suffered from scabies in jail.
Netanyahu: 'no change' over al-Aqsa mosque status
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that “Israel’s policy of maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed and will not change”.
The comments follow outrage that far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led a large group to the Al-Aqsa mosque, also revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, to pray, in defiance of a long-standing convention.
Jordan, which acts as the site’s custodian, condemned the minister’s latest visit there as “an unacceptable provocation”.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society has shared this footage after it said that one of its staff members was killed and three others wounded in an Israeli attack on its Khan Younis headquarters in southern Gaza early this morning.
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Israeli newspapers have dedicated their front pages on Sunday to the plight of the hostages following the release of videos showing Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David.
Maariv decried “hell in Gaza” and Yedioth Ahronoth showed a “malnourished, emaciated and desperate” David.
Right-wing daily Israel Hayom said that Hamas’s “cruelty knows no bounds”, while left-leaning Haaretz declared that “Netanyahu is in no rush” to rescue the captives.
Anger grows over Israeli far-right minister praying at al-Aqsa mosque compound
Saudi Arabia has joined condemnations of far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to al-Aqsa mosque today.
The minister of national security travelled to the holy site and prayed there with a reported group of 1,250 people. Police were pictured alongside Ben-Gvir.
Under a delicate decades-old “status quo” arrangement with Muslim authorities, the al-Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and Jews can visit but may not pray there.
“The foreign ministry expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation in the strongest terms of the repeated provocative practices by officials of the Israeli occupation authorities against al-Aqsa mosque,” a statement on X read.
“The Kingdom affirms that such practices fuel the conflict in the region.”
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The Israeli army has said it entered southern Syria overnight, seized weapons and questioned several suspects it said were involved in weapons trafficking in the area.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the raids followed “prior intelligence surveillance and an in-depth field investigation.”
The IDF said its forces remain deployed in the area, “continuing to operate and prevent the entrenchment of any terrorist elements in Syria”.
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Israeli forces kill 23 Palestinians at Gaza aid sites, say hospital officials
Israeli forces killed at least 23 Palestinians seeking food on Sunday in Gaza, according to hospital officials and witnesses, who described facing gunfire as hungry crowds surged around aid sites, AP reports.
Yousef Abed, among the crowds en route to a distribution point, described coming under what he called indiscriminate fire, looking around and seeing at least three people bleeding on the ground.
“I couldn’t stop and help them because of the bullets,” he told AP.
Jordan have “condemned in the strongest terms” Itamar Ben-Gvir’s provocative visit to al-Aqsa mosque, calling it a “flagrant violation of international law” and “a condemned escalation”.
In a statement, the ministry of foreign affairs described Ben-Gvir’s actions as an “unacceptable provocation” and stressed that “Israel has no sovereignty over the blessed al-Aqsa mosque”. Jordan act as custodians of the mosque.
Ministry spokesperson Sufyan Qudah “warned of the consequences of the continuation of these provocative and illegitimate violations of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, demanding that Israel, as the occupying power, halt all provocative practices by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir”, the statement read.
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Armed groups attack Syria’s internal security forces in Sweida – report
Armed groups have attacked personnel from Syria’s internal security forces in Sweida, killing one member and wounding others, and fired shells at several villages in the violence-hit southern province, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Sunday.
The report cited a security source as saying the armed groups had violated the ceasefire agreed in the predominantly Druze region, where factional bloodshed killed hundreds of people last month.
Violence in Sweida erupted on 13 July between tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting, but the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops in the name of the Druze.
The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had longstanding tensions over land and other resources.
A U.S.-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week. Syria said it would investigate the clashes, setting up a committee to investigate the attacks.
Last month’s bloodshed was a major test for interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, already under pressure following deadly sectarian clashes in March that killed hundreds of Alawite civilians in the coastal region.
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The humanitarian organisation Palestine Red Crescent Society shared on X that one of its staff members was killed and three others wounded in an Israeli attack on its Khan Younis headquarters in southern Gaza early this morning.
In a statement, they said: “We are heartbroken to share that our colleague Omar Isleem was killed early this morning.
“Our headquarter’s location is well known to the occupying forces and clearly marked with the protective red emblem. This was not a mistake. We renew our call for accountability and for the protection of all humanitarian and medical personnel.”
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Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, has condemned Ben-Gvir’s visit to al-Aqsa mosque, which he said “crossed all red lines.”
The Waqf, the foundation that administers the complex, said Ben-Gvir was among another 1,250 people who visited the site, Associated Press reports. The foundation said the group prayed, shouted and danced at the mosque.
Ben-Gvir has visited the site in the past calling for Jewish prayer to be allowed there and prompting prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to issue statements saying that this was not the policy of Israel.
“The international community, specifically the U.S. administration, is required to intervene immediately to put an end to the crimes of the settlers and the provocations of the extreme right-wing government in al-Aqsa mosque, stop the war on the Gaza Strip and bring in humanitarian aid,” Palestinian politician Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.
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Six dead in past 24 hours due to famine, Palestinian Health Ministry says
The Palestinian Health Ministry have reported on Telegram that six adults have died within the past 24 hours as a result of famine and severe malnutrition.
According to the ministry, this brings the total number of deaths attributed to hunger related causes in Gaza to 175, including 93 children.
Videos published recently by Hamas and Islamic Jihad showing emaciated Israeli hostages are “appalling” and barbaric, EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas has said.
“The images of Israeli hostages are appalling and expose the barbarity of Hamas. All hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally. Hamas must disarm and end its rule in Gaza,” Kallas posted on X.
“At the same time, large-scale humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those in need,” she said.
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Far right Israeli minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir leads provocative visit to al-Aqsa mosque and calls for ‘conquering all of Gaza’
Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday and said he prayed there, challenging rules covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East.
Under a delicate decades-old “status quo” arrangement with Muslim authorities, the al-Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and Jews can visit but may not pray there.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement after Ben-Gvir’s visit that Israel’s policy of maintaining the status quo at the compound “has not changed and will not change”.
Videos released by a small Jewish organisation called the Temple Mount Administration showed Ben-Gvir leading a group walking in the compound. Other videos circulating online appeared to show him praying.
The visit to the compound known to Jews as Temple Mount, took place on Tisha B’av, the fast day mourning the destruction of two ancient Jewish temples, which stood at the site centuries ago.
In a post on X, Ben-Gvir renewed calls for Israel to declare sovereignty over Gaza and to “encourage voluntary migration”.
“A message must be sent: to ensure that we conquer all of the Gaza Strip, declare sovereignty … take down every Hamas member, and encourage voluntary migration,” he said.
Ben-Gvir claimed this is the only way to “bring back the hostages and win the war”.
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Opening summary: Netanyahu meets hostage families over video release
Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken with relatives of two hostages held in Gaza seen in videos released by Palestinian militant groups, expressing his “profound shock” over the images, the Israeli prime minister’s office said.
Since Thursday, Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have released three clips showing two hostages taken during the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
The images of Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, looking emaciated after nearly 22 months of captivity, have sparked strong reactions among Israelis, fuelling renewed calls to reach a truce and hostage release deal without delay.
“The prime minister expressed profound shock over the materials distributed by the terror organisations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and told the families that the efforts to return all our hostages are ongoing, and will continue constantly and relentlessly,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office released late Saturday.
In the footage, 21-year-old Braslavski, a German-Israeli dual national, and 24-year-old David both appear weak and malnourished.
The videos make references to the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned a “famine is unfolding”.
In other developments:
Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV has reported that two fuel trucks carrying 107 tons of diesel are due to enter Gaza, following months of Israeli restrictions on goods and aid. Gaza’s health ministry has warned that fuel shortages are impeding hospital operations.
The Palestinian Health Ministry has said on Telegram that Unicef trucks carrying medicines and medical equipment are scheduled to enter Gaza today. They said these trucks will not contain food supplies.
Hospitals reported that 18 Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces on Saturday – including eight victims near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution points. Since GHF assumed control in May, 859 people have been killed waiting for aid.
Nearly nine out of 10 Israeli military investigations into allegations of war crimes or abuses by its soldiers since the start of the war in Gaza have been closed without finding fault or left without resolution, according to a conflict monitor.
Scottish first minister John Swinney described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “clear genocide” for the first time publicly on Saturday, as political pressure in the UK mounts.
Stay with us as we follow the developments.
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