KEY POINTS

  • Aid ship sets sail from Cyprus to Gaza as world races to feed hungry Palestinians
  • Hezbollah fires largest known rocket barrage toward Israel since war started
  • US strikes targeting Houthis reportedly killed at least 11 people
Live Updates
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 30,534 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry
The Israeli army carried out a strike in Gaza over the weekend that may have eliminated a key figure in Hamas' military wing leadership. AFP

The war in Gaza is now on its 158th day, and the world waits in bated breath for an update from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) following a strike that specifically targeted Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas' military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, chief of the IDF's spokesperson's unit, said Monday that the strike targeting Issa was still being assessed for final results, considering how the area was an underground complex.

  • Merchant ship seized off Somalia by 'unauthorized persons': UKMTO
  • 14 reported injured in US-UK joint strikes targeting Yemeni rebel Houthis
  • Israeli gunfire reportedly kills 9 Palestinians waiting for aid trucks
  • 'Impossible' to back Israel's right to self-defense then block its bid to exercise such right: Netanyahu
  • US sanctions 4 individuals linked to Iran-backed Al-Ashtar Brigades: Treasury
  • NGOs sue Denmark over sale of arms to Israel
  • WFP delivers food for 25,000 people, calls for direct aid entry points to northern Gaza

In the northern border with Lebanon, Israeli forces have been responding to missile launches from the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah. The Hamas ally said it targeted an Israeli army strike Monday near the tension-packed border.

Over in the greater Indian Ocean, where Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels have been running amok in the Red Sea and surrounding waters, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Tuesday that it received a report of a "boarding" incident.

Meanwhile, truce talks mediator Qatar said negotiations for a ceasefire were ongoing even as both Israel and Hamas failed to reach an agreement ahead of the Ramadan month. The Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas' "delusional" demands for the exchange of some 130 hostages still being held in Gaza.

Amid increasing pressure from the international community for a ceasefire, fighting has only intensified in the devastated Gaza Strip as fueled by decades of violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Tensions are reaching a boiling point between Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden as the former vowed Israel will pursue a military ground operation in Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought shelter due to the unending bombardment.

The live update has ended.

Food delivered for 25k Gaza City residents: WFP

The United Nations' World Food Program on Tuesday said it successfully delivered food for 25,000 people in Gaza City, marking its "first successful convoy to the north since 20 February."

The WFP called for more humanitarian aid delivery efforts, saying the northern part of the strip was "on the brink of famine." It also called for the establishment of direct entry points for aid delivery to the region.

NGOs take Denmark to court over arms sales to Israel

A group of nonprofit organizations announced Tuesday they are suing the Danish state over its sale of arms to Israel, saying there was a "potential genocide in Gaza."

Tim Whyte, secretary general of MS Action, said in a series of posts on X that "international law is essential to protect ordinary people in war." The group also announced a fundraiser to help finance legal fees.

US sanctions 4 Iran-linked individuals

The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday updated its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, adding four individuals linked to Iran, as per a release from the agency.

In particular, the sanctioned individuals are allegedly associated with Al-Ashtar Brigades, which the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) describes as "a Bahraini Shia militant group that plans and commits terrorist attacks against the Government of Bahrain with Iran's assistance."

Netanyahu jabs US yet again in recent remarks

Israel's prime minister on Tuesday seemed to throw shade at Washington, saying "it is impossible to support Israel's right to defend itself and then oppose Israel when it exercises that right," Israel's national broadcaster Kan reported, as per a Google translation.

Netanyahu's latest comments came after Biden warned that launching a ground raid in overcrowded Rafah would be a "red line." Netanyahu previously said the Israeli army will go to Rafah and accomplish its war goals there.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: a delicate balancing act
Netanyahu has been under immense pressure to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas and spare Rafah. AFP

Israeli forces opened fire on crowds waiting for aid, killing 9: Palestinian officials

Nine Palestinians were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on crowds waiting for humanitarian aid trucks in Gaza City Tuesday, The Guardian reported, citing Palestinian health officials.

The IDF has yet to confirm or deny the report, but it was criticized late last month following dozens of deaths during an aid delivery operation in northern Gaza wherein a stampede occurred as civilians thronged aid trucks.

This image grab from a video released by the Israeli army shows what the army says are Gazans around aid trucks in Gaza City
This image grab from a video released by the Israeli army shows what the army says are Gazans around aid trucks in Gaza City. AFP

Joint US-UK strikes kill at least 11 people: Yemeni government

Airstrikes said to have been carried out by the U.S.-United Kingdom coalition targeting small towns in western Yemen Monday as part of its commercial shipping defense operations, killed at least 11 people and injured 14 others, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing a spokesperson for the country's internationally recognized government.

The allies have been targeting Houthi assets in Yemen as the Iran-backed rebel militia continues to attack commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea.

The United States and Britain said they launched strikes against dozens of targets in Yemen in response to attacks on shipping by Iran-backed Huthi rebels
The United States and Britain said early in February they launched strikes against dozens of targets in Yemen in response to attacks on shipping by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. AFP

Hezbollah fires over 100 rockets toward Israel: IDF

Hezbollah, a much larger and more heavily armed militant group than Hamas, fired more than a hundred rockets toward northern Israel Tuesday morning, the IDF said. The rocket salvo is the largest barrage yet from the Iranian-backed terror group the the IDF reported since the war started.

In response to the attack, Israeli warplanes struck three of the launchers used to fire 70 of the rockets launched, the Israeli army said.

There have been regular exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement
There have been regular exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement. AFP

First aid ship under Cyprus maritime corridor sets sail

A vessel carrying 200 tons of humanitarian aid for Gaza has left Cyprus Tuesday, marking the first departure of an aid ship under the Cyprus maritime corridor that multiple countries rallied to establish.

Open Arms, a charity ship, was spotted leaving the Cypriot port of Larnaca in a mission organized by U.S.-based charity organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) and mostly funded by the United Arab Emirates.

Netanyahu defies Biden's warning of not crossing Rafah 'red line'

The Israeli president defied a warning from Biden, a staunch ally of Israel, that launching a military ground invasion of Rafah would be a "red line."

"We'll go there. We're not going to leave. You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is, that October 7 doesn't happen again. Never happens again," Netanyahu said, widening the gap between him and the U.S. president regarding Israel's war against Hamas.

The international community has been urging Israel to refrain from raiding Rafah, considering the massive Palestinian population that moved to the southern Gaza city since the war intensified.

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US President Joe Biden listens to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he joins a meeting of the Israeli war cabinet  in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023
US President Joe Biden listens to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he joins a meeting of the Israeli war cabinet in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023. AFP

Truce talks still underway but deal not close: Qatar

Qatar said Tuesday that talks for a ceasefire in Gaza are still underway even as both Israel and Hamas refuse to reach a concession for a halt in the fighting that could see the release of remaining hostages in Gaza and more aid for civilians in the war-torn enclave. While talks are ongoing, the parties are not close to a deal, Qatar noted.

Mediators have been working since last week to get the warring sides to agree to a ceasefire amid mounting hunger in the Gaza Strip and more than five months of waiting among the loved ones of some 130 hostages still in Hamas captivity.

Relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been demonstrating for their release
Relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been demonstrating for their release. AFP

'Unauthorized persons' seize ship off Somalia: UKMTO

A merchant ship was boarded Tuesday morning local time off of Mogadishu in Somalia, the UKMTO said in a "boarding" incident report. The vessel was "boarded by multiple persons from two craft" and the "unauthorized persons now have control of the vessel," it added.

Authorities are investigating the incident and merchant ships transiting the area have been warned to move with caution and report suspicious activities to the British maritime data monitoring body.

Israeli warplanes strike Hezbollah sites in Beqaa Valley

Israeli fighter jets on Tuesday struck two Hezbollah sites in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon, the IDF said. "The sites belong to Hezbollah's aerial forces that planned and carried out various attacks against Israel," the Israeli army added.

The strikes came after the Iran-backed militant group claimed Monday that it attacked the "Al-Rahib site" of the Israeli army, located near the Israel-Lebanon border.

Israel reviewing results of strike targeting key Hamas leader

The Israeli army is still reviewing the strike that targeted Issa over the weekend, Hagari said late Monday, as the world waits for confirmation on whether the Hamas leader accused of being one of the planners of the Oct. 7 massacre has been assassinated.

The strike was conducted on an underground compound in the Nuseirat area in a joint operation between the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (ISA), the IDF spokesperson said. "The compound was used by two of the organization's senior leaders: Marwan Issa, who is a deputy of Mohammad Deif (head of the Al-Qassam Brigades) and one of the planners of the October 7th massacre."

Issa is also said to be "part of the central terror triangle in the Gaza Strip," which includes Deif and Hamas' most senior leader in the enclave, Yahya Sinwar.

Hagari noted that the "underground nature" of the area and "complexity of verification for various intelligence reasons" is causing delay in providing an official update about the results of the strike. The IDF has since released footage of what it said was the targeted strike on the underground compound where Issa had been hiding.