Israel’s war on Gaza live: Six captives’ bodies found amid ceasefire push

The armed wing of Hamas says on Telegram that its fighters struck an Israeli Merkava tank with a Yassin-105 rocket next to al-Quds Open University in the Tal as-Sultan neighbourhood.

It also targeted troops inside a house with a thermobaric (TBG) rocket, the statement said.

Separately, the group attacked troops inside a house next to al-Qadisiya school with the same weapon, it added.

At least 10 people have now been confirmed killed by the Israeli military strike on Mustafa Hafez school in western Gaza City, according to Gaza’s civil defence.

Mahmoud Basal, the civil defence spokesman, told AFP that bodies were being pulled out of the school, whose second floor was directly hit by a bomb.

At least two of those killed were children, said Basal.

We’ll bring you more updates as they come in.

Mustafa Hafez school has been a place offering displaced families some sort of refuge on the western side of Gaza City. It served as a last resort.

The Israeli military has now targeted it without warning. The attack killed three Palestinians and reportedly caused more injuries. The victims are being transferred to Ahli Hospital for treatment.

Witnesses have also confirmed more air strikes in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, destroying a number of houses.

The Israeli finance minister says on X his country is “obliged to resolve this war and end it with complete victory”, adding that it will continue until Hamas is destroyed and captives are returned.

“We will continue to act with God’s help together until all the goals are achieved and security is restored to the citizens of Israel,” he added.

Israeli forces have rounded up 10 people, including one woman, in the occupied West Bank since last night, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.

The arrests took place in the governorates of Hebron, Bethlehem, Tubas and Nablus, the group said.

Since October 7, Israeli forces have made some 10,200 arrests in the West Bank during daily raids in the territory.

Israeli political leaders have been reacting to the news that the bodies of six people taken captive by Hamas were recovered by the army in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

Here are some of their comments:

• PM Netanyahu: “The State of Israel will continue to make every effort to return all of our abductees – both alive and dead.”
• Opposition leader Lapid: “The days pass and we lose more and more hostages. We have to make a deal. must now.”
• Defence Minister Gallant: “I participate in the mourning and the heavy sorrow of the families and embrace them to my heart.”
• National Security Minister Ben-Gvir: “The living abductees and those who are not, should be returned only by heavy military pressure, the cessation of fuel and humanitarian aid to terrorism.”

Gadi Eisenkot has responded to the news of six captives’ bodies being recovered from Gaza, stating that it underscores the urgent need for Israel to secure a deal and bring the remaining captives home.

“This is a reminder to the prime minister – in Gaza there are another 109 abductees, their time is running out,” Eisenkot, Israel’s former military chief, told local newspaper Maariv. “They are dying in captivity, and he [the prime minister] must act as soon as possible to return them.

“Otherwise, there will be no one to return”.

The ministry says in a statement that it is still awaiting vaccines for a UN-backed mass-vaccination campaign after Gaza recorded its first polio case last week.

“In order to reach every child, we need safe conditions, and this requires a ceasefire during the campaign,” the statement reads, echoing comments from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“It is impossible to conduct a polio vaccination campaign with war raging all over,” Guterres told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on August 16.

The UN chief added that the organisation is poised to launch a polio vaccine campaign in Gaza for children under the age of 10, but he said the “challenges are grave”.

The tit-for-tat exchange of fire continues.

We understand that Israel’s military targeted weapons warehouses belonging to Hezbollah in strikes in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa region. This is an area where Hezbollah has influence far from the battleground along the border.

What Israel has been attempting is to degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities, including its assets, fighters and even commanders. On a near-daily basis, we are witnessing targeted assassinations.

Now Hezbollah needs to re-establish deterrence. But striking a balance for the armed group is quite difficult. It doesn’t want to give Israel an excuse to widen this conflict. Hezbollah has made clear it opened this front in solidarity with Gaza, not to destroy Israel.

The Israeli military is stepping up its strikes despite ceasefire talks.

Over the past 24 hours, there has been a surge in air strikes in the north of the Strip. One attack in the Shati refugee camp killed seven personal guards of the late Ismail Haniyeh. An overnight attack on a car in northern Gaza killed at least four more people, according to medical sources.

The situation is also increasingly grim in central Gaza. The military destroyed a family house in the Bureij refugee camp without any warning, killing six Palestinians.

In the south, the Israeli army has jolted towards al-Mawasi in Rafah, opening fire on residents and displaced families. Attacks have also continued in Khan Younis, where the army is still operating.

Bombardment is overwhelming the entire Strip, with no respite since the early hours of this morning.

Following reports that the Israeli army recovered the bodies of six captives taken by Hamas and other groups in the Gaza Strip, the two groups released statements pressuring the Netanyahu government to make a deal to secure the release of the remaining captives.

Nir Oz, an Israeli kibbutz near the Gaza Strip which was attacked by Hamas on October 7, says that the body of one of its community was retrieved by the Israeli army, and that this is “is the greatest proof of all the importance of a deal that will return our sons and daughters as soon as possible before it is too late”.

A group representing captives’ families also called for the Israeli government to strike a deal with Hamas, saying, “The Israeli government, with the help of the mediators, must today approve the deal that is currently on the table – and allow rehabilitation for the living abductees, a dignified burial for all the victims and the murdered abductees and restore hope to the State of Israel.”

The latest round of negotiations for a deal that would see the release of captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners is continuing.

We reported earlier that Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched about 55 rockets at areas in Upper Galilee and the occupied Golan Heights.

Israeli media says that as a result of some of the rockets making landfall, three large brush fires are spreading in open areas.

The Israeli army says that fire crews are working to extinguish them.

This video from the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom shows one fire:

Translation: Three fire hotspots in the Upper Galilee and the Golan, as a result of the heavy barrage this morning.

In an official statement, the Lebanese group says it targeted the headquarters of the Israeli army’s Golan 210th Division in the Nafah barracks, as well as the headquarters of the artillery and armoured regiments of the 210th Division in the Yarden barracks.

It described the attack as “intense barrages” of rockets and said it was in response to Israel’s overnight strikes on the Bekaa region.

Last night, Israel carried out a series of air strikes on the area in eastern Lebanon – away from the border region. It claimed to target Hezbollah weapons depots.

Videos from the scene showed large fires and secondary explosions following the initial strike. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said nine people were injured – six Lebanese and three Syrians.

For its part, the Israeli army says that it detected the launches of “about 55” rockets in Upper Galilee and the occupied Golan Heights, adding that some were intercepted while the rest fell in open areas without causing casualties.

“Shortly after the launches, air force aircraft attacked one of the launchers from which the launches were made,” the army added.

Israel’s military has waged several early morning attacks across Gaza, killing and injuring numerous Palestinians, according to local news agency Wafa.

They include:

• Bombardment of a family home in Bureij camp, killing six people.
• Strike on a home in Rafah city, killing four people.
• Tank fire on the outskirts of al-Mawasi area, near Khan Younis, injuring five people.
• Shelling in Gaza City neighbourhoods of Tal al-Halwa, Sabra and Zeitoun.
• Shelling in the northwestern part of Nuseirat camp and eastern Deir el-Balah.

Osama Hamdan, the spokesman for Hamas, has told Reuters that the group’s new chief has always been part of the decision-making process in the Gaza ceasefire talks.

“Due to security conditions, communication with Sinwar has tools and mechanisms in place, yet they are operating smoothly,” Hamdan said.

A UN convoy has reached Gaza City, delivering “critical fuel to help keep essential services like bakeries and health facilities running”, the UN said in a post on X.

But the post went on to say the delivery was “far from enough,” and that a “ceasefire and sustained humanitarian access are needed to save lives”.

The UN also shared photographs showing destroyed buildings and piles of waste in the city in the north of the Gaza Strip, which faced intense Israeli bombardment from October last year.

Critical services in Gaza have had to rely on fuel to run generators, after Israel cut off all electricity to the Strip in October.

The Wafa news agency has more details on the Palestinian who died on Monday night after Israeli forces shot him in the head during clashes in the town of Dura in the occupied West Bank.

Wafa identified the victim as 18-year-old Mahmoud Ibrahim al-Haroub.

The agency said a bullet fired by Israeli forces penetrated al-Haroub’s right eye and lodged in his brain. The teen was transferred to the hospital in critical condition and died there hours later.

Al-Haroub’s death brings to 636 the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on the West Bank since October 7, Wafa added.

US President Joe Biden, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention, briefly touched on the pro-Palestine protesters rallying outside the arena demanding an end to Washington’s support for Israel.

“Those protesters out in the street, they have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed, on both sides,” Biden said, without mentioning Israel or Palestinians directly.

He added that his administration is “working around the clock” to achieve a ceasefire agreement.

Biden spoke in front of a sea of people holding matching signs saying “We [love] Joe”, which obscured a protest banner unfurled by a small group in the audience, saying, “Stop arming Israel”.