Israel-Hamas war latest: Israeli military announces 'tactical pauses' in southern Gaza (2024)

The Israel Defence Forces has outlined the areas it will hold its daily tactical pauses.

According to the map shared on social media, the IDF will holds its fire around roads leading from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the European Hospital - via Al Bayuk .

That effectively will allow aid to access the Salah al Din highway.

It's not clear how much of a buffer zone the IDF will allow at this stage.

Yesterday, eight Israeli soldiers were killed in a single blast in the southern city of Rafah.

It's the deadliest incident for Israeli soldiers since January when 21 were killed when two buildings collapsed in central Gaza.

The eight dead are believed to have been driving in a convoy following an overnight offensive against Hamas and died inside an armoured vehicle, according to The Times Of Israel.

One has been named as Captain Wassem Mahmoud, 23, of the Combat Engineering Corps' 601st Battalion. The families of the other seven have been informed and will be named in due course.

Some 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war since October last year according to Hamas-led authorities in the territory, although the ministry of health does not differentiate between fighters and non-combatants.

Catch up on the rest of yesterday's events here.

The Israeli military has announced a "tactical pause" in its offensive in southern Gaza, in order to allow the deliveries of increased quantities of humanitarian aid.

The army said the pause would begin in the Rafah area at 8am (6am UK time) and remain in effect until 7pm (5pm UK time).

The Israel Defence Forces said the pauses would take place every day until further notice.

It will allow aid trucks to reach the nearby Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing - the main entry point for incoming aid - and travel safely to the Salah al Din highway, the main north-south road, to deliver supplies to other parts of Gaza, the military said.

It said the pause was being co-ordinated with the UN and international aid agencies.

Videos posted online in recent days appear to show Israeli soldiers firing flaming objects into Lebanon using a trebuchet and a bow and arrow.

Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based militia group backed by Iran, have frequently clashed with IDF forces on the Israel-Lebanon border since the most recent conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas on 7 October.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously warned thatBeirut would be turned "into Gaza" if Hezbollah started anall-out war.

Sky News has approached the IDF for comment on the videos.

US President Joe Biden has said he is not confident that a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza will happen soon.

Mr Biden attended today's G7 leaders' summit in Italy, where he confirmed to reporters that a ceasefire plan was discussed.

When asked whether he was confident a ceasefire would happen soon, the president replied "no".

He said that he hadn't lost hope but added that "Hamas has to move."

Mr Biden's three-phase ceasefire plan was accepted by the UN Security Council this week.

The proposal was reported to include the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and would involve Hamas handing over all of its hostages.

However, as we reported this morning, a senior leader of Hamas told Reuters that the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza was a change to the deal that they had requested.

The Colombian government has announced it will receive injured Palestinian children and provide them with medical care.

Elizabeth Taylor Jay, Colombia's deputy minister of multilateral affairs, was speaking in Stockholm where she was on a state visit with Colombian president Gustavo Petro.

"We have taken the decision to provide humanitarian support to Palestinian children who will travel with their families to Colombia for rehabilitation," she said.

Ms Taylor Jay does not say how many children will be taken in by Colombia, nor how they would be transported from Gaza.

President Petro has been one of the most vocal critics on the world stage of Israel's conduct in Gaza following the attack by Hamas on 7 October.

Colombia broke diplomatic ties with Israel in May.

Earlier this month, Mr Petro announced via a post on X that his country would suspend coal exports to Israel "until the genocide is stopped."

Colombia is Israel's largest supplier of coal, according to the American Journal for Transportation.

Coal shipments there generate about $165m (£129.4m) a year in taxes, royalties and other contributions.

Chaka Khan has released a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after it was revealed that she had performed at a fundraiser organised by the Friends of the Israel Defence Forces (FIDF) in 2012.

Khan is due to perform at Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre this weekend.

Collectives due to perform at the festival, including Queer Soundsystem operator Gideon, who is part of Chakha’s programme, threatened to pull out over Khan's performance at the FIDF event.

That appears to have prompted a statement from the singer.

"I understand that a performance I undertook at a fundraiser organised by the FIDF 12 years ago in 2012 may have led some to misinterpret my appearance as an endorsem*nt of the organisation's initiatives," she wrote.

"To clarify, I do not support any actions that perpetuate violence, inequality, or human rights violations anywhere in the world. I am against war in all its forms and stand with all artists calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

"Music has the power to unite us, to heal, and to help us see the love in one another. It is a universal language that speaks directly to our hearts. As a musician and human being, I feel a deep responsibility to use my platform to promote peace, understanding, and unity."

Friends of the Israel Defence Forces is an organisation established in 1981 dedicated to the men and women serving in the Israel Defence Forces, wounded veterans, and the families of fallen soldiers.

Israel still has support for the three-phase ceasefire plan outlined by Joe Biden in May, says US national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

The proposal was reported to include the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and would involve Hamas handing over all of its hostages.

However, as we reported this morning, a senior leader of Hamas told Reuters that the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza was a change to the deal that they had requested.

Israel is yet to publicly back the plan, but the US says it has accepted the terms of the deal.

Speaking at the G7 leaders' summit in Italy, Mr Sullivan said: "Israel has supplied this proposal. It has been sitting on the table for some time. Israel has not contradicted or walked that back.

"To this day, they stand behind the proposal. I don’t think that there is a contradiction in the Israeli position."

Mr Sullivan reiterated that Hamas had responded by offering a new proposal.

"The goal is to try to bring this to a conclusion as rapidly as possible," he added.

The Israel Defence Forces says it has struck Hezbollah infrastructure targets in southern Lebanon in retaliation for attacks by the group earlier today.

The IDF shared footage that it says shows Israeli Air Force fighter jets striking targets in the Deir Seryan area. Pillars of smoke can be seen rising from the targets.

It comes after the Iran-backed Hezbollah group claimed responsibility for firing around 40 rockets into northern Israel earlier today.

The IDF said several of those launches were successfully intercepted by Israel's air defence.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators took over a building at California State University in Los Angeles yesterday.

University spokesperson Erik Frost Hollins said a group of 50-100 people barricaded exits on the first floor and blocked paths around the building.

The university posted a "protest action alert" on its website announcing that all main campus classes and operations would be remote until further notice and asking people not to go to the main campus.

Images from the scene showed graffiti on the building, furniture blocking doorways and overturned golf carts, picnic tables and umbrellas barricading the plaza out front.