Israeli army confirms air attack on southern Lebanon’s Shebaa

We reported earlier that Israel’s warplanes targeted a number of locations in southern Lebanon, including Shebaa. The Israeli military has now confirmed the Shebaa attack, claiming the target was “a terrorist cell” of Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group.

A separate strike in the Shebaa area destroyed a weapons warehouse used by Hezbollah, it said.

At least 9 killed in Israeli air attacks on central Gaza

At least nine Palestinians have been killed and dozens are injured after more Israeli air attacks targeting the central part of the Gaza Strip.

Medical sources told Al Jazeera that an air attack that hit a residential home in the Nuseirat refugee camp killed five people and injured 20 more, including children. The Palestinian Civil Defence confirmed the casualties, saying members of the as-Saidi family were hit in the Block C area of Nuseirat.

Medical sources added that an air attack targeted a home east of Deir el-Balah, killing four people and injuring more, with the wounded arriving at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

A video verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency Sanad showed the aftermath of the bombing in Nuseirat, with civil defence and ambulance crews rushing to evacuate victims and contain a fire.

Red Crescent services in northern Gaza at risk of being halted

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has said it may have to halt its services in the Gaza City and North Gaza governorates due to a shortage of fuel needed to operate ambulances, emergency medical clinics, and relief services.

“This situation severely hinders the teams’ ability to provide services and worsens the health crisis in these governorates,” it added.

“The depletion of fuel will also cause electricity generators at clinics and medical points – nine in total across the two governorates – to shut down. This will lead to medication spoilage, the stoppage of laboratory equipment, and a complete halt in services at clinics that serve thousands of citizens.”

🚨The PRCS services face the risk of being halted in the #Gaza and North Gaza governorates due to a severe shortage of fuel needed to operate ambulances, emergency medical clinics, and relief services. The PRCS teams are already experiencing fuel shortages and are currently… pic.twitter.com/GBNFFISpEQ

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) August 18, 2024

Turkish media reporter ‘slightly’ injured in Israel attack

Sami Barhoum – a TRT Arabi journalist in Gaza – and his crew were targeted by Israeli forces in the coastal enclave, the Istanbul-based media outlet reports.

According to TRT, Barhoum was “slightly” injured. Barhoum said his crew was shot five times while they were preparing a news report, TRT said.

According to preliminary figures by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 111 journalists and media workers are among those killed since the start of the war on October 7. The Government Media Office has put the figure at least 165 Palestinian journalists killed since the war began.

Last year deadliest on record for aid workers: Borrell

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that last year was the world’s deadliest on record for aid workers, and this year is likely to follow the same trend.

In comments he made to mark tomorrow’s World Humanitarian Day, Borrell said the EU established the Protect Aid Workers initiative to help local aid workers who have fallen victim to attacks or other security incidents while on duty – with legal aid and rapid financial grants.

The majority of the applications received through the platform, he said, are from the occupied West Bank and Gaza, “where a humanitarian catastrophe has been unfolding before our eyes over the past 10 months”.

“In places such as these, where every day is a struggle for survival for every civilian, the life-saving work of the humanitarian community makes a huge difference,” he said.

At least 254 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since October 7, the United Nations said. According to the latest data from the Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD), the war in Gaza has been the most lethal for aid workers.

Israel confirms expanding ground invasion in central and southern Gaza

The Israeli military has confirmed that its 98th Division is once again fighting in the area of Hamad in southern Khan Younis, and that soldiers are operating in the central Deir el-Balah area, which had largely been spared from ground fighting.

It claimed that Palestinian fighters set up new operations in the so-called “humanitarian” zone in the area, which prompted new evacuation orders that now encompass 89 percent of Gaza, according to the UN.

The Israeli military also announced that a fighter with one of its parachute brigades was seriously wounded earlier today in a battle in the southern part of the enclave.

Israeli forces shoot Palestinian journalist covering Khan Younis invasion

Palestinian journalist Salma al-Qadoumi was shot in the back while she was covering Israel’s invasion of Khan Younis earlier, according to local media and footage circulating on social media platforms.

A video verified by Al Jazeera shows the moment Israeli tanks opened fire directly at a group of journalists in Hamad City, northwest of Khan Younis.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-0f0hRtMYZ

Israeli air attack in central Gaza attack: Sanad

Footage obtained and verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking unit Sanad shows Israeli fighter jets bombing the Zaqout building in Nuseirat camp.

The footage shows the explosion, with shrapnel flying and smoke and dust spreading throughout the area. People screaming and shouting can be heard in the background of the video moments after the attack.

Israel deducts $694m from Palestinian tax revenue: Ministry

Since Israel’s war on Gaza started in October last year, Israeli authorities have deducted nearly $694m from the tax revenues allocated for Gaza, according to the Palestinian Finance Ministry.

Under interim bilateral peace agreements signed in the early 1990s, Israel collects taxes and customs on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and transfers them to the latter on a monthly basis.

Although Gaza is run by the group Hamas, the PA continues to fund essential areas of the blockaded enclave’s budget, including paying the salaries of health workers.

In a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the finance ministry said: “These deductions are part of Israel’s strategy to pressure the PA to stop paying salaries to employees and pensions to retirees in Gaza.”

“These financial measures are part of Israel’s broader pressure campaign against the PA, impacting its ability to meet its financial obligations to its citizens, particularly in these challenging times.”

‘Israel is prepared for any threat’: Netanyahu

Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, the Israeli prime minister said: “Israel is prepared for any threat – both defensively and offensively. We are determined to defend ourselves, and we are also determined to exact a heavy price from any enemy who dares to attack us – from any arena.”

Netanyahu also said that Israel is adhering to its demands in ongoing ceasefire talks, positions that he claims are in line with the proposal laid out by the White House in May.

“We are conducting very complex negotiations, while on the other side stands a murderous, uninhibited, and obstinate terrorist organisation,” he said. “Strong military pressure, and strong diplomatic pressure, is the way to achieve the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu added.

Israel says investigation under way in Palestinian prisoner abuse case

Israel is conducting a “robust investigation” of suspects accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian prisoner, the Foreign Ministry has claimed.

The UN special rapporteur on torture had previously condemned what she called a “particularly gruesome” case of the alleged sexual abuse of a Palestinian prisoner by Israeli soldiers and said the perpetrators must be held accountable.

“Israel remains steadfast in its commitment to the rule of law and the humane treatment of all detainees with all allegations of violence of any sort being methodically investigated by Israeli authorities,” the ministry said.

The United Nations said it has received multiple reports of alleged torture against Palestinians detained since October 7, 2023.

In the case of an attack on a World Central Kitchen convoy that killed six foreign aid workers and their Palestinian driver, the Israeli army acknowledged misconduct by its forces and only dismissed two soldiers. But other investigations remain open, and admissions of guilt are rare.

Israel’s military advocate general, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, said in June that the military is investigating about 70 cases of alleged wrongdoing.

Israeli settler raid on Qusra village leads to clashes, injuring one: Report

The official news agency Wafa has said that a Palestinian man was injured during clashes with Israeli forces in the village located south of Nablus. The agency said that settlers had tried to attack the village under the protection of Israeli forces who fired live ammunition and teargas at residents.

The 22-year-old man was injured with a live round to the shoulder and was taken to hospital, Wafa added.

US has leverage to achieve ceasefire deal

As Blinken engages in another round of shuttle diplomacy, analyst Eli Clifton says a key question for the Biden administration is what new leverage the White House will use to achieve its ceasefire objectives.

“Thus far, the administration has declined to use the threat of an arms embargo, to use a Leahy designation of Israeli military units that have been engaged in human rights abuses to withhold weapons from those specific units,” Clifton, a senior adviser at the Quincy Institute of Responsible Statecraft, told Al Jazeera.

“There are a number of tools at the disposal of the Americans here, and as the largest supplier of weapons to the Israelis, that should give them a significant amount of leverage. The question is, are they willing to use that leverage?”

Leahy Law, enacted in 1997, requires the US to cut aid to a foreign military accused of credible charges of human rights violations.

Clifton said the disconnect between the US and Israel over some of the agreement’s conditions is creating a high-pressure situation for the Biden administration.

“The patience, certainly within the Democratic Party, for how the administration has handled the ceasefire negotiations, for how the administration has chosen to use or not to use American leverage over the Israelis, is potentially going to come to a boiling point this week with the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

“The key demand from a number of the protesters, from a number of Democrats, is an arms embargo, and that has actually risen in popularity within the party.”

Clifton added that if the Biden administration aimed to avoid using the “serious pieces of leverage” at their disposal to achieve a truce in Gaza and to prevent “a pretty clear and public disagreement” at the Democratic convention, a ceasefire deal must be secured “really soon.”

Hind Rajab, 200 Days Later: US Keeps Letting Israel Investigate Itself

200 days have passed since the killing of Hind Rajab, her family, and the medics sent to save her in late January.

The 6-year-old Hind survived the initial shooting. An audio recording of her pleas to the Red Crescent to save her was widely shared and prompted calls for independent investigations. Hind was later killed, along with the paramedics sent to rescue her.

Prem Thakker presses the State Department for answers on Israeli forces killing the 6-year-old girl in Gaza.

No Brainer: Harris Must Separate From Netanyahu

Journalist shot by Israeli forces taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital

Salma al-Qadoumi has been taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah for medical treatment after Israeli forces shot her in the back in Khan Younis, according to the Anadolu Agency.

Witnesses told Anadolu that Israeli soldiers fired directly at al-Qadoumi and fellow journalists, striking her in the back.

The agency added that heavy gunfire and shelling was heard as Israeli military vehicles advanced towards the Hamad residential complex in Khan Younis.

_{Salma al-Qadoumi is one of many Palestinian journalists targeted by Israeli forces since October}

Israel’s evacuation orders for Deir el-Balah limiting access to clean water

Diab al-Jaro, the head of the Deir el-Balah municipality, said Israel’s latest evacuation orders will cut off access to more than half of the water tanks and water wells in the central area.

“Israeli army orders have reduced the humanitarian zone from 30 kilometres [18 miles] to less than 20 kilometres [12 miles],” al-Jaro said.

“Crowding and cramming civilians in a narrow strip under hot temperatures will cause an outbreak of diseases. In addition, people will lose access to two out of the only three major water tanks and 10 of the 19 major water wells which serve more than 60 percent in the area. All these will no longer be accessible by residents,” he said.

Water crisis in Khan Younis worsens as Israeli forces destroy wells, tanks, pumps

Here in southern Gaza, we’ve been documenting the damage to underground water wells, tanks and pipe networks as a result of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, as it nears its 11th month.

We spoke to engineer Salam Shurab about the situation in Khan Younis. He told us that the water share per capita has fallen sharply and that on the best of days, it does not go beyond seven to eight litres [about 2 gallons] of water per person.

He also told us that four out of the five major tanks in the city have been destroyed.

The destruction does not stop with these wells and tanks, however. It extends to water distribution networks all across the city. The municipality is facing great difficulty in getting them working again. Pumping water to the city’s residents is now close to impossible.

This means people in Gaza are struggling to get their basic water needs met.

Even those Palestinians in Gaza who have not been killed in this war are barely surviving. On top of the missiles, bombs and bullets, Israel has created countless other causes of death in every part of the Gaza Strip. Top among them – the destruction of infrastructure and the dangerous health hazards they create.

Palestinians in Khan Younis ‘struggling beyond imagination’ for clean water

Al Jazeera’s Hani al-Shaer spoke to displaced Palestinians waiting for water at a queue in the southern city.

One man appealed for international intervention. “We stand in long queues for hours, hoping to get some clean water. My little girl and I are waiting in these long lines under the heat of the sun. We appeal to the whole world to help us at least get some clean water,” he said.

Another man said it was a struggle to find enough for his family. “We are really struggling beyond imagination to find some clean water. We walk long distances to find little, but it’s not sufficient for my family,” he said.

Al-Awda Hospital in north Gaza also at risk of closure

As a result of the severe shortage of fuel, al-Awda hospital is shutting down.

This facility is one of the main hospitals here in the northern Gaza Strip that provides medical care for patients and wounded people. We spoke to its director, Dr Mohamed Saleh, and he told us about the dire situation here. He told us also that if this hospital does not receive fuel, it will shut down and will be out of service in the next 24 hours.

We also spoke to patients here, one of whom was a woman who said she has pain in her kidneys but is unable to get an ultrasound scan due to a lack of electricity.

This fuel shortage is threatening thousands of lives here in the northern Gaza Strip and if this hospital shuts down, it will be a medical catastrophe.

Lives of patients at Al-Awda ‘hanging by a thread’

Mohamed Saleh, the director of al-Awda Hospital, is calling for urgent deliveries of fuel to the facility. “The lives of patients are now hanging by a thread, especially as we are the only facility offering orthopaedic treatment,” he told Al Jazeera.

“All surgical operations, 56 in total, have been postponed. If fuel is not delivered soon, all these patients will develop gangrene and inflammation and ultimately have their limbs amputated or lose their lives. In addition, all delivery procedures, particularly emergency C-sections, will be affected. Fuel must be delivered to the hospital without delay.”

Earlier, we reported that officials at the Kamal Adwan Hospital, which is also located in northern Gaza, have warned that the facility will stop working within the next 24 hours due to a lack of fuel and medicines.

Israel bombs Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp

_{Palestinians run for cover after Israeli forces carry out an air attack on the Zagout family home in Deir el-Balah, Gaza on Sunday}

_{Emergency workers and volunteers try to put out a fire that broke after another Israeli attack on the house of the El Saidy family in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Deir el-Balah, Gaza on Sunday}

Hezbollah claims attack on Israeli force infiltrating Lebanon

The Lebanese armed group said its fighters shelled and fired rockets at an Israeli force that attempted to infiltrate Lebanon in the Hadab Aita forest area. The attack caused casualties and forced the Israeli troops to retreat, the group said on its Telegram channel.

Earlier, Hezbollah claimed a series of attacks on northern Israel on Sunday, including a rocket attack on military barracks in Beit Hillel and military positions in Jal al-Allam, al-Malikiya, Zabadani and Shtula.