Latest Middle East: Gaza strike 'kills 38'; 'horrific scenes' as Israel raids hospital

We are pausing our live reporting on the conflicts in the Middle East for the time being, but will be back tomorrow morning with the latest updates.

Gaza hit by heavy Israeli attacks

The Israeli army has carried out several operations in Gaza over the past 24 hours.

Health officials say at least 38 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the southern city of Khan Younis.

In the north, in the Al Shati refugee camp, medics told Reuters that at least 20 people had been killed in a new Israeli attack.

Nearby, Palestinian officials and medics from Kamal Adwan Hospital said Israeli tanks fired at the building last night and Israeli army troops rushed in (see post 12.20).

The director-general of the World Health Organization said he had “lost contact with hospital staff since reports of the attack emerged, and a spokesperson says hundreds of people have been injured (see previous post).

Journalists murdered in Lebanon
Lebanon’s interim prime minister said an Israeli airstrike that killed three journalists in Hasbaya was a targeted attack and a “war crime.”

One cameraman and a broadcast engineer from TV channel Al Mayadeen, plus another cameraman from Hezbollah-linked Al-Manar TV, were killed in the attack in southern Lebanon.

The strike affected a group of chalets rented by various media outlets.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said the international community “must act to end Israel’s long-standing pattern of impunity in killing journalists.”

Lebanon’s health minister says 11 journalists have been killed and eight injured by Israeli fire in Lebanon in the past year.

Blinken’s trip to the Middle East and Britain

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Arab leaders in London today to discuss ending the war in Gaza.

Mr Blinken met this morning with Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati (see post 10.11), followed by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

America’s top diplomat has already completed a three-nation trip to the Middle East, visiting Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The US hopes that the recent killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza will provide the spark needed to broker a ceasefire.

Mr Blinken announced yesterday that Israeli and US negotiators will meet in Qatar in the coming days to discuss a ceasefire.

“We’ve had very good and important conversations this week, including this morning, about ending the war in Gaza and charting a path for what comes next,” Mr Blinken said today in London.

“Those conversations will continue, but I think this is a moment of urgency and importance that we are trying to seize.”

Other news:

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, says its officials were shot at by Israeli forces this week (see post 12.35);
Israel’s foreign minister says UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is “complicit in war crimes” after mourning the death of an aid worker who Israel says was a Hamas commander (see 11am post);
The Israeli military says it attacked “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites” at a border crossing between Lebanon and Syria last night, leaving only one border crossing between the two countries (see post 11.20);
Evidence of possible war crimes collected by British spy planes operating over Gaza could be handed over to the International Criminal Court, Britain has confirmed (see post 12.02).