Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 31 in Gaza as UN Agencies Warn of Fuel Crisis

 Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
TT

Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 31 in Gaza as UN Agencies Warn of Fuel Crisis

 Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight killed at least 31 people, according to local hospitals, as UN agencies warned on Monday that critical fuel shortages put hospitals and other critical infrastructure at risk.

The latest attacks came after US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two days of talks last week that ended with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release.

Twelve people were killed by strikes in southern Gaza, including three who were waiting at an aid distribution point, according to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which received the bodies. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City also received 12 bodies, including three children and two women, after a series of strikes in the north, according to the hospital's director, Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia.

Al-Awda Hospital reported seven killed and 11 wounded in strikes in central Gaza.

The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas.

Separately, three Israeli soldiers were killed in northern Gaza, according to the military. A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said on Monday that they died in an explosion in their tank, apparently after it was hit by an anti-tank missile, though the incident was still being examined.

UN agencies, including those providing food and health care, reiterated a warning made at the weekend that without adequate fuel, they "will likely be forced to stop their operations entirely."

In a joint statement, they said that hospitals are already going dark and ambulances can no longer move. Without fuel, transport, water production, sanitation and telecommunications will shut down and bakeries and community kitchens cannot operate, they said.

The agencies confirmed that some 150,000 liters of fuel entered Gaza last week - the first delivery in 130 days. But they said it is "a small fraction of what is needed each day to keep daily life and critical aid operations running."

"The United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners cannot overstate the urgency of this moment: fuel must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities and consistently to sustain life-saving operations," they said.

The agencies signing the statement were the UN humanitarian office OCHA, food agency WFP, health organization WHO, children's agency UNICEF, the agency helping Palestinian refugees UNRWA, population agency UNFPA, development agency UNDP, and UNOPS which oversees procurement and provides management services.

Israel's military said a June 19 strike killed Muhammad Nasr Ali Quneita, a senior Hamas fighter who it said had taken part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and held hostage Emily Damari, a dual Israeli-British citizen, in his home at the start of the war.

There was no comment from Hamas and no independent confirmation.

Thousands of Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. The fighters are still holding 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its tally.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other experts consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties.

Israel's air and ground war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and driven some 90% of the population from their homes. Aid groups say they have struggled to bring in food and other assistance because of Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order, and experts have warned of famine.

Israel's Knesset meanwhile voted to expel a prominent Arab lawmaker, but the measure failed to pass the threshold of 90 votes in the 120-member assembly. Seventy-three members voted in favor.

The attempt to remove Ayman Odeh from parliament was related to a social media post in January in which he welcomed the release of both Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners in a Gaza ceasefire.

The prisoners released in the agreement included scores of fighters convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis, and rival lawmakers accused Odeh of supporting terror, allegations he denied. Many Palestinians view those imprisoned by Israel as freedom fighters jailed for resisting Israel's decades-long occupation of lands the Palestinians seek for a future state.

Israel's Arab minority, which makes up some 20% of the population, has citizenship, including the right to vote, but faces widespread discrimination. Its members have close family ties to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and largely support their cause, leading many Jewish Israelis to view them with suspicion or contempt.



Gaza Ceasefire Enters Phase Two Despite Unresolved Issues

 Palestinians walk amid buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk amid buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP)
TT

Gaza Ceasefire Enters Phase Two Despite Unresolved Issues

 Palestinians walk amid buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk amid buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP)

A US-backed plan to end the war in Gaza has entered its second phase despite unresolved disputes between Israel and Hamas over alleged ceasefire violations and issues unaddressed in the first stage.

The most contentious questions remain Hamas's refusal to publicly commit to full disarmament, a non-negotiable demand from Israel, and Israel's lack of clarity over whether it will fully withdraw its forces from Gaza.

The creation of a Palestinian technocratic committee, announced on Wednesday, is intended to manage day-to-day governance in post-war Gaza, but it leaves unresolved broader political and security questions.

Below is a breakdown of developments from phase one to the newly launched second stage.

- Gains and gaps in phase one -

The first phase of the plan, part of a 20-point proposal unveiled by US President Donald Trump, began on October 10 and aimed primarily to stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip, allow in aid and secure the return of all remaining living and deceased hostages held by Hamas and allied Palestinian armed groups.

All hostages have since been returned, except for the remains of one Israeli, Ran Gvili.

Israel has accused Hamas of delaying the handover of Gvili's body, while Hamas has said widespread destruction in Gaza made locating the remains difficult.

Gvili's family had urged mediators to delay the transition to phase two.

"Moving on breaks my heart. Have we given up? Ran did not give up on anyone," his sister, Shira Gvili, said after mediators announced the move.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said efforts to recover Gvili's remains would continue but has not publicly commented on the launch of phase two.

Hamas has accused Israel of repeated ceasefire violations, including air strikes, firing on civilians and advancing the so-called "Yellow Line," an informal boundary separating areas under Israeli military control from those under Hamas authority.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said Israeli forces had killed 451 people since the ceasefire took effect.

Israel's military said it had targeted suspected fighters who crossed into restricted zones near the Yellow Line, adding that three Israeli soldiers were also killed by fighters during the same period.

Aid agencies say Israel has not allowed the volume of humanitarian assistance envisaged under phase one, a claim Israel rejects.

Gaza, whose borders and access points remain under Israeli control, continues to face severe shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel.

Israel and the United Nations have repeatedly disputed figures on the number of aid trucks permitted to enter the Palestinian territory.

- Disarmament, governance in phase two -

Under the second phase, Gaza is to be administered by a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee operating under the supervision of a so-called "Board of Peace," to be chaired by Trump.

"The ball is now in the court of the mediators, the American guarantor and the international community to empower the committee," Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, said in a statement on Thursday.

Mediators Egypt, Türkiye and Qatar said Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, had been appointed to lead the committee.

Shaath, in an interview, said the committee would rely on "brains rather than weapons" and would not coordinate with armed groups.

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said phase two aims for the "full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza," including the disarmament of all unauthorized armed factions.

Witkoff said Washington expected Hamas to fulfill its remaining obligations, including the return of Gvili's body, warning that failure to do so would bring "serious consequences".

The plan also calls for the deployment of an International Stabilization Force to help secure Gaza and train vetted Palestinian police units.

For Palestinians, the central issue remains Israel's full military withdrawal from Gaza - a step included in the framework but for which no detailed timetable has been announced.

With fundamental disagreements persisting over disarmament, withdrawal and governance, diplomats say the success of phase two will depend on sustained pressure from mediators and whether both sides are willing - or able - to move beyond long-standing red lines.


Lebanon Charges Four Accused of Kidnapping for Israel’s Mossad

A handout photo from Israeli television made available on July 13, 2008, shows a photograph of Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator who was captured after his fighter jet was shot down in Lebanon in 1986. (Handout / AFP)
A handout photo from Israeli television made available on July 13, 2008, shows a photograph of Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator who was captured after his fighter jet was shot down in Lebanon in 1986. (Handout / AFP)
TT

Lebanon Charges Four Accused of Kidnapping for Israel’s Mossad

A handout photo from Israeli television made available on July 13, 2008, shows a photograph of Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator who was captured after his fighter jet was shot down in Lebanon in 1986. (Handout / AFP)
A handout photo from Israeli television made available on July 13, 2008, shows a photograph of Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator who was captured after his fighter jet was shot down in Lebanon in 1986. (Handout / AFP)

Four people accused of a kidnapping in Lebanon for Israel's Mossad spy agency last month have been charged, a judicial official said on Thursday, after a retired security officer whose brother was linked to an Israeli airman's disappearance went missing.

Israel has apprehended suspects in Lebanon before and Mossad is accused of regularly attempting to contact Lebanese people to facilitate its operations, while Lebanon has arrested dozens of people on suspicion of collaborating with Israel over the years.

Lebanese authorities believe the agency known for espionage operations outside of Israel's borders was behind the disappearance of retired security officer Ahmad Shukr last month.

Shukr, whose brother Hassan is suspected of involvement in the 1986 capture of Israeli air force navigator Ron Arad, disappeared in the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon.

Authorities have arrested and charged one Lebanese man and charged three more who remain at large.

The four were charged with "communicating with and working for Mossad within Lebanon in exchange for money, and carrying out the kidnapping of Ahmad Shukr", a judicial official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The three are "a Lebanese woman, a Lebanese-French man, and a Syrian-Swedish man," the official said.

The Israeli airman Ron Arad, whose plane went down in southern Lebanon during the country's civil war between 1975 and 1990, is now presumed dead and his remains were never returned.

Hassan Shukr was killed in 1988 in a battle between Israeli forces and local fighters, including from the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, a source close to the family told AFP last month, requesting anonymity.


Israeli Strikes Kill Five in Gaza, Say Local Health Authorities

 Makeshift tents shelter displaced Palestinians stand among buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP)
Makeshift tents shelter displaced Palestinians stand among buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP)
TT

Israeli Strikes Kill Five in Gaza, Say Local Health Authorities

 Makeshift tents shelter displaced Palestinians stand among buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP)
Makeshift tents shelter displaced Palestinians stand among buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP)

Two Israeli airstrikes killed five people, including a 16-year-old, in Deir al-Balah on Thursday, said local health authorities.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the incident.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the attacks, which were in areas outside the control of Israeli forces in the strip.

More than 400 Palestinians ‌and three Israeli ‌soldiers have been reported ‌killed ⁠since a ‌fragile ceasefire took effect in October.

Israel has razed buildings and ordered residents out of more than half of Gaza where its troops remain. Nearly all of the territory's more than 2 million people now live in ⁠makeshift homes or damaged buildings in a sliver of ‌territory where Israeli troops have withdrawn ‍and Hamas has ‍reasserted control.

The United Nations children agency ‍said on Tuesday that over 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire, including victims of drone and quadcopter attacks.

Israel and Hamas have traded blame for violations of the ceasefire and remain far apart ⁠from each other on key issues, despite the United States announcing the second phase of the ceasefire on Wednesday.

Israel launched its operations in Gaza in the wake of an attack by Hamas-led fighters on October, 2023 which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's assault has killed 71,000 people, according to health authorities in the strip, ‌and left much of Gaza in ruins.