A look at the top developments from Israel’s war on Gaza:

  1. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday to urge Israel to pause its invasion of Gaza and allow humanitarian assistance to civilians. White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby had said earlier that the US is not supporting a ceasefire but calling for a “temporary, localised” pause to send in humanitarian aid and get civilians, including hostages, out of Gaza. This comes after the US Congress passed a $14 billion aid package for Israel on Thursday, reported The Guardian.
  2. The World Health Organization said that it was “almost impossible” to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza. “Fourteen out of 36 hospitals and two specialty centers in Gaza are non-functional due to lack of fuel as well as damage, attacks and insecurity,” Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “The hospitals that remain open are overloaded with 40% more patients than they are designed to manage.”  
  3. Israeli military said that it has encircled Gaza City as part of its assault on Palestinian militant group Hamas, reported Reuters. The troops are “deepening” the ground offensive inside the city, which is the focal point of Hamas, the chief of staff of the Israeli Defence Force Herzi Halevi said. The ground invasion in northern Gaza has killed at least 18 Israeli soldiers and it comes amid continued Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian territory in retaliation for deadly attacks by Hamas militants on southern Israel.
  4. The Palestinian toll has climbed to 9,061, including 3,760 children, since the conflict began on October 7, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said. At least 15 people were killed after a blast in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. Israel also struck the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza for the third consecutive day on Thursday, killing 195 people, reported Al Jazeera. Israel has justified the attacks, saying that the strikes have targeted Hamas commanders. 
  5. A journalist working for the Palestinian Authority’s television channel in Gaza was killed on Thursday along with ten of his family members in an airstrike in Khan Younis, reported Al Jazeera. The victim, Mohammed Abu Hatab, is the 36th journalist killed in the Israel-Gaza conflict since October 7, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
  6. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Shia Islamist group Hezbollah, will address his followers on Friday. This will be his first public comments since the fighting began and experts fear could inflame regional tensions if he pledges to escalate attacks against Israel. Nasrallah is considered a significant leader in the regional military alliance established by Iran to counter the US and Israel. The alliance includes Shia Muslim Iraqi militias and Yemen’s Houthis. The Israeli military said that it is on “very high alert” along the country’s northern border with Lebanon.