Opening summary: Netanyahu meets hostage families over video release
Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken with relatives of two hostages held in Gaza seen in videos released by Palestinian militant groups, expressing his “profound shock” over the images, the Israeli prime minister’s office said.
Since Thursday, Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have released three clips showing two hostages taken during the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
The images of Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, looking emaciated after nearly 22 months of captivity, have sparked strong reactions among Israelis, fuelling renewed calls to reach a truce and hostage release deal without delay.
“The prime minister expressed profound shock over the materials distributed by the terror organisations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and told the families that the efforts to return all our hostages are ongoing, and will continue constantly and relentlessly,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office released late Saturday.
In the footage, 21-year-old Braslavski, a German-Israeli dual national, and 24-year-old David both appear weak and malnourished.
The videos make references to the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned a “famine is unfolding”.
In other developments:
Stay with us as we follow the developments.
Key events
Anger grows over Israeli far-right minister praying at al-Aqsa mosque
Saudi Arabia has joined condemnations of far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to al-Aqsa mosque today.
The minister of national security travelled to the holy site and prayed there with a reported group of 1,250 people. Police were pictured alongside Ben-Gvir.
Under a delicate decades-old “status quo” arrangement with Muslim authorities, the al-Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and Jews can visit but may not pray there.
“The foreign ministry expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation in the strongest terms of the repeated provocative practices by officials of the Israeli occupation authorities against al-Aqsa mosque,” a statement on X read.
“The Kingdom affirms that such practices fuel the conflict in the region.”
The Israeli army has said it entered southern Syria overnight, seized weapons and questioned several suspects it said were involved in weapons trafficking in the area.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the raids followed “prior intelligence surveillance and an in-depth field investigation.”
The IDF said its forces remain deployed in the area, “continuing to operate and prevent the entrenchment of any terrorist elements in Syria”.
Israeli forces kill 23 Palestinians at Gaza aid sites, say hospital officials
Israeli forces killed at least 23 Palestinians seeking food on Sunday in Gaza, according to hospital officials and witnesses, who described facing gunfire as hungry crowds surged around aid sites, AP reports.
Yousef Abed, among the crowds en route to a distribution point, described coming under what he called indiscriminate fire, looking around and seeing at least three people bleeding on the ground.
“I couldn’t stop and help them because of the bullets,” he told AP.
Jordan have “condemned in the strongest terms” Itamar Ben-Gvir’s provocative visit to al-Aqsa mosque, calling it a “flagrant violation of international law” and “a condemned escalation”.
In a statement, the ministry of foreign affairs described Ben-Gvir’s actions as an “unacceptable provocation” and stressed that “Israel has no sovereignty over the blessed al-Aqsa mosque”. Jordan act as custodians of the mosque.
Ministry spokesperson Sufyan Qudah “warned of the consequences of the continuation of these provocative and illegitimate violations of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, demanding that Israel, as the occupying power, halt all provocative practices by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir”, the statement read.
Armed groups attack Syria’s internal security forces in Sweida – report
Armed groups have attacked personnel from Syria’s internal security forces in Sweida, killing one member and wounding others, and fired shells at several villages in the violence-hit southern province, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Sunday.
The report cited a security source as saying the armed groups had violated the ceasefire agreed in the predominantly Druze region, where factional bloodshed killed hundreds of people last month.
Violence in Sweida erupted on 13 July between tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting, but the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops in the name of the Druze.
The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had longstanding tensions over land and other resources.
A U.S.-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week. Syria said it would investigate the clashes, setting up a committee to investigate the attacks.
Last month’s bloodshed was a major test for interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, already under pressure following deadly sectarian clashes in March that killed hundreds of Alawite civilians in the coastal region.
The humanitarian organisation Palestine Red Crescent Society shared on X that one of its staff members was killed and three others wounded in an Israeli attack on its Khan Younis headquarters in southern Gaza early this morning.
In a statement, they said: “We are heartbroken to share that our colleague Omar Isleem was killed early this morning.
“Our headquarter’s location is well known to the occupying forces and clearly marked with the protective red emblem. This was not a mistake. We renew our call for accountability and for the protection of all humanitarian and medical personnel.”
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, has condemned Ben-Gvir’s visit to al-Aqsa mosque, which he said “crossed all red lines.”
The Waqf, the foundation that administers the complex, said Ben-Gvir was among another 1,250 people who visited the site, Associated Press reports. The foundation said the group prayed, shouted and danced at the mosque.
Ben-Gvir has visited the site in the past calling for Jewish prayer to be allowed there and prompting prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to issue statements saying that this was not the policy of Israel.
“The international community, specifically the U.S. administration, is required to intervene immediately to put an end to the crimes of the settlers and the provocations of the extreme right-wing government in al-Aqsa mosque, stop the war on the Gaza Strip and bring in humanitarian aid,” Palestinian politician Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.
Six dead in past 24 hours due to famine, Palestinian Health Ministry says
The Palestinian Health Ministry have reported on Telegram that six adults have died within the past 24 hours as a result of famine and severe malnutrition.
According to the ministry, this brings the total number of deaths attributed to hunger related causes in Gaza to 175, including 93 children.
Videos published recently by Hamas and Islamic Jihad showing emaciated Israeli hostages are “appalling” and barbaric, EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas has said.
“The images of Israeli hostages are appalling and expose the barbarity of Hamas. All hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally. Hamas must disarm and end its rule in Gaza,” Kallas posted on X.
“At the same time, large-scale humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those in need,” she said.
Far right Israeli minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir leads provocative visit to al-Aqsa mosque and calls for ‘conquering all of Gaza’
Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday and said he prayed there, challenging rules covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East.
Under a delicate decades-old “status quo” arrangement with Muslim authorities, the al-Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and Jews can visit but may not pray there.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement after Ben-Gvir’s visit that Israel’s policy of maintaining the status quo at the compound “has not changed and will not change”.
Videos released by a small Jewish organisation called the Temple Mount Administration showed Ben-Gvir leading a group walking in the compound. Other videos circulating online appeared to show him praying.
The visit to the compound known to Jews as Temple Mount, took place on Tisha B’av, the fast day mourning the destruction of two ancient Jewish temples, which stood at the site centuries ago.
In a post on X, Ben-Gvir renewed calls for Israel to declare sovereignty over Gaza and to “encourage voluntary migration”.
“A message must be sent: to ensure that we conquer all of the Gaza Strip, declare sovereignty … take down every Hamas member, and encourage voluntary migration,” he said.
Ben-Gvir claimed this is the only way to “bring back the hostages and win the war”.
Opening summary: Netanyahu meets hostage families over video release
Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken with relatives of two hostages held in Gaza seen in videos released by Palestinian militant groups, expressing his “profound shock” over the images, the Israeli prime minister’s office said.
Since Thursday, Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have released three clips showing two hostages taken during the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
The images of Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, looking emaciated after nearly 22 months of captivity, have sparked strong reactions among Israelis, fuelling renewed calls to reach a truce and hostage release deal without delay.
“The prime minister expressed profound shock over the materials distributed by the terror organisations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and told the families that the efforts to return all our hostages are ongoing, and will continue constantly and relentlessly,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office released late Saturday.
In the footage, 21-year-old Braslavski, a German-Israeli dual national, and 24-year-old David both appear weak and malnourished.
The videos make references to the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned a “famine is unfolding”.
In other developments:
Stay with us as we follow the developments.