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It said warning flyers and text messages had been sent out in the area north of the southern city of Khan Younis and in the eastern part of Deir Al-Balah, where tens of thousands of people have sought shelter from fighting in other parts of Gaza.
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“The advance warning to civilians is being issued in order to mitigate harm to the civilian population and to enable civilians to move away from the combat zone,” the military said in a statement seen by Reuters.
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Earlier the military said it had hit an area in Khan Younis from where rockets were fired towards the community of Kissufim on Thursday, finding weapons including shoulder-fired missiles and explosives.
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Foreign Secretary David Lammy is to take part in intensified efforts for international diplomacy to prevent the war in Gaza from spreading into a wider regional conflict today, with he and the French foreign minister making a joint trip to Israel while internationally mediated cease-fire talks in Qatar were expected to enter their second day.
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The new push for an end to the Israel-Hamas war came as the Palestinian death toll in Gaza climbed past 40,000, according to Gaza health authorities, and fears remained high that Iran and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon would attack Israel in retaliation for the killings of top militant leaders.
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“This is a dangerous moment for the Middle East,” Lammy said. “The risk of the situation spiraling out of control is rising. Any Iranian attack would have devastating consequences for the region.”
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Lammy and French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné were expected hold a joint meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
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Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
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Negotiators were set to meet again in the Qatari capital Doha on Friday in an effort to hammer out a Gaza ceasefire agreement. A US official briefed on the discussions in Doha, who declined to be identified, told Reuters that Thursday’s talks were “constructive.”
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“This is vital work. The remaining obstacles can be overcome, and we must bring this process to a close,” US national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at the White House.
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In a statement issued late on Thursday, Hamas politburo member Hossam Badran said Israel’s continuing operations in Gaza were an obstacle to progress on a ceasefire. Hamas officials did not join Thursday’s talks.
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Gaza’s health ministry said 40,005 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza after the 7 October attack by Hamas last year. In an update on Thursday, the ministry said 92,401 Palestinians had been injured. The majority of casualties are civilians, though Gaza’s health ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures.
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The UN’s high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, said the death toll in Gaza passing 40,000 is a “grim milestone”. Türk accused the Israeli army to repeatedly failing to “comply with the rules of war”. The numbers do not necessarily reflect all victims as many are still missing under the rubble, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
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The international charity ActionAid said it was “outraged and heartbroken” following the news that more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s offensive. It accused “most governments across the world” of having “refused to do the bare minimum to protect civilian life”, adding that it is “to our collective shame”.
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Dozens of Israeli settlers, some wearing masks, attacked a Palestinian village near the city of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank, burning cars and killing at least one person. The Palestinian health ministry said one Palestinian was killed and another critically wounded by Israeli settlers’ gunfire during the attack in the village of Jit, the latest in a series of attacks by violent settlers in the West Bank.
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The Israeli military said police and army units intervened and arrested one Israeli. It condemned the attack, which it said diverted security forces from other responsibilities. It said it was examining reports about the death of the Palestinian. The office of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a statement saying he viewed the attack with “utmost severity”. “Those responsible for any offence will be apprehended and tried,” it said.
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Main Events
Israel orders withdrawal from former humanitarian safe zone in Gaza
The Israeli army on Friday ordered a new withdrawal from areas in southern and central Gaza that had previously been designated a humanitarian safe zone, saying they were being used by Hamas as a launch pad for mortars and rockets aimed at Israel.
The ministry said it had distributed warning leaflets and text messages in areas north of the southern city of Khan Yunis and eastern Deir al-Balah, where tens of thousands of people have fled to escape fighting in other parts of the Gaza Strip.
“The advance warning to civilians is being issued to mitigate harm to them and allow them to evacuate the fighting area,” a military statement seen by Reuters said.
The army had earlier said it had found weapons including shoulder-fired missiles and explosives in airstrikes in the area of Khan Yunis where rockets were fired on Thursday towards the Kisfim district.
Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip, struggling to retrieve bodies from sites hit by new airstrikes on Thursday, questioned why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s team was in Qatar.
“Why did Prime Minister Netanyahu send a delegation to meet when we are being killed here?” Mohammed al-Barwi said in Jabalia, as rescuers around him pulled bodies from the concrete wreckage.
“There were limbs on the ground,” a man at the scene told AFP when he found them.
Fears of an escalating Middle East war have been growing since the July 31 killing of Hamas political leader and ceasefire negotiator Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran and its regional allied groups have blamed Israel and vowed revenge.
David Lamy and French Ministers Meet with Israeli Ministers
Foreign Minister David Lamy is due to take part in intensified international diplomatic efforts to prevent the war in Gaza from escalating into a wider regional conflict, visiting Israel with his French foreign minister today as internationally-brokered ceasefire talks in Qatar are expected to enter a second day.
The new move to end the Israeli-Hamas war comes as the Palestinian death toll in Gaza tops 40,000, according to Gaza health officials, and fears remain high that Iran and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon could attack Israel in retaliation for the killing of a militant leader.
“This is a dangerous moment for the Middle East,” Lamy said. “There is a growing risk that the situation could spiral out of control. Any Iranian attack would have devastating consequences for the region.”
Lamy and his French counterpart Stephane Séjourne were due to hold joint talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Delmer.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that a Jordanian national living in Orlando, Florida, has been indicted on charges of using explosives and threatening to destroy energy facilities after making threats against businesses perceived to be supporting Israel.
The United States has seen an increase in hate incidents against Jews, Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians and Israelis since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. Israel then launched a military offensive against the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip that has continued for more than 10 months, sparking a humanitarian crisis.
“We allege that the defendants threatened to carry out hateful, mob violence in our country, fueled in part by a desire to target companies perceived to support Israel,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement on Thursday.
A 43-year-old man was arrested, FBI Director Christopher Wray said, adding: “The defendants are suspected of attacking power plants, extorting local businesses and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.”
Welcome and Overview
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the Middle East crisis.
Negotiators are due to meet again in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Friday to finalize a Gaza ceasefire agreement. A U.S. official briefed on the Doha talks told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Thursday’s talks were “constructive.”
“This is vital work. The remaining obstacles are surmountable, and we must finish this process,” US national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House.
Hamas politburo member Hosam Badran said in a statement late Thursday that Israel’s ongoing operations in Gaza were an obstacle to progress on a ceasefire. Hamas officials did not take part in Thursday’s talks.
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The Gaza Health Ministry said 40,000 Palestinians were killed in Israeli military attacks on Gaza following a Hamas attack on October 7 last year. In its update on Thursday, the ministry said 92,401 Palestinians were wounded. The majority of casualties were civilians, although Gaza’s health ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.
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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the death toll in Gaza surpassing 40,000 was a “tragic milestone”. Turkey’s foreign minister has repeatedly accused Israel of not “respecting the rules of war.” The Palestinian health ministry said the figure did not necessarily reflect the full number of casualties, with many still missing under the rubble.
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International charity ActionAid said it was “outraged and heartbroken” by news that more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli attack.The report accused “most governments around the world” of “refusing to take minimal steps to protect civilian lives”, adding: “This is a disgrace to us all”.
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Dozens of masked Israeli settlers stormed a Palestinian village near the city of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank.The Palestinian Ministry of Health said one Palestinian was killed and another seriously wounded in an Israeli settler gun attack in the village of Zit, the latest in a series of violent settler attacks in the West Bank.
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The Israeli army said police and troops had intervened and arrested one Israeli.The government condemned the attack as a distraction for security forces and said it was investigating reports of Palestinian deaths. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying it was taking the attack “very seriously.” “Those responsible for any crimes will be arrested and brought to justice,” it said.
