Evening update

Good evening MEE readers, 

At the end of the 27th day of the war, the death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli bombardment now exceeds 9,000. 

As Israeli air strikes continue to rain down on the Gaza Strip, heavy clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters are ongoing within the enclave. 

There’s also been a marked escalation on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, with heavy exchanges of fire.  

Here’s what you need to know from the last few hours: 

• Heavy clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters are ongoing around Gaza City, the most densely populated area in the besieged strip housing its biggest hospital and other key facilities.
   
• Hezbollah said it launched simultaneous attacks on 19 positions in northern Israel, including two drone attacks in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms. Meanwhile, Hamas’ armed wing in Lebanon launched rocket attacks on the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, wounding two people. Israel hit back with air strikes on south Lebanon.
   
• An Israeli air strike killed Mohammad Abu Hattab, a reporter for Palestine TV, along with 11 members of his family in southern Gaza. He produced a television report just an hour before his death.
   
• A group of UN experts said they “remain convinced that the Palestinian people are at grave risk of genocide”
   
• Antony Blinken said that civilians were bearing the brunt of the war and that he would be working to prevent wider escalation during a trip to the Middle East later this week
   
• Israeli air strikes flattened yet another residential block in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, destroying homes in the crowded Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. Dozens were feared dead.
   
• Four cancer patients died in Gaza after the last remaining medical facility designated for cancer treatment closed down due to lack of fuel
   
• The White House is exploring the idea of "pauses" in the conflict to deliver aid into Gaza and seek to get captives out of the enclave

We will continue providing you with live updates throughout the night. For up-to-date information around the clock, follow MEE's live blog and our social media platforms on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.