Gaza live: Several dead including Hezbollah commander after Israeli strike on southern Beirut

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said his country's police are "going to war" against "criminal organisations" in Palestinian communities in Israel.

The minister says the move comes after "decades of turning a blind eye".

Ben Gvir added that he took part in overnight raids against "crime families" in communities including in the city of Lod.

The body of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, the US-Turkish activist shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, arrived in Turkey on Friday.

The killing last week of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, has sparked international condemnation.

The United Nations rights office has accused Israeli forces of shooting Eygi in the head. 

Turkish officials, including Istanbul governor Davut, Gul attended the ceremony at Istanbul's airport, where they prayed before the coffin wrapped in the Turkish flag. 

Several Lebanese and international press freedom and human rights organisations have signed a letter calling for the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel to investigate and help provide accountability for Israel's murder of Reuters photographer Issam Abdallah in south Lebanon.

Abdallah was killed on 13 October by Israeli forces while covering the cross-border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah.

Several Reuters, AFP and Al Jazeera journalists were also injured in the attack.

An autopsy report prepared by the Palestinian Authority suggests that Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old Turkish-American activist, was directly shot in the head by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank, according to three forensic experts who reviewed the dossier. 

The report, dated 6 September and drafted by a Palestinian medical committee led by Dr Rayyan al-Ali, contradicts the version of evens given by Israel and US President Joe Biden, who said the bullet that killed Eygi appeared to have “ricocheted off the ground”. 

Three separate forensic experts who viewed the autopsy report told Middle East Eye that the damage on Ezgi’s skull and the destruction within suggest that it was a direct hit. 

“The bullet left a large damage inside the skull and it appears like it spent all its kinetic energy in the impacted area in parallel with gun fire that directly hits to head,” Polat Erdi, a forensic medicine expert, told MEE. 

READ MORE: Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed by direct Israeli hit, autopsy report indicates

The Israeli military has identified nine men it claimed were Hamas fighters killed in its strike on the Unrwa-run al-Jawni school in Nuseirat, central Gaza.

At least 18 people were killed, including six Unrwa staff members.

The army claims three of the Hamas members killed were also Unrwa workers.

Juliette Touma, director of communications at Unrwa, said that the names shared in Israel's statement "have not been flagged to us before by the Israeli authorities in previous occasions".

The Israeli government has previously tried to discredit Unrwa, claiming some of its members are part of "terrorist" groups. An independent review by a former French foreign minister found that Israel did not provide enough evidence to support its claim.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• An Israeli tank shelled a home in al-Mawasi, the so-called "humanitarian zone" in southern Gaza, killing five people including two children, according to the Palestine Information Centre
• Israeli air strikes on Nuseirat, central Gaza killed six people, the Wafa news agency reports
• Al Jazeera's correspondent reports that the UN extended its polio vaccination campaign by one day in order to reach more children in northern Gaza
• Israeli forces have withdrawn from Tulkarm, occupied West Bank following a deadly three-day assault
• The Israeli army said its soldiers have arrested two Israeli civilians who attempted to enter the Gaza Strip overnight
• Turkey said it will seek international arrest warrant for the Israeli soldiers responsible for the killing of US-Turkish activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a move her family welcomed

Our live coverage from Gaza will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are some of the day's key developments:

• Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 41,118 Palestinians since 7 October 2023, the Palestinian health ministry said on Thursday. The ministry also reported that more than 95,125 people in the enclave have been wounded since the conflict began

• An Israeli air strike on a UN school in central Gaza on Wednesday night has killed at least 18 people, included six UN agency for Palestinian refugee (Unrwa) workers

• The Turkish foreign ministry said the body of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a dual US-Turkish citizen killed by Israeli soldiers during a peaceful demonstration in the occupied West Bank last week, will arrive in Turkey on Friday

• Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, has expressed "outrage" at an Israeli attack on a school in central Gaza which killed 18 people, including six UN workers

• Gaza's economy has shrunk to less than a sixth of its pre-war size, while unemployment in the occupied West Bank has nearly tripled, according to a UN report published on Thursday

• The UN Trade and Development Agency (UNCTAD) has warned of severe economic devastation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, following Israel’s military actions

• Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that at least three people, including a child, were killed in an Israeli drone strike in the village of Kafr Jouz, located in southern Lebanon's Nabatieh region

• On Thursday The New York Times, citing US officials, reported that Israel conducted a commando raid in Syria on Sunday, targeting and destroying a Hezbollah missile production facility

• The British newspaper The Jewish Chronicle is investigating allegations against one of its freelance writers, Elon Perry, who is accused of fabricating information about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza

The Israeli government has provided the country's High Court with a response to petitions filed by human rights organizations, which demand that Israel expand the humanitarian aid being sent to the Gaza Strip, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

The petitioners argued that, according to a ruling by the International Court of Justice declaring Israel as an occupying power in Gaza, Israel is responsible for supplying aid to the local population. However, the government contended that Israel does not exercise "effective control" over Gaza and, therefore, is not obligated to increase humanitarian assistance.

In its response, the Israeli government pointed out that the army was not consistently present during the conflict and is not currently operating in populated areas. It further explained that military forces are still engaged in combat with numerous militants and are unable to carry out governmental functions on the ground. Despite significant damage to Hamas, the government noted that the organization remains operational.

The Gisha organization, one of the petitioners, commented: "The state's response proves that Israel continues to deny its obligations toward the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. Despite the clear ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, recognizing Israel as the occupying power in Gaza, the state shirks its responsibility and disregards the catastrophic impact of its actions in the region."

The US State Department has given preliminary approval for the sale of heavy-duty tanker trailers to Israel, valued at approximately $164.6 million, according to a Pentagon announcement on Thursday.  

The deliveries are expected to begin in 2027. 

The latest military aid is in addition to the more than $34bn in military aid the US approved earlier this year.

Salvage efforts for the Sounion oil tanker are set to resume in the Red Sea this week, according to a report from Reuters.

The tanker, which was attacked multiple times last month by Yemen's Houthis, contains around one million barrels of crude oil.

Experts warn that a spill could lead to one of the largest maritime disasters, with severe environmental consequences, especially given the dangers of the area.

The Houthis said their attacks, which have targeted over 80 reportedly Israeli-linked ships since November, are in solidarity with Palestinians affected by Israel’s war on Gaza.

An Al Jazeera correspondent reported that Israeli air strikes on three homes in Nuseirat camp, located in the central Gaza Strip, resulted in the deaths of eight Palestinians and left 28 others wounded.

The Biden administration has decided to release $320m in military aid to Egypt - a package previously contingent on improving human rights issues in the country. 

Unless Congress steps in, this brings the total amount from Washington to Cairo this year to $1.3bn. Egypt has long been the second-highest recipient of US military aid after Israel. 

The administration notified Congress of the move on Wednesday, after Secretary of State Antony Blinken invoked his waiver power to approve the funds. The amount included a $95m portion requiring special certification because it was conditioned on “clear and consistent progress” regarding the release of political prisoners in Egypt. 

In a statement, the Middle East Democracy Center, a Washington-based advocacy group, called the decision a “betrayal” by an administration that pledged to make human rights central to the US-Egypt bilateral relationship. 

“We therefore call on Congress, as it has done the last two years, to fulfill its oversight duty, and block all $320 million conditioned on human rights benchmarks,” MEDC said.

Read more: Critics urge Congress to block release of $320m in military aid to Egypt

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres told Al Jazeera:

"We have urged Washington to take a stronger stance against Israel to end the war. The US needs to apply pressure to force Israel to stop."

The British newspaper The Jewish Chronicle is investigating allegations against one of its freelance writers, Elon Perry, who is accused of fabricating information about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Perry recently published an article claiming the discovery of a document from Gaza, allegedly detailing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s plans to escape with Israeli hostages taken during the 7 October attack via the Philadelphi Corridor en route to Iran.

However, the Israeli army stated that they had no knowledge of such a document. Given the similarity of Perry's claims to statements made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, some have suggested this might be part of a broader disinformation campaign.

In response, The Jewish Chronicle issued a statement acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations: “The Jewish Chronicle is the oldest Jewish newspaper in the world and has always maintained the highest standards of reporting and integrity. An investigation is underway, and there will be an update in due course.”

Additional concerns have emerged regarding Perry's professional background. The left-leaning +972 Magazine questioned his claims of having served as a commando during Operation Entebbe and being a professor at Tel Aviv University for 15 years, as there appear to be no records confirming these assertions

The London Metropolitan Police has told a court that it has used “anonymous right-wing” accounts to police the pro-Palestine marches that take place in central London. 

Marieha Hussain, 37, pleaded not guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence on Thursday at the beginning of her two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates Court. 

Police charged Hussain after she held a placard depicting former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and then Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who are both British Asians, as coconuts during a pro-Palestine march in London.  

Chris Humphreys, a senior media and communications manager for the London Metropolitan Police, told a court on Thursday the police had used Harry’s Place and other accounts that post protest-related pictures to inform its policing of pro-Palestine marches. 

During proceedings, Humphreys explained his role within the Met's operations room in Lewisham and said he managed a team of three to four officers tasked with "responding to social media commentary" related to the protest.  

Read more: 'Coconuts' trial: London protest arrest prompted by tweet by 'secretive' pro-Israel blog