Live: Strike announced in Israel amid mounting anger at Netanyahu

Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in the town of Yatta, south of the city of Hebron, the Wafa news agency reports.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, the man is Iyad Ayed Abdul Najjar, 46, who was shot in the head.

Abdul Najjar's killing brought the Palestinian death toll in the West Bank to 645 since 7 October, including 147 children.

The Greek-flagged ship Sounion has been on fire since Friday after an attack by Yemen's Houthis, EU Red Sea naval mission Aspides said in a post on X on Monday, reports Reuters.

Update on M/V SOUNION:

The MV SOUNION has been on fire since August 23rd.

An EUNAFOR ASPIDES 🇪🇺 unit transiting the area reported that there are fires on at least 5 locations observed on the main deck of the vessel. It is estimated that these are located around the hatches of… pic.twitter.com/ta0IuLhIoY

— EUNAVFOR ASPIDES (@EUNAVFORASPIDES) August 26, 2024

In its latest report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says that Israel has arbitrarily detained Palestinian healthcare workers since the war on Gaza began on 7 October, deported them to detention facilities in Israel, and allegedly tortured and ill-treated them.

"The detention of healthcare workers in the context of the Israeli military’s repeated attacks on hospitals in Gaza has contributed to the catastrophic degradation of the besieged territory’s healthcare system," the report reads.

Released doctors, nurses and paramedics told the organisation of their mistreatment, which included "humiliation, beatings, forced stress positions, prolonged cuffing and blindfolding, and denial of medical care".

"They also reported torture, including rape and sexual abuse by Israeli forces, denial of medical care, and poor detention conditions for the general detainee population."

Balkees Jarrah, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said that "the torture and other ill-treatment of doctors, nurses, and paramedics should be thoroughly investigated and appropriately punished, including by the International Criminal Court (ICC)".

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• An Israeli strike on a house in northern Gaza City killed five people, according to the Wafa news agency. Bombings were also reported in other parts of the enclave
• Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported an explosion near Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital shortly after Israel issued mass evacuation orders for areas near the facility
• A US official told the Times of Israel that the Cairo ceasefire talks were constructive and that all sides are interested in reaching a final agreement
• Egyptian security sources told Reuters, however, that the ceasefire talks ended without an agreement as neither Israel or Hamas agreed to several compromises presented by negotiators, which include the issue of Israeli presence on the Philadelphi and Netzarim Corridors
• The Israeli army said a rocket fired by Hamas landed in an open area south of Tel Aviv
• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country's response to Israel's assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran will be "measured and well calculated"

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

Here are some of the day's key developments:

• At least 40,405 people have been killed and another 93,468 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October

• Israeli forces have detained at least 35 Palestinians, including children and former prisoners, from across the occupied West Bank in last two days, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said in a statement

• Talks over a possible Gaza ceasefire deal have ended without agreement in Cairo, with Israel not agreeing to several comprises presented by mediators, two Egyptian security sources said, Reuters reported

• The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has warned against the dangers of opening a new war front in Lebanon

• Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address that all Hezbollah drones were successfully launched and entered Israeli airspace

• The Israeli military said that its fighter jets had conducted more attacks against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon hours after it announced its preemptive strike

• Israel provided the US with "considerable" advance notice of its pre-dawn preemptive strike on Hezbollah’s rocket and missile launchers, according to a report by The Time of Israel

• A US official speaking to the New York Times said American drones and aircraft provided some of the surveillance imagery used to target Hezbollah launchers

• Air France, the UAE's Etihad Airways and Greece's Aegean Airlines have announced the cancellations of flights to and from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv

• Israel’s cabinet has approved a $923m expansion in the 2024 state budget to support evacuees until the end of the year, according to the finance ministry

A US official speaking to the New York Times said American drones and aircraft provided some of the surveillance imagery used to target Hezbollah launchers.

Israel also provided the US with "considerable" advance notice of its pre-dawn preemptive strike on Hezbollah’s rocket and missile launchers, according to a report by The Time of Israel earlier on Sunday.

The report states that the US administration supported the strike but cautioned Israel, both before and after the attack, to avoid actions that could escalate the conflict into a full-scale war.

Talks over a possible Gaza ceasefire deal have ended without agreement in Cairo, with Israel not agreeing to several comprises presented by mediators, two Egyptian security sources said, Reuters reported. 

Earlier in the day Hamas discussed the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in the Egyptian capital. This was summary of their statements:

• The movement’s negotiating delegation left Cairo after meeting with mediators from Egypt and Qatar and reviewing the outcomes of the latest round of negotiations.
• The delegation demanded that Israel adhere to the agreements made on July 2, as outlined by U.S. President Joe Biden and a UN Security Council resolution.
• Hamas confirmed its readiness to implement the agreements to serve Palestinian interests and end the aggression against them.
• In Cairo, Hamas emphasized that any agreement must include a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
• Additionally, Hamas stressed the need for any agreement to address the freedom of return for Gaza residents, relief and reconstruction, and a deal for exchanging prisoners.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly stated that she has been in contact with her Israeli counterpart, reaffirming Canada's support for Israel's security, including against Hezbollah.

“The international community must continue to do everything it can to prevent further escalation,” she posted on X. “We continue to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, alongside the complete release of hostages.”

The Canadian government, along with other Western nations that provide military support to Israel, particularly the U.S., is facing increasing calls to impose an arms embargo on Israel amid the Gaza conflict, which has resulted in over 40,000 deaths since October. 

Tor Wennesland emphasized the need for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of Israeli captives held there. “There is no time to lose,” he stated in a post on X.

“Ongoing ceasefire and hostage release talks in Cairo are crucial for saving civilian lives, reducing regional tensions, and enabling the UN, in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority (PA), to accelerate efforts to address the urgent needs of Gaza’s long-suffering population,” he added.

His remarks followed a meeting with PA Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa in Ramallah, located in the occupied West Bank. 

Former US President Donald Trump wrote on X, "Who is negotiating for us in the Middle East? Bombs are dropping all over the place! Sleepy Joe is sleeping on a Beach in California, viciously Exiled by the Democrats, and Comrade Kamala is doing a campaign bus tour...Let's not have World War lll, because that's where we're heading!"

Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank near the Israeli settlement of Ariel.

The Israeli military claimed that the two Palestinians attempted to ram their car into one of the occupation soldiers, who was lightly injured in the incident.

An Israeli soldier was killed during fighting in Gaza City earlier on Sunday, according to the Israeli army. Another soldier was seriously wounded.

An initial army report indicates that the soldiers were hit by an explosive device planted on a road in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood.

This brings Israel's death toll in its war on Gaza to at least 341.

The Qassam Brigades says its fighters have launched an M90 rocket at the Israeli coastal city.

“This is in response to the massacres being perpetrated against civilians and the forced displacement of our people,” it said in a statement.

The Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, spoke on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," which aired on Sunday. He was asked about one of the main stumbling blocks in the ceasefire negotiations: who controls the Egypt-Gaza border, which Israel refers to as the Philadelphi Corridor.

"We have agreed to reduce our forces in the Philadelphi Corridor, but we are not obligated to leave it at this point," Israel's ambassador to Washington told CBS.

The Palestinian group has discussed the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in the Egyptian capital. Here is a translated summary of their statements according to a Al-Jazeera translation:

• The movement’s negotiating delegation left Cairo after meeting with mediators from Egypt and Qatar and reviewing the outcomes of the latest round of negotiations.
• The delegation demanded that Israel adhere to the agreements made on July 2, as outlined by U.S. President Joe Biden and a UN Security Council resolution.
• Hamas confirmed its readiness to implement the agreements to serve Palestinian interests and end the aggression against them.
• In Cairo, Hamas emphasized that any agreement must include a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
• Additionally, Hamas stressed the need for any agreement to address the freedom of return for Gaza residents, relief and reconstruction, and a deal for exchanging prisoners.