Live: Strike announced in Israel amid mounting anger at Netanyahu

Israeli forces have hit the Mustafa Hafez School in Gaza City.

Al Jazeera reports that at least nine bodies have been recovered from the school up to this point.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Egypt on Tuesday as part of his latest Middle East tour to push forward talks aiming to end the 10-month Gaza war.

Blinken is set to hold talks with the Egyptian president and foreign minister in the coastal city of El Alamein following a visit to Israel, where he met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Reporting by AFP

Gaza's health ministry said that 34 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on the enclave in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 40,173 killed since 7 October.

Additionally, 92,857 were wounded since the start of the war.

The Israeli army said it extracted the bodies of six hostages in an overnight operation in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.

The hostages are Alex Dancyg, 75, Yagev Buchshtav, 35, Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Avraham Munder, 78.

The kibbutz of Nir Oz released separate statements confirming the extraction of Yoram Metzger and Chaim Peri's bodies.

Nir Oz said the development is "the biggest proof of the importance of a deal that will return our boys and girls as soon as possible, before it is too late".

When confirming the extraction of Peri's body, the kibbutz's statement added that he was "abandoned to his death in captivity".

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that Hamas was "backing away" from a deal with Israel to agree on a ceasefire in the war in Gaza.

"It's still in play, but you can't predict," he said as he prepared to leave Chicago after a keynote address to the Democratic National Convention. "Israel says they can work it out... Hamas is now backing away."

In a prior statement, Hamas said it had agreed to the plan Biden offered in May, but that Israel added new conditions since.

British journalist Richard Medhurst said on social media platform X that he was arrested at London's Heathrow Airport under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act.

Medhurst said he was accused of "expressing an opinion or belief that is supported by the proscribed organisation".

He was released after being held for nearly 24 hours, but said he was severely mistreated by British officers.

Medhurst said he felt targeted due to speaking out on the situation in Palestine.

I was arrested at Heathrow Airport under the Terrorism Act, Sec 12 because of my reporting.

6 police officers were waiting for me at the entrance of the aircraft.

I was held for almost 24 hours and questioned.

I believe I'm the first journalist to be arrested under this… pic.twitter.com/pbf6q5dXIf

— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) August 19, 2024

Eyal Mor, nephew of Israeli captive Avraham Munder, told Israel's Kan News that his uncle's body has been recovered from a tunnel in Gaza by the Israeli army.

"According to initial estimations, the death happened already in March," Mor said.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• Hamas revealed some of Israel's new conditions in the ceasefire negotiations, which include keeping Israeli troops at several crossings and corridors
• The Palestinian group called on the world to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sign the deal proposed by US President Biden on 31 May and supported by the UN Security Council
• A Palestinian who was shot by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank has died of his wounds
• Eight people were wounded by Israel's strikes on Lebanon's eastern Beqaa Valley
• In the US, the Democratic National Convention has started, with pro-Palestine protesters seen at every corner
• Biden said the protesters "have a point" and that it was time to "end this war"

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan criticised US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu accepted an updated proposal, Reuters reported.

Hamdan said that Netanyahu accepting the proposal "raises many ambiguities" because it is "not what was presented to us nor what we agreed on".

He told Reuters that the group had already confirmed to mediators that "we don't need new Gaza ceasefire negotiations, we need to agree on an implementation mechanism."

A man was critically injured by Israeli military fire in the town of Dura, south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, during a raid by Israeli forces, Wafa news agency has reported.

The man was reportedly hit in his right eye and taken to hospital in critical condition, according to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry.

Senior officials will convene for Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Cairo this week, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday.

US President Joe Biden was talking with regional leaders to finalise a deal, Jean-Pierre added.

Talks in Qatar seeking a ceasefire and hostage return agreement last week paused without a breakthrough.

An Israeli strike on Monday evening targeted a Hezbollah arms depot in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, two security sources told Reuters.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said it targeted a weapons depot used by Hezbollah, killing at least 10 people including two children.

During a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed he supports the new Gaza ceasefire proposal “meant to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas”, Reuters reported.

Blinken also said that it is now up to Hamas to accept the deal.

Authorities are bracing for a week of mass protests and disruptions at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), with tens of thousands of anti-war and pro-Palestinian demonstrators descending on the city to demand the US halt support for Israel's war on Gaza.

Security around the perimeter of the DNC in Chicago has already been beefed up with the US Secret Service, together with local law enforcement, building "a wall" around the main convention centre.

Residents in neighbourhoods around the two main arenas hosting DNC activities, the United Center and McCormick Place, also reported seeing road closures and several barriers go up.

On Monday, more than 270 organisations under the banner "The Coalition to March on the DNC" say they will march for an end to US support for Israel, amongst a string of demands from the Democratic Party.

Read more: 'Welcome to Hell week': Chicago braces for mass protests for Palestine as DNC begins

Medical sources have told Aljazeera that at least 25 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza since Monday morning.