Live: Israel kills more than 430 Palestinians on Tuesday

Al-Araby TV has broadcast video of Israeli jets carrying out a bombing raid late on Friday local time in the vicinity of al-Hamdaniyeh in southern Lebanon, reportedly targeting Hezbollah's weapons depots.

سلسلة غارات إسرائيلية استهدفت منطقة الحمدانية بين بلدتي كفروة وعزة جنوبي #لبنان.. المزيد من التفاصيل مع مراسل التلفزيون العربي رامز القاضي@Rola_Hidar@ramezelkadi pic.twitter.com/jrBu6xK02v

— التلفزيون العربي (@AlarabyTV) March 7, 2025

An Israeli drone strike killed two people in Gaza on Friday, local medical officials said.

Media reports say the strike hit a gathering of Palestinians in the Shujaiya neighbourhood in the north. 

Israel said the targets were suspected fighters operating near its troops in northern Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered preparations for a full return to war in Gaza if phase one of the ceasefire deal, which expired on 1 March, is not extended. 

Hamas has said it wants to move onto phase two as intended in the original plan. 

President Donald Trump's administration has cancelled grants and contracts totaling $400m to Columbia University due to "inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students", the US Education Department said on Friday.

Columbia was at the centre of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to US support for Israel due to the civilian deaths and humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. 

There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counterprotests. Columbia has previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

Reporting by Reuters 

The leader of Yemen's Houthis warned Israel on Friday that if aid isn't allowed back into Gaza within four days, the group will resume its naval operations in the Mandab Strait and Red Sea.

During the 15-month long Israeli war on Gaza, the Houthis mounted a naval blockade and attacked and boarded ships which they said had ties to Israel or were heading to its ports. 

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, US President Donald Trump briefly described his meeting with a group of former Israeli captives this week by saying that no one in Hamas was "nice" to them while they were held in Gaza. 

"Did anybody wink at them.... give them a piece of bread?" he said he asked the former captives, who responded that they were "punched and kicked" instead. 

The Qassam Brigades and other factions holding captives in Gaza have denied allegations of ill-treatment of captives, but admitted it was hard to keep them alive and in good condition under heavy Israeli bombardment. 

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, has declared in a statement on Friday that the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps in the northern West Bank have been nearly emptied of their residents, as Israel continues to carry out widespread destruction. 

"People now face the prospect of having nowhere to return to," Unrwa said. 

Israeli forces have begun the demolition process of more than 16 buildings in the area, Unrwa said. 

“This comes less than a week after 11 houses were demolished in [Nur Shams] camp, 14 other houses in the Tulkarm Camp, and controlled detonations in Jenin Camp around a month ago that left the camp uninhabitable,” read the statement.

“These large-scale demolitions are an alarming new pattern. They have an unprecedented impact on the Palestine Refugees and seek to permanently change the characteristics of the camps in the northern West Bank,” Unrwa said. 

Israeli forces began attacks in the West Bank just hours after the Gaza ceasefire went into effect in January. So far, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced from the refugee camps targeted by Israel. 

Over a dozen human rights experts have denounced Israel for resuming what they described as "weaponised starvation" in Gaza after its decision to stall ceasefire efforts and block humanitarian aid from entering the enclave. 

The move "flagrantly breaches international law and any prospects of peace", the independent UN experts said in a statement on Thursday. 

“We are alarmed by Israel’s decision to suspend once again all goods and supplies, including life-saving humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip," they added.

"As the occupying power, Israel is always obliged to ensure sufficient food, medical supplies and other relief services. By deliberately cutting vital supplies, including those relating to sexual and reproductive health, and assistive devices for persons with disabilities, Israel is once again weaponising aid."

READ MORE: UN experts condemn Israel's renewed 'weaponised starvation' in Gaza

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer "lashed out" at US captive envoy Adam Boehler during a phone call on Tuesday over his direct meeting with a Hamas delegation, a western official told the Times of Israel.

Dermer was particularly furious at Boehler for discussing the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for five American hostages without Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's consent.

The news of the meeting between the US and Hamas was leaked hours after the tense phone call, with the US believing Israel to be behind it, according to the western official.

Hamas released on Friday a video of an Israeli captive soldier seen alive and addressing his family after identifying himself.

In the footage, which is believed to have been shot last week, Matan Angrest is heard urging Israeli authorities to implement the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

"The only way to bring us back is through the exchange deal and moving to the second stage," he said.

Majed Faraj is a prominent Palestinian politician and leader within the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, more commonly known as Fatah, who has significantly influenced the Palestinian security landscape.

Born in 1963 in the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, his early years were marked by poverty and political activism.

Over the decades, he has held numerous roles within the Palestinian Authority (PA), eventually becoming its intelligence chief and one of President Mahmoud Abbas’ closest confidants.

His career has been shaped by his role in security coordination with Israel against resistance groups, fostering a strong relationship with successive Israeli governments and the United States.

However, his crackdown on Palestinian resistance groups has made him an unpopular figure among the Palestinian public.

READ MORE: Who is Majed Faraj, the Palestinian spy chief?

Israeli forces are still expanding their raid on the occupied West Bank, reaching the city of Silwad east of Ramallah, according to the Wafa news agency on Friday.

Soldiers entered several parts of the Wasta neighbourhood and searched several homes, Silwad Mayor Raed Nimer Hamed has said.

This marks the latest in the Israeli army's raids across the West Bank during the first Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

A high-level Hamas delegation was in Cairo Friday to advance efforts to prolong the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, which has largely paused hostilities with Israel, two senior Hamas officials said.

"The delegation will meet with Egyptian officials on Saturday to discuss the latest developments, assess progress in implementing the ceasefire agreement and address matters related to launching the second phase of the deal," one official told AFP.

During its talks with Egyptian mediators, the Hamas delegation will demand that Israel "implement the agreement, begin negotiations for the second phase, and open the border crossings to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip," he said.

The Palestinian foreign ministry has issued a statement condemning the Israeli storming of eight mosques in the city of Nablus in the occupied northern West Bank.

“The ministry calls for real international intervention to protect our people, their land, property and holy sites,” it said.

Al-Nasr Mosque in Nablus' old city, one of its most significant historical landmarks, was among the mosques that the Israeli raid damaged on Friday, according to the Wafa news agency, Israeli forces prevented firefighters from extinguishing the blaze.

The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs also strongly condemned the raids, calling them an unprecedented escalation, especially during Ramadan. The ministry denounced the actions as a blatant violation of religious sanctities and an infringement on the right to worship.

The Ministry condemns the storming of 8 #mosques in the city of Nablus by the occupation forces, their vandalism, and the destruction of parts of these mosques, as well as the burning of large sections of Al-Nasr Mosque in the city's old town.

The ministry calls for real… pic.twitter.com/yV3HZt18B0

— State of Palestine - MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa) March 7, 2025

The World Bank on Friday estimated Lebanon​​​​​​'s recovery and reconstruction costs at $11bn following the war between Israel and Hezbollah, which ended with a ceasefire last November.

"Reconstruction and recovery needs following the conflict that affected Lebanon are estimated at US$11 billion," the World Bank said in a report assessing damage and losses from 8 October to 20 December 2024.

The report put the war's total economic cost at $14bn, including $6.8bn in damage to physical structures and $7.2bn in economic losses from reduced productivity, forgone revenues and operating costs.

The Lebanese housing sector was the hardest hit, with losses estimated at $4.6bn, while the tourism sector lost $3.6bn.

The 15-month war that caused heavy destruction in Lebanon, particularly in the south of the country, until a US-brokered ceasefire in November 2024.

Nearly 90,000 Muslim worshippers gathered at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan, according to the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, as reported by Wafa news agency.

Israeli forces were heavily deployed at military checkpoints leading to the mosque, preventing many West Bank worshippers from entering and conducting extensive ID checks.

Thousands of Israeli police officers were stationed in the Old City around Al-Aqsa Mosque and at its gates, restricting access.

Eyewitnesses said that many worshippers were turned away at Jerusalem’s checkpoints for not having the required permits.

Israel imposed strict entry restrictions for West Bank worshippers, allowing only Muslim men over 55, women over 50, and children under 12 to attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan.