Live: Six more Palestinians die of famine as Israel blocks Gaza aid

A senior Houthi leader has condemned Israeli air raids on Sanaa, saying that Israel attacked civilian areas and warning of intensified retaliation.

In remarks to Al Jazeera Arabic, the group’s assistant director of guidance said Israeli attacks hit densely populated neighbourhoods and civilian sites, calling the strikes a “war crime”. He noted that Yemen’s presidential headquarters, also targeted, is empty and not in use.

“The enemy is trying to compensate for its losses from our operations through these strikes,” he said, vowing to escalate attacks and strike “deeper inside the entity”. He added that Houthi forces still have “military options” yet to be deployed.

The official also claimed Houthi air defences intercepted part of the Israeli assault and threatened to resume attacks on US interests if Washington is confirmed to have taken part in the strikes.

At least two people have been killed and five others injured in Israeli air strikes on Yemen’s capital, Houthi-run media reported.

The Israeli military confirmed the attack, claiming it struck “Houthi military infrastructure”, including a location inside the presidential palace and the Asar and Hizaz power facilities.

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese called on leaders from the European Union to pressure Israel to release Dr Hussam Abu Safiya. 

Taking to X, Albanese also called on the EU to intervene and free thousands of other Palestinian hostages held by Israel. 

Her call comes as Israel continues to hold Abu Safiya, a paediatrician and former director of the Kamal  Adwan Hospital, without charge. 

Earlier this year, Abu Safiya's lawyer revealed that the 51-year-old Palestinian doctor faced severe torture in Israeli detention.

Israel has begun striking the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital of Sanaa, an Israeli official said on Sunday.

Strikes were reported by residents in the south-west of the capital, near the presidential complex area and military base in Sanaa. 

Munir al-Bursh, director of the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, has issued a stark warning about the escalating famine crisis in the enclave. 

Speaking to Al Jazeera, al-Bursh revealed that 289 people, including 115 children, have already died from starvation.

“We are in a race against time to address famine,” he said, emphasising that the humanitarian response must be massive to prevent further loss of life.

Al-Bursh also condemned the restrictions imposed by the Israelis,, calling the denial of healthcare access an intolerable violation.

He added that in the past 24 hours alone, eight Palestinians—including a child—have died due to food shortages.

The crisis underscores the urgent need for international intervention to prevent further deaths in Gaza, particularly among its most vulnerable residents.

Global outrage over Israel’s actions in Gaza continues to grow as thousands gathered in Australia to protest the genocide in Gaza.

The protests in Australia came two weeks after the Australian government joined other Western states in supporting calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state. 

More than 40 protests took place across the country, according to Palestine Action Group, an Australian organisation.

The group said around 350,000 people attended rallies nationwide, although police have estimated lower numbers in some cities.

The Israeli army has warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it could take over a year to demolish Gaza City if the military goes ahead with plans to invade the besieged territory.

Army chief Eyal Zamir told Israeli officials that the military will not begin a major assault on Gaza City until a "humanitarian zone" is established to hold the city's residents. 

He also said that military operations will only start after necessary operational and legal preparations are complete. His remarks come amid pronouncements from Netanyahu and his cabinet to commence operations.

On Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz told Hamas that Gaza City would face the same fate as Rafah and Beit Hanoun if it refuses to accept Israel’s conditions to end the war.  

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates from Israel's war on Gaza, now in its 687th day:

•  Israeli planes and tanks pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight, destroying buildings and homes.
   
•  In Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli army blew up booby-trapped houses
   
• Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to press on with the offensive
   
• Thousands of Israelis rallied on Saturday evening, calling for a hostage deal and an end to the war
   
• Former Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz urged six-month unity government to secure Gaza captives

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

• Israel has killed at least 62,622 Palestinians and wounded more than 157,673 in Gaza, since October 2023, according to Palestinian health officials.

• In the past 24 hours alone, hospitals in the besieged enclave received the bodies of 61 people and treated 308 wounded Palestinians.

• Among them were 16 killed and 111 injured while trying to obtain aid, officials said.

• These deaths bring the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire while seeking food through Israel and the US-backed GHF distribution system established at the end of May, to 2,076, with more than 15,308 wounded.

• Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan has called on US First Lady Melania Trump to write to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to take action regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

• The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate says journalist Khaled al Madhoun has been killed by Israeli forces in northern Gaza. His death adds to the growing toll of media workers targeted during Israel’s ongoing genocide on the Strip.

• The Government Media Office in Gaza says the number of journalists killed by Israeli forces has risen to 240, following the death of reporter Khaled Mohammed al-Madhoun.

French prosecutors have opened an investigation into a leisure park manager accused of discrimination after he barred a group of Israelis from entering the facility he oversaw.

The 52-year-old, who has no prior criminal record, was arrested on Thursday after he turned away the group in Porte-Puymorens, a mountain village in the western Pyrenees near Perpignan. He was released as the investigation continues.

Authorities say the man admitted he denied entry to the group because of his “personal convictions”. If convicted of discrimination based on nationality or ethnic origin, he faces up to five years in prison and a €75,000 fine.

The group of Israeli tourists were part of a holiday programme involving 150 Israeli tourists staying in Spain. They had a booking “made well in advance”, prosecutors said, but were refused entry upon arrival.

Officials arranged for three buses to take the group to another site in France under police protection, with no incidents reported.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau condemned the incident as “serious”, calling for a firm judicial response. “Authorities cannot remain passive when anti-Semitic acts are on the rise,” he said.

Former Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz has offered to temporarily rejoin Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition in a bid to secure the release of captives held in Gaza.

Israeli media reported that Gantz, who leads the Blue and White–National Unity alliance and quit the government in June 2024, urged Netanyahu, opposition leader Yair Lapid, and Yisrael Beiteinu head Avigdor Liberman to form a six-month “government of redeeming the captives”.

Yisrael Beiteinu said it supports retrieving captives without attaching political demands, while Lapid has repeatedly called for elections to replace Netanyahu and his far-right allies.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attacked Gantz in a post on X, claiming Israel’s government is stronger without him.

“Right-wing voters chose right-wing policy – not Gantz’s policy, not a centrist government, not surrender deals with Hamas, but absolute victory,” Ben-Gvir wrote.

Al Jazeera’s team on the ground reports an update to today’s death toll from Israeli attacks.

Sources at local hospitals told Al Jazeera that at least 70 Palestinians were killed since dawn on Saturday. 

Israeli forces also bombed a tent sheltering displaced families in al-Saraya, in the al-Rimal neighbourhood of western Gaza City leaving dozens wounded.

Iranian security forces shot dead six militants in the country’s southeast on Saturday, a day after armed rebels killed five police officers, the official news agency IRNA reported.

IRNA said evidence suggested the group had ties to Israel and may have received training from the Mossad spy agency. There was no immediate response from Israel to the allegation.

Authorities also arrested two other members of the group. All but one of the militants were foreign, though their nationalities were not disclosed.

Iranian police said this month that they had detained up to 21,000 suspects during the 12-day conflict with Israel in June.

Southeastern Iran has seen repeated clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and separatists demanding greater rights and autonomy.

Tehran says some of these groups maintain foreign connections and engage in cross-border smuggling and insurgency, with evidence pointing to Israeli involvement in training.

A judge at the Central Criminal Court has rejected a bail application for a pro-Palestine activist allegedly involved in breaking into Britain's largest military airbase. 

Earlier this year, members of the group Palestine Action filmed themselves entering RAF Brize Norton on electric scooters, where they spray-painted two Voyager aircraft with red paint. 

At the time, the Ministry of Defence said the activists had caused £7m ($9.47m) worth of damage and arrested five individuals, aged 22 to 35, in connection with the incident.”

However, earlier this month, Counter Terror Policing South East arrested a sixth suspect, Muhammad Umer Khalid, and charged him with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and conspiracy to enter a prohibited place. 

The 22-year-old has been in custody since and remains in Wormwood Scrubs Prison, where he is awaiting trial. 

Read more: UK court denies bail for Palestine Action activist to care for ill mother

Israeli Army Radio reports the military is probing whether a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen last night contained separable warheads, which are harder to intercept and inflict greater damage than a single-warhead projectile.

The Israeli army previously said the missile “disintegrated in the air” and that interceptors were launched to target the resulting fragments. Videos shared by Israeli media show the missile streaking across the night sky before some debris fell over parts of Tel Aviv.

The military is now assessing whether the weapon was equipped with multiple warheads.

Officials are also examining whether Iran provided the technology to the Houthis, after Iranian state media confirmed using multiwarhead ballistic missiles during the 12-day conflict with Israel in June. Iranian outlets also released footage of the Houthi attacks on Friday.