Live: Hamas agrees to release 10 Israeli captives

The second meeting between the US president and Israeli prime minister in less than 24 hours has now concluded at the White House, the press pool was told shortly after 6pm local time in Washington. 

The meeting lasted one hour and was entirely closed to the media. 

Earlier in the day, Donald Trump said the Tuesday meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu would focus exclusively on Gaza. 

A Qatari delegation met with senior White House officials for several hours on Tuesday, ahead of US President Donald Trump's second meeting in 24 hours with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

The news was reported by Axios.

Qatar, alongside Egypt, is a mediator for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

Medical personnel in Gaza have told local media that 100 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes since dawn on Tuesday. 

Late Tuesday evening, local time, Israel targeted a camp housing forcibly displaced families west of Khan Younis, and also carried out heavy shelling on the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City. Videos shared by local media show several dead and wounded children. 

After US President Donald Trump announced early in July that a 60-day ceasefire for Israel's war on Gaza was on the cards, people have been waiting with anticipation for the outcome of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House this week.

Monday's discussions produced no reported breakthroughs, with talks expected to continue through Tuesday.

Since returning to office on 20 January 2025, Trump has flip-flopped on plans for Gaza. Middle East Eye takes a look at the timeline of Trump’s comments on Gaza.

Read more: The US president's comments have ranged from proposed ceasefires to a US takeover of Gaza

Health officials in Gaza said on Tuesday that there has been "an alarming increase" in cases of meningitis in the strip. 

"The Ministry of Health has recorded a significant increase in the number of suspected and confirmed cases of meningitis, especially among children under five years of age, the group most vulnerable to the disease and its serious complications," the statement said. 

"The decline in the level of healthcare - with the closure and destruction of hospitals and primary care centers - the significant deterioration in drug stocks, and the shortage of childhood vaccinations is limiting emergency response efforts," it added. 

"The catastrophic conditions in shelters, the severe shortage of drinking water, the spread of sewage, and the accumulation of waste are driving the health situation to further deterioration," health officials warned. 

"The Ministry of Health issues an urgent appeal to all concerned parties to intervene immediately and improve health and living conditions to reduce the spread of the disease."

US President Donald Trump's special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, said on Tuesday that he is hopeful for an agreement to a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza by the end of the week. 

His comments follow a Monday meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected to remain in Washington for talks with several lawmakers before heading back to Israel on Thursday.

Trump confirmed that he will have a second meeting with Netanyahu on Tuesday, following their dinner at the White House on Monday. 

At 2am, Ahmad Abu Zubaida received a text message from friends: aid had finally arrived.

Starving under a months-long Israeli siege, he set out for the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution point in the central Gaza Strip.

Driven by the urgent need to feed his children and orphaned nephews, Abu Zubaida, a Palestinian father who had recently lost three brothers in Israeli attacks, risked his life to reach the site.

On the way to the centre in the Gaza Valley area, there were no lights and no paved roads. 

As he approached the gate, Israeli gunfire erupted.

Dozens around him dropped, some killed, others wounded, many screaming in agony.

"It was as if it were the Day of Judgment," Abu Zubaida told Middle East Eye, recalling the chaotic scene: shrapnel flying in every direction, the cries of the injured, and the relentless crack of gunfire.

Read more: Pits, gunfire and panic: Palestinians navigate death at US aid points 

Two people were killed in an Israeli strike which the military said targeted a "key" Hamas member in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

Israeli media is reporting that the attack killed Hamas's planning department chief, Mahran Mustafa Baajour.

Lebanon's health ministry said the strike which targeted a vehicle "led to a preliminary toll of two dead and three wounded" not far from a Palestinian refugee camp.

The number of Palestinians held in Israeli custody has soared to around 10,800 - the highest recorded number of detainees since the Second Intifada in 2000-05, Palestinian prisoners' advocacy groups have said.

The figure includes 50 women, two of them from Gaza, and over 450 children, according to a statement by the Palestinian prisoners’ institutions via the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS).

It excludes detainees held in Israeli military camps, the statement said.

It added that the number of administrative detainees reached 3,629 as of the beginning of July.

Israel has killed at least 78 people in attacks across Gaza since dawn, Al Jazeera is reporting, citing medical sources.

The latest casualties have pushed the overall toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since Ocober 2023 to 57,575 with another 136,879 wounded.

Israeli media is reporting that an Israeli attack near Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli killed Hamas's planning department chief, Mahran Mustafa Baajour.

We reported earlier that the Israeli army claimed an attack on a "key Hamas terrorist" near Tripoli.

Lebanon 24 posted a video of a burning car in the village of Al-Ayrouniyah near Tripoli, saying it was struck by an Israeli drone.

A report by Lebanon's National News Agency said a CR-V SUV was targeted by two missiles.

معلومات أولية: استهداف سيارة في العيرونية شمال لبنان https://t.co/mo6ASjCfQw #lebanon24 pic.twitter.com/elOtbdhxX9

— Lebanon 24 (@Lebanon24) July 8, 2025

At least 67 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since dawn, Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting.

Of that figure, 42 people were killed in attacks in central and southern Gaza.

The Israeli military says it has carried out a drone strike targeting a "key" member of Hamas in Lebanon's northern coastal city of Tripoli.

Hamas fighters killed five Israeli soldiers and wounded at least 14 others on Monday in an ambush in Beit Hanoun, near the boundary with Israel in the northern Gaza Strip.

The attack occurred in an area that Israeli forces had forcibly emptied of Palestinian residents and designated a "buffer zone", where military operations have continued for months.

According to the Israeli military, an initial investigation found that the soldiers were targeted with roadside explosive devices during ground operations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who received news of the attack while visiting Washington, mourned the troops.

“On this difficult morning, the entire People of Israel bows its head in mourning for the fall of our heroic fighters, who risked their lives in the battle to defeat Hamas and free all our hostages,” he said in a statement. 

Read more: Hamas ambush kills five soldiers in Israeli-controlled 'buffer zone'

At least 60 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in attacks across Gaza since dawn, Al Jazeera is reporting citing medical sources.

Of that number, 42 were killed in central and southern Gaza.