Live: Israeli soldiers kill unarmed Palestinians as they surrender in Jenin

Arab and Muslim states that the US wants to be part of an international stabilisation force in Gaza are alarmed that they could be “trapped” into disarming Hamas by force, according to a draft United Nations resolution the US is working on.

A copy of the draft resolution obtained by Middle East Eye says that an international force will take part in "demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding of military, terror, and offensive infrastructure”.

Two Egyptian officials told MEE that Cairo believes more emphasis should be placed on “decommissioning” weapons, a point also addressed in the draft.

The Egyptian officials said Cairo wants time to negotiate a handover of heavy weapons with Hamas in a coordinated manner and will not confront the group.

“Egypt will not do the job that Israel was unable to do,” one official told MEE.

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Israeli settlers launched attacks on homes in Hebron in the West Bank and injured a child on Thursday, according to Wafa news agency.

The settlers threw stones at residential houses in the Khallet al-Natsh neighbourhood, in east Hebron, and struck a young boy in the face.  

He was taken to hospital for treatment.

The Trump administration plans to announce that Kazakhstan will normalise relations with Israel on Thursday evening, Axios reported. 

US's special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff announced he would be flying from Florida to Washington for the announcement, but did not reveal who would be signing the Abraham Accords.

Axios said an unnamed US official revealed it would be Kazakhstan. The country's president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is meeting President Donald Trump on Thursday.

The UAE and Bahrain were the first countries to sign the Abraham Accords and establish ties with Israel in 2020, followed by Morocco and Sudan.

Israel has been bombing Lebanon in recent days and has violated a ceasefire agreement with the country numerous times. 

A wave of Israeli air strikes hit Lebanon on Thursday. Strikes hit a residential area in Toura, southern Lebanon, killing one man and wounding eight others, according to the National News Agency on Thursday. 

Israeli attacks also wounded another man in Tayr Debba in Tyre.

The attacks also targeted the towns of Taybeh and Aita al-Jabal.

President Mahmoud Abbas met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Thursday.

They discussed the critical need to expand humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and the necessity of ending the conflict by pursuing a two-state solution. 

It is the first time both have met in person.

Abbas met with Pope Francis in December. Pope Francis was a tireless advocate for Palestine and consistently called for a ceasefire. People have been disappointed with Pope Leo's stance since he took office earlier this year. 

Italy evacuated 19 sick children from Gaza to Italy on Wednesday, the Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto announced on Thursday. The children were admitted to 15 different hospitals in Italy.

An advocacy group called Jurists and Lawyers for Palestine filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court against Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani last month.

The complaint alleges that Italy has become complicit in the alleged genocide and war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza by supplying weapons to the Israeli government.

Italy has also allowed Israel to use its airspace during its war on Gaza.

Drivers and labour representatives told Middle East Eye that they were seeing a recurring pattern in Jerusalem's Malha area, close to Beitar Jerusalem's Teddy Stadium, with chants and jeering regularly escalating into spitting, threats and beatings.

Majid Mabrouk, a senior representative of the drivers' union, said that the pattern had become so entrenched that workers dread working match days.

"What happens there is blatant racism against Arabs," he told MEE. 

"It starts with shouts of 'Death to Arabs!' and 'Go to Gaza!' and then it becomes spitting, insults and physical assault. It has become routine."

Read more: 'I saw death': Arab bus drivers in Israel fear for their lives amid football fan violence

Israeli forces have conducted multiple raids and detained Palestinians across the West Bank, Wafa news agency is reporting.

According to the report, Israeli soliders have raided homes and detained residents in the village of al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, since dawn, sealing off one of its entrances.

Soldiers also conducted a raid on the town of Tumman, southeast of Tubas. Wafa cited local sources which reported that troops flanked by bulldozers stormed the town before positioning themselves to the east.

Meanwhile, in the northern Jordan valley, Israeli settlers forcibly displaced six Palestinian families in the Fasayel al-Wusta area, north of Jericho, according to the Al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights.

Israeli forces have launched a fresh attack on southern Lebanon, targeting the town of Aita al-Jabal, the country's National News Agency is reporting.

The army announced it was unleashing a "wave of attacks" across Lebanon earlier today. The National News Agency reported strikes on several sites across the area, including Tyre and Taybeh.

Israeli army Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued a fresh warning to residents of another imminent attack targeting a building in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah town.

In a post on X, Adraee warned the town's residents who live in or near the building, marked on a map, to evacuate immediately.

A building has collapsed in Gaza City's Daraj neighbourhood, trapping a number of victims underneath the rubble.

Gaza's Civil Defence confirmed that at least one person has died as a result.

The UN Agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) previously warned that many "unsafe" buildings across Gaza are serving as makeshift shelters for displaced Palestinians.

The Israeli army announced that it has unleashed a "wave of strikes" targeting Hezbollah military sites across southern Lebanon.

The country's National News Agency confirmed that Israeli attacks had struck several areas across the country's south.

One attack struck a building in southern Lebanon's Tyre, with another targeting Taybeh.

Israeli forces have threatened a major attack on southern Lebanon, issuing an "urgent warning" for residents to stay away from Hezbollah “terrorist infrastructure”.

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement that the army "will attack Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure throughout southern Lebanon to counter Hezbollah’s prohibited attempts to rebuild its activities in the area".

Israel has launched near-daily attacks on Lebanon since a ceasefire came into effect in November 2024.

West Midlands Police determined Maccabi Tel Aviv fans posed a risk to Muslim communities in Birmingham in their assessment before banning the fans from a fixture on Thursday at Aston Villa, Middle East Eye can reveal.

The ban triggered a political furore and was denounced as antisemitic last month by the British government. 

Now MEE can reveal new details about the police assessment behind the ban which raises fresh questions about the response of government ministers, who said they would work to ensure Maccabi fans could attend the game despite the police assessment.

Documents seen by MEE show that police concluded that there was a "medium risk to local Muslim communities" and a "medium risk to pro-Palestine protestors", as well as a "high risk to away supporters", who were considered likely to provoke trouble.

The police said some Maccabi fans "were associated with a history of racist behaviour towards players and fans, and a well documented and concerning history of disorder and violence at both home and away matches".

Read more: Labour pushed to allow Maccabi fans despite police warning on threat to Muslims

More than 700 police officers were deployed in Birmingham on Thursday for the high-risk Europa League match between Aston Villa and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, AFP reported. 

The report said that two demonstrations are planned near the stadium, one organised by thePalestine Solidarity Campaign and the other in support of Maccabi.

West Midlands police official Tom Joyce said that a large number of uniformed officers, as well as mounted police, dogs and drones would be deployed. 

Protestors put up signs around the stadium bearing the words "Zionists are not welcome" and raised Palestinian flags.

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson seized upon the issue in a video posted on X, making numerous anti-Islamic remarks.

Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank resulted in the deaths of a Palestinian boy and an elderly woman in two separate assaults on Thursday.

Troops stormed a house in al-Mazraa al-Gharbiya, northwest of Ramallah, assaulting a family.

During the raid, Haniyeh Hanoun, 80, died from shock, according to Al-Araby TV. Her grandson was arrested in the same operation.

Local media reported that Hanoun had been suffering from chronic health conditions prior to the raid.

Images circulating from the scene show furniture overturned, with clothes and other belongings scattered across the floor. Another video clip shows an ambulance rushing towards the house.

According to local reports, Israeli raid-and-arrests assaults were reported across the occupied West Bank on Thursday, particularly in Ramallah, Jenin and Tulkarm.

In a separate incident, during a raid in the town of al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, Israeli soldiers shot dead a 15-year-old Palestinian boy, Murad Fawzi Abu Seifen.

Read more: Israeli West Bank raids leave Palestinian boy and grandmother dead