Live: Over 200 Lebanese children killed in two months of Israeli attacks

Our live coverage from Gaza and Lebaon will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are some of the day's key developments:

• Gaza's health ministry said that 55 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on the enclave in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 43,259 since 7 October 2023

• Additionally, 101,827 have been wounded since the start of the war

• At least 47 Palestinians were killed in overnight Israeli strikes on central Gaza's Deir al-Balah, Nuseirat refugee camp and Zawayda, the Wafa news agency reports

• Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that “Gaza must be reoccupied” and that the “Israeli army will remain in the Gaza Strip for many years to ensure security”  

• The final phase of child polio vaccinations in northern Gaza will resume on Saturday, the head of the Word Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has announced

• The Gaza government media office reported that the number of journalists killed has reached 183 since the beginning of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip

• Fifteen United Nations and humanitarian organisations have issued a strong plea for an immediate ceasefire and protection for civilians in Gaza, urging Israel to end its assault on the enclave. In a joint statement, they described conditions in north Gaza as "apocalyptic", saying that hospitals have been attacked, schools bombed and civilians targeted as they seek refuge

• At least 2,897 people have been killed and 13,150 wounded in Lebanon due to ongoing Israeli attacks, according to Lebanon's health ministry. The ministry reported that 30 fatalities occurred in the past 24 hours

• At least 12 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the town of Amhaz in the Baalbek area of eastern Lebanon

• Emergency teams have recovered seven bodies after an Israeli air strike targeted a family home sheltering around 20 people in eastern Lebanon's Younine town, the country's National News Agency is reporting

• Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday criticised Israel's "expansion" of its attacks on his country, saying they indicated a rejection of efforts to broker a truce after more than a month of war

• Bint Jbeil's Toron Citadel had an entire wall destroyed by Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, the head of the town's cultural archives told L'Orient Today

• A US envoy this week asked Lebanon to declare a unilateral ceasefire with Israel as part of an effort to help negotiations resolve the more than year-long conflict, a senior Lebanese political source and a senior diplomat told Reuters

• The UN's special coordinator for Lebanon on Friday said the country's cultural heritage was being endangered by Israeli strikes on the ancient Lebanese cities of Tyre and Baalbek, home to UNESCO-designated Roman ruins

• The US government on Thursday said Israel's decision to sign a waiver to extend cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian banks for another month was for a "very short term duration" and would create "another looming crisis" by 30 November

The Israeli military announced on Friday that it killed senior Hamas official Izz al-Din Kassab in an airstrike on Khan Younis, calling him one of the last high-ranking figures in Hamas coordinating efforts with other groups in Gaza.

Hamas confirmed Kassab’s death, noting that he died alongside fellow Hamas official Ayman Ayesh in an Israeli strike on their vehicle. 

Hamas sources told Reuters that Kassab held a local leadership role within Gaza but did not belong to the group’s political decision-making office.

Iraqi groups have been deploying one-way drones aimed at Israel, forcing interception by US and partner forces, two American officials told The Associated Press.

The officials, including a US defense official and a regional security official, said these drone attacks have been ongoing since the Hamas assault on Israel on 7 Octboer 2023. 

Drone attacks have grown more frequent, now averaging around five per day, and recently peaked at eight in a single day.

The US and allies have been intercepting these drones, according to the officials, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the information. The regional security official suggested that these continued drone launches may raise the likelihood of a direct Israeli response to the attacks.

Two weeks ago, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock defended Israel's killing of Palestinian civilians during a parliamentary address. 

The UN special rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, swiftly condemned her remarks and warned that if "Germany decided to stand with a state that is committing international crimes, it is a political choice, but it has also legal implications".

This incident is simply the latest example of Germany's enthusiastic support of Israel's campaign of extermination in Gaza.

Many have rightly criticised Germany for its pro-Israel stance and repressive measures that include censorship, arrests of activists, police raids, banning the keffiyeh in schools, and crackdown on pro-Palestine protests, citing its historical guilt.

More than a year later, Germany has remained at the "only...place [it] can be... Israel's side", as Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged after 7 October 2023.

Read more: What is behind Germany's complicity in Israel's Gaza genocide

Gaza's government media office reported that two Israeli attacks on residential buildings in northern Gaza killed 84 Palestinians, including over 50 children.

Al Jazeera Arabic reported that an Israeli bombardment struck a home north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, killing four Palestinians, including three children, and injuring several others.

While speaking to reporters en route to Wisconsin, US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Friday said she has a "plan for all of those things" in relation to Gaza and it would "resonate" with the Arab-American community.

"I have a plan for all of those things, and that is something that resonates within that community and with all Americans," she stated.

A poll, published on Friday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, shows Green Party Candidate Jill Stein and Harris in a statistical tie for the American-Muslim vote, with 42 percent favouring Stein and 41 percent backing the Democratic candidate. The poll has a 2.5 percent margin of error.

Since October of last year, at least 183 journalists and media workers have been killed due to Israeli attacks on Gaza.

As the UN prepares to mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists this Saturday, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric highlighted the urgency of the situation. 

“In his message for the day, the secretary general underscores that a free press is fundamental to human rights, to democracy and to the rule of law,” Dujarric said. He said that "recent years have seen an alarming rate of fatalities in conflict zones, particularly in Gaza, which has seen the highest number of killings of journalists and media workers in a war in decades".

The spokesperson further warned that journalists in Gaza have been killed at a level "unseen by any conflict in modern times". He also noted, "The ongoing ban preventing international journalists from Gaza suffocates the truth even further.”

Read more: US grocery giant Trader Joe’s urged to drop Israeli products

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, accused Israel of turning down ceasefire proposals following renewed air strikes on southern Beirut.

He condemned the Israeli military’s attacks, stating that the bombings in Beirut’s southern suburbs and other regions “confirm the Israeli enemy’s rejection of all efforts being made to secure a ceasefire”.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that the group is seeking a permanent truce to “stop the war of extermination” against the people of Gaza. He said that Hamas will not accept any resolution short of this.

According to Abu Zuhri, Hamas believes Israel is not genuinely pursuing a ceasefire but rather aims to secure the return of captives without ending the conflict, a notion the group rejects. He also remarked that the US lacks interest in facilitating a genuine agreement.

Naim Qassem's rise to the leadership of Hezbollah marks a new chapter for the Lebanese movement and may, at least in the short term, prompt Iran to take a more hands-on approach in directing its ally, people familiar with the party told Middle East Eye.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah said its consultative Shura Council had designated Qassem as Hassan Nasrallah's replacement, exactly a month after the previous secretary general was killed by Israel.

Qassem is one of the few known senior figures left alive after a brutal Israeli bombing campaign.

Despite the security risks associated with naming him as the new leader (Israel's defence minister immediately threatened that the appointment was "temporary"), a source close to Hezbollah told MEE that the party wanted to show that the Shura Council was still functioning and that it had managed to close gaps, reorganise ranks and fill the positions of slain leaders.

At the helm for 32 years, Nasrallah was known for his expertise in military matters and the regional dynamics of the Middle East.

Read more: Naim Qassem’s leadership may prompt larger Iranian role in Hezbollah

A judge judge has partially lifted a gag order related to an investigation into the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office concerning a leak of classified intelligence.

The Israeli judge confirmed that the Shin Bet, Israel Police, and the Israeli military have entered the "open phase" of their joint investigation into a suspected national security breach caused by this leak.

Authorities believe the leak may have undermined Israel's war objectives. “Several suspects were arrested for questioning, and the investigation is ongoing,” the Israeli judge added.

Israeli air strikes on Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza killed at least five Palestinians and wounded several others, according to Wafa news agency.

The agency reported that the attacks targeted a group in the Mashrou neighborhood. 

In southern Gaza, Israeli air raids north of Rafah near Hamza Mosque in the Khirbet al-Adas area also caused casualties, the agency said.

At least 2,897 people have been killed and 13,150 wounded in Lebanon due to ongoing Israeli attacks, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

The ministry reported that 30 fatalities occurred in the past 24 hours, Reuters reported.