Gaza Strip

Three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly shot by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip had been waving a white flag and were shirtless when they were killed, military officials said Saturday, in Israel's first such acknowledgement of harming any hostages in its war against Hamas.

An Israeli attack killed an Al Jazeera journalist and wounded his colleague in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Qatari network reported.

Al Jazeera had initially reported that cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa and Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh were wounded in a school in Khan Yunis, where they were hit by "shrapnel from an Israeli missile attack".

Israel pressed its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday after telling key backer the United States that the war to crush Hamas will last "more than several months".

Vowing to destroy Hamas and bring home an estimated 240 hostages taken by militants into Gaza, Israel launched a massive military offensive that has left swathes of the besieged territory in ruins.

Israel has initiated pumping seawater into Hamas's extensive tunnel network in the war-torn Gaza Strip as part of a broader effort to dismantle the underground infrastructure supporting Hamas operations, U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal has reported.

The report states that the number of people in need of humanitarian aid this year has risen to 300 million, that the number of forcibly displaced people has increased to 110 million and that 20 African countries are facing the worst crisis, according to Reuters.
Sudan tops the IRC's humanitarian situation list, followed by the Palestinian territories and South Sudan.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will be in Israel today and tomorrow.

The UN has again emphasized that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic. According to the Palestinian side, 18,600 people died in the Israeli operation against Hamas.

Israel bombed Gaza on Thursday as a top White House advisor was due to arrive in Jerusalem with a rift growing over U.S. calls for its ally to exercise restraint.

The war has left besieged Gaza in ruins, killing more than 18,600 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and devastating homes, roads, schools and hospitals.

Despite the return of the first 50 prisoners to Israeli territory and the temporary ceasefire, clashes on the ground in the Gaza Strip have resumed, while the security services continue to search for the abductees. 

The Israeli army has begun filling Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip with seawater, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed US officials.

The Wall Street Journal says the process is likely to last for weeks.

The Israeli army did not comment on the information, Reuters reported.

153 countries voted for the adoption of the resolution, 10 were against, and 23 UN members abstained.
Serbia is among the countries that supported the resolution, while Israel and the United States of America were against it.