In a televised press conference a day after Israeli forces mistakenly killed three of more than 100 hostages held by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to hint on Saturday that new negotiations were under way to recover the hostages. The chief of Mossad intelligence met on Friday the prime minister of Qatar, a country mediating in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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Summary:
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to hint on Saturday that new negotiations were under way to recover hostages held by Hamas, after his chief of Mossad intelligence met the prime minister of Qatar, a country mediating with Hamas.
- The Israeli military's announcement on Friday that it had mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during its ground operation in the Gaza Strip has sparked protests in the capital Tel Aviv. Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalqa were killed in a neighbourhood of Gaza City on Friday when troops mistook them for a threat, even as they carried a white flag and cried for help in Hebrew, an army official said on Saturday.
- At least 14 people died Saturday morning from air strikes that hit two houses on Old Gaza Street in Jabalia and dozens more were killed in a separate air strike that hit another home in Jabalia, according to the official Palestinian WAFA news agency.
- A more precise picture of Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel has emerged from social security data, confirming the unprecedented scale of the violence but also challenging some initial testimonies. The final death toll from the attack is now thought to be 695 Israeli civilians, including 36 children, as well as 373 security forces and 71 foreigners, giving a total of 1,139. This excludes five people, among them four Israelis, still listed as missing by the prime minister's office.
- At least 18,800 people have been killed in Israel's ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip and at least 51,000 people injured, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. At least 7,600 people are missing, according to the Hamas media office.
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Key developments from yesterday:
- The Israeli army said its troops shot and killed three hostages on Friday after "mistakenly" identifying them as a threat.
- A cameraman for Al Jazeera was killed on Friday in the southern Gaza Strip, a spokesperson for the Arabic broadcaster said.
- Israeli special forces have recovered the body of 28-year-old French-Israeli hostage Elia Toledano, who was held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas since its October 7 attack in southern Israel, the military said in a statement on Friday.
- Israel approved the "temporary" delivery of aid into Gaza via its Kerem Shalom border crossing, the prime minister's office said, opening a new route for supplies after weeks of pressure.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
