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France 24
France 24
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FRANCE 24

šŸ”“Live: Two senior commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guards killed in Israeli strike on Damascus

A crowd gathers near the Iranian consulate in Syria, which was blown up by an Israeli strike on March 1, 2024. Ā© Maher al Mounes, AFP

Seven members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps including two high-ranking generals were killed in an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the Guards said in a statement Monday.Ā Earlier in the day, Israelā€™s military confirmed it had withdrawn from Gazaā€™s main hospital, Al Shifa. The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said the complex had been left in ruins, and was ā€œcompletely out of serviceā€. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war.

Summary:

  • Seven members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two high-ranking generals, were killed in an Israeli attack on an Iranian consulate in Damascus, the Guards said in a statement Monday.

  • The Israeli parliament passed a bill Monday giving top ministers the authority to bar from Israel the broadcasts of news channel Al Jazeera ā€“Ā a step premier Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to take.
  • The Israeli military on Monday announced the death of a soldier in fighting in the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of troops killed since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel to 600.
  • The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said Monday the Israeli military had withdrawn tanks and vehicles from the complex housing the besieged territory's main hospital, Al Shifa, two weeksĀ after the launch of a major operation on the site. Israel's militaryĀ confirmed the completion of its operation there.
  • AtĀ leastĀ 32,845Ā Palestinians have been killed and 75,392Ā wounded since IsraelĀ beganĀ its offensive on Gaza,Ā according to the health ministry in theĀ Hamas-run enclave.Ā Around 1,140 people were killedĀ in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people taken hostage,Ā according to Israeli figures,Ā with 132 still missing.

Yesterday's key developments:

  • A deadly Israeli air strike hit a tent camp in the courtyard of a hospital in central Gaza on Sunday, killing at least fourĀ people and wounding 17,Ā World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Israelā€™s military said the strike targeted an Islamic Jihad ā€œcommand centreā€.

  • Pope Francis renewed his calls for the release of Israeli hostages and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in his Easter message at the Vatican.
  • Thousands of Israelis gathered outside the parliament building in Jerusalem on Sunday in the largest anti-government demonstration since the country went to war in October.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Sunday thatĀ victory over Palestinian militant group Hamas will require a military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than oneĀ million people are seeking refuge.
  • The Israeli military said it killed a Hezbollah commander in an air strike on a vehicle in Lebanon on Sunday, identifying him as Ismail Al-Zin, a commander in the anti-tank missile unit of Hezbollah's Radwan Forces.
  • Israel launched missile strikes near the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday, a war monitor said, two days after dozens were killed in strikes that fuelled concerns of a regional conflagration.
About casualty figures from Gazaā€™s Hamas-run health ministry:

Gazaā€™s health ministry collects data from the enclaveā€™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 ā€œIsraeli aggressionā€.

The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.Ā 

Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministryā€™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 ministryā€™s, with small discrepancies.Ā 

For more on the Gaza health ministryā€™s tolls, click here.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)Ā 

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)

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