Israel Palestine news: US blocks missiles fired from Yemen ‘towards Israel’

Israel has said that it is “prepared” for a threat from Yemen after a US warship intercepted three missiles fired from Iran-backed militias in the region.

A US official said the missiles had “potentially” been fired towards Israel.

Israeli Defence Force (IDF) spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the incident “shows the defence capabilities of the US”, noting the close relationship Israel has with the US Central Command.

“Israel has some of the world’s best air defences, and is prepared for threats like these,” he added.

Barriers erected at the Egyptian border crossing into Gaza are being removed ahead of an expected reopening later today, photos have shown.

Images taken overnight have shown a crane removing boards at the Rafah crossing put up when Israel demanded the checkpoint be closed earlier this week.

It remains unclear whether the crossing will be reopened but US officials have hinted that 20 trucks of humanitarian aid will be permitted to enter Gaza through Rafah as early as today.

Work is ongoing to repair the roads into the enclave that were damaged by Israeli airstrikes.

Shooting has been reported near the Israeli border with Lebanon.

Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesperson, claimed “shots were fired at an Israel Defence Force (IDF) group operating in the area.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has flown to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in a push to get aid flowing into Gaza, but it remains unclear when delivery of relief materials stockpiled in Egypt would start.

The United States said details of a deal to send aid through the Rafah crossing between Sinai and Gaza were still being hammered out.

Earlier, the United States said agreement was reached for the passage of the first 20 trucks, but UN officials say that any delivery of aid needs to be done at scale and in a sustained way.

Before the current conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas about 450 aid trucks were arriving in Gaza daily.

Another plane carrying humanitarian aid has arrived in Egypt, just 20 minutes from the border crossing into Gaza, as calls increase to open up the corridor.

The World Health Organisation called for “immediate, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access, including through Rafah” into Gaza.

It said there were enough supplies waiting at the crossing to cover 1000 medical operations.

It has been nearly a week since the first Israeli evacuation orders were handed down to Palestinian civilians in Gaza to head southward, sparking fears that a ground offensive in the north was imminent.

After Hamas militants broke into Israel on 7 October, killing more than a thousand innocent victims, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been clear that a retaliatory attack to “destroy” the group will happen.

Through extensive research and conversations with experts, The Independent explains what this incursion could look like and the myriad hurdles that Israel must overcome to make sure it is a success.

You can read the full report below.

Any escalation of military activities in the Gaza Strip will be “catastrophic” for people there, the UN high commissioner for refugees said on Friday.

“[I] can tell you with certainty that any further escalation or even continuation of military activities will just be catastrophic for the people of Gaza,” Filippo Grandi told reporters in Japan.

The United Nations humanitarian office has said it is in advanced talks with all parties in the conflict between Israel and Hamas to ensure an aid operation into Gaza starts soon.

“We are in deep and advanced negotiations with all relevant sides to ensure that an aid operation into Gaza starts as quickly as possible and with the right conditions,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“We are encouraged by reports that the different sides are nearing an agreement on the modalities, and that a first delivery is due to start in the next day or so.”

One hundred Israelis missing since the Hamas incursion 13 days ago are still unaccounted for, The Independent has been told.

Israeli Defence Force spokesperson Lt Col Richard Hecht said 100 are missing and some may never be found.

Jonathan Conricus, another spokesperson, said earlier that they “do not know if [the missing] are dead … or somewhere in the Gaza Strip”.