Israel Gaza war: IDF claims terror chief killed as Palestine teens shot – live

Seven Palestinians, including four teenagers, were killed by Israeli forces in several areas of the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian official news agency WAFA.

The report says two teenagers, aged 15 and 17, were killed by live bullets after the Israeli forces “targetted” them at the entrance to the village of Shuqba, west of Ramallah.

WAFA added that in the last 12 hours, a 14-year-old was shot and killed by Israeli forces in a refugee camp south of Bethlehem.

Another boy, 16, was killed in a refugee camp east of Tulkarm after Israeli forces allegedly left him “lying on the ground bleeding for about an hour, and prevented ambulances from transferring him to the hospital.”

Three other Palestinians were also killed in the West Bank over the last 12 hours, WAFA reports – raising the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since October 7th to 69.

Israel has not immediately commented on the incidents

Mr Sunak met with families whose loved ones have been held hostage by Hamas following the attacks on 7 October.

In a post on X, the PM was pictured hugging a woman, who was not identified. “To have a child taken from you is a parent’s worst nightmare,” he said – repeating his determination to see hostages released.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Israeli President Isaac Herzog that the UK stood in solidarity with Israel as the two met there on Thursday, with Sunak adding that it was also important to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

“We will stand with you in solidarity with your people and your right to defend yourself, to bring security back to your country to your people, to ensure the safe return of the hostages that have been taken,” Sunak said in a televised part of the meeting.

He also stressed the need to provide aid to Gazans.

“Palestinians are victims of what Hamas has done. It’s important that we continue to provide humanitarian access,” he said.

Rishi Sunak told Israeli President Isaac Herzog his country has the “right to self-defence in line with international law” during their meeting on Thursday.

Offering a readout of the meeting, a Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister “expressed his personal condolences for the horrific loss of life in Israel as a result of Hamas’ terrorism”.

“He reiterated that the UK stands in solidarity with Israel and firmly believes in the country’s right to self-defence in line with international law,” the spokesman added.

Mr Sunak and President Herzog also agreed on the the importance of getting humanitarian aid to suffering Palestinians in Gaza and the Prime Minister “welcomed yesterday’s announcement” that Israel would not stop aid from entering Gaza.

The spokesman said: “He expressed his sincere hope that further progress could be made on delivering crucial food, water and medicine.

“The Prime Minister conveyed his gratitude to President Herzog for the support Israel has provided to British nationals caught up in the attacks, including to the families of those who have been taken hostage.”

Both leaders stressed the need to avoid further escalation of violence.

Humza Yousaf’s brother-in-law has refused to leave his post as a doctor in Gaza because people “need me”.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Scottish First Minister shared a video of bloodied children being treated by medical personnel.

In a message, Mr Yousaf said his wife, Nadia El-Nakla, had implored her brother to go home and rest after working for seven consecutive days.

The First Minister wrote: “My brother-in-law, a doctor in Gaza, is spending his seventh consecutive day in hospital. Nadia spoke to him & said he should go home to rest, his response: ‘I can’t leave my people when they need me’.

“Health workers in Gaza are heroes.”

It comes after Mr Yousaf told broadcasters last week his brother-in-law had been forced to decide who to treat due to a lack of medical supplies.

Mr Yousaf also used his first address to the SNP conference as leader this week to call for the UK Government to set up a refugee resettlement scheme for those seeking to flee Gaza, stating that Scotland could be the first place to take people in.

US aircraft carriers moved closer to Israel in the eastern Mediterranean were sent there for the possible evacuation of civilians, a Turkish defence ministry official said on Thursday.

The US has deployed two aircraft carriers – and their support ships – to the eastern Mediterranean since a surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel this month.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan criticised the US for the move, saying that they would commit “serious massacres” in Gaza. He also said the deployment of U.S. aircraft carriers to the region hindered Turkish efforts to establish calm in the region.

“When we raise this issue with our US counterparts, they tell us that those aircraft carrier groups were sent there as part of non-combatant evacuation operations for civilians in the region,” a Turkish defence ministry official told reporters.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier said that the deployment of aircraft carrier battle groups to the region was “not meant as a provocation, it’s meant as a deterrent”.

Israel, long popular with tourists, is still accessible by air – but hundreds of flights have been cancelled and cruise ship itineraries have been changed.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Israel on Thursday, Sunak’s office said, where the pair stressed the need to avoid further escalation of violence in the region.

“The Prime Minister and President Herzog stressed the imperative need to avoid further escalation of violence in the region. They agreed to continue working together to that end,” Sunak’s office said in a statement.

Machinery to repair roads has been sent through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip in preparation for the delivery of some of the aid stockpiled in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, two security sources said on Thursday.

The United States and Egypt have been pushing for a deal with Israel to get aid delivered to Gaza, and the White House said on Wednesday that it had been agreed for up to 20 trucks to pass through, with hopes for more trucks later.

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents depended on aid before the current conflict started on Oct. 7, about 100 trucks daily were providing humanitarian relief to the enclave, according to the United Nations.

More than 100 trucks were waiting close to the crossing on the Egyptian side on Thursday, though it was not expected that aid would enter before Friday, Egyptian security sources said. More aid is being held in the Egyptian city of Al Arish, about 45 km (28 miles) from Rafah.

Hundreds of pro-Palestine demonstrators were arrested on Wednesday 18 October after taking part in an unauthorised demonstration in the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill.

Activists rallied in Washington DC calling on the Biden administration and Congress to press for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Capitol Police made 300 arrests, according to reports.

The US Capitol Police said its officers began arresting protesters who refused to comply with orders to disperse, with some 500 other demonstrators blocking off Independence Avenue.

Many of the protesters were from the group Jewish Voice for Peace, and could be heard chanting “The world is watching.”