Updates: Israeli attacks kill at least 50 across Gaza Strip today

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You can read more here about how, despite the US threatening to withhold military aid to Israel, it is still deploying troops and an anti-missile defence system to Israel, revealing a serious policy inconsistency.

You can also read about how the US and Canada have imposed sanctions and blacklisted the pro-Palestinian group Samidoun, here.

Finally, you can read our explainer about the THAAD antimissile system the US is sending Israel, here.

We will shortly be closing this live page and moving to a new one, but before we do, here’s a summary of today’s key events:

• Five people, including three children, have been killed after Israeli warplanes bombed the town of Riyaq in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.
• At least 10 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on the town of Qana in southern Lebanon.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have told Israel it must take steps in the next month to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza to avoid legal action involving US military aid.
• The UK has announced new sanctions against three “illegal settler outposts” and four groups accused of committing violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
• Israel’s siege of the north of the Gaza Strip continues, with more than 50 Palestinians killed in the latest attacks, with the Israeli army planting explosive-filled barrels to destroy homes.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have gathered at the Place de la Republique in Paris, France, to protest against Israel’s war on Gaza.

Protesters held banners with messages such as “Toys in Gaza are losing their children” and “Free Palestinian political prisoners” while they chanted, “Free Palestine”.

Notable figures in attendance included Marine Tondelier, the leader of the Green Party (EELV), Thomas Portes, a far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) Member of Parliament and Salah Hamouri, a Palestinian-French lawyer and author of The Prisoner of Jerusalem.

Tondelier voiced deep frustration and sorrow about the continued violence in Gaza in her speech.

“This helplessness is terrible because we have been protesting for a year and this atrocity has been going on for a year,” said Tondelier, accusing world leaders of turning a blind eye to the actions of the Israeli military.

She specifically criticised French President Emmanuel Macron for what she described as his lack of meaningful action.

Earlier, we reported on a letter from the US to Israel demanding that it allow aid into Gaza and the “improvement” of the humanitarian situation there. The US threatened Israel with “legal action” pertaining to its military aid should it not comply.

An Israeli official in Washington, who remained anonymous, was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying the letter is under review by the Israeli government.

“Israel takes this matter seriously and intends to address the concerns raised in this letter with our American counterparts,” the Israeli official said.

The US and Israel have been at odds frequently over the course of this yearlong conflict over the amount and type of aid allowed into Gaza.

Bernie Sanders has urged President Joe Biden on Tuesday not to send weapons to Israel for its war on the Gaza.

“When Congress returns, I will move Joint Resolutions of Disapproval to block offensive arms sales to Israel,” he wrote on X.

“But President Biden should act now: Israel is clearly violating U.S. and international law, using starvation as a tool of its all-out war against the Palestinian people,” he said.

His remarks came after a letter, leaked Tuesday, warned Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza in the next 30 days or risk a US arms embargo.

US officials confirmed that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin co-signed a letter that expressed concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

Sanders introduced legislation last month to block the sale of more than $20bn in US arms sales to Israel, saying that the export of the weapons would violate the criteria laid out in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).

The Senate will vote on the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD) when it reconvenes in November.

Al Jazeera is reporting from outside Israel because it has been banned by the Israeli government.

The UK is sanctioning four organisations that promote settler expansion and that are accused of promoting settler violence.

They can no longer raise funds in the UK or hold public events. Canada has taken similar steps in the past few months.

But when you consider the fact that the Israeli government’s programme considers Israeli settlement expansion to have high national value and is investing millions of dollars in expanding settlements, which are illegal under international law, you begin to wonder: What does [UK Foreign Secretary] David Lammy mean when he’s accusing the Israeli government of inaction?

Dr Samer Attar, an orthopaedic surgery expert and member of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), spoke to US broadcaster Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman about the suffering of civilians in Gaza that he witnessed while volunteering there.

Attar has volunteered four times as a surgeon in Kamal Adwan and al-Awda hospitals in the northern part of the Strip, in addition to his work at Nasser Hospital, the European Hospital and Al-Aqsa Hospital in the south.

“I felt that the residents of northern Gaza were living in complete isolation, as if they were stuck on the top of Mount Everest, constantly waiting for food and fuel”, he told Democracy Now of his most recent trip to Gaza in June.

Attar explained that hospitals lack basic equipment, saying, “On some days, we didn’t have the necessary tools to perform surgeries; there were no gowns or drapes, and even the medical tools were not sterilised.”

He also spoke about an incident where a hospital he was in was bombed, describing the scene: “The floors were covered with blood and body parts and the staff stepped over the bodies in an attempt to reach the living wounded, but unfortunately, most of them die.”

Qatar’s prime minister says his country will continue to press for a ceasefire, despite repeated setbacks imposed by the main parties to the conflict.

Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani told Qatar Television the country had been continuing its efforts to secure a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, which also involved nations such as the US and Egypt.

“We will not be exhausted as long as there is an expectation of results. We succeeded last November through a liberation and ceasefire deal and unfortunately, this was not completed,” he said. “What is happening in Gaza cannot be accepted by any honest person.”

In November 2023, a month after the October 7 attack by Hamas, a seven-day ceasefire brokered by Qatar saw 110 captives freed from Gaza and 240 Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons.

Yet, talks to extend the truce collapsed. Since then there have been repeated demands from the US and Arab nations for the two sides to agree to another ceasefire amid allegations Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been blocking a deal for political reasons.

During this time, at least 42,227 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israel’s military operation.

In May 2024, US President Joe Biden claimed Israel and Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire. It is unclear what agreement was ever reached, but since Israel opened a two-front war by attacking Hezbollah fighters and sending troops into Lebanon, it seems such a process has been put on the back burner.

“We made several extensive contacts with the Lebanese side and explained to them Qatar’s position, which is to stop the war in Lebanon”, Al Thani said.

A healthcare centre was hit and rescue workers are digging through the rubble at the moment.

We know the death count is about 10 people – but that number could well go up – and around 15 people injured.

There are also fires breaking out in some of those homes, so it’s very much an active scene at the moment.

We do know that there have been many warnings against Israel hitting healthcare workers.

Dozens of them have died since the beginning of this conflict.

The World Health Organization also warned just a couple of weeks ago that Israel is continuously hitting not only healthcare centres, but they seem to be targeting healthcare workers, and this is affecting the mass trauma management that’s needed in these areas of conflict, especially in the South of Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley.

So it’s creating a very worrying scene at the moment.

The other thing you need to know about Qana is it is strategically and symbolically important.

There was a massacre there in 1996: Israeli shelling killed at least 116 people, many of whom were sheltering there away from fighting.

Again, in 2006, more shelling killed more than 50 people.

In its latest war update, the Israeli military claims that Hezbollah fired approximately 95 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel today.

Members of parliament, including representatives from the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, have staged a walkout against Israeli officials during the 149th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The delegation of Palestine had submitted an emergency item to the IPU assembly titled, “Enforcing UN General Assembly resolution ES-10/24 and ensuring accountability”.

The resolution issued in September formally demanded an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory within 12 months.

Tensions rose when an Israeli official took the floor to speak during the session, chaired by IPU President Tulia Ackson.

In response, representatives from many countries banged their tables in protest and then walked out of the assembly hall.

After the Israeli official’s speech, the protesting representatives returned to the hall to resume the session.

Ten members of the Abu Taamiya family were killed by an Israeli air strike in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Israeli air strikes have intensified across Gaza in recent days.

Watch our video to learn more: 

Under international and US law, if it’s decreed that the Israelis are deliberately blocking aid or not doing enough to get aid into areas where civilians are impacted, and they can qualify for US military aid, then that military aid might stop.

Questions are already being asked on Capitol Hill about whether there should be some action to discuss this with the US State Department.

But politically, for the Democrats, it looks as if they’re doing something on the question of getting aid into Gaza, particularly as we’re just three weeks away from the election today.

It’s a clear timeline, and there are clear consequences.

Essentially, the US is now saying: You [Israel] have 30 days to sort this out and get more food into Gaza because there are around 2.2 million people who are currently suffering from food insecurity or on the verge of starvation

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been speaking to his Jordanian counterpart, thanking his country for delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza and Lebanon.

He also repeated Washington’s belief that the best way to deliver more aid and return the hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack, was a ceasefire.

The call came as aid officials warn that supplies entering Gaza have dwindled and food for thousands of families is being threatened by escalating violence in the north.

“Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi,” said US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

“The Secretary underscored the need for a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon that implements United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 and allows both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to safely return home.”

He said Blinken thanked King Abdullah II and the generosity of the Jordanian people in “delivering urgent humanitarian assistance”.

He added that the US Secretary of State repeated the belief of his country that “it is time to reach a ceasefire agreement for Gaza that brings the hostages home, alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian and Israeli people, and ultimately brings an end to the war”.

Last week, the World Food Programme warned escalating violence in northern Gaza was having a disastrous impact on food security for thousands of Palestinian families, noting that the main crossings into the north have been closed and no food aid has entered since October 1.

Hezbollah says that its fighters destroyed three bulldozers and two tanks belonging to the Israeli army on the outskirts of Ramyah, southern Lebanon, resulting in casualties.

In a statement, the Lebanese group said its fighters targeted a “Merkava tank while attempting to advance to the outskirts of Ramyah with a guided missile, which resulted in its burning and casualties among its crew”.

They also targeted “three bulldozers and another Merkava tank on the outskirts of Ramyah with guided missiles, leading to their destruction and casualties among those inside”; according to another statement.

Hezbollah reported in a third statement that its fighters targeted Israeli forces near the Ramyah village with artillery shells.