Israel war on Gaza updates: Israeli bombardment kills dozens across enclave

For more on why UN human rights experts have warned that Israel risks becoming an international “pariah” over its “genocide” in Gaza, read our report, here.

For a visual overview of the geography, history and living conditions of the millions of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, read our explainer, here.

And you can always find all our latest coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, here.

We’ll be closing this live page soon. Here’s a recap of the day’s main developments:

• Israel has continued its relentless bombardment of Gaza, killing dozens of people across the besieged territory.
• Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has sent a letter to Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, praising the Yemeni group’s recent missile attack against Israel and saying that Israeli plans to neutralise the Palestinian group have failed.
• The UN refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) has warned that sanitary conditions in Gaza are quickly deteriorating, with disease-spreading insects and rodents threatening people’s health and wellbeing.
• The United States has said it is still working with mediators Egypt and Qatar to present a revised proposal for a ceasefire, but there have been no further details on when it is expected to be presented.
• Palestinians have marked 42 years since the Sabra and Shatila massacre, when the Israeli army facilitated the killing of as many as 3,500 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians in the refugee camp in Beirut.
• Lebanon’s Health Ministry has said one person was killed and two others were wounded in an Israeli attack on Hula in southern Lebanon.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, says reaching a ceasefire in Gaza is ultimately a question of political will.

“The time has come for both sides make some hard choices and some difficult compromises,” she said.

Thomas-Greenfield’s remarks on Monday mark a departure from her previous statements. Last month, she claimed that Israel had accepted a US “bridging proposal” for a deal, arguing that Hamas is the party blocking a ceasefire agreement.

We continue to work around the clock to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas with the release of hostages.

But this is ultimately a question of political will. The time has come for both sides make some hard choices and some difficult compromises. pic.twitter.com/virPmn7iyi

— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) September 16, 2024

Israeli forces have raided Silwad – north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank – and arrested three young men and took their vehicles, the Wafa news agency reports.

The Lebanese group says it monitored the movement of Israeli forces around a base on the eastern side of the Lebanon-Israel border and targeted them with “appropriate weapons”.

Hezbollah said the attack resulted in “confirmed” hits.

It was the group’s first announced military operation on Tuesday local time.

John Fetterman has dismissed UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s criticism of Israel over the mass atrocities in Gaza.

“These so-called ‘experts’ have consistently revealed their anti-Israel bias and a censure from one of them is a badge of honor,” Fetterman, a Democrat, wrote in a social media post.

“No apologies and zero conditions for any essential support for Israel.”

Albanese and other rights experts have accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians – a major crime defined by the UN as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.

Fetterman has been a staunch supporter of Israel, drawing criticism from his progressive Arab and Muslim constituents.

These so-called ‘experts’ have consistently revealed their anti-Israel bias and a censure from one of them is a badge of honor.

No apologies and zero conditions for any essential support for Israel. pic.twitter.com/YMZUOYmw1J

— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) September 16, 2024

Jorge Moreira Da Silva, undersecretary-general and executive director of the UN Office for Project Services, says the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is “irreplaceable” in Gaza.

“UNRWA is on the ground, and all the UN agencies, including my own agency … we rely on the great partnership with UNRWA,” Da Silva told Al Jazeera.

The problem, he said, is not logistical but “political”.

Among the key issues are the incidents relating to the security and safety of UN personnel and humanitarian aid agencies.

His comments come just days after six UNRWA employees were killed in the Israeli bombing of a school-turned-shelter – the latest in a string of attacks on aid workers in Gaza.

Another major issue, he said, was the “lack of crossings”, with the vital Rafah border crossing with Egypt still closed since the Israeli army captured it in May.

The situation is “catastrophic, it is apocalyptical”, Da Silva said. “We need political will” to get UN Security Council resolutions fully implemented, he added.

We reported earlier that Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Mubasher that the US has offered concessions to the Yemeni group to end its attacks in the Red Sea and against Israel.

Al-Bukhaiti said Washington even offered to recognise the Houthi-controlled government in Sanaa. The US has now categorically dismissed that account.

“Houthi propaganda is rarely true or newsworthy. Coverage like this puts a guise of credibility on their misinformation,” a senior State Department official told Al Jazeera in an email.

Washington’s top diplomat will leave on Tuesday to attend the US-Egypt Strategic Dialogue with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty, the State Department said.

“In addition to co-chairing the strategic dialogue, the Secretary will meet with Egyptian officials to discuss ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of all hostages, alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people, and helps establish broader regional security,” it added.

Blinken has been regularly going to the region since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Despite the rampant destruction in Gaza and the risk of an all-out conflict that could engulf the entire Middle East, US Congressman Don Davis has hailed the so-called Abraham Accords, which were sponsored by the former Trump administration to establish diplomatic ties between Israel and several Arab states.

“As we mark the fourth anniversary of the Abraham Accords, we reflect on how the historic agreement between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain is transforming the region for the better,” Davis, a Democrat, wrote in a social media post.

“Let’s keep the momentum alive and work to expand the peace to other Gulf states.”

Critics say the agreements aimed to forge economic and diplomatic ties across the region at the expense of maintaining Israeli abuses and the occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Ghazi Hamad says the US is merely repeating “the same failed experience” with its recent push for a new Gaza ceasefire proposal.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher, Hamad said Washington’s “bias” in favour of Israel and its inability to understand the Palestinian perspective, has continuously pushed it to be “on the wrong side of history”.

Hamad said the group believes the US is not pressuring Israel enough to reach a deal, which has always led to a “dead-end”.

He said Hamas has worked with “flexibility” in its indirect negotiations, but that Netanyahu’s government has been obstructing any progress in talks.

The Lebanese group says the military operations included rocket and drone attacks against Israeli positions across the border.

Today’s clashes come amid growing calls in Israel for addressing the crisis with Hezbollah, including through a major war if necessary.

Hezbollah says it will continue to target Israeli military bases until Israel stops its war on Gaza.

An Israeli attack that hit a home in southwest Gaza City has killed three people, including a woman and child, the Palestinian Civil Defence says.

The incident brings the death toll documented by the Civil Defence today to at least 38.

The group released what it said was a video captured from a downed Israeli drone that dropped evacuation notices in the agricultural village of Wazzani in south Lebanon.

The leaflets, which look similar to the forced displacement notices that the Israeli military has been deploying in Gaza, warned residents to leave their homes before 4pm (13:00 GMT) on Sunday.

“Anyone present in this area after this time will be considered a terrorist,” they said.

The Israeli military later said that the notices were unauthorised, and issued by a unit that did not get approval for their release.

The Hezbollah footage on Monday showed two Israeli soldiers loading the leaflets into the drone before it was flown over an area where farmers were tending to crops.

The video concludes with footage of the drone itself – a quadcopter-type of aerial vehicle.

Read more about the Israeli evacuation orders here.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti says the United States and United Kingdom have offered “concessions” and “threats” to the Houthis, through mediators, in order to stop the Yemeni group’s attacks in support of Gaza.

Al-Bukhaiti told Al Jazeera Mubasher that one of the “temptations” offered by the US was proposing recognition of the Houthi-controlled Yemeni government in Sanaa.

“Our position has been clear,” al-Bukhaiti said, stressing that the Houthis will not negotiate over their support for Palestinians.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on al-Bukhaiti’s remarks.

Reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering sacking Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have shaken the political landscape in Israel.

Israel’s leading television channels and news websites reported that Netanyahu, under pressure from far-right coalition partners, is contemplating replacing Gallant with a former ally – Gideon Saar, who is currently a member of the opposition.

A former aide and senior cabinet minister under Netanyahu, Saar was long considered a rising star in the Likud Party. He held the senior posts of education minister and interior minister under Netanyahu.

In 2020, Saar broke away from Likud to form a new political party called New Hope.

It would not be the first time Netanyahu has tried to fire Gallant. The two have been at odds over a number of government policies, including the handling of the war in Gaza and the terms of a possible captive release and ceasefire deal with Hamas.

In March 2023, Netanyahu announced he would fire Gallant after he broke ranks with the government and urged a halt to a highly contested plan to overhaul the judicial system. That move triggered mass protests, and Netanyahu backtracked.

Masoud Pezeshkian has said during a news conference that even if Iran wanted to transfer ballistic missiles to the Houthis in Yemen, it would have a hard time reaching the country.

He stressed that the Yemeni group has developed its own military capabilities.

Watch the Iranian president’s remarks below.

Earlier, we reported that the United States said it is still working with mediators Egypt and Qatar to present a revised proposal for a ceasefire in the Israeli war in Gaza. We now have more details on that.

“I don’t have a timetable for you other than to say that we are working expeditiously to try to develop that proposal,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

Months of talks have so far failed to reach a deal to end the war, even after US President Joe Biden publicly laid out a plan in June that Hamas has repeatedly said it is ready to implement.

US officials said much of the deal has been agreed upon, but negotiations have been ongoing to clear two main obstacles: Israel’s demand to keep its forces in the Philadelphi Corridor to maintain a buffer between Gaza and Egypt, and the specifics of an exchange of captives for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Miller confirmed that those remained the main sticking points.

The Arab League and the United Nations have discussed the risks posed by the continued Israeli war on Gaza on regional stability, according to a statement published by the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

This came during a meeting in Cairo between Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit and UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland.

The two sides also discussed upcoming diplomatic steps to move forward efforts to revitalise the two-state solution.

Aboul Gheit stressed the importance of expanding the scope of recognition of the Palestinian state. “It paves the way for negotiations between two states on an equal footing and from a position of equality at the legal level,” he said.

The two sides agreed that humanitarian work must be accompanied by a political vision that addresses the fundamental issue, which is the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, the statement said.

Israeli settlers have assaulted several Palestinian citizens in the Jourat al-Jamal area, southeast of Yatta in Hebron, Wafa reports.

A woman from the Abu Malsh family suffered wounds and bruises in the attack, which was carried out with protection from Israeli soldiers, according to the Palestinian news agency. She was taken to hospital, where her condition was described as moderate.

Separately, Israeli forces confiscated a number of vehicles in the al-Fakhari area in Hebron’s village of al-Karmel, and detained Mohammed al-Harini from Masafer Yatta while he was trying to confront settlers who attempted to seize his land.

Soldiers also detained Hatem Makhamreh and seized his agricultural tractor after assaulting him and his son, Ali, near the entrance to al-Karmel and al-Tuwani in Masafer Yatta, Wafa said.