Israel-Hamas war: US confirms downing Houthi drone over Red Sea

On X, the Central Command (CENTCOM) of the US military reported that the drone was downed "in self-defense" by the USS Laboon, a US warship, near multiple commercial vessels.

Growing tensions arise as Palestinian demonstrators, Sisters Uncut, and Black Lives Matter jointly protest in central London, clashing with the police amid an ongoing riot. Organizers withheld the protest route, hindering police response and intensifying confrontations with law enforcement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken departs Instanbul after kicking off his latest urgent Middle East diplomatic mission in Turkey as fears mount that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza may explode into a broader conflict.

The European Union foreign policy chief on Saturday warned against a regional conflict that would involve Lebanon, as border clashes intensified nearly three months into Israel's war with Hezbollah ally Hamas.

"It is imperative to avoid regional escalation in the Middle East. It is absolutely necessary to avoid Lebanon being dragged into a regional conflict," Josep Borrell said during a press conference in Beirut with his Lebanese counterpart.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Friday called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to use his urrent Middle East tour to end Israel's "aggression" as war rages in Gaza.

In a video message, Haniyeh said he hoped Blinken had "learned the lessons of the last three months" during which Israel has relentlessly bombarded Gaza to destroy Hamas.

"We... hope that he will be more focused this time on ending the aggression" as well as "the occupation of all Palestinian lands", he said. 

The Israeli military launched strikes on Lebanon on Saturday after Hezbollah attacked an Israeli military base earlier in the day. 

Pregnant women in the Gaza Strip are facing medical certainty as dozens of hospitals and health centres are closed due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.  Read more

The Palestinian health ministry said on Saturday that the death toll in the Gaza Strip climbed to 22,722. 

Hezbollah on Saturday fired more than 60 rockets at an Israeli military base in the north of occupied Palestine. 

"As part of the initial response to the crime of assassinating the great leader Sheikh Saleh al-Aruri... the Islamic resistance (Hezbollah) targeted the Meron air control base with 62 various types of missiles," the Iran-backed group said in a statement.

A staggering 85 per cent of Palestinians in Gaza are now internally displaced, according to the latest report by the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarians Affairs.

The Israeli army said that heavy fire from Lebanon targeted northern Israel and that it was responding by striking a "terrorist cell" that took part in the launches.

Shortly after the rocket sirens sounded across northern Israel, the military said "approximately 40 launches from Lebanon toward the area of Meron in northern Israel were identified".

Rwanda, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have denied reports of negotiations with Israel over displacing Palestinians from Gaza and accepting them.

The trio separately denied a report that claimed they may take in Palestinians from Gaza Strip

"No such discussion has taken place either now or in the past, and the disinformation should be ignored," said the Rwandan foreign ministry in a short statement.

At least 18 Palestinians were killed after Israeli attacks targeted a house in Khan Younis overnight, media reports said. This comes as Israeli forces raided areas in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. 

Flagging that Gazans are posed with the "highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded" United Nations' top emergency relief official Martin Griffiths said that the besieged region is "a place of death and despair."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey on the first leg of his visit to numerous West Asian nations. Also, the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is in Lebanon for a discussion on Lebanon's border with Israel. 

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At least two rockets were fired from Lebanon at the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona from which one was intercepted, while the second landed in open areas. No injuries were reported. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) deliver medical supplies to the central drugstore of the Gaza Ministry of Health in Khan Yunis to allow hospitals from the Gaza Strip to come and collect the supplies they need. The supplies delivered were stored at a WHO warehouse in Rafah, media reports said. 

In a collaborative effort, France announced a joint operation involving a French and a Jordanian military transport aircraft where they successfully airdropped 7.7 tons of medical assistance to a field hospital in the Gaza Strip.