The UN has launched an emergency aid appeal seeking $1.2 billion to help some 2.7 million people in Gaza and the West Bank, AFP reports.
“The cost of meeting the needs of 2.7 million people — that is the entire population of Gaza and 500,000 people in the occupied West Bank — is estimated to be $1.2 billion,” the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
“The original appeal, launched 12 October, asked for $294m to support nearly 1.3m people. The situation has grown increasingly desperate since then,” it added.
The Gaza conflict raged for a 28th day on Friday after the October 7 attacks when Hamas militants stormed the border, killing 1,400 people and kidnapping more than 240, Israeli officials say.
Since then, Israel has relentlessly bombarded the Palestinian territory and sent in ground troops, with the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza saying 9,061 people have been killed, including 3,760 children.
Here are five key developments from the past 24 hours:
- Blinken in Israel -
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday at the start of a new regional tour, telling reporters before leaving that he would seek "concrete steps" from Israel to minimise harm to Palestinian civilians in the bombarded Gaza Strip.
A group of UN-mandated human rights experts said Thursday "time is running out to prevent genocide and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza", which Israel called Hamas "propaganda".
- Troops encircle Gaza City -
Fresh Israeli strikes hit northern Gaza on Friday, with the health ministry reporting at least 15 deaths in Gaza City's Zeitun neighbourhood and seven in the Jabalia refugee camp.
Late on Thursday, the army said its troops had encircled Gaza City, prompting a warning from Hamas' military wing which said Gaza would be a "curse" for Israel which would see its soldiers going home "in black bags".
On Friday morning, the militants said they were engaged in close combat with Israeli troops northwest of Beit Lahia and had also fired missiles at Israeli military vehicles, without saying where.
- Israel deports workers back to Gaza -
Israel on Friday began sending thousands of Gazan workers who had been working in Israel when the war broke out following a decision by the Israeli security cabinet.
"Thousands of workers who were blocked in Israel since October 7 have been brought back," said Hisham Adwan, head of Gaza's crossings authority, with AFPTV footage showing workers arriving through the Karem Abu Salem crossing in southern Gaza, which is normally only used for goods.
Before the war, some 18,500 Gazans were holding Israeli work permits, Israeli defence ministry figures show.
- UN launches urgent Gaza appeal -
The United Nations on Friday launched an emergency aid appeal seeking $1.2 billion to help some 2.7 million people in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
An original appeal, which was launched just five days after the start of the war, had sought to raise $294 million to support nearly 1.3 million people, but the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it had to rachet up its appeal given the scale of need.
"The situation has grown increasingly desperate since then," it said.
- Hezbollah chief to speak -
Hassan Nasrallah, head of Lebanon's Hezbollah, is to give his first speech since the Israel-Hamas war began on Friday, in a widely-anticipated address that will begin at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) and which could impact the region.
There have been escalating tit-for-tat exchanges along the Israel-Lebanon border, with Israel saying late Thursday its troops had responded with a "broad assault" after the Iran-backed militia said it had attacked 19 Israeli positions simultaneously. Hezbollah said four fighters died in the strikes.
