Rights group says Israeli forces killed 7 sheltering in a Gaza City home

JERUSALEM:  A new report from Human Rights Watch says Israeli soldiers killed at least seven people and severely wounded two, including a 5-year-old, when they attacked a home in Gaza City where a Palestinian family was sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war in December.

Gaza faces a severe humanitarian crisis with Israeli restrictions on aid and ongoing fighting limiting access to crucial medical, food and other supplies. The Health Ministry says the death toll in the territory is nearing 40,000.

Regional tensions have soared since Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed July 31 in Iran by a presumed Israeli strike. Retaliation has been expected. French President Emmanuel Macron beseeched Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a phone call to do everything in his power to avoid a new military escalation that he said would do lasting damage to regional stability.

World leaders have been pushing for a cease-fire in Gaza, and United States President Joe Biden spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Tuesday about their hopes for a deal calming tensions in the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet over the weekend that Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies.

Here's the latest:

Rights group says Israeli soldiers killed at least 7 people sheltering in a Gaza City home

Jerusalem: Human Rights Watch says Israeli soldiers killed at least seven people and severely wounded two, including a 5-year-old, when they attacked a home in Gaza City where a Palestinian family was sheltering in December.

The New York-based rights group released a report Thursday based on interviews with two members of the al-Khalidi family who witnessed the attack, and video footage released by the Israeli military that placed forces in the vicinity of the home at the time.

The family members said there were no militants or weapons inside the house, and that the family had no connection to any armed group. They said the troops barged in without warning, hurling grenades and opening fire.

A pregnant woman was among those killed, and the 5-year-old is being treated for severe injuries in Qatar.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, and Human Rights Watch said the army had not responded to detailed questions sent in July.

Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians as it seeks to destroy Hamas following the militant group's October 7 attack into Israel, which triggered the ongoing war. But Israel's relentless aerial bombardment and ground operations have wiped out entire Palestinian families. The International Court of Justice is investigating allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, something Israel has adamantly denied.

Saudi Arabia condemns the killing of Haniyeh in Iran as a flagrant violation' of international law

Dubai: Saudi Arabia has condemned the targeted killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran as a “flagrant violation” of international law.

The statement issued early Thursday by Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed ElKhereiji came after the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the largest bloc of Muslim countries, issued a similar statement following a high-level meeting the day before.

Iran has vowed to avenge the July 31 explosion that killed Ismail Haniyeh, which was widely blamed on Israel, raising fears of a regional war. Israel has not said whether it was involved.

ElKhereiji said the killing of Haniyeh was a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and constitutes a threat to regional peace and security".

The statement did not directly blame Israel but referred to Israeli attacks against Palestinians “inside and outside the Palestinian territories".