MEZIESBLOG

The UK has donated £1m to the Egyptian health authority to support Palestinians evacuated from neighbouring Gaza for medical treatment.

The funding includes vital medical supplies and medication including chemotherapy and equipment to aid rehabilitation.

It was announced as Hamish Falconer, the UK minister for the Middle East, visits the region for the first time.

Mr Falconer met officials to discuss Gaza aid and visited al Arish general hospital, less than 50km from southern Gaza.

The UK has previously donated 78,000 shelter items, 76,000 wound care kits and 1.3 million items of medicine to Gaza.

Bodies carried away after Israeli strike on Lebanese village

Work has started in the southern Lebanese village of Qana to clear debris after an Israeli strike last night.

Photos show several flattened buildings and others with their top floors collapsed. 

Rescue workers were pictured carrying away the bodies of victims and a bulldozer was used to clear rubble and search for people who may be trapped.

At least 15 people were killed in the blast, Lebanon’s civil defence agency has said. 

Another 15 were wounded, it added.

The Israeli military is yet to comment on the attack. 

Number killed in strike on southern Lebanese city rises

The number of people killed in an Israeli strike on Nabatieh in southern Lebanon has risen from five to six, the Lebanese health ministry has said. 

A further 43 people have been injured, it added. 

Earlier, we told you the city’s governor had confirmed the local mayor had been killed in the attack, which hit a municipal building. 

Lebanon’s prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the strikes, saying they “intentionally targeted a meeting of the municipal council”.  

The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of Hezbollah targets and dismantled “underground infrastructure” in the attack. 

Lebanese PM condemns Israeli strike that killed mayor

Lebanon’s prime minister has condemned the Israeli strikes on the southern city of Nabatieh, which killed the local mayor. 

In a statement published by his office, Najib Mikati said the strikes “intentionally targeted a meeting of the municipal council” which was meeting to discuss the city’s “service and relief situation”. 

At least five people died in the strike, which the Israeli military said struck dozens of Hezbollah infrastructure targets and dismantled “underground infrastructure”.

Mr Mikati added: “If all the countries of the world are unable to deter a blatant aggression against the Lebanese people, is it of any use after resorting to the [United Nations] Security Council to demand a ceasefire? 

“What can deter the enemy from its crimes that have reached the point of targeting peacekeeping forces in the south? What solution can be hoped for in light of this reality?”

65 Gazans killed in past 24 hours, health ministry says

At least 42,409 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October last year, the Hamas-run health ministry has said. 

A further 99,153 people have been injured, it added.

The latest figures mean 65 people have died and 817 have been injured in the past 24 hours. 

The ministry’s figures do not differentiate between Hamas fighters and civilians.

For context: While Israeli officials have cast doubt on the numbers killed in Gaza, several independent groups say the ministry’s figures have proved to be largely reliable and broadly in line with those later produced by the UN and Israel itself.

Examination of data from previous Gaza conflicts, comparing the ministry’s counts with the post-war United Nations analysis, shows the initial data is largely accurate with, at most, a 10-12% discrepancy.

The Israeli military told Sky News earlier this month that 20,000 Hamas militants had been killed, but this remains unverified.