In the 43rd day of the Israel-Hamas conflict, fighting is concentrated in the Al-Shifa hospital area, which is supposed to be the center of Hamas operations. Israel says it has found the body of hostage Yehudith Weiss, a 65-year-old woman kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. Yehudith Weiss was recovering from breast cancer when she was abducted from Kibbutz Beeri. Her husband Shmuel was killed by Hamas.

Israeli soldiers perform operations at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza CityPhoto: AFP / AFP / Profimedia

Israel-Hamas war – all information for the 43rd day LIVE on HotNews.ro:

04:56 US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Thursday called on Israel to take “urgent” action to end settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

04:30 The Syrian army has activated air defenses in response to an Israeli attack near the capital Damascus, Syrian state media reported. The SANA news agency said the Israeli strikes caused damage, without giving details.

The report also stated that some rockets fired by Israel were intercepted. Syria regularly claims to shoot down Israeli missiles, although military analysts question such claims.

01:27A ground offensive on southern Gaza City may be imminent

As Israeli leaders say they control the northern part of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, there are growing signs that a ground offensive in the southern part of the Strip may be imminent, CNN reports.

Aid organizations have said that any move by Israel in the south of the enclave could significantly worsen the already dire humanitarian situation.

A leaflet distributed on Wednesday in communities east of Khan Younis, the largest city in the southern Gaza Strip, warned people living there to move and head “to known shelters”.

01:00The White House has not shared details of its information on Al-Shifa

The US says it will not share any details about what it says is Hamas’ use of al-Shifa Hospital.

The Israel Defense Forces said the hospital – the largest in Gaza – was being used by Hamas to conduct its US-backed military operations earlier this week. Hamas dismissed the claims as “outright lies”, but Israel raided the hospital yesterday and its forces have remained there ever since.

This evening Israel released images of a tunnel shaft in the hospital complex, although Sky News cannot confirm the images.