A globally renowned Palestinian activist has sparked outrage after sharing a disturbing and graphic message to Israelis on social media.
Ahed Tamimi rose to global prominence when she was just 16 after being jailed for slapping an Israeli soldier.
Now, the young Palestinian activist is in hot water after posting a graphic and deeply disturbing message on Instagram about drinking the blood and eating the skulls of Israelies.
Earlier, a chilling video circulating online appeared to show the moment an Israeli tank fired on a family in a car in Gaza.
It comes as the Israeli Defence Forces ramps up its ground offensive in Gaza, but it faces a major challenge in the form of an intricate 500km network of Hamas tunnels.
Follow along for the latest live updates.
Famed Palestinian activist’s sick message
A young Palestinian woman who rose to fame after slapping an Israeli soldier in the face when she was a teenager has posted a graphic and disturbing message about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In 2017, a video of Ahed Tamimi, then 16, lashing out the soldier went viral, sparing a renewed focus on the plight of those in Palestine, particularly children.
Ms Tamimi was arrested and charged with four offences, eventually sentenced to eight months in an Israeli prison.
She became the face of the Palestinian resistance as a result.
She rose to international prominence, making frequent media appearances and authoring a book. Some commentators compared her to Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai.
Earlier today, Ms Tamimi took to her Instagram account to share a graphic message via her Stories to Israelis in the wake of the current conflict gripping Gaza.
“Our message to the settler flocks,” a translation reads.
“We are waiting for you in all the cities of the West Bank, from Hebron to Jenin. We will slaughter you and we will say [that] what Hitler did was a joke.
“We will drink your blood and eat your skulls. Come forward. We are waiting for you.”
The remarks have sparked condemnation on social media. Ms Tahimi’s Instagram account appears to have been suspended.
Gaza on the verge of ‘catastrophe’
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening, with United Nations organisation UNICEF warning the water supply in the region has dwindled.
UNICEF chief Catherine Russell addressed a special meeting of the UN Security Council and said the situation on the ground is on the verge of “becoming a catastrophe”.
“What little clean water remains in Gaza is quickly running out, leaving more than two million people in dire need,” Ms Russell said.
“We estimate that 55 per cent of the water supply infrastructure requires repair or rehabilitation.
“Only one desalination plant is operating at just five per cent capacity, while all six of Gaza’s water-waste treatment plants are now non-operational due to the lack of fuel or power.”
More civilians will likely die from dehydration of disease if clean water isn’t available, she warned.
Aussies hit up for Hamas donations
Australians are being urged to donate to Hamas on the social media platform Telegraph, according to reports.
The militant group, which Australia recognises as a terrorist organisation, is asking for financial support in the form of cryptocurrency – a move that could land donors in jail.
Ari Redbord, the global head of policy at blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, told ABC News 24 said cryptocurrency is a small part of the Hamas terror financing operation.
“But it is a part nonetheless and needs to be cut-off,” Mr Redbord said in an interview.
“Hamas was an earlier adopter of crypto. We saw Hamas fundraising in cryptocurrencies in about 2019. They did it on Telegram channels and stood up website infrastructure to solicit donations in crypto.”
In 2020, the United States Justice Department seized some 150 crypto wallets associated with Hamas, he said.
Australia’s financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC is working with the Australian Federal Police to counter donation appeals on Telegram.
The Australian Financial Review reported one channel on the network, titled Support Palestine, was urging Aussies to donate to “help our fighters, as well as civilians”.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said Australians who contribute financially to Hamas are breaking strict anti-terror laws.
“It’s illegal under Australian law to provide material support to Hamas, a listed terrorist organisation, including by providing any form of monetary support,” Ms O’Neil told the AFR.
“Australians who want to send support to civilians in Gaza should do so through a reputable aid organisation like the Red Cross, who will make sure that money assists people in need and not a terrorist organisation that is engaged in horrific violence against innocent men, women and children.”
Israeli tank ‘fires on civilian car’
A disturbing video circulating on social media appears to show the moment an Israeli tank fires on a car full of civilians in Gaza.
The BBC has worked to independently verify the video, geolocating it to the sole highway linking Gaza’s north to the south, Salah- al-Din Road.
In it, photographers in another vehicle down the street can be seen observing the white vehicle as it comes to a stop and begin to turn around to travel away from the tank.
It’s then the car is fired on as it drives in the opposite direction, engulfed in plumes of smoke. The photographers watching yell and speed away from the scene.
They can be heard screaming that “a whole family” was in the car when it was shot at.
The Wall Street Journal reports the car was a taxi with a white flag draped on its bonnet.
Freelance photographer Bashar Talib told NBC News he filmed the incident, saying the car appeared to see the tank “at the last minute”.
“He was close to the tank and the bulldozer,” Mr Talib told the US network. “He stopped his car to go back, but he was targeted before driving.”
A journalist in the car, Yousaf Al Saifi, told Sky News it appeared the occupants of the white vehicle were killed.
“They fired on him,” Mr Al Saifi told the UK news service. “The driver tried turning back, he had a family with him. I saw the family in the car. They struck [the car] with a shell and they died. We saw it with our own eyes.”
The road is one of two routes Israel told Palestinians to use to evacuate northern Gaza heading south.
The moment the car is fired on by the Israeli tank.
Israeli Defence Forces Major Nir Dinar told The Wall Street Journal that “terrorists use civilian infrastructure like cars”.
He added: “The IDF was not shown any proof that this is a civilian car and there’s no information on who is inside.”
A local told the newspaper that the tank quickly left the area after the incident.
Chilling look inside the ‘Hamas Metro’
If Israel is to succeed in ridding Gaza of the Hamas terrorist network, it faces a significant challenging in finding and destroying a vast tunnel system that runs beneath the disputed territory.
Known as the ‘Hamas Metro’, the tunnels are believed to have played a central role in moving militants into surprise attack positions to carry out horrifying massacres on Israeli citizens on 7 October.
Intelligence service Mossad now believes many of the 230 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas are captive deep underground.
Hamas has built a massive 500km network of tunnels beneath Gaza, stretching into Israel, as part of its war strategy. Picture: Getty
In public statements made in 2021, Hamas political leader Yehia Sinwar said the group had 500km of tunnels. To put that into perspective, the Gaza Strip itself is about 360 square kilometres.
If true, the size of that tunnel system is vaster than London’s Underground train network.
Yocheved Lifshitz, an 85-year-old Israeli hostage who was freed by Hamas after a fortnight of captivity, said she was held within the tunnels.
“Eventually we went underground and walked for kilometres in wet tunnels, for two or three hours, in a spider‘s web of tunnels,” Ms Lifshitz told reporters.
“We went through the tunnels until we reached a large hall.”
The entry to a smuggling tunnel dug beneath the Gaza-Egypt border. Picture AFP
Construction of the tunnel system began 20 years ago and was initially designed to connect Gaza with Egypt in order to smuggle banned goods and weapons.
At some point in recent years, Hamas pivoted and ramped up the spread of tunnels for the specific use of waging war.
They are concrete-reinforced and connected to electricity and telecommunications.
Some sections are metres high, allowing militants to comfortable walk upright, while parts are wide enough to drive missile-loaded trucks through, according to reports.
In 2004, Israeli Defence Forces formed the Samur unit, colloquially known as the ‘Weasals’, to infiltrate and destroy tunnels beneath Gaza.
Troops enter wearing oxygen masks and plant C4 explosives. Remote-controlled robots are also dispatched.
A file image of a video released by Hamas in 2004 shows masked militants shaking hands in a tunnel beneath Gaza.
Ben Milch was part of the squad in 2014 and tole the Mail Online that he uncovered tunnels leading directly into Israel from Gaza.
“One telltale sign was sometimes a pulley system fixed to the side of a house for moving the excavated earth, and when we dug below, we‘d find the tunnel usually about 15-foot deep,” Mr Milch told the outlet.
“In other places, there would be a steel trapdoor inside a room in a house or mosque. Our job wasn‘t to enter the tunnels, just to destroy them.”
Last week, the IDF said a Hamas underground command centre next to the Al-Shifa Hospital – Gaza’s largest health facility – was discovered and bombed.
Multiple air strikes throughout the region over the past week have specifically targeted tunnels.
The tunnels are concrete-reinforced, fitted with electricity and telecommunications, and in some cases are wide enough to drive a truck through. Picture: AFP
In an interview on Russian state television last week, senior Hamas figure Mousa Abu Marzouk said the tunnels were built to protect terrorists – not Palestinian civilians.
Israel is reported to have developed a weapon called a “sponge bomb” as part of its operations targeting the Hamas tunnels.
The IDF has not commented on the existence of the devices, but UK newspaper The Telegraph reported they are chemical weapons that explode and spray out foam that hardens.
German tattoo artist confirmed dead
German tattoo artist Shani Louk, whose plight inspired attention around the world after she was thought to have been abducted from a music festival by Hamas, has been found dead.
Ms Louk, 22, was paraded semi-naked through Gaza on the back of a truck in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ 7 October attacks.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of my sister, Shani Nicole Z.L., who was on October 7, 2023, at the party massacre in Re’im,” her sister Adi wrote on Instagram.
While Ms Louk’s full remains have yet to be found, her mother Ricarda said she was told by the Israeli military that a DNA sample, taken from a skull bone, proved to be hers.
German tattoo artist Shani Louk.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Ms Louk had been beheaded.
“These barbaric, sadistic animals simply chopped off her head as they attacked, tortured and killed Israelis,” Mr Herzog said.
“It is a great tragedy and I extend my deepest condolences to her family.”
Shani Louk’s mum showing a photo of her daughter.
Ms Louk’s father told Israeli news site N12 that authorities believe she was shot and killed 10 minutes after fleeing the music festival.
It suggests she was dead in the Hamas footage showing her lying motionless in the back of a truck.
“Until about 6.45am [on 7 October], Shani was still dancing, cheering and going wild at the party and was surrounded by all her best friends,” Mr Louk told N12.
“She was killed on the spot, and not only did she not suffer, but 10 minutes earlier she was still enjoying herself.”
Eerie installation honours hostages
Israelis have gathered to honour the more than 200 hostages who remain captives of Hamas in Gaza, at a moving public art installation in Jerusalem.
The Installation of Empty Beds in Safra Square was organised by survivors of the 7 October massacre and loved ones of those kidnapped by militants.
The Empty Beds Installation is seen from above in Safra Square. Picture: Getty
People visit The Empty Beds Installation. Picture: Getty
It features 239 beds, mattresses, cots and bassinets arranged outside the Jerusalem Municipality building, symbolising the missing men, women and children.
Ground operations in Gaza expand
Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza continues to advance, with troops pushing further into the northern part of the Gaza Strip overnight.
The Israeli Defence Forces said troops engaged in a number of battles with Hamas terrorists, killing dozens, with the support of the Air Force.
“Overnight, troops eliminated dozens of terrorists who barricaded themselves in the buildings and tried to attack the forces that were moving in their direction,” IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.
“We are carrying out an expanded ground operation into the Strip [and] forces are moving towards the terrorists, the terrorists are barricading themselves in staging grounds, and we are attacking them from the air.”
Tanks on the outskirts of Gaza City have blocked off a key road linking the north with the south.
Horrors in Gaza hospitals revealed
International charity Save The Children says one child is being killed every 10 minutes during the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
And of the 20,000 Palestinian civilians who have been injured so far, the group’s director of operations in Palestine Jason Lee said one-in-three are kids.
In an interview with the BBC, he also spoke of the horrific conditions doctors in Gaza hospitals are working under.
“Surgeons are doing surgeries without anaesthetic, people are using mobile phones as flashlights to have lights in health facilities,” Mr Lee told the British broadcaster.
Substandard hygiene practices and overcrowding have also seen a surge in communicable diseases among patients, he said.
Conditions at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City are dire. Picture: AFP
Hospitals in Gaza are overcrowded and plagued by dangerous hygiene standards. Picture: AFP
Turkish Palestinian Hospital in Gaza was reportedly damaged by an Israeli air strike overnight, with the oxygen system and water supply affected.
Meanwhile, Catherine Russell, head of the United Nations’ agency UNICEF estimated some 420 children are being killed each day.
The death toll “quickly adding up” with “rampant grave violations” being committed, Ms Russell told a sitting of the UN Security Council overnight.
UNICEF believes more than 3400 children have died in Gaza since 7 October. Some 6300 have been injured, it estimates.
Israel rescues first hostage
The Israel Defence Forces has rescued the first hostage from within Gaza.
Private Ori Megidish was taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October. The IDF rescued her during its incursion into Gaza overnight on Monday.
“The soldier was medically checked, is doing well, and has met with her family. The IDF and Israel Security Agency will continue to do everything it takes in order to release the hostages,” a statement read.
Israeli troops freed a hostage during an exercise in Gaza overnight.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “welcome home” to Private Megidish in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
About 230 people were taken hostage by Hamas during co-ordinated attacks on Israel earlier this month. Only four hostages have been released, and now one rescued.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the successful operation overnight “is proof” that troops can rescue those held hostage in Gaza.
“This is further proof of our ability to reach the hostages, the importance of the ground operation, and above all our commitment to each and every one of the hostages,” Mr Gallant said.
But he conceded the ongoing ground offensive is “not easy”.
Air strikes near hospitals
Palestinian health officials say a series of Israeli air strikes overnight hit sits very close to multiple hospitals, including the large health centre Al-Shifa.
The United Nations said some 117,000 civilians are sheltering alongside thousands of patients and doctors in health facilities in the region’s north.
A Palestinian man sits with an injured girl at a hospital following Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip overnight. Picture: AFP
Israel yesterday ordered the evacuation of major hospitals, including Gaza’s largest Al-Quds.
UN humanitarian office OCHA said 117,000 civilians were sheltering alongside thousands of patients and doctors in hospitals in the north.
Chilling hostage video emerges
While one hostage was freed, another trio of Israelis has been seen on video – the first such clip to emerge from Gaza.
Benjamin Netanyahu named the hostages as Elena Trupanov, Daniel Aloni and Rimon Kirsht. He described the video as “cruel psychological propaganda”.
“Our hearts go out to you and the other hostages. We are doing everything to bring all the hostages and missing people home,” Mr Netanyahu said.
Hostage video of Elena Trupanov, Daniel Aloni and Rimon Kirsht
In the clip, the three can be seen sitting on chairs against a wall. They looked uninjured and generally healthy.
One of the women appears to reference hostage negotiations that had taken place.
“You promised to release us all,” she said. She finishes with a cry to “free us all, now”.
Netanyahu: ‘A time for war’
Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected fresh calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and that now is a “time for war”.
“The Bible says: ‘There is a time for peace, and a time for war’. This is a time for a war,” he said at a press conference on Monday, local time.
“A war for our common future. Today, we draw a line between the forces of civilisation and the forces of barbarism.”
Mr Netanyahu said to have a ceasefire would be “to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism”.
“Just as the US would not agree to a ceasefire after the bombing of Pearl Harbour or after the terrorist attack of 9/11, Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas after the horrific attacks of 7 October”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it is a “time for war”. (Photo by Abir SULTAN / POOL / AFP)
He was asked whether the ground operation in Gaza was conducive to releasing hostages. He said he was “committed” to getting the hostages home, but it was not certain that would happen.
“Our common assessment … is that the ground action actually creates the possibility – not the certainty – of getting our hostages out, because Hamas will not do it unless they’re under pressure.”
He also accused Hamas of bearing responsibility for civilian deaths in Gaza.
“Hamas is preventing them from leaving, keeping them in areas of conflict. So, I think you should direct your questions to Hamas,” he told reporters.
US rejects calls for ceasefire
The United States has rejected calls for a ceasefire but supports “pauses” in the conflict to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the White House doesn’t “believe a ceasefire is the right answer right now.
“We do not support a ceasefire at this time,” Mr Kirby told reporters.
“We believe that a ceasefire right now benefits Hamas and Hamas is the only one that would gain … What we have said is temporary localised humanitarian pauses.”
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby speaks during a daily briefing. Picture: AFP
Mr Kirby said the US is “confident” the number of aid trucks crossing the Rafah border crossing from Egypt will grow to about 100 per day.
“This first phase that we talked to the Israelis about is trying to get it up to about 100 a day,” he said, although just 45 managed to get through yesterday.
“We’re confident that we can get there in coming days.”
Four killed in West Bank clash
Four Palestinians were killed on Monday during an early-morning Israeli raid in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
According to the official Palestinian agency Wafa, “more than 100 military vehicles and two bulldozers” took part in the raid in the city and its refugee camp, which is a stronghold of Hamas armed groups.
Wafa reported military drones hovered over the area during the raid, while snipers were positioned on buildings around the city’s main hospital.
Part of the hospital’s perimeter wall was also demolished by military bulldozers.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident.
The deaths come a day after five Palestinians were killed by army fire during several military incursions into the West Bank.
Hospital evacuation impossible: UN agency
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said there are hundreds of injured people in Gaza hospitals who are incapable of evacuating to the south, following Israel’s latest warning to civilians on Monday.
A Palestinian man carries a baby girl into the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Picture: AFP
Several people in Gaza’s north are left stranded because they “physically don’t have the transportation”, according to the agency’s head, Tom White.
“Many people in the north are seeking shelter in [UN] schools, they‘re seeking shelter in hospitals,” Mr White said.
“I was up and one of the hospitals this week and there are hundreds and hundreds of patients that can’t be moved.”
The agency says clean water is scarce in parts of Gaza and said they are working on delivering food to civilians as the bombs continue to drop.
US sending weapons to Israel ‘daily’
America continues to provide shipments of weapons to Israel on a near daily basis, the Pentagon has confirmed.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters the United State sis not “putting any limits on how Israel uses weapons”.
“That is really up to the Israeli Defence Force to use and how they are going to conduct their operations.”
Ms Singh declined to respond to speculation that some figures within the Pentagon are concerned about how the weapons are being utilised.
However, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has previously repeated the need for Israel to follow the laws of war and avoid civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, the Biden Administration has sent a senior Treasury official to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to co-ordinate regional efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Fury at Netanyahu’s accusation
Benjamin Netanyahu has been forced to delete a tweet where he accused security chiefs of failing to warn him about the devastating Hamas attack before 7 October.
In the now-deleted post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Netanyahu said: “At no point was a warning given to Prime Minister Netanyahu on Hamas’s intention to start a war.
“On the contrary, all the defence officials, including the heads of the Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet, assessed that Hamas was deterred.”
Opposition Leader and former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid accused Mr Netanyahu of “crossing a red line” by attributing blame to the security services.
People search through buildings that were destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip on October 28, 2023 in Khan Yunis. (Photo by Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images)
Following the backlash, Mr Netanyahu deleted the post, insisting Israel’s security heads had his “full backing”.
“I was wrong. Things I said following the press conference should not have been said and I apologise for that,” he wrote on X.
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