Middle East conflict live updates: USAID leader says conditions in Gaza ‘as dire as any I have seen’
President Biden said that the U.S. commitment to Israel against threats from Iran and its proxies is “ironclad.” His comment came after a strike near the Iranian Embassy in Syria was attributed to Israel and sparked fears of retaliation and threats by Iranian leaders.
Spain awarded Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), its Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic to show it “supports this indispensable organization,” Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares said.
Palestinians in Gaza marked a somber Eid al-Fitr, the end of the fasting month of Ramadan that brings families together to share food and sweet treats. Celebrations were overshadowed by the ongoing conflict. Images showed people praying alongside the rubble of a mosque in the southern city of Rafah and vendors serving sweets such as lokma in Deir al-Balah refugee camp in central Gaza.
At least 33,482 people have been killed and 76,049 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants and says the majority of the dead are women and children.
Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 260 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.