The Israeli Defense Forces on Friday attacked a group of ambulances parked near the Al-Shifa hospital, claiming they were used by Hamas to carry operatives and weapons. A Palestinian humanitarian group said the ambulances were returning from the Rafah border after transporting injured individuals.
Earlier in the day, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah praised Palestinian militants and other forces in the region attacking Israeli and U.S. interests in the wake of a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
In a widely anticipated televised speech, Nasrallah called the offensive by Hamas militants, which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel and took more than 240 hostages "glorious," according to an Al Jazeera translation.
He added that the operation was carried out without the knowledge of other parties in what he called the "resistance axis."
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday morning after the White House called for a "humanitarian pause" in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The top U.S. envoy also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog to discuss efforts to secure the release of hostages from Hamas and accelerate humanitarian aid to Gaza.
It comes as clashes between the Israeli Defense Forces and Hamas continue. The IDF described a "lengthy battle" Thursday night during which it said that "terrorists fired anti-tank missiles at them and activated a number of IEDs."
The human cost of the conflict continues to rise, with the death toll in Gaza now above 9,000, according to a Thursday update from the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas.
Israel in an update Sunday said that over 1,400 people had been killed — the majority in the Hamas terror attack of Oct. 7.