Journalist killed by Israeli air strike in Gaza City
A Palestinian journalist, Doaa Sharaf, was killed on Wednesday night by an Israeli air strike that hit her home in Gaza City, several Palestinian media outlets are reporting.

The killing of Sharaf, who was a journalist with Sawt Al-Aqsa Radio, would raise the number of Palestinian journalists killed since 7 October to at least 25.

New US speaker introduces pro-Israel resolution
The new US Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has introduced a resolution supporting Israel in his first action as leader of the chamber.

“The first bill I’m going to bring to this floor in a little while will be in support of our dear friend Israel and we are overdue in getting that done,” Johnson said as he accepted the speakership.

The House backed the resolution by 412 to 10, with six members voting “present,” reflecting traditional bipartisan support in Congress for Israel. The non-binding measure reaffirms US commitment to Israel and calls on Hamas to immediately cease attacks and release every hostage.

However, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the sole Palestinian American in Congress, released a statement shortly after the vote, to explain why she voted against it.

“This resolution rightly mourns the thousands of Israeli civilians killed and wounded in the horrific attacks but explicitly does not mourn the thousands of Palestinian civilians, including over 2,000 children, killed and wounded in the collective punishment of Palestine,” Tlaib said.

On Wednesday, Haaretz reported that Johnson, the new speaker and an evangelical Christian, has close links to Israel’s far right.

US officials prepare dissent cables in opposition to Gaza assault
US State Department staff are preparing urgent dissent cables over Washington’s support for Israel’s relentless bombing campaign of Gaza, Middle East Eye can reveal.

Several sources told MEE that tensions are at fever-pitch within the department, where officials are growing increasingly frustrated with the US President Joe Biden administration’s open backing of what human rights activists are calling war crimes against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

A draft of one cable, diplomats write that Hamas’s attack on Israel cannot be used as a justification for Israel to carry out the indiscriminate killing of innocent people in Gaza.

As we come to the end of the 19th day since the war began, the number of Palestinians killed and missing in Gaza has now exceeded the numbers of the victims in the Srebrenica genocide.

The current death toll in Gaza stands at 6,546, with over 1,900 others missing. Sixty-five percent of Palestinians killed this week were in south Gaza, where Israel had forcibly ejected 1.1 million people, according to the health ministry.

Here’s what you may have missed from the last few hours:

An Israeli air strike has killed the wife, daughter and son of Al Jazeera Arabic’s Gaza bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh. The attack was strongly condemned by the media network, as well as by a senior Qatari government minister.

Al Jazeera condemns killing of Gaza bureau chief’s family
Al Jazeera has published a statement condemning Israel, after an air strikes killed the family members of one if its senior journalists.

The wife, daughter and son of Wael Al-Dahdouh, Al Jazeera Arabic’s Gaza bureau chief, were killed by an Israeli air strike south of the enclave on Wednesday.

Here is the full statement from the network:

“The Al Jazeera Media Network extends its sincere condolences and sympathy to our colleague Wael Al-Dahdouh on the loss of his family in an Israeli airstrike.

The indiscriminate assault by the Israeli occupation forces resulted in the tragic loss of his wife, son, and daughter, while the rest of his family is buried under the rubble.

Their home was targeted in the Nuseirat camp in the south of Gaza, where they had sought refuge after being displaced by the initial bombardment in their neighborhood, following Prime Minister Netanyahu’s call for all civilians to move south.

Al Jazeera is deeply concerned about the safety, and well-being of our colleagues in Gaza and hold the Israeli authorities responsible for their security.

The Network strongly condemns the indiscriminate targeting and killing of innocent civilians in Gaza, which has led to the loss of Wael Al-Dahdouh’s family and countless others.

We urge the international community to intervene and put an end to these attacks on civilians, thereby safeguarding innocent lives.”

Qatari minister calls out double standard after killing of Palestinian journalist’s family
Lolwah al-Khater, Qatar’s international cooperation minister, has strongly criticised the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Wael al-Dahdouh’s family.

“Had this happened to an Israeli journalist, the ‘civilized’ world would now be shedding tears condemning the ‘barbaric’ Palestinians,” she wrote on X.

“But of course the victims are just Palestinians, so I guess that’s ok; they’re used to it and there many of them anyhow!”

Families in Gaza are now wearing ID bracelets in case they die. They say it will help identify loved ones as Israeli bombs continue to be dropped all across the enclave.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey “owes nothing” to Israel and announced he would no longer visit the country as previously planned. He added that Hamas was not a terrorist group, labelling them instead as a liberation movement fighting to “protect their land and citizens”.

Around 7,000 patients in Gaza’s hospitals face imminent death, as fuel is set to run out in the besieged enclave. Doctors and health officials say newborn babies in incubators, wounded people in ICU units, and kidney dialysis patients are among those at risk of death

At least 24 journalists killed during war
At least 24 journalists have been killed since the war broke out on 7 October, according to the Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ).

Twenty of them are Palestinians, while three Israeli journalists and one Lebanese have also been killed.

In addition, eight journalists were injured and three were reported missing or detained.

“CPJ emphasises that journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator.

“Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heartbreaking conflict. All parties must take steps to ensure their safety.”