Live Blog Update| Israel's war on Gaza
This is an entry from: Live: At least 74 children killed in Gaza in first week of 2025

Evening recap

8 January 2025 23:46 GMT

Good evening Middle East Eye readers. On Wednesday, an Israeli drone attack in the occupied West Bank town of Tammun killed three Palestinians, including two children.

The attack came a day after Israel killed at least five children in a bombing in Mawasi in the Gaza Strip. The intensity of Israeli bombings in Gaza, as well as the ramping of up raids in the West Bank, come amid reports that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could be reached soon.

Trump's incoming envoy to the Middle East is headed to Doha on Wednesday night to attend the ongoing talks, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that a ceasefire deal was very close. The next 24 to 48 hours will be key to whether a deal is achieved.

Here's what else you need to know about Wednesday's developments in Israel's war on Gaza:

  • Hamas' armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, on Wednesday claimed responsibility for Monday's attack in the West Bank that killed three Israelis.

  • Jeremy Corbyn, a British MP for Islington North and former leader of the UK Labour Party, sent a letter to the UK Foreign Office demanding answers regarding what role the country is playing in assisting Israel's military.

  • The Israeli military said in a statement on Telegram that three soldiers were killed during fighting in northern Gaza. It named two of the soldiers.

  • The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis has registered its first death of a patient from kidney failure. The hospital didn't have enough fuel to run its dialysis machine.

  • The Tulkarem Battalion, a Palestinian armed group operating in the West Bank, said its fighters ambushed an Israeli infantry force.

  • Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was expected to meet with Trump's incoming US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, where the discussions would be about a Gaza ceasefire.

  • Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday called for Israel to withdraw from Syrian territory after Israel took control of Syrian territory beyond the already occupied Golan Heights following the rebel takeover of Syria last month.

  • Israel said its military found the bodies of two Israeli captives, Youssef and Hamza Ziyadne, in Gaza.

  • A report by Haaretz said that Israel is obstructing a UN investigation into alleged sexual violence committed during the Hamas-led 7 October attacks.