Late night update

Hello MEE readers. On Friday, Israel escalated its bombardment campaign against Lebanon and Syria, with a series of air strikes in the Aleppo province that killed more than 40 people.

Israel also said that it killed a Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon. The escalatory strikes have further raised concerns about Israel's willingness to seek peace as it continues to increase attacks in the wider conflict amid its ongoing war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, countries continue to airdrop humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip, as the threat of famine grows for the Palestinian population.

The death toll in Gaza, according to the latest figures from the Palestinian health ministry, stands at 32,623.

Here's what else you need to know from Friday's developments:

An Israeli strike on a sports centre in Gaza City's Shujaiya neighbourhood killed 15 people
Two Israeli attacks in Gaza City's Shujaiya neighbourhood killed several members of the local police force in charge of securing aid convoys to the area
A UK charity has launched a nationwide billboard campaign calling on the government to end its arms sales and trade agreements with Israel if it continues its bombardment of Gaza
A senior US State Department official acknowledged that famine in Gaza is both a risk and "quite possibly" present in some areas in the northern part of the enclave
Israel has destroyed more than 2,000 agricultural sites, including farms and greenhouses, in Gaza since October 2023, according to a report from Forensic Architecture
The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said on Telegram that it destroyed a Merkava 4 Israeli tank in Tal al-Hawa in Gaza City
The Biden administration has approved the transfer of billions of dollars worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel in recent days, according to a report from the Washington Post
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement saying that the government will send a delegation back for negotiations over a truce between Hamas.