Morning update

Good morning, Middle East Eye readers,

Here are some of the latest updates on Israel's war on Gaza:

• Deadly strikes on Gaza: Israeli air strikes continued overnight, including a devastating attack on a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp that claimed two lives, one of whom was a child.

• Far-right rhetoric: Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, declared that the war on Gaza is entering a “fundamental change,” warning that Israel is “preparing hell” for Hamas.

• Targeting resistance leaders: The Qassam Brigades identified Jaafar Dababshe, killed in an Israeli operation, as the “mastermind” behind Monday’s attack in the occupied West Bank.

• Home demolitions: Israeli forces are reportedly preparing to demolish Dababshe’s family home in the West Bank village of Wadi al-Badhan, continuing the contentious practice of collective punishment.

• Settler violence: Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian-owned car in the village of Wadi Rahhal, south of Bethlehem, as tensions escalate in the West Bank.

• White House reaction: While condemning the rising death toll in Gaza as “unacceptably high,” White House spokesperson John Kirby defended Israel, stating the Biden administration does not classify its actions as genocide against Palestinians.