Blinken visits Israel as Gaza death toll tops 32,000

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his eighth visit to Israel on Friday since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, 2023. The visit comes at a time when the death toll in the Gaza Strip has surpassed 32,000, as announced by the Hamas-run health ministry in the Palestinian enclave.

According to a statement released by Israel's Government Press Office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that Israel recognizes the need to evacuate the civilian population from the combat zones and is "working to this end," yet adding that there is "no way to defeat Hamas without entering Rafah and eliminating the remnant of the battalions there."

Blinken discussed efforts to reach an agreement for a ceasefire of at least six weeks that would secure the release of Israeli hostages and enable an increase in humanitarian assistance, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Friday in a statement.

At least 32,070 Palestinians have been killed and 74,298 have been injured in Gaza since October 7, as reported by the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza on Friday.

There has been "no real progress" in negotiations with Hamas on ceasefire, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Friday, as Israel's Mossad chief David Barnea traveled to Doha for hostage talks with high-ranking officials from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar.

"The Americans are dressing it up as progress," the source was quoted by the online newspaper as saying. "The pressure to move forward is coming from them."

U.S.-British air-strikes in Yemen

Warplanes of the U.S.-British coalition launched multiple airstrikes on the Yemeni Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Friday night, as reported by residents and Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

Houthi television reported that four airstrikes hit Attan mountain and two others hit al-Nahdayn mountain, referring to the strikes as "U.S.-British air aggression on Sanaa." The targeted locations are known military sites.

Ambulances were seen racing through a main street downtown, heading towards the al-Sabeen neighborhood where the targeted mountains are located. The two mountains are situated approximately two miles south of downtown.

The Houthi television seldom reveals any casualties among their fighters, and the coalition has not made a comment.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have initiated attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, citing retaliation for Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip as their motive.

Earlier this month, a U.S. ship sustained significant damage in a Houthi missile attack in the Gulf of Aden, while another oil tanker registered in Britain sank in the Red Sea two weeks after being hit by Houthi missiles.

The Houthis have controlled several northern cities since the Yemeni civil war broke out in late 2014, including the strategic city of Hodeidah.

UN calls for probe into attack on civilians

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an investigation into drone footage that appears to show an Israeli attack on four civilians in Gaza, according to his spokesman on Friday.

"The secretary-general is deeply disturbed by the video footage that reportedly shows four Palestinians walking, apparently unarmed, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza," said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for Guterres. "He calls for a thorough, independent and credible investigation into these events."

Guterres underscores that all parties to the conflict must comply with international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack, said Haq.

The footage obtained by Al Jazeera shows that four men, who appeared to be unarmed, were walking on a road. An Israeli drone launched an attack on them. Two men were killed instantly. A survivor was seen walking ahead, obviously in an effort to escape. He was hit in a second attack. The other man was seen staggering on the road and was hit by yet another missile.

The attack is believed to have taken place in early February 2024 after Israel was ordered by the International Court of Justice to take all measures to avoid acts of genocide, said Al Jazeera.

(With input from agencies)