Israel orders evacuation in north Gaza as Iran pledges 'legitimate defense'

IN BRIEF

• Israel has issued new evacuation orders in the north of the Gaza Strip after medics said at least 30 people were killed by airstrikes in the territory. READ MORE BELOW

• The World Health Organization official has announced plans to evacuate more than 100 people from Gaza. READ MORE BELOW

• Iran is not seeking "escalation" but has the right to "legitimate defense", its foreign minister said in Pakistan. READ MORE BELOW

• Syria's foreign ministry demanded the United Nations intervene after Israeli air strikes south of the Syrian capital Damascus, which a human rights monitor said killed at least two people.

• The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations accused Türkiye of "malice" after the Turkish government submitted a letter signed by 52 countries calling for a halt in arms deliveries to Israel. 

• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel to substantially increase humanitarian aid in Gaza after talks with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

• At least four people were killed on Tuesday during an Israeli military raid and airstrikes on the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

• Israel has formally ended a decades-old cooperation agreement with the United Nations Palestinian relief agency (UNRWA) that covered the protection, movement and diplomatic immunity of the agency in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

IN DETAIL

Israel orders evacuation

Israel's military has issued new evacuation orders in the north of the Gaza Strip after carrying out strikes across the enclave which Palestinian media and medics said had killed at least 30 people.

An air strike damaged two houses in the town of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, where the army has carried out new operations since October 5, and killed at least 20 people late on Monday, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA and Hamas media said.

Four other people were killed in the central Gazan town of Al-Zawayda around midnight on Monday, medics said.

The Gaza health ministry did not immediately confirm the tolls but Palestinian health officials said six people had also been killed in two separate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City and Deir Al-Balah in the central area of the narrow enclave.

Later on Tuesday, Israeli planes dropped leaflets over Beit Lahiya ordering residents who have not yet left their homes and shelters housing displaced families to quit the town completely.

Gaza patient transfer

Announcing a rare transfer of patients out of Gaza, a World Health Organization official said more than 100 people would be evacuated from Gaza on Wednesday, including children suffering from trauma injuries and chronic diseases.

They will travel via the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel before flying to the United Arab Emirates, said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Some will then go on to Romania, he said, adding that 12,000 people were awaiting transfer.

Iran vows response

Iran is not seeking "escalation" but has the right to "legitimate defense", its foreign minister said Tuesday in Pakistan, vowing to respond to last month's Israeli strikes on its military sites.

"Unlike Israel, the Islamic Republic of Iran doesn't seek escalation, however, we reserve our inherent right to legitimate defence," Abbas Araghchi said during a news conference, alongside his Pakistan counterpart.

"We will certainly respond to the Israeli aggression in a proper time and in a proper manner," and "in a very measured and well-calculated manner", said Araghchi who is on a two-day official visit to Pakistan.

Israeli warplanes carried out the October 26 strikes which it said targeted Iran's defense capabilities and missile production, but Tehran said its missile production remained intact.

Israel's attack was in retaliation for an October 1 Iranian missile barrage, itself retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander.

Since the strikes, Israel has warned Iran against retaliating, while Tehran vowed to respond.

Pakistan's foreign minister Ishaq Dar also joined his Iranian counterpart to condemn Israel's "unrestrained military aggression" in the region and called the strikes on Tehran a "grave violation."