Updates: Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds

Hezbollah official Mahmud Qamati said that the group’s only choice was "resistance" after an Israeli strike in eastern Lebanon killed eight of the group’s fighters the day before.

"What happened yesterday in the Bekaa is a new massacre and a new aggression, exceeding all the previous levels of aggression against Lebanon," Qamati said in a speech broadcast by Hezbollah’s Al-Manar network during a protest in Beirut.

"What option do we have left to defend ourselves and our country? What option do we have other than resistance? We no longer have any (other) option."

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have dispatched 100 tonnes of emergency relief supplies for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, Khaleej Times reported.

The aid was sent by Bahrain's Royal Humanitarian Foundation in coordination with the Emirates Red Crescent.

According to official sources, the shipment was transported through El Arish International Airport in Egypt and will be delivered to Palestinians via the Rafah Border Crossing, located between Gaza and Egypt.

The relief consignment includes medical and hygiene supplies specifically for children and women, along with basic food items, medicines, and essential medical equipment.

US envoy Mike Huckabee suggested he would not object if Israel expanded across much of the Middle East, framing the issue as what he called the Jewish people’s right to the land, Al Jazeera reported.

In an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson aired on Friday, Huckabee was pressed on Israel’s geographical borders, which he said are rooted in the Bible. 

Carlson cited a verse promising land to the descendants of Abraham, describing a span from the Euphrates River to the Nile River, a stretch that would include modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and parts of Saudi Arabia.

“It would be fine if they took it all,” Huckabee said, adding when challenged that Israel was not seeking to “take it over” and “they’re not asking to take it over.”

The death toll from Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s east and south reached 12 on Friday, with Israel saying it targeted Hezbollah and its Palestinian ally Hamas.

A statement from Hezbollah in the eastern Bekaa Valley said a "commander" had been killed in the raids there.

Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, usually saying it is targeting the group but occasionally also Hamas fighters.

"Israeli enemy strikes on several locations in the Bekaa Valley killed 10 people and wounded 24," Lebanon's health ministry said, adding that three children were among the wounded.

The state-run National News Agency had earlier reported six dead and 25 wounded after "heavy strikes" hit in the region.

Israel's army said in a statement that it hit "Hezbollah command centres".

The raids came hours after an Israeli strike on the country's largest Palestinian refugee camp killed two people, according to the health ministry, with Israel's army saying it had targeted Hamas.

An Israeli strike on Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp killed one person on Friday, state media reported.

The official National News Agency said "an Israeli drone" targeted a neighbourhood of the Ain al-Helweh camp, which is located on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon.

It reported that one person was killed and an unspecified number wounded.

An AFP correspondent saw smoke rising from a building in the densely populated camp as ambulances headed to the scene.

Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with the resistance group Hezbollah.

Hamas said any discussions on Gaza must begin with a total halt to Israeli "aggression" as Donald Trump’s "Board of Peace" maps out the territory’s future, with Israel insisting on the resistance group’s disarmament before reconstruction starts.

"Any political process or any arrangement under discussion concerning the Gaza Strip and the future of our Palestinian people must start with the total halt of aggression," Hamas said in a statement.

The Palestinian group also said arrangements for Gaza’s future must start with the "lifting of the blockade, and the guarantee of our people’s legitimate national rights, first and foremost their right to freedom and self-determination".

Fifa and the Board of Peace signed a partnership agreement to attract investment from global leaders and institutions for sustainable development in conflict-affected regions through football.

The Fifa collaboration plan includes building 50 mini-pitches near schools and residential areas in Gaza, five full-size pitches across multiple districts, a state-of-the-art Fifa academy and a new 20,000-seat national stadium, Fifa said.

Trump said Fifa will raise $75 million for soccer-related projects in Gaza.

"Today, Fifa and the Board of Peace have signed a landmark partnership agreement that will foster investment into football for the purpose of helping the recovery process in post conflict areas," Fifa President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.

"Together with the support of the Board of Peace, Fifa will drive this partnership which is built to deliver impact at every stage."

Palestinian journalists have faced torture and systematic abuse in Israeli detention since the start of the Gaza war, including beatings, starvation, sexual violence and medical neglect, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reported.

The report said testimonies from 59 journalists who have been released describe systematic abuse in custody, including beatings, starvation and sexual violence, including rape, in Israeli prisons.

Freed journalists also reported psychological threats, stress positions causing prolonged pain, and prolonged exposure to high-volume sound, including continuous music. CPJ said it reviewed photographs, medical reports and legal documents provided by the released reporters.

“CPJ’s reporting shows a clear pattern in how Palestinian journalists were treated in Israeli custody,” CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in a statement. “The scale and consistency of these testimonies point to something far beyond isolated misconduct.”