One killed and dozens injured in bus stop 'terror attack' near Tel Aviv; Iran's supreme leader responds to Israeli strikes

Israeli police treating truck collision as 'terror incident'

Israeli police say the collision of a truck into a bus stop in central Israel is being treated as a "terror incident".

At least 35 people were injured, six seriously, after a truck hit the bus stop north of Tel Aviv this morning, according to emergency services (more in 9.34 post).

Asi Aharoni, Israeli police spokesperson, said: "We are treating this as a terror incident.

"The identity of the terrorist is still unknown, apparently it is an Israeli- Arab. At the moment we, together with the Shin Bet [Israeli security agency], are trying to find out the identity and get absolute certainty."

The incident occurred near the Glilot military base and the headquarters of Israel's Mossad spy agency.

UN chief condemns 'harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction' in northern Gaza

UN chief Antonio Guterres has said he is "shocked by the harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction" in northern Gaza, where Israel has launched a renewed assault it says is aimed at preventing Hamas from regenerating.

A statement from the secretary-general's spokesperson said "repeated efforts" to deliver "essential" humanitarian supplies were being denied by Israeli authorities.

Mr Guterres is warning that "widespread devastation and deprivation" as a result of Israel's offensive "are making the conditions of life untenable for the Palestinian population there", the statement said.

"This conflict continues to be waged with little regard for the requirements of international humanitarian law," it continued.

All parties must "respect and protect civilians" and ensure humanitarian efforts are not impeded, Mr Guterres said.

Several killed in Israeli strike on school-turned-shelter in Gaza

Several people have been killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, according to Palestinian authorities.

Civil defence first responders service operating under the Hamas-run government said they had recovered a number of bodies after the strike at the Shati refugee camp.

The government claimed three local journalists were among those killed.

Israel's military says it is looking the strike at the school.

A separate Israeli airstrike on the Shati camp two days ago killed at least nine people, Palestinian medics said.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry says attacks on the town of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza late last night killed at least 22 people, many of whom were women and children.

One dead after truck rams bus stop in Israel

One person has died after a truck collided with a bus stop north of Tel Aviv, a local medical centre has said.

As we've been reporting, Israeli police said they are treating the collision as a "terror incident" after the truck rammed into the stop at a major intersection near the Glilot military base and the headquarters of Israel's Mossad spy agency.

In an update, Ichilov Medical Centre in Tel Aviv said one of the victims died from his injuries. At least 30 others were wounded in the incident.

Nearby Sheba Medical Centre said it treated eight civilians and soldiers.

Police said the driver, who had Israeli citizenship, was "neutralised" by gunfire from a civilian.

Netanyahu heckled as he makes speech at 7 October memorial ceremony

Protesters have disrupted a speech by Benjamin Netanyahu at a ceremony to remember the 7 October attacks by Hamas.

The commemorative event to remember victims is being attended by the Israeli prime minister, president Isaac Herzog and other top officials today.

As Mr Netanyahu made a speech, some people shouted "shame on you" and made a commotion which forced him to stop shortly after he began speaking.

Many Israelis see the prime minister as responsible for the failures that led to Hamas's attack and for not bringing home the remaining hostages being held in Gaza by the militant group.

At least eight killed in Israeli strike on southern Lebanon - health ministry

At least eight people have been killed and 25 injured in an Israeli strike on Sidon in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry has said.

Pictures show black smoke billowing from an area of the coastal city after the reported strike.

Hundreds of people have been killed in Lebanon since an escalation in hostilities between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group last month.

Gaza ceasefire efforts resuming in Qatar as officials to meet for talks

The directors of the CIA and Israel's Mossad intelligence agency will meet Qatar's prime minister today in an effort to reignite stuttering talks over a ceasefire in Gaza, an official has told the Reuters news agency.

The negotiations will push for a new short term ceasefire deal and the release of some hostages by Hamas in exchange for Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners, the official said.

It's hoped the talks will eventually lead to a more permanent agreement, Reuters reported.

Hamas has not commented.

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza says nearly 43,000 people have been killed in Israel's year-long offensive against Hamas, which began when militants stormed southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people on 7 October 2023.

Israel's defence minister briefs US counterpart on Iran attack

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant briefed his counterpart in the US Lloyd Austin on the "success" of Israel's attack on Iran.

In a statement, Mr Gallant's office said the pair spoke about the "precision" strikes on "missile manufacturing facilities, surface-to-air missile arrays and Iranian aerial capabilities".

The Israeli minister was reported to have thanked Mr Austin for the US's "unwavering support" for Israel's defence against "Iranian aggression".

The two men also "discussed the strategic opportunities that have risen as a result of operational achievements, in both the northern and southern arenas," the statement said, referring to the conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza.

Driver of truck that hit bus stop was Israeli citizen, police confirm

The driver of a truck which hit a bus stop near Tel Aviv and injured 35 people was an Israeli citizen, police have confirmed.

Israeli police are treating the collision near a military base and Israel's Mossad intelligence agency as a "terrorist incident", and the country's national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has said it was deliberate attack.

Speaking at the scene, Israeli police chief Daniel Levy said the driver of the truck was "a resident of the state of Israel".

He said he gave "full support to both the police and the citizens who neutralised that person who is an attacker".

Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group have praised the incident but have not claimed to be behind it.

Israeli minister says Hamas and Hezbollah no longer effective proxies for Iran

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant has said Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon are no longer effective proxies for Iran to use against Israel.

Speaking at a memorial ceremony in Jerusalem, Mr Gallant said: "Over the past year, the security establishment led by the Israel Defence Forces turned the tide of the war and had unprecedented achievements in all arenas of fighting".

He said Hamas was no longer functioning as a military network in Gaza, while Hezbollah's senior command and missile capabilities had been decimated.

Both groups "are no longer an effective tool" to be used by Iran, he said.

Truck 'moved quickly and accelerated towards people' at bus stop, police say

Our security and defence editor Deborah Haynes remains at the scene of the bus stop collision near Tel Aviv, where she has spoken to police investigating the incident.

A short time ago, an Israeli police spokesperson told a media briefing the collision of a truck into the bus stop this morning was being treated as a "terror incident" (see 10.49 post).

Haynes says that when asked why terror was suspected as the motive, a police officer told her "it is because of the fact of why was this truck here? What reason did it have to be here?".

"She said that it had moved quickly, it accelerated towards people. So the indications are that it was terrorism, but clearly, they don't know for sure," Haynes adds.

Netanyahu says Israeli strike 'severely harmed' Iran

Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel's strikes "severely harmed" Iran and "achieved all its goals".

Israeli warplanes attacked several military targets across Iran before dawn yesterday in retaliation for Tehran launching ballistic missiles at Israeli territory earlier this month.

In his first public comments since the strikes, the Israeli prime minister said: "The air force struck throughout Iran. We severely harmed Iran's defence capabilities and its ability to produce missiles that are aimed toward us."

"The attack in Iran was precise and powerful, and it achieved all its objectives," he added.

Last night, Mr Netanyahu's office denied reports that Israel had avoided striking Iranian gas and oil facilities due to pressure from Washington.

"Israel chose in advance the attack targets according to its national interests and not according to American dictates," his office said. 

Israeli police treating truck collision as 'terror incident'

Israeli police say the collision of a truck into a bus stop in central Israel is being treated as a "terror incident".

At least 35 people were injured, six seriously, after a truck hit the bus stop north of Tel Aviv this morning, according to emergency services (more in 9.34 post).

Asi Aharoni, Israeli police spokesperson, said: "We are treating this as a terror incident.

"The identity of the terrorist is still unknown, apparently it is an Israeli- Arab. At the moment we, together with the Shin Bet [Israeli security agency], are trying to find out the identity and get absolute certainty."

The incident occurred near the Glilot military base and the headquarters of Israel's Mossad spy agency.

IDF orders 14 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate as it prepares more attacks

Israel's military has ordered residents of 14 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate "immediately" for their "own safety".

The IDF has repeatedly issued evacuation orders during its air and ground offensive aimed at degrading Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon's south.

In the latest warning, the IDF's Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee said residents of the 14 villages should flee north of the Awali river.

"Anyone who is near Hezbollah elements, facilities or weapons is putting [their] life in danger," he said in a post to X.

"You are prohibited from going south. Any movement south could be dangerous to your life. We will inform you in due time to return to your homes as soon as the conditions are right," he wrote.

Last night, Hezbollah issued a similar warning telling residents to leave their homes in 25 towns across northern Israel, which it said had become "legitimate military targets".

-SKY NEWS