A Palestinian TV channel says five of its journalists have been killed in an Israeli strike in the central Gaza Strip.
They were in a Quds Today van parked outside al-Awda hospital, where the wife of one of the journalists was about to give birth, in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.
The channel posted a video of what it said was the burning vehicle with “press” signage on the back doors.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had targeted “Islamic Jihad operatives posing as journalists” and that steps were taken to avoid harming civilians.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was “devastated by the reports”.
“Journalists are civilians and must always be protected,” it said.
The BBC has not been able to verify claims made by either side, with international media being prevented by Israel from entering and freely working on the ground in Gaza.
Quds Today is affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), an armed group that took part in the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. The unprecedented attack triggered the war in Gaza. The TV channel is believed to receive funding from the group.
The Israeli military named the five killed as Ibrahim Jamal Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali; Faisal Abdallah Muhammad Abu Qamsan; Mohammed Ayad Khamis al-Ladaa; Ayman Nihad Abd Alrahman Jadi; and Fadi Ihab Muhammad Ramadan Hassouna.
It said “intelligence from multiple sources confirmed” that all were PIJ operatives, and that a list found during an operation in Gaza “explicitly identified four” of them as such.
In a statement, Quds Today said the men “were killed as they carried out their media and humanitarian duty”.
As of 20 December, at least 133 Palestinian journalists have been killed during the course of the war, making it the deadliest conflict for journalists, according to the CPJ.
The press freedom organisation has called for accountability for Palestinian journalists who have been directly targeted by the Israeli military.
In a separate development, five people were reported killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza City on Wednesday.
The Palestinian Wafa news agency, and the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, also said a further 20 people were injured in the city’s al-Zeitoun neighbourhood.
The Israeli military has not commented on the reported bombing.
Meanwhile the father of a two-week-old Palestinian girl has told the BBC how his baby daughter froze to death in a tent in Gaza – the third child in a week to die in similar conditions.
Mahmoud Ismail Al-Faseeh said he woke up in the severe cold to find his daughter, Sila, suffering convulsions. She was rushed to hospital but died from hypothermia, the head of paediatrics at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis told the Associated Press news agency.
The family was sheltering in al-Mawasi area on Gaza’s coast, a strip of land designated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a humanitarian zone but which has been hit by air strikes.
Ahmed al-Farra, the head of paediatrics, said two other babies – one three days old and the other a month old – had been brought in over the past 48 hours after dying from hypothermia.
Hopes of progress towards a ceasefire in recent days have begun to recede, with Hamas and Israel blaming each other.
Hamas accused the Israeli government of imposing “new conditions” that it said were delaying the agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the group was reneging on understandings that had already been reached about a possible ceasefire.
The latest statements mark a notable change of tone on both sides following optimistic signals.
The Israeli military launched air strikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip in response to last year’s Hamas attack. About 1,200 people were killed in the attack and another 251 taken back to Gaza as hostages.
More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, Gaza’s health ministry says. Almost two million people – 90% of the population – have been displaced, according to the UN.
Nepal on Friday barred access to the Telegram app, citing the use of the social media platform for criminal activities. The Nepal Telecommunications Authority issued a notice ordering telecom service providers to immediately stop access to the app.
“The number of online frauds has been continuously increasing in Nepal with the use of the Telegram app and it has been understood that the app has been used in serious crimes such as money laundering,” the notice said.
“Therefore, all telecommunication service providers are instructed to immediately restrict or shut down access to the Telegram app,” it added.
Pakistan has extended the closure of its airspace for flights operated by Indian airlines by another month till August 24, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said.
No aircraft operated by Indian airlines, or military and civilian flights that are Indian-owned or leased, will be allowed to use Pakistani airspace, according to a NOTAM (notice to airmen) that came into effect at 3:50 pm India time on Friday.
The ban will remain in place till August 24 at 5:19 am (India time), the PAA said.
The Indian airspace is also closed to all Pakistani aircraft till July 24 after a ban was imposed first on April 30 as part of measures taken by the Indian government against Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people on April 22.
Pakistan shut its airspace for Indian aircraft on April 24 and the tit-for-tat restrictions by the two nations have been extended multiple times.
Donald Trump is suffering from a chronic vein condition, the White House announced on Thursday, after days of speculation regarding photographs showing bruising on the US president’s hand.
After recently experiencing swelling in his legs, Trump underwent a “comprehensive exam” including vascular testing, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Leavitt said Trump’s bruised hand was consistent with “tissue damage from frequent handshaking” while taking aspirin, which she said is “part of a standard cardio-vascular prevention regimen”.
Trump, 79, has regularly touted his good health and once described himself as “the healthiest president that’s ever lived”.
The president’s recently discovered vein condition is called chronic venous insufficiency, which occurs when leg veins fail to pump blood to the heart, causing it to pool in the lower limbs, which can then become swollen.
Veins and valves “propel the blood up and out of the leg” and back toward the heart, Dr Meryl Logan, assistant professor of vascular surgery at the University of Texas at Austin told the BBC.
Blood flowing from the legs to the heart is moving against gravity, which can make that process more difficult.
“So what chronic venous insufficiency is, is when those veins and valves don’t work and blood goes backwards down the legs,” she said.
Oldest US president ever inaugurated
Leavitt said that there was “no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease” and that all results from the test were “within normal limits”.
According to a note from White House physician Sean Barbabella released to reporters, the condition is “benign and common”, especially in people over age 70.
Additional testing showed “no signs of heart failure, renal impairment, or systemic illness” in Trump, Barbabella said in the note, which confirmed the information from Leavitt’s earlier briefing.
Overall, Trump is in “excellent health”, the doctor wrote.
Photographers captured what appeared to be Trump’s swollen legs during the Fifa Club World Cup final in New Jersey on 13 July, with subsequent photos taken earlier this week showing his bruised hands during a meet with Bahraini Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the White House.
A bruise on the president’s hand had previously been photographed during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in February.
His swollen legs and bruising prompted online speculation and rumours that the president may have been experiencing an illness that hadn’t been made public.
Following an annual physical exam in April, Barbabella wrote that Trump “exhibits cognitive and physical health”.
Trump was 78 years and seven months old when he was sworn in for his second term in January, making him the oldest president to ever be inaugurated as US leader.
What to know about chronic venous insufficiency
Doctors told the BBC they agree with Barbabella’s assessment on the severity of chronic venous insufficiency.
“It can be associated with serious conditions, but in and of itself it is not a serious condition, and one that is very common,” Dr Matthew Edwards, chair of the Department of Vascular Surgery at Wake Forest University, told the BBC.
“People in his age (group), I would say probably somewhere between 10 and 35% of people would have this.”
Experts say other risks include being overweight, having a history of blood clots, and having jobs that require patients to be on their feet for long durations.
Wearing custom-made medical-grade compression stockings can help manage the condition, and experts also recommend patients elevating their legs at night.
“I tell my patients to use a good creamy lotion all over their legs and feet every day, and then controlling other potential risk factors such as obesity,” Dr Logan said.
The president’s bruised hand
Chronic venous insufficiency only affects the lower part of the body, so the condition is unrelated to the bruising seen on the president’s hand, which generated speculation in recent days.
The president’s doctor said the bruising was a result of handshaking and a side effect of him taking aspirin, a medication which can help prevent heart attacks, blood clots, and strokes.
Dr Edwards said he agrees with the White House doctor’s explanation that Trump’s aspirin intake along with his age could be responsible for the bruising.
“We are all more prone to bruising as we get older, and you see that a lot in people that take aspirin and other blood-thinning agents.”
“I’m sure it could if someone squeezes your hand hard enough, (you could get a bruise),” Dr Edwards said.