Israel-Hamas war LIVE: Blinken arrives in Tel Aviv to call for humanitarian pause as Hezbollah chief announces major speech, sparking fears of regional war

Here, follow MailOnline’s liveblog for all the updates on the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East today. 

Breaking: Blinken meets with Netanyahu

Pictures have been released showing US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.

We will bring you more on this shortly.

Israel 'considering special courts to try Hamas terrorists', reports say

Israel’s judicial system is considering setting up special courts to try the Hamas terrorists who were captured during the October 7 massacre.

The country’s attorney general, the State Attorney’s Office, the Courts Administration, and the State Prosecutor’s Office are understood to believe trying the cases in a normal court would not be the correct approach.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the Justice Ministry is examining legislation that would authorise a special court to try the terrorists.

It is not clear how many Hamas gunmen were captured by Israeli forces. Israel has said 3,000 Hamas fighters entered Israel on October 7 when they carried out the massacre, killing more than 1,400 people. At least 1,000 terrorists are thought to have been killed, and several fled back to Gaza.

The Jerusalem Post points out that the trial being considered by the country’s Justice Ministry could replicate that of Nazi official Adolf Eichmann.

Eichmann, a German-Austrian, was sentenced to death and hanged in Israel for his involvement in the Nazi Holocaust during the Second World War.

IN PICTURES: Gaza border region

We have pictures coming through from the Gaza border region, offering a glimpse of Israel’s military activities.

Photographs show artillery units in position near the territory, and tanks moving through the hills.

Israel said earlier that it now has Gaza City, the territory’s largest city, completely surrounded, as it continues its operation to eliminate Hamas.

Incredibly detailed satellite image shows precise movements of Israeli tanks and every crater left by artillery strikes

Satellite images of Gaza have shown Israeli forces infiltrating deep into the territory as they continue to intensify their operations to eliminate the Hamas terror group.

While Israel has so far stopped short of the rapid, overwhelming all-out ground assault on Gaza that many expected and feared, the satellite images still demonstrate a significant ground force.

Israeli troops appear to be advancing on three main routes, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a US research group that analyses conflicts.

One thrust came from Gaza’s northeast corner. Another, south of Gaza City, cut across the territory, reaching the main north-south highway. The third, from Gaza’s northwest corner, has moved about 3 miles down the Mediterranean coast, reaching the outskirts of the Shati and Jabaliya refugee camps.

It is the result of the first and third thrust that we can see in these satellite images.

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Israel releases hundreds of Palestinian workers back into Gaza

Israel has released hundreds of Palestinian workers who said they had been held in an Israeli-run jail since the war broke out October 7.

The workers were dropped off by buses early Friday near Gaza and walked into the southern edge of the besieged territory through the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

The workers were among what Israeli rights groups believe are thousands of laborers marooned in Israel since the outbreak of the war. They say some of the workers were detained by Israel without charge or due process.

The office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Thursday night: ‘Those workers from Gaza who were in Israel on the day of the outbreak of the war will be returned to Gaza.’

Russia's Wagner Group 'plans to give Hezbollah high tech air-defenses' to deploy along the border with Israel in 'major concern' to US intelligence

The United States has intelligence that Russia’s Wagner mercenary group plans to provide Hezbollah, the Iranian backed Lebanese militia, an air defence system, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified U.S. officials.

The Journal said Wagner plans to supply the Pantsir-S1 system, known by NATO as the SA-22, which uses anti-aircraft missiles and air-defence guns to intercept aircraft.

Wagner Group, which was funded by the Russian state and has been brought firmly under Kremlin control since an aborted mutiny by its former leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in June, did not reply to a request for comment from Reuters.

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Breaking: Blinken arrives in Israel for urgent talks over humanitarian pause

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel for urgent talks with Israeli officials about their escalating war with Hamas in Gaza.

Blinken landed in Tel Aviv on Friday for his third trip to Israel since the war began with Hamas’ incursion into Israel on October 7.

He will also visit Jordan and may make additional stops in the region before traveling to Asia early next week.

America’s top diplomat will again stress Israel’s right to defend itself but will also be making the case for Israel to respect the rules of war as well as consider postwar scenarios for how the territory can be run if and when it succeeds in eradicating Hamas, which has ruled over Gaza since 2006.

For the past week, the US administration has been pushing a two-state resolution to establish a durable and lasting peace.

Blinken will also urge Israeli authorities to rein in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank by Jewish settlers, amid fears of a wide conflict.

Israel forces encircle Gaza City as ground invasion makes fast progress

Israel today said it has surrounded Gaza City, the focus of its drive to annihilate Hamas. Read our full story by following the link below…

WATCH LIVE: View over Israel-Gaza border as seen from Israel

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mqQx0yajpJc%3Frel%3D0

Fears Hezbollah is set to declare war with Israel and light the touch paper for a larger regional conflict as terror group chief makes major speech today

Fears are growing today that Hezbollah is set to declare war with Israel and light the touch paper for a larger conflict in the Middle East.

The terror group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah will break weeks of silence since war broke out between Hamas and Israel in a speech today, that some fear could signal Hezbollah’s intention to wade deeper into the on-going conflict.

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Israel-Hamas conflict: What you need to know on day 28 of the war

Good morning, and welcome to MailOnline's live blog covering the Israel-Hamas war that today entered its 28th day.

Gaza health authorities say at least 9,061 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its assault on the enclave of 2.3 million people in retaliation for deadly attacks by Hamas militants on southern Israel.

Israel says Hamas killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 240 hostages in the attacks on October 7.

With the conflict at the end of its fourth-week, here's what you need to know:

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