Israel-Palestine Conflict LIVE Updates: Egypt looking to restore regional role with Gaza mediation

Israel-Palestine Conflict LIVE Updates | UN Security Council to meet on Gaza

The United Nations Security Council is preparing to hold an emergency meeting amid a flurry of urgent diplomacy aimed at stemming hostilities between Israel and Hamas that have left over 200 dead, news agency AFP has reported.

Pakistan does not recognise Israel and the two countries don’t have diplomatic relations.

Israel-Palestine Conflict LIVE Updates | Egypt aims to restore regional role with Gaza mediation

Egypt is seeking to restore its regional clout by mediating between Israel and Hamas. In 2014, Egypt brokered a fragile ceasefire after a devastating weeks-long war between arch-foes Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group which rules the densely populated Palestinian enclave.

The escalation has embarrassed Gulf states UAE and Bahrain which normalised diplomatic ties with Israel last year, putting Cairo in the diplomatic driving seat.

"In a region where normalising states are expanding their own relations with Israel, Egypt... has a vested interest utilising its geographic proximity to Gaza to leverage its diplomatic power," Tareq Baconi, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group told AFP.

An Egyptian intelligence delegation reportedly on the ground in Israel and the Palestinian territories has boosted Cairo's hand as a peace-broker. "The delegation is comprised of intelligence officials and has been there for several days to negotiate a ceasefire," Khaled Okasha, a member of Egypt's Supreme Council for Counter-Terrorism, told AFP. (Input from PTI)

Israel-Palestine Conflict LIVE Updates | The largely liberal, secular beachside city of Tel Aviv has a reputation for being a hedonistic bubble. But during the past week, the city has been targeted by at least 160 rockets fired out of the Palestinian coastal enclave of Gaza, about 40 miles to the south.

The bombardment of Tel Aviv has been a devastating turn of events for a bustling metropolis that brands itself as Israel’s non-stop party city on the Mediterranean coast and the financial hub of the country.

Over the weekend, incoming alerts and rocket salvos sent crowds of beachgoers running for cover and closed down many of the city’s famed restaurants and bars.

Israel-Palestine Conflict LIVE Updates | Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking in Denmark on the first stop of an unrelated tour of Nordic countries, yesterday said that the United States was ready to spring in to help if Israel and Hamas signal interest in ending hostilities — but that the US was not demanding that they do so.

“Ultimately it is up to the parties to make clear that they want to pursue a ceasefire,” The Associated Press quoted Blinken as saying.

Israel-Palestine Conflict LIVE Updates | JUST IN: Sirens sounding in southern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said.

Israel-Palestine Conflict LIVE Updates | Meanwhile, six shells were fired from Lebanon towards northern Israel around midnight, but fell short of crossing the border, the Israeli military said, adding that it fired artillery at "the sources of the launches" in Lebanon.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that it was intensifying patrols after it detected the firing of rockets from the area of Rashaya Al Foukhar, north of Kfar Choub in southern Lebanon.

UNIFIL added on Twitter that the situation in the area was now calm and that its head of mission remained in contact with all parties to ensure stability.

Israel fought a 2006 war against Hezbollah guerrillas, trading rockets and air strikes, but the border has since been mostly quiet. (Input from Reuters)