Hamas has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire after at least 11 people were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on a vehicle, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence Service. Listen to our Daily podcast on Gaza gangs as you scroll.
Saturday 18 October 2025 12:25, UK
Live updates by Samuel Osborne
Earlier, Hamas accused Israel of continuing its attacks and violating the ceasefire after an attack on a vehicle in Gaza City (see 09.24 post).
Gaza’s Civil Defence Service, an agency of first responders operating under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, said nine people were killed, including women and children, when their vehicle was hit by Israeli fire yesterday.
It said the vehicle had crossed into an Israeli-controlled area in eastern Gaza. Earlier it had said 11 were killed.
Israel’s army said it saw a “suspicious vehicle” crossing the yellow line – which marks areas under Israeli military control – and approaching its troops.
It said it fired warning shots, but the vehicle continued to approach in a manner that posed an “imminent threat” and it acted in accordance with the ceasefire.
The Civil Defence said Israel could have warned the people in a manner that was not lethal.
It has recovered the bodies with coordination from the UN, it said.
Over 8,000 teachers belonging to the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza are ready to help children “go back to learning and resume their education”, the agency has said.
“Children in Gaza have been out of school for far too long,” UNRWA said in a statement.
It said it is “the largest humanitarian organisation in Gaza and must be allowed to do its work unimpeded”.
Hostages returned to Israel alive face a number of health challenges that could even be life-threatening, a professor has warned.
Professor Noa Eliakim-Raz, head of returning hostages at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel, said returned hostages may have lost “their ability to make decisions”.
Professor Eliakim-Raz has warned they face health problems that medics are treating.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sally Lockwood, Professor Eliakim-Raz said: “We were concerned in the first couple of days about refeeding syndrome, which is reintroducing food after a long time if you were someone who ate a very little amount of food, especially carbohydrates, and reintroducing food can cause damage to the body.
“There are electrolytes changes and shifts in fluids in the body when you reintroduce food quickly. It’s related to insulin secretion which can be dangerous. There are a spectrum of clinical syndromes but it can even be life-threatening if you don’t do it very carefully.”
Read the full story here:
Bulldozers have been deployed to search for the bodies of hostages killed by Hamas after being taken in the group’s attack on Israel on October 7 2023.
These pictures show heavy machinery operating at a site where searches are underway for the remains in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
At least 11 people were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on a vehicle southeast of Gaza City yesterday, Gaza’s Civil Defence Service has claimed.
The dead included seven children and three women, it said.
Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire again.
Israel’s military has not commented on the incident.
By Sam Doak and Ben van der Merwe, Data and Forensics Unit
It’s the dead of night, and a convoy is driving along a road in Gaza’s far north, 1.4km inside the Israeli area of control.
Few people remain in this part of Gaza, near the Erez border crossing.
Watch: New videos suggest Israeli support for Gaza militia
Almost all buildings here have been destroyed, and official data says that no aid has come through the crossing since February. These vehicles, however, are loaded with supplies.
They stop briefly as a child and two men disembark to collect water bottles and plastic jerrycans that had fallen off one of the overburdened pickup trucks.
The convoy moves south, past destroyed buildings and debris, ending at an abandoned school.
This is the headquarters of the militia led by Ashraf Al Mansi, which calls itself the People’s Army.
Earlier this week, Al Mansi released a video statement warning Hamas against approaching the areas under his control.
The armed group is one of four active anti-Hamas militias identified by Sky News – all of them based inside parts of Gaza still controlled by Israel.
Last week, a Sky News investigation revealed that Israel has been facilitating the supply of guns, vehicles, cash and food to the most influential of these militias, Yasser Abu Shabab’s Popular Forces, based in Gaza’s far south.
The new footage viewed by Sky News suggests a similar arrangement has been set up in Gaza’s far north to supply Al Mansi’s militia.
Read more here:
Hamas has urged mediators to increase the flow of aid into Gaza, speed up the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and begin reconstruction in the heavily damaged territory.
Continued closures of crossings and restrictions on aid groups have hampered the flow of aid.
Yesterday, United Nations data showed 339 trucks have been offloaded for distribution in Gaza since the ceasefire began a week ago – under the agreement, some 600 humanitarian aid trucks should be allowed to enter each day.
COGAT, the Israeli defence body overseeing aid into Gaza, reported 950 trucks – including commercial trucks and bilateral deliveries – crossings on Thursday and 716 on Wednesday, the UN said.
Famine has been declared in Gaza City and the UN says it has verified more than 400 people who died of malnutrition-related causes, including more than 100 children.
Israel says it has let in enough food and has accused Hamas of stealing it – a claim denied by the UN and other aid agencies.
The body returned to Israel by Hamas has been identified as Eliyahu Margalit, as bulldozers were deployed in the search for more bodies in the enclave.
The Israeli prime minister’s office confirmed Mr Margalit’s body was identified after forensic testing and his family has been notified.
The 76-year-old was abducted from the horse stables where he worked in Kibbutz Nir Oz when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 2023.
Mr Margalit is the 10th returned hostage body since the ceasefire went into effect a week ago.
Hamas handed over an 11th body this week, but Israel said it did not belong to a hostage.
Welcome back to our live coverage of the latest news in Gaza, Israel and the Middle East.
Here’s a quick look at yesterday’s key developments:
Watch: New videos suggest Israeli support for Gaza militia
Thank you for following our live coverage of the latest developments in Gaza, Israel and the Middle East.
Before we go, here’s a quick recap of the main news lines today:
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