Cancer patient throws himself on grenade

Speaking to reporters on Saturday in response to a question about a possible ground invasion into Gaza, the Israeli Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said: “We will deepen our attacks to minimise the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war. We are going to increase the attacks from today.”

On October 7, Hamas militants stormed into Israel from Gaza and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burned to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials.

Since then, more than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed in relentless Israeli bombardments, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Read on for the latest news.

Wild scenes in UK as thousands march for Palestine

Nearly 100,000 people took to the streets in London on Saturday in an event organised by pro-Palestinian groups calling for “an end to the war on Gaza”.

Marchers held signs reading “Freedom for Palestine”, “Stop Bombing Gaza” and “End Israeli Apartheid”.

Many waved Palestinian flags and some chanted “5, 6, 7, 8, Israel is a terrorist state” and “Free Palestine”.

“We came to show our support because we can’t stay silent, watch the news, and then do nothing,” Mariam Abdul-Ghani, an 18-year-old student whose family is from the Palestinian territories, told AFP.

The march brought traffic at the Marble Arch landmark to a standstill, before it broke up peacefully close to Downing Street.

Top Hamas official killed

A senior Hamas commander and his wife have reportedly been killed in an Israeli air strike.

Talal al-Hindi, a field commander in Hamas’ military wing, al-Qassam brigades, was killed in a strike on his home in the Gaza Strip, according to Hamas-affiliated Safa News Agency.

He is believed to have been killed while sheltering with his wife Fadwa, his daughter Israa, and her daughter Baraa.

It comes days after fellow Hamas commander, Jehad Mheisen, was killed alongside members of his family in an Israeli air strike on his home — The Sunreports.

A third Hamas top commander, Ayman Nofal, has also been killed.

Cancer patient threw himself on Hamas grenades

A cancer patient attending the Supernova festival in Israel when Hamas terrorists invaded and slaughtered 260 innocent civilians on October 7 survived a selfless act of heroism when he jumped on grenades in a bid to save others.

Raz Peri, who is battling lymphoma, said he was at the festival to “feel alive again” but had to quickly turn to survival mode as the invasion unfolded, he told CNN from his hospital bed.

The 20-year-old watched in horror as “40 to 50” Hamas terrorists gunned down fleeing festival-goers during the early stages of the attack, the New York Postreports.

He scrambled with four others for shelter in a roadside bunker, but one of the women screamed when they saw the terrorists approaching the hide-out and speaking Arabic.

He told the outlet that he “had nothing, just my hands” and was forced into a fistfight with one terrorist as they entered the doorway following the woman’s scream.

Other Hamas invaders began firing at Peri but instead struck a hiding festival-goer in the leg.

The fight ended outside the shelter with Hamas terrorists accidentally shooting dead one of their own, the outlet reported.

They quickly retreated back into the shelter, and then the remaining terrorists surrounded the structure and peered in with “crazy eyes,” before throwing multiple grenades inside.

Peri then selflessly threw his body onto the grenades to absorb the blast and save the others.

The explosion tore through his leg and left him partially unconscious, The Times of London reported.

He has been recovering for the past 13 days at the Kaplan Medical Centre in Rehovot.

Israel declares ‘next phase of war’

Israel is to immediately step up its strikes in Gaza to increase pressure on Hamas, a military spokesman told a press conference on Saturday.

Israel has also massed tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks along the Gaza border for a widely anticipated ground invasion.

“We have to enter the next phase of the war in the best conditions, not according to what anyone tells us. From today, we are increasing the strikes and minimising the danger,” military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari told a press conference.

His comments came hours after the first international aid to reach Gaza since October 7 crossed the border from Egypt into the besieged Palestinian territory

Originally published as Israel conflict live updates: Cancer patient survives after throwing himself on grenades