Israeli defense forces acknowledge hostages in Gaza Israeli civilians and soldiers are held hostage in Gaza, a spokesperson for the Israeli defense forces now confirms. The spokesperson declined to specify the number of hostages. Israeli commander killed during fighting An Israeli commander, Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Steinberg, has been killed, the country’s military said. Steinberg was the commander of the Nahal Brigade, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said. “It was allowed to be published that the commander of the Nahal Brigade, the late Lt. Col. Yonatan Steinberg, was killed today in an encounter with a terrorist near Kerem Shalom,” a spokesman said. The 42-year-old was on his way to “an exchange of fire” being conducted by his troops at the time he was killed, the statement continued. “The IDF shares in the family’s grief and will continue to accompany it,” it added. The number of Palestinians injured in the retaliatory Israeli strikes has risen from 1,610 to 1,700, health officials in the Gaza Strip said. A spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) has denied Israeli media reports that UN peacekeepers had left their posts. Andrea Tenenti posted on X: “Unifil is fully deployed along the blue line [the demarcation line on the border with Israel].” Saudi Arabia said its foreign minister had told U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken that the kingdom rejects the targeting of unarmed civilians “in any way”. Prince Faisal bin Farhan also called for “concerted efforts to calm the situation and avoid further violence,” the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has urged the Palestinian National Authority to restore calm and stability in the West Bank in a call with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, on Saturday. Blinken “reiterated the United States’ unequivocal condemnation of the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel, and called on all leadership in the region to condemn them,” a State Department spokesperson said. “The secretary urged the Palestinian authority to continue and enhance steps to restore calm and stability in the West Bank.” Israeli airstrikes destroyed a tower block in Gaza City after Hamas militants launched a rocket and air attack on Israel in the early hours of Saturday morning. The Israeli army launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, with Israel’s president, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the country, is ‘at war’. Netanyahu offers to form unity government after declaring a state of war Benjamin Netanyahu has offered a unity government after declaring a state of war. The move would bring Netanyahu and the opposition Yesh Atid leader, Yair Lapid, together during the national emergency. Netanyahu made the offer during a meeting with Lapid and the National Unity party leader, Benny Gantz, according to the Times of Israel. Egypt is in talks with Saudi Arabia and Jordan in a bid to defuse Palestinian-Israeli tensions, the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Saturday. Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, in phone calls with his Saudi and Jordanian counterparts, underlined the importance of “uniting international and regional efforts” to contain the escalating violence, a statement read. Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “mighty vengeance” against Hamas. In a brief video address, Israel’s prime minister said Hamas would be held responsible for the well-being of the captives and said Israel would settle the score with anyone who harmed them.