Middle East live updates: Houthi missile hits Tel Aviv, causes casualties

At least seven people were killed after an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, which is located in the southern Gaza Strip.

The strike hit a collection of tents within what had been designated a humanitarian area, where displaced people were sheltering.

The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged the strike on Sunday, saying in a statement it was "an intelligence-based strike on a Hamas terrorist."

"Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence," the IDF said.

- ABC News' William Gretsky

The Gaza Ministry of Health said Saturday that 21 people were killed and 61 injured in three separate Israeli attacks over the last 24 hours in the Hamas-run territory.

A total of 45,227 people have been killed since the start of the war, health officials said.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces continued intense operations in northern Gaza, particularly around the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia.

The director of the hospital said there is shooting "around the clock" nearby, adding that on Friday the third floor and the hospital entrance were shelled.

The director said the IDF is blocking the entry of all requested medical supplies. Nine people need urgent evacuation for surgery in Gaza City and the hospital is currently treating over 70 people, he said.

-ABC News' Samy Zyara and Victoria Beaule

The Israel Defense Forces said early Saturday that a "projectile launched from Yemen to central Israel" landed in the Tel Aviv area causing casualties.

The IDF said it made "unsuccessful interception attempts."

Several people were "lightly injured," the IDF wrote in a post to X. "Home Front Command teams are currently operating with the security forces in the scene," it added.

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said on Telegram that at least 16 people were injured in the Tel Aviv area, noting multiple injuries caused by broken glass.

Saturday's attack came after a Houthi missile strike on Thursday destroyed a school building in the Tel Aviv area, following what the IDF said was a partial interception of the projectile.

Israeli warplanes bombed Houthi targets in Yemen shortly after, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening further retaliation.

-ABC News' Bruno Nota and Victoria Beaule

While in Syria, American diplomats met face-to-face with representatives of the Syrian interim government for the first time, including with its de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa -- the head of HTS, according to U.S. Assistant Secretary for Near East Asia Barbara Leaf.

Leaf told al-Sharaa that the U.S. would not pursue the Rewards for Justice prize of up to $10 million for information on him that has been in effect since 2017 -- effectively dropping the bounty on him.

Despite this, Leaf reiterated multiple times that the U.S. would continue to judge HTS by its actions rather than its words.

"If I'm sitting with the HTS leader and having a lengthy, detailed discussion about a whole series of interests of the U.S., interests of Syria, maybe interests of the region -- suffice to say, it's a little incoherent, then to have a bounty on the guy's head," Leaf said.