Iran's urgent diplomacy and Israel's ramped-up operations in northern Gaza: Here's the latest From CNN staff

 

Palestinians mourn over the bodies of those who lost their lives in an Israeli attack on the Jabalya Refugee Camp in Gaza City on October 11. 

Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Iranian government has been engaging in urgent diplomacy with countries in the Middle East to determine whether they can reduce the scale of any potential Israeli attack, a source told CNN. Iran has been expecting a response from Tel Aviv after launching a ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this month.

Elsewhere, Israel has ramped up its operations in northern Gaza, where an 11-hour-old newborn girl was injured in a strike on Friday. At least 22 people have been killed by Israeli bombardment in the city of Jabalya in northern Gaza, emergency responders said.

Below are the latest updates:

• Iran’s diplomacy: Iran has informed the US and some countries in the Middle East that it will retaliate against any new attack by Israel, “contrary to some false news,” a source in Tehran with knowledge of the diplomatic discussions told CNN on Saturday. It comes after sources told CNN that Tehran has been engaging in urgent diplomatic efforts with countries in the Middle East to gauge whether they can reduce the scale of Israel’s response to its missile attack earlier this month and – if that fails – help protect Tehran. US officials in consultation with Tel Aviv have made clear they do not want Israel to target Iranian nuclear sites or oil fields.
• Expanded evacuation: The Israeli military has expanded its evacuation warnings to residents of 19 more villages in southern Lebanon, urging them to move further north into the country. People living in the villages, located within 18 miles (30 kilometers) of the Israeli border, have been advised to relocate about 31 miles (50 kilometers) north. This latest warning is part of a broader series of Israeli evacuation directives issued over the past week, now affecting a total of 136 villages.
• Hezbollah rocket fire: Hezbollah said it continued to fire rockets into Israel on Saturday, targeting what it said was a “gathering of Israeli enemy forces” in villages just south of the border. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it identified around 30 projectiles crossing from Lebanon into the Upper Galilee area and two that were fired towards northeastern areas of Israel.
• 22 killed in northern Gaza: At least 22 people were killed by Israeli bombardment on the city of Jabalya in northern Gaza, according to emergency responders on Saturday. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported multiple airstrikes had struck a densely populated neighborhood in Jabalya overnight completely destroying multiple houses. Rescue efforts are still underway.
• Northern Gaza push: The new deaths come as Israeli military is intensifying its operations in northern Gaza, issuing evacuation orders and blocking food supplies. The increased military action comes just weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reported to be mulling a plan to besiege the area to starve Hamas fighters and force them to release hostages. It also comes at a time when the Israeli government is known to be considering several plans to reset the war in Gaza.
• Newborn baby injured: An 11-hour-old baby girl suffered a head wound on Friday when a strike hit her house just moments after she was brought home from the hospital where she was born, the chief of emergency services in northern Gaza, Fares Afana, told CNN. The strike killed the newborn girl’s father and uncle and injured her mother and grandmother, Afana said. A video from the hospital where the family was treated for injuries shows the tiny baby getting stitches to a wound at the bottom of her neck.