Israeli Police Attack Al Jazeera-linked Studio.

Israel says it raided a studio being used by Al Jazeera in Nazareth, in the latest clash between the country and the broadcaster.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi linked the media company to Hamas and said equipment was being confiscated in the northern Israeli city on Thursday morning.

Al Jazeera previously called claims it was a threat to Israeli security a “dangerous and ridiculous lie”.

The incident succeeds the targeting of one of the broadcaster’s offices in occupied East Jerusalem by the Police on Sunday.

The relationship between the broadcaster and the Israeli government has long been tense but worsened dramatically following the outbreak of war in Gaza.

As a result of the ban on foreign journalists entering the strip, Al Jazeera staff based in the area have been some of the only reporters able to cover the war on the ground.

In April, the Israeli parliament approved a law giving the government the power to ban broadcasts of TV channels, including Al Jazeera.

On Sunday, Israel’s government moved to shut down the operations of the channel in the country, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying his cabinet had agreed to the closure. At the same time, the war in Gaza is ongoing.

On Thursday, Mr Karhi posted a picture on X, which is formerly known as Twitter, appearing to show Israeli police outside a building, understood to house rented studios.

He said he had “ordered a raid” on “the studio in Nazareth where Al Jazeera reporters were broadcasting”.

“Currently, inspectors from the Ministry of Communications and Northern District Police Tactical Division are confiscating their equipment”, Mr. Karhi added.

“Israel won’t let Hamas broadcast from here.”

The BBC has approached Al Jazeera for comment.

The network has previously denied any link to Hamas and said on Sunday that it “vehemently rejects the allegations presented by Israeli authorities suggesting professional media standards have been violated”.

Police also raided the broadcaster’s office at the Ambassador hotel in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday.

In a statement that was released the same day, Al Jazeera strongly condemned and criticized “this criminal act that violates human rights and the basic right to access to information”.

The broadcaster also accused Israel of “ongoing suppression” of a free press, which “stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law” – as well as directly targeting and killing journalists.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 252 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 34,780 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Israel has widely been condemned for the number of journalists killed since the war began, but the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) says it only targets militants.

During the early hours of Thursday, heavy shelling was being reported in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, despite US President Joe Biden previously warning Israel against a major offensive there.