Israeli forces are recapturing a key corridor that cuts Gaza in half
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Israeli forces are recapturing a key corridor that cuts Gaza in half
NEW YORK (AP ) - The Israeli military is retaking control of a key corridor that cuts off northern Gaza from the south, Israel’s military said, deepening its renewed offensive in Gaza. Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas on Tuesday in a wave of heavy strikes that have continued into Wednesday but at a lower intensity.
More than 400 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, nearly two-thirds of them women and children, making it the deadliest day in Gaza after 17 months of war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry’s records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israel’s defense minister warned Wednesday that attacks on Gaza would increase “with an intensity that you have not known” until Hamas frees dozens of hostages and gives up control of the territory. Hamas has yet to respond militarily, but Israel’s actions threaten to drag the sides back into all-out war.
Here’s the latest:
Air raid sirens sound in Israel after missile attack from Yemen
The Israeli military says air raid sirens have sounded in several areas of the country following a missile attack from Yemen.
The sirens and several explosions were heard early Thursday in Jerusalem, apparently the sounds of Israel’s interceptors in use. No injuries were reported. Police also reported sirens in central Israel.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels this week resumed missile attacks following the collapse of Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas but they did not immediately claim the attack on Thursday morning.
The MADA rescue service said it received no reports of injuries.
UN peacekeepers observe 7 Israeli activities in south Lebanon violating UN resolution
United Nations peacekeepers have observed seven Israeli activities in southern Lebanon violating a U.N. resolution.
U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the activities took place north of the U.N.-drawn boundary between Israel and Lebanon. The 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution requires Israeli forces to remain south of the boundary known as the Blue Line.
The peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, reiterated its call for a complete Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon so the Lebanese army can deploy throughout the area, Haq said.
In another incident, Haq said, UNIFIL peacekeepers found rocket launchers, rocket-propelled grenade and other unauthorized weapons and ammunition caches in seven different locations in south Lebanon. The discoveries were all reported to the Lebanese Army for their action, he said.
UN peacekeeper in south Lebanon wounded after stepping on a mine
U.N. peacekeeper in southern Lebanon has been wounded after stepping on a mine.
U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the incident took place during “operational activity” by the peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL in the village of Zibqin.
The wounded peacekeeper was initially treated at a nearby UNIFIL facility and transferred to a hospital in Beirut where his condition is stable, Haq said, adding that his injuries are not life-threatening.
He said the “terrible incident” highlights the dangers of unexploded ordnance and told reporters UNIFIL has increasing demining activities.
Weeks after returning home, Palestinians evacuate a town in northern Gaza
Palestinians in a war-ravaged town in northern Gaza are leaving by foot, in vehicles and on horse-drawn carts after the Israeli military ordered them to evacuate.
Associated Press journalists saw people packing up Wednesday and carrying their belongings from Beit Hanoun to nearby Jabaliya.
Cars were piled high with people’s clothes, mattresses, plastic barrels and whatever else they could carry. A Palestinian boy perched on top of one cart grinned and raised his hands in the v-for-victory sign with two fingers.
The fresh wave of evacuations were reminiscent of the displacement experienced by hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled northern Gaza for the south earlier in the war. Many had returned to their hometown during the ceasefire but are being forced out now that Israel has resumed its military campaign.
Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said the Wednesday that the military would soon order Palestinians to evacuate from combat zones.
Echoing Trump, Israel’s Netanyahu slams ‘deep state’ efforts to undermine him
In a nod to his ally U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said their two administrations stand strong together against the “deep state.”
“In America and in Israel, when a strong right wing leader wins an election, the leftist Deep State weaponizes the justice system to thwart the people’s will,” Netanyahu wrote Wednesday on the social platform X, using his English-language account. “They won’t win in either place!”
Netanyahu faces fierce public criticism over his recent move to fire the head of the country’s domestic security agency as well as attempts by his government to dismiss the attorney general. He often accuses state institutions like the police and the judiciary of being out to get him.
He’s striking a similar chord to Trump, who rails against the “weaponization” of the Justice Department and others in the federal government against whom he has grievances. It’s also rare for Netanyahu to use his English-language account on X to criticize domestic political opponents or the state institutions he says are against him.
