A senior Israel Defense Forces official says the military will try not to strike zones in Gaza where humanitarian aid is being distributed, unless rockets are fired from the area. “It’s a safe zone. We have a system which every time we decide that an area … is a safe zone, we declare no attack in this area. We won’t attack them,” he told a group of foreign journalists. He added that the definition of what constitutes a “legitimate target” has changed, because the use of civilian infrastructure by Hamas “turns a private home into a legitimate target. And anyone who supports that home is a legitimate target.” He acknowledged that the IDF has attacked houses where there are civilians living among militants.
Here’s what’s happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war, according to The Associated Press:
Israel: Gaza homes can be legitimate targets if Hamas militants are in them
Newslooks- JERUSALEM
A senior Israel Defense Forces official says the military will try not to strike zones in Gaza where humanitarian aid is being distributed, unless rockets are fired from the area.
“It’s a safe zone. We have a system which every time we decide that an area … is a safe zone, we declare no attack in this area. We won’t attack them,” he told a group of foreign journalists.
He added that the definition of what constitutes a “legitimate target” has changed, because the use of civilian infrastructure by Hamas “turns a private home into a legitimate target. And anyone who supports that home is a legitimate target.”
He acknowledged that the IDF has attacked houses where there are civilians living among militants.
AT LEAST 12 PEOPLE DIE IN A HOUSE IN GAZA HIT BY AN ISRAELI STRIKE
DEIR-AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — People searched for neighbors buried under the rubble of a house in central Gaza that was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday. Witnesses said 12 people in one household died in the strike and five others were believed to be trapped.
People clambered on slabs of concrete and twisted metal looking for survivors. A woman in a bloodstained headscarf was helped out of the wreckage.
Men carried a body on a stretcher to an ambulance, and another man ran, carrying the limp body of a small child. Others helped lead away shocked-looking people covered in dust, including a boy with a bloody face.
The house was some 200 meters (yards) from the Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.
FIGHTING INTENSIFIES ALONG ISRAEL’S BORDER WITH LEBANON
BEIRUT — Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters exchanged fire Saturday in several areas along the Lebanon-Israel border as violence escalates over the Israel-Hamas war.
Tension has been picking up along the border over the past two weeks following the Oct. 7, attack by the Palestinian militant Hamas group on southern Israel that killed over 1,400 civilians and troops. Israel’s strikes on Gaza since then have killed over 4,000 Palestinians.
An Associated Press journalist in south Lebanon heard loud explosions along the border close to the Mediterranean coast.
The state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli shelling hit several villages, adding that a car was directly hit in the village of Houla. There was no immediate word on casualties.
An Israeli army spokesman said a group of gunmen fired a shell into Israel adding that an Israeli drone then targeted them. He added that another group of gunmen fired toward the Israeli town of Margaliot and a drone attacked them shortly afterward.
“Direct hits were scored in both strikes,” Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
BLINKEN WELCOMES AID BUT SAYS MORE IS NEEDED
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has welcomed the first delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, but stressed that much more is needed.
“With this convoy, the international community is beginning to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza that has left residents of Gaza without access to sufficient food, water, medical care, and safe shelter,” he said in a statement.
“We urge all parties to keep the Rafah crossing open to enable the continued movement of aid that is imperative to the welfare of the people of Gaza” he adding, stressing that Hamas must not steal the aid or prevent it getting to civilians who need it.
Blinken said the U.S, was still working with Israel and Egypt to arrange for dual U.S. citizens to be able to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing. Many Palestinians with foreign passports are gathered at the crossing, but have not yet been allowed to cross.
