The death toll in the Gaza Strip has increased following the latest airstrikes on the Palestinian territory, where the Israeli military is working to root out the leaders of Hamas and to destroy the militant group that attacked southern Israel almost four months ago. Strikes hit two houses and a mosque in central Gaza, killing 29 people and wounding at least 60 others. Separate airstrikes in Rafah, the enclave’s southernmost city, killed two children, ages 12 and 2, according to the registration office at the hospital where the bodies were taken. Israel’s military said it raided the headquarters of Hamas’ brigade in the southern city of Khan Younis and found what it called training materials for the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The materials included “models simulating entrance gates of Israeli kibbutzim, military bases and IDF armored vehicles,” the military said. The offensive in Gaza that Israel launched in response to the attack had killed 27,365 people and wounded more than 66,000 in Gaza, the Hamas-ruled territory’s Health Ministry reported. The Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths, but says most of those killed were women and children. The White House has urged Israel to make a greater effort to avoid harming civilians and to allow more aid into besieged Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to return to the region this week, beginning Monday in Saudi Arabia and with planned stops in Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank.
Here’s the latest:
Quick Read
- The death toll in Gaza has risen due to recent airstrikes aiming to dismantle Hamas leadership and infrastructure, following the group’s attack on southern Israel.
- Strikes on Sunday targeted two houses and a mosque in central Gaza, killing 29 and injuring 60, with additional strikes in Rafah killing two children.
- Israeli military claims to have raided Hamas’ Khan Younis brigade headquarters, finding materials related to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
- As of Sunday, 27,365 people have been reported killed and over 66,000 wounded in Gaza since Israel’s offensive began, with a significant number being women and children.
- The U.S. urges Israel to minimize civilian casualties and allow more aid into Gaza, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken set to visit the region.
- A UN official accuses the Israeli navy of hitting a food convoy for northern Gaza, with no injuries reported but highlighting the struggle to deliver aid.
- Israeli police killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy in the West Bank, alleging an attempted stabbing attack against officers.
- Spain pledges $3.8 million to UNRWA to support its activities in Gaza amid funding suspensions from other countries following Israeli allegations against the agency’s staff involvement in the Oct. 7 attacks.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israeli strikes raise Gaza death toll as Blinken starts Mideast tour
Newslooks- TEL AVIV (AP)
The death toll in the Gaza Strip has increased following the latest airstrikes on the Palestinian territory, where the Israeli military is working to root out the leaders of Hamas and to destroy the militant group that attacked southern Israel almost four months ago. Strikes hit two houses and a mosque in central Gaza, killing 29 people and wounding at least 60 others.
Separate airstrikes in Rafah, the enclave’s southernmost city, killed two children, ages 12 and 2, according to the registration office at the hospital where the bodies were taken. Israel’s military said it raided the headquarters of Hamas’ brigade in the southern city of Khan Younis and found what it called training materials for the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The materials included “models simulating entrance gates of Israeli kibbutzim, military bases and IDF armored vehicles,” the military said.
The offensive in Gaza that Israel launched in response to the attack had killed 27,365 people and wounded more than 66,000 in Gaza, the Hamas-ruled territory’s Health Ministry reported. The Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths, but says most of those killed were women and children.
The White House has urged Israel to make a greater effort to avoid harming civilians and to allow more aid into besieged Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to return to the region this week, beginning Monday in Saudi Arabia and with planned stops in Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank.
UN OFFICIAL IN GAZA ACCUSES ISRAELI NAVY OF STRIKING FOOD CONVOY
CAIRO — A United Nations official has accused Israel’s navy of striking an aid convoy carrying food destined for hard-hit northern Gaza.
The food convoy was waiting to move into northern Gaza when it was hit by Israeli naval gunfire on Monday morning, Thomas White, the Gaza director of U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said in a post on the X platform.
White posted images showing a truck parked on the roadside with damage to its cargo. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which said it was looking into the report.
Juliette Touma, head of communications at the agency known as UNRWA, said no one was injured in the strike, which took place north of the area of Wadi al-Balah in central Gaza.
The U.N. says it has struggled to send aid to war-torn northern Gaza, which Israel pummeled in the first weeks of the war, because of the ongoing fighting.
Monday’s incident came after the more than a dozen countries, including the U.S., announced they would suspend funding to UNRWA over Israeli allegations that 12 of its 13,000 Gaza employees participated in the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel, which set off the war.
ISRAELI POLICE KILL A 14-YEAR-OLD IN THE WEST BANK
TEL AVIV — Israeli police say officers shot and killed a Palestinian boy who allegedly attempted to stab them in the occupied West Bank.
Police said the paramilitary border police were carrying out a routine security check in an area east of Jerusalem when a 14-year-old allegedly pulled out a knife and attempted to stab the officers. The officers opened fire, shooting the teen, and were uninjured, police said.
In security footage of the incident released by police, a person is seen approaching the officers and begins lunging at one of them and making stabbing motions. As the individual attempts to flee, the officers are seen opening fire and the suspect falls to the ground.
Police released a photo of a kitchen knife they alleged was used in the attempted stabbing. They said the teen was from east Jerusalem, but his name was not immediately known.
Critics of Israel say its security services use excessive force against Palestinian suspects, allegations that have intensified during the country’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel has carried out nightly raids in the West Bank to crack down on suspected militants there.
Palestinians have staged several attacks against Israeli security forces and civilians in the West Bank and Israel since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7. Last month, an Israeli woman was killed and 13 injured in a ramming and stabbing attack in a suburb north of Tel Aviv.
SPAIN PLEDGES $3.8 MILLION TO KEEP UN AGENCY IN GAZA GOING
MADRID — Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, says his government will give 3.5 million euros ($3.8 million) to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees to help it maintain its activities in the short term.
The agency known as UNRWA has had several donor countries suspend their funding after Israel alleged that 12 of its were involved in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the country’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA is the main humanitarian aid organization in Gaza. The Spanish government says it is closely following the investigation of Israel’s allegations and has urged the European Union to keep funding the agency.
Currently:
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— US warns of further retaliation if Iran-backed militias continue their attacks
— Far-right Israel minister suggests that Trump would give more US support to offensive in Gaza
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
