At least a dozen people were killed in two airstrikes Friday in central Gaza. Two children and four women were among the dead.
Palestinians in the border city of Rafah have reported heavy fighting in recent days as Israel’s military widened its offensive in the south, seizing control of the entire length of Gaza’s border with Egypt. Fighting in Rafah has spurred more than 1 million Palestinians to flee, most of whom had already been displaced earlier in the war. They now seek refuge in makeshift tent camps and other war-ravaged areas, where they lack shelter, food, water and other essentials for survival, the United Nations says.
Joint British-United States airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed at least 16 people and wounded 42 others, the rebels said Friday. That’s the highest publicly acknowledged death toll from the multiple rounds of strikes carried out over the rebels’ attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza.
The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250. Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.
Currently:
— Houthi rebels say at least 16 killed and 42 others wounded in joint U.S.-British airstrikes in Yemen
— Slovenia’s government endorses recognition of a Palestinian state
— A pro-Palestinian camp at Wayne State is dismantled while MIT students walk out of commencement
— A global aid group asks warring forces to respect its neutrality, saying 24 of its aid workers have been killed
Follow news agencies’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here’s the latest:
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s army said Friday that it completed its mission in part of the Gaza Strip’s northern city of Jabaliya and will continue operations in other parts of the enclave.
The army said during its operations in eastern Jabaliya that it killed hundreds of fighters, destroyed dozens of targets and combat compounds and located hundreds of weapons.
It also said it destroyed more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) of underground tunnels and retrieved the bodies of seven hostages and returned them to their families in Israel.
Israeli troops returned to Jabaliya and the surrounding areas in northern Gaza in early May, months after an earlier operation. The United Nations said that about 100,000 Palestinians were displaced in northern Gaza following Israel’s evacuation orders.