Three soldiers have been killed in Rafah, the Israeli military said Wednesday. Israeli media reported that the soldiers were killed when a booby trap exploded Tuesday, and three other soldiers were wounded. The military says at least 290 soldiers have been killed since the ground operation in Gaza began in October.
In an interview Wednesday with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said the war would likely last through the rest of 2024. “We are expecting another seven months of fighting” to destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group, he said.
Israel says it is carrying out limited operations in eastern Rafah along the Gaza-Egypt border. Palestinians in Rafah reported heavy fighting Wednesday as Israeli forces pressed their assault on the border town once seen as the territory’s last refuge. The United States and other allies of Israel have warned against a full-fledged offensive in the city.
Fighting in Rafah has caused more than 1 million Palestinians to flee, most of whom had already been displaced in the war between Israel and Hamas. They now seek refuge in squalid tent camps and other war-ravaged areas, where they lack shelter, food, water and other essentials for survival, the U.N. says.
Israeli bombardments and ground offensives in Gaza have 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:
— Israeli strikes kill at least 37 Palestinians, most in tents, near Gaza’s Rafah.
— Missile attacks damage a ship in the Red Sea off Yemen’s coast, near previous Houthi rebel assaults.
— A U.S.-built pier will be removed from the Gaza coast and repaired after damage from rough seas.
— Algeria proposes a Security Council resolution demanding Israel halt its offensive in Rafah.
— Palestinian prime minister visits Madrid after Spain, Norway and Ireland recognize Palestinian state.
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 national security adviser says the war with Hamas is likely to last through the end of the year.
In an interview with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster on Wednesday, Tzachi Hanegbi said “we are expecting another seven months of fighting” to destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group.
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