Palestinian health officials in the Gaza Strip said Israeli strikes killed at least 11 people overnight into Tuesday, including a family of three in the built-up Bureij refugee camp and eight police officers in the central town of Deir al-Balah. In the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military said Tuesday it killed two Palestinians, who it claimed were attempting to launch a shooting attack toward Israeli communities.
A cease-fire proposal announced by United States President Joe Biden has placed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a crossroads. The proposal offers the possibility of ending Israel’s war against Hamas, returning scores of hostages held by the militant group, quieting the northern border with Lebanon and potentially advancing a historic agreement to normalize ties with Saudi Arabia.
Israeli bombardments and ground operations in Gaza have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israel’s expanding offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians facing widespread hunger.
Israel launched the 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’s military confirmed the deaths Monday of four more hostages held by Hamas. Around 80 hostages captured on Oct. 7 are believed to still be alive in Gaza, alongside the remains of 43 others.
Currently:
— The U.S. urges U.N. Security Council to support a cease-fire plan in Gaza announced by President Biden.
— Proposed Gaza cease-fire puts Netanyahu at a crossroads that could shape his legacy.
— Iran’s acting top diplomat dismisses U.S.-proposed Gaza cease-fire deal in visit to Lebanon.
— Palestinian officials apply to join South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide at the top U.N. court.
— Israeli airstrikes near Syria’s Aleppo kill several, including an Iranian adviser, reports say.
— Israel declares four more hostages are dead in Gaza.
Follow news agencies’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here’s the latest:
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Palestinians displaced from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis are setting up tents atop the ruins of their obliterated homes.
Many residents who fled fighting in the city months ago were once again forced to flee Israel’s offensive in the southernmost city of Rafah. The returnees came home to a barely recognizable city, their homes part of a vast landscape of ruin.
“This is my house but I cannot see where its foundations or borders are. I cannot find where it used to begin and end,” said Ayad Abu Khries, who returned to Khan Younis after being displaced to Rafah.
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