Gaza rescuers say Israeli bombardment kills 10, wounds dozens
Israel bombarded Gaza and pressed its ground operations on Thursday after issuing what it called a 'last warning' for Palestinians to return hostages and remove Hamas from power.
The renewed offensive shattered a relative calm that had pervaded since a truce took hold in mid-January.
Heavy airstrikes began strafing Gaza early Tuesday, killing more than 400 people, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
Gaza rescuers said at least 10 more people were killed in a pre-dawn bombing near Khan Yunis on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced it had resumed ground operations 'in the central and southern Gaza Strip to expand the security perimeter and create a partial buffer between the north and south.'
As Israel defied calls from foreign governments to preserve the ceasefire, Gazans were left to once again comb through rubble to find the bodies of their loved ones.
'We're digging with our bare hands,' said a man trying to dislodge a child's body from a heap of concrete in Gaza City.
After Israel urged civilians to leave areas it described as 'combat zones,' families with young children filled the roads leading out of northern Gaza.
Fred Oola, senior medical officer at the Red Cross field hospital in Rafah, said the renewed strikes shattered the relative calm of the past two months.
'Now, we can feel the panic in the air... and we can see the pain and devastation in the faces of those we are helping,' he said.
Addressing the 'residents of Gaza'—governed by Hamas since 2007—Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a video: 'This is the last warning.'
'Take the advice of the president of the United States. Return the hostages and remove Hamas, and other options will open up for you—including the possibility of leaving for other places in the world for those who want to.'
He was referring to a warning earlier this month by US President Donald Trump, who said: 'To the people of Gaza: A beautiful future awaits, but not if you hold hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!'
Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack, 58 are still held by Gaza militants, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Hamas says it is willing to negotiate and has called on the international community to act to bring the war to an end.
An official from the group rejected, however, Israeli demands to renegotiate the three-stage deal agreed with Egyptian, Qatari, and US mediators.
'Hamas has not closed the door on negotiations, but we insist there is no need for new agreements,' Taher al-Nunu told AFP.
Talks have stalled over how to proceed with the ceasefire after the first phase expired in early March.
Israel and the United States have sought to change the terms of the deal by extending phase one.
Hamas wants negotiations for phase two, meant to establish a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza while the remaining hostages are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.
'Moving to the second phase seems to be a non-option for Israel,' said Ghassan Khatib, a political analyst and former Palestinian Authority minister.
'They don't like the second phase because it involves ending the war without necessarily achieving their objective of ending Hamas.'
Israel and Washington have portrayed Hamas's rejection of a phase one extension as a refusal to release more hostages.
The renewed Israeli bombardment sent a stream of new casualties to the few hospitals still functioning in Gaza.
A UN Office for Project Services employee was killed and at least five other people wounded when a UN building in the central city of Deir el-Balah was hit by 'explosive ordnance,' the agency said.
'This was not an accident,' UNOPS chief Jorge Moreira da Silva said, adding that 'attacks against humanitarian premises are a breach of international law.'
At least 280 UN employees have been killed since the start of the war, according to the UN chief.
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy said on X he was 'appalled' by the incident, which the NGO Mines Advisory Group said injured a British aid worker.
The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory blamed Israel, which denied striking the compound and later said the circumstances were being investigated.
Thousands of Israeli protesters massed in Jerusalem, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of resuming strikes on Gaza without regard for the safety of the remaining hostages.
'We want him to know that the most important issue is to get the hostages back,' said 67-year-old Nehama Krysler.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Israel's raids on Gaza 'are shattering the tangible hopes of so many Israelis and Palestinians of an end to suffering on all sides.'
The war began with Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.
The Gaza civil defense agency's spokesman, Mahmud Bassal, said Wednesday that at least 470 people had been killed in the territory since Israel resumed large-scale airstrikes overnight from Monday to Tuesday.
The agency reported 14 members of the same family killed in an Israeli strike in the north.
As of Monday, before the intense strikes resumed, the overall death toll in Gaza since the start of the war stood at more than 48,570, according to the territory's health ministry.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Saudi Gazette
an hour ago
- Saudi Gazette
Iran says it obtained Israel's nuclear secrets without providing proof
TEHRAN — Iran claims it has obtained a large batch of information on Israel's nuclear program, its intelligence minister said on Sunday, without providing any evidence to support it. Speaking to Iranian state television after a cabinet meeting, Esmail Khatib said the Intelligence Ministry had acquired 'an important treasury of strategic, operational and scientific intelligence' from Israel, which he said had been 'transferred into the country with God's help.' Khatib alleged that thousands of documents had been seized, including information related to Europe, the US and other individual countries, though he did not explain how the intelligence was obtained. Khatib, a Shiite cleric who was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2022 for his alleged involvement in cyber espionage, said the documents would be made public soon. He claimed they were retrieved through 'infiltration' and 'access to sources,' but offered no specifics or proof. The announcement, which came days before Tehran is expected to face renewed diplomatic pressure over its own atomic activities appears to be aimed at countering a high-profile Israeli intelligence operation in 2018. At the time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his agents had smuggled out a 'half-tonne' of documents from Iran concerning its nuclear operation was cited by US President Donald Trump when he withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear accord with latest Iranian claims come as the board of governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) prepares to meet this week, with Western nations reportedly planning to censure Iran over its failure to clarify long-standing questions about its nuclear a move could lead to the issue being referred to the UN Security Council and potentially trigger the reimposition of UN sanctions under the 'snapback' mechanism outlined in the 2015 has signaled it will reject a US-backed proposal after five rounds of nuclear talks, raising concerns of a renewed is currently enriching uranium up to 60% purity — just short of the 90% level needed for nuclear weapons — and has stockpiled enough material to build several an agreement, analysts warn that Iran's already struggling economy could worsen further, potentially fuelling domestic risk of Israeli or US military action against Iranian nuclear sites also remains, amid fears that Tehran could sever cooperation with the IAEA and dash toward developing a nuclear weapon. — Euronews


Saudi Gazette
3 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Israel intercepts Gaza-bound aid ship, detaining Greta Thunberg and other activists
JERUSALEM — Israel has intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship carrying Greta Thunberg and other prominent activists, detaining those onboard and taking them to Israel. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said the Israeli military had 'attacked' and 'unlawfully boarded' the 'Madleen,' which was attempting to deliver aid to Gaza – where more than 600 days of war, and an 11-week Israeli blockade of all aid, has pushed the enclave's 2.1 million people deeper into a hunger crisis. Climate activist Thunberg and Rima Hassan – a French member of the European Parliament – are among those on the 'Madleen.' '(The vessel) is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries,' Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a post on X early Monday local time. The foreign ministry posted a video showing members of the 'Madleen' crew sitting side by side wearing orange life jackets while a solider offers them bottled water and plastic-wrapped sandwiches. Thunberg can be seen sitting near the front of the group. The FFC had earlier said the ship had come 'under assault in international waters,' in a Telegram post. 'Quadcopters are surrounding the ship, spraying it with a white paint-like substance. Communications are jammed, and disturbing sounds are being played over the radio,' the FFC said. A video posted by Israel's foreign ministry appeared to show a Navy staffer sending a radio message to the vessel saying the 'maritime zone off the coast of Gaza was closed.' In a video livestreamed from the boat, activist Yasmin Acar showed a white substance on the deck, saying it had been dropped on the vessel. Acar was later heard saying it was affecting her eyes. The FFC group also posted a video on Telegram, showing members of the crew sitting inside the boat with their hands in the air. After losing communication with the vessel, the FFC began posting pre-recorded video messages from Thunberg and others onboard. 'If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel,' Thunberg said in her video. In a statement, the FFC said Israel had acted with 'total impunity' and that the vessel's cargo, which included baby formula, food and medical supplies was 'confiscated.' Israel said it would transfer the goods to Gaza through humanitarian channels. 'Israel has no legal authority to detain international volunteers aboard the Madleen,' said Huwaida Arraf, human rights attorney and Freedom Flotilla organizer. 'This seizure blatantly violates international law and defies the (International Court of Justice's) binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.' Israel had repeatedly vowed to stop the aid boat from reaching Gaza, and described the ship as a 'selfie yacht' carrying 'celebrities.' 'I have instructed the IDF to ensure that the 'Madleen' flotilla does not reach Gaza,' Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said on Sunday. After the flotilla crew members were detained, Katz said in a post on X that he had instructed the military to screen videos of the Hamas attacks on Israel from October 7, 2023 to the activists upon their arrival at Ashdod Port. Israel's foreign ministry said the group 'attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity.' 'There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip – they do not involve Instagram selfies,' it added. In an earlier statement on Monday, the ministry said 'unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts.' Hamas demanded the immediate release of the activists and condemned their detention in a statement, calling the interception 'a flagrant violation of international law, and an attack on civilian volunteers acting out of humanitarian motives.' As the 'Madleen' was taken to Ashdod, some 15 activists protested the ship's seizure in the city. The demonstrators carried signs reading, 'resist genocide,' 'release the Madleen activists now' and 'stop state terror.' While small, the protest and the messaging it carried are a rare sighting in Israel since the war began in 2023. 'We... have come to express our support and solidarity with the Madleen as part of the Freedom Flotilla, whose activists were abducted by Israel,' one activist is heard saying in English. The demonstrators were interrupted by a passerby who shouted in Hebrew, 'You're living in Israel,' calling the protesters 'bullies' and 'hooligans.' The 'Madleen' is part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an organization that has campaigned against Israel's blockade of Gaza and tried to break the siege by boat. The crew, which had publicized the location of the ship with an online tracker, began preparing for the possibility of interception by the Israeli military. On Monday morning, the UK-flagged civilian vessel was north of Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea, slowly approaching the coast of Gaza, but the tracker has since appeared to have stopped. 'We know that it's a very risky mission and we know that previous experiences with flotillas like this have resulted in attacks, violence and even cases of death,' Thunberg told CNN on Saturday. Israel imposed a full humanitarian blockade of Gaza on March 2, cutting off food, medical supplies, and other aid to the more than 2 million Palestinians who live in the territory for 11 weeks. Faced with growing international pressure, Israel began allowing a trickle of aid in late May. But humanitarian organizations say it is only a fraction of the aid that entered the enclave before the war, and have warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis and the growing risk of widespread famine. A UN-backed report warned in late April that one in five people were facing starvation. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed over the past week while on their way to try and obtain aid from a new US-backed group commissioned to deliver aid to Gaza, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The group is intended to replace the UN-led system of distributing aid in Gaza. The United Nations has warned that the new distribution mechanism has become a 'death trap' for desperate people seeking food in the strip. Last month, another vessel from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition came under what its organizers claimed was an Israeli drone attack off the coast of Malta in international waters. The group did not provide evidence that the drone was Israeli, while the Israeli military has declined to comment on the alleged attack. The ship, the 'Conscience,' was heading to Malta, where a large contingent of activists, including Thunberg, were due to board before it departed for Gaza. The later voyage on the 'Madleen,' which was intercepted by Israel, departed from Sicily last Friday. — CNN


Al Arabiya
5 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party threatens government over draft law
Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party on Monday threatened to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government by backing a motion for early elections amid a row over military service. Netanyahu's coalition, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, is at risk of collapsing over a bill that could reverse the long-standing exemption from the draft for ultra-Orthodox Jews. The exemption is facing growing pushback as Israel wages war on Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu is under pressure from within his Likud party to draft more ultra-Orthodox men and impose penalties on draft dodgers -- a red line for Shas. The party is demanding legislation to permanently exempt its followers from military service and gave Netanyahu two days to find a solution. 'We don't want to bring down a right-wing government, but we've reached our limit,' Shas spokesperson Asher Medina told public radio. 'If there's no last-minute solution (on conscription), we'll vote to dissolve the Knesset,' he said, referring to the Israeli parliament. Last week, a Shas source told AFP the party was threatening to quit the coalition unless a solution was reached by Monday. The opposition is seeking to place a bill to dissolve parliament on Wednesday's plenary agenda, hoping to capitalize on the ultra-Orthodox revolt to topple the government. Netanyahu's coalition, formed in December 2022, includes Likud, far-right factions and ultra-Orthodox parties. A walkout by the latter would end its majority. A poll published in March by right-wing daily Israel Hayom found 85 percent of Israeli Jews support changing the conscription law for Haredim. Forty-one percent backed compulsory military service -- currently 32 months for men -- for all eligible members of the community.