Former personal bodyguard of Hezbollah leader killed in Israeli attack in Syria Hassan Nasrallah An official from the Lebanese militant group said Tuesday, amid growing concerns that months of low-level border conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah could escalate into a broader regional war.
Heavy Israeli bombardments rocked Gaza City on Tuesday as thousands of fleeing Palestinians sought shelter and medical facilities were forced to close due to the final offensive in the north of the area.
There was no immediate word on casualties. Families whose relatives were injured or trapped called for ambulances, but aid workers could not reach most of the affected districts because of Israeli operations, said Nebal Farsakh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Hamas has warned that Israel’s expanding military operations in Gaza City and the displacement of thousands of residents could have “disastrous consequences” for talks aimed at a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages.
CIA Director William Burns met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss the negotiations, el-Sissi’s office said. An Israeli delegation was en route to the Egyptian capital, Israeli media reported.
Israel started the war in Gaza after Hamas’ attack on October 7in which militants invaded southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and kidnapping about 250.
Since then, Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 38,000 people in Gaza, Israeli authorities said. Ministry of Healthwhere no distinction is made in the count between combatants and civilians.
The war has caused enormous destruction in the besieged area and displaced most of its 2.3 million inhabitants. often several timesIsraeli restrictions, fighting and the breakdown of law and order have limited humanitarian aid, leading to widespread hunger and stoking fears of famineThe United Nations’ top court has ordered Israel to take steps to protect Palestinians while it investigates allegations of genocide against Israeli leaders, which Israel strongly denies.
Currently:
— Keys become a connection to home for Palestinian families in Gaza repeatedly expelled by Israel.
—Heavy Israeli bombardments in Gaza City forces medical facilities to close while thousands flee.
—A suspected attack by the Yemeni Houthi rebels targets a ship in the Gulf of Aden.
— Australia appoints special envoy to increase in antisemitism through the whole country.
— Israeli troops Pushing deeper into Gaza City Hamas warns that escalation will jeopardize ceasefire negotiations.
— Rafah is a dusty, rubble-strewn ghost town two months after Israel invaded Hamas to wipe out the country.
— Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s the latest news:
Former bodyguard of Lebanese Hezbollah leader killed in Israeli attack in Syria
BEIRUT — An Israeli strike in Syria on Tuesday killed a former personal guard of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, an official with the Lebanese militant group said.
The news came hours after an Israeli drone strike on a car in Syria, near the Syria-Lebanon border, was reported by a war monitor and by the pro-government radio Sham FM. The Hezbollah official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The Britain-based pro-opposition war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two Hezbollah members in the car were killed in the attack, while a Syrian driver was seriously wounded. There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities or the Israeli military.
Hezbollah later identified the militant as Yasser Nemr Qranbish, though it did not release details of his death. That is standard practice for Hezbollah fighters who do not hold leadership roles.
Hezbollah supporters on social media mourned his death, calling him the “Shield of the Sayyed,” referring to his time as Nasrallah’s bodyguard.
Israel has for years regularly launched strikes against targets in Syria linked to Iran, its powerful regional backer, but rarely acknowledges them. The attacks have escalated over the past five months against the backdrop of the war in Gaza and ongoing fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces on the Lebanon-Israel border.
Heavy Israeli bombardment in Gaza City forces medical facilities to close as thousands flee
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces advanced deeper into the Gaza Strip’s largest city on Tuesday, hunting down militants who had gathered there.
Israeli forces are again battling militants in areas the army says were largely cleared months ago in northern Gaza. The army ordered evacuations ahead of the raids, but Palestinians say they don’t feel safe anywhere.
“The fighting has been intense,” said Hakeem Abdel-Bar, who fled Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood to relatives’ homes in another part of the city. He said Israeli warplanes and drones were “attacking everything that moved” and that tanks had entered central districts.
There was no immediate word on casualties. Families whose relatives were injured or trapped called for ambulances, but aid workers could not reach most of the affected districts because of Israeli operations, said Nebal Farsakh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent.
After Israel called for an evacuation on Monday From eastern and central parts of Gaza City, staff at two hospitals — Al-Ahli and the Patients Friends Association Hospital — rushed to transfer patients and closed them, the United Nations said. Farsakh said all three medical points run by the Red Crescent in Gaza City had been closed.
The Israeli military said Tuesday it had told hospitals and other medical facilities in Gaza City that they did not need to evacuate. But hospitals in Gaza have often closed and transferred patients at any sign of possible Israeli military action, fearing incursions.
After nine months of fighting, large parts of Gaza City and the urban areas surrounding it have been razed to the ground or left a devastated landscape. A large part of the population fled earlier in the warbut there are still hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the north.
Hamas has warned that the latest raids and displacements in Gaza City could lead to the collapse of long-running negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
Elsewhere in Gaza, Israeli airstrikes in the central city of Deir al-Balah and nearby refugee camps killed at least 14 people on Tuesday, including four children and a woman, officials at the al-Aqsa Martyrs and al-Awda hospitals treating the victims said. One of the strikes hit a police station in an open-air market in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing four people and wounding two dozen, half of them women and children.
In a hospital, a young boy cried, coughed and wiped his eyes as medical staff treated him in the busy ward.
Pope calls for new peace efforts after latest attacks in Ukraine and Gaza
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is calling for concrete new measures to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, after attacks targeted a children’s hospital in Kiev and a school in Gaza.
The Vatican press office issued a statement on Tuesday expressing Francis’ pain over the new attacks and his “deep indignation” over the escalating violence.
Francis has often prayed for the “martyred” people of Ukraine, but keeps his appeals generic. He also tends to take a balanced line on the war in Gaza, often mentioning Israel and the hostages still held by Hamas alongside the suffering of the Palestinians.
Suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targets ship in Gulf of Aden
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels has targeted a ship in the Gulf of Aden.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre reports that the ship’s captain reported an explosion near the vessel off the coast of Nishtun, Yemen, close to the country’s border with Oman. The ship and crew are safe.
The center did not provide further information about the cause of the explosion.
The Houthis are known to use drones and missiles, as well as drone boats carrying bombs. The rebels have targeted more than 60 ships and killed four sailors in their attacks. They have also seized one ship and sunk two since November.
Israeli attack hits Syria tonight
DAMASCUS, Syria — An Israeli attack took place overnight near the Syrian town of Baniyas, state media reported Tuesday.
The attack shortly after midnight caused “material losses,” the Syrian state news agency SANA said, citing an unidentified military official. It did not say whether there were casualties or provide further details.
There was no immediate statement from Israeli officials. Israel regularly carries out strikes on targets in Syria linked to Iran, but rarely acknowledges them. The attacks have escalated over the past nine months against the backdrop of the war in Gaza and ongoing fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces. on the border between Lebanon and Israel.
UN details effects of new Israeli offensive in Gaza City
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations said Monday that the latest Israeli evacuation orders for parts of Gaza City cover more than 60 schools hosting displaced Palestinians, as well as two partially functioning hospitals, six health posts and two primary health care centers.
The evacuation orders came as Israel deepens its offensives in pursuit of militants who have regrouped in the badly damaged city. Thousands of Palestinians have fled in recent days.
According to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, aid workers report that staff and patients have left hospitals in and around the evacuation areas and that people who were already displaced are being forced to flee again.
The UN humanitarian agency also reports that “active hostilities, damaged roads, limited access and the lack of public order and security continue to hamper movement along the main humanitarian freight route from the Kerem Shalom crossing to Khan Younis and then to Deir al-Balah,” Dujarric said.
He said this had led to severe food shortages, reduced food rations in central and southern Gaza last month and an increasing risk of stranded supplies, particularly food, spoiling in the heat.
Maysa Saleh, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s education officer in Deir al-Balah, said in a statement that “virtually no aid has arrived in the past week” and that “food remains the biggest concern.”