Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

4 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

4 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

4 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

4 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

4 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

4 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

5 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

5 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

5 days ago
Israeli Airstrikes Kill 26, Including 10 in a Gaza Humanitarian Zone
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 months ago on
January 2, 2025

A destroyed part of Gaza City as seen from southern Israel, Thursday Jan. 2, 2025. (AP/Tsafrir Abayov)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

DEIR AL-BALAH — Israeli airstrikes killed at least 26 people across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, hitting Hamas security officers and an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone.

As the daily bombardment continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had authorized a delegation from the Mossad intelligence agency, the Shin Bet internal security agency, and the military to continue negotiations in Qatar toward a ceasefire deal. Israeli media said the delegation would depart on Friday.

There was no immediate Hamas comment. The U.S.-led talks have repeatedly stalled.

Strike on Humanitarian Zone Kills 10

The Israeli strike in the seaside humanitarian zone known as Muwasi occurred as hundreds of thousands of displaced people were huddling there in damp winter weather.

“Everyone was taking shelter in their tents from the cold, and suddenly we found the world turning upside down. Why, and for what?” said Ziyad Abu Jabal, displaced from Gaza City.

The early morning strike killed at least 10 people, including three children and two senior Hamas police officers.

Israel’s military said it targeted a senior officer in the Hamas-run police force. It said he was involved in gathering intelligence used by Hamas’ armed wing in attacks on Israeli forces.

Multiple Strikes Across Gaza

Another Israeli strike killed at least eight Palestinians in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The men were members of local committees that help secure aid convoys, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies. An Associated Press reporter there confirmed the toll.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strike.

In southern Gaza, Israel’s military killed five policemen in eastern Khan Younis. Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said the strike targeted the head of the Hamas internal security force in southern Gaza.

“Where did we find him? Where else, but of course hiding in the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis, where Gazans are sheltering from this war,” Mencer said.

Israel has repeatedly targeted the police in Gaza during 15 months of war, contributing to a breakdown of law and order in the territory that has made it difficult for humanitarian groups to deliver aid. Israel accuses the militant Hamas group of hijacking aid for its own purposes.

The Hamas-run government had a police force numbering in the tens of thousands that maintained a high degree of public security before the war, while also violently suppressing dissent. Now officers have largely vanished from the streets in many areas.

Meanwhile, three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike that hit a group of people walking in the street in Maghazi in central Gaza. Their bodies were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

War’s Devastating Toll

The war was sparked by Hamas-led militants’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel. The militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.

Israel’s offensive in retaliation has killed over 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up more than half the dead. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their tally.

Israel’s military says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas. The army says it has killed 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times.

Hunger is widespread. Children, some barefoot or in sandals, waited in line with metal pails or other containers at a food distribution center in Deir al-Balah on Thursday.

Netanyahu’s Recovery and Continued Offensive

Netanyahu was released from the hospital Thursday after having prostate surgery Sunday.

Doctors at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital said Netanyahu was recuperating well, although he has a period of recovery ahead. Despite doctor’s orders to remain hospitalized, the 75-year-old leader briefly left the facility to participate in a vote in Israel’s parliament on Tuesday.

Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed. But the militant group, while greatly weakened, has repeatedly regrouped in parts of the territory — notably the largely isolated north — after Israeli forces withdraw.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Executive Order Seeks End to Wind and Solar Energy Subsidies

DON'T MISS

US Threatens California With Legal Action Over Transgender Sports Law

DON'T MISS

US Veterans Affairs Will Cut Nearly 30,000 Jobs, Far Fewer Than Planned

DON'T MISS

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

DON'T MISS

Tucker Carlson Aired Interview With President of Iran

DON'T MISS

California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company

DON'T MISS

Madera County Multi-Agency Effort Leads to Arrest of Felony Suspect in Atwater

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest DUI Driver During Crackdown on Illegal Street Racing and Sideshows

DON'T MISS

July 4 Weekend Was No Picnic for Fresno-Area Firefighters. How Bad Did It Get?

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Seizes 300 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks Over Fourth of July

UP NEXT

US Threatens California With Legal Action Over Transgender Sports Law

UP NEXT

US Veterans Affairs Will Cut Nearly 30,000 Jobs, Far Fewer Than Planned

UP NEXT

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

UP NEXT

Tucker Carlson Aired Interview With President of Iran

UP NEXT

California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company

UP NEXT

Madera County Multi-Agency Effort Leads to Arrest of Felony Suspect in Atwater

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Arrest DUI Driver During Crackdown on Illegal Street Racing and Sideshows

UP NEXT

July 4 Weekend Was No Picnic for Fresno-Area Firefighters. How Bad Did It Get?

UP NEXT

Tulare County Seizes 300 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks Over Fourth of July

UP NEXT

US Proposes Rules That Could Boost Oil, Gas Output in US West

US Threatens California With Legal Action Over Transgender Sports Law

5 hours ago

US Veterans Affairs Will Cut Nearly 30,000 Jobs, Far Fewer Than Planned

5 hours ago

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

5 hours ago

Tucker Carlson Aired Interview With President of Iran

5 hours ago

California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company

5 hours ago

Madera County Multi-Agency Effort Leads to Arrest of Felony Suspect in Atwater

5 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest DUI Driver During Crackdown on Illegal Street Racing and Sideshows

6 hours ago

July 4 Weekend Was No Picnic for Fresno-Area Firefighters. How Bad Did It Get?

7 hours ago

Tulare County Seizes 300 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks Over Fourth of July

7 hours ago

US Proposes Rules That Could Boost Oil, Gas Output in US West

7 hours ago

Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

WASHINGTON – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday told President Donald Trump he had nominated him for the Nobel Peace ...

4 hours ago

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a bilateral dinner with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured), at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 7, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
4 hours ago

Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 7, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
4 hours ago

Netanyahu Meets Trump at White House as Israel, Hamas Discuss Ceasefire

A wind farm is shown in Movave, California, U.S., November 8, 2019. (Reuter File)
4 hours ago

Trump Executive Order Seeks End to Wind and Solar Energy Subsidies

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testifies before a Senate Appropriations hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump's budget request for the Department of Education, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 3, 2025. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

US Threatens California With Legal Action Over Transgender Sports Law

United States Department of Veterans Affairs logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

US Veterans Affairs Will Cut Nearly 30,000 Jobs, Far Fewer Than Planned

A group of search and rescue workers paddle a boat in the Guadalupe River in the aftermath of deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, U.S., July 7, 2025. (Reuters/Sergio Flores)
5 hours ago

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

5 hours ago

Tucker Carlson Aired Interview With President of Iran

Attendees visit the 23andMe booth at the RootsTech annual genealogical event in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., February 28, 2019. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend