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 An Israeli airstrike hit the northern gate of a field hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing a medic and wounding nine other people, a hospital spokesman said. The strike hit the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Muwasi area, where hundreds of thousands have sought shelter in sprawling tent camps. The wounded were all patients and medics, and two of the patients were in critical condition after the strike, said Saber Mohammed, a hospital spokesman. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. On Tuesday, a spokesman for Hamas said that strikes had caused them to lose contact with the unit guarding Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander. Hamas released a video of the 21-year-old soldier days earlier, likely speaking under duress. Hamas said a direct strike hit the location where Alexander was being held and they were trying to reach them. In a separate development, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to Palestinian statehood in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, who had said France aimed to recognize a Palestinian state later this year. Israeli airstrikes kill senior Hamas leader, 18 others; Houthis launch missile toward Israel Strikes on hospitals The military has struck and raided hospitals on several occasions during the 18-month war, accusing Hamas militants of hiding out in them or using them for military purposes. Hospital staff have denied the allegations and accused Israel of recklessly endangering civilians and gutting Gaza's health system. On Sunday, Israel struck the last major hospital providing critical care in northern Gaza after ordering an evacuation. A patient died during the evacuation, and the strike severely damaged the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings, according to Al-Ahli Hospital. The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which runs the hospital, condemned the strike. Israel said it targeted a Hamas command and control center within the facility, without providing evidence. Hamas denied the allegations. Netanyahu visits Gaza In the call with Macron, Netanyahu said the creation of a Palestinian state would be “a huge reward for terrorism” and result in a militant-run entity just miles from Israeli cities. In his own statement posted on X, Macron called for another ceasefire, the release of hostages and renewing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has blocked for over a month. He did not mention recognition of a Palestinian state. Macron said last week that France should aim to recognize a Palestinian state by June when it joins Saudi Arabia in hosting an international conference on implementing a two-state solution. Later on Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office said he visited northern Gaza. He’s previously entered Gaza a handful of times during the war. Population displaced The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Wounded children overwhelm Gaza hospital amid relentless Israeli airstrikes Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 51,000 people, according to an updated toll released by Gaza’s Health Ministry on Tuesday. That includes more than 1,600 people killed since Israel ended a ceasefire and resumed its offensive last month to pressure Hamas to accept changes to the agreement. The ministry is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government. Its toll is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts, though Israel has challenged its numbers. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. The ministry does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says women and children make up more than half of the dead. The offensive has destroyed much of the territory and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians. The creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is widely seen internationally as the only realistic way to resolve the decades-old conflict. Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three for a future state. The last serious and substantive peace talks broke down after Netanyahu returned to power in 2009. A number of European states have recently recognized a Palestinian state in what is largely a symbolic move aimed at reviving the peace process.

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 100 Palestinians across Gaza on Thursday, including 27 or more people taking shelter in a school, according to Palestinian health officials. The intensified offensive is part of what Israel’s military says is an effort to pressure Hamas and ultimately expel the group. Nine killed in Israeli strikes in Syria Health Ministry spokesman Zaher al-Wahidi reported that the bodies of 14 children and five women were retrieved from the school in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood. He added that the death toll may climb, as several of the 70 injured are in critical condition. Another 30-plus residents were reportedly killed in airstrikes on homes in the adjacent Shijaiyah area, based on Ahli Hospital records. The Israeli military said it had targeted a “Hamas command and control centre” in Gaza City and claimed it took precautions to minimise civilian harm. This justification — striking Hamas militants — was also cited for a previous attack on a United Nations shelter, which killed at least 17 people. Hamas denounced the school bombing as a “heinous massacre” of civilians. As the strikes continued, Israel’s military ordered further evacuations from parts of northern Gaza, instructing residents to move west or south to shelters. Many fled on foot — some carrying possessions on their backs, others using donkey carts. “My wife and I have been walking for three hours and covered only a kilometre,” said 72-year-old Mohammad Ermana, walking with a cane alongside his wife. “Now, I’m searching for a new shelter every hour, not every day.” Israel has issued broad evacuation orders in anticipation of ground operations. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said around 280,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas last month. These latest evacuation directives followed statements from Israeli officials that they plan to seize large areas of Gaza and create a new security corridor. To pressure Hamas, Israel has enforced a month-long blockade on food, fuel, and aid — a measure human rights groups have condemned as a war crime. Hamas has stated it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire, and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The group has rejected demands to disarm or leave the territory. Another Deadly Day in Gaza Israeli air raids overnight killed at least 55 people in Gaza, hospital sources reported Thursday. In Khan Younis, the bodies of 14 individuals, including five children and four women, were brought to Nasser Hospital — nine from the same family. The European Hospital near the city received the bodies of another 19, including five children aged 1 to 7 and a pregnant woman. In Gaza City, 21 more bodies, including those of seven children, were taken to Ahli Hospital. Later in the day, four additional people were killed in Khan Younis, with their bodies also taken to Nasser Hospital. Two more people were killed in central Gaza and taken to Al Aqsa Hospital. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it would launch an independent investigation into a March 23 operation in which its forces fired on ambulances in southern Gaza. According to U.N. officials, 15 medics and emergency workers were killed, and their bodies, along with the ambulances, were buried by Israeli troops in a mass grave. Initially, the Israeli military claimed the ambulances were acting suspiciously and that nine militants had been killed. The military stated that a special fact-finding team would lead the investigation. However, rights groups argue that such inquiries rarely lead to accountability. Younes Al-Khatib, head of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that some of the medics may have still been alive when Israeli forces overtook them. He said the group’s radio operators overheard a Hebrew-language conversation between Israeli soldiers and the medics after the ambulances were attacked. Palestinian U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour submitted a video to the Security Council that he claims depicts the moments leading up to the killing of 15 humanitarian workers in Gaza. He said the footage, allegedly recovered from the body of one of the victims, shows emergency vehicles travelling at night with lights on — clearly signalling to Israeli forces. Nevertheless, Mansour said the Israeli army ambushed the convoy. Israel’s Gaza Strategy On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to create a security corridor across Gaza to increase pressure on Hamas. This move would isolate the southern city of Rafah — currently under evacuation orders — from the rest of the enclave. Israel has also reinforced control of the Netzarim corridor, which separates northern Gaza from the rest of the territory. This and another corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt stretch from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean. Netanyahu also said on Sunday that Israel intends to retain overall security control of Gaza following the war, and he endorsed former U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal for “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians — a suggestion viewed by Palestinians as forced expulsion and condemned by human rights experts as likely breaching international law. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, over 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and fighters but says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel claims to have killed about 20,000 militants, though it has not provided verification. Much of Gaza now lies in ruins, with nearly 90% of the population displaced at the peak of the war. The conflict began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking 251 hostages. Most hostages have since been freed in ceasefire deals and other agreements. Israel has rescued eight hostages alive and recovered many bodies. Netanyahu Travels Despite ICC Warrant Netanyahu arrived in Hungary early Thursday — his second overseas visit since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him in November over Israel’s actions in Gaza. The ICC, based in The Hague, stated there is reason to believe that Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant used starvation as a method of war and deliberately targeted civilians — charges both deny. Although Hungary is an ICC member and technically obliged to arrest those under warrant, the court has no enforcement mechanism and depends on states’ cooperation. Hungary announced plans to initiate withdrawal from the ICC as Netanyahu landed in Budapest. Strike in Lebanon At least two people were killed early Friday in a suspected Israeli airstrike on an apartment in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon. An AP photographer saw emergency crews carry two bodies from the building. The Israeli military has yet to comment. It marks the first strike in Sidon since a ceasefire halted the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in late November. Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to carry out airstrikes against targets it claims belong to Hezbollah and allied groups.

A one-month-old girl was rescued from the rubble in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike killed her parents. On Thursday, as rescuers sifted through the debris of a collapsed apartment in Khan Younis, they heard the cries of a baby beneath the wreckage. Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 40, Say Hospitals Amidst shouts of “God is great,” a man emerged carrying the infant, wrapped in a blanket, and handed her to waiting paramedics. Despite being alive, the baby girl showed signs of distress as the paramedics checked her over. Her family, including her brother, mother, and father, perished in the airstrike. Rescuers noted that the baby had been trapped under the rubble since dawn. Hazen Attar, a civil defense worker, said, “She had been crying, then falling silent until we were able to free her.” The infant, identified as Ella Osama Abu Dagga, was born just 25 days earlier, during a fragile ceasefire that many hoped would end the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced nearly the entire population. The girl's grandparents were the only survivors from the family. The airstrike also claimed the lives of a neighboring family, including a father and his seven children. Rescuers were seen recovering the body of one of the children from the wreckage. Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza on Tuesday, ending the ceasefire and reigniting the conflict. Israel cited Hamas's rejection of a new ceasefire proposal as the reason for the renewed fighting. Since the resumption of strikes, nearly 600 people have been killed in Gaza, with the majority being women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The strike that destroyed the girl's home targeted Abasan al-Kabira, a village near the Gaza-Israel border, killing at least 16 people. The area had been evacuated earlier by the Israeli military. The Israeli military insists it targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian casualties, alleging that Hamas operates within residential areas. The military did not immediately comment on the recent airstrikes. Later, Israel reinstated a blockade on northern Gaza, including Gaza City, which had been lifted under the ceasefire agreement. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel launches ground operation to retake key Gaza corridor In retaliation, Israel’s air and ground assaults have resulted in nearly 49,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel claims to have killed around 20,000 militants, though it has not provided evidence.

In the early hours of Tuesday, Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, claiming to target dozens of Hamas positions in what it described as the most extensive attack since a ceasefire took effect in January. Palestinian officials reported at least 69 fatalities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the strikes were ordered due to stalled ceasefire negotiations. Officials described the operation as open-ended and anticipated further expansion. ISIS leader killed in Iraq, Iraqi prime minister says “Israel will now take increasingly forceful military action against Hamas,” Netanyahu’s office announced. The surprise offensive disrupted a period of relative calm during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, raising fears of a full-scale resumption of the 17-month war, which has already claimed over 48,000 Palestinian lives and caused widespread destruction in Gaza. The escalation also cast uncertainty over the fate of approximately two dozen Israeli hostages still believed to be alive in Hamas captivity. Hamas denounced the strikes as an “unprovoked escalation,” stating that they jeopardised the lives of the hostages. There was no immediate response from the U.S. However, over the weekend, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been leading mediation efforts alongside Egypt and Qatar, warned that Hamas must release the living hostages immediately “or face severe consequences.” An Israeli official, speaking anonymously about the ongoing military operation, stated that Israel was targeting Hamas' military leadership and infrastructure and planned to extend the assault beyond aerial bombardments. The official accused Hamas of using the ceasefire period to regroup and plan new attacks. In recent weeks, Hamas militants and security personnel had visibly returned to Gaza’s streets. Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, warned that “the gates of hell will open in Gaza” unless the hostages were freed. “We will not halt our operations until all hostages are returned and our war objectives are fully achieved,” he asserted. Explosions echoed throughout Gaza, and hospitals reported receiving at least 69 bodies from the morning airstrikes. The territory’s civil defence agency indicated that rescue efforts were severely hindered due to multiple simultaneous strikes. Ceasefire negotiations had stalledThe airstrikes came two months after a ceasefire agreement had temporarily paused the war. During the first phase, Hamas released about three dozen hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. However, since the ceasefire ended two weeks ago, both sides have struggled to reach an agreement on a second phase that would involve the release of the remaining 60 hostages and a potential end to the war. Hamas has insisted that Israel must completely withdraw its forces and end the war in exchange for releasing the remaining hostages. Israel, on the other hand, has maintained that it will not stop fighting until Hamas' military and governing capabilities are dismantled and all hostages are freed. Iranian, Azerbaijani FMs hold phone talk over ties, regional issues Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to resume military operations. Earlier this month, he also halted the entry of food and humanitarian aid into Gaza to exert pressure on Hamas. “This escalation follows Hamas’ continued refusal to release our hostages and its rejection of all proposals from U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and other mediators,” Netanyahu’s office stated on Tuesday. Hamas official Taher Nunu condemned the Israeli offensive, stating: “The international community now faces a moral test—either it allows the occupation army to resume its crimes, or it enforces an end to the aggression against Gaza’s innocent civilians.” Gaza was already facing a humanitarian crisisThe war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a cross-border attack that killed approximately 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. Israel responded with a military campaign that has since killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population. Gaza’s Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but reports that over half of the dead were women and children. The ceasefire had brought some temporary relief, allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to what was left of their homes. However, Gaza remains devastated, with no immediate plans for reconstruction. A resumption of full-scale hostilities threatens to undo any progress made in alleviating the humanitarian crisis. An Israeli ground offensive could be especially lethal, as large numbers of civilians have now returned to their homes. Before the ceasefire, many had sought refuge in tent camps that provided relative protection from airstrikes. The return to fighting could also deepen internal tensions in Israel regarding the fate of the remaining hostages. Many of those who were released by Hamas described harsh conditions in captivity, leading to growing domestic pressure on the Israeli government to extend the ceasefire to secure the release of all hostages. Hostage families and supporters have repeatedly urged the government to prioritise negotiations. Tens of thousands of Israelis have recently taken part in mass demonstrations calling for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages. Further protests are planned for Tuesday and Wednesday following Netanyahu’s controversial decision to dismiss the head of Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet. Critics view the move as an attempt to shift blame for the government’s failures in the October 7 attack and its handling of the war. Since the ceasefire took effect in mid-January, Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians whom the military claims entered restricted areas or posed security threats. Despite ongoing tensions, the ceasefire had largely held without a major resurgence of violence. The first phase of the agreement had facilitated the exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have continued efforts to broker a second phase of negotiations. Israel has proposed securing the release of half the remaining hostages in exchange for a commitment to further ceasefire talks. However, Hamas insists that both sides adhere to the original agreement, which calls for negotiations on a broader truce, the release of all hostages, and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas is believed to be holding 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.

Dany Alwan stood shaking as rescue workers pulled remains from piles of rubble where his brother’s building once stood. An Israeli airstrike destroyed the three-story residential building in the quiet Christian village of Aito a day before. His brother, Elie, had rented out its apartments to a friend who'd fled here with relatives from their hometown in southern Lebanon under Israeli bombardment. UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon staying put despite Israeli warnings to move Things were fine for a few weeks. But that day, minutes after visitors arrived and entered the building, it was struck. Almost two dozen people were killed, half of them women and children. Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah official, as it has insisted in other strikes with high civilian death tolls. This strike — in northern Lebanon, deep in Christian heartland — was particularly unusual. Israel has concentrated its bombardment mostly in the country’s south and east and in Beirut's southern suburbs — Shiite-majority areas where the Hezbollah militant group has a strong presence. Strikes in the traditionally “safe” areas where many displaced families have fled are raising fears among local residents. Many feel they have to choose between helping compatriots and protecting themselves. “We can’t welcome people anymore,” Alwan said as rescue teams combed through the rubble in Aito. “The situation is very critical in the village, and this is the first time something like this has happened to us.” The war brings out long-running tensionsAito is in the Zgharta province, which is split between Christian factions who are supporters and critics of Hezbollah. Some Christian legislators critical of Hezbollah have warned of the security risks that could come with hosting displaced people, mostly from the Shia Muslim community. They worry that many may have familial and social ties to Hezbollah, which in addition to its armed wing has civilian services across southern and eastern Lebanon. Some also worry that long-term displacement could create demographic changes and weaken the Christian share in Lebanon’s fragile sectarian power-sharing system. The tiny country has a troubled history of sectarian strife and violence, most notably in a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990. Lebanon for decades has struggled to navigate tensions and political gridlock within its sectarian power-sharing government system. Parliament is deeply divided among factions that back and oppose Hezbollah and has been without a president for almost two years. When Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinian ally Hamas in the war-torn Gaza Strip, the move was met with mixed feelings. Critics say it was a miscalculation that has brought the widespread devastation of Gaza here. Many have been moved to helpAfter nearly a year of low-level fighting, the Israeli military escalated its attacks against Hezbollah a month ago, launching daily aerial bombardments and a ground invasion. Most of Lebanon’s estimated 1.2 million displaced people fled over the past month. In late September, traffic jams stretching for miles clogged streets leading to Beirut as people left, some with nothing but the clothes on their backs. For many, the violence has moved them to help their fellow residents, cutting across sectarian lines. Michella Sfeir, who was safe in the north, said she wanted to take action after seeing a picture of a driver pouring water from his bottle into a nearby driver’s empty one. “The first thing you can think of is: How can I help immediately?” she said. She now helps prepare meals at a women’s art center that's become a community kitchen and donation dropoff center for blankets, clothes, and supplies in Aqaibe, a seaside town just north of Beirut. Displaced women who found shelter in surrounding neighborhoods regularly visit, while some people involved in other initiatives help deliver the hot meals to shelters around dinnertime. “We get lots of questions like, ‘When you go to give the help, is there a member of Hezbollah waiting for you at the door?’” Sfeir said, citing blowback in the community from people who perceive the displaced as Hezbollah members, supporters and relatives. “Some people ... would ask us ‘Why are you helping them? They don’t deserve it; this is because of them.'” Anxiety rises far from the borderThough northern coastal cities such as Byblos and Batroun with pristine beaches and ancient ruins have not felt the direct pain of the conflict, anxiety is rising in surrounding areas. On one coastal road — the busy Jounieh highway — an Israeli drone struck a car earlier this month, killing a man and his wife. Such rare but increasing Israeli strikes have rattled residents in the north. Many feel torn: Should they risk their security by hosting displaced people, or compromise their morals and turn them away? Zeinab Rihan fled north with family and relatives from the southern Nabatiyeh province when they couldn’t bear the airstrikes approaching closer to their homes. But, Rihan said, they found many landlords quoting outlandish rent figures in an apparent attempt to turn them away. Some might have been acting out of personal prejudice, Rihan said, but it's likely most were simply afraid. “They were scared that they might rent their place to someone who turns out to be targeted,” Rihan said. “But this is our current reality, what can we do?” For some, helping is a sense of dutyA resident of one northern town near the coast said the local government didn't want to welcome displaced people, but many residents pressured the municipality to change course. He cited the town’s common sympathy and sense of duty to help others, despite the security risks. He spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of stirring tension among residents. Elsewhere, in the hilly village of Ebrine, a stone’s throw away from Batroun, residents have been regularly visiting dozens of displaced families sheltering in two modest schools. This month, an Israeli strike hit a village a short drive away, but that hasn't stopped some residents from hiring the displaced — for some, to work in olive groves during the harvest season. Back in Aqaibe, some displaced women from nearby areas have joined Sfeir and others volunteering at the kitchen: chopping vegetables, cooking rice in vats, packaging meals in plastic containers, and having coffee together on the balcony. “Just because we’re in an area that doesn’t have direct conflict or direct war doesn’t mean that we’re not worried about Beirut or the south,” said Flavia Bechara, who founded the center, as she took a break from chopping onions and potatoes. “We all used to eat the olives and olive oil of the south, and we used to go there to get fruits and vegetables.” Bechara and several women finished packing dozens of meals for the day, and a group of women came to pick up winter clothes for their kids. Bechara said she isn’t phased by the criticism or questions she gets from some of her neighbors. “There’s always anxiety," said Bechara, who just recently could hear strikes a short drive away, in Maisra. "There’s always (the fear) that what is happening there can happen here at any moment.”

An Israeli airstrike on a compound housing journalists in southeast Lebanon has killed three media staffers, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Friday. The Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said two of its staffers were among the journalists killed early Friday. Al-Manar TV of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said its camera operator Wissam Qassim was killed in the airstrike on the Hasbaya region, that has been spared much of the fighting along the border so far. UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon staying put despite Israeli warnings to move Al-Mayadeen said camera operator Ghassan Najar and broadcast technician Mohammed Rida died. Local news station Al Jadeed aired footage from the scene — a collection of chalets that had been rented by various media outlets — showing collapsed buildings and cars marked PRESS covered in dust and rubble. The Israeli army did not issue a warning prior to the strike. Earlier in the week, a strike hit an office belonging to Al-Mayadeen on the outskirts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Several journalists have been killed since near-daily exchange of fire began along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8, 2023. In November 2023, two journalists for Al-Mayadeen TV were killed in a drone strike. A month earlier, Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and wounded other journalists from France’s international news agency, Agence France-Presse, and Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV.

Nearly 16 hours after an Israeli airstrike hit across the street from Beirut’s main public hospital, rescuers were still removing debris Tuesday from the overcrowded slum area. An excavator was digging at one of the destroyed buildings, picking out twisted metal and bricks in search for bodies. Residents standing on mounds of debris said an entire family remained missing under the rubble. Mohammad Ibrahim, a Sudanese national, came looking for his brother. “His mobile phone is still ringing. We are trying to search for him,” he said. “I don’t know if he is dead or alive.” Hours later, health officials said five bodies had been recovered from under the rubble. At least 18 people were killed, including four children, and at least 60 wounded in the strike that also caused damage across the street at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the capital’s main public medical facility. Jihad Saadeh, director of the Rafik Hariri Hospital, said the strike broke several glass windows and the solar panels of the medical facility, which continued to operate despite the damage and the panic. None of the staff was injured. Saadeh said the hospital received no warning of the impending strike, just a few meters (yards) across the street. Neither did the residents of the slum area, where several buildings were crammed and which houses several migrant workers as well as working class Lebanese. The Israeli military said it struck a Hezbollah target, without elaborating. It added had not targeted the hospital itself. It was hard for rescue equipment to reach the area of clustered settlements and dusty narrow roads. Nizar, one of the rescuers, said he had been at the site of the explosion since Monday night. “It was too dark and there was so much panic,” he said, giving only his first name in line with the rescue team’s regulations. “People didn’t understand yet what had happened.” The overcrowded slum was covered in debris, furniture and remains of life poking out of the twisted metal and broken bricks. Residents who survived the massive explosion were still in shock, some still searching through the debris with their hands for their relatives or what is left of their lives. Gunmen stood guard at the site. The Lebanese Civil Defense said Tuesday five buildings were destroyed and 12 sustained severe damage. The dead included one Sudanese and at least one Syrian. “This is a very crowded area; buildings are very close. The destruction is massive,” Nizar said, explaining that the scale of the damage made their rescue effort harder. Across the street, the hospital was still treating a few of the injured. The morgue had received 13 bodies. Hussein al-Ali, a nurse who was there when the attack happened, said it took him a few minutes to realize it was not the hospital that was hit. Dust and smoke covered the hospital lobby. The glass in the dialysis unit, the pharmacy and other rooms in the hospital was shattered. The false roof fell over his and his colleagues' heads. “We were terrified. This is a crime,” said al-Ali. “It felt like judgement day.” It took only minutes for the injured from across the street to start streaming in. Al-Ali said he had little time to breathe or reassure his terrified colleagues and the rattled patients. “Staff and patients thought the strike was here. We fled outside as the injured were coming in,” he said. And when he was done admitting the injured, “we came out to carry our (killed) neighbors. They are our neighbors.” Ola Eid survived the strike. She helped dig out her neighbors’ children from under the rubble, before realizing she herself was injured. “The problem is we didn’t feel it. They didn’t inform us. We heard they want to strike al-Sahel hospital,” said Eid, bandaged and still in shock sitting at the hospital gate. Israel had hinted another hospital miles away could possibly be a target, alleging it is housing tunnels used by the Hezbollah militant group. Eid, an actor, said she was playing with her neighbor’s kids when the first explosion hit. It knocked her to the floor and scattered the candy she was handing out to the kids. She stood up, not believing she was still alive, to find her neighbor’s kid soaked in blood. One was killed immediately; the other remained in intensive care. At least 22 killed in airstrikes in central Beirut, with Israel also firing on UN peacekeepers “I looked ahead and saw the kids torn apart and hurt,” she said. “The gas canisters were on fire. I didn’t know what to do — put out the fire or remove the kids.”

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group said an Israeli airstrike late Saturday killed its top commander for the southern Gaza Strip, a day after Israel killed the Iranian-backed group’s commander for northern Gaza in an air raid that triggered the worst cross-border conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants since the end of an 11-day war in 2021. Al-Quda Brigades of Islamic Jihad confirmed Sunday that the airstrike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah had killed Khaled Mansour, the commander, and two fellow militants. It said five other civilians, including a child and three women, were also killed in the airstrike that flattened several homes in Rafah. Late Saturday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said 24 people have been killed so far in the coastal strip, including six children. The number doesn’t likely include all of those who were killed in the Rafah airstrike because Civil Defense responders were still looking for bodies and survivors under the rubble. For now, the two highest-ranking commanders in Islamic Jihad and several other militants are among the dead. Israel estimates its airstrikes have killed about 15 militants. Read: Israel, militants trade fire as Gaza death toll climbs to 24 Militants from Islamic Jihad continued firing rockets toward Israel and the Israeli military continued airstrikes on Gaza, though the intensity of the exchange had decreased in the early hours of Sunday. The fighting began with Israel’s killing of a senior Islamic Jihad commander in a wave of strikes Friday that Israel said were meant to prevent an imminent attack. Hamas, the larger militant group that rules Gaza, appeared to remain on the sidelines of the conflict for now, keeping its response limited. Israel and Hamas fought a war barely a year ago, one of four major conflicts and several smaller battles over the last 15 years that exacted a staggering toll on the impoverished territory’s 2 million Palestinian residents. Whether Hamas continues to stay out of the fight depends in part on how much punishment Israel inflicts on Gaza as rocket fire continues. The Israeli military said an errant rocket fired by Palestinian militants killed civilians, including children, late Saturday in the town of Jabaliya, in northern Gaza. The military said it investigated the incident and concluded “without a doubt” that it was caused by a misfire on the part of Islamic Jihad. There was no official Palestinian comment on the incident. A Palestinian medical worker who was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity said the blast killed at least six people, including three children. Israeli airstrikes Saturday killed a 75-year-old woman and wounded six others as they were preparing to go to a wedding. Airstrikes have also destroyed several houses in the Gaza Strip, some of them belonging to Islamic Jihad members. The lone power plant in Gaza ground to a halt at noon Saturday due to a lack of fuel. Israel has kept its crossing points into Gaza closed since Tuesday. With the new disruption, Gazans can use only four hours of electricity a day, increasing their reliance on private generators and deepening the territory’s chronic power crisis amid peak summer heat.

The Associated Press’ top editor on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the Israeli airstrike that targeted and destroyed a Gaza City building housing the AP, broadcaster Al-Jazeera and other media, saying the public deserves to know the facts. Sally Buzbee, AP’s executive editor, said the Israeli government has yet to provide clear evidence supporting its attack, which leveled the 12-story al-Jalaa tower. The Israeli military, which gave AP journalists and other tenants about an hour to evacuate, claimed Hamas used the building for a military intelligence office and weapons development. Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Israel was compiling evidence for the U.S. but declined to commit to providing it within the next two days. Also read: Israel strike in Gaza destroys building with AP, other media “We’re in the middle of fighting,” Conricus said Sunday. “That’s in process and I’m sure in due time that information will be presented.” Buzbee said the AP has had offices in al-Jalaa tower for 15 years and never was informed or had any indication that Hamas might be in the building. She said the facts must be laid out. “We are in a conflict situation,” Buzbee said. “We do not take sides in that conflict. We heard Israelis say they have evidence; we don’t know what that evidence is.” Also read: AP 'horrified' by Israeli attack on its office “We think it’s appropriate at this point for there to be an independent look at what happened yesterday — an independent investigation,” she added. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday repeated Israel’s claim that the building housed an intelligence office of Hamas. Asked if he had relayed supporting evidence of that in a call with President Joe Biden on Saturday, Netanyahu said “we pass it through our intelligence people.” Buzbee said the AP journalists were “rattled” after the airstrike but are doing fine and reporting the news. She expressed concern about the impact on news coverage. Also read: Israeli military says it bombed home of a top Hamas leader “This does impact the world’s right to know what is happening on both sides of the conflict in real time,” she said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone Saturday with AP’s president and CEO, Gary Pruitt. The State Department said Blinken offered “his unwavering support for independent journalists and media organizations around the world and noted the indispensability of their reporting in conflict zones.” Buzbee and Conricus spoke on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” and Netanyahu was on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says the United States “has been working tirelessly through diplomatic channels” to try to end the conflict between Palestinians in Gaza and Israel, and is warning that the current cycle of violence will only put a negotiated two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict further out of reach. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a high-level emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday and Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with senior Israeli, Palestinian and regional leaders. Also read: Israeli strikes kill 42, topple buildings in Gaza City At the same meeting, Israel’s U.N. ambassador called the rocket attacks launched by Gaza’s Hamas rulers against Israel “completely premeditated” to gain political power and replace the Palestinian Authority as the leader of the Palestinians. Also read: Israel strike in Gaza destroys building with AP, other media He said the rocketing of Israel was part of “a vicious plan” by Hamas, which not only seeks the destruction of Israel but is vying to take power in the West Bank and was frustrated when Abbas postponed elections last month that would have been the first in 15 years. Also read: Israeli military says it bombed home of a top Hamas leader