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  • Pakistan’s defense minister says that there is now ‘open war’ with Afghanistan

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    Pakistan’s defense minister early Friday said that his country had run out of “patience” and now considers itself in an “open war” with neighboring Afghanistan after both sides launched strikes following what Islamabad described as an Afghan cross-border attack.In a post on X, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said Pakistan had hoped for peace in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO forces and expected the Taliban to focus on the welfare of the Afghan people and regional stability. Instead, he alleged, the Taliban had turned Afghanistan “into a colony of India,” gathered militants from around the world and begun “exporting terrorism.”Video above: Shiite Muslims take part in a rally to condemn Israeli strikes on Iran “Our patience has now run out. Now it is open war between us,” he said. There has been no reaction from Afghan government officials to Asif’s comments.Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring India of backing the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army and the Pakistani Taliban, allegations New Delhi denies.His remarks came hours after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, as well as in Kandahar in the south and Paktia province in the southeast, according to Pakistani officials and Afghanistan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid. Pakistan says the strikes were in retaliation for Afghan cross-border attacks.The escalation comes months after Qatar and Turkey mediated a ceasefire between the two sides.Both governments have issued sharply differing casualty claims and said they inflicted heavy losses on the other. The claims could not be independently verified.Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said overnight that 55 Pakistani soldiers had been killed, including some whose bodies were taken into Afghanistan, and that “several others were captured alive.” It said eight Afghan soldiers were killed and 11 wounded. The ministry said it destroyed 19 Pakistani army posts and two bases and that the fighting ended around midnight, about four hours after it began Thursday.Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said two Pakistani soldiers were killed and three wounded.Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, denied that any Pakistani soldiers had been captured. In a post on X, he said at least 133 Afghan fighters were killed and more than 200 wounded. He also said 27 Afghan posts were destroyed and nine fighters captured. He did not specify where the casualties occurred but said additional losses were estimated in strikes on military targets in Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar.In Islamabad, two senior security officials said Afghan forces at some border posts had raised white flags, a gesture typically interpreted as a request to halt firing. The officials said Pakistani forces were continuing what they described as a strong retaliatory response to “unprovoked aggression” by the Afghan Taliban and had destroyed several key Taliban posts along the border.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.Asif also accused the Taliban government of denying Afghans basic human rights, including rights for women that he said are guaranteed under Islam, without providing details or evidence.He said Pakistan had tried to maintain stability both directly and through friendly countries. “Today, when attempts were made to target Pakistan with aggression, by the grace of God, our armed forces are giving a decisive response,” he said.Authorities in Pakistan said dozens of Afghan refugees who were waiting to return home from the northwestern Torkham border have been taken back to safer places following the eruption of clashes.Pakistan launched a sweeping crackdown in Oct. 2023 to expel migrants without documents, urging those in the country to leave of their own accord to avoid arrest and forcible deportation and forcibly expelling others. Iran also began a crackdown on migrants at around the same time.Since then, millions have streamed across the border into Afghanistan, including people who were born in Pakistan decades ago and had built lives and created businesses there.Last year alone, 2.9 million people returned to Afghanistan, the U.N. refugee agency has said, with nearly 80,000 having returned so far this year.Afghan reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writers Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, Eduardo Castillo in Beijing and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, also contributed to this story.

    Pakistan’s defense minister early Friday said that his country had run out of “patience” and now considers itself in an “open war” with neighboring Afghanistan after both sides launched strikes following what Islamabad described as an Afghan cross-border attack.

    In a post on X, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said Pakistan had hoped for peace in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO forces and expected the Taliban to focus on the welfare of the Afghan people and regional stability. Instead, he alleged, the Taliban had turned Afghanistan “into a colony of India,” gathered militants from around the world and begun “exporting terrorism.”

    Video above: Shiite Muslims take part in a rally to condemn Israeli strikes on Iran

    “Our patience has now run out. Now it is open war between us,” he said. There has been no reaction from Afghan government officials to Asif’s comments.

    Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring India of backing the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army and the Pakistani Taliban, allegations New Delhi denies.

    His remarks came hours after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, as well as in Kandahar in the south and Paktia province in the southeast, according to Pakistani officials and Afghanistan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid. Pakistan says the strikes were in retaliation for Afghan cross-border attacks.

    The escalation comes months after Qatar and Turkey mediated a ceasefire between the two sides.

    Both governments have issued sharply differing casualty claims and said they inflicted heavy losses on the other. The claims could not be independently verified.

    Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said overnight that 55 Pakistani soldiers had been killed, including some whose bodies were taken into Afghanistan, and that “several others were captured alive.” It said eight Afghan soldiers were killed and 11 wounded. The ministry said it destroyed 19 Pakistani army posts and two bases and that the fighting ended around midnight, about four hours after it began Thursday.

    Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said two Pakistani soldiers were killed and three wounded.

    Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, denied that any Pakistani soldiers had been captured. In a post on X, he said at least 133 Afghan fighters were killed and more than 200 wounded. He also said 27 Afghan posts were destroyed and nine fighters captured. He did not specify where the casualties occurred but said additional losses were estimated in strikes on military targets in Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar.

    In Islamabad, two senior security officials said Afghan forces at some border posts had raised white flags, a gesture typically interpreted as a request to halt firing. The officials said Pakistani forces were continuing what they described as a strong retaliatory response to “unprovoked aggression” by the Afghan Taliban and had destroyed several key Taliban posts along the border.

    The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

    Asif also accused the Taliban government of denying Afghans basic human rights, including rights for women that he said are guaranteed under Islam, without providing details or evidence.

    He said Pakistan had tried to maintain stability both directly and through friendly countries. “Today, when attempts were made to target Pakistan with aggression, by the grace of God, our armed forces are giving a decisive response,” he said.

    Authorities in Pakistan said dozens of Afghan refugees who were waiting to return home from the northwestern Torkham border have been taken back to safer places following the eruption of clashes.

    Pakistan launched a sweeping crackdown in Oct. 2023 to expel migrants without documents, urging those in the country to leave of their own accord to avoid arrest and forcible deportation and forcibly expelling others. Iran also began a crackdown on migrants at around the same time.

    Since then, millions have streamed across the border into Afghanistan, including people who were born in Pakistan decades ago and had built lives and created businesses there.

    Last year alone, 2.9 million people returned to Afghanistan, the U.N. refugee agency has said, with nearly 80,000 having returned so far this year.

    Afghan reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writers Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, Eduardo Castillo in Beijing and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, also contributed to this story.

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  • Airstrikes and gunfire kill at least 59 people in Gaza as pressure grows for ceasefire, hostage deal

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    Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 59 people across Gaza, health officials said Saturday, as international pressure grows for a ceasefire and hostage return deal while Israel’s leader remained defiant about continuing the war.Related video above: Palestinian president speaks by video at UNAmong the dead were those hit by two strikes in the Nuseirat refugee camp — nine from the same family in a house and, later, 15 in the same camp, including women and children, according to staff at al-Awda Hospital, where the bodies were brought. Five others were killed when a strike hit a tent for the displaced, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the dead.Israel’s army said it was not aware of anyone being killed by gunfire Saturday in southern Gaza, nor of a strike in the Nuseirat area during the time and at the location provided by the hospital.The director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City told The Associated Press that medical teams there were concerned about Israeli “tanks approaching the vicinity of the hospital,” restricting access to the facility where 159 patients are being treated.“The bombardment has not stopped for a single moment,” Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya said.He added that 14 premature babies were treated in incubators in Helou Hospital, though the head of neonatal intensive care there, Dr. Nasser Bulbul, has said that the facility’s main gate was closed because of drones flying over the building. Netanyahu and Trump scheduled to meet as pressure growsThe attacks came hours after a defiant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told fellow world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly Friday that his nation “must finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza.Netanyahu’s words, aimed as much at his increasingly divided domestic audience as the global one, began after dozens of delegates from multiple nations walked out of the U.N. General Assembly hall en masse Friday morning as he began speaking.International pressure on Israel to end the war is increasing, as is Israel’s isolation, with a growing list of countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Australia, deciding recently to recognize Palestinian statehood — something Israel rejects.A U.N. commission of inquiry recently determined that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.Countries have been lobbying U.S. President Donald Trump to press Israel for a ceasefire. On Friday, Trump told reporters on the White House lawn that he believes the U.S. is close to achieving a deal on easing fighting in Gaza that “will get the hostages back” and “end the war.”Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet Monday, and Trump said on social media Friday that “very inspired and productive discussions” and “intense negotiations” about Gaza are ongoing with countries in the region.Yet, Israel is pressing ahead with another major ground operation in Gaza City, which experts say is experiencing famine. More than 300,000 people have fled, but up to 700,000 are still there, many because they can’t afford to relocate.Hospitals are short on supplies and targeted by airstrikesThe strikes Saturday morning demolished a house in Gaza City’s Tufah neighborhood, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children, according to Al-Ahly Hospital, where the bodies were brought. Four other people were killed when an airstrike hit their homes in the Shati refugee camp, according to Shifa Hospital. Six other Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire while seeking aid in southern and central Gaza, according to the Nasser and Al Awda hospitals.Hospitals and health clinics in Gaza City are on the brink of collapse. Nearly two weeks into the offensive, two clinics have been destroyed by airstrikes, two hospitals shut down after being damaged and others are barely functioning, with medicine, equipment, food and fuel in short supply, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.Many patients and staff have been forced to flee hospitals, leaving behind only a few doctors and nurses to tend to children in incubators or other patients too ill to move.On Friday, aid group Doctors Without Borders said it was forced to suspend activities in Gaza City. The group said Israeli tanks were less than a kilometer (half a mile) from its facilities, creating an “unacceptable level of risk” for its staff.Meanwhile, the food situation in the north has also worsened, as Israel has halted aid deliveries through its crossing into northern Gaza since Sept. 12 and has increasingly rejected U.N. requests to bring supplies from southern Gaza into the north, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people and wounded more than 167,000 others, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. It doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, but says women and children make up around half the fatalities. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, but U.N. agencies and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.Israel’s campaign was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Forty-eight captives remain in Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were freed in ceasefires or other deals. Magdy reported from Cairo, Egypt.

    Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 59 people across Gaza, health officials said Saturday, as international pressure grows for a ceasefire and hostage return deal while Israel’s leader remained defiant about continuing the war.

    Related video above: Palestinian president speaks by video at UN

    Among the dead were those hit by two strikes in the Nuseirat refugee camp — nine from the same family in a house and, later, 15 in the same camp, including women and children, according to staff at al-Awda Hospital, where the bodies were brought. Five others were killed when a strike hit a tent for the displaced, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the dead.

    Israel’s army said it was not aware of anyone being killed by gunfire Saturday in southern Gaza, nor of a strike in the Nuseirat area during the time and at the location provided by the hospital.

    The director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City told The Associated Press that medical teams there were concerned about Israeli “tanks approaching the vicinity of the hospital,” restricting access to the facility where 159 patients are being treated.

    “The bombardment has not stopped for a single moment,” Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya said.

    He added that 14 premature babies were treated in incubators in Helou Hospital, though the head of neonatal intensive care there, Dr. Nasser Bulbul, has said that the facility’s main gate was closed because of drones flying over the building.

    Netanyahu and Trump scheduled to meet as pressure grows

    The attacks came hours after a defiant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told fellow world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly Friday that his nation “must finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza.

    Netanyahu’s words, aimed as much at his increasingly divided domestic audience as the global one, began after dozens of delegates from multiple nations walked out of the U.N. General Assembly hall en masse Friday morning as he began speaking.

    International pressure on Israel to end the war is increasing, as is Israel’s isolation, with a growing list of countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Australia, deciding recently to recognize Palestinian statehood — something Israel rejects.

    A U.N. commission of inquiry recently determined that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

    Countries have been lobbying U.S. President Donald Trump to press Israel for a ceasefire. On Friday, Trump told reporters on the White House lawn that he believes the U.S. is close to achieving a deal on easing fighting in Gaza that “will get the hostages back” and “end the war.”

    Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet Monday, and Trump said on social media Friday that “very inspired and productive discussions” and “intense negotiations” about Gaza are ongoing with countries in the region.

    Yet, Israel is pressing ahead with another major ground operation in Gaza City, which experts say is experiencing famine. More than 300,000 people have fled, but up to 700,000 are still there, many because they can’t afford to relocate.

    Hospitals are short on supplies and targeted by airstrikes

    The strikes Saturday morning demolished a house in Gaza City’s Tufah neighborhood, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children, according to Al-Ahly Hospital, where the bodies were brought. Four other people were killed when an airstrike hit their homes in the Shati refugee camp, according to Shifa Hospital. Six other Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire while seeking aid in southern and central Gaza, according to the Nasser and Al Awda hospitals.

    Hospitals and health clinics in Gaza City are on the brink of collapse. Nearly two weeks into the offensive, two clinics have been destroyed by airstrikes, two hospitals shut down after being damaged and others are barely functioning, with medicine, equipment, food and fuel in short supply, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

    Many patients and staff have been forced to flee hospitals, leaving behind only a few doctors and nurses to tend to children in incubators or other patients too ill to move.

    On Friday, aid group Doctors Without Borders said it was forced to suspend activities in Gaza City. The group said Israeli tanks were less than a kilometer (half a mile) from its facilities, creating an “unacceptable level of risk” for its staff.

    Meanwhile, the food situation in the north has also worsened, as Israel has halted aid deliveries through its crossing into northern Gaza since Sept. 12 and has increasingly rejected U.N. requests to bring supplies from southern Gaza into the north, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

    Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people and wounded more than 167,000 others, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. It doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, but says women and children make up around half the fatalities. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, but U.N. agencies and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

    Israel’s campaign was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Forty-eight captives remain in Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were freed in ceasefires or other deals.


    Magdy reported from Cairo, Egypt.

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  • Israeli airstrike kills Houthi rebel prime minister in Yemen’s capital

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    The Iranian-backed Houthis said Saturday an Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the rebel-controlled government in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.Related video above: Indian Navy acts as firefighters on container ship attacked by Houthis in Gulf of Aden (03/06/24)Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a Thursday strike in Sanaa along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement.The Israeli military said Thursday that it “precisely struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa in Yemen.”Al-Rahawi, who served as prime minister to the Houthi-led government since August 2024, was targeted along with other members of his Houthi-controlled government during a routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year, the rebels’ statement said.The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles against Israel throughout Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The group says the attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians. Though most of the missiles launched by Yemen are intercepted by Israel or fragment mid-air, this has done little to deter the attacks.Earlier in the week, Israeli strikes hit multiple areas across Sanaa, killing at least 10 people and wounding 102 others, according to the Houthi-run health ministry and government officials.The Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea throughout Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The rebels say their attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians.In response to the Houthi attacks, Israel and a U.S.-led coalition pounded the rebel-held areas in Yemen, including Sanaa and the strategic coastal city of Hodeida. Israeli strikes knocked the Sanaa airport out of service in May.The Trump administration announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to attacks on shipping in May. The rebels, however, said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.

    The Iranian-backed Houthis said Saturday an Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the rebel-controlled government in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

    Related video above: Indian Navy acts as firefighters on container ship attacked by Houthis in Gulf of Aden (03/06/24)

    Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a Thursday strike in Sanaa along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement.

    The Israeli military said Thursday that it “precisely struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa in Yemen.”

    Al-Rahawi, who served as prime minister to the Houthi-led government since August 2024, was targeted along with other members of his Houthi-controlled government during a routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year, the rebels’ statement said.

    The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles against Israel throughout Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The group says the attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians. Though most of the missiles launched by Yemen are intercepted by Israel or fragment mid-air, this has done little to deter the attacks.

    MOHAMMED HUWAIS

    Yemen’s Houthi-led government’s Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi visits the offices of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Sanaa, to offer his condolences over the killing of Yahya Sinwar, the head of the Hamas movement, on Oct. 20, 2024.

    Earlier in the week, Israeli strikes hit multiple areas across Sanaa, killing at least 10 people and wounding 102 others, according to the Houthi-run health ministry and government officials.

    The Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea throughout Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The rebels say their attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians.

    In response to the Houthi attacks, Israel and a U.S.-led coalition pounded the rebel-held areas in Yemen, including Sanaa and the strategic coastal city of Hodeida. Israeli strikes knocked the Sanaa airport out of service in May.

    The Trump administration announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to attacks on shipping in May. The rebels, however, said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.

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  • Apparent Israeli airstrike kills at least 18 people at a mosque in central Gaza

    Apparent Israeli airstrike kills at least 18 people at a mosque in central Gaza

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    Apparent Israeli airstrike kills at least 18 people at a mosque in central Gaza

    ON MATTER OF FACT. MONDAY MARKS ONE YEAR SINCE HAMAS LAUNCHED ITS VIOLENT ATTACK ON ISRAEL, INCLUDING KILLING HUNDREDS AT A MUSIC FESTIVAL, AND ISRAEL BEGAN ITS DEADLY RESPONSE. MICHIGAN IS 6000 MILES AWAY FROM THE FIGHTING, YET WHAT’S UNFOLDING IN THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE PRIMARY CONCERN FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF VOTERS IN THAT BATTLEGROUND STATE. MICHIGAN’S ARAB AMERICAN POPULATION TOPS 300,000. THE LARGEST IN THE U.S., AND IN DEARBORN, THAT COMMUNITY IS NOW THE MAJORITY. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN NARROWLY WON MICHIGAN IN 2020, THANKS IN PART TO ARAB AMERICANS VOTING FOR HIM BY ABOUT 70%. WELL, NOW THAT COMMUNITY IS THREATENING TO WITHDRAW ITS SUPPORT FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL TICKET. OUR CORRESPONDENT DINA DEMETRIUS TRAVELED TO DEARBORN TO TALK TO ARAB AMERICAN LEADERS WHO SAY THEY’RE FEELING BACKED INTO A POLITICAL CORNER. FREE, FREE, FREE PALESTINE. FREE FREE FREE PALESTINE. THERE’S GRIEF AND ANGER OVER THE WAR IN GAZA. AT A RALLY OUTSIDE THIS YEAR’S ARABCON. WE DON’T HAVE TO BE SO MUCH ON THE DEFENSIVE INSIDE A DEBATE OVER HOW THAT SHOULD AFFECT ARAB AMERICAN VOTES. WE SHOULD REALLY STRICT STRATEGICALLY IN MAKING SURE THAT OUR VOTE IS NOT WASTED. THERE’S A LOT OF FRUSTRATION IN THE COMMUNITY. AYOUB HEADS THE AMERICAN-ARAB ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE. REALLY, THEY’RE SICK AND TIRED OF THEIR VOICE AND THEIR VOTE BEING TAKEN FOR GRANTED. DEARBORN IS BEST KNOWN AS THE HOME OF FORD HEADQUARTERS. NOW IT’S ALSO KNOWN FOR ITS ARAB AMERICAN COMMUNITY. FOR DECADES, IT ALIGNED WITH CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS, BUT NINE OVER 11 AND THE WAR ON TERROR SWUNG THE PENDULUM SOLIDLY TO THE DEMOCRATS. OSAMA SIBLANI IS PUBLISHER OF THE ARAB AMERICAN NEWS. WE HAVE SUPPORTED REPUBLICANS. WE HAVE SUPPORTED DEMOCRATS AS WELL. WHAT’S DIFFERENT NOW ON THE TOP OF THE TICKET AND EVEN PROBABLY ON THE SENATORIAL LEVEL, WE ARE NOT WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE VOTING FOR EITHER A REPUBLICAN OR A DEMOCRAT. WE PROBABLY WILL NOT VOTE WITH 40,000 GAZANS KILLED. THEY’RE FRUSTRATED WITH THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION’S CONTINUED AID TO ISRAEL, BUT THEY ALSO SEE PERIL IN FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HIS SO-CALLED MUSLIM BAN IN 2017, CREATING A MORAL AND POLITICAL BIND. WE WANT AMERICA TO BE IN GOOD HANDS. I DO NOT BELIEVE IN DONALD TRUMP AS A PRESIDENT, AND THAT IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT FOR KAMALA HARRIS. DONALD TRUMP IS A THREAT TO OUR COUNTRY. SO HE’S OUT OF THE QUESTION. WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE VOTING FOR ANY GENOCIDE THIS NOVEMBER. AND THAT’S THE DIFFICULT SITUATION, RIGHT? WHERE YOU HAVE THE DOMESTIC ISSUES NOW THAT YOU REALLY NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO AND THEIR IMPACT AND THERE IS NO STRAIGHT ANSWER, BUT THE UNDERLYING FEELING IN ALL OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS IS GENOCIDE IS THE RED LINE. EVERY ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE IN GAZA JUST AREN’T PALESTINIANS. THEY’RE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND BESIDES ALL OF THAT, I’M I’M A HUMAN BEING. I’M AN AMERICAN. I DON’T WANT MY TAX DOLLARS BEING USED TO KILL INNOCENT MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN. THESE LEADERS IN THE UNCOMMITTED NATIONAL MOVEMENT HAVE STAKED OUT A MIDEAST ANTI WAR EFFORT WITHIN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THEY CAMPAIGNED FOR UNCOMMITTED PROTEST VOTES. IT WORKED, AND IT WAS A MESSAGE TO THE TOP OF THE TICKET. WE HAVE GONE TO THE ADMINISTRATION AND WE HAVE SAID WE ARE WILLING TO MOBILIZE OUR VOTERS. WE HAVE TURNED OUT 101,000 VOTERS IN MICHIGAN OVER CLOSE TO A MILLION VOTERS NATIONWIDE. WE ARE WILLING TO MOBILIZE THAT BASE FOR YOU IF YOU ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION AND ACTION THAT SHOWS POLICY CHANGE AND THAT POLICY COULD LOOK LIKE UPHOLDING LEAHY LAW, OUR OWN AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM, IT COULD LOOK LIKE UPHOLDING INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW. WE NEED A FULL ON STOP OF WEAPONS TRANSFERS AND WEAPONS AIDS TO ISRAEL AS THEY ARE CARRYING OUT A COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT OF PALESTINIANS. BUT EVEN WITH 30 DELEGATES AT THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, THE GROUP SAW NO SIGNALS OF A POLICY SHIFT AND NO PALESTINIANS WERE INVITED TO SPEAK. NOW, UNCOMMITTED HAS WITHHELD AN ENDORSEMENT OF HARRIS WHILE ALSO WARNING AGAINST TRUMP OR A THIRD PARTY THAT COULD HELP HIM WIN. BUT DOESN’T IT ALSO DEPRESS THE VOTE THAT POTENTIALLY COULD PUT TRUMP IN OFFICE TO NOT MOBILIZE ARAB AMERICAN VOTERS HERE IN MICHIGAN, WHERE THEY ARE SO IMPORTANT, RIGHT? WOULDN’T THAT POTENTIALLY ALSO, ASIDE FROM VOTING FOR WHY ARE WE BLAMING VOTERS FOR THE PARTY NOT DOING ITS JOB AS A CANDIDATE? IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE PEOPLE BELIEVE IN THE VISION THAT YOU ARE PUSHING? AND IF YOU DON’T DO THAT JOB AND PEOPLE DON’T VOTE FOR YOU, THAT IS NO ONE’S FAULT OTHER THAN YOUR OWN. WE UNDERSTAND THE RISK OF NOVEMBER, AND WE’D RATHER NOW SHIFT OUR ENERGY TO GETTING OUR COMMUNITIES TO UNDERSTAND WHAT’S AT RISK AND WHAT’S AT STAKE. WOULD YOU SAY THE ARAB-AMERICAN COMMUNITY FEELS POLITICALLY HOMELESS NOW? I THINK SO. I THINK POLITICALLY HOMELESS IS A GOOD DESCRIPTION. I WILL SAY THIS. I THINK THE THIRD PARTY APPEAL IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. NOT MAYBE NOT IN THIS ELECTION, BUT I THINK IN TWO YEARS AND FOUR YEARS, WHAT DO WE DO ON NOVEMBER SIXTH? THE RESULTS ARE NOT GOING TO BE NOT SURPRISING THAT JILL STEIN IS NOT THERE ANYMORE. WHAT DO WE DO? CAN WE MAKE A STATEMENT WITHOUT HURTING OUR POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT? CAN YOU? I THINK WE CAN. I REALLY DO. IF WE DO NOT VOTE FOR THE PRESIDENT, WE ARE NOT MARGINALIZED. AND I THINK THAT THEY HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT, THAT THIS POINT OR ONE POINT, WE CAN EASILY MAKE IT. LET THEM SWEAT IT OUT A LITTLE

    An apparent Israeli airstrike early Sunday killed at least 18 people in central Gaza, Palestinian medical officials said.The strike hit a mosque sheltering displaced people near the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the town of Deir al-Balah, the hospital said in a statement.Video above: Arab American Voters Struggle With Supporting Presidential CandidatesAn Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead were all men. Another two men were critically wounded, the hospital said.The Israeli military did not immediately comment about the strike on the mosque.The latest strikes add to the mounting Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which is now nearing 42,000, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but many of the dead were women and children.

    An apparent Israeli airstrike early Sunday killed at least 18 people in central Gaza, Palestinian medical officials said.

    The strike hit a mosque sheltering displaced people near the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the town of Deir al-Balah, the hospital said in a statement.

    Video above: Arab American Voters Struggle With Supporting Presidential Candidates

    An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead were all men. Another two men were critically wounded, the hospital said.

    The Israeli military did not immediately comment about the strike on the mosque.

    The latest strikes add to the mounting Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which is now nearing 42,000, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but many of the dead were women and children.

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  • Rare Israeli strike in central Beirut kills 7 as troops battle Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

    Rare Israeli strike in central Beirut kills 7 as troops battle Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

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    BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut killed seven Hezbollah-affiliated civilian first responders. Israel has been pounding areas of the country where the militant group has a strong presence since late September, but has rarely struck in the heart of the capital.

    There was no warning before the strike late Wednesday, which hit an apartment in central Beirut not far from the United Nations headquarters, the prime minister’s office and parliament. Hezbollah’s civil defense unit said seven of its members were killed.

    The strike came after at least eight Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where Israel announced the start of what it says is a limited ground incursion earlier this week. The region was meanwhile bracing for Israeli retaliation following an Iranian ballistic missile attack.

    Residents reported a sulfur-like smell following strike in Beirut, and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency accused Israel of using phosphorous bombs, without providing evidence. Human rights groups have in the past accused Israel of using white phosphorus incendiary shells on towns and villages in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Hezbollah has an armed wing with tens of thousands of fighters but it also has a political movement and a network of charities staffed by civilians.

    In a separate development, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they had launched two drones at Tel Aviv overnight. The military said it identified two drones off the coast of the bustling metropolitan area, shooting one of them down while the other fell in the Mediterranean Sea.

    The escalating violence in Lebanon has opened a second front in the war between Israel and Iran-backed militants that began nearly a year ago with Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

    The Israeli military said Thursday that it killed a senior Hamas leader in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip around three months ago. It said that a strike on an underground compound in northern Gaza killed Rawhi Mushtaha and two other Hamas commanders.

    There was no immediate comment from Hamas. Mushtaha was a close associate of Yahya Sinwar, the top leader of Hamas who helped mastermind the Oct. 7 attack. Sinwar is believed to be alive and in hiding inside Gaza.

    In recent weeks, Israelis strikes in Lebanon have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of his top commanders. Hundreds more airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon since mid-September have killed at least 1,276 people, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

    The Israeli military said Thursday that it had struck around 200 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and observation posts. It said the strikes killed at least 15 Hezbollah fighters. There was no independent confirmation.

    Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes, as Israel has warned people to evacuate from around 50 villages and towns in the south, telling them to relocate to areas that are around 60 kilometers (36 miles) from the border and considerably farther north than a U.N.-declared buffer zone.

    Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah after nearly a year of rocket attacks that began on Oct. 8 and have displaced some 60,000 Israelis from communities in the north. Israel has carried out retaliatory strikes over the past year that have displaced tens of thousands on the Lebanese side.

    The vast majority of recent strikes have been in areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence, including the southern suburbs of Beirut known as the Dahiyeh. But Israel has also carried out strikes in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, and a strike in central Beirut earlier this week killed three Palestinian militants.

    Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis are part of the Iran-led Axis of Resistance, which also includes armed groups in Syria and Iraq. They have launched attacks on Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians, drawing retaliation in a cycle that has repeatedly threatened to set off a wider war.

    The region once again appears on the brink of such a conflict after Iran’s missile attack on Tuesday, which it said was a response to the killing of Nasrallah, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general who was with him, and Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, who was killed in an explosion in Tehran in July that was widely blamed on Israel.

    Both Israel and the United States have said there will be severe consequences for the missile attack, which lightly wounded two people and killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank. The United States has rushed military assets to the region in support of Israel.

    ___

    Jeffery reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press staff writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Zeina Karam in London contributed to this report.

    Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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  • Rare Israeli strike in central Beirut kills 7 as troops battle Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

    Rare Israeli strike in central Beirut kills 7 as troops battle Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

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    BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut killed seven Hezbollah-affiliated civilian first responders. Israel has been pounding areas of the country where the militant group has a strong presence since late September, but has rarely struck in the heart of the capital.

    There was no warning before the strike late Wednesday, which hit an apartment in central Beirut not far from the United Nations headquarters, the prime minister’s office and parliament. Hezbollah’s civil defense unit said seven of its members were killed.

    The strike came after at least eight Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where Israel announced the start of what it says is a limited ground incursion earlier this week. The region was meanwhile bracing for Israeli retaliation following an Iranian ballistic missile attack.

    Residents reported a sulfur-like smell following strike in Beirut, and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency accused Israel of using phosphorous bombs, without providing evidence. Human rights groups have in the past accused Israel of using white phosphorus incendiary shells on towns and villages in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Hezbollah has an armed wing with tens of thousands of fighters but it also has a political movement and a network of charities staffed by civilians.

    In a separate development, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they had launched two drones at Tel Aviv overnight. The military said it identified two drones off the coast of the bustling metropolitan area, shooting one of them down while the other fell in the Mediterranean Sea.

    The escalating violence in Lebanon has opened a second front in the war between Israel and Iran-backed militants that began nearly a year ago with Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

    The Israeli military said Thursday that it killed a senior Hamas leader in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip around three months ago. It said that a strike on an underground compound in northern Gaza killed Rawhi Mushtaha and two other Hamas commanders.

    There was no immediate comment from Hamas. Mushtaha was a close associate of Yahya Sinwar, the top leader of Hamas who helped mastermind the Oct. 7 attack. Sinwar is believed to be alive and in hiding inside Gaza.

    In recent weeks, Israelis strikes in Lebanon have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of his top commanders. Hundreds more airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon since mid-September have killed at least 1,276 people, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

    The Israeli military said Thursday that it had struck around 200 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and observation posts. It said the strikes killed at least 15 Hezbollah fighters. There was no independent confirmation.

    Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes, as Israel has warned people to evacuate from around 50 villages and towns in the south, telling them to relocate to areas that are around 60 kilometers (36 miles) from the border and considerably farther north than a U.N.-declared buffer zone.

    Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah after nearly a year of rocket attacks that began on Oct. 8 and have displaced some 60,000 Israelis from communities in the north. Israel has carried out retaliatory strikes over the past year that have displaced tens of thousands on the Lebanese side.

    The vast majority of recent strikes have been in areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence, including the southern suburbs of Beirut known as the Dahiyeh. But Israel has also carried out strikes in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, and a strike in central Beirut earlier this week killed three Palestinian militants.

    Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis are part of the Iran-led Axis of Resistance, which also includes armed groups in Syria and Iraq. They have launched attacks on Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians, drawing retaliation in a cycle that has repeatedly threatened to set off a wider war.

    The region once again appears on the brink of such a conflict after Iran’s missile attack on Tuesday, which it said was a response to the killing of Nasrallah, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general who was with him, and Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, who was killed in an explosion in Tehran in July that was widely blamed on Israel.

    Both Israel and the United States have said there will be severe consequences for the missile attack, which lightly wounded two people and killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank. The United States has rushed military assets to the region in support of Israel.

    ___

    Jeffery reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press staff writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Zeina Karam in London contributed to this report.

    Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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  • Middle East conflict edges closer to ‘open-ended battle’

    Middle East conflict edges closer to ‘open-ended battle’

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    Escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is raising concerns of a broader conflict in the Middle East, with U.S. efforts to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza facing little to no progress.Overnight, Israel launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon, targeting what officials say were Hezbollah terrorists. The strikes come in response to over 100 rockets fired by Hezbollah over the weekend, following the death of one of its leaders and an attack through communications devices.One Hezbollah leader declared the attacks an “open-ended battle” as both sides spiral closer to an all-out war.”We did not want this war. We are not seeking war,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “Hezbollah’s been attacking us on a daily basis, demolishing Israeli villages and towns. Basically leading to the eviction of 100,000 Israelis from their homes. Life has been shattered in our northern border.””We will take whatever action is necessary to restore security and to bring our people safe back to their homes,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address. “No country can accept the wanton rocketing of its cities. We can’t accept it either.”Meanwhile, U.S. mediators have been working alongside international negotiators to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza, but stalled progress and the escalating violence are threatening hope of bringing American hostages home.”We have not achieved any progress here in the last week to two weeks- not for lack of trying,” White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby, said. “We will certainly keep up those conversations as best we can. And we’re talking to both sides here.”President Joe Biden acknowledged the latest surge of violence and expressed concern of spreading conflict.”We’re going to do everything we can to keep from a wider war from breaking out,” he said.There are other concerns that the same type of attacks on explosive communications devices used in Lebanon could happen in the U.S. Experts believe Israel infiltrated the international supply chain and placed the rigged devices in imports headed to Lebanon. According to the Associated Press, the complex operation likely took months to pull off but little evidence has emerged so far.The White House did not comment on whether it is taking steps to protect the U.S. supply chain as a result, offering instead that Biden wants the supply chain to be largely self-sufficient, with most goods originating from within the U.S.Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to meet with leaders of the United Arab Emirates Monday before Biden travels to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

    Escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is raising concerns of a broader conflict in the Middle East, with U.S. efforts to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza facing little to no progress.

    Overnight, Israel launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon, targeting what officials say were Hezbollah terrorists. The strikes come in response to over 100 rockets fired by Hezbollah over the weekend, following the death of one of its leaders and an attack through communications devices.

    One Hezbollah leader declared the attacks an “open-ended battle” as both sides spiral closer to an all-out war.

    “We did not want this war. We are not seeking war,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “Hezbollah’s been attacking us on a daily basis, demolishing Israeli villages and towns. Basically leading to the eviction of 100,000 Israelis from their homes. Life has been shattered in our northern border.”

    “We will take whatever action is necessary to restore security and to bring our people safe back to their homes,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address. “No country can accept the wanton rocketing of its cities. We can’t accept it either.”

    Meanwhile, U.S. mediators have been working alongside international negotiators to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza, but stalled progress and the escalating violence are threatening hope of bringing American hostages home.

    “We have not achieved any progress here in the last week to two weeks- not for lack of trying,” White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby, said. “We will certainly keep up those conversations as best we can. And we’re talking to both sides here.”

    President Joe Biden acknowledged the latest surge of violence and expressed concern of spreading conflict.

    “We’re going to do everything we can to keep from a wider war from breaking out,” he said.

    There are other concerns that the same type of attacks on explosive communications devices used in Lebanon could happen in the U.S. Experts believe Israel infiltrated the international supply chain and placed the rigged devices in imports headed to Lebanon. According to the Associated Press, the complex operation likely took months to pull off but little evidence has emerged so far.

    The White House did not comment on whether it is taking steps to protect the U.S. supply chain as a result, offering instead that Biden wants the supply chain to be largely self-sufficient, with most goods originating from within the U.S.

    Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to meet with leaders of the United Arab Emirates Monday before Biden travels to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

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  • Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declares ‘special situation’

    Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declares ‘special situation’

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    Israel launched a series of intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a pre-emptive strike against the Hezbollah militant group, threatening to trigger a broader region-wide war that could torpedo efforts to forge a cease-fire in Gaza.The army said Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. The Iranian-backed group had been promising to retaliate for Israel’s assassination of a top commander late last month.Video above: Gazan father went to register his twins’ births. They were killed in an Israeli airstrike, hospital officials sayAir raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport began diverting incoming flights and delaying takeoffs.Soon afterward, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israel with a “large number of drones” as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, a top commander with the group, in a strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs last month.Hezbollah said the attack was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “targeting a number of enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome platforms.”The attack came as Egypt hosts a new round of talks aimed at ending Israel’s war against Hamas, now in its 11th month. Hezbollah has said it will halt the fighting if there is a cease-fire.In the U.S., a spokesman for the National Security Council, Sean Savett, said President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.“At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts,” Savett said. “We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability.”In recent weeks, diplomats from the U.S. and European countries have made a flurry of visits to Israel and Lebanon in an attempt to tamp down the escalation that they fear could spiral into a regional war, potentially pulling in the U.S. and Iran.Last week, Israel’s defense minister said he was moving more troops toward the Lebanese border in anticipation of possible fighting with the Iranian-backed group.Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said early Sunday: ”In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the (Israeli military) is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.”“We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians,” he added, without providing details. ”We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety,” he added.Lebanese media reported strikes in the country’s south without immediately providing more details. Social media footage showed what appeared to be strikes in southern Lebanon.Israeli media cited the Israel Airports Authority for news of the flight cancellations. Flight-tracking data showed at least two El Al flights swinging far south and diverting after the announcement.Hagari said “dozens” of Israeli warplanes were striking targets in southern Lebanon. He said air defenses, warships and warplanes were defending Israel’s skies and were involved in the operation.Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the war with Hamas erupted on Oct. 7 with a Hamas cross-border attack. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire nearly daily, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border and raising fears that the fighting could escalate into all-out war. But until Sunday, both sides have been careful to avoid a broader conflagration.Hezbollah is considered much more powerful than its ally, Hamas, with an estimated arsenal of arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles, including precision-guided missiles. In recent months, the group has also stepped up its use of drones, against which Israel is less well-equipped to defend.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, were managing the latest operation from military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Gallant declared a “special situation on the home front,” and Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet was set to meet later Sunday morning.Associated Press journalist Aamer Madhani in Buellton, California, contributed to this report.

    Israel launched a series of intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a pre-emptive strike against the Hezbollah militant group, threatening to trigger a broader region-wide war that could torpedo efforts to forge a cease-fire in Gaza.

    The army said Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. The Iranian-backed group had been promising to retaliate for Israel’s assassination of a top commander late last month.

    Video above: Gazan father went to register his twins’ births. They were killed in an Israeli airstrike, hospital officials say

    Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport began diverting incoming flights and delaying takeoffs.

    Soon afterward, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israel with a “large number of drones” as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, a top commander with the group, in a strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs last month.

    Hezbollah said the attack was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “targeting a number of enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome platforms.”

    The attack came as Egypt hosts a new round of talks aimed at ending Israel’s war against Hamas, now in its 11th month. Hezbollah has said it will halt the fighting if there is a cease-fire.

    In the U.S., a spokesman for the National Security Council, Sean Savett, said President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.

    “At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts,” Savett said. “We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability.”

    In recent weeks, diplomats from the U.S. and European countries have made a flurry of visits to Israel and Lebanon in an attempt to tamp down the escalation that they fear could spiral into a regional war, potentially pulling in the U.S. and Iran.

    Last week, Israel’s defense minister said he was moving more troops toward the Lebanese border in anticipation of possible fighting with the Iranian-backed group.

    Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said early Sunday: ”In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the (Israeli military) is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.”

    “We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians,” he added, without providing details. ”We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety,” he added.

    Lebanese media reported strikes in the country’s south without immediately providing more details. Social media footage showed what appeared to be strikes in southern Lebanon.

    Israeli media cited the Israel Airports Authority for news of the flight cancellations. Flight-tracking data showed at least two El Al flights swinging far south and diverting after the announcement.

    Hagari said “dozens” of Israeli warplanes were striking targets in southern Lebanon. He said air defenses, warships and warplanes were defending Israel’s skies and were involved in the operation.

    Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the war with Hamas erupted on Oct. 7 with a Hamas cross-border attack. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire nearly daily, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border and raising fears that the fighting could escalate into all-out war. But until Sunday, both sides have been careful to avoid a broader conflagration.

    Hezbollah is considered much more powerful than its ally, Hamas, with an estimated arsenal of arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles, including precision-guided missiles. In recent months, the group has also stepped up its use of drones, against which Israel is less well-equipped to defend.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, were managing the latest operation from military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Gallant declared a “special situation on the home front,” and Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet was set to meet later Sunday morning.

    Associated Press journalist Aamer Madhani in Buellton, California, contributed to this report.

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  • Egypt Floats Ambitious Plan To End Israel-Hamas War As Death Toll In An Israeli Strike Rises To 106

    Egypt Floats Ambitious Plan To End Israel-Hamas War As Death Toll In An Israeli Strike Rises To 106

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    CAIRO (AP) — Egypt has put forward an ambitious, initial proposal to end the Israel-Hamas war with a cease-fire, a phased hostage release and the creation of a Palestinian government of experts who would administer the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, a senior Egyptian official and a European diplomat said Monday.

    The proposal, worked out with the Gulf nation of Qatar, has been presented to Israel, Hamas, the United States and European governments but still appeared preliminary. It falls short of Israel’s professed goal of outright crushing Hamas and would appear not to meet Israel’s insistence on keeping military control over Gaza for an extended period after the war.

    Israel’s War Cabinet, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will meet later Monday discuss the hostage situation, among other topics, an Israeli official said, but would not say if they would discuss the Egyptian proposal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

    Word of the proposal comes as Israeli airstrikes heavily pounded central and southern Gaza, crushing buildings on families sheltering inside. In the Maghazi refugee camp, rescue workers pulled dozens more bodies from the wreckage hours after a strike levelled a three-story building and shattered others nearby. At least 106 people were killed, according to hospital records seen by The Associated Press, making it one of the deadliest strikes of Israel’s air campaign.

    The war has devastated large parts of Gaza, killed more than 20,400 Palestinians and displaced almost all of the territory’s 2.3 million people.

    The mounting death toll among Israeli troops — 17 since Friday and 156 since the ground offensive began — could erode public support for the war, which was sparked when Hamas-led militants stormed communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 and taking 240 hostage.

    Israelis still largely stand behind the country’s stated goals of crushing Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and releasing the remaining 129 captives. That’s despite rising international pressure against Israel’s offensive, and the soaring death toll and unprecedented suffering among Palestinians.

    The Egyptian proposal was an ambitious bid not only to end the war but also to lay out a plan for the day after.

    It calls for an initial cease-fire of up to two weeks during which Palestinian militants would free 40 to 50 hostages, among them women, the sick and the elderly, in return for the release of 120-150 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, the Egyptian official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing talks.

    At the same time, negotiations would continue on extending the cease-fire and the release of more hostages and bodies held by Palestinian militants, he said.

    Egypt and Qatar would also work with all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, to agree on the establishment of a government of experts, he said. The government would rule Gaza and the West Bank for a transitional period as Palestinian factions settle their disputes and agree on a roadmap to hold presidential and parliamentary elections, he added.

    In the meantime, Israel and Hamas would continue to negotiate a comprehensive “all-for-all” deal, he said. This would include the release of all remaining hostages in return for all Palestinian prisoners in Israel, as well as the Israeli military’s withdrawal from Gaza and the Palestinian militants’ halting of rocket attacks into Israel. Close to 8,000 Palestinians are held by Israel on security-related charges or convictions, according to Palestinian figures.

    Egyptian officials discussed the outline of the proposal with Ismail Haniyeh, the Qatar-based political leader of Hamas, who visited Cairo last week. They plan to discuss it with the leader of the Islamic Jihad group, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, who arrived in Cairo on Sunday, the official said. The militant group, which also took part in the Oct. 7 attack, said it was prepared to consider releasing hostages only after fighting ends.

    A Western diplomat said they are aware of Egypt’s proposal. But the diplomat, who demanded anonymity to discuss the matter, doubts that Netanyahu and his hawkish government would accept the entire proposal. The diplomat gave no further details.

    Israel’s offensive has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history. More than two-thirds of the more than 20,400 Palestinians killed have been women and children, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants among the dead.

    After Sunday night’s strike in the Maghazi camp, first responders and residents searched through the ruble, many with their bare hands or simple tools. The dead continued to flow into Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, where men prayed over several dozen bodies laid out on the ground. Sobbing relatives peeled open body bags to get a last look or kiss the face of a loved one. One man wept as he hugged a body wrapped in bloody plastic sheeting, the size of a small child.

    Another man knelt over the body of a relative, screaming, “I swear to God, he was a man. I swear to God, he was better than the whole of Hamas.”

    The devastation of the war over the past weeks has brought sporadic eruptions of anger against Hamas, something that would have previously been unthinkable during the group’s 16-year rule over Gaza.

    Apart from the Maghazi deaths, the bodies of another 80 people killed in strikes across central Gaza were also received at the hospital from late Sunday to early Monday, hospital records showed.

    Since Friday, 17 Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat, most in southern and central Gaza – an indication of the heavy fighting in and around the southern city of Khan Younis.

    “The war exacts a very heavy price from us, but we have no choice but to continue fighting,” Netanyahu said Sunday.

    There has been widespread anger against his government, which many criticize for failing to protect civilians on Oct. 7 and promoting policies that allowed Hamas to gain strength over the years. Netanyahu has avoided accepting responsibility for the military and policy failures.

    “Over time, the public will find it hard to ignore the heavy price paid, as well as the suspicion that the aims that were loudly heralded are still far from being attained, and that Hamas is showing no signs of capitulating in the near future,” wrote Amos Harel, military affairs commentator for the Haaretz newspaper.

    In northern Gaza, Palestinians reported heavy Israeli bombardment and gunfire in the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya, an area Israel had claimed to control. The Israeli military said it had completed the dismantling of Hamas’ underground headquarters in northern Gaza.

    Israel faces international criticism for the civilian death toll, but it blames Hamas, citing the militants’ use of crowded residential areas and tunnels. Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas militants, without presenting evidence.

    Israel also faces allegations of mistreating Palestinian men and teenage boys detained in homes, shelters, hospitals and elsewhere during the offensive. The military says it had detained hundreds of Palestinians, including more than 700 who were transferred to Israel for further interrogation about suspected ties to militants. It has denied abuse allegations and said those without links to militants are quickly released.

    Speaking from a hospital bed in Rafah after his release, Khamis al-Burdainy of Gaza City said Israeli forces detained him after tanks and bulldozers partly destroyed his home. He said men were handcuffed and blindfolded.

    “We didn’t sleep. We didn’t get food and water,” he said, crying and covering his face.

    Jobain reported from Rafah, Gaza Strip, and Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel.

    Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

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