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  • Israeli strikes kill 29 Palestinians, including children, one of highest tolls since ceasefire

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    Hospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 29 Palestinians Saturday, one of the highest tolls since the October ceasefire aimed at stopping the war.Israeli strikes hit locations throughout Gaza, including lethal ones on an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent camp in Khan Younis, officials at hospitals that received the bodies said. The casualties included two women and six children from two different families. An airstrike also hit a police station in Gaza City, killing at least 14 and wounding others, Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said.Related video above: The last family in a West Bank Bedouin community is forced out after years of Israeli settler intimidationThe series of strikes came a day before the Rafah crossing along the border with Egypt is set to open in Gaza’s southernmost city. All of the territory’s border crossings have been closed throughout almost the entire war. Palestinians see Rafah as a lifeline for the tens of thousands who need treatment outside the territory, where the majority of medical infrastructure has been destroyed.The crossing’s opening, limited at first, marks the first major step in the second phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Reopening borders is among the challenging issues on the agenda for the phase now underway, which also include demilitarizing the strip after nearly two decades of Hamas rule and installing a new government to oversee reconstruction. Still, Saturday’s strikes are a reminder that the death toll in Gaza is still rising even as the ceasefire agreement inches forward. Nasser Hospital said the strike on the tent camp caused a fire to break out, killing seven, including a father, his three children and three grandchildren. Meanwhile, Shifa Hospital said the Gaza City apartment building strike killed three children, their aunt and grandmother on Saturday morning, while the strike on the police station killed at least 14 — officers, including four policewomen, and inmates held at the station. The Gazan Interior Ministry said Palestinian civilians were also killed in the strike.Hamas called Saturday’s strikes “a renewed flagrant violation” and urged the United States and other mediating countries to push Israel to stop strikes.Israel’s military, which has struck targets on both sides of the ceasefire’s dividing line, said its attacks since October have been responses to violations of the agreement. It said in a statement that Saturday’s strikes followed what it described as ceasefire violations a day earlier, when the army killed at least four militants emerging from a tunnel in an Israeli-controlled area of Rafah.Gaza’s Health Ministry has recorded 509 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the start of the ceasefire on Oct. 10. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.___Magdy reported from Cairo and Metz from Jerusalem.

    DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip —

    Hospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 29 Palestinians Saturday, one of the highest tolls since the October ceasefire aimed at stopping the war.

    Israeli strikes hit locations throughout Gaza, including lethal ones on an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent camp in Khan Younis, officials at hospitals that received the bodies said. The casualties included two women and six children from two different families. An airstrike also hit a police station in Gaza City, killing at least 14 and wounding others, Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said.

    Related video above: The last family in a West Bank Bedouin community is forced out after years of Israeli settler intimidation

    The series of strikes came a day before the Rafah crossing along the border with Egypt is set to open in Gaza’s southernmost city. All of the territory’s border crossings have been closed throughout almost the entire war. Palestinians see Rafah as a lifeline for the tens of thousands who need treatment outside the territory, where the majority of medical infrastructure has been destroyed.

    Anadolu

    Smoke rises after an airstrike hit a building in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, Gaza, despite the ceasefire on January 31, 2026. The Israeli army has carried out intense attacks on various areas of the Gaza Strip since the morning.

    The crossing’s opening, limited at first, marks the first major step in the second phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Reopening borders is among the challenging issues on the agenda for the phase now underway, which also include demilitarizing the strip after nearly two decades of Hamas rule and installing a new government to oversee reconstruction.

    Still, Saturday’s strikes are a reminder that the death toll in Gaza is still rising even as the ceasefire agreement inches forward.

    Nasser Hospital said the strike on the tent camp caused a fire to break out, killing seven, including a father, his three children and three grandchildren. Meanwhile, Shifa Hospital said the Gaza City apartment building strike killed three children, their aunt and grandmother on Saturday morning, while the strike on the police station killed at least 14 — officers, including four policewomen, and inmates held at the station. The Gazan Interior Ministry said Palestinian civilians were also killed in the strike.

    Hamas called Saturday’s strikes “a renewed flagrant violation” and urged the United States and other mediating countries to push Israel to stop strikes.

    Israel’s military, which has struck targets on both sides of the ceasefire’s dividing line, said its attacks since October have been responses to violations of the agreement. It said in a statement that Saturday’s strikes followed what it described as ceasefire violations a day earlier, when the army killed at least four militants emerging from a tunnel in an Israeli-controlled area of Rafah.

    Gaza’s Health Ministry has recorded 509 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the start of the ceasefire on Oct. 10. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.

    ___

    Magdy reported from Cairo and Metz from Jerusalem.

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  • Israel says transfer of aid into Gaza is halted ‘until further notice’ as ceasefire faces major test

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    The fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its first major test Sunday as an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory is halted “until further notice” after a Hamas ceasefire violation, and Israeli forces launched a wave of strikes.The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement on the halt in aid, which is occurring a little over a week since the start of the U.S.-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of war.Israel’s military earlier Sunday said its troops came under fire from Hamas militants in southern Gaza. Health officials said at least 19 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes in central and southern Gaza.Israel’s military said it had struck dozens of what it called Hamas targets.A senior Egyptian official involved in the ceasefire negotiations said “round-the-clock” contacts were underway to de-escalate the situation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to reporters.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the military to take “strong action” against any ceasefire violations but didn’t threaten to return to war.Israel’s military said militants fired at troops in areas of Rafah city that are Israeli-controlled according to the agreed-upon ceasefire lines. No injuries were reported. The military said Israel responded with airstrikes and artillery.Hamas, which continued to accuse Israel of multiple ceasefire violations, said communication with its remaining units in Rafah had been cut off for months and “we are not responsible for any incidents occurring in those areas.”Shortly before sunset, Israel’s military said it had begun a series of airstrikes in southern Gaza against what it called Hamas targets. It also said its forces struck “terrorists” approaching troops in Beit Lahiya in the north.Strikes in GazaAn Israeli airstrike killed at least six Palestinians in central Gaza, health officials said. The strike hit a makeshift coffeehouse on the coastal side of the town of Zawaida, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government.Another Israeli strike killed at least two people close to the Al-Ahly soccer club in the Nuseirat refugee camp, the ministry said. The strike hit a tent and wounded eight others, said Awda hospital, which received the casualties.A third strike hit a tent in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis in the south, killing at least one person, according to Nasser hospital.An Israeli military official told journalists there had been three incidents Sunday, two in southern Gaza and one in the north, and noted that the update was partial for now.More bodies of hostages identifiedIsrael identified the remains of two hostages released by Hamas overnight.Netanyahu’s office said the bodies belonged to Ronen Engel, a father of three from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, a Thai agricultural worker from Kibbutz Be’eri.Both were believed to have been killed during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the war. Engel’s wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a ceasefire in November 2023.Hamas in the past week has handed over the remains of 12 hostages.Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that it had found the body of a hostage and would return it on Sunday “if circumstances in the field” allowed. It warned that any escalation by Israel would hamper search efforts.Israel on Saturday said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would stay closed “until further notice” and its reopening would depend on how Hamas fulfills its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 deceased hostages.Hamas says the devastation and Israeli military control of certain areas of Gaza have slowed the handover. Israel believes Hamas has access to more bodies than it has returned.Israel has released 150 bodies of Palestinians back to Gaza, including 15 on Sunday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel has neither identified the bodies nor said how they died. The ministry has posted photos of bodies on its website to help families attempting to locate loved ones. The bodies were decomposed and blackened. and some were missing limbs and teeth.Only 25 bodies have been identified, the Health Ministry said.After Israel and Hamas exchanged 20 living hostages for more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, the handover of remains is a major issue in the first stage of the ceasefire. A major scale-up of humanitarian aid, including the opening of the Rafah crossing, for people entering or leaving Gaza, is the other central issue.Ceasefire’s second phaseHamas said talks with mediators to start the ceasefire’s second phase have begun.The next stages of the ceasefire are expected to focus on disarming Hamas, Israeli withdrawal from additional areas it controls in Gaza, and future governance of the devastated territory.Hazem Kassem, a Hamas spokesman, said late Saturday that the second phase of negotiations “requires national consensus.” He said Hamas has begun discussions to “solidify its positions,” without giving details.According to the U.S. plan, the negotiations will include disarming Hamas and the establishment of an internationally backed authority to run Gaza.Kassem reiterated that the group won’t be part of the ruling authority in a postwar Gaza. He called for the prompt establishment of a body of Palestinian technocrats to run day-to-day affairs.For now, “government agencies in Gaza continue to perform their duties, as the vacuum is very dangerous, and this will continue until an administrative committee is formed and agreed upon by all Palestinian factions,” he said.Rafah border crossingThe Rafah crossing was the only one not controlled by Israel before the war. It has been closed since May 2024, when Israel took control of the Gaza side. A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Palestinians to seek medical treatment, travel or visit family in Egypt, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority’s Interior Ministry in Ramallah announced procedures for Palestinians wishing to leave or enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing. For those who want to leave Gaza, Palestinian Embassy staff from Cairo will be at the crossing to issue temporary travel documents that allow entry into Egypt. Palestinians who wish to enter Gaza will need to apply at the embassy.The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.Thousands more people are missing, according to the Red Cross.Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the attack that sparked the war.___Samy Magdy reported from Cairo.

    TEL AVIV, Israel —

    The fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its first major test Sunday as an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory is halted “until further notice” after a Hamas ceasefire violation, and Israeli forces launched a wave of strikes.

    The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement on the halt in aid, which is occurring a little over a week since the start of the U.S.-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of war.

    Israel’s military earlier Sunday said its troops came under fire from Hamas militants in southern Gaza. Health officials said at least 19 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes in central and southern Gaza.

    Israel’s military said it had struck dozens of what it called Hamas targets.

    A senior Egyptian official involved in the ceasefire negotiations said “round-the-clock” contacts were underway to de-escalate the situation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to reporters.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the military to take “strong action” against any ceasefire violations but didn’t threaten to return to war.

    Israel’s military said militants fired at troops in areas of Rafah city that are Israeli-controlled according to the agreed-upon ceasefire lines. No injuries were reported. The military said Israel responded with airstrikes and artillery.

    Hamas, which continued to accuse Israel of multiple ceasefire violations, said communication with its remaining units in Rafah had been cut off for months and “we are not responsible for any incidents occurring in those areas.”

    Shortly before sunset, Israel’s military said it had begun a series of airstrikes in southern Gaza against what it called Hamas targets. It also said its forces struck “terrorists” approaching troops in Beit Lahiya in the north.

    Strikes in Gaza

    An Israeli airstrike killed at least six Palestinians in central Gaza, health officials said. The strike hit a makeshift coffeehouse on the coastal side of the town of Zawaida, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government.

    Another Israeli strike killed at least two people close to the Al-Ahly soccer club in the Nuseirat refugee camp, the ministry said. The strike hit a tent and wounded eight others, said Awda hospital, which received the casualties.

    A third strike hit a tent in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis in the south, killing at least one person, according to Nasser hospital.

    An Israeli military official told journalists there had been three incidents Sunday, two in southern Gaza and one in the north, and noted that the update was partial for now.

    More bodies of hostages identified

    Israel identified the remains of two hostages released by Hamas overnight.

    Netanyahu’s office said the bodies belonged to Ronen Engel, a father of three from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, a Thai agricultural worker from Kibbutz Be’eri.

    Both were believed to have been killed during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the war. Engel’s wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a ceasefire in November 2023.

    Hamas in the past week has handed over the remains of 12 hostages.

    Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that it had found the body of a hostage and would return it on Sunday “if circumstances in the field” allowed. It warned that any escalation by Israel would hamper search efforts.

    Israel on Saturday said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would stay closed “until further notice” and its reopening would depend on how Hamas fulfills its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 deceased hostages.

    Hamas says the devastation and Israeli military control of certain areas of Gaza have slowed the handover. Israel believes Hamas has access to more bodies than it has returned.

    Israel has released 150 bodies of Palestinians back to Gaza, including 15 on Sunday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel has neither identified the bodies nor said how they died. The ministry has posted photos of bodies on its website to help families attempting to locate loved ones. The bodies were decomposed and blackened. and some were missing limbs and teeth.

    Only 25 bodies have been identified, the Health Ministry said.

    After Israel and Hamas exchanged 20 living hostages for more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, the handover of remains is a major issue in the first stage of the ceasefire. A major scale-up of humanitarian aid, including the opening of the Rafah crossing, for people entering or leaving Gaza, is the other central issue.

    Ceasefire’s second phase

    Hamas said talks with mediators to start the ceasefire’s second phase have begun.

    The next stages of the ceasefire are expected to focus on disarming Hamas, Israeli withdrawal from additional areas it controls in Gaza, and future governance of the devastated territory.

    Hazem Kassem, a Hamas spokesman, said late Saturday that the second phase of negotiations “requires national consensus.” He said Hamas has begun discussions to “solidify its positions,” without giving details.

    According to the U.S. plan, the negotiations will include disarming Hamas and the establishment of an internationally backed authority to run Gaza.

    Kassem reiterated that the group won’t be part of the ruling authority in a postwar Gaza. He called for the prompt establishment of a body of Palestinian technocrats to run day-to-day affairs.

    For now, “government agencies in Gaza continue to perform their duties, as the vacuum is very dangerous, and this will continue until an administrative committee is formed and agreed upon by all Palestinian factions,” he said.

    Rafah border crossing

    The Rafah crossing was the only one not controlled by Israel before the war. It has been closed since May 2024, when Israel took control of the Gaza side. A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Palestinians to seek medical treatment, travel or visit family in Egypt, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

    On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority’s Interior Ministry in Ramallah announced procedures for Palestinians wishing to leave or enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing. For those who want to leave Gaza, Palestinian Embassy staff from Cairo will be at the crossing to issue temporary travel documents that allow entry into Egypt. Palestinians who wish to enter Gaza will need to apply at the embassy.

    The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

    Thousands more people are missing, according to the Red Cross.

    Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the attack that sparked the war.

    ___

    Samy Magdy reported from Cairo.

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  • Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, Rafah crossing, bombings, Gaza ceasefire deal

    Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, Rafah crossing, bombings, Gaza ceasefire deal

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    Hamas representative Osama Hamdan speaks during a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon, on May 7. Mohamed Azakir/Reuters

    A senior representative of Hamas says the proposed deal it agreed to includes the “withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip.”

    Osama Hamdan, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, told a news conference in Beirut that the proposed deal would secure “the main issues of the demands of our people and our resistance in stopping the aggression permanently, the withdrawal of the occupation from the entire Gaza Strip, the free return of the displaced, relief, reconstruction, ending the siege, and achieving a real and serious exchange deal.”

    Hamdan said the proposed deal’s three phases would be continuously implemented, claiming that Israel wanted “to complete one stage, in which it would achieve the release of its prisoners held by the resistance, and then resume its aggression against the Gaza Strip.”

    Referring to Egypt and Qatar, Hamdan said “the mediator brothers, if their proposal is approved…will have a role in completing all stages of the agreement, and putting pressure on the occupation to adhere to its provisions and implement them.”

    Israel has said there are significant gaps between what Hamas has agreed to and what was on the table in previous rounds of negotiations. In a statement Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Hamas proposal “was designed to torpedo the entry of our forces into Rafah. That did not happen.”

    Netanyahu said that “as the war cabinet unanimously determined, the Hamas proposal was very far from Israel’s core demands.”

    The White House said Tuesday that a close reading of Israel and Hamas’ separate negotiating positions on a hostage deal indicates the two sides should be able to strike an agreement.

    National security spokesman John Kirby’s comment was a fresh sign of optimism about the state of hostage talks after they appeared to stall Monday. CIA Director Bill Burns was in Cairo Tuesday for continued discussions.

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  • Israeli forces take control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt

    Israeli forces take control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt

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    An Israeli tank brigade seized control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, moving forward with an offensive in the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge.The move comes after hours of whiplash in the Israel-Hamas war, with the militant group on Monday saying it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari mediated cease-fire proposal. Israel, meanwhile, insisted the deal did not meet its core demands. The high-stakes diplomatic moves and military brinkmanship left a glimmer of hope alive — but only barely — for an accord that could bring at least a pause in the 7-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip.The Israeli 401st Brigade entered the Rafah crossing early Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said, taking “operational control” of the crucial crossing. It’s the main route for aid entering the besieged enclave and exit for those able to flee into Egypt. Israel fully controls all access in and out of Gaza since the war began.Footage released by the Israeli military showed a tank entering the crossing. Details of the video matched known features of the crossing and showed Israeli flags flying from tanks that seized the area.The Israeli military claimed it seized the crossing after receiving intelligence it was “being used for terrorist purposes.” The military did not provide evidence to immediately support the assertion, though it alleged the area around the crossing had been used to launch a mortar attack that killed four Israeli troops and wounded others near the Kerem Shalom Crossing.The military also said that ground troops and airstrikes targeted suspected Hamas positions in Rafah.Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, acknowledged Israeli forces had seized the crossing and had closed the facility for the time being. He said strikes had targeted the area around the crossing since Monday.An Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson declined to immediately comment on the Israeli seizure. Egypt previously has warned any seizure of Rafah could see Palestinians fleeing over the border, a scenario that could threaten a 1979 peace deal with Israel that’s been a linchpin for regional security.The offensive again raised the risks of an all-out Israeli assault on Rafah, a move the United States strongly opposes and that aid groups warn will be disastrous for some 1.4 million Palestinians taking refuge there.Egyptian officials said the proposal called for a cease-fire of multiple stages starting with a limited hostage release and partial Israeli troop pullbacks within Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal out of the territory, they said.Hamas sought clearer guarantees for its key demand of an end to the war and complete Israeli withdrawal in return for the release of all hostages, but it wasn’t clear if any changes were made.Israeli leaders have repeatedly rejected that trade-off, vowing to keep up their campaign until Hamas is destroyed after its Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

    JERUSALEM —

    An Israeli tank brigade seized control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, moving forward with an offensive in the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge.

    The move comes after hours of whiplash in the Israel-Hamas war, with the militant group on Monday saying it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari mediated cease-fire proposal. Israel, meanwhile, insisted the deal did not meet its core demands. The high-stakes diplomatic moves and military brinkmanship left a glimmer of hope alive — but only barely — for an accord that could bring at least a pause in the 7-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip.

    The Israeli 401st Brigade entered the Rafah crossing early Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said, taking “operational control” of the crucial crossing. It’s the main route for aid entering the besieged enclave and exit for those able to flee into Egypt. Israel fully controls all access in and out of Gaza since the war began.

    Footage released by the Israeli military showed a tank entering the crossing. Details of the video matched known features of the crossing and showed Israeli flags flying from tanks that seized the area.

    The Israeli military claimed it seized the crossing after receiving intelligence it was “being used for terrorist purposes.” The military did not provide evidence to immediately support the assertion, though it alleged the area around the crossing had been used to launch a mortar attack that killed four Israeli troops and wounded others near the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

    The military also said that ground troops and airstrikes targeted suspected Hamas positions in Rafah.

    Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, acknowledged Israeli forces had seized the crossing and had closed the facility for the time being. He said strikes had targeted the area around the crossing since Monday.

    An Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson declined to immediately comment on the Israeli seizure. Egypt previously has warned any seizure of Rafah could see Palestinians fleeing over the border, a scenario that could threaten a 1979 peace deal with Israel that’s been a linchpin for regional security.

    The offensive again raised the risks of an all-out Israeli assault on Rafah, a move the United States strongly opposes and that aid groups warn will be disastrous for some 1.4 million Palestinians taking refuge there.

    Egyptian officials said the proposal called for a cease-fire of multiple stages starting with a limited hostage release and partial Israeli troop pullbacks within Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal out of the territory, they said.

    Hamas sought clearer guarantees for its key demand of an end to the war and complete Israeli withdrawal in return for the release of all hostages, but it wasn’t clear if any changes were made.

    Israeli leaders have repeatedly rejected that trade-off, vowing to keep up their campaign until Hamas is destroyed after its Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

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