Israel says it is targeting militants and related sites
While the heaviest fighting in Gaza has subsided since the ceasefire took hold in October, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 1,288 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, reports BritPanorama.
Militants have carried out shooting attacks on Israeli troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other ceasefire violations. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.
Palestinian officials have reported strikes on homes and police stations, and Hamas has claimed that attacks are designed to destabilize Gaza and prevent progress on the ceasefire’s next steps, which include demilitarizing and reconstructing the territory and the deployment of an international stabilization force.
Israel warns against kites sent from Gaza
In the period before the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that sparked the war, burning kites and balloons were sent from Gaza into Israel, causing fires and other damage.
Now Israeli officials are expressing concern after several kites were found in a kibbutz near Gaza. No weapons or dangerous materials were attached. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz in a statement Sunday threatened to ramp up strikes on Gaza unless Hamas ensures the kites stop flying toward Israel.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem has called the kites “essentially children’s toys” and accused Israel of using them as “an attempt to justify the continuation of aggression and violations against our people.”
The Oct. 7 attack killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. All hostages or their remains were later released. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,422 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
