Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel carried out its heaviest airstrikes in Gaza in weeks, killing at least 26 people in multiple locations despite a fragile ceasefire, according to local health authorities. The attacks hit a Hamas-run police station in Gaza City, an apartment in a residential building and a tent encampment sheltering displaced families in the southern city of Khan Younis. Medics and police officials said Israeli warplanes targeted the Sheikh Radwan police station in western Gaza City, killing 10 officers and…

Analysis: Blocked USAID cables on Gaza reveal a deeper struggle inside Biden’s policy apparatus In early 2024, a set of internal USAID cables describing northern Gaza as an “apocalyptic wasteland” collided with a diplomatic gate. The U.S. ambassador to Jerusalem, Jack Lew, and his deputy, Stephanie Hallett, blocked wider distribution, arguing the documents lacked balance, according to interviews with former officials and documents described to Reuters. The decision offers a rare window into how humanitarian warnings can be…

MEITAR, Israel — Israel on Wednesday prepared to bury Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage recovered from Gaza, in a funeral that officials and mourners cast as both an intimate farewell and a national moment of closure. Gvili, 24, an off-duty police officer from the elite Yassam unit, was killed while fighting militants during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on southern Israel. His body was taken back into Gaza by the Islamic Jihad militant group, Israeli officials say. He was among about 250 people abducted during the…

UNICEF has delivered school kits into Gaza for the first time in two and a half years, a breakthrough the U.N. children’s agency says could restart learning for hundreds of thousands of students after Israeli authorities previously blocked the supplies. The move comes as Gaza’s education system remains shattered by war and severe restrictions on basic classroom materials. “We have now, in the last days, got in thousands of recreational kits, hundreds of school-in-a-carton kits,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said. “We’re…

Israel’s military said it has retrieved the remains of Israeli police officer Ran Gvili, the last hostage held in Gaza, a development officials said fulfills a key condition in the initial phase of a U.S.-brokered plan to end the Gaza war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had “brought them all back,” after months of operations and negotiations to secure the release or recovery of the 251 people abducted during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 assault. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the return of the final Israeli hostage…

The Destructive Floods Devastating Mozambique Severe flooding in Mozambique’s Gaza province has forced over 300,000 people from their homes, causing widespread devastation. The situation, exacerbated by weeks of torrential rain, has submerged significant portions of the region. Over 40% of Gaza province is underwater. 327,000 displaced residents are sheltering in temporary sites. President Daniel Chapo canceled a trip to Davos due to the crisis. Humanitarian Crisis and Evacuations With authorities striving to…

Israeli forces ordered dozens of Palestinian families in southern Gaza to leave their homes, residents and Hamas officials said Monday, describing the first forced evacuation since the October ceasefire and a sign the army is expanding areas under its control. Israel’s military confirmed it dropped warning leaflets but denied plans to forcibly displace residents. Leaflets written in Arabic, Hebrew and English were scattered over the Al-Reqeb neighborhood in Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, according to residents. “Urgent…

Israel struck targets across Gaza in what it called a response to a “blatant violation” of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, as Washington moved to stand up a new “board of peace” to steer the next phase of a fragile plan for the war-battered territory. The Israeli military said it hit “several terrorists, including commanders from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organisations across the Gaza Strip,” saying the operation answered an incident in western Rafah earlier this week in which “armed terrorists fired at IDF troops.”…

Hamas backs technocratic committee for post-war Gaza as ceasefire advances to second stage A senior Hamas official has welcomed the creation of a technocratic committee to administer post-war Gaza, framing the step as vital to consolidating the fragile ceasefire and preventing a slide back into fighting. Egypt, a mediator in indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, announced the formation of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee. The body would operate under the overall supervision of a so-called “Board of…

WASHINGTON — The United States said it is launching the second phase of its plan to end the Gaza war, moving ahead even as key elements of the first phase — including a complete cease-fire between Israel and Hamas — remain unfulfilled. The faltering start has been marked by ongoing Israeli airstrikes that have killed hundreds in Gaza, delays in reopening the Gaza-Egypt border crossing and the failure to return the remains of one last Israeli hostage. Announcing the shift in a social media post, President Donald Trump’s…