Israel hits over 100 targets across Gaza
Amid fears of broader war, Blinken in Mideast
The Israeli military said it struck over 100 targets throughout Gaza on Friday, killing an unspecified number “of operatives” and destroying multiple “operational command centers and military sites.”
At least six people were killed in an apparent overnight Israeli airstrike on a home in Rafah, a city in the southernmost area of Gaza, according to The Associated Press. Tens of thousands of Palestinians who have fled their homes are sheltering in Rafah, one of the areas where Israel has instructed people to seek refuge. About 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced by the war.
Heavy fighting was also underway in central Gaza and the southern city of Khan Yunis, where Israeli officials say Hamas’ military structure is still largely intact. The Palestinian Red Crescent, an independent humanitarian aid group, stated on the social media platform X that its headquarters in Khan Yunis was hit by an Israeli airstrike. The group also said Israeli forces aimed gunfire at one of its ambulances in central Gaza.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to the Middle East on Thursday amid increasing tensions in the region that are threatening to broaden the Israel-Hamas war.
Blinken’s tour will include visits to Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Greece, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, according to a statement from Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State.
During his meetings, Blinken will underscore the “importance of protecting civilian lives” in Gaza and the West Bank; ensuring Palestinians are “not forcibly displaced from Gaza”; and the secure release of hostages who remain in captivity, Miller said.
The top U.S. diplomat will also “discuss urgent mechanisms to stem violence, calm rhetoric, and reduce regional tensions,” including deterring the attacks of Houthi rebels on vessels in the Red Sea and avoiding escalation in Lebanon. Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, was expected in Lebanon Friday to meet with leaders to try to deter a broader conflict.
Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, met with Israeli officials on Thursday in an effort to tamp down conflict on Israel’s northern border.
These meetings come amid surging tensions across the Middle East. On Tuesday, a top Hamas leader was killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Meanwhile, the Pentagon acknowledged Thursday launching an airstrike that killed a senior commander of an Iran-backed militia in Baghdad, an attack condemned by the Iraqi military.
On Thursday, Houthi rebels launched a drone over the Red Sea just hours after the U.S. and a dozen of its allies issued a final warning, telling the rebels to stop attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea or face potential military engagement. The Yemenbased militants have carried out at least 23 attacks, according to The Associated Press.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a statement, presented his vision for the next phase of the war in Gaza and how the territory would be run after Israel achieves its stated goal of defeating Hamas. Gallant said operations in northern Gaza, where entire neighborhoods have been destroyed, would slow to a less intensive, more targeted “combat approach” in which military forces would focus on raids, destroying tunnel networks, “air and ground activities and special operations.”
Contributing: The Associated Press