Israel steps up attack on 'terror organizations' in Rafah

The Israeli Defense Forces struck Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, located in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported.

They say the military targeted a key militant leader.

The Hamas-affiliated Shehab news agency reported, Ismail Barhoum, a member of the militant group's political bureau was killed in the strike.

Videos circulating on social media showed the hospital's second floor engulfed in flames.

Gaza's civil defense agency also reported on the strike.

"The occupation's (Israel's) aircraft targeted the emergency department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, with an air strike," the agency said in a statement, without providing details on casualties.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a conversation, discussing the release of the hostages andthe resumption of the fighting in Gaza, among other regional developments.

According to Netanyahu's office, Rubio expressed the US's "unwavering support" for the Israeli policy in the enclave.

There was no immediate response from Rubio's office. 

The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, will visit Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories on Monday to urge an immediate resumption of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

According to Kallas' office, the trip's goal is to "discuss the conflict in Gaza and call for an immediate return to the full implementation of the ceasefire-hostage release agreement."

While she will be meeting Israel's President Isaac Herzog and opposition leader Yair Lapid, Kallas will not meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Sunday, during a visit to Egypt, Kallas stressed the EU's commitment to assisting in Gaza's reconstruction, while also stating that the bloc does not support "any Hamas participation" in the enclave's future governance.

 

Israel's cabinet approved a proposal to establish a new directorate for advancing the "voluntary departure" of Palestinians from Gaza.

Locals in the enclave say they have no intention of leaving their homeland, with rights groups previously stating that US President Donald Trump's plan to depopulate the Gaza Strip could amount to ethnic cleansing and violate international law.

Speaking after the Israeli Defense Forces resumed their attacks in Gaza, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that if the hostages return and Hamas relinquishes power, Palestinians in the enclave would have "other options, including leaving for other places in the world, for those who wish to do it."

The Israeli military says it has surrounded a district in Rafah in southern Gaza where it had earlier warned civilians to leave.

Troops have "in recent hours" encircled Tal al-Sultan, the military said in a statement. 

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said the army had "launched an offensive to strike the terrorist organizations" in Rafah's Tal al-Sultan district.

Earlier on Sunday, Israel had warned residents of the area to evacuate.

Leaflets bearing the message were dropped over Tal al-Sultan by drone, AFP correspondents said.

The Israeli military has confirmed that it killed Salah al-Bardaweel, a Hamas political leader, on Saturday.

Hamas had said earlier on Sunday that Bardaweel was killed in an airstrike on Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Bardawil was a well-known member of the Islamist militant group's political wing who frequently gave media interviews.

Health authorities in Gaza said at least 30 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes Sunday on Rafah and Khan Younis.  

 

The Israeli cabinet passed a no-confidence motion in Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who has frequently clashed with the current government, media reported

Amit Seg from Israel's N12 reported the motion had been passed unanimously.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, citing a cabinet meeting agenda, said the vote on Baharav-Miara was taking place "due to her inappropriate behavior and due to significant and prolonged differences between the government and the government's legal adviser." 

However, any dismissal could be months away. Baharav-Mia, a former district attorney, was appointed under previous Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

The move comes after the removal of Shin Bet intelligence agency chief Ronen Bar.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in fighting in Gaza, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run territory.

At least 50,021 Palestinians have been killed and 113,274 wounded in nearly 18 months of conflict.

International institutions, including the United Nations, consider the fatality figures reliable although Israel criticizes them.

In January, a six-week ceasefire started but Israel resumed fighting earlier this month.

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas and other militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. This attack resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people and the taking of 251 hostages. 

Rafah, located on the Gaza Strip's southern border with Egypt, was the target of a major Israeli offensive about a year ago. It is not immediately clear if Sunday's announcement of operations targeting terror organizations will amount to another large-scale assault on the city.

On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would annex parts of the Gaza Strip unless Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages it has held since it carried out terror attacks on southern Israel, sparking the current conflict. 

During the terror attacks on October 7, 2023, Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 people and took 251 more hostage — 59 of the hostages are still being held by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups. Israeli authorities believe 24 of them are still alive.

The Israeli military said it was launching an offensive in the southern Gazan city of Rafah on Sunday, and urged residents to evacuate. 

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement posted on social media that Israeli forces have "launched an offensive to strike the terrorist organisations" in Rafah's Tal al-Sultan district and urged residents to leave the "dangerous combat zone."

"Remaining in camps, tents, or houses in Tel al-Sultan or walking on any other route endangers your lives," he said in a statement.

Israel has blocked supply since before the renewed assault, saying that the supplies are being funneled to Hamas militants. 

As Israel renews military operations in Gaza after a nearly two-month ceasefire, the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain on Friday called for a Israel to return to the ceasefire and restore access to water, electricity, medical care and temporary medical evacuations.

In a joint statement, the ministers added they were "appalled by the civilian casualties," which have numbered in the hundreds in the latest Israeli strikes on Gaza. 

Yemen-based Houthi rebels who are allied with Hamas  launched a missile towards Israel early Sunday, setting off air raid sirens.

The Israeli military said the projectile was intercepted, and there were no reports of casualties or damage.

The Iran-backed Houthi militia has ramped up ballistic attacks after Israel resumed military operations in Gaza. Since the conflict was sparked by the Hamas terror attacks in October 2023, Houthi's have targeted merchant vessels in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen. 

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the US would continue to strike Houthi forces, saying they would be   "annihilated."

Today, we are reporting on Israeli forces expanding their offensive in Gaza, including killing a Hamas political leader in an overnight airstrike.

Also, Israeli forces claim they intercepted a missile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen.   

The expansion of ground operations in the south, comes after rockets were fired into northern Israel yesterday from Lebanon, drawing retaliatory strikes from Israeli forces.

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah denied responsibility, saying it remains committed to a shaky ceasefire with Israeli forces, which has been in place since November 2024.