Israel-Hamas War

Israel resists US pressure to pause the war to allow more aid to Gaza, wants hostages back first

Israel, meanwhile, warned that it was on high alert for attacks on its border with Lebanon as fears grew that the conflict could widen.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday pushed back against growing U.S. pressure for a “humanitarian pause” in the nearly month-old war to protect civilians and allow more aid into Gaza, insisting there would be no temporary cease-fire until the roughly 240 hostages held by Hamas are released.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his third trip to Israel since the war began, reiterating American support for Israel's campaign to crush Hamas after its brutal Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel. He also echoed President Joe Biden’s calls for a brief halt in the fighting to address a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Alarm has grown over spiraling Palestinian deaths and deepening misery for civilians from weeks of Israeli bombardment and a widening ground assault that risks even greater casualties. Overwhelmed hospitals say they are nearing collapse, with medicine and fuel running low under the Israeli siege. About 1.5 million people in Gaza, or 70% of the population, have fled their homes, the U.N. said Friday.

Palestinians are increasingly desperate for the most basic supplies.

The average Gaza resident is now surviving on two pieces of bread per day, much of it made from stockpiled U.N. flour, said Thomas White, Gaza director for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Demands for drinking water are also growing.

“People are beyond looking for bread,” he told U.N. diplomats in a video briefing from Gaza. "It’s looking for water.”

After talks with Netanyahu, Blinken said a temporary halt was needed to boost aid deliveries and help win the release of the hostages Hamas took during its brutal incursion nearly a month ago.

But Netanyahu said he told Blinken that Israel was “going with full steam ahead," unless hostages are released.

U.S. officials say they are not seeking a cease-fire but short pauses in specific areas to allow aid deliveries or other humanitarian activity, after which Israeli operations would resume. Netanyahu has not publicly addressed the idea and has instead repeatedly ruled out a cease-fire.

Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of Gaza City amid continued battles with Hamas militants as airstrikes wreaked havoc around the city, the largest in the tiny Mediterranean territory. Al Jazeera TV reported that a strike late Friday hit a school in Gaza City where many were taking refuge, causing casualties.

Strikes hit near the entrances of three hospitals in northern Gaza just as staff were trying to evacuate wounded to the south, hospital directors said. Footage showed the aftermath outside Gaza's largest hospital, Shifa, where more than a dozen bloodied bodies of men, women and young children were strewn next to damaged cars and ambulances. One bleeding boy screamed as he huddled on top of a woman sprawled on the pavement.

At least 15 people were killed and 60 wounded outside Shifa Hospital, said Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra. At least 50 others were killed or wounded in a strike outside the Indonesian Hospital, its director said, without providing more precise figures.

The Israeli military said its aircraft Friday hit an ambulance that Hamas fighters were using to carry weapons. The claim could not be independently verified. It was not clear whether the strike was connected to the one by Shifa Hospital. The military said it took place “near a battle zone,” suggesting it was close to ongoing ground battles.

Al-Qidra said a convoy of ambulances left Shifa, carrying wounded to Rafah, when a strike hit a vehicle on the edges of Gaza City. The convoy turned around, and another strike hit another ambulance. He denied that any of the ambulances were used by Hamas fighters.FEARS OVER NEW FRONTS

Throughout the war, Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire almost daily along the Lebanon border, raising fears of a new front opening there.

In his first public speech since the war began, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the cross-border fighting showed his group had “entered the battle.”

He suggested escalation was possible: “We will not be limited to this.” But he gave little sign that Hezbollah would fully engage in the fighting. So far, Hezbollah has taken calculated steps to show backing for Hamas without igniting an all-out war that would be devastating for Lebanon and Israel.

Thursday saw one of the heaviest exchanges over the border yet. Hezbollah attacked Israeli military positions in northern Israel with drones, mortar fire and suicide drones, and Israeli warplanes and helicopter gunships retaliated with strikes in Lebanon. Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said civilians were wounded in the Hezbollah attacks.

“We are in a high state of readiness in the north, in a very high state of alert,” he said.

The exchanges since the start of the war have killed 10 Lebanese civilians and 66 fighters from Hezbollah and other militant groups, as well as seven Israeli soldiers and a civilian in northern Israel.GAZA CITY ENCIRCLED

More than 9,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza so far, two thirds of them women and minorsthe Gaza Health Ministry said, without providing a breakdown between civilians and fighters.

More than 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ initial attack. Rocket fire by Gaza militants into Israel has continued, disrupting life for millions of people and forcing an estimated 250,000 people to evacuate towns in northern and southern Israel. Most rockets are intercepted.

Twenty-four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation.

The toll is likely to rise dramatically. Israeli military officials said their forces have encircled densely built-up Gaza City and began Friday to launch targeted attacks within the city on militant cells.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain in the city and nearby parts of northern Gaza. Israel says Hamas has extensive military infrastructure in the city, including a network of underground tunnels, bunkers and command centers. It says its strikes target Hamas and the militants endanger civilians by operating among them.

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Palestinians stand next to a crater caused by an explosion from an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis in the southern of Gaza Strip, on Oct. 16, 2023.
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A man reacts as he watches rescuers and civilians remove the rubble of a home destroyed following an Israeli attack on the town of Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Oct. 15, 2023.
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Israeli troops prepare weapons and armed vehicles near the southern city of Ashkelon on Oct. 15, 2023.
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Members of the Bedouin community inspect vehicles destroyed in a rocket attack allegedly fired from the Gaza Strip in the village of Arara in the Negev Desert, on Oct. 14, 2023.
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A Palestinian man uses a fire extinguisher to douse a fire following an Israeli strike, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 14, 2023.
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Palestinians with their belongings leave Gaza City as they flee from their homes following the Israeli army’s warning on Oct. 13, 2023.
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A Palestinian child watches as smoke billows on the horizon after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on Oct. 13, 2023.
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Israeli army tanks and vehicles deploy along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Oct. 13, 2023.
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A woman comforts injured Palestinian girls waiting at the hospital to be checked, as battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for the sixth consecutive day, in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 12, 2023.
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An Israeli soldier patrols near Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel on Oct. 12, 2023, close to the place where 270 revellers were killed by militants during the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7.
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A Palestinian man with a child reacts outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Oct. 12, 2023 as raging battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for the sixth consecutive day.
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This picture taken on Oct. 11, 2023 shows an aerial view of buildings destroyed by Israeli air strikes in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza City.
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Israeli troops search the scene of a Palestinian militant attack in the Israeli kibbutz of Kfar Aza on the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 11, 2023.
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People duck for cover upon hearing sirens warning of incoming fire in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Oct. 11, 2023.
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Smoke billows after a strike by Israel on the port of Gaza City on Oct. 10, 2023.
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Palestinians inspect the destruction from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City’s al-Rimal neighbourhood early on October 10, 2023.
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A Palestinian man sits in front of a charred building as a fire rages through its interior, following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City’s al-Rimal district on Oct. 10, 2023.
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Israeli soldiers patrol an area in Kfar Aza, south of Israel bordering Gaza Strip, on Oct. 10, 2023.
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Lightning strikes as smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Oct. 9, 2023.
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An aerial picture shows the site of the weekend attack on the Supernova desert music festival by Palestinian militants near Kibbutz Reim in the Negev desert in southern Israel on Oct. 10, 2023.
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An Israeli soldier rests his head on an artillery gun barrel of an armored vehicle as Israeli soldiers take positions near the border with Gaza in southern Israel on Oct. 9, 2023.
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A member of the Palestinian civil defense carries a wounded boy rescued from the rubble of the Tattari family home, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on Oct. 9, 2023.
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Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli airstrike on buildings in the refugee camp of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 9, 2023.
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Israeli army soldiers are positioned with their Merkava tanks near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Oct. 9, 2023.
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A Palestinian points to the Ahmed Yassin mosque, which was levelled by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City early on Oct. 9, 2023.
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Palestinians evacuate the area following an Israeli airstrike on the Sousi mosque in Gaza City on Oct. 9, 2023.
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A Palestinian demonstrator throws rocks towards Israeli soldiers in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Oct. 8, 2023.
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A missile explodes in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike on Oct. 8, 2023.
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A man walks past an Israeli police station in Sderot after it was damaged during battles to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on Oct. 8, 2023.
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Rockets fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City are intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome defense missile system in the early hours of Oct. 8, 2023.
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Israeli police officers evacuate a family from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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Rockets are fired toward Israel from Gaza, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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Cars are on fire after they were hit by rockets from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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Palestinians wave their national flag and celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis southern Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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Israeli firefighters extinguish fire after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a house in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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Israeli firefighters extinguish fire after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a parking lot in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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A young boy walks amid the rubble of a building destroyed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on Oct. 7, 2023.
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Israeli soldiers deploy in an area where civilians were killed in the southern city of Sderot on October 7, 2023.
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Palestinians walk away from the kibbutz of Kfar Azza, Israel, near the fence with the Gaza strip on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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Cars burn after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a parking lot and a residential building in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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Palestinian militants fire missiles at Israel in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Israeli soldiers head south near Ashkelon, Israel, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Smoke rises from an area near a power plant outside Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
A rocket from the Gaza Strip struck a street in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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Israeli security forces take cover during rocket attack siren warning as rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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Palestinians take down the fence on the Israel-Gaza border and enter Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
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Residents look at damage after a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.

Friday's strike outside Shifa Hospital came after Israel said Hamas has a command center at the facility — a claim that could not be independently verified and that Hamas and hospital officials deny. The Palestinian Red Crescent said a strike damaged one of its ambulances carrying wounded to southern Gaza on the coastal highway. The agency posted images of the vehicle with its hood destroyed and blood on the side.

Since the start of the conflict, Israeli strikes have destroyed 25 ambulances, Qidra said.

The military said its troops have killed numerous Hamas militants exiting tunnels. Footage released by the military showed soldiers and tanks advancing toward bombed out buildings.

Israel has repeatedly told residents of Gaza's north to evacuate to the south for greater safety. But many have been unable to leave or to stay in the south, fearing continued airstrikes there.

The military on Thursday told residents to evacuate the Shati refugee camp on Gaza City’s edge. On Friday, shells hit a convoy of evacuees on the coastal road they were told to use, killing around a dozen people, doctors said. Footage from the road showed dead children lying in the sand.

Further south, workers pulled 17 bodies from the rubble of a building leveled by a strike in Khan Younis, witnesses said. Associated Press images showed rescuers digging with bare hands to save someone completely buried, with one arm protruding from the wreckage. At a hospital, a crying man held up the dead body of a small girl whose lower limbs appeared to be missing.

In the occupied West Bank overnight, Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians in different places and arrested many more, according to the Israeli military and Palestinian health officials.BLINKEN’S LATEST TRIP

Blinken first held talks with Netanyahu before holding wider discussions with the prime minister's war Cabinet and meeting with President Isaac Herzog. He stopped later Friday in Amman, Jordan.

Biden’s suggestion for a humanitarian “pause” in the fighting aims to let in aid for Palestinians and let out more Palestinians who hold foreign passports and wounded.

More than 386 Palestinian dual nationals and wounded exited Gaza into Egypt on Friday, according to Wael Abou Omar, the Hamas spokesman for the Rafah border crossing. That brings the total who have gotten out since Wednesday to 1,115.

Israel has allowed more than 300 trucks carrying food and medicine into Gaza, but aid workers say it’s not nearly enough. Israeli authorities have refused to allow fuel in, saying Hamas is hoarding fuel for military use and would steal new supplies.

The Indonesian Hospital said hundreds of victims had arrived at its facility following an explosion in the Jabalia Camp in Gaza.

Copyright The Associated Press
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