Israeli airstrikes killed another 16 Palestinians – reported to include a woman and three children – as Netanyahu’s military continues to ferociously hunt Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza
Israeli troops have smashed an almost mile-long Hamas tunnel in Gaza as the manhunt for its leader, Yahya Sinwar, intensifies.
The underground complex was uncovered in Rafah, in the south, and destroyed. Another 16 Palestinians died in the Gaza Strip from airstrikes. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital received the bodies, which were counted by a reporter and included a woman and three children.
It came as cross-border missile attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Israeli Defence Force were also stepped up amid fears of a wider Middle East conflict. Last night, northern Israel was on high alert for another round of large-scale Hezbollah missile strikes following Israel’s killing of a top Hezbollah commander.
In the previous 24 hours, Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets at the occupied Golan Heights after Israeli aircraft struck deep inside Lebanon, fuelling fears of an all-out war. The Israeli military said it hit Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in the Bekaa Valley. The Lebanese health ministry said one person was killed and 30 others injured.
The United Nations humanitarian official for the Palestinian territory last night said that Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza had displaced 90% of its 2.1 million residents since the Israel-Hamas war began in October. Some 12 evacuation orders have been issued this month alone, which Muhannad Hadi claims are endangering civilians instead of protecting them.
He said: “They are forcing families to flee again, often under fire and with the few belongings they can carry, into an ever-shrinking area that is crowded and unsafe. Civilians are being deprived of medical care, shelter, water wells and humanitarian supplies, running from one destroyed place to another, with no end in sight.”
Mr Hadi said in the statement that international humanitarian law requires the protection of civilians. He added: “The way forward is as clear as it is urgent: protect civilians, release the hostages, facilitate humanitarian access, agree on a ceasefire.”
The Israeli offensive launched in response to Hamas’ October 7 attack has killed over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the attack and abducted around 250.
Some 110 hostages are thought to remain in Gaza. The rest are dead. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a ceasefire deal and hostage release but major gaps remain.
Talks are again under way between officials in Cairo as the White House pushes Israel and Hamas to settle on a bridging proposal that would lead to a Gaza ceasefire. Hopes of an agreement appear to be on the brink of collapse, however, as Israel awaits an Iranian response to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyey in Tehran last month.
