Israel yesterday said that it had carried out strikes on dozens of Hamas targets following the death of a soldier, with Gaza experiencing its deadliest night of bombing since a US-brokered truce went into effect earlier this month.
The Israeli military said that it had targeted 30 senior militants.
Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz said that “dozens of Hamas commanders were neutralized.”
Photo: Reuters
“There will be no immunity for anyone in the leadership of the terrorist organization Hamas... Whoever raises a hand against an IDF soldier, his hand will be severed,” Katz said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
Israel said it launched the wave of strikes after a reservist — Master Sergeant Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37 — was killed in Rafah when his engineering vehicle was hit by enemy fire.
“A few minutes later, several anti-tank missiles were fired at another armored vehicle belonging to the troops in the area,” a military official said.
Hamas said its fighters had “no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah” and reaffirmed its commitment to the US-backed ceasefire.
It also delayed handing over what it said was the remains of a deceased hostage from its attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, because the “escalation will hinder the search, excavation and recovery of the bodies.”
After the strikes the Israeli military said it had begun “renewed enforcement of the ceasefire.”
US President Donald Trump, who helped to broker the nearly three-week-old truce, had earlier said that nothing would be allowed to jeopardize the deal, but he also endorsed Israel’s right to “hit back” if attacked.
Gaza’s civil defense agency said that the strikes killed more than 100 people.
The territory’s main al-Shifa Hospital said that one strike hit its back yard.
“We had just started to breathe again, trying to rebuild our lives, when the bombardment came back,” said 31-year-old Khadija al-Husni, living under canvas at a school in the al-Shati refugee camp. “It’s a crime. Either there is a truce or a war — it can’t be both. The children couldn’t sleep; they thought the war was over.”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
VIOLATION OF NORMS: China’s CCTV broadcast claimed that Beijing could use Interpol to issue arrest warrants, which the MAC slammed as an affront to order The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for attempts to intimidate Taiwanese through “transnational repression.” The council issued the remarks after state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) yesterday during a news broadcast aired a video targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), threatening him with “cross-border repression” and saying: “Stop now, or you will be next,” in what Taipei officials said was an attempt to intimidate not only Shen, but also the broader Taiwanese public. The MAC in a statement condemned the threat, accusing Beijing of trying to instill fear and self-censorship among Taiwanese and
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