The Israeli military said Thursday it has completed a two-day operation in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinian Health Ministry says killed 12 Palestinians and wounded 25.
Rippling tensions from the Israel-Hamas war were also felt in the Red Sea, where a missile splashed down in the water near the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, but caused no damage, and in Lebanon, where state-run National News Agency says an Israeli drone strike killed one person and wounded three school students who were passing nearby in a bus. More than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel and Hezbollah began exchanging fire the day after the latest war in Gaza began.
Norway, Ireland and Spain said Wednesday they were recognizing a Palestinian state, a move welcomed by Palestinians as an affirmation of their decadeslong quest while Israel recalled its ambassadors to the three countries.
It was the second blow to Israel’s international reputation this week after the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said he would seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister. The International Court of Justice is also considering allegations of genocide that Israel has strenuously denied.
At least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
Currently:
— ICC prosecutor’s warrant requests for Israel and Hamas leaders ignite debate about the court’s role.
— Norway, Ireland and Spain recognize a Palestinian state in a historic move.
— Families of Israeli hostages release video of female soldiers being captured by Hamas.
— First aid from the U.S. pier in Gaza has reached starving Palestinians, the U.N. says.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here's the latest:
ISRAELI POLICE CLOSE JEWISH PILGRIMAGE SITE AHEAD OF FESTIVAL DUE TO SECURITY CORNCERNS
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli police have closed a Jewish pilgrimage site in northern Israel ahead of a major festival there over concerns that the area could be targeted by the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.
Tens of thousands of people, mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews, gather each year on the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer to honor Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a 2nd-century sage and mystic who is believed to be buried on Mount Meron. Large crowds, which can reach over 100,000, light bonfires, pray and dance as part of the celebrations, which this year were set for Saturday.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Hezbollah has launched dozens of rockets and missiles toward Mount Meron and nearby Safed, which houses a major Israeli military base. Israel and Hezbollah have traded frequent attacks since the war began, most confined to the area around the border. Mount Meron is located around 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of the border with Lebanon.
Israel’s parliament passed an emergency law to shutter the pilgrimage site earlier this week, due to the Hezbollah threat. A small ceremony with about 30 people will take place instead of the large festival.
UNITED NATIONS' TOP COURT SAYS IT WILL RULE FRIDAY ON SOUTH AFRICA'S REQUEST FOR A CEASE-FIRE IN GAZA
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The United Nations’ top court says it will rule Friday on South Africa’s latest urgent request for the judges to order a cease-fire in Gaza.
South Africa’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, had urged the panel of 15 international judges to order Israel to “totally and unconditionally withdraw” from the Gaza Strip. Israel strongly denies charges of genocide, telling the International Court of Justice that it is doing everything it can to protect the civilian population during its military operation in Gaza.
It was the third time the International Court of Justice held hearings on the war in Gaza since South Africa filed proceedings in December at the court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, accusing Israel of genocide.
The International Court of Justice said Thursday it will deliver its decision Friday afternoon at 1300 GMT, just days after the chief prosecutor at another Hague-based court, the International Criminal Court, announced he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders on charges linked to the Gaza war.
A MISSILE SPLASHES INTO THE RED SEA IN LIKELY HOUTHI REBEL ATTACK, MISSING NEARBY VESSEL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A missile splashed down in the waters of the Red Sea near the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, but caused no damage to a passing commercial vessel in an attack likely carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.
The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack, though it can take hours or even days for them to acknowledge their assaults.
The Houthis have launched attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in recent months, demanding that Israel ends the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage.
The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the United States Maritime Administration.
Shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat. In recent weeks, the tempo of Houthi attacks has dropped, though the rebels have claimed shooting down U.S. surveillance drones.
12 PALESTINIANS KILLED IN ISRAEL'S 2-DAY WEST BANK OPERATION
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said Thursday it has completed a two-day operation in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinian Health Ministry says killed 12 Palestinians and wounded 25.
The military launched the operation Tuesday in the city of Jenin and an adjacent urban refugee camp as part of a crackdown against militants in the area. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group said its fighters battled the Israeli forces.
Militant groups claimed at least eight of the dead as fighters: one from Hamas and seven from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed offshoot of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party. Islamic Jihad group said an unspecified number of its fighters were killed.
Among those killed was a surgeon at a local hospital, according to Wissam Abu Baker, the director of Jenin Governmental Hospital. The surgeon was killed on his way to work, Abu Baker said.
The military did not immediately disclose additional details about the operation.
Jenin and the adjacent urban refugee camp have long been a bastion of armed struggle against Israel’s occupation, and the frequency of raids by Israeli troops has increased during the war in Gaza.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry says more than 500 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since Oct. 7. Many were shot dead in armed clashes during military raids, others for throwing stones or explosives at troops. People not involved in the confrontations have also been killed.
ISRAELI STRIKE KILLS 1 AND INJURES 3 STUDENTS, LEBANON STATE NEWS AGENCY SAYS
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says an Israeli drone strike killed one person and wounded three school students who were passing nearby in a bus.
The agency said the Thursday morning strike damaged the bus and destroyed a car on a road leading to the southern market town of Nabatiyeh. It said the wounded students were taken to hospitals in the area.
The man who was killed was identified as Mohammed Farran, whom Hezbollah identified as one of its members.
Israeli airstrikes have killed scores of Hezbollah members in recent months.
The exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel began a day after the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7. Since then, more than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon. Most of the dead were fighters, but more than 70 were civilians and non-combatants.
