Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has escalated his pledge to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is filled with around 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip.
鈥淚t will happen. There is a date,鈥 Netanyahu declared in a video statement Monday, without elaborating.
The United States, Israel鈥檚 closest ally, has said a ground operation into Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians. Netanyahu spoke as Israeli negotiators are in Cairo discussing international efforts to broker a cease-fire deal with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Israeli troops withdrew Sunday from Khan Younis, another city in southern Gaza, ending a key phase of the war. Defense officials say they're regrouping ahead of a push into Rafah.
Palestinians who visited Khan Younis on Monday say the city is now unlivable, offering them little immediate chance to return. Many have been sheltering in Rafah.
The Palestinian death toll from the war has passed 33,200, with nearly 76,000 wounded, Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry said. The ministry between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says make up two-thirds of the dead.
The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.
Currently:
鈥 find an unrecognizable city after Israeli withdrawal.
鈥 These Palestinian mothers in Gaza gave birth Oct. 7. .
鈥 AP Photos chronicle in Gaza war with no sign of an end.
鈥 killed in Gaza, while talks will resume on a cease-fire.
鈥 , it鈥檚 a race against time as Israel鈥檚 war reaches six-month mark.
鈥 Find more AP coverage at
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TURKEY SAYS ISRAEL REJECTED ITS REQUEST TO HELP GAZA AID AIR DROPS
ANKARA, Turkey 鈥 Israel has rejected a Turkish request for its military cargo planes to join a humanitarian aid operation for Gaza, Turkey鈥檚 foreign minister said Monday, adding that Ankara would respond by imposing a series of measures against Israel.
In a televised announcement, Hakan Fidan said Turkey 鈥 of the strongest critics of Israel鈥檚 military actions in Gaza 鈥 would continue to implement the measures until Israel declares 鈥渁 cease-fire and allows aid to enter into Gaza without interruption.鈥 The minister did not say what those measures would entail.
Fidan said Jordan had approved NATO-member Turkey鈥檚 planes joining an operation to air drop aid, but Israel rejected the request
鈥淭here is no excuse for Israel to block our attempt to deliver aid by air to starving people of Gaza,鈥 Fidan said. 鈥淔aced with this situation, we decided to take a series of new measures against Israel. These measures, approved by our President (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) will be implemented step by step, without delay.鈥
NETANYAHU VOWS TO CARRY OUT RAFAH GROUND INVASION
JERUSALEM 鈥 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated his pledge to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, declaring: 鈥淭here is a date.鈥
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel must send ground forces into Rafah, saying it is Hamas鈥 last stronghold in Gaza.
But the international community, including the U.S., opposes the operation, saying the roughly 1.4 million civilians seeking shelter there will be in danger.
Israel has insisted it has a plan to protect the civilians.
In a video statement Monday, Netanyahu said the Rafah operation is essential for victory. He said, 鈥淚t will happen. There is a date,鈥 without elaborating. He spoke as Israeli negotiators were in Cairo discussing international efforts to broker a cease-fire deal with Hamas.
ISRAELI OFFENSIVE IN KHAN YOUNIS DAMAGED MORE THAN HALF OF ALL BUILDINGS IN THE CITY, MAP EXPERTS SAY
JERUSALEM 鈥 A pair of mapping experts say Israel鈥檚 offensive in the southern Gaza City of Khan Younis appears to have left over half of the city鈥檚 buildings with damage or destruction visible from space.
As of last week, over 55% of the city鈥檚 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed, according to an analysis of Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data by Corey Scher of the CUNY Graduate Center and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University. They say that accounts for 45,000 buildings.
Still, the damage in Khan Younis and other parts of the Strip鈥檚 south is considerably less than in the north of Gaza, where the researchers estimate 70% of buildings were likely damaged or destroyed.
Israel鈥檚 ground and aerial bombardment campaign, begun after the Hamas attack Oct. 7, has wreaked , leveling entire apartment buildings and leaving much of the territory in ruins, .
Israel withdrew its last ground troops from Khan Younis on Sunday, marking the end of a key phase in its war against Hamas.
ISRAEL TO BUY 40,000 TENTS TO EVACUATE PALESTINIANS FROM RAFAH, ISRAELI OFFICIAL SAYS
JERUSALEM 鈥 An Israeli official confirms that Israel is purchasing 40,000 tents to prepare for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Israel says Rafah is Hamas鈥 last stronghold and is vowing to send ground troops into the city. But the international community, including the U.S., opposes the offensive, saying it would endanger Palestinian civilians.
More than 1 million Palestinians, over half of Gaza鈥檚 population, have fled to Rafah after being displaced by fighting elsewhere in the territory.
Israel has said it has a plan to evacuate civilians ahead of its offensive, and Israel鈥檚 Defense Ministry on Monday published a tender seeking a supplier of tents.
The Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the tents were part of the Rafah preparations.
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Associated Press writer Josef Federman contributed.
ISRAELI ARMY SAYS A PALESTINIAN WOMAN WAS SHOT DEAD ATTEMPTING TO STAB A SOLDIER IN WEST BANK
JERUSALEM 鈥 The Israeli army said its forces shot dead a Palestinian women in the northern West Bank on Monday, after she attempted to stab a soldier at a checkpoint.
The army said the incident took place at the Tayasir checkpoint near the northern West Bank town of Tubas.
In a statement, the Palestinian Health Ministry identified the deceased as a young woman but did not state her name or age.
At least 460 Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since the Israel-Hamas war erupted six months ago, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Many have been shot dead in armed clashes, some while attempting to stab Israeli forces, and others for throwing stones at troops.
The Associated Press has reported on several cases where Palestinians have been shot dead for posing no apparent threat to nearby troops.
Knife attacks by Palestinian women are rare.
POPE FRANCIS MEETS WITH FAMILIES OF HOSTAGES
VATICAN CITY 鈥 Pope Francis met Monday with relatives of hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, marking the six-month anniversary of the attack in southern Israel with an hourlong audience.
The Vatican released photos of the encounter, showing the relatives of the several of the hostages sitting in a semicircle in front of Francis in his private library in the Apostolic Palace. Each one held a poster with a photo and the name of their loved one.
It was the second time Francis has met with relatives of the hostages. On Nov. 22, he met with a delegation of Israelis, and then separately a delegation of Palestinians whose relatives had been harmed during the long Mideast conflict.
Francis has called for the immediate release of the hostages and a cease-fire in Gaza, and for humanitarian aid to urgently reach desperate Palestinians.
GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY REPORTS 32 PEOPLE KILLED IN LAST 24 HOURS
CAIRO 鈥 The Health Ministry in Gaza on Monday said the bodies of 32 people killed in Israel鈥檚 bombardment have been brought to hospitals in the beleaguered territory in the past 24 hours. Hospitals also received 47 wounded people, it said.
The fresh fatalities brought the death toll in the strip to 33,207 since the war began on Oct. 7, it said.
The ministry doesn鈥檛 differentiate between civilians and combatants, but said two thirds of the dead are children and women. The Israeli military says it has killed 12,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The ministry said 75,933 people have been wounded.
The ministry said many casualties remain under the rubble and first responders have been unable to retrieve them amid the relentless bombing.
PAKISTAN AND SAUDI ARABIA CALL ON ISRAEL TO HALT ITS MILITARY OPERATIONS IN GAZA
ISLAMABAD 鈥 Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have called on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza and seek a peaceful solution to the conflict in line with UN resolutions.
The two countries made the demands in a joint statement on Monday after a meeting between Pakistan鈥檚 Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Mecca.
The two sides called for international efforts 鈥渢o halt Israeli military operations in Gaza, mitigate humanitarian impact and underscored the imperative for the international community to pressure Israel to cease hostilities, adhere to international law, and facilitate unhindered humanitarian aid access to Gaza," according to the statement.
They also discussed the need for a peace process in accordance with UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative 鈥渁imed at finding a just and comprehensive solution, for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."
ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS IT KILLED A HEZBOLLAH COMMANDER IN LEBANON
BEIRUT 鈥 Israel鈥檚 military says it has killed a commander of Hezbollah鈥檚 secretive Radwan Force in southern Lebanon.
Ali Ahmad Hussein is one of the most senior militants killed since Israel and Hezbollah began exchanging fire at the start of the war in Gaza. His killing comes as regional tensions soar after an apparent Israeli attack last week on Iran鈥檚 consulate in Syria, threatening to spark a wider conflagration.
The Israeli military said two other Hezbollah militants were also killed in the strike early Monday.
Hezbollah announced the death of Ali Ahmad Hussein but did not give any details on the circumstances or his role within the group, in line with how they announce the deaths of their members.
The Israeli military said he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Sultaniyeh. It said in a statement that Hussein was responsible for carrying out attacks on northern Israel.
Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops have clashed along the tense Lebanon-Israel border since Oct. 8. Hezbollah says it would stop firing rockets once a cease-fire is reached in the Gaza Strip that would end the Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli officials have been demanding that the Radwan Force withdraw from the border area in order to allow tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to return home.
AUSTRALIA APPOINTS EX-DEFENSE CHIEF TO LOOK INTO ISRAELI STRIKE THAT KILLED 7 AID WORKERS
MELBOURNE, Australia 鈥 Australia has appointed retired national defense chief Mark Binskin to look into how Israel Defense Forces came to kill seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including Australian Zomi Frankcom, in Gaza last week.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday he expected Israel would fully cooperate with Binskin as Australia鈥檚 special adviser on Israel鈥檚 response to the missile strikes on three aid vehicles.
鈥淲e would expect that someone of Mr. Binskin's stature, frankly, will be given every cooperation from the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli government,鈥 Albanese told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 find the explanations to be satisfactory to this point,鈥 Albanese added.
The seven aid workers鈥 deaths had 鈥渟haken the world,鈥 Albanese said, adding it is 鈥渦nacceptable鈥 that almost 200 aid workers have died since the conflict began in October last year.
Binskin, who served as Australian Defense Force chief from 2014 to 2018, will advise the government on the 鈥渟ufficiency and appropriateness of steps taken by the Israeli government鈥 in response to the fatal attack, which the Israeli military has described as a tragic error, a government statement said.
PALESTINIAN PRISONER CONVICTED IN 1984 KILLING OF ISRAELI SOLDIER DIES OF CANCER, ISRAEL SAYS
TEL AVIV, Israel 鈥 Israeli authorities say a Palestinian prisoner convicted in the 1984 killing of a soldier has died in a hospital after he was battling cancer.
Walid Daqa, who was an Israeli citizen, was sentenced to life in prison following the killing of soldier Moshe Tamam. The Palestinian Prisoners Club, which represents former and current prisoners, said he was slated for release next year. He was one of the longest-serving Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israeli media said he died Sunday.
The plight of prisoners in Israeli jails is deeply sensitive to Palestinians, many of whom have relatives who have served time in Israeli prisons. Their conditions in prison are closely followed and deaths while in custody, even under natural circumstances, can heighten tensions, which are already high amid the war in Gaza.
The fate of the prisoners is under particularly close watch now because Israel is expected to release many as part of a deal that emerges between it and Hamas meant to bring about a cease-fire in the war and the release of hostages taken captive into Gaza.
The prisoners club said Israel had excluded Daqa from all previous prisoner exchange deals, as he had been characterized as a high-risk prisoner.
Hamas accused Israel of 鈥渄eliberate medical negligence鈥 in Daqa鈥檚 death. In a statement Monday, Israel鈥檚 好色tv Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Daqa died of natural causes.
ISRAEL PULLS SOME OF ITS TROOPS OUT OF SOUTHERN GAZA
JERUSALEM 鈥 Israel鈥檚 military announced Sunday it had withdrawn its forces from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, wrapping up a key phase in its ground offensive against the Hamas militant group and bringing its troop presence in the territory to one of the lowest levels since the six-month war began.
But defense officials said troops were merely regrouping as the army prepares to move into Hamas鈥 last stronghold, Rafah. 鈥淭he war in Gaza continues, and we are far from stopping,鈥 said the military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi.
Local broadcaster Channel 13 TV reported that Israel was preparing to begin evacuating Rafah within one week and the process could take several months.
Still, the withdrawal was a milestone as Israel and Hamas marked six months of fighting. Military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity under army policy, said a 鈥渟ignificant force鈥 remained in Gaza to continue targeted operations including in Khan Younis, hometown of the Hamas leader, Yehya Sinwar.
AP video in Khan Younis showed some people returning to a landscape marked by shattered multistory buildings and climbing over debris. Cars were overturned and charred. Southern Gaza鈥檚 main hospital, Nasser, was in shambles.
ISRAEL FINDS BODY OF HOSTAGE KILLED IN GAZA
CAIRO 鈥 Israel鈥檚 military says it has recovered the body of a 47-year-old farmer who was held hostage in Gaza.
Israel鈥檚 army said Saturday it found the body of Elad Katzir and believed he was killed in January by militants with Islamic Jihad, one of the groups that entered southern Israel in the Oct. 7 attack, killed more than 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Katzir was abducted from Nir Oz, a border community that suffered some of the heaviest losses.
The discovery renewed pressure on Israel鈥檚 government for a deal to get the remaining hostages freed, and thousands gathered in Tel Aviv to call for a deal as well as early elections. Hostages鈥 families have long feared time is running out. At least 36 hostages have been confirmed dead. About half of the original number have been released.
鈥淗e could have been saved if a deal had happened in time,鈥 Katzir鈥檚 sister Carmit said in a statement. 鈥淥ur leadership is cowardly and driven by political considerations, and that is why (a deal) did not happen.鈥
Israelis are divided on the approach by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. A week ago, tens of thousands of Israelis thronged central Jerusalem in the largest anti-government protest since the war began.
