Israel launched a new air and ground offensive in northern Gaza Sunday, hours after pounding Beirut’s southern suburbs in the heaviest bombardment since it stepped up its pursuit of the Hezbollah militant group last month.
The intensified campaign on two fronts, including an overnight strike on a Gaza mosque that killed 19, came as Israel remained on high alert ahead of memorial events to mark the surprise attack a year ago that triggered the ongoing war.
About 1,200 people were killed and 250 others were taken hostage when Hamas militants swept into southern Israel from Gaza. In the months since, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians. It says more than half were women and children.
In recent weeks, Israel has significantly expanded its targeting of Hezbollah and its stronghold in southern Lebanon.
Israel has also promised to retaliate against Iran, which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah, after it fired a barrage of missiles at the country last week.
Here’s what to know:
What’s the status of Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip?
An Israeli strike hit a mosque in central Gaza early Sunday where displaced people were sheltering, killing at least 19, Palestinian officials said. Another four were killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter near the town.
The Israeli military said both strikes targeted militants, without providing evidence. An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that those killed at the mosque were all men.
The Israeli military announced a new air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, home to a refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. Israel has carried out several large operations there during the past year, only to see militants regroup.
The military said three soldiers were severely wounded in Sunday’s fighting in northern Gaza.
What’s the latest on Israel’s operations in Lebanon?
Airstrikes rocked the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight as Israel targeted what it said were Hezbollah militant sites.
Some strikes set off a series of explosions, suggesting that ammunition stores were hit. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the area was hit by more than 30 strikes.
Hezbollah, the strongest armed force in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ attack last October, calling it a show of support for the Palestinians.
But tensions in the region have soared since Israel ramped up its fight against Hezbollah last month, killing longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his top commanders and launching what it says is a limited ground operation in southern Lebanon. The fighting is the worst since Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006.
U.N. refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said during a visit to Beirut Sunday that Lebanon is seeing a “major displacement crisis” and that some of the strikes have violated international law.
Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest conflict, according to the country’s health ministry. Government officials estimate that the fighting has forced 1.2 million people from their homes.
What’s happening in Israel and beyond as the anniversary of last October’s attack approaches?
A day before the anniversary of last October’s attack, crowds joined both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests and memorial events across Europe, North Africa and Asia.
Sunday’s events follow massive rallies that took place Saturday in several European cities, including London, Berlin, Paris and Rome.
In Israel, a stabbing and shooting attack at the central bus station in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba left one person dead and 10 wounded, according to first responders. Police said the woman killed was a border police officer. They did not identify the assailant but said they were treating it as a terror attack.
In northern Israel, police said rockets fired from Lebanon caused heavy damage in the town of Ma’alot Tarshiha. Israeli media showed images of a makeshift structure outside a home in the town engulfed by fire. There were no reports of injuries.
The Israeli military said dozens of rockets and numerous drones entered Israeli territory from Lebanon on Sunday, most were intercepted or fell in open areas.
Where do relations stand between Israel, the U.S. and its other key allies?
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday reiterated his call for a partial arms embargo on Israel, drawing anger from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a statement, Macron’s office said he favors a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza because a cease-fire is needed to stop the mounting violence and “clear the way to the political solutions needed for the security of Israel and the whole Middle East.”
Macron’s earlier, similar remarks led Netanyahu to release a statement in which he referred to such calls as a “disgrace.” Macron’s office insisted that “France is Israel’s unfailing friend” and called Netanyahu’s remarks “excessive.”
Later on Sunday the two leaders indicated they had spoken and agreed to promote “a dialogue” on the matter. Macron’s office called it a “frank” discussion and said both leaders “accepted their divergence of views, as well as their desire to be well understood by each other.”
Vice President Kamala Harris said that the U.S. was dedicated to supplying Israel with the military aid needed to protect itself. But in excerpts from a taped interview with CBS’ ‘60 Minutes’ released Sunday, she said the Biden administration would continue pushing Israel to end the war.
“And we’re not going to stop in terms of putting that pressure on Israel and in the region, including Arab leaders,” she said.
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Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
