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Pictured: a fireball erupts after an Israeli strike over Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
AFP
The war between Israel and Hamas has entered its 77th day without progress on a potential truce deal. Meanwhile, there have been launches from Lebanese territory by Hezbollah, placing Israel’s northern border communities under threat of an all-out war.
The Pentagon said more than 20 countries have joined the Red Sea maritime task force that seeks to protect shipping activities in the area following multiple attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebel army targeting commercial ships.
Khan Yunis, the known hometown of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ most senior official in Gaza, is the focus of ground operations by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The IDF announced late Thursday that Israeli forces were closing in on the “underground bunkers” of Hamas leadership in Khan Yunis after they dismantled the terror group’s above-and-below-ground “Senior Quarter” in Gaza City Wednesday.
Washington has signaled support for the latest draft resolution on Gaza that the United Nations Security Council will vote on Friday. The vote was first scheduled for Monday but was pushed back four times due to the U.S. raising issues with the language in the text regarding the fighting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comforted the families of fallen soldiers Thursday. He reiterated that the battle would be fought “until victory” with the goal of safeguarding the lives of Israeli soldiers.
Amid international pressure to agree to a ceasefire, the Israeli government has repeatedly reiterated that it was fighting to prevent Hamas from threatening Israel again.
The Oct. 7 massacre of more than 1,200 people by Hamas operatives was a culmination of the violent history of the Israel-Palestine conflict that has drawn attacks toward Israel from several fronts, including on the north by Iran-backed Hezbollah.
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