Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Thursday struck several homes and killed at least 85 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, according to local health officials.
Hamas fired three rockets at Israel without causing casualties. It was the first such attack since Israel resumed heavy bombardment of Gaza on Tuesday, shattering a ceasefire that had halted the 17-month war. On Wednesday, the military was retaking control of the key corridor that cuts off northern Gaza from the south.
The Israeli military meanwhile restored a blockade on northern Gaza, including Gaza City, that it had maintained for most of the war. It warned residents against using the main highway to enter or leave the north and said only passage to the south would be allowed on the coastal road.
___
Here’s the latest:
Three rockets launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Thursday set off sirens across the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Hamas claimed the attack, which appeared to be the first out of Gaza since Israel ended a ceasefire with a surprise bombardment of the territory on Tuesday.
The Israeli military said it intercepted one of the rockets, and two others fell in open areas. There were no reports of injuries.
Earlier on Thursday, a missile launched toward Israel by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi was intercepted before it reached Israeli airspace.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called the strikes on Yemen a “crime” that “should be prevented.”
In a message marking the Iranian New Year, he said Muslim nations must unite to resist the “Zionist Regime," referring to Israel. He called the U.S. an accomplice in the resumption of Israel’s strikes on Gaza and said the strikes by Israel have been carried out by “the U.S. permission, or support and green light.”
In a separate message, President Masoud Pezeshkian urged for domestic integrity, improving relation with neighbouring nations and other nations in the world.
The death toll from new Israeli strikes on Gaza has climbed to 58, according to hospitals in the territory.
Multiple homes were targeted in the middle of the night late Wednesday and early Thursday. The latest total of those killed was according to three hospitals in different parts of the territory.
The strikes hit houses in the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza and the northern town of Beit Lahiya, they said.
The European Hospital in the southern city of Rafah said 26 people, mostly women and children, were killed in strikes on two family homes overnight. One of the strikes killed a father and his seven children, it said.
The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis received the bodies of seven people killed overnight in an attack on a home. In northern Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital said it had received the bodies of seven people killed in a strike on a home in Beit Lahiya, a town near the border.
The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels early Thursday before it reached Israeli airspace, as air raid sirens and exploding interceptors were heard in Jerusalem. No injuries were reported.
It was the second such attack since the United States began a new campaign of airstrikes against the rebels earlier this week.
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.