The Israeli military carried out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday and signaled that it was stepping up operations in the enclave as it pressed on with its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The apparent escalation in Israeli military activity — against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah — comes amid rising concern over a broadening war in the Middle East on the eve of the anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. That attack prompted Israel to bombard and invade Gaza to fight Hamas.
Early on Sunday, the Israeli military issued a map labeling nearly all of northern Gaza as an evacuation zone, saying this was in preparation for “a new phase” in the war. That came hours after Israeli warplanes attacked Jabaliya, in the northern part of the enclave. The Israeli military said it had surrounded an area where it had identified Hamas fighters and “efforts by Hamas to rebuild its operational capabilities.”
The military also said that it had struck a mosque and a school-turned-shelter in the central Gaza city of Deir al Balah overnight. It described the two locations as Hamas “command and control centers” nestled among civilians, without providing evidence of its claims. The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said 26 Palestinians had been killed and dozens more were wounded.
In recent weeks, Israel has been simultaneously intensifying attacks against Hamas’s allies, like Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli airstrikes hit just south of Beirut overnight, sending an orange fireball and thick black smoke into the sky. The attack came less than an hour after the Israeli military issued new evacuation warnings for parts of the area known as the Dahiya, where Hezbollah holds sway and where heavy bombardment in recent days has already forced many residents to flee. It also ordered the residents of 25 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate and head north.
Israel has been systematically targeting the leaders of Hezbollah and Iran’s other regional proxies. On Saturday, it said it had killed two Hamas commanders in Lebanon as it kept up its fight against the militant group in Gaza.
The escalating fighting has raised fears of an all-out war between Israel and Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and Hamas. Last week Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel in retaliation for assassinations — and Israel has vowed to respond.
Weapons for Israel: President Emmanuel Macron of France said on Saturday that shipments of weapons to Israel that could be used in Gaza should be halted. “Lebanon cannot become another Gaza,” he added.
Deadly attack: A woman died and five more people were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds after an attack near the central bus station in the southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva, according to Israel’s ambulance service, Magen David Adom. The police described the incident as a terrorist attack and said the assailant had been “neutralized.”
Israel’s preparation: Lessons learned from a 2006 invasion of Lebanon have guided Israel in its current one. Security experts say a political deal is needed to restore calm.
Iranian commander: Members of the Iranian news media are asking: Where is Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, the country’s top general and the commander in chief of its elite Quds Forces? The concerns about General Ghaani followed reports in some Israeli and Arab news media on Saturday that he was either killed or injured in one of Israel’s recent attacks on Beirut.