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In another sign of the war spreading beyond Gaza’s borders, Israeli soldiers mounting a raid in the occupied West Bank killed four armed militants who had fired at them from a house in the Palestinian village of Azzun, the military said.
An Israeli official said the situation on the border with Lebanon, where Israeli forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters have exchanged artillery fire almost daily, would not be allowed to continue.
“This coming six-month period is a critical moment,” the official said.
At a house in the centre of Khan Younis, medical teams retrieved the bodies of two women killed in an Israeli air strike on Tuesday morning, health officials said.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad said in separate statements they had fired mortar bombs and anti-tank rockets against Israeli forces in Khan Younis and were stopping them advancing to the western area. Tanks have been stationed east, north and at the centre.
Hamas’ armed wing on Monday claimed to have killed 15 Israeli soldiers after triggering an explosive minefield east of the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City.
Hamas also showed its continued ability to target Israel after more than 12 weeks of the war, firing rockets at Tel Aviv.
NEW PHASE
The Gaza war was triggered by a surprise Hamas attack on Israeli towns on Oct 7 that Israel says killed 1,200 people.
Palestinian health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza say Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 21,978 people, making it the bloodiest episode in the decades-long wider Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Israel has promised to wipe out its Hamas foes but it is unclear what it plans to do with the enclave should it succeed in subduing it, and where that leaves the prospect of an independent Palestinian state.
It has signalled a new phase in its offensive, with the Israeli official saying on Monday the military would reduce its forces inside Gaza this month and shift to a months-long phase of more localised “mopping up” operations.
The troop reduction would allow some reservists to return to civilian life, shore up Israel’s war-battered economy, and free up units in case of a wider conflict with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, the official said.
A US official said the decision appeared to indicate the start of a shift to lower-intensity operations in the north of Gaza. Washington has been urging Israel to reduce the intensity of its military operation.
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