Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 35 and Netanyahu said there would be many months of war ahead

Israel’s unified West Bank and Gaza campaign during the October 7 attack: The first day of the Oct. 7 clash against Hamas

At least 13 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza, according to witnesses. The bodies were draped in white plastic and laid out in front of a hospital, where prayers were held before burial.

In Khan Youns, where Israel is believed to have thousands of troops, residents reported airstrikes and shelling in the west and center. The military and the militant group Islamic Jihad reported clashes in the area.

The war raised fears of a larger conflagration. The military said that it shot and killed several rebel fighters when they tried to attack a cargo ship in the Red Sea.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas’ military and governing capabilities in its war, which was sparked by the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people. More than 180 people were taken hostage.

A belt of dense built-up communities that house refugees from the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948, and their descendants, was targeted this week by Israel. The fighting has pushed the population to the south, where many have flooded shelters and tent camps near the border with Egypt.

Israel has faced stiff resistance from Hamas since it began its ground offensive in late October, and the military says 172 soldiers have been killed during that time.

It has to be sealed and held in our hands. Netanyahu said that any other agreement would not guarantee demilitarization. Israel says Hamas has smuggled weapons from Egypt, but Egypt is likely to oppose any Israeli military presence there.

Netanyahu has also said he won’t allow the internationally-backed Palestinian Authority, which administers some parts of the West Bank, to participate in any future rule over Gaza, putting him at odds with President Joe Biden’s administration, which has provided crucial military aid for the offensive.

The U.S. wants a unified Palestinian government to run both Gaza and parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a precursor to eventual statehood. The last peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down over a decade ago, and the government of Israel has always opposed Palestinian statehood.

On Saturday night, thousands took part in one of the largest demonstrations against Netanyahu since the war began. The country, which was divided over the leader and a judicial reform plan before the war, has not been as divided in recent days.

The state of Israel has many enemies and threats, but it is Prime Minister Netanyahu who poses the most serious threat to the country and society.

The Israeli-Palestinian Interaction in the Gaza Strip after the First Round of the Israeli-Jasoubi Conquest in December 2009

But the sides still appear far from striking a new deal. The Islamic Jihad militant group said there will be no more hostages freed until Israel ends the offensive in Gaza.

An Egyptian proposal would begin with a swap of hostages for prisoners followed by a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. A similar deal in November saw Hamas free over 100 hostages and Israel release 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Several thousand troops are being taken out of Gaza in the coming weeks for training and rest according to a statement by the military.

Word of the withdrawal came prior to a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region, and after the Biden administration bypassed Congress again for an emergency weapons sale to Israel.

The army spokesman did not say whether the decision meant a new phase of the war or not.

Several people died and several others were injured after a strike in the Beach Street in Khan Younis, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on X. It posted nighttime footage showing medics carrying casualties to ambulances.

“It’s our routine: bombings, massacres and martyrs,” said Saeed Moustafa, a Palestinian from the Nuseirat camp. He said he could hear sporadic explosions and gunfire in Nuseirat and in the nearby Bureij and Maghazi camps.

An Israeli airstrike killed the regional commander of the elite Nukhba units in the central city of Deir al-Balah, the military said.

Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip had been killed in the first day of the First-Peace Continuum Run-Operation of the Interaction with Hamas

Israel has said the war will last a long time. It has argued that it needs time to clear Gaza of militants’ weapons and infrastructure and to prevent Hamas from being able to stage more attacks. Israel said that doing a long-term cease-fire would be a victory for Hamas.

Shlomo Brom, a retired brigadier general once in charge of strategic planning in the Israeli military, said the troop changes may be a result of the U.S. pressure. He said it indicated a shift in how Israel was conducting the war in some areas.

Over the weekend, the military said that of the soldiers killed since the ground operation began — as of Monday, 172 in total — 18 were killed by friendly fire while another 11 died by weapons or equipment malfunctions or accidents.