Israeli strikes kill 17 in Gaza and destroy heavy equipment needed to clear rubble

Israeli strikes kill 17 in Gaza and destroy heavy equipment needed to clear rubble
A man walks with empty pails of water in his hands past destroyed and burnt-down excavators at the Jabalia municipality garage in the northern Gaza Strip, Apr. 22, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 23 April 2025
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Israeli strikes kill 17 in Gaza and destroy heavy equipment needed to clear rubble

Israeli strikes kill 17 in Gaza and destroy heavy equipment needed to clear rubble
  • An Israeli strike on Jabaliya municipality's parking garage destroyed nine bulldozers provided by Egypt and Qatar
  • The strikes also destroyed a water tanker and a mobile generator provided by aid groups

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 17 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and destroyed bulldozers and other heavy equipment that had been supplied by mediators to clear rubble. Separate strikes killed two people in Lebanon.
Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump spoke by phone, two weeks after the two met in Washington. Trump wrote on his social networking site Truth Social that the two spoke about trade and Iran, among other issues. “The call went very well— We are on the same side of every issue,” he wrote.
Netanyahu’s office did not have an immediate comment, but his hastily-arranged visit to Washington was not deemed a rousing success after he appeared to fail to secure the support he wanted from Trump on issues such as stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons, reducing Trump’s tariffs, the influence of Turkiye and the war in Gaza.
Israel’s 18-month offensive against Hamas has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, raising fears that much of it may never be rebuilt. The territory already had a shortage of heavy equipment, which is also needed to rescue people from the rubble after Israeli strikes and to clear vital roads.
The Israeli military said it struck and destroyed around 40 pieces of heavy machinery. Israel said Hamas used the vehicles, including bulldozers, for planting explosives, digging tunnels, and breaching fences, including during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
A municipality in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza said a strike on its parking garage destroyed nine bulldozers provided by Egypt and Qatar, which helped broker the ceasefire that took hold in January. Israel ended the truce last month, renewing its bombardment and ground operations and sealing the territory’s 2 million Palestinians off from all imports, including food, fuel and medical supplies.
The strikes also destroyed a water tanker and a mobile generator provided by aid groups, and a truck used to pump sewage, the Jabaliya Al-Nazla municipality said.
Israeli strikes kill 17, mostly children
An Israeli airstrike early Tuesday destroyed a multistory home in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing nine people, including four women and four children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. The dead included a 2-year-old girl and her parents.
“They were asleep, sleeping in God’s peace. They had nothing to do with anything,” said Awad Dahliz, the slain girl’s grandfather. “What is the fault of this innocent child?“
Also on Tuesday, a strike in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp killed three children and their parents, and a strike in Nuseirat killed a man and two children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service and local hospitals.
The Israeli military did not have immediate comment on the strikes, but has accused Hamas of using civilian infrastructure for militant purposes.
Israel’s air and ground war has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 people hostage. They are still holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Hamas has said it will only free the remaining hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire. Israel has said it will keep fighting until the hostages are returned and Hamas has been either destroyed or disarmed and sent into exile. It has pledged to hold onto so-called security zones in Gaza indefinitely.
Islamist killed in Lebanon
An Israeli drone strike southeast of Beirut killed Hussein Atwi, a member of the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a regionwide Sunni Islamist political movement. The group said he was leaving for work when the drone struck.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said another person was killed in an Israeli strike on the southern Tyre province, without providing further details. Israel said that its air force carried out the strike near Tyre and targeted a militant commander.
Israel has continued to carry out regular strikes across Lebanon despite reaching a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group in November. Israel says it is targeting militants and weapons caches. The Lebanese government says 190 people have been killed and 485 wounded since the ceasefire took hold.
Hezbollah began firing on Israel the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Israel responded with airstrikes, and the conflict in Lebanon escalated into a full-blown war in September when Israel carried out a heavy wave of strikes and killed most of Hezbollah’s top leadership.
Palestinian militants arrested in Syria
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group said two of its senior members were arrested in Syria “without any explanation.” The Syrian government has not commented.
Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group allied with Hamas and also backed by Iran, had an established presence in Syria during the rule of former President Bashar Assad. It sent fighters to Lebanon to support Hezbollah during the war with Israel.
The arrests came days after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Damascus and met with Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa. It was Abbas’ first visit to Syria since before the 2011 uprising and the civil war that eventually led to Assad’s overthrow last year.
Abbas leads the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, dominated by political rivals of Hamas.
 

 


Netanyahu says UK-French-Canada condemnation gives ‘huge prize’ to Hamas

Netanyahu says UK-French-Canada condemnation gives ‘huge prize’ to Hamas
Updated 20 May 2025
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Netanyahu says UK-French-Canada condemnation gives ‘huge prize’ to Hamas

Netanyahu says UK-French-Canada condemnation gives ‘huge prize’ to Hamas

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday hit back at condemnation of his country’s military offensive in Gaza by the leaders of France, Canada and Britain saying they had given a “huge prize” to Hamas.
“By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities,” Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to the October 2023 attack that set off the Gaza war.


Palestinian hospital chief calls for pressure on Israel

Palestinian hospital chief calls for pressure on Israel
Updated 20 May 2025
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Palestinian hospital chief calls for pressure on Israel

Palestinian hospital chief calls for pressure on Israel

HELSINKI: An East Jerusalem hospital chief told AFP on Monday that Gaza was in a “catastrophic” state after weeks of a complete blockade of humanitarian aid and called on countries to act to end the suffering of civilians.
Fadi Atrash, chief executive of the Augusta Victoria-Hospital in East Jerusalem — which helps Palestinians from the occupied territories and Gaza — said he could no longer “find the words” to describe the crisis faced by people in war-torn Gaza.
“We are facing a very, very critical and catastrophic situation,” he said, with all components of the health care system destroyed, and health care workers “running out of energy.”
Augusta Victoria, which had a hospital in Gaza that has been destroyed in Israeli bombings now provides health care in Gaza with the limited resources available, Atrash said.
Atrash visited Finland — which has not recognized Palestine as a state — on Monday as part of a tour of the Nordic countries.
“My main message for the Nordic countries is to put pressure to stop the war, to stop the killing.”
Humanitarian food, medical and fuel supplies have been blocked from entering Gaza for 11 weeks, and the World Health Organization has warned that two million people face starvation.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb joined other European leaders on Monday to call on Israel to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Stubb also said “forced displacement of populations is a war crime and cannot form part of any solution,” in a post on X.
Israel this month approved an expanded military offensive in Gaza but has agreed to let limited aid into Gaza.


Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday
Updated 20 May 2025
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Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

GAZA CITY: A Gaza civil defense official said that 91 people were killed in strikes and attacks throughout Monday as Israel steps up an offensive in the Palestinian territory.
The deaths had been recorded since the early hours of Monday, according to Mohammed Al-Mughayyir, an official in the civil defense agency of the Hamas-run territory. The department had earlier given a toll of 52 dead.


Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port
Updated 20 May 2025
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Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

SANAA: Yemen’s Houthis said Monday that they would target Haifa port in Israel as part of a “naval blockade” in response to Israeli escalation in the Gaza war.
The Houthis would “begin working to enforce a naval blockade of the port of Haifa,” said military spokesman Yehya Saree.
“All companies with ships present in or heading to this port are hereby notified that, as of the time of this announcement, the aforementioned port has been included in the target bank,” the Houthi spokesman added.
The move was “in response to the Israeli enemy’s escalation of its brutal aggression against our people and in Gaza,” he said, adding their attacks on Israel would “cease once the aggression on Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted.”
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will “take control” of the whole of Gaza, as rescuers reported dozens killed in a newly intensified offensive.


One SDF fighter killed in attack by Daesh in eastern Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces said on Monday that one of its fighters was killed and another injured in an attack by Daesh.
The Syrian Democratic Forces said on Monday that one of its fighters was killed and another injured in an attack by Daesh.
Updated 19 May 2025
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One SDF fighter killed in attack by Daesh in eastern Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces said on Monday that one of its fighters was killed and another injured in an attack by Daesh.
  • SDF reached an agreement in March to integrate with the Syrian government
  • Syria’s new authorities have clashed with Daesh fighters, particularly in the east

CAIRO: The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a militia group led by Kurdish fighters, said on Monday that one of its fighters was killed and another injured in an attack by Daesh in Syria’s eastern Deir el-Zor region.
The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Daesh in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The SDF reached an agreement in March to integrate with the Syrian government, now led by former militants who toppled President Bashar Assad last year.
Syria’s new authorities have clashed with Daesh fighters, particularly in the east. Last month, Daesh killed five SDF fighters in one of the deadliest recent attacks against the group.