On Sunday, Netanyahu, Rubio and their wives, along with U.S.
The family was from the northern town of Beit Hanoun, and arrived in Deir al-Balah last week after fleeing their shelter in Gaza City The Israeli military did not have immediate comment on the strikes.
As part of its expanding operation in Gaza City, the military destroyed multiple high-rise buildings Sunday, after warning residents to evacuate.
“This is part of the genocidal measures the (Israeli) occupation is carrying out in Gaza City,” said Abed Ismail, a Gaza City resident.
International teams also finished repair work on a water line from Israel to Gaza, one of three water lines from Israel to Gaza, increasing the daily amount of water coming into Gaza from Israel to 14,000 cubic meters (3.7 million gallons).
AP/JERUSALEM — U. A. As Israel’s military stepped up its attacks on northern Gaza on Sunday, at least 13 Palestinians were killed and several high-rise buildings were leveled. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in the country.
See Rubio talk about U. S. . prioritizing the Gaza War before leaving for Israel.
Ahead of the trip, Rubio stated that he would be asking Israeli officials about their outlook on Gaza after Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar last week disrupted attempts to mediate a settlement.
In addition, his two-day visit is a show of solidarity with Israel, which is becoming more and more isolated, as the UN prepares for a heated discussion on commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state next week. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is adamantly against the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Rubio travels to Israel in spite of his ire over the attack in Qatar.
Rubio’s visit proceeded in spite of President Donald Trump’s ire at Netanyahu for the Israeli strike in Doha, which he claimed the US was not informed about in advance.
On Sunday, Rubio, Netanyahu, and their spouses, as well as U. S. Mike Huckabee, Israel’s ambassador, and his spouse visited the Western Wall and the tunnels that have been dug out close to it.
Rubio’s visit here, in my opinion, is evidence of the tenacity and power of the Israeli-American alliance. According to Netanyahu, it is just as robust and long-lasting as the Western Wall’s stones that we just touched.
Trump and Rubio met with the prime minister of Qatar on Friday to talk about the consequences of the Israeli operation. Despite the attack’s widespread international condemnation, the Trump administration is attempting to maintain a balance in relations with its major Middle East allies, as evidenced by the two back-to-back meetings with Israel and Qatar.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of hostages ahead of the upcoming U.S. N. General Assembly meeting, where the war in Gaza is anticipated to be the main topic of discussion.
In the meantime, prior to a summit in Qatar on Monday that will bring together leaders of their countries for high-level discussions, foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries were scheduled to gather in Doha on Sunday to present a unified front regarding the Israeli attack.
Additionally, Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar were scheduled to speak Monday to a sizable bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers who were in Israel for political talks and meetings.
Deathly airstrikes increase.
Local hospitals report that several Israeli strikes in Gaza on Sunday killed at least 13 Palestinians and injured dozens more.
According to local hospitals, at least six members of the same family were killed by Israeli strikes that targeted a tent in the city of Deir al-Balah, a car close to Shifa Hospital, and a roundabout in Gaza City.
During that strike, the Al-Aqsa hospital reported that two parents, their three children, and the children’s aunt were killed. The family, originally from Beit Hanoun in the north, fled their shelter in Gaza City and made their way to Deir al-Balah last week.
Regarding the strikes, the Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Following an evacuation warning, the military on Sunday demolished several high-rise structures in Gaza City as part of its enlarging operation. Less than an hour after military spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted an evacuation order online, some were destroyed.
Israel has accused Hamas of constructing militant infrastructure inside civilian areas without offering any proof.
The military claimed on Sunday that Hamas militants were ready to attack Israeli troops and that the group had set up observation posts to obtain information about troop movements in the region, but it provided no proof for the allegations. The military also claimed that it employed aerial surveillance and precise munitions in addition to advance warnings to lessen the likelihood of harm to civilians.
The Kauther tower in the Rimal neighborhood was flattened to the ground, according to locals. No casualty reports were made at the time.
According to Gaza City resident Abed Ismail, “this is one of the genocidal measures the (Israeli) occupation is carrying out in Gaza City.”. “They want to force the transfer and another Nakba, and they want to destroy the entire city.”. “.”.
The term Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic, describes the period before and during the 1948 war that surrounded the creation of modern-day Israel, when about 700,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes or driven out by Israeli forces.
Israel vehemently refutes claims of genocide in Gaza.
Defense Minister Israel Katz posted video of the strikes that destroyed one of the buildings on X with the caption, “The skyline of Gaza is changing.”.
Gazan starvation.
The Gaza Strip’s health ministry said on Sunday that two Palestinian adults had perished in the past 24 hours in the region from malnutrition and starvation-related causes.
The ministry said that since late June, when it began counting deaths among this age group, the number of deaths from malnutrition-related causes has increased to 277. Since the war began in October 2023, an additional 145 children have perished from malnutrition-related causes.
The Israeli defense agency in charge of humanitarian assistance in Gaza reported that during the previous week, more than 1,200 trucks delivering aid—mostly food—entered the territory.
Aid workers claim that the amount of aid that does reach Gaza is insufficient to meet the vast needs of the region. A large portion of it is also stolen before it can get to the Palestinians, who are in dire need.
Additionally, international teams completed repairs on one of Israel’s three water lines to Gaza, bringing the daily volume of water entering Gaza from Israel to 14,000 cubic meters (3.7 million gallons).
The water supply in Gaza has been steadily reduced in the 23 months since Israel began its offensive, and the region is currently experiencing a second sweltering summer during a time of fighting. Water trucks that fill bottles, canisters, and buckets every two or three days are frequently pursued by parents and kids before being transported home.
In October, militants led by Hamas invaded southern Israel, sparking the start of the Gaza War. in 2023, killing about 1,200 people, primarily civilians, and kidnapping 251 others. Of the 48 hostages still in Gaza, 20 are thought to be alive by Israel.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,871 Palestinians; it does not specify the number of combatants or civilians killed. It states that women and children made up about half of those slain. The destruction of large portions of major cities has resulted in the displacement of approximately 90% of the 2 million Palestinians.
