An Iranian-backed umbrella group known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed an attack targeting the southern Israeli port city of Eilat on Wednesday. The militants are allied with Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are suspected of attacking a ship in the Gulf of Aden early Wednesday. Shipping has reduced drastically through the route crucial to Asian, Middle East and European markets in a campaign the Houthis say will continue as long as the Israel-Hamas war rages in the Gaza Strip.
International criticism is growing over Israel’s campaign against Hamas as Palestinians face severe and widespread hunger. The eight-month war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and basic goods to Gaza, and people there are now totally dependent on aid. The top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies.
On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to expand the conflict in Gaza to Lebanon. Netanyahu said Sunday that the current phase of fighting against Hamas in Gaza is winding down, setting the stage for Israel to send more troops to its northern border to confront the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
Since then, Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 37,600 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.
Currently:
— A Palestinian was shot, beaten and tied to an Israeli army jeep. The army says he posed no threat.
— The U.S. military shows reporters the pier project in Gaza as it takes another stab at aid delivery.
— Israelis’ lawsuit says a United Nations agency helps Hamas by paying Gaza staff in dollars.
— Suspected Houthi attack targets a ship in the Gulf of Aden, while Iraq-claimed attack targets Eilat.
— The U.N. tells Israel it will suspend aid operations across Gaza without improved safety.
— Follow news agencies’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s the latest:
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to expand the conflict in Gaza to Lebanon in a move, he said, would lead to a “great disaster.”
In an address to his ruling party’s legislators on Wednesday, Erdogan said Turkey would stand with Lebanon and called on other countries in the region to also show solidarity with the Middle Eastern nation.
“Israel, which has destroyed Gaza, has now set its sight on Lebanon,” Erdogan maintained. “Netanyahu’s plans to spread the war to the region, with the consent of the West, will lead to a great disaster.”
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