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Palestinians have no place to go as Israel widens offensive

The Israeli military on Monday renewed its calls for mass evacuations from the southern town of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in recent weeks, as it widened its ground offensive and bombarded targets across the Gaza Strip.

The expanded offensive, following the collapse of a weeklong cease-fire, is aimed at eliminating Gaza's Hamas rulers, whose Oct. 7 attack into Israel triggered the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades. The war has already killed thousands of Palestinians and displaced over three-fourths of the territory's population of 2.3 million Palestinians, who are running out of safe places to go.

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US military official confirms 'self-defense strike' in Iraq

A "self-defense strike" was carried out in northern Iraq against a drone launch site, a U.S. military official said, after an air strike killed five pro-Iranian militants there.

"A self-defense strike was carried out on a drone staging site," the official said on condition of anonymity. It took place "in the vicinity of Kirkuk" and targeted "an imminent threat", he added.

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US defense chief says Israel must shield civilians to win in Gaza

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday urged Israel to protect civilians as it battles Hamas in Gaza, saying that shielding noncombatants is necessary for victory in the urban fight against the Palestinian militant group.

Fighting between Israel and Hamas resumed the day before after a week-long truce between the two sides collapsed, with both sides blaming the other for the breakdown of the deal and the resumption of violence.

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Iran says Israeli strike in Syria killed 2 Revolutionary Guard members

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard stated through its website that two of its forces stationed in Syria were killed in an Israeli airstrike Saturday.

The report on the Guard's news portal identified the two members as Mohammad Ali Ataei Shourcheh and Panah Taghizadeh, and said they were carrying out an advisory mission in Syria. It did not elaborate on their rank, or the area where they were killed.

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US VP focuses on shaping post-war Gaza in diplomatic blitz in UAE with Arab leaders

Vice President Kamala Harris engaged in a speed round of diplomatic talks with Arab leaders on Saturday where she focused on shaping the outlook for a post-conflict Gaza while calling on Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians from the "devastating" bombardment.

She made a hastily planned trip to the United Arab Emirates as the top American representative at the U.N. climate conference but the Israel-Ham1,as war was a main objective of her visit. She met with leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan and spoke by phone with Qatar's emir.

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Israel widens evacuation orders as it shifts its offensive to southern Gaza amid heavy bombardments

Israel's military on Sunday ordered more areas in and around Gaza's second-largest city of Khan Younis to evacuate, as it shifted its offensive to the southern half of the territory where it says many Hamas leaders are hiding.

Heavy bombardments were reported overnight and into Sunday in the area of Khan Younis and the southern city of Rafah, as well as parts of the north that had been the focus of Israel's blistering air and ground campaign.

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Israeli strikes kill two pro-Hezbollah fighters in Syria

Israeli air strikes killed two Syrian pro-Hezbollah fighters when they hit sites belonging to the Iran-backed group near Damascus early on Saturday, a war monitor told AFP.

The strikes near Damascus came less than 24 hours after the end of a Gaza truce between Hezbollah ally Hamas and Israel.

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Dozens dead, hundreds hurt as Israel bombs hundreds of Gaza targets after truce ends

Israel carried out deadly bombardments in Gaza for a second day on Saturday, hitting hundreds of targets, after a week-long truce with Hamas militants collapsed despite international calls for an extension.

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Resumption of Gaza war casts long shadow over Dubai's COP28 climate talks

As world leaders gathered for the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, the collapse of a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war Friday plunged the conflict back into open combat and cast a long shadow over the talks.

Israel's top diplomat for the Middle East huddled with leaders at the summit as his colleagues went through a book of posters of those held hostage by the militant group Hamas, placing yellow "released" stickers by some while looking at others still held. Meanwhile, just a street away at the Palestinian territories' first-ever pavilion, an official gave a horrified look when Associated Press journalists gave her the news that Israeli airstrikes and ground fighting in the Gaza Strip had resumed.

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UN says resumption of Gaza hostilities 'catastrophic'

The United Nations human rights chief said the resumption of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Friday was "catastrophic", with the situation now "beyond crisis point".

"The resumption of hostilities in Gaza is catastrophic. I urge all parties and states with influence over them to redouble efforts, immediately, to ensure a ceasefire -- on humanitarian and human rights grounds," Volker Turk said in a statement.

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