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Fighting Between Hamas and Israel Rages on, Jerusalem Signals New Phase in War
Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, in this handout picture released on Jan. 2, 2024. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS
Israel said on Tuesday its troops had killed dozens of terrorists in the north of the Gaza Strip in the past day, while its aircraft and tanks stepped up strikes in the south of the Palestinian enclave.
Residents said heavy fighting was also raging in central areas, citing shelling by Israeli tanks of parts of the Al-Bureij refugee camp.
The latest fighting took place after Israel announced plans to pull back some troops, signaling a new phase in the war against Hamas amid global concern over the plight of Gaza residents.
In its daily briefing, the Israeli military said that in the past day its forces had targeted terrorists in Gaza City in the north of the enclave and in unspecified locations along the Mediterranean coast.
“In Jabaliya area, troops killed dozens of terrorists, among them those who attempted to plant explosive devices, others who operated drones, and those who were armed identified driving toward the forces,” the military said.
Troops also seized weapons and dismantled rocket launchers in Khan Younis in the south and in a United Nations school in Al-Bureij, Israel’s military said.
Gaza residents said Israeli war planes and tanks stepped up bombardments of the eastern and northern areas of Khan Younis.
In another sign of the war spreading beyond Gaza’s borders, Israeli soldiers mounting a raid in the West Bank killed four armed terrorists who had fired at them from a house in the Palestinian village of Azzun, the military said.
An Israeli official said the situation on the border with Lebanon, where Israeli forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters have exchanged artillery fire almost daily, would not be allowed to continue.
“This coming six-month period is a critical moment,” the official said.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian terror group in Gaza, said in separate statements they had fired mortar bombs and anti-tank rockets against Israeli forces in Khan Younis and were stopping them advancing to the western area. Tanks have been stationed east, north, and at the center.
Hamas on Monday claimed to have killed 15 Israeli soldiers after triggering an explosive minefield east of the Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City.
Hamas also showed its continued ability to target Israel after more than 12 weeks of the war, firing rockets at Tel Aviv.
The Gaza war was triggered by a surprise Hamas attack on Israeli towns on Oct. 7 that Israel says killed 1,200 people.
Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza say Israel’s military campaign in response to the Oct. 7 massacre has killed thousands of Palestinians. Experts have cast doubt on the reliability of casualty figures coming out of Gaza, which among other concerns don’t distinguish between civilian and terrorist deaths.
Israel has promised to wipe out Hamas, but it is unclear what it plans to do with the enclave should it succeed and where that leaves the prospect of an independent Palestinian state.
It has signaled a new phase in its offensive, with the Israeli official saying on Monday the military would reduce its forces inside Gaza this month and shift to a months-long phase of more localized “mopping up” operations.
The troop reduction would allow some reservists to return to civilian life, shore up Israel’s war-battered economy, and free up units in case of a wider conflict with the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, the official said.
A US official said the decision appeared to indicate the start of a shift to lower-intensity operations in the north of Gaza. Washington has been urging Israel to reduce the intensity of its military operation.
But Avi Dichter, a member of Israel’s security cabinet, said on Kan Radio: “Without Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure being destroyed and its governance capabilities toppled, the war will not end.”
Another prime concern for Israel is the return or rescue of hostages held by Hamas. The terrorists seized 240 hostages on Oct. 7 and Israel believes 129 are still held after some were released during a brief truce and others killed during air strikes and rescue or escape attempts.
Qatar and Egypt are seeking to negotiate a new truce and hostage deal.
Residents of the Sheikh Radwan district in Gaza City, which the Israeli offensive first focused on, said tanks had withdrawn after what they described as the most intense 10 days of warfare since the conflict began.
Tanks also pulled out of Gaza City’s al-Mina district and parts of Tel al-Hawa district, while retaining some positions in the suburb controlling the enclave’s main coastal road, residents said.
The post Fighting Between Hamas and Israel Rages on, Jerusalem Signals New Phase in War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.