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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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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.

The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.

They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.

Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.

Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.

The post Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.

The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.

Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.

He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.

The post Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.

Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.

Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.

Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.

Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.

The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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