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Israeli Forces Launch Storm of Gaza’s Khan Younis in ‘Second Stage’ of Ground Campaign
An Israeli soldier gestures towards a tank crew member as it crosses a road, as part of the convoy, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, near Israel’s border with southern Gaza, in Israel, Dec. 4, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israeli forces launched their storm of the main city in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
In what appeared to be the biggest ground assault since a truce collapsed last week, residents said Israeli tanks had entered the eastern parts of Khan Younis for the first time, crossing from the Israeli border fence and advancing west.
Some took up positions inside the town of Bani Suhaila on Khan Younis’ eastern outskirts, while others continued further and were stationed on the edge of a Qatari-funded housing development called Hamad City, residents said.
The Israelis, who seized the northern half of Gaza last month before pausing for the week-long truce, say they are now extending their ground campaign to the rest of the enclave to fulfill their objective of annihilating its Hamas rulers.
“We’re moving ahead with the second stage now. A second stage that is going to be difficult militarily,” government spokesperson Eylon Levy told reporters in a briefing.
Israel was open to “constructive feedback” on reducing harm to civilians as long as the advice is consistent with its aim of destroying Hamas, he said.
A spokesperson for the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry said hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip are “totally collapsing” amid the fighting, saying they “cannot deal with the quantity and quality of injuries that arrive.”
Washington has called on its close ally Israel to do more to reduce harm to civilians in the next phase of the Gaza war, which Israel launched following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre. Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas invaded the Jewish state and rampaged across southern Israeli communities, murdering 1,200 people and seizing 240 hostages.
According to Hamas-controlled Gaza health authorities, thousands of people have died during Israel’s military campaign of air strikes and ground operations — although experts have cast doubt on the reliability of casualty figures coming out of Gaza, which also do not note how many killed were terrorists.
Israel says blame for harm to civilians falls on Hamas fighters who operate among them, including from tunnels below ground that can be destroyed only with huge bombs.
Since the truce collapsed, Israel has been posting an online map to tell Gazans which parts of the enclave to evacuate. The eastern quarter of Khan Younis was marked out on it on Monday, and is home to hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom took flight on foot.
“What civilians should do to stay safe is listen to the instructions that are coming out from our Twitter accounts, from our website, and also to look at the leaflets that are landing in their areas,” Israeli military spokesperson Richard Hecht told reporters on Tuesday.
Gazans say there is no safe place left to go, with remaining towns and shelters already overwhelmed.
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Syrian Christian Leader Chides President Over Deadly Church Bombing
People attend the funeral of victims of a suicide bombing at the Mar Elias Church on Sunday, in Damascus, Syria, June 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Syria’s top Christian leader said on Tuesday at the funeral for victims of a deadly church bombing that President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government bore responsibility for not protecting minorities and his condolences were insufficient.
At least 25 worshippers died on Sunday when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in Damascus, the first such attack since Sharaa’s Islamist-led government seized power in December after the Assad family dynasty’s toppling.
The attack, which the government blamed on the Islamic State terrorist group, reinforced doubts among minorities about whether they can rely on government assurances of protection.
“With love and with all due respect Mr. President, you spoke yesterday by phone … to express your condolences. That is not enough for us,” the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, John (X) Yazigi, said at the funeral, drawing applause.
“We are grateful for the phone call. But the crime that took place is a little bigger than that.”
Christians made up around 10 percent of Syria’s pre-war population of 22 million, but their numbers shrunk significantly during the 14-year conflict, mainly through emigration. Only a few hundred thousand are now estimated to be living in Syria.
Yazigi said the government must prioritize protection for all. “What is important to me – and I will say it – is that the government bears responsibility in full,” Yazigi said of the church attack.
Hundreds were at the service in the nearby Church of the Holy Cross to bury nine of the victims, whose bodies were placed in simple white coffins adorned with white flowers.
Social affairs minister Hind Kabawat – the only Christian and only woman in Syria’s new government – attended.
On Monday, Sharaa said the attack was a crime hurting all Syrians but did not use the word “Christians” or “church.”
The government said security forces raided hideouts used by Islamic State, killing two of its members including one who facilitated the suicide bomber’s entry into Mar Elias Church.
IS did not issue a statement of responsibility.
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Montana Tucker Honors Israeli Courage, Resilience in New Dance Video Filmed on Masada
Montana Tucker at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. Photo: Dan MacMedan / USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect
Jewish-American activist, dancer, and social media influencer Montana Tucker released on Monday a dance video filmed at Masada that honors the bravery and resilience of Jewish people throughout history and Israelis amid the Israel-Iran war.
The video, produced by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), was filmed during Tucker’s solidarity trip to Israel in May, which was her sixth visit to the Jewish state since the deadly Hamas terrorist attack more than a year and a half ago on Oct. 7, 2023. Tucker shared the dance video on social media.
“From the Romans and Persians, to the Nazis, Hamas, Hezbollah, and now the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Jewish people have faced countless enemies. And yet, we endure. We rise,” she wrote in the caption. “Today, I dance at Masada — a symbol of Jewish courage and defiance. I dedicate this moment to the heroes of Israel: the pilots defending the skies, the soldiers guarding the borders, and the millions standing strong in bomb shelters. Am Yisrael Chai. We WILL rise again.”
Masada was a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert in southeastern Israel. It became a final holdout of Jewish rebels standing against the Roman Empire following the destruction of Jerusalem
Tucker and a group of dancers from the Lilach Friedman Dance Center in Israel danced on Masada to a track that included lyrics of “Rise Again” by EV!
“Break down my walls/but I will rise again. Cuz I stand tall/ in my environment,” the artist sings. “How could I ever close my eyes/ and stay silent since/they tried to take me down/with their violence.”
Tucker and CAM have collaborated on a number of projects since the Oct. 7 attacks, including the video “We Can Dance Again,” filmed at the site of the Nova music festival massacre in memory of the 364 music lovers murdered at the event, “I’m a Survivor,” drawing awareness to hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas, “Woman, Life, Freedom,” about Iranian women resisting oppression, and “The Music Never Stopped,” which marked Israel’s 77th Independence Day.
During her most recent trip to Israel, Tucker met with former Hamas hostages Emily Damari and Romi Gonen, who each spent 471 days in captivity after being abducted on Oct. 7, 2023.
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Yemen’s Houthis Likely to Be Persistent Problem for US, Senior Military Official Says
Houthi policemen ride on the back of a patrol pick-up truck during the funeral of Houthi terrorists killed by recent US-led strikes, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement will likely be a persistent problem for the US in the future, a senior US military official said on Tuesday, even after Washington and the Houthis reached an agreement last month that ended a US air campaign against the terrorist group.
“The Houthis are likely to be a persistent problem … that we’ll be dealing with in the future a few times again,” Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich, director for operations of the Joint Staff, told lawmakers. Grynkewich has been nominated to lead the US military‘s European Command.
Last month, President Donald Trump announced the US would stop bombing the Houthis, who had been firing at US warships and commercial vessels off Yemen’s coast. The group, which had said it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, stopped firing at US ships under the agreement.
Rights groups had voiced concerns about civilian casualties during the nearly two-month-old US bombing campaign in Yemen.
Last week, the Houthis said they would again target US ships in the Red Sea if Washington became involved in Israeli attacks on Iran. Still, they have not resumed attacks after the US struck three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.
On Monday, Trump announced an Israel-Iran ceasefire deal.
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