JERUSALEM -- Israel launched a new offensive on Gaza City on Wednesday aimed at defeating Hamas, a move that has drawn international criticism over its impact on civilians in the devastated enclave.
The IDF has begun the next stage of the operation, in line with "the directive of the political echelon," military spokesman Effie Defrin said. He said ground assaults were already underway in Gaza City's Zaytun neighborhood and the nearby town of Jabalia, with more forces set to join the fighting. (Israel-Gaza City-New Offensive)
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JERUSALEM -- Israel on Wednesday gave final approval for a new settlement in E1, a highly contentious area of the occupied West Bank.
The Higher Planning Council authorized 3,753 housing units, including 3,401 for final approval in the E1 neighborhood of Maale Adumim. The project would link settlements to create a continuum separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem. (Israel-New Settlement-Approval)
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GAZA -- At least 36 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Gaza's civil defense authority said, as ongoing Israeli operations in Gaza City sparked widespread panic among Palestinians.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza's civil defense authority, told Xinhua that three Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a house in the town of Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip, while five others were killed when a tent sheltering displaced people was bombed in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. (Gaza Strip-Israeli Attacks-Casualty)
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DAMASCUS -- U.S.-led coalition forces carried out an airborne raid on a house in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib on Wednesday, killing a man, reportedly an Islamic State commander, according to state media.
Syria's state TV channel al-Ikhbariya reported that coalition troops surrounded the house in the town of Atmeh before storming it. The man attempted to escape by jumping from a balcony into the garden, but was shot dead. Coalition units then searched the house, confiscated cell phones and electronic devices, and questioned the landlord. The victim's body was later taken to Bab al-Hawa hospital, the report added. (Syria-Raid-Killing) ■
