Hezbollah launches rockets; Israel shells Khan Younis; Netanyahu ponders ceasefire deal

Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Thursday it launched more than 200 rockets and a swarm of drones at 10 Israeli military sites in response to the killing of one of the Iran-aligned group's top commanders in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.

An Israeli military spokesperson said Hezbollah's claims were "under review", while Israel's ambulance service said there were no casualties reported.

Thursday's barrage follows at least two attacks on Wednesday in response to what Hezbollah called "the assassination" of its commander, Mohammed Nasser.

The militant group said it launched 100 Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military base in Golan and its Iranian-made Falaq missiles at another base in the town of Kiryat Shmona near the Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday.

Nasser, killed by an airstrike near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, was one of the most senior Hezbollah commanders to die in the conflict, two security sources in Lebanon said.

Netanyahu to discuss ceasefire plan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet on Thursday evening to discuss new Hamas positions on a ceasefire deal in Gaza, a source in Netanyahu's office said.

Before the cabinet meets, Netanyahu will hold consultations with his ceasefire negotiations team, the source also said.

Israel received Hamas' response on Wednesday to a proposal made public at the end of May by U.S. President Joe Biden that would include the release of about 120 hostages held in Gaza and a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.

According to Israel's Kan public broadcaster, Netanyahu will speak to Biden later on Thursday.

A Palestinian official close to the mediation effort told Reuters that Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, has shown flexibility over some clauses that would allow a framework agreement to be reached should Israel approve.

Two Hamas officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hamas has said any deal must end the nearly nine-month war and bring a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel maintains it will accept only temporary pauses in the fighting until Hamas is eradicated.

The plan entails the gradual release of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza and the pullback of Israeli forces over the first two phases, as well as the freeing of Palestinian prisoners. The third phase involves the reconstruction of the war-shattered territory and the return of the remains of deceased hostages.

Shelling

Tanks shelled several areas on the eastern side of Khan Younis on Thursday after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders on Tuesday, but there has been no movement by the tanks into those areas, residents said.

On Thursday, many Palestinians were still seeking shelter following the evacuation order, which also included the border city of Rafah and which the United Nations said was the largest such edict since 1.1 million people were told to leave the north of the enclave in October.

Khan Younis residents said many families slept on the road because they could not find tents.

Israeli planes and tanks bombed several areas in the northern Gaza areas of Shejaia, Sabra, Daraj, and Tuffah, killing several Palestinians, including children, and wounding others, health officials said.

The Israeli military said that its troops and aircraft killed dozens of militants in those areas and in Rafah, in southern Gaza, which Israel has described as Hamas' last stronghold.

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