Israel pounds central Gaza, sends tanks into north of Rafah, amid Hezbollah attacks

Israeli forces pounded areas in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing at least nine Palestinians, according to health officials, while Israeli tanks carried out a limited advance further into Rafah in the south.

In one Israeli air strike around midnight on a house in Al-Zawyda in the central Gaza Strip, eight people were killed, the health officials said. Another strike killed a man in Nuseirat camp, one of the enclave's eight refugee camps, where 23 people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a school a day ago.

Israeli tanks also shelled the eastern areas of Al-Bureij and Al-Maghazi camps in the center of the enclave, said residents, who also said an air strike destroyed a mosque.

Meanwhile in Rafah, tanks carried out a raid in the north of the city before retreating, a tactic Israeli forces have used in other areas before mounting deeper incursions. Tanks have operated in most parts of the city since May, although have not gone deep into the northern districts.

Medics said an Israeli strike killed two people in Rafah on Wednesday, while residents said the forces had blown up dozens of homes.

The Israeli military said troops were "continuing precise, intelligence-based operational activity in the Rafah area". It said they had eliminated what it called a terrorist cell and a launcher that had been used to fire at troops.

It said airstrikes had struck 25 targets throughout the Gaza Strip during the past day and that troops were continuing to operate in the central area, including to dismantle structures used to observe the soldiers.

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Nine months into the war, Palestinian fighters led by the Islamist Hamas group are still able to attack Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets, and mortar bombs and from time to time fire barrages of rockets into Israel.

Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas after its militants killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostage in an attack on southern Israeli communities on October 7, according to Israeli tallies.

On Tuesday, the military said it had eliminated half of the leadership of Hamas' military wing, with about 14,000 fighters killed or captured since the start of the war.

At least 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive since then, Gaza health authorities say. Israel says 326 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza.

Hezbollah to hit new areas if Israel keeps targeting civilians

Hezbollah will hit new Israeli targets if Israel keeps targeting civilians in Lebanon, the group's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday, noting a spike in the number of non-combatants killed in Lebanon in recent days.

Five civilians, all Syrians and including three children, were killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Tuesday and at least three Lebanese civilians were killed the day before, according to state media and security sources.

Israel has said it is striking Hezbollah militants and infrastructure in Lebanon and does not target civilians.

"Continuing to target civilians will push the Resistance to launch missiles at settlements that were not previously targeted," Nasrallah said, in comments made during a televised address to mark the Shi'ite holy day Ashoura.

Hezbollah, the most powerful military and political force in Lebanon, refers to all Israeli population centers as settlements and does not recognise Israel.

On Wednesday, Israeli firefighters and security examined damages and tried to control fires that broke after an overnight rocket barrage fired from Lebanon towards towns and cities across Israel's border. The Israeli army said that over 20 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israel in different areas and barrages overnight, some of which were intercepted. 

Hamas denies war crimes

Diplomatic efforts by Arab mediators to halt the hostilities, backed by the United States, seem to be on hold, but officials from all sides have said they are open to more talks, including Israel and Hamas, who have traded blame over the current impasse.

A deal would aim to end the war and release Israeli hostages in Gaza in return for many Palestinians jailed by Israel.

On Wednesday, Israel released 13 Palestinians detained during the military offensive in Gaza, the Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement. The freed inmates were transferred to a hospital in the central Gaza Strip for treatment.

Many of the hundreds of Palestinians Israel has released in the past months have accused Israeli forces of ill-treatment and torture. The Palestinian Prisoner Association said nearly 20 Palestinians had died in Israeli detention after being detained from Gaza. Israel denies allegations of torture.

Meanwhile, in a report published on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, and at least four other Palestinian armed groups "committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians during the October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel".

According to its findings, these included "deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects; wilful killing of persons in custody; cruel and other inhumane treatment; sexual and gender-based violence; hostage taking; mutilation and despoiling of bodies; use of human shields; and pillage and looting".

In response, Hamas rejected "the lies and blatant bias" towards Israel and demanded Human Rights Watch withdraw its report and apologize.

"The Human Rights Watch report adopted the entire Israeli narrative and moved away from the method of scientific research and the neutral legal position, and became more like an Israeli propaganda document," Hamas said in a statement.

Israel's defense minister says Gaza operations allow hostage deal

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told his U.S. counterpart that military operations in the Gaza Strip have created conditions that would enable a hostage deal to be reached, Gallant's office said on Wednesday.

Gallant made the comments during an overnight call with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, his office said.

"IDF operations in Gaza have led to the conditions necessary to achieve an agreement for the return of hostages, which is the highest moral imperative at this time," Gallant said, according to the statement.

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