Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the army had presented to the War Cabinet its operational plan for a ground offensive into Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost town along the border with Egypt, where 1.4 million Palestinians have sought safety.
The situation in Rafah, where dense tent camps have sprouted to house the displaced, has sparked global concern and Israel’s allies have warned that it must protect civilians in its battle against Hamas.
Netanyahu’s office also said the War Cabinet had approved a plan to deliver humanitarian aid safely into Gaza in a way that would “prevent the cases of looting.” It did not disclose further details.
The war began after Hamas-led militants rampaged across southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 others hostage.
Nearly 30,000 people in Gaza, two thirds of them women and children, have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave, which does not distinguish in its count between fighters and noncombatants. Israel says it has killed 10,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Currently:
— Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of blocking aid to Gaza in violation of a UN court order.
— Palestinian prime minister submits government’s resignation, a move that could open door to reforms.
— Israel vows to target Lebanon’s Hezbollah even if a cease-fire is reached with Hamas in Gaza.
— Air Force member has died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in DC.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s the latest:
JERUSALEM — Israel’s Supreme Court has heard arguments in cases that would force ultra-Orthodox men to serve in the army, as the military is strained by the nearly five-month war in Gaza.
Hundreds of people protested outside the court in Jerusalem on Monday, waving flags and chanting for equal service, as the court began to hear arguments that would cancel the exemption for ultra-Orthodox men.
Military service is compulsory for Jewish men, but politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have won exemptions for their communities to allow men to study full-time in religious seminaries. These exemptions have prompted widespread anger and resentment from the secular majority, especially as the army has recently announced that compulsory service may be extended and reserve duty will be more frequent as the war continues in Gaza and tensions on the northern border escalate.
The government is required to submit a new draft law in the coming months. Ultra-Orthodox parties, which are a key coalition partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hope to continue the system of exemptions.
Opponents, including key members of a mass protest movement against Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul, say the exemptions are unfair and must end.
Activist groups filed petitions last year to force the state to strike down the exemptions and subsidies for young ultra-Orthodox men who study full-time in religious institutions called yeshivas. In the past, attempts to overhaul the draft law to include ultra-Orthodox have drawn tens of thousands of community members to the streets in large, violent protests.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The bodies of 90 people killed in Israel’s bombardment have been brought to hospitals in the war-wrecked Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory reported Monday.
Hospitals had also received 164 wounded, it said.
The fresh fatalities brought the death toll in Gaza to 29,782 since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, the ministry said in its daily briefing. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but said two thirds of the dead are children and women.
Another 70,043 had been wounded since Oct. 7, it said.
The ministry said many casualties remain under the rubble and first responders have been unable to retrieve them amid the relentless bombing.
The war began after Hamas-led militants rampaged across southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 people hostage.