Israel hits Gaza from land, sea and air as Hamas halts talks

JERUSALEM: The Palestinian health ministry said one person was killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank on Sunday, a day after a deadly series of air strikes in the occupied territory.
The Israeli military launched a major offensive in the West Bank last month dubbed “Iron Wall” aimed at rooting out Palestinian armed groups from the Jenin area, which has long been a hotbed of militancy.
The Palestinian health ministry said Sunday that a 73-year-old man had been killed by Israeli gunfire in the city’s adjacent refugee camp.
Witnesses reported a “large” deployment of Israeli forces in the morning around the towns of Tubas and Tamun, southeast of Jenin.
An AFP journalist said the army was blocking the exits of the nearby Faraa refugee camp and entering homes. Drones were also visible in the sky.
The army said early on Sunday that a “tactical group” had begun operations around Tamun and uncovered weapons.
It added it was “extending the counterterrorism operation... to five villages.”
It also distributed leaflets in Arabic saying the operation was meant to “eradicate armed criminals, the lackeys of Iran.”
The Israeli government accuses Iran, which backs armed groups across the Middle East including Hamas in Gaza, of attempting to send weapons and money to militants in the West Bank.
The leaflets warned residents not to approach Israeli forces.
On Saturday, Israel conducted two air strikes in Jenin, and also “struck and eliminated a terrorist cell on its way to carry out an imminent terrorist attack” in Qabatiya, the military said adding “two terrorists” were killed.
“After the strike, secondary explosions due to explosives that were inside the vehicle were identified,” it said on Sunday.
Islamic Jihad’s military wing confirmed in a statement on Sunday that two of its fighters were among those killed.
The military said one of those killed had been released from Israeli detention in 2023 as part of the first truce in the Gaza war.
The Palestinian health ministry said on Saturday evening that Israeli strikes in the Jenin area had killed five people, including a 16-year-old.
When asked about that strike, the military told AFP it had “struck armed terrorists.”
Violence has surged across the West Bank since the Gaza war broke out in 2023.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 882 Palestinians, including many militants, in the West Bank since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
At least 30 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military raids in the territory over the same period, according to Israeli official figures.

DOHA: Qatar’s prime minister on Sunday called on Israel and Hamas to immediately begin negotiating phase two of the Gaza ceasefire, adding that there is no clear plan for when talks will begin.
“We demand (Hamas and Israel) to engage immediately as stipulated in the agreement,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said at a press conference held jointly with Turkiye’s foreign minister in the Qatari capital Doha on Sunday.
According to the ceasefire agreement, negotiations on implementing the second phase of the deal should begin before the 16th day of phase one of the ceasefire, which is Monday.
Israel and Hamas last month reached a complex three-phase accord that has halted the fighting in Gaza. Hamas has so far released 18 hostages in exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
There are more than 70 hostages still held in Gaza.
The second stage of the accord is expected to include Hamas releasing all remaining hostages held in Gaza, a permanent end to hostilities and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.
“There is nothing yet clear about where the delegations will come and when it’s going to take place,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
Mediators have engaged with Hamas and Israel over the phone and Qatar has set an agenda for the next phase of negotiations, he said.
“We hope that we start to see some movement in the next few days. It’s critical that we get things rolling from now in order to get to an agreement before day 42.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he would begin negotiations on phase two of the agreement on Monday in Washington, when he is set to meet US President Donald Trump’s Middle East Envoy, Steve Witkoff.
During his meeting with Witkoff, Netanyahu will discuss Israel’s positions in respect to the ceasefire, the prime minister’s office said. Witkoff will then speak with officials from Egypt and Qatar, who have mediated between Israel and Hamas over the past 15 months with backing from Washington.