Latest | Israel’s two-day operation in the West Bank left 12 Palestinians dead and 25 injured

The Israeli military said Thursday that it had completed a two-day operation in the occupied West Bank that left 12 Palestinians dead and 25 injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Rippling tensions from the War between Israel and Hamas The consequences were also felt in the Red Sea when a rocket crashed into the water near the important Bab el-Mandeb strait on Thursday, but did not cause any damage. And in Lebanon, where an Israeli drone strike killed one person and injured three students who were passing by on a bus nearby, according to the state news agency National News Agency.

More than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel and Hezbollah began a firefight in Gaza the day after the latest war began.

Norway, Ireland and Spain said on Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state. The Palestinians welcomed the move as a validation of their decades-long aspirations, while Israel recalled its ambassadors from the three countries.

It was the second blow to Israel’s international reputation this week, after the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said he would apply for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister. The International Court of Justice is also examining allegations Genocide, which Israel has vigorously denied.

At least 35,000 Palestinians were killed. According to the Gaza Health Ministrywhich does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Then Israel started its war in Gaza The Hamas attack of October 7 Militants entered southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and abducting around 250.

At the moment:

— ICC prosecutor’s arrest warrant requests for Israel and Hamas leaders Initiate debate on the role of the court.

— Norway, Ireland and Spain recognize a Palestinian state in a historic step.

— Release of the families of Israeli hostages Video of female soldiers being captured by Hamas.

— First aid from the US pier in Gaza has reached the starving Palestinians, says the UN.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.

Here’s the latest:

Israel’s Foreign Ministry reprimands the ambassadors of Spain, Ireland and Norway

JERUSALEM – Israel’s Foreign Ministry has reprimanded the ambassadors of Spain, Ireland and Norway over their governments’ decision to recognize a Palestinian state.

The Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that the ambassadors had been summoned to the ministry and given a Video by Hamas militants who captured five female soldiers during the October 7 attack that sparked the war.

“The twisted decision of your governments is a price for Hamas,” the ministry quoted its director general Yaakov Blitshtein as saying. “Hamas congratulates you.”

He also warned them that this would have further implications for relations with the three European countries.

ISRAELI POLICE CLOSES JEWISH PILGRIMAGE SITE AHEAD OF FESTIVAL DUE TO SECURITY CONDITIONS

TEL AVIV, Israel – Israeli police have closed a Jewish pilgrimage site in northern Israel ahead of a major festival over fears the area could be a target of attacks by the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.

Tens of thousands of people, mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews, gather each year on the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer to honor Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a 2nd-century sage and mystic believed to be buried on Mount Meron. Large crowds, which can number as many as 100,000 people, light bonfires, pray and dance as part of the celebrations, which were scheduled for Saturday this year.

Since the war in Gaza began, Hezbollah has fired dozens of rockets at Mount Meron and nearby Safed, where a large Israeli military base is located. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged frequent attacks since the war began, mostly confined to the border area. Mount Meron is located about 10 kilometers south of the border with Lebanon.

The Israeli parliament passed an emergency law earlier this week to close the pilgrimage site because Hezbollah poses a threat. Instead of the big celebration, a small ceremony with around 30 participants will now take place.

The United Nations’ top court says it will rule on South Africa’s request for a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The United Nations’ top court will rule on Friday on South Africa’s latest emergency request that the judges order a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

South Africa’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, had called on the panel of 15 international judges to order Israel to “completely and unconditionally withdraw” from the Gaza Strip. Israel strongly denies the accusation of genocide and tells the International Court of Justice that it is doing everything in its power to protect the civilian population during its military operation in Gaza.

It was the third time that the International Court of Justice held hearings on the War in Gaza since South Africa filed a lawsuit in December before the court based in The Hague, Netherlands, accusing Israel of genocide.

The International Court of Justice said on Thursday that it would announce its decision at 1300 GMT on Friday afternoon, just days after the chief prosecutor of another Hague-based court, the International Criminal Court, announced that he had issued arrest warrants for Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is suing Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders over allegations related to the Gaza war.

In a probable attack by the Houthi rebels, a rocket splashes into the Red Sea and misses a nearby ship

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A missile splashed in Red Sea waters near the key Bab el-Mandeb strait on Thursday but caused no damage to a passing merchant ship in an attack likely carried out by DUBAI Yemen’s Houthi rebelssaid the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, but it may take hours or even days for them to acknowledge their attacks.

The Houthis have launched attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in recent months and are demanding that Israel War in the Gaza Stripin which more than 35,000 Palestinians were killed there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage.

The The Houthis have carried out more than 50 attacks According to the US Maritime Administration, one ship has been hijacked and another sunk since November.

Shipping traffic across the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden has declined due to the threat. However, the pace of Houthi attacks has slowed in recent weeks. The rebels have claimed to have shot down US surveillance drones.

Twelve Palestinians were killed in Israel’s two-day operation in the West Bank

TEL AVIV, Israel – The Israeli military said Thursday it had completed a two-day operation in the occupied West Bank. The operation left 12 Palestinians dead and 25 wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The military launched the operation on Tuesday in the city of Jenin and an adjacent refugee camp as part of a crackdown on militants in the area. The militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad said its fighters had been battling Israeli forces.

At least eight of the dead claimed militant groups as fighters: one from Hamas and seven from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed offshoot of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party. The Islamic Jihad group said an unspecified number of its fighters were killed.

Among those killed was a surgeon from a local hospital, according to Wissam Abu Baker, director of Jenin State Hospital. The surgeon was killed on his way to work, Abu Baker said.

The military did not initially provide further details about the operation.

Jenin and the adjacent urban refugee camp have long been a stronghold of the armed struggle against Israeli occupation, and the frequency of attacks by Israeli troops has increased during the war in Gaza.

Since the Gaza war began, violence in the West Bank has increased. The Palestinian Health Ministry says more than 500 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7. Many were shot in armed clashes during military raids, others for throwing stones or explosives at troops. People not involved in the clashes have also been killed.

According to the Lebanese News Agency, one student has been killed and three injured in an Israeli attack

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state news agency reports that an Israeli drone strike killed one person and injured three students who were passing by on a bus nearby.

The agency said Thursday morning’s attack damaged the bus and destroyed a car on a road leading to the southern market town of Nabatiyeh. The injured students were taken to area hospitals, it said.

The man killed was identified as Mohammed Farran, whom Hezbollah identified as one of its members.

Israeli airstrikes have killed numerous Hezbollah members in recent months.

The exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel began a day after the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7. Since then, over 400 people have been killed in Lebanon. Most of the dead were combatants, but over 70 were civilians and non-combatants.