Israel-Hamas war latest: Israel will do 'whatever is necessary' to bring home north border residents

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that returning residents evacuated from Israel’s north due to cross-border fighting with Hezbollah is now an official war goal.

Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire daily, coming close to a full-blown war on several occasions and forcing tens of thousands on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes.

Visiting White House envoy Amos Hochstein met with Netanyahu and other top officials Monday to try to soothe tensions and avoid the opening of a new front between Israel and Lebanon. Netanyahu told the envoy that Israel will do “whatever is necessary” to bring home the residents.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Oct. 7. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war has caused vast destruction and displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million.

Here’s the latest:

Israel’s security agency says it’s foiled a Hezbollah attempt to kill a former senior official

JERUSALEM — Israel’s internal security agency says it foiled an attempt by Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group to kill a former senior Israeli security official.

The Shin Bet said in a statement on Tuesday that it had found an explosive device fitted with a camera and a mechanism that would allow it to be activated by Hezbollah from Lebanon. It said the attack was to be carried out in the coming days.

The Shin Bet did not provide evidence linking the device to Hezbollah, which has been trading fire with Israel along the Lebanese border since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

It did not say where the device was found or identify the target of the attack, but said the official had been notified. It said the device was similar to one found in a park in Tel Aviv in September 2023 that it said was intended to target a senior Israeli official.

That device went off without causing any injuries. The Shin Bet said Hezbollah was behind both planned attacks.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.

In recent days Israeli officials have warned of a wider military operation to halt Hezbollah rocket attacks and allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return to their homes in the north.

At least 4 killed in an Israeli strike on homes in central Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian officials say Israel has struck a number of homes in the central Gaza Strip, killing at least four people, including a child. The Civil Defense first responders say more people are trapped under the rubble and the toll is likely to rise after the strikes early Tuesday.

Another strike late Monday in Gaza City killed a man, his wife and child, according to the Civil Defense.

Israel says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It accuses Hamas and other armed groups of endangering civilians by operating in densely populated areas.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, which was ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says a little over half of those killed were women and children.

The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attacks and took another 250 hostage. They are still holding around 100 captives, a third of whom are believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released during a cease-fire in November.

Netanyahu tells US envoy Israel will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to allow residents in the north to return home

JERUSALEM — Returning residents evacuated from Israel’s north due to cross-border fighting with Hezbollah is now an official war goal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday.

Israeli officials have long said they aim to return the tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to their homes, so it was not immediately clear how the announcement would impact the conduct of the war. But it was a strong indication Israel is prepared to take tougher military action to realize that goal.

Visiting White House envoy Amos Hochstein met with Netanyahu and other top officials Monday to try to soothe tensions and avoid the opening of a new front between Israel and Lebanon.

Netanyahu told the envoy that Israel will do “whatever is necessary” to bring home the residents.

In a brief statement after an overnight Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu’s office said Israel will continue to work toward the goal — the latest sign that patience is running out.

Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire daily, coming close to a full-blown war on several occasions and forcing tens of thousands on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said the focal point of military action is moving from Gaza to Israel’s northern front. In talks with Hochstein on Monday, both he and Netanyahu warned that time was running out for a diplomatic solution and heavier military activity could be inevitable.

US airs frustration with Israel’s military about strikes in Gaza

UNITED NATIONS — The United States ambassador to the United Nations accused Israel’s military of striking schools, humanitarian workers and civilians in Gaza in a sign of growing American frustration with its close ally as the war approaches its first anniversary.

Israel has repeatedly said it targets Hamas militants, who often hide with civilians and use them as human shields, in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and launched the war in Gaza.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield was unusually outspoken against the Israeli military at a U.N. Security Council meeting Monday, saying many of the strikes in recent weeks that injured or killed U.N. personnel and humanitarian workers were preventable.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation.

Thomas-Greenfield told council members that the U.S. will keep raising the need for Israel to facilitate humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territory and protect humanitarian workers and facilities. She also reiterated outrage at the death of Turkish American activist Aysenur Eygi, who was shot and killed Sept. 6 during a protest in the West Bank. Israeli Defense Forces said it likely killed Eygi by mistake, and the government began a criminal investigation.