Gaza refugee camp hit just days after one of deadliest attacks in war killed 87

Israel unleashed an aerial assault and ground invasion on Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp Monday, demolishing homes and schools and killing at least 18 people.

The attack came days after a strike on the city of Beit Lahiya that local officials said buried 87 people in the rubble in one of the deadliest attacks on the war-ravaged enclave in months.

Medics at the Indonesian Hospital just outside the refugee camp said Israeli soldiers stormed a nearby school and arrested multiple people before setting it on fire. The fire spread to the hospital, shutting down the power, they said. Staff said they refused orders to evacuate and leave their patients unattended.

Israel has ramped up attacks at the refugee camp in recent weeks, saying it is targeting Hamas fighters in the area. Witnesses said dozens of men were arrested and people were rounded up and ordered to leave after Israel stormed the shelters.

The Israeli military said it "destroyed terrorist infrastructures and tunnel shafts" in the area and eliminated dozens of militants.

Hamas said its fighters ambushed a convoy in the camp that included a tank, an armored personnel carrier and two bulldozers, blowing up a load of explosives and the equipment and killing and wounding an unidentified number of Israeli soldiers.

Developments:

∎ Sam Rose, director of planning at the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, says people in Gaza are living in "absolutely unimaginable conditions." Rose, in an interview with Al Jazeera from southern Gaza, cited a full year of "repeated displacement, bombardment, loss of life, loss of property, deprivation and lack of food and water.”

∎ The German government called on Israel to “clarify every incident” involving the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. On Sunday, the U.N. peacekeeping force said an Israeli army bulldozer "deliberately demolished” an observation tower and fence in southern Lebanon, where Israel has launched a ground offensive.

US investigates leak on intelligence: Probe targets Israel's Iran attack plans

Hack or leak? US still investigating Israeli retaliation plan disclosure

The U.S. remains "deeply concerned" about the public disclosure of classified documents describing Israel's preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran, John Kirby, the White House spokesman on national security issues, said Monday. Kirby said the administration has not yet determined whether the material was leaked or hacked. He said there was no indication that additional documents were compromised and that administration officials have been in communication with Israeli counterparts about the leak, Kirby said.

Israel has threatened severe retaliation against Iran for a missile bombardment Oct. 1, although few of the missiles eluded Israeli defenses.

The documents were revealed on the Telegram messaging app last week. They appear to have been prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and describe U.S. interpretations of Israeli Air Force and Navy planning based in part on satellite imagery from Oct. 15-16. The Pentagon said it is looking into the leak.

Israeli national security minister urges Palestinians to leave Gaza

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, speaking at a “Preparing to Resettle Gaza” rally and conference, again called for Palestinians to voluntarily leave Gaza. Ben-Gvir said “encouraging emigration” of the Palestinian population is the most ethical solution for the territory, adding "not by force." Posters saying "Gaza is ours. Forever" advertised the event, and Ben-Gvir stressed his belief that Israelis have a right to establish Jewish settlements in Gaza.

Several lawmakers in Netanyahu's Likud party also were scheduled to attend the conference organized by the Nachala Settlement Movement, which is promoting establishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza. Nachala also advocates for Jewish settlement in the West Bank and has helped establish illegal outposts there.

Blinken making 11th trip to Middle East since war began

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was leaving Monday for a five-day trip to Israel and other nations in the Middle East, his 11th trip since Israel’s war on Gaza began more than a year ago. According to a State Department statement, Blinken will begin his trip in Israel and meet other regional leaders about the importance of ending the war, freeing the Israeli hostages held in Gaza and “alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people."

Blinken will also discuss plans for postwar Gaza and emphasize "a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives,” the statement said.

Israeli leader targeted: Drone launched at Netanyahu's home

Iran-backed militants under siege

Israel has stepped up its attacks against Hamas militants and infrastructure in recent weeks. Attacks have also been increased against Hezbollah in Lebanon, bringing that front to the brink of all-out war.

And last week the Pentagon announced that it had deployed B-2 Spirit bombers to the Middle East to destroy targets in Yemen controlled by rebel Houthi forces. The Houthis have conducted repeated attacks on U.S. and international vessels in the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden since the war in Gaza began.

Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis all are financed and backed by Iran, which also backs Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria's armed forces. Tehran calls these groups an "axis of resistance" against Israel.

"The time has come for the U.S. administration to assert its leadership in the Middle East, by telegraphing through action to Iran that the chapter of Iran’s spreading instability throughout the region has come to a close," Avi Melamed, a regional analyst and former Israeli intelligence official, told USA TODAY. "A new page must be turned for the sake of the Middle East and the world at large.”

French leader hopeful Sinwar's death will expedite cease-fire

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that he believes the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar presents an opportunity for cease-fire negotiations in Gaza. Macron’s office said Macron reached out to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express support after Hezbollah launched a drone toward the prime minister’s house on Saturday.

On Thursday, Israel announced the death of Sinwar, viewed as the mastermind behind the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 that ignited the war. The militant group has not announced a successor to Sinwar, and it is unclear what impact his death could have on cease-fire negotiations. Hamas issued a statement, however, saying there would be no release of hostages until the war is over and Israeli forces have left Gaza.

Northern Gaza city hit with deadliest strike in months

The assault on the Jabalia refugee camp came two days after local officials said 87 people were killed or still missing and 40 were wounded by Israel's bombing of the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahia.

The Israeli military dismissed the Hamas-run ministry's numbers as "exaggerated," saying they “do not line up with the information available to the IDF, the precision munitions used, and the precise damage done."

More than 42,500 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes , according to health officials since the war began. Israel's siege of Gaza has displaced around 90% of the population and demolished two-thirds of all structures in the enclave, according to an analysis by the U.N.'s Satellite Center. An estimated 1.84 million people in Gaza are suffering from acute malnutrition, according to a report last week .

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gaza refugee camp hit just days after one of deadliest attacks in war killed 87