Israel and Hamas Each Claim Wins in Fierce Fighting in Northern Gaza
The New York Times
As the renewed clashes in the north of the enclave neared the three-month mark, there was no sign of them abating.
After nearly three months of an intensified Israeli military campaign in northern Gaza to quell what Israel has said is a Hamas resurgence, fighting raged unabated on Monday, with each side claiming successes against the other’s fighters.
The Israeli military released a statement saying that one soldier had been killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip and that three members of the same brigade had been severely injured in the same clash. The statement provided no additional details.
The military wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, said it had destroyed an Israeli vehicle in the northern town of Beit Hanoun, killing and wounding an unspecified number of soldiers. The militant group also said that it had targeted Israeli soldiers in another northern town, Jabaliya, killing five.
The Israeli military declined to comment, saying it does not respond to the announcements of “terror organizations.”
For its part, the Israeli military announced that it had killed and arrested “multiple” militants in an overnight operation near Jabaliya as they were trying to “flee, deploy deception tactics and conduct ambushes.” It said that action followed a “targeted operation” against a Hamas command center “embedded inside Kamal Adwan Hospital” in the same area over the weekend that led to the arrest of more than 240 militants.
Israel said its troops were “continuing to operate" in the area.
Iranian state media said Mojtaba Khamenei had released his first written statement as supreme leader, vowing that Iran would continue to block the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil route. Global oil markets have been roiled by the war.
The Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil, is all but closed as war in the Middle East expands. A British agency said three ships were hit by unidentified projectiles in or near the strait.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that “the most fighters, the most bombers” would be deployed. A day earlier, President Trump sent mixed signals on when the war might end.
Top clerics said Mojtaba Khamenei will succeed his slain father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Israeli military said it was attacking Tehran and Beirut early Monday, and Iran said it had launched missiles toward Israel.
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The Israeli military said it was striking Iran’s capital while pounding Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, as fighting there intensified. Iran said it was targeting Tel Aviv, the country’s state news agency reported.
Iranian drones landed in Azerbaijan, a day after NATO shot down a missile headed to Turkish airspace. Italy pledged air defense weapons to help Gulf nations defend against Iran’s retaliatory attacks.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military campaign against Iran was accelerating, with more warplanes arriving in the region. Earlier, Turkey said NATO had shot down an Iranian missile heading to Turkish airspace.
Iran targeted American sites throughout the region as President Trump said the United States was ready for a protracted fight. U.S. embassies and Amazon data centers were among the sites struck.
The Iran-backed militant group launched rockets into Israel as Iran fired on Israel and Arab states. President Trump told The New York Times that the U.S. planned to keep up the assault on Iran for “four or five weeks.”