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Hamas looks for new leader amid Israeli strikes in Gaza and West Bank

  • A school in Gaza City has been hit by an Israeli air strike, killing 16 people, Palestinian authorities say.
  • The strike came on the same day Israel’s army said two air strikes in the West Bank killed nine Palestinian militants.
  • The US embassy in Lebanon has encouraged citizens to “book any ticket available” to exit, as fears of a regional escalation grow.

An Israeli air strike on a school housing displaced people in the northern part of the Gaza Strip has killed 16 and wounded 21, according to Palestinian authorities.

The Saturday afternoon air strike on Hamama School in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza City knocked out part of the complex, the Palestinian Civil Defense said.

After an initial air strike, one of the residents received a call from the Israeli military telling him the school would be attacked again, so people started running away and returned after the second air strike.

The strike came on the same day Israel’s army said two air strikes in the West Bank killed nine Palestinian militants, as violence flares again in the Israeli-occupied territory.

The US has urged Israel to seize the chance for a ceasefire after the shock killing of Hamas’s political leader in Iran, which Tehran blames on Israel.

Hamas issued a statement on Saturday saying it had initiated a broad consultation process to select a new leader following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

The assassination has fuelled concerns about a full-fledged regional war, with top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr also killed in Beirut.

The Australian government considers Hamas and Hezbollah to be terrorist organisations.

Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, vowed to retaliate against Israel, which said it killed Shukr but has not confirmed or denied its role in Haniyeh’s death.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said a short-range projectile was behind the killing and accused the United States of supporting the attack.

The Pentagon said late on Friday the US military would move a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region.

Despite the escalation, efforts to find a diplomatic solution continue.

On Saturday, an Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea arrived in Cairo, an Egyptian official said.

The delegation, which also included Ronan Bar, chief of Israel’s internal security agency Shin Bet, was to meet with Abbas Kamel, head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, for talks on the Philadelphi corridor along the border with Egypt and the Rafah crossing point, the official said.

The delegation left Cairo hours later and there was nothing new to report, said an Egyptian official, who has direct knowledge of the Gaza ceasefire negotiations and spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to brief reporters.

Israel says West Bank militants were set to carry out attack

In the northern West Bank, the Israeli army said its forces first struck a vehicle in a rural area outside the city of Tulkarem early on Saturday, killing the five occupants.

The army said they were on their way to carry out an attack.

Hamas identified all five as militants with the group, including a local commander.

According to an Associated Press journalist and witnesses, the blast took place along a road connecting the Palestinian villages of Zeita and Qaffin.

Later on Saturday, Israel’s military said it killed four other Palestinian militants in the Tulkarem area shortly after they opened fire on Israeli troops.

No further information was immediately available.

More than 590 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza in October, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Most have been killed during Israeli raids and violent protests.

In Gaza, at least 39,550 Palestinians have been killed in the nearly 10 months, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

Israel has accused Hamas of embedding in the civilian population and putting it at risk.

The invasion was in response to Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 200 taken hostage.

Americans urged to ‘book any ticket’ out of Lebanon

The US embassy in Lebanon encouraged citizens who wish to leave to “book any ticket available”, noting that several airlines have suspended or cancelled flights.

The British government called on its citizens in Lebanon to “leave now”.

US President Joe Biden on Thursday said he had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seize the chance for a ceasefire with Hamas, adding that Haniyeh’s killing had “not helped” efforts to negotiate an end to the war.

Mr Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.

Blast reported near ship off Yemen

Britain’s marine security agency on Saturday reported a small explosion near a vessel 170 nautical miles east of Yemen’s Aden, an area where Houthi militants have been targeting commercial ships in solidarity with Palestinians.

UKMTO initially said the incident happened south-west of Aden.

“An armed security team observed a small explosion near the vessel,” the UKMTO advisory said, quoting the master of the MV Groton, who said there was no damage and all crew members were safe.

If the Houthis claim responsibility, the incident would be their first since Israel carried out a retaliatory air strike against the group in the port of Hodeidah.

International shipping in the region has been disrupted by Houthi attacks since November.

The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Article link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-04/hamas-looks-for-new-leader-amid-israeli-strikes/104181060
Article source: ABC | 4 August 2024

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