Israel warns Iran embassy is no longer safe after attack on consulate in Syria

The Israeli military announced on Sunday that it had withdrawn its troops from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, ending a critical phase of its ground offensive against Hamas militants and reducing its presence in the area to one of the lowest levels since six attacks. one. The Moon War begins.

Military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with army policy, said a “significant force” remained in Gaza and would retain the army’s “freedom of movement” to continue targeted operations across the territory, including Khan Yunis, which is a Hamas stronghold, has always been an Israeli stronghold. The main focus for months.

Still, the withdrawal is an important milestone as Israel and Hamas mark six months of fighting. Israeli officials said the 98th Parachute Division will rest and prepare for future operations. Israel previously claimed to have disbanded its armed forces in Khan Younis, the hometown of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Video captured by The Associated Press in Khan Younis on Sunday showed some people returning to an area surrounded by shattered multi-story buildings and crawling through the rubble to explore the shattered, dusty remains.

Israel has vowed to launch a ground offensive against Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, seen as Hamas’s last stronghold, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling his cabinet on Sunday that victory would mean “the elimination of Hamas in the entire Gaza Strip.” Sri Lanka, including Rafa.”

But Rafah shelters some 1.4 million people – more than half of Gaza’s population. The prospect of an offensive has alarmed the world, including Israel’s top ally, the United States, which has called for a credible plan to protect civilians. Allowing people to return to nearby Khan Younis could take some of the pressure off Rafah.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told ABC the U.S. believes Israel’s partial withdrawal “is really just to allow these troops who have been on the ground for four months to rest and regroup, but We can see that that doesn’t necessarily mean some incoming troops.” New operations for these forces. “

Early in the war, Israeli forces quietly withdrew from devastated northern Gaza. But it has continued to carry out airstrikes and raids in areas where Hamas is said to have re-emerged, including Gaza’s largest hospital, Shifa, leaving behind what the head of the World Health Organization called “an empty shell”.

Frustration has been growing in Israel for six months, with anti-government protests intensifying and anger over the government’s inaction to help free some 130 remaining hostages, about a quarter of whom Israel says already dead. On October 7, Hamas-led militants crossed into Israel from Gaza, captured approximately 250 prisoners, and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Negotiations for a ceasefire in exchange for the release of the hostages are expected to resume in Cairo on Sunday. An Israeli delegation led by the head of the Mossad intelligence agency will travel to Cairo, an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.

“Israel is ready to make a deal; Israel is not ready to surrender,” Netanyahu said, claiming that international pressure on Israel “will only lead to Hamas strengthening its position.”

The pressure to act is now mounting.

“This does not seem to be a war on terror. This no longer seems to be a war to defend Israel. At this point, it does seem to be a war against humanity.” Chef Jose Andres He told ABC that an Israeli airstrike killed seven of his World Central Kitchen colleagues in Gaza days earlier. pause.

“Humanity has been almost abandoned” in Gaza, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement marking six months of war.

The United Nations and partners now warn that more than 1 million people in Gaza face “imminent famine” and humanitarian workers urge Israel to ease restrictions on land aid, the only way some Palestinians are looking for weed to meet soaring demand. way.

Mothers who have given birth in Gaza since the war began are particularly vulnerable.

The Gaza Health Ministry said that in the past 24 hours, the bodies of 38 people killed in Israeli bombings had been transported to the remaining functioning hospitals in the area. An estimated 33,175 people have been killed since the war began. It did not distinguish between civilians and combatants but said two-thirds of the dead were children and women.

Israeli forces continued to suffer losses, including in Khan Younis, where the military said four soldiers were killed. According to the Israeli government, more than 600 Israeli soldiers have been killed since October 7, 260 of them in ground operations in Gaza.

Iran’s top military adviser has warned Israel that its embassy is not safe under any circumstances, as concerns over wider regional conflict continue Last week’s Damascus attack (blamed on Israel) killed two elite Iranian generals and razed the Iranian consulate building.

“The (Israeli) regime’s embassy is no longer safe,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted General Rahim Safavi, a military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as saying. “

Israel has yet to directly acknowledge its involvement. Netanyahu said Israel was ready for any response. “Whoever harms us or plans to harm us, we will harm them,” he said.