Israel-Hamas war latest: Israeli military orders evacuation of part of humanitarian zone in Gaza

The Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of part of a crowded area in the Gaza Strip it had designated a humanitarian zone, while the Health Ministry in Gaza says over 39,000 Palestinians have now been killed in the nine-month war.

The military said Monday it plans an operation against Hamas militants who have embedded themselves in the area and used it to launch rockets toward Israel. The area includes the eastern part of the Muwasi humanitarian zone in southern Gaza.

Earlier this month, Israel said it estimates at least a million Palestinians are now in the humanitarian zone that covers about 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) along the Mediterranean. Much of the area is full of tent camps that lack sanitation and medical facilities and have limited access to aid.

The announcements came during delicate negotiations seeking a cease-fire. Egypt, Qatar and the United States are pushing Israel and Hamas toward a phased deal that would stop the fighting and free remaining hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has said a negotiating team will be sent to continue talks on Thursday.

Netanyahu left Monday for Washington, where he will make a speech before the U.S. Congress and meet with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Here’s the latest:

The toll in Gaza since the war began is now over 39,000. That's according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry doesn't distinguish between Palestinian civilians and combatants in its count.

The new toll comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes his way to the United States to meet with President Joe Biden and address Congress to make his case in the nine-month war against Hamas.

New Israeli strikes near the southern city of Khan Younis killed at least 37 people on Monday, according to the ministry, the morgue at Nasser Hospital and journalists who saw the bodies. The strikes took place as hundreds of people were evacuating following a new order from the Israeli military.

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military announced on Monday the deaths of two Israeli hostages being held in Gaza.

The military said that they had determined the deaths of Yagev Buchshtab, 35, and Alex Dancyg, 76, who were kidnapped from their homes in southern Israel on Oct. 7, based on intelligence.

The military did not say when the hostages had died.

Dancyg, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, marked his 76th birthday on Sunday. According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Dancyg worked for over 30 years at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, and passed time in captivity by giving history lectures to the other hostages.

Yagev Buchstab, 35, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nirim on Oct. 7 along with his wife, Rimon Buchshtab-Kirsht. Rimon was released during the November ceasefire deal after 50 days in captivity.

There are approximately 120 hostages still being held in Gaza, though Israel believes more than 40 are no longer alive.

Monday’s announcement heightens pressure on the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a cease-fire proposal that could secure the return of the hostages still held in Gaza and end the nine-month war.

Netanyahu left for a trip to the United States on Monday morning, accompanied by some of the families of the hostages and released hostages. Other families of the hostages pleaded with Netanyahu to reach a deal before he left for the trip, worried that time was running out.

A negotiating team will be sent to continue talks on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — Thousands of Palestinians collected their belongings and once again began evacuating part of the area of the Gaza Strip designated by the Israeli military as a humanitarian zone.

“We were displaced from the eastern regions, they called us to evacuate, we took our children and left,” said Osama Qudeih. “There was no safe place left in the Gaza Strip … We went out walking in the streets, not knowing where to go.” Thousands of families carrying backpacks and children walked down dusty roads under the scorching summer sun, navigating dilapidated cars filled with belongings tied on top.

Another woman collapsed in exhaustion after saying it was her seventh or eighth displacement. “Every day we are displaced,” said Kholoud al-Dadas, as she clutched her children. “Where are the countries? Where is the world, where are the presidents, where are they? Come and see how we are, our children, and what is happening to us.”

The area slated for evacuation included the eastern part of the al-Muwasi humanitarian zone, in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military called for an evacuation because it said that Hamas militants had embedded themselves in the area and launched frequent rockets towards Israel.

Additionally, one person was killed and three injured in a strike outside the Al Aqsa hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah on Monday morning, according to an Associated Press journalist on the scene.

Overnight, at least 15 people, including four women and six children, were killed in strikes in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to hospital officials and a body count by an Associated Press journalist. The Israeli military did not have immediate comment.

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said that one person was killed after he attempted to stab Israeli security forces with a knife at the entrance to an Israeli town along the Gaza border on Monday morning.

According to Israel’s Army Radio, the attacker arrived at the security checkpoint by car and in English started accusing Israel of carrying out atrocities in Gaza, before reaching into his car and taking out a knife. Security forces shot and killed the man. There were no other injuries reported.

The attack took place at the entrance of the Israeli town of Netiv Haasara, which is just 300 meters (yards) north of the Gaza border. Israeli police confirmed that the attacker was a Canadian citizen.

On Oct. 7, Netiv HaAsara was attacked and 20 residents were killed, after the gunmen passed over the concrete border wall using paragliders, according to Israeli military officials. Israel has experienced a wave of stabbing attacks across the country during the nine-month war in Gaza, though few have taken place along the Israel-Gaza border, which has heavy military presence.

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for Washington on Monday, leaving behind a brutal war to make a politically precarious speech before the U.S. Congress at a time of great uncertainty following Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race.

With efforts ongoing to bring about a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, rising concerns about the war spreading to Lebanon and Yemen, and the U.S. in the midst of a dizzying election campaign, Netanyahu’s speech has the potential to cause disarray on both sides of the ocean.

The risks only increased with Biden’s decision Sunday to drop out of the race for president, especially since the choice of a replacement Democratic nominee — and the potential next American leader — are still up in the air.

Before stepping on the plane, Netanyahu said he would emphasize the theme of Israel’s bipartisanship in his speech and said Israel would remain America’s key ally in the Middle East “regardless who the American people choose as their next president.”

“In this time of war and uncertainty, it’s important that Israel’s enemies know that America and Israel stand together,” he said, adding that he will meet Biden during his trip and thank him for his support for Israel.

Netanyahu is scheduled to address Congress on Wednesday. He is also expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen early Sunday, hours after Israeli warplanes struck several Houthi targets in the Arabian Peninsula country.

The Israeli airstrikes — in response to a deadly Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv — were the first time Israel is known to have responded to repeated Houthi attacks throughout its nine-month war against Hamas. The burst of violence between the distant enemies has threatened to open a new front as Israel battles a series of Iranian proxies across the region.

The Israeli army late Saturday confirmed the airstrikes in the western Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold and crucial entry point for aid and other supplies. It said the strikes, carried out by dozens of aircraft, including U.S.-made F-15 and F-35 warplanes, were a response to hundreds of Houthi attacks.

The Health Ministry in Yemen said the Israeli strikes killed six people and wounded 83 others, many with severe burns from a major fire. Another three people were missing, the ministry said in a statement shared by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.