Strikes on Gaza kill 18 and stabbing in Israel kills 2 as fears of wider war spike

TEL AVIV, Israel -- Israeli strikes killed 18 people in Gaza early Sunday, including four Palestinians in a tent camp inside a hospital complex, while a stabbing attack by a Palestinian killed two people in a Tel Aviv suburb.

Tensions have soared following nearly 10 months of war in Gaza and the killing last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation, raising fears of an even more destructive regional war.

“The state of Israel is in a multi-front war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting, and said the country was ready for any scenario in defense or attack.

Jordan's foreign minister was making a rare trip to Iran as the United States and its Arab allies try to prevent a wider conflict. Already, Hamas says it has begun discussions on choosing a new leader.

The stabbing attack in Tel Aviv killed a woman in her 70s and an 80-year-old man, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service and a nearby hospital, and two other men were wounded. The police said the attack was carried out by a Palestinian militant, who was “neutralized.”

In Gaza, an Israeli strike hit a tent camp for thousands of displaced Palestinians in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, killing four people, including one woman, and injuring others, Gaza's Health Ministry said. An Associated Press journalist filmed men rushing to the scene to retrieve bodies while trying to extinguish the fire.

The Israeli military said it targeted a Palestinian militant in the strike, which it said caused secondary explosions, "indicating the presence of weaponry in the area.”

The hospital in Deir al-Balah is the main medical facility operating in central Gaza as many others in the territory no longer function. A separate strike on a home near Deir al-Balah killed a girl and her parents, according to the hospital.

Another strike flattened a house in northern Gaza, killing at least eight people, including three children, their parents and their grandmother, according to the Health Ministry. A further three people were killed in a strike on a vehicle in Gaza City, according to the Civil Defense first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government.

Palestinian militants in Gaza fired at least five projectiles at Israeli communities near the border without causing casualties or damage, the military said.

An Israeli strike on Saturday at a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City killed at least 16 people and wounded another 21, according to the Health Ministry, which announced the toll on Sunday. Israel’s military, which regularly accuses Palestinian militants of sheltering in civilian areas, said it struck a Hamas command center.

The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 people hostage.

Israel's massive offensive in response has killed at least 39,580 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Heavy airstrikes and ground operations have caused widespread destruction and displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people, often multiple times.

Hezbollah and Israel have continued to trade fire along the Lebanon border since the war began, with the severity growing in recent months. The militant group says it's aimed at relieving pressure on fellow Iran-backed ally Hamas. A growing number of countries, including the U.S., are encouraging citizens to leave Lebanon.

In the occupied West Bank, over 590 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the war in Gaza began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most have been killed during Israeli raids and violent protests. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three for their future state.

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Magdy reported from Cairo.

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