Battle | Bombings: Biden criticizes Israel

Israel says it has forced several Hamas terrorists to surrender. America is concerned about phosphorus weapons. All information on news blog.

Hamas terrorists entered the territory of Israel on October 7 and carried out massacres. Israel has been attacking targets in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip ever since. This news blog keeps you updated on current developments:

1:57 am: The Israeli Air Force says it has struck Shiite militia Hezbollah positions in neighboring Lebanon. A fighter jet bombed a launch site and military infrastructure after rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel, the military said on Wednesday night. In response to Syria’s shelling, Israeli aircraft and tanks fired on Syrian army positions.

Since the Gaza war began after the assassination of Hamas in Israel on October 7, the Israel-Lebanon border region has seen repeated clashes between Israel’s military and militant groups such as Hezbollah. It was the worst escalation since the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

Israel’s air force continues to bomb targets in neighboring civil war-torn Syria. Israel wants to prevent its arch-enemy Iran from expanding its military influence in Syria with the help of allied fighters. Iran, along with Russia, is the Syrian government’s most important ally.

9:21 pm: US President Joe Biden has called for a reversal of Israel’s crackdown on the Gaza Strip. Israel is losing support because of indiscriminate coastal bombing, Biden tells campaign donors. He added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must bring about a change in the government’s hard line. Behind Israel is the US, the EU, “much of the world”. “But they’re starting to lose that support with indiscriminate bombings.” Biden’s most critical comments on Netanyahu’s actions in the Gaza Strip to date.

9:17 PM: The Israeli military has begun pumping seawater into the Hamas tunnel complex in the Gaza Strip, a newspaper reported. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed U.S. officials, said it would help destroy tunnels where Israel believes the militant group is hiding hostages, fighters and ammunition. The process will probably take weeks, they say.

Flooding of tunnels is controversial – experts explain why in this video:

Video | Israel floods Hamas tunnel – experts worry

6:44 PM: The Israeli army says it has recovered the bodies of two more people who were abducted by Islamic terrorists from Israel to the Gaza Strip. Their bodies were returned to Israel and identified there, the army said. Accordingly, a 27-year-old woman and a 36-year-old officer in the Israeli army were abducted during the Hamas massacre at the Supernova ceremony. He was abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7. The families of both were informed on Tuesday. The Army initially did not provide any information on the cause of death in either case.

Former public servant Kady Eisenkot’s son was also killed during operations leading to the recovery of the bodies. Eisenkot is a member of Israel’s War Cabinet. The Israeli military announced last week that his 25-year-old son had died. The military said another 138 people were detained in the Gaza Strip. It is not clear if this includes hostages who have been declared dead. Israeli soldiers have already recovered many bodies in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Gaza war.

5:07 PM: According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US and Israel have different views on the future of the Gaza Strip after the war. Netanyahu explains that Gaza will not be ruled by Hamas or Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah. The US supports Israel in its goal of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages.