Strikes in Gaza, stabbing near Tel Aviv amid fears of wider Mideast war

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir arrives to the site of a stabbing attack in Holon, Israel, on Sunday. Photo / Heidi Levine for the Washington Post

Dozens of Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza and two people were killed in a stabbing attack by a Palestinian in a Tel Aviv suburb, according to Gazan and Israeli authorities on Sunday, in a region on edge over fears of a wider war.

Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defense, said at least 30 people were killed and 16 were missing after afternoon strikes on the Hassan Salama and Nasser schools in Gaza City, where thousands of displaced people were sheltering.

The Israel Defence Forces said the strikes targeted Hamas militants who were using the schools as “command and control centres”.

“Numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the IDF said. On Telegram, Hamas accused Israel of “violating all international laws and norms”.

Gaza city resident Osama Labad, 35, was near Hassan Salama when he heard explosions and rushed to the scene. He described finding the building on fire and bodies in the courtyard, including children.

“I saw a mother trying to identify her daughter, who was completely cut up, and trying to wake her up and provide her with first aid,” he said.

An earlier Israeli strike hit a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah, around Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, leaving four people dead and 15 others injured, according to Khalil Daqran, a spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces said it “struck an operative that conducted terrorist activities”, adding that “secondary explosions were identified” during the strike, “indicating the presence of weaponry in the area”.

In Israel, two people were killed in a stabbing attack in Holon, a southern suburb of Tel Aviv, on Sunday, medical authorities and police said. Two others were injured in the attack, according to Israel’s national emergency service, Magen David Adom. Israeli police said they shot and killed the attacker at the scene, describing him as a Palestinian man who lived in the West Bank.

Among the victims was Rina Danib, 66, who was on a morning run with her husband, authorities said. Her husband Shimon, 69, was badly wounded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the “murderous terrorist attack” and expressed condolences to the victims’ families in a statement Sunday.

The attacks came amid soaring tensions between Israel and Iran - and its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon - following the killing of Hamas’ top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran and the killing of a Hezbollah senior commander, Fuad Shukr, in an Israeli airstrike near Beirut last week. Hezbollah and Iran blamed Haniyeh’s death on Israel and have threatened to retaliate; Israeli officials have declined to comment on the incident.

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire overnight, with the IDF reporting that “approximately 30 projectiles” were fired from Lebanon toward Israeli territory. The IDF said most were intercepted by air defence systems and there were no injuries, though it said one projectile landed in Beit Hillel, in northern Israel, and others landed in “open areas”.

Israel’s Air Force “struck the Hezbollah launcher from which the projectiles were launched”, the IDF said, and other sites in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah confirmed in a statement that it launched dozens of rockets toward Beit Hillel.

The IDF also reported about five launches from southern Gaza and said air raid sirens sounded around Lachish, Ashdod and Gan Yavne, in central Israel. The IDF said one of the projectiles fell near the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council in Nitzanim, but there were no injuries reported. The launches from Gaza were unusual, reaching as far as the coastal city of Ashdod, less than an hour’s drive from Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, was planning to hold a security meeting Sunday night to discuss preparations for an Iranian or Hezbollah attack.

“Our readiness in terms of defence is high,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday during a visit with Israeli soldiers. “If they dare to attack us, they will pay a heavy price.”

Foreign governments repeated warnings to their citizens to get out of Lebanon. The UK Foreign Office said its citizens “should leave now”. Australian, Canadian and French officials issued similar advisories.

White House deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer said in a Sunday interview with CBS News that the United States is “preparing for whatever may come” in Lebanon and that they encourage any Americans who wish to leave the country do so “while commercial options are available”.

“We’ve been quite clear that we’ll work with our ally Israel to defend itself against any threats that it faces, and we are in a moment that appears to be of heightened threat,” Finer said.

Israelis in Holon expressed fear following Sunday’s stabbings. Two passersby told the Washington Post they didn’t leave their home to go to work.

Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, visited the site of the attack and urged local residents to carry guns with them at all times. “Our war is not only against Iran, but also here in the streets,” he said in a post on X.