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Israel Says War Enters New Stage, Gaza Death Toll Rises to 7,700

A picture taken from near the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 28, 2023, shows smoke raising during an Israeli strike in the northern Gaza Strip. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP)
A picture taken from near the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 28, 2023, shows smoke raising during an Israeli strike in the northern Gaza Strip. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP)
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Israel Says War Enters New Stage, Gaza Death Toll Rises to 7,700

A picture taken from near the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 28, 2023, shows smoke raising during an Israeli strike in the northern Gaza Strip. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP)
A picture taken from near the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 28, 2023, shows smoke raising during an Israeli strike in the northern Gaza Strip. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP)

Israel on Saturday expanded its ground operation in Gaza, sending in tanks and infantry backed by massive strikes from the air and sea. Israel’s defense minister said that “the ground shook in Gaza” and that the war against Hamas had entered a new stage.

The bombardment also knocked out most communications in Gaza. This largely cut off the besieged enclave’s 2.3 million people from the world, while enabling the Israeli military to control the narrative in the new stage of fighting.

The military released grainy images Saturday showing tank columns moving slowly in open areas of Gaza, many apparently near the border, and said warplanes bombed dozens of Hamas tunnels and underground bunkers. The underground sites are a key target in Israel’s campaign to crush the territory’s ruling group after its bloody incursion into Israel three weeks ago.

“We moved to the next stage in the war,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in remarks broadcast Saturday. “Last evening, the ground shook in Gaza. We attacked above ground and underground. ... The instructions to the forces are clear. The campaign will continue until further notice.”

His comments signaled a gradual ramping up toward what is expected to evolve into an all-out ground offensive in northern Gaza.

Until now, troops had conducted brief nightly ground incursions before returning to Israel.

The Palestinian death toll in Gaza on Saturday rose to just over 7,700 people since Oct. 7, with 377 deaths reported since late Friday, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. A majority of those killed have been women and minors, the ministry said.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra told reporters that the disruption of communications has “totally paralyzed” the health network. Residents had no way of calling ambulances, and emergency teams were chasing the sounds of artillery barrages and airstrikes to search for people in need.

Israel’s military once again ordered Palestinians in northern Gaza and Gaza City to move south as its troops expand their ground offensive in the territory.

“This is an urgent military advisory from the Israel Defense Forces,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a military spokesperson, said in a video message posted on X.

“For your immediate safety, we urge all residents of northern Gaza and Gaza City to relocate south immediately. This is a temporary measure. Moving back to northern Gaza will be possible once the intense hostilities end.”

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Arab World

West Bank on Verge of ‘Explosion’, Says Senior Palestinian Official

Israeli soldiers take positions during an army raid in the Rafidia area of Nablus, West Bank, 19 October 2026. (EPA)
Israeli soldiers take positions during an army raid in the Rafidia area of Nablus, West Bank, 19 October 2026. (EPA)
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West Bank on Verge of ‘Explosion’, Says Senior Palestinian Official

Israeli soldiers take positions during an army raid in the Rafidia area of Nablus, West Bank, 19 October 2026. (EPA)
Israeli soldiers take positions during an army raid in the Rafidia area of Nablus, West Bank, 19 October 2026. (EPA)

Israeli settler attacks risk setting off an "explosion" in the occupied West Bank, a senior Palestinian leader told AFP, while urging that the response remain peaceful.

Jibril Rajoub, the secretary general of the central committee of the Palestinian Authority's ruling Fatah faction, said he called for "peaceful confrontation" as he took part in meetings in Cairo with other Palestinian movements including Gaza-based rival Hamas, which led the October 7, 2023 attacks against Israel.

"The terrorism carried out by the army and settlers, under the supervision of the Israeli government... is a prelude to a coming reaction and explosion," Rajoub told AFP in Cairo.

But he said that a "peaceful, nonviolent struggle is a necessity and a strategic choice for all Palestinians".

"Bloodshed is no longer an acceptable option," he said, calling for "peaceful confrontation with the occupation, despite the crimes it commits".

Settlers have carried out daily physical attacks, thefts and other attacks against Palestinians, with the violence intensifying in the run-up to October 27 elections, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, governing with the fiercely pro-settlement far-right, is seeking a new mandate.

Violence has picked up as extremist settlers seek to stop the Palestinian olive harvest, an annual season with cultural resonance for the community.

More than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, surrounded by around three million Palestinians.

The talks in Cairo came after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who has ruled since 2005, delayed elections slated to start next month until September 2027.

Rajoub said the talks called for "unified political representation" with the principle of a "single authority" and "only one legitimate armed force".

Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, dividing the two Palestinian territories. Israel has vowed to obliterate Hamas after the October 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest day in Israel's history. The Hamas attack resulted in 1,221 deaths.

At least 1,125 Palestinians have died in the West Bank since October 2023, mostly by the Israeli military, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.

Settler attacks have killed 23 Palestinians in that timeframe, according to the United Nations.

Palestinian attacks have killed at least 49 Israelis in the same period, according to Israeli figures.

In Gaza, the Israeli offensive has killed 74,459 Palestinians since October 2023, according to figures under the health ministry run under Hamas. The United Nations generally considers the figures reliable.

Arab World

Israel to Resume Commercial Shipments to Gaza After Hamas Fee Dispute

Tents are pictured by the rubble of collapsed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on October 19, 2026. (AFP)
Tents are pictured by the rubble of collapsed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on October 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel to Resume Commercial Shipments to Gaza After Hamas Fee Dispute

Tents are pictured by the rubble of collapsed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on October 19, 2026. (AFP)
Tents are pictured by the rubble of collapsed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on October 19, 2026. (AFP)

Israel said on ‌Monday it would resume allowing commercial goods shipments into Gaza after a days-long halt over a tax dispute involving Hamas and merchants, restoring a key route for food and other essentials to the aid-dependent enclave.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency overseeing humanitarian affairs in Gaza, said it made the decision after merchants reported that Hamas authorities had withdrawn demands for payments of 10,000 shekels ($3,225) per truck.

"The resumption of coordination is being carried ‌out in accordance ‌with Israel's commitment to the ‌humanitarian provisions ⁠of the ceasefire agreement," ⁠it said.

COGAT said the merchants' accounts had not been independently verified and shipments would resume gradually, with priority given to essential goods ahead of winter.

Oversight would be tightened to ensure payments are made and received only through documented bank transfers, with any merchant ⁠found to have paid Hamas facing ‌exclusion from the system.

Hamas said ‌the 10,000-shekel fee was a voluntary contribution by better-off Gazans ‌to a national fund supporting people in need in ‌the war-ravaged territory.

Most Gazans remain dependent on aid after three years of war, repeated displacement and severe restrictions on aid deliveries. While last year's US-brokered ceasefire halted the heaviest ‌fighting, it has not ended Israeli attacks.

Local health officials said on Monday ⁠that at ⁠least five Palestinians, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed in separate Israeli strikes in Gaza City and Khan Younis. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

Israel says Hamas has continued to rearm and carry out attacks in violation of the ceasefire, while Hamas accuses Israel of undermining the agreement.

Gaza health officials say about 1,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the October 2025 ceasefire, while Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed by fighters in Gaza over the same period.

Arab World

Dawn of Yemen Operation Piles Pressure on Houthis in Taiz

A member of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, including National Army and Taiz Axis forces, mans a turret mounted on the back of a pickup truck at a checkpoint along the Kadha frontline west of Taiz in western Yemen on September 13, 2026. (AFP)
A member of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, including National Army and Taiz Axis forces, mans a turret mounted on the back of a pickup truck at a checkpoint along the Kadha frontline west of Taiz in western Yemen on September 13, 2026. (AFP)
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Dawn of Yemen Operation Piles Pressure on Houthis in Taiz

A member of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, including National Army and Taiz Axis forces, mans a turret mounted on the back of a pickup truck at a checkpoint along the Kadha frontline west of Taiz in western Yemen on September 13, 2026. (AFP)
A member of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, including National Army and Taiz Axis forces, mans a turret mounted on the back of a pickup truck at a checkpoint along the Kadha frontline west of Taiz in western Yemen on September 13, 2026. (AFP)

The "Dawn of Yemen" operation entered its 15th day amid sustained military pressure against Iran-backed Houthi militias on the Taiz and Marib fronts.

Government forces continued offensive operations to retake Houthi-held positions, supported by airstrikes on militia gatherings and reinforcements, with Yemeni military estimates placing Houthi casualties at over 15,000 dead and wounded in recent weeks.

The Yemeni Armed Forces said they carried out 1,326 operations over the past 24 hours, striking Houthi gatherings, vehicles, fortifications, and firing positions.

According to an initial toll, the operations resulted in the neutralization of around 370 militants and the destruction and disabling of dozens of military vehicles and assets.

In Taiz, clashes continued across multiple axes, as government forces advanced backed by the popular resistance, and the recapture of positions, heavy weapons, and military equipment.

Meanwhile, the Houthis are seeking to reorganize their ranks and reinforce combat positions following the collapse of attacks described as some of the fiercest over the past two days.

Government forces made advances in the Al-Sanamat and Al-Sarari areas of the Saber district, south of Taiz, following an offensive that began at dawn on Sunday, according to military sources. They reported significant casualties among the Houthis.

Houthi supporters ride in pickup trucks carrying portraits and the coffin of a fighter killed in recent fighting during a funeral procession in Sanaa, Yemen, 17 October 2026. (EPA)

Warplanes launched three airstrikes targeting group gatherings northwest of the city.

Government forces also maintained pressure on the remaining Houthi pockets in the Bab al-Mandeb area, while working to secure the highlands separating the Taiz and Lahj governorates.

The effort aims to consolidate the positions recaptured by the forces and prevent the militants from using them to launch counterattacks.

In Aden, an expanded security meeting chaired by Yemeni Minister of Interior Major General Ibrahim Haydan discussed the latest security developments, general mobilization, and the level of readiness within security agencies across governorates.

The meeting also addressed ongoing efforts to combat crime, pursue wanted individuals, and apprehend subversive cells.