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Arab World

Israel Steps up Gaza Bombing on War’s First Anniversary, Civilians Desperate for Return to Calm

(FILES) People search for survivors and the bodies of victims through the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli bombardment, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 26, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)
(FILES) People search for survivors and the bodies of victims through the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli bombardment, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 26, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)
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Israel Steps up Gaza Bombing on War’s First Anniversary, Civilians Desperate for Return to Calm

(FILES) People search for survivors and the bodies of victims through the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli bombardment, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 26, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)
(FILES) People search for survivors and the bodies of victims through the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli bombardment, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 26, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)

Israel stepped up air and ground attacks on Hamas in Gaza, killing at least 52 people according to Palestinian medics, on the first anniversary of a war that has left most of the territory in ruins and shattered the lives of its people.

For its part on Monday, Hamas said it struck Israel's commercial capital Tel Aviv with a missile salvo, setting off sirens in central Israel. Two people were lightly injured, according to the Israeli ambulance service.

The rocket volley signaled Hamas' enduring ability to hit back despite a protracted Israeli military campaign that has seriously degraded its combat capacities, a year after the shock cross-border Hamas incursion into Israel that kindled the war.

Hamas' smaller ally Islamic Jihad said it hit Sderot, Nir Am and other Israeli towns near Gaza with rockets. The Israeli military said it intercepted five rockets fired from Gaza.

Hamas-led fighters stormed through Israeli towns and kibbutz villages near the border on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent offensive in Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry, displaced nearly all its 2.3 million people - many of them multiple times - and wrought a humanitarian crisis with hunger widespread and healthcare and critical infrastructure breaking down.

Israel says militants fight from the cover of built-up residential areas in the densely populated territory, including schools and hospitals. Hamas denies this.

On Monday, Israeli tanks advanced into Jabalia, the largest of Gaza Strip's eight historic urban refugee camps, after encircling it, residents said. Soon after the rocket volley, the Israeli military expanded evacuation orders in Jabalia to cover areas in the northern towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.

Residents said Israeli forces pounded Jabalia from the air and the ground, and medics said several Palestinians had been killed, with rescuers unable to reach some of the victims.

ISRAEL TARGETS HOSPITAL COMPOUND

The Israeli military said it killed dozens of fighters and dismantled military infrastructure in Jabalia, saying the operation would continue to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

In the central city of Deir Al-Balah, where a million displaced people are sheltering, an Israeli air strike hit tents inside Al-Aqsa Hospital, wounding 11 people, Palestinian medics said. The Israeli military said it struck at Hamas fighters operating from a command center embedded inside the hospital.

The Israeli army later ordered residents in some eastern neighborhoods of Khan Younis in southern Gaza to again leave their homes, and many families started doing so, loading belongings on donkey carts and rickshaws.

Israelis marked the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which has given rise to a multi-front conflict across the Middle East as Israel sharply escalates its campaign against the Iranian-backed movement Hezbollah in Lebanon.

US-backed Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt have been unable so far to broker a Gaza ceasefire that could also help defuse the Lebanon hostilities and see the release of hostages held in Gaza as well as many Palestinians jailed by Israel.

Israel and Hamas have traded blame for the failure so far to reach an agreement, with each accusing the other of adding conditions that are impossible to meet.

Hamas wants a deal that ends the war and gets Israeli forces out of Gaza, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed the war can end only with the eradication of Hamas.

In Gaza on Monday, uprooted Palestinian civilians expressed a desperate desire to go back to pre-war lives.

"Before Oct. 7, one had dreams. As a father, I have six children, my biggest burden was how to provide them with homes and get them married. But after Oct. 7, this came to nothing. After 58 years of work for me, same as my father - all of it went to dust and rocks," said Abu Hassan Shaheen.

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Arab World

Hamas Says Path for Gaza Must Begin with End to ‘Aggression’ 

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
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Hamas Says Path for Gaza Must Begin with End to ‘Aggression’ 

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)

Discussions on Gaza's future must begin with a total halt to Israeli "aggression", the Palestinian movement Hamas said after US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace met for the first time.

"Any political process or any arrangement under discussion concerning the Gaza Strip and the future of our Palestinian people must start with the total halt of aggression, the lifting of the blockade, and the guarantee of our people's legitimate national rights, first and foremost their right to freedom and self-determination," Hamas said in a statement Thursday.

Trump's board met for its inaugural session in Washington on Thursday, with a number of countries pledging money and personnel to rebuild the Palestinian territory, more than four months into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted however that Hamas must disarm before any reconstruction begins.

"We agreed with our ally the US that there will be no reconstruction of Gaza before the demilitarization of Gaza," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader did not attend the Washington meeting but was represented by his foreign minister Gideon Saar.

Trump said several countries had pledged more than seven billion dollars to rebuild the territory.

Muslim-majority Indonesia will take a deputy commander role in a nascent International Stabilization Force, the unit's American chief Major General Jasper Jeffers said.

Trump, whose plan for Gaza was endorsed by the UN Security Council in November, also said five countries had committed to providing troops, including Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania.

Arab World

Official Contacts Aim to Keep Lebanon out of War on Iran as Israel Raises Readiness on Northern Front 

This photograph shows a memorial for slain Lebanese Hezbollah longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah at the entrance of the southern village of Qannarit on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph shows a memorial for slain Lebanese Hezbollah longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah at the entrance of the southern village of Qannarit on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Official Contacts Aim to Keep Lebanon out of War on Iran as Israel Raises Readiness on Northern Front 

This photograph shows a memorial for slain Lebanese Hezbollah longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah at the entrance of the southern village of Qannarit on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph shows a memorial for slain Lebanese Hezbollah longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah at the entrance of the southern village of Qannarit on February 16, 2026. (AFP)

Israel has raised the alert level of its military along the border with Lebanon, raising questions that Lebanon’s south may again be involved in a regional confrontation should the US attack Iran.

Given the heightened tensions between the US and Iran, questions have been asked over whether Hezbollah will become involved in a new war. Its Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem had recently announced that the party will not remain on the side if Iran is attacked.

On the ground, Israel blew up houses in southern Lebanon border towns and carried out air strikes in the south. Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said the raids targeted “Hezbollah infrastructure,” including arms caches and rocket launchers.

Their presence in the south is a violation of current agreements, he added.

Amid the high regional tensions, Israel’s Maariv quoted a military source as saying that the army has come up with plans, including a preemptive strike against Hezbollah, which would drag the south and the whole of Lebanon into a new war.

Ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the presidency has been carrying out internal and foreign contacts since Thursday morning to keep Lebanon out of any escalation.

Hezbollah had launched a “support front” war against Israel a day after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack. In 2024, the war spiraled into an all-out conflict, with Israel decimating the Hezbollah leadership and severely weakening the party.

Israel believes that Hezbollah has been rebuilding its capabilities since the ceasefire that was struck in November 2024.

Kassim Kassir, a political analyst who is close to Hezbollah, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “No one knows what Hezbollah will do because the situation is tied the extent of the attack, should it happen.”

He noted that Qassem was ambiguous when he said the party will decide what to do when the time is right, but at any rate, he stressed that the party will not remain on the sidelines or abandon Iran.

“No one knows what Hezbollah’s abilities are, so everything is possible,” Kassir said.

Riad Kahwaji, a security and defense affairs expert, said he does not rule out the possibility that Hezbollah would join the war should the US attack Iran.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, he stressed that Iran is now the United States’ main target, when previously it used to confront its proxies.

It has now taken the fight directly to the heart of the problem, which is the Iranian regime, he remarked.

The extent of the military mobilization in the region and the frequent American statements about regime change all indicate that a major military operation may be imminent, he added.

Israel’s military also favors preemptive operations, so it is watching Hezbollah, which remains Iran’s most powerful regional proxy despite the blows it received in 2024 war, Kahwaji said.

Hezbollah still possesses a rocket arsenal that can threaten Israel, he remarked.

Israel’s high level of alert on the border with Lebanon could be in readiness for any development. Should Tel Aviv receive word from Washington that it intends to attack Iran, then it could launch operations against Hezbollah as part of preemptive strikes aimed at preventing the party from launching attacks against it, Kahwaji said.

“As long as Hezbollah possesses heavy weapons, such as rockets, and drones, that it has not handed over to the army, then Lebanon will continue to be vulnerable to attacks in the next confrontation. It will be exposed to Israeli strikes as long as this issue remains unresolved,” he added.

Arab World

Israel Keen to Attack Iran’s Regional Proxies before they Can Join the War

Two Israeli soldiers launch a drone. (Israeli Army)
Two Israeli soldiers launch a drone. (Israeli Army)
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Israel Keen to Attack Iran’s Regional Proxies before they Can Join the War

Two Israeli soldiers launch a drone. (Israeli Army)
Two Israeli soldiers launch a drone. (Israeli Army)

The Israeli army is preparing to carry out “massive and unprecedented” strikes against groups backed by Iran, including the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and armed factions in Iraq, should they join a potential war in the region, revealed Israeli military sources.

Iran is applying great pressure on these groups to take part in any upcoming conflict because the regime in Tehran concluded that their staying on the sidelines during the 12-day June war in 2025 was a strategic error, the sources said according to Israeli estimates.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had on Thursday warned Iran that his country is making its own preparations for possible Iranian missile strikes in response to any US action.

“We are prepared for any scenario,” he said, adding that if Iran attacks Israel, “they will experience a response they cannot even imagine.”

A military source said the Houthis pose a “direct threat not just to Israel, but to the whole world.” He accused the Houthis of impeding international trade in the Red Sea.

Even though the Houthis are not firing at all ships, they are still a threat to everyone, added the source. The militants are producing weapons and possess advanced technology, he warned, comparing them to a “dangerous ticking timebomb that must be swiftly neutralized.”

Israeli and foreign experts revealed that Iran is providing large financial support to its allied armed groups in the region in order for them to join a war should US President Donald Trump act on his threat to strike Iran.

In 2025, Iran allotted a billion dollars to these groups so that they can carry out rocket attacks against Israel.

It remains to be seen if these groups will respond to Iran’s pressure. Israeli estimates believe that the Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq are unlikely to join a war, while Hezbollah and the Houthis are more prepared to do so.

Israel has turned to mediators to warn these parties that any attack against it will be met with a “massive and unprecedented response.”

In Lebanon, the sources said that the military operations Israel is carrying out against Hezbollah and other armed groups are aimed at undermining the party’s efforts to bolster its combat abilities.

They acknowledged, however, that the Israeli military establishment senses that Hezbollah is rebuilding its capabilities at a faster pace than Israel’s operations at reining it in.

The Houthis, meanwhile, have a relatively greater margin of independence, but they are always ready to take part in any regional war to shift attention away from the situation inside Yemen, said Israeli estimates.

The Houthis are receiving Iranian funds to boost their military capabilities and produce more weapons. They also continue to smuggle weapons to Hamas in Gaza. Israel also accuses them of extorting several countries, whereby they pledge not to attack their ships in exchange for money.

The Houthis are ultimately fully supportive of Iran’s goals despite the blows they have been dealt by Israel. The Houthis are suffering from a drop in combat abilities. The pace of their training of fighters has also dropped, while their airports have been damaged in Israeli attacks and the Houthis are facing difficulties in rebuilding them.

Despite the losses, the Houthis are still a threat. They possess heavy long-range missiles and drones and still have the ability to shut Israel’s southern Eilat port.