Israel intensifies attacks in Gaza and strikes ports in Yemen as Trump wraps up trip to region

By WAFAA SHURAFA and BASSEM MROUE DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP Israel launched dozens of airstrikes across northern and southern Gaza on Friday killing more than people and wounding hundreds attacks that Israeli functionaries described as a prelude to a larger military campaign in the territory aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages Related Articles Trump says Iran has a proposal from the US on its rapidly advancing nuclear project Pope Leo XIV affirms family is based on union between a man and a woman unborn has inherent dignity Watching Trump from afar Israel fears being left out of a new Middle East it helped create European leaders agree with Trump that Russia s position on ceasefire talks is unacceptable After Putin is a no-show at talks in Turkey Trump says he ll meet the Russian leader soon Also on Friday Israel struck two ports in Yemen that it stated were used by the Houthi militant group to transfer weapons The strikes in Gaza followed days of similar attacks that killed more than people according to Gaza s Vitality Ministry and came as U S President Donald Trump wrapped up a visit to Gulf states but not Israel There had been widespread hopes that his trip to the region could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza which Israel has prevented for more than two months Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi on the final day of his trip Trump disclosed he was looking to resolve a range of global crises including Gaza We re looking at Gaza he explained And we ve got to get that taken care of A lot of people are starving A lot of people are there s a lot of bad things going on In southern Gaza Israel struck the outskirts of Deir al-Balah and the city of Khan Younis It mentioned it hit anti-tank missile posts and military structures In northern Gaza the attacks sent people fleeing from the Jabaliya refugee camp and the town of Beit Lahiya Israel stated it eliminated several combatants who were operating in an observation compound Dark smoke was seen rising over Jabaliya as people grabbed what they could of their belongings and fled on donkey carts by car and foot We got out of the house with difficulty killing and death we did not take anything announced Feisal Al-Attar who was displaced from Beit Lahiya There were no immediate reports of casualties after the strikes on Yemen The Houthis satellite channel Al-Masirah acknowledged the attacks but provided no other details Israel s military reported it had intercepted several missiles fired from Yemen toward Israeli airspace during Trump s trip Netanyahu vows to step up war Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to push ahead with a promised escalation of force in Israel s war in the Gaza Strip to pursue his aim of destroying the Hamas which governs Gaza In comments issued by Netanyahu s office Tuesday the prime minister commented Israeli forces were days away from entering Gaza with great strength to complete the mission It means destroying Hamas An Israeli official commented the strikes on Friday were preparatory actions in the lead-up to a larger operation and to send a message to Hamas that it will begin soon if there isn t an agreement to release the hostages still in Gaza since Hamas October attack that launched the war The official was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity The same official announced that Cabinet members were meeting Friday to assess negotiations in Qatar where ceasefire talks are taking place and to decide on next actions Israeli executive spokesman David Mencer informed The Associated Press on Friday that Israel s military is intensifying its operations as it has done since Hamas stopped releasing hostages Our objective is to get them home and get Hamas to relinquish power he noted Historic opportunity In Israel families of hostages commented they awoke Friday with heavy hearts to reports of increased attacks and called on Netanyahu to join hands with Trump s efforts to release hostages Edan Alexander the Israeli-American hostage circulated Monday after backdoor U S -Hamas diplomacy left the hospital Friday according to a comment published by his parents who stated his recovery was far from over Missing this historic opportunity for a deal to bring the hostages home would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy forever the families commented in a message published by the hostage forum which supports them The war began on Oct when Hamas-led terrorists killed people and abducted others during an attack on southern Israel Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States Canada and European Union Israel s retaliatory offensive has killed more than Palestinians various of them women and children according to Gaza s Wellness Ministry which does not say how numerous were combatants Almost have been killed since Israel broke a ceasefire on March the ministry announced Of the hostages that remain in Gaza Israel believes as various as are still alive although Israeli bureaucrats have expressed concern for the status of three of those Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a group kitchen in Jabalia northern Gaza Strip Thursday May AP Photo Jehad Alshrafi Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel Thursday May AP Photo Ariel Schalit Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a group kitchen in Jabalia northern Gaza Strip Thursday May AP Photo Jehad Alshrafi Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a locality kitchen in Jabalia northern Gaza Strip Thursday May AP Photo Jehad Alshrafi Show Caption of Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a neighborhood kitchen in Jabalia northern Gaza Strip Thursday May AP Photo Jehad Alshrafi Expand Gaza blockade enters third month Dozens of Palestinians in Khan Younis lined up at a charity kitchen to obtain food Friday in a scene that promptly turned chaotic as the enclave entered its third month of Israel s aid blockade Several children behind a metal partition screamed and cried out for food At one point the scene descended into chaos as charity kitchen workers struggled to push people back into line Particular workers were attacked as the crowd surged forward pressing against the partition and lunging toward the large pots of rice to grab whatever they could One child used his hand to scoop the last bits of rice from the nearly empty pot while holding his food container with the other hand Israel s blockade is preventing food fuel medicine and all other supplies from entering worsening a humanitarian predicament Israel says the blockade aims to pressure Hamas to release the hostages it still holds Our only hope was that Donald Trump s visit to the Middle East would aftermath in solutions and somehow open crossings to bring in humanitarian assistance as soon as attainable into the Gaza Strip but the visit is almost over and not a drop of water or bread entered Gaza mentioned Saqer Jamal a displaced man from Rafah who was at the kitchen Earlier this week a new humanitarian organization that has U S backing to take over aid delivery revealed it expects to begin operations before the end of the month after what it describes as key agreements from Israeli agents A comment from the group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation identified several U S military veterans former humanitarian coordinators and shield contractors that it revealed would lead the delivery effort Multiple in the humanitarian neighborhood including the U N noted the system does not align with humanitarian principles and won t be able to meet the requirements of Palestinians in Gaza and won t participate it Mroue communicated from Beirut Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv Israel contributed to this document Follow AP s war coverage at https apnews com hub israel-hamas-war