Middle East Israel’s looking into whether Hamas leader Sinwar was killed in Gaza

Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza

The Israeli military said yesterday it was looking into whether Hamas’ top leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in a military operation in Gaza, while an Israeli air strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians killed at least 15 people, including five children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The military did not give any details on the military operation.

The military said in a statement that three militants were killed during operations in Gaza, without elaborating. It said the identities of the three were so far not confirmed, but it was “checking the possibility” that one of the three was Sinwar.

Sinwar was one of the chief architects of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. He was chosen as the group’s top leader following the assassination of Ismael Haniyeh in July in an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital Tehran.

15 killed in Gaza

Palestinian officials in Gaza reported at least 15 dead, including five children, after a strike on a school being used as a shelter, while Syria’s military said an Israeli strike early yesterday wounded two civilians and damaged a military post.

Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria linked to Iran and to Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and has escalated its campaign against Hezbollah in recent weeks, after a year of near-daily exchanges of cross-border fire.

Lebanon says more than 2,300 people have been killed in the past year and 77% of public schools are out of service, either due to their use as shelters or their location in areas directly affected by the war.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish combatants from civilians. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.

Israel’s military says it has allowed 50 trucks of humanitarian aid into northern Gaza on Wednesday, after the United States warned it to boost aid efforts or risk losing weapons funding. The region has suffered heavy destruction and has been completely encircled by Israeli forces for nearly a year.

Philippines evacuate workers from Lebanon

The Philippine government has evacuated dozens of Filipino workers from Lebanon — including one who urged thousands of compatriots to leave the war-hit nation before it’s too late.

The 45 Filipino workers and two children who arrived yesterday in Manila were a fraction of about 10,000 to 11,000 Filipinos, many of whom have refused to leave their jobs in Lebanon for their poverty-stricken homeland.

“I hope they would return home because it has become too dangerous there,” Felicilda Aboc, a 56-year-old who has worked for 18 years as a house helper in Lebanon, told reporters at Manila’s international airport. She recounted how a powerful blast two days ago shook the house where she worked.

The Philippine government has offered free chartered flights, cash and new livelihood training to encourage Filipinos in Lebanon to return home but has yet to issue a mandatory evacuation order. MDT/AP