Intense bombardments strike in southern Gaza on 11th day of Israel-Hamas war

A massive explosion at a hospital in Gaza City killed hundreds of people Tuesday, Hamas said, after intensifying bombardments near towns in southern Gaza rattled civilians where Israel had ordered them to take refuge. Hamas attributed the blast to an Israeli airstrike, but the Israeli military said it was not involved and the explosion was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket.

Hamas' military wing also said an Israeli airstrike on a refuge camp killed a top Hamas commander.

Thousands of people trying to escape Gaza are gathered in Rafah, which has the territory's only border crossing to Egypt. Mediators are pressing for an agreement to let aid in and refugees with foreign passports out. The U.S. hoped to break a deadlock with President Joe Biden set to head to the region on Wednesday, but a planned summit in Jordan was postponed.

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Aid workers warned that life in Gaza was near complete collapse because of the Israeli siege that followed a Hamas attack on Israel.

The war that began Oct. 7 has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,778 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded. Another 1,200 people across Gaza are believed to be buried under the rubble, alive or dead. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, and at least 199 others, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza, according to Israel.

Here's what's happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:

US TREASURY OFFICIAL WARNS OVER HAMAS FUNDING

WASHINGTON -- A Treasury official said the U.S. is renewing plans to pursue Hamas funding streams and called on allies and the private sector to do the same or "be prepared to suffer the consequences."

"We cannot, and we will not, tolerate money flowing through the international system for Hamas' terrorist activity," said Brian Nelson, under secretary for terrorism and illicit finance, at an anti-money laundering conference.

"Treasury will bring our tools to bear against Hamas' financing and the overall funding of terrorism," he said.

WESTERN INTELLIGENCE LEADERS WARY OF POTENTIAL FALLOUT IN THEIR COUNTRIES

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- Leaders of Western intelligence services said they are attuned to the potential fallout in their home countries of the deadly attacks by Hamas on Israel.

Representatives from intelligence agencies from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia -- a coalition known as the "Five Eyes" -- convened in California to discuss Chinese economic espionage. But the meeting unfolded against the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said his agency is working with local law enforcement to address threats of violence against both the Jewish and Muslim communities. It is also working through its legal attache office in Tel Aviv, Israel, to locate and identify Americans who remain unaccounted for after the Oct. 7 attacks.

David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said events like the Hamas attack lead to "soul searching" about "what we know, what we knew, what we can do in our own countries" to protect against similar violence.

ARAB COUNTRIES AT UN DEMAND IMMEDIATE CEASE-FIRE

UNITED NATIONS -- The 22 Arab countries at the United Nations joined in demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza following the devastating explosion and fire at a Gaza City hospital.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, said Arab Group members are "outraged by this massacre" and also united in demanding the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid and preventing "forcible displacement" of Palestinians.

Mansour said that after the "massacre," the highest objective is a cease-fire because "saving lives is the most important thing."

Also Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "horrified" at the deaths and "hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law."

The Security Council scheduled a Wednesday vote on a draft resolution that currently condemns "the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas" against Israel and all violence against civilians. It also calls for "humanitarian pauses" to deliver desperately needed aid to millions in Gaza.

BIDEN 'OUTRAGED AND DEEPLY SADDENED' BY GAZA CITY HOSPITAL BLAST

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Joe Biden said he is "outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted."

Biden said he spoke "immediately" after hearing the news with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and "directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened."

"The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy," Biden said in a statement issued after he departed for the Middle East.

He is to visit Israel on Wednesday, but a meeting with Arab leaders in Jordan has been postponed following the destruction at the hospital.

ISLAMIC JIHAD GROUP DENIES RESPONSIBILITY FOR HOSPITAL BLAST

JERUSALEM -- The Palestinain Islamic Jihad group denied Israel's claim that it was behind the deadly blast at Al-Ahli hospital. It accused Israel of "trying hard to evade responsibility for the brutal massacre it committed."

"The accusations promoted by the enemy are baseless," Islamic Jihad said, adding that the group "does not use places of worship or public facilities, especially hospitals, as military centers or weapons stores."

The group said details such as "the angle of the bomb's fall and the extent of destruction it left behind" confirm it was similar to Israeli strikes.

The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, also denied Israel's claim, calling it "lies."

4-WAY SUMMIT IN JORDAN OF BIDEN AND OTHER LEADERS CANCELLED

Jordan has called off a four-way summit scheduled for Wednesday with U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders, the country's foreign minister told state-run television.

Ayman Safadi told al-Mamlaka TV that the war between Israel and Hammas was "pushing the region to the brink" and the summit would be postponed.

After visiting Israel Wednesday, Biden had planned to travel to Amman for the meeting.

The White House said Biden had hoped to use the summit to discuss the bloody Oct. 7 Hamas militant attack on Israel with the United States' Arab allies and the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in parts of the occupied West Bank.

GRIEF, CONDEMNATION AFTER HUNDREDS KILLED AT GAZA HOSPITAL

Expressions of condemnation and grief are pouring in after hundreds of people were killed in an explosion at a Gaza City hospital that Hamas attributed to an Israeli airstrike but the Israeli military said was caused by a misfired militant rocket.

Countries such as Syria and Saudi Arabia blamed Israel for the blast, with Libya's Foreign Ministry accusing Israel of "war crimes and genocide" in the Gaza Strip. Iraq declared three days of mourning, and hundreds of protesters gathered in central Baghdad.

Egypt's President, Abdul-Fattah el-Sissi, condemned what he called Israel's "deliberate bombing" of Ahli Arab hospital and "a clear violation of international law ... and humanity." In Lebanon, groups of protesters roamed the city on motorcycles and gathered outside the French embassy and the headquarters of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that his country condemns "the attack on the Al-Ahli Arabi hospital" and there's no justification for targeting a hospital or civilians.

Richard Peeperkorn, World Health Organization representative for the West Bank and Gaza, expressed "our deepest grief at the horror that has unfolded," calling it "unprecedented even in a region that has seen consistent attacks on healthcare."

The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that it was "shocked and horrified by reports that Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza was destroyed."

The United Arab Emirates and Russia called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

ISRAEL DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN BOMBING OF GAZA CITY HOSPITAL

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military says it had no involvement in an explosion that killed hundreds of people at a Gaza City hospital and that the blast was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says an Israeli airstrike caused the blast, which killed some 500 people, many of whom had sought shelter from an ongoing Israeli offensive.

The Israeli military, however, said Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets near the hospital.

"Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch," it said.

VIDEOS AND PHOTOS CAPTURE SCENE AT GAZA CITY HOSPITALS

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- A chaotic scene unfolded at Al Shifa hospital Tuesday night as Palestinians injured in an attack on another hospital in Gaza City arrived for treatment.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike killed at least 500 people at al-Ahli Hospital.

Photos purportedly taken at al-Ahli Hospital shared widely on social media showed fire engulfing the building, with bodies scattered among the wreckage. Those photos could not be independently verified.

Footage captured by The Associated Press showed ambulances and private cars converging on Al Shifa hospital, where medics and others rushed the injured inside on stretchers and a wheelchair.

One person had a bloody stump where their left leg was missing. Four men carried a body bag to a civil defence vehicle.

Inside Al Shifa, the wounded were laid out on bloody floors, screaming in pain, as shouting people surrounded them. Some of the injured were not moving. Workers in scrubs ran outside and sirens wailed as more Red Crescent ambulances arrived.

PALESTINIAN OFFICIAL DROPS OUT OF BIDEN MEETING CITING HOSPITAL AIRSTRIKE

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- A senior Palestinian official says President Mahmoud Abbas has cancelled his participation in a meeting scheduled Wednesday with President Joe Biden and other Mideast leaders.

Abbas was scheduled to join Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi at Wednesday's summit in Amman, Jordan, where they are to discuss the Israel-Hamas war with Biden.

But the senior official said Abbas was withdrawing to protest an alleged Israeli airstrike on a hospital in Gaza that health officials say has killed over 500 people.

"The president is very angry after the news of the Israeli massacre at the hospital in Gaza, and he decided to immediately return to Ramallah," the official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the cancelation has not been formally announced.

Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre contributed to this report from Jerusalem.

UN CHIEF TO DISCUSS PALESTINIAN AID DURING EGYPT VISIT

UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will arrive in Cairo on Thursday, focused on reopening the Gaza border to allow in desperately needed aid for millions of Palestinians.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who made the announcement Tuesday, said the secretary-general will engage with Egyptian leaders including President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and speak at an international conference on Saturday hosted by the president.

"This situation is becoming more than critical," he said. "We are at a time of extreme tension, where we're calling to move away from further escalation and any possible miscalculation."

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths is already in Cairo meeting with U.S. and other officials to try to get the most basic humanitarian aid -- food, water, fuel and medicine -- into Gaza, Dujarric said.

The UN spokesman told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that humanitarian corridors are essential to move aid through Gaza safely, and there must also be distribution points to deliver aid safely, without fear of active bombardment.

RESIDENTS LINE UP TO COLLECT SCANT WATER SUPPLIES IN GAZA

NUSAIRAT, Gaza Strip -- Palestinians desperate for water lined up to fill bottles and large jugs Tuesday at a desalination plant in Gaza.

Children and men took turns using a hose in Nusairat to fill containers that they hauled away using bicycles, a wheelchair and a cart pulled by a donkey.

Ismael Al-Hafi said people are rationing the water they can find and wait two or three days to clean themselves.

"This is suffering," Al-Hafi said. "Gaza is in complete collapse. There is no solar to operate the desalination plants. This means that you have to struggle to fill two gallons of water. This is suffering. May God help the people."

HAMAS SAYS 100S KILLED IN ISRAELI ATTACK ON GAZA CITY HOSPITAL

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- The Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip says at least 500 people have been killed in an explosion that it says was caused by an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza City Hospital.

If confirmed, the attack on the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City would be by far the deadliest Israeli airstrike in five wars fought since 2008.

Hundreds of people were seeking shelter at the hospital at the time of the blast.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said he had no details on the hospital deaths.

"We will get the details and update the public," Hagari said, adding that he couldn't immediately confirm it was an Israeli airstrike.

Hamas authorities said most of the people killed were hospital patients and displaced families.

"A new war crime committed by the (Israeli) occupation by bombing the Al-Ahli Hospital in the center of Gaza City," said Salama Marouf, a spokesperson for Hamas. " The hospital was housing hundreds of patients, wounded, and those forcibly displaced from their homes due to the strikes."

UNRWA SAYS AT LEAST SIX KILLED IN ATTACK ON SCHOOL IN GAZA

The UN agency for Palestinians says at least six people were killed when one of its schools in central Gaza Strip was hit Tuesday.

Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner General, said dozens of people were also injured, including agency staff, when the UNRWA school in the al-Maghazi refugee camp came under bombardment. He said the school -- which has served as a shelter for some 4,000 displaced people since the latest hostilities began -- is seriously damaged.

AP video of the aftermath shows where tank shells crashed through classroom walls, leaving concrete pockmarked by shrapnel and piles of rubble in the hallways. Blood was splattered on crumbling cinderblocks. Rooms where Palestinians had taken refuge were filled with debris and splintered school chairs.

"This is outrageous and it again shows a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians," Lazzarini said in a statement. "No place is safe in Gaza anymore, not even UNRWA facilities."

ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE CHIEF ADMITS FAILURE IN HAMAS ATTACK

The unprecedented Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed over 1,300 Israelis and stunned the country was the result of a failure by Israel's intelligence community and military, the nation's military intelligence chief said.

"We did not fulfill our most important mission, and as the head of the Intelligence Directorate, I take full responsibility for the failure," Gen. Aharon Haliva, the intelligence chief, wrote in a letter to the Israeli military. "The things that need to be investigated will be thoroughly investigated at the proper time, and conclusions will be drawn."

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar sent a similar admission to workers at the security service over the weekend, taking responsibility for the stunning operational failures and weaknesses that allowed Hamas to carry out its attack.

ISRAEL WARNS HEZBOLLAH AGAINST ESCALATING BORDER TENSIONS

Israel's military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi is threatening aggressive retaliation if the Lebanese group Hezbollah escalates tensions on their shared border.

"This is a war on the home," Halvey said after meeting with Israeli troops near the northern border. "If Hezbollah makes a mistake, it will be annihilated."

Clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli troops along the tense border have escalated in recent days but remain largely controlled and limited to several border towns.

ITALY CONFIRMS DEATH OF CITIZEN IN HAMAS ATTACK ON KIBBUTZ

The Italian government says one of three Italian-Israeli citizens believed kidnapped by Hamas was killed in Israel during the militant attack on the Be'eri kibbutz in southern Israel.

The Italian foreign ministry reported Tuesday that DNA tests conducted by Israeli authorities confirmed the death of Eviatar Moshe Kipnis, 65. The ministry said it remained committed to locating Kipnis' wife and another Italian-Israeli citizen who remain unaccounted for.

The Kipnis family sounded the alarm about Kipnis and his wife, 60-year-old Lilach Lea Havron, after their kibbutz was stormed by Hamas militants Oct. 7. At least 120 people were killed there and an unknown number was taken hostage.

GERMANY URGES ISRAEL TO PROVIDE ACCESS FOR AID TO GAZA

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he discussed ways to quickly get humanitarian help to civilians in Gaza during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"In contrast with Hamas, which wants to hold Gaza's citizens as human shields, we are concerned about them too," said Scholz, who visited Israel on Tuesday. "We want to protect civilians and prevent civilian victims."

Scholz said he discussed "the possibility of improved humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip" with Netanyahu and that he planned to discuss the same issue with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo on Wednesday.

Scholz reiterated that Israel's security is a core element of German policy, calling it a "responsibility that arises from the Holocaust."

WFP SENDS FOOD AID TO EGYPT FOR DELIVERY TO GAZA

The World Food Program says it has tons of aid arriving in Egypt from warehouses around the region, ready to enter Gaza.

The Rome-based agency warned earlier Tuesday that stores in Gaza only have four or five days' worth of essential food stocks available.

Video provided by WFP showed crates of aid arriving by cargo plane at the Arisha airbase in Egypt from warehouses in Dubai, bound for the Rafah crossing. WFP said it has mobilized 310 metric tons (305 tons) of food so far, including fortified biscuits and ready-to-eat meals sufficient to feed 244,000 people for a week, as well as canned food and date bars.

WFP's Palestine country director, Samer Abdeljaber, said the agency is waiting for the green light to enter Gaza and warned that food stocks are running out. He said the number of bakeries WFP works with in Gaza is decreasing daily because they don't have enough water or electricity to bake bread.

Also Tuesday, the regional director of the International Organization for Migration in Cairo urged both sides to facilitate the delivery of aid to Gaza.

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza is horrifying," Othman Belbeisi wrote Tuesday on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Rapid and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid must be granted."

UNRWA SAYS AT LEAST SIX KILLED IN ATTACK ON SCHOOL IN GAZA

The UN agency for Palestinians says at least six people were killed when one of its schools in central Gaza Strip was hit Tuesday.

Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner General, said dozens of people were also injured, including agency staff, when the UNRWA school in the al-Maghazi refugee camp came under bombardment. He said the school -- which has served as a shelter for some 4,000 displaced people since the latest hostilities began -- is seriously damaged.

"This is outrageous and it again shows a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians," Lazzarini said in a statement. "No place is safe in Gaza anymore, not even UNRWA facilities."

Lazzarini did not specify who was behind the attack, but the area has come under bombardment from Israeli air strikes in recent days.

HAMAS' MILITARY WING SAYS TOP COMMANDER KILLED BY ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE

Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, said Tuesday that an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed top militant commander, Ayman Nofal.

Nofal is the most high-profile militant to be killed so far in Israeli bombardments on the Gaza Strip. Residents said the barrage of Israeli airstrikes levelled an entire block of homes and caused dozens more casualties.

The Israeli military says it is targeting Hamas hideouts, infrastructure and command centers.