Israeli military must draft ultra-Orthodox men, Supreme Court rules

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for military service — a decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as Israel wages war in Gaza.

Most Jewish men and women in Israel are required to serve mandatory military service at the age of 18. But the politically powerful ultra-Orthodox traditionally received exemptions if they were studying full-time in religious seminaries. These exemptions infuriated the wider general public, especially as hundreds of soldiers were killed in the war with Hamas.

Israel and Hamas appear to be moving further apart over how the cease-fire deal plays out. Netanyahu said he will only accept a partial cease-fire deal that would not end the eight-month-long war, casting doubt on the viability of a United States-backed truce proposal. Israeli leaders are also increasingly signaling that a war with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah could be next.

Israel launched the war after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.

Since then, Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 37,600 people in Gaza, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.

International criticism is growing over Israel’s campaign as Palestinians face severe and widespread hunger. The war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and basic goods to Gaza, which is now totally dependent on aid. The top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies.

Currently:

— Israel's Supreme Court says ultra-Orthodox must serve in the military.

— Netanyahu says he won’t agree to a deal that ends the war in Gaza, testing the latest truce proposal.

— Experts say Gaza is at high risk of famine despite increased aid to the north.

— Iranian presidential candidates debate foreign policy ahead of Friday vote.

— A WHO official says the U.S.-built pier in Gaza not sufficient in delivering aid to Palestinians.

— Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.

Here’s the latest:

UN food agency says concerns about Gaza's high risk of famine are confirmed by experts' new report

JERUSALEM — The U.N. food agency says the latest findings by a leading authority on hunger crises confirm its own concerns about severe hunger in war-torn Gaza.

The World Food Program said Tuesday that “to truly turn the corner and prevent famine, adequate and sustained levels of humanitarian assistance must be provided,” including fresh food, clean water, sanitation and healthcare.

It was responding to the latest report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, an initiative first set up in 2004 during the famine in Somalia that now includes more than a dozen U.N. agencies, aid groups, governments and other bodies.

The IPC found that an influx of aid into northern Gaza earlier this year had eased a crisis there, but expressed concerns about the south following Israel’s invasion of the city of Rafah.

The IPC said the entire territory was still at “high risk” of famine and projected that over 495,000 people — over a fifth of the population — will experience the most severe level of hunger in the coming months.

The incursion into Rafah displaced over a million people, most of whom had already fled their homes elsewhere. It led to the closure of one border crossing and major disruptions at another, making it difficult to bring in aid.

The WFP said it was “deeply concerned that the much-reduced ability of humanitarian organizations to deliver critical assistance in the south is jeopardizing the progress made.”

It said the security vacuum in Gaza has fostered widespread lawlessness that makes it difficult to deliver aid.

“WFP now fears that southern Gaza could soon see the same catastrophic levels of hunger previously recorded in the northern areas,” it said.

UN agency for Palestinian refugees says funding crisis has eased

GENEVA — The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Tuesday that most of its donors have resumed funding and new ones have emerged, so it has enough cash through the end of August but faces a shortfall of up to $140 million by year-end.

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of UNRWA, said an independent review of its operations has helped rebuild trust in the agency, which has broadened its donor base by adding contributor countries such as Algeria, Iraq, Jordan and Oman as well as individual giving from Singapore.

Speaking to reporters at the U.N. office in Geneva, Lazzarini said aid delivery is becoming “more and more complicated” and crossings into Gaza are far short of need and looting of delivery trucks is happening too often.

Israel’s allegations early this year that a dozen of UNRWA’s staffers had taken part in the Oct. 7 attacks led to the suspension of contributions by the United States and more than a dozen other countries. All but the U.S. and Britain have resumed their funding.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres tapped a former French foreign minister to lead a team that issued a report that reviewed UNRWA’s neutrality, and the results of an internal investigation are pending.

Hamas leader’s sister reported killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza

CAIRO — Hamas says an Israeli airstrike in Gaza has killed the sister of its top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who is based abroad.

In a brief statement, the group said Zahr Haniyeh was killed in a strike on Tuesday in Shati, a built-up refugee camp in Gaza City dating back to the 1948 war.

Palestinian media reported that over a dozen members of Haniyeh’s extended family were killed in the strike. Gaza’s Health Ministry, which tracks Palestinian casualties from the war, has not said how many people were killed in the strike.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israeli airstrikes killed three of Ismail Haniyeh’s sons and four of his grandchildren in April. Israel said the three sons were Hamas operatives.

Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas’ leaders wherever they are.

Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, the top two Hamas leaders in Gaza and the apparent masterminds of the Oct. 7 attack, are believed to be alive and in hiding, possibly in the group’s massive labyrinth of tunnels.

Haniyeh is based in Qatar, which has long served as a mediator between Israel and Hamas.

Israel will ‘dedicate long weeks’ to reaching an arrangement with Hezbollah, senior official says

JERUSALEM — A senior Israeli official says Israel and the United States will devote an unspecified number of weeks to trying to reach a new arrangement with Hezbollah before resorting to other means to bring calm to the Israel-Lebanon border.

Israel’s low-level conflict with the Lebanese militant group has escalated in recent weeks, raising fears of an all-out war.

“We will now dedicate long weeks … in an attempt to reach an arrangement” along the border, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Tuesday.

Hezbollah began attacking northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas shortly after the Palestinian militants’ Oct. 7 attack triggered the war in Gaza. Israel has responded with airstrikes, and the low-intensity conflict has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes on both sides of the border.

Speaking at the Herzliya Conference, an annual gathering of policymakers and analysts, Hanegbi said Hezbollah may find “a kind of ladder to climb down” as Israel shifts to less intensive operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

“If there is no arrangement through diplomatic means, everybody understands that an arrangement is required through other means. But currently we prefer to focus on the diplomatic campaign," he said.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein met with Lebanese and Israeli leaders the week before to try to calm tensions. Hezbollah has said it will continue its attacks until there is a cease-fire in Gaza.

Israel's Supreme court rules that ultra-Orthodox men can no longer be exempt from the military draft

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for military service, a decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as Israel continues to wage war in Gaza.

The court ruled that, in the absence of a law that distinguishes between Jewish seminary students and other draftees, Israel’s compulsory military service system applies to the ultra-Orthodox like any other citizens.

Under longstanding arrangements, ultra-Orthodox men have been exempt from the draft, which is compulsory for most Jewish men and women. These exemptions have long been a source of anger among the secular public, a divide that has widened during the war.

Politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties, key partners in Netanyahu’s governing coalition, oppose any change in the current system. If the exemptions are ended, they could bolt the coalition, causing the government to collapse and leading to new elections.

The court decision comes at a sensitive time, as the war in Gaza drags on into its ninth month and the number of dead soldiers continues to mount.

Israeli strikes kill at least 21 people in Gaza City

CAIRO — Israeli strikes on Gaza City early Tuesday killed at least 21 people, including nine women and seven children, officials in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said.

The strikes hit two schools-turned-shelters and a residential home, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defense, a rescue body that is often the first to respond after airstrikes.

The Israeli military said Hamas militants were operating inside the school compounds, accusing them of planning attacks against Israel and being involved in holding hostages taken from Israel.

A strike on the Abdel-Fattah Hamoud school in the Daraj neighborhood killed at least eight people from the same family, including five children and their parents, the Civil Defense said, adding that an 18-month-old and a 77-year-old woman were among the dead.

The group said a second strike hit the Asmaa school in Shati, a built-up refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war, killing at least 11 people, including five women and two children. The third strike hit a family house in the Shijaiyah neighborhood, killing two women, the civil defense said.

The third strike hit a family home in the Shijaiyah neighborhood, killing two women.

Israel has escalated its air raids on Gaza City, in the north, over the past week, killing dozens of people as Israeli ground forces continue battling Palestinian militants in the southern city of Rafah.

Israel launched its air and ground invasion of Gaza immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage. The Israeli offensive has killed over 37,000 Palestinians and unleashed a humanitarian crisis.