Israeli airstrikes kill 12 people in Gaza, three arrested over flares fired at Netanyahu's house

Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip Palestinian medical officials say 12 people have been killed as the war between Israel and Hamas continues with no end in sight.

The airstrikes killed six people in Nuseirat and another four in Bureij, two established refugee camps in central Gaza.

Two more people were killed in an attack on Gaza’s main north-south highway, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah, which received all 12 bodies.

Israel is also at war with the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, where its ground forces have moved further north.

Police in Israel have arrested three suspects after flares were fired at the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s private residence in the coastal city of Caesarea.

Authorities said Netanyahu and his family were not at the home when two flares were fired overnight, and that there were no injuries.

A drone launched by Hezbollah struck the home last month, even while Netanyahu and his family were away.

Police did not provide details about the suspects behind the flares, but officials pointed to Netanyahu’s domestic political critics.

Israel’s largely ceremonial president, Yitzhak Herzog condemned the incident and warned of “an escalation of violence in the public sphere.”

Mr Netanyahu has faced months of mass protests over his handling of the hostage crisis sparked by the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which ignited the ongoing war in Gaza.

Critics blame Netanyahu for security and intelligence failures that enabled the attack and for failing to reach an agreement with Hamas on the release of dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.

Israelis gathered again in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening to demand a ceasefire to send them back.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Yariv Levin used the flare to call for a revival of his plans to overhaul Israel’s judiciary, which had led to months of mass protests before the war and remains deeply divisive.

“The time has come to fully support the restoration of the justice and law enforcement systems, and to put an end to anarchy, frenzy, refusal and attempts to harm the Prime Minister,” he said in a statement .

Supporters said the changes to the judicial system aim to strengthen democracy by limiting the authority of unelected judges and transferring more powers to elected officials.

Opponents see the overhaul as a power grab by Mr Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, and an attack on a key watchdog.

The war between Israel and Hamas began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and kidnapping 250 others. About 100 hostages remain in Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.

The Health Ministry in Gaza says about 43,800 Palestinians have been killed in the war.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but says women and children make up more than half of the fatalities.

About 90 percent of Gaza’s population, 2.3 million Palestinians, has been displaced, and large parts of the territory have been razed by Israeli bombing and ground operations.

The ten elected members of the UN Security Council circulated a draft resolution on Thursday demanding an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza. The US, Israel’s closest ally, holds the key to whether the council will adopt the resolution. – AP