Israel-Hamas war: Gaza's al-Shifa hospital chief freed

Israel's military said that Palestinian militants fired some "20 projectiles" from the central Gaza Strip.

"Approximately 20 projectiles were identified crossing from the area of Khan Yunis," the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

The IDF said that some of the objects were intercepted, while others fell in areas of southern Israel near the Gaza Strip without causing any casualties.

The Islamic Jihad militant group claimed the attack, according to a statement cited by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

Israel released the director of Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, after detaining him for over seven months.

Abu Salmiya was released alongside dozens of other Palestinian detainees. The AP news agency cited a Palestinian health official as saying that 55 detainees were released in total.

Al-Shifa was the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip but is no longer operational as it has been largely destroyed amid Israel's offensive in the Palestinian territory.

Far-right Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized the release of Abu Salmiya and other detained Palestinians in a post on X, formerly Twitter, calling it "security abandonment."

Abu Salmiya and other Palestinian detainees have alleged that they were subject to torture by Israeli security forces.

Israel has accused the Hamas militant Islamist group, which it classifies as a terrorist organization, of using medical facilities, including al-Shifa, as cover for military operations.

Israel's military said on Sunday that 18 of its soldiers were injured, one of them seriously, when a drone struck their position in the occupied Golan Heights, bordering Lebanon.

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said in a statement that the strike had happened earlier on Sunday. The IDF had struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon with air strikes and artillery fire.

Lebanese Iran-backed militia group Hezbollah and Israel have traded cross-border fire since the Israel-Hamas war began in October. 

But fighting there has intensified recently, with the US, Germany and Turkey urging caution.

The US and Germany have cautioned against the consequences of the expansion of war, while Turkey has pledged solidarity with Lebanon and called on other regional players to join in.

The US military said it destroyed three Houthi uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) in a span of 24 hours in the Red Sea.

"It was determined the USVs presented an imminent threat to US and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region," the US Central Command said in a post on X.

"This continued malign and reckless behavior by the Iranian-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," the post read.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday that he was committed to seeing Hamas militants defeated in Gaza. 

"We are committed to fighting until we achieve all of our objectives: Eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages, ensuring that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel and returning our residents securely to their homes in the south and the north," he said.

He added that "dozens of terrorists are being eliminated every day."

The conflict in Gaza, triggered by Hamas' attack into Israel on October 7, has killed 38,000 people in the enclave so far, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

"Hamas is the only obstacle to the release of our hostages," Netanyahu added at the meeting. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by many governments including the US, Israel and others.

Israeli forces on Sunday advanced into Shejaiya, a neighborhood in Gaza City in the north, as well as pushed deeper into western and central Rafah in the south.

mk/rm (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)