Middle East updates: Raids, bombing in north and south Gaza

Germany's Foreign Ministry condemned Israel's plans to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The plans were announced late on Thursday by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of the far-right Religious Zionism party.

"The Israeli policy of settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian areas constitutes a serious violation of international
law and undermines efforts towards a two-state solution," a German Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday in Berlin.

"The expansion of settlements jeopardizes peace and security for all people in the region," he said. "We therefore urge the Israeli government to reverse the decisions immediately."

He said that Berlin sees the development of the plan as a response to countries recognizing Palestinian statehood as "particularly disturbing and cynical."

"We strongly reject all measures leading to a weakening of the Palestinian Authority," he said.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) governs parts of the West Bank. Along with the plans to retroactively authorize pre-existing outposts and approve new settlements, Smotrich said Israel would remove "various approvals and benefits" enjoyed by PNA officials.

Israel collects taxes and customs levies owed to the PNA under the 1993 Oslo Accords that established the Palestinian adminsitrative body.

The US and its allies plan for the PNA to play a role in governing the Gaza Strip. The Fatah party that dominates the PNA was expelled from Gaza during a takeover by the Hamas militant Islamist group in 2007.

Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said that the government would promote settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

He said that Israel would undertake punitive measures against the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which has governed parts of the West Bank since it was formed after the 1993 Oslo Accords, as a response to Palestinian moves to achieve diplomatic recognition internationally.

It comes after Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia decided to recognize Palestinian statehood last month, a move welcomed by the PNA and denounced by Israel. Armenia recognized a Palestinian state late last week.

Among the measures announced by Smotrich were the suspension of "various approvals and benefits" of senior PNA officials, approving new settlement buildings and retroactively authorizing already established Israeli settlements.

The United Nations and the International Court of Justice have classified Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal under international law. Several countries, including many of Israel's allies, have condemned settlement expansion as an obstacle to the implementation of a two-state solution in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Some five missiles landed near a ship traveling through the Red Sea, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) monitor.

UKMTO said the ship reported no damage.

The ship was passing by the port of Hodeidah, which is held by Yemen's Houthi rebel group.

Houthi forces have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea since the start of the war between Israel and the Hamas militant Islamist group on October 7.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for Friday's attack.

The EuropeanUnion announced fresh sanctions against financiers of the Islamist militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The sanctions targeted three firms — Zawaya Group for Development and Investment, Larrycom for Investment, and the Al Zawaya Group for Development and Investment — after they were linked to Hamas' investment portfolio, according to a statement by the European Council.

The statement said that the three companies were owned by the Sudan-based financier Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Mohamed Khair.

The sanctions apply to Zuheir Shamlakh, who according to the EU is a money launderer "who enables financial transfers" to Hamas from Iran.

Also targeted by the sanctions is Maher Rebhi Obeid, a top Hamas operative who the EU said was "responsible for directing Hamas' terrorist operatives" in the occupied West Bank.

Jamil Yusuf Ahmad Aliyan, an Islamic Jihad official who runs a foundation that provides financial support to the families of militants, was also put on the sanctions list.

Persons and organizations on the sanctions list are subject to an asset freeze within the EU and are also barred from travelling to the territory of the bloc. The measures also prohibit third parties from funding sanctioned persons or organizations either directly or indirectly.

At least three members of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah were killed in an exchange of rocket fire with Israeli forces on Thursday.

One fighter was killed when an Israeli drone hit his motorbike in the Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon, Hezbollah said, while the Israeli army said it "eliminated a Hezbollah fighter involved in launching drones against Israel."

In response, Hezbollah said it fired some 35 Katyusha rockets at IDF air defense bases in northern Israel. Israel confirmed the launch of "dozens" of missiles, most of which it said were intercepted with no injuries.

Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged almost daily rocket fire since the start of Israel's invasion of Gaza in October, killing some 485 people in Lebanon, including 94 civilians, according to a tally by the AFP news agency.

Fears have grown that the Gaza war could become a regional conflagration if the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, which so far has been largely limited to the border area, expands.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued operations at both ends of the Gaza Strip on Thursday night and into Friday.

In the north, the IDF said "targeted" infantry raids backed by air strikes around Shujaiya on the edge of Gaza City had killed "dozens" of militants.

Intelligence had indicated "the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure in the area of Shujaiya," the military said.

Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union and others, said Israeli forces were "starting a ground incursion", reporting "several" dead as "thousands flee under relentless bombing."

In the south, Hamas health-officials said 11 people had been killed by tank fire in the city of Rafah.

Local residents and Hamas media said Israeli armor was advancing in the neighborhood of Shakoush, displacing refugees who had already fled there.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged Tehran to help prevent a further escalation in the Middle East during a call with her Iranian counterpart, Ali Bagheri Kani.

"Further escalation must be prevented at all costs, and Iran must also contribute to this," she told the Iranian Foreign Minister, according to a post published by the German Foreign Ministry.

Concerns have mounted in recent days that fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group could further escalate into a full-scale war as attacks increase in intensity and frequency.

Meanwhile, the Houthi rebel group, which controls the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, has for the past several months been targeting international shipping in the Red Sea, citing solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The group has been supported by Iran and has been opposed by a Saudi-led coalition aiming to reassert the control of the internationally recognized government currently based in Aden.