Israel urges residents of southern Gaza to evacuate after Houthis attack drone on Tel Aviv

Israel has granted residents in parts Khan Younisa city in the south Gazawill be evacuated on Monday as it plans military action against Hamas.

What happened: The evacuation order extended to parts of an area that Israel had previously designated a humanitarian zone.

The Israeli military is currently shifting the boundaries of the zone because Hamas has used the zone to fire rockets at Israel, the New York Times reported.

Residents were told to temporarily move closer to the coast to the “adapted humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi.”

Israeli fighter jets also attacked Houthi military facilities near the port of Hodeidah in Yemen on Saturday in response to a Houthi attack on Tel-Aviv on Friday, CNN reported. This was the first time Israel has attacked inside Yemen itself.

Since Hamas began its attacks on Israel in early October, the Houthis have attacked merchant ships in the Red Sea in support of the Gaza Strip.

Also read: Israeli forces intensify attacks in Gaza and southern Lebanon ahead of Netanyahu’s visit to US Congress

The Houthis said they fired more rockets at Israel after an attack took place nearby Port of HodeidahThe Houthis promised a “huge and powerful” response against Israel.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel attacked the port because Iran was using it to import weapons Yemen.

“The port we attacked is not an innocent port. It was used for military purposes, it served as an entry point for deadly weapons that Iran supplied to the Houthis,” Netanyahu said in a statement on Saturday.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam criticized the attack as “brutal Israeli aggression” against Yemen.

Netanyahu also said the operation, which hit targets 1,809 kilometers from the Israeli border, showed that Israel was serious about responding to the threats.

“It makes it clear to our enemies that there is no place that the long arm of the State of Israel will not reach,” Netanyahu said.

Why it is important: The development comes just as Netanyahu prepares for tense meetings in Washington, DC, to urge the Biden administration and Congress to support Israel’s war effort.

In March, Israel withdrew from the ceasefire talks.

Between October 7, 2023, and July 22, 2024, at least 39,006 Palestinians were killed and 89,818 injured in the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

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• iShares MSCI USA ETF (NASDAQ:EIS) rose 7.68%.
• ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF (IZRL) rose 0.86%.
• VanEck Israel ETF (NYSE:ISRA) rose 1.66%.
• Amplify BlueStar Israel Technology ETF (NYSE:ITEQ) rose 2.15%.
• Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE:TAN) rose 0.63%.

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• Israel intensifies attacks on Gaza, killing at least 28 Palestinians. US envoy meets with Netanyahu to prevent major attack

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