Israel set to expand Gaza offensive; Netanyahu aide meets US officials

Jerusalem, Dec 26 (AP) Top US officials are meeting with Israel's minister for strategic affairs at the White House amid international pressure for a cease-fire, as Israel apparently prepares to expand its ground offensive in Gaza into a third section of the territory.

Palestinian refugee camps were bombarded in central Gaza on Tuesday, residents said.

More than 20,900 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants among the dead.

About 1,200 people were killed after Hamas raided southern Israel on October 7, with around 240 people taken hostage. Israel says it aims to free the more than 100 hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza.

Currently: — Lose a limb or risk death? Growing numbers among Gaza's thousands of war-wounded face hard decisions — An Israeli airstrike in Syria kills a high-ranking Iranian general — Americans beg for help getting family out of Gaza. I just want to see my mother again,' a son says Here's what's happening in the war:

ISRAEL'S STRATEGIC AFFAIRS MINISTER MEETS US OFFICIALS AT WHITE HOUSE

A top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at the White House Tuesday for talks with President Joe Biden's top diplomat and national security adviser on Gaza, as Israel appears poised to expand its offensive there.

Ron Dermer, Israel's Minister for Strategic Affairs, was meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.

Watson said the talks would cover matters related to the war including efforts to free hostages held by Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza. Dermer's trip comes as the US presses ally Israel to wrap up the deadliest phase of its offensive in Gaza.

ISRAEL WILL NO LONGER GRANT AUTOMATIC VISAS TO UN EMPLOYEES

Israel says it will no longer grant automatic visas to UN employees, accusing the United Nations of being “complicit partners” in Hamas' tactics.

The move ratchets up tensions between the United Nations and Israel, which has long claimed the world body directs unfair and disproportionate criticism at it.

Government spokesman Eylon Levy said Tuesday that Israel would consider visa requests from UN employees on a case by case basis rather than automatically.

Levy accused the UN of covering up for Hamas, saying it failed to condemn Hamas for allegedly operating out of hospitals and purportedly stealing aid destined for civilians in Gaza. Hamas denies both charges.

GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH IN NORTHERN ISRAEL HIT BY MISSILE, WOUNDING ONE MAN

Authorities in Israel say an anti-tank missile from Lebanon hit a structure on the grounds of a church in northern Israel.

Wadie Abunassar, a spokesman and adviser to churches in the Holy Land, said the Greek Catholic church itself was not struck but a nearby shed was. He said an 87-year-old man was wounded. His exact condition was unknown but his injury was not life-threatening, Abunassar said.

The military said the incident occurred in Ikrit, a village in northern Israel that was depopulated of its Palestinian residents in the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948. The former residents and their descendants return to worship at the church, especially at Christmas. But Abunassar said the church and its grounds were mostly empty because of the security situation. The man wounded was keeping watch over the church.

The incident is part of a flare-up of violence along Israel's northern border with the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah that was sparked when the war against Hamas in Gaza began in October.

ISRAEL IS FACING A MULTI-ARENA WAR' FROM 7 DIFFERENT FRONTS, MINISTER SAYS

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel is facing a “multi-arena war” from seven different fronts.

Gallant spoke during a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset on Tuesday.

“We have responded and acted already on six of these fronts,” he said. Gallant told the committee the seven fronts are Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran, but wouldn't elaborate further on which fronts Israel has acted.

Gallant added that without achieving the goals of the war, the country won't just have an issue with people reluctant to return to the border areas with Lebanon and Gaza, but “people will not want to live in a place where we do not know how to protect them.” During the same meeting, committee chair Yuli Edelstein noted that as the fighting progresses, Israel is “transitioning from the second to third stage” of the military operation in Gaza, but the public should prepare for a long war. (AP)