Israeli attacks kill 13 in Gaza; hospitals overwhelmed

The military wing of Hamas says it has lost contact with a group guarding US-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander after an Israeli bombardment hit the area where he was being held.
Hamas is reviewing a new ceasefire proposal from Israel and will respond “as soon as possible” as the movement’s spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri tells Al Jazeera that “the request to disarm Hamas is not acceptable to even hear”.
Palestinians worried about more attacks as fate of US-Israeli soldier remains unclear
This comes shortly after the armed wing of Hamas released a video to show he was alive, so today’s development is concerning.

Palestinians across Gaza believe that the US has an interest in releasing this American-Israeli captive. They believe this will increase pressure on the Israeli government to speed up the process and come to an agreement.

But it’s still unclear what has happened and there have been no details apart from the claim that communication has been cut with those guarding him.

If it is confirmed that Alexander has been killed, then the Palestinian groups will lose what they hoped would be a lever of pressure against the Netanyahu government to get him to sign a ceasefire agreement.
Lebanese PM calls Jordan after ‘security’ plot amid fallout of Gaza war
Jordan says it has arrested 16 people, thwarting a plot that threatened national security and involved manufacturing and illegally importing rockets, explosives and a drone production site.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s office said he called his Jordanian counterpart, Jafar Hassan, to say Lebanon refuses to be a launch point for any actions that would threaten the security of friendly countries.

He expressed readiness to cooperate with the Jordanian authorities as necessary regarding the information that “some of those involved in these schemes received their training in Lebanon”.

A security source quoted by the Reuters news agency said the suspects were connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition group in a country that also has a large Palestinian population.

Thousands of people in Jordan have participated in many demonstrations protesting Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 51,000 Palestinians.
Israel’s Ben-Gvir storms occupied West Bank’s Ibrahimi Mosque
Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has once again led a group of settlers in an unexpected visit to the Ibarhimi Mosque in Hebron, sources have confirmed to Al Jazeera.

The head of the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party also took to the stage to discuss internal Israeli political affairs, including the government’s efforts to oust internal security agency Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar amid a row with the prime minister.

Ben-Gvir has made multiple controversial visits under armed guard to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the war on Gaza as well. This latest visit to the Hebron mosque comes as hundreds of Israeli settlers have entered Al-Aqsa Mosque in the past three days to mark Passover.

‘Be prepared’: Hamas releases warning video on Gaza captives
After its warning over the loss of contact with the group holding US-Israeli captive soldier Edan Alexander, the armed wing of Hamas has released a video directed at captives’ families.

“Be prepared. Soon your children will return in black coffins with their bodies torn apart by shrapnel from your army’s missiles,” the Qassam Brigades said in the video, which is accompanied by footage from a previous handover of Israeli captives’ remains in coffins to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“Your leadership has signed the decision to execute the prisoners in the Gaza Strip.”