Close
MyNorthwest
News
Opinion
Sports
Tools
Connect

WORLD

Israel launches a new military operation in Gaza to pressure Hamas to release hostages

May 17, 2025, 4:52 AM | Updated: 1:14 pm

Palestinians inspect the damage caused by an Israeli airstrike that struck tents at Al-Aqsa Hospita...

Palestinians inspect the damage caused by an Israeli airstrike that struck tents at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Associated Press's Profile Picture

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS


JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Saturday it has launched a new military operation in the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages.

Israel’s defense minister said Operation Gideon Chariots began and was being led with “great force” by Israel’s army.

The announcement comes after days of intensive strikes across Gaza that killed hundreds of people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to escalate pressure on Hamas with the aim of destroying the militant group that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades.

World

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker addresses the audience during the America 250 event in Bru...

Associated Press

US envoy to NATO criticizes Czech Republic’s ‘disappointing’ spending on defense

PRAGUE (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to NATO renewed his country’s criticism of the Czech Republic on Friday, saying it had failed to spend enough on defense. “It is disappointing to see that it has not made more progress towards meeting the Hague Defense Commitment,” Matthew Whitaker told a defense conference in Prague. “Unfortunately, the […]

2 hours ago

A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard salutes while riding on a float displaying drones during the...

Associated Press

Iranians rally by the hundreds of thousands in biggest show of defiance since war began

CAIRO (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied Friday in a government-organized show of defiance after months of war, pledging their readiness to take up arms in the biggest such demonstration since the United States and Israel attacked in February. Iran’s government has sought to rally the people and stress national unity, even as […]

11 hours ago

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (A...

Associated Press

Asian shares mostly rise, cheered by a US rally and easing oil prices

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose in early Friday trading, getting a lift from a rally on Wall Street as well as declining oil prices. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% in early trading to 64,662.11, as the Bank of Japan ends a two-day monetary policy meeting to decide on interest rates. South Korea’s […]

15 hours ago

Tents are lined up in the Al-Firdaws camp for displaced Yemenis in Ras Imran, on the western outski...

Associated Press

What to know after a week of Houthi attacks that threaten Saudi oil and have rattled world markets

CAIRO (AP) — It’s been a week since Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels stormed down the Red Sea coast, extending their reach to a key maritime chokepoint and threatening Saudi Arabia’s oil exports. The Houthis’ biggest land grab in years reignited Yemen’s 12-year civil war and pushed up global fuel prices. It also gave Iran another […]

1 day ago

Police officers inspect fragments of a Russian drone after an air attack on a commercial infrastruc...

Associated Press

A sweeping US sanctions bill offers Ukraine new leverage on Russia, but enforcement looms

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has long argued that Russia will only negotiate seriously if the cost of continuing the war becomes too high. For Kyiv, punitive sanctions that impose real economic costs on Moscow are a key part of that strategy. This week’s passage of a long-sought, sweeping package of U.S. sanctions aimed at […]

1 day ago

Associated Press

UN-backed experts cite possible US war crimes in Iran strikes

GENEVA (AP) — Human rights experts commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body say they have found “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran, including on a school in the southern city of Minab. The international fact-finding mission on Iran says the findings center on a […]

1 day ago

Israel launches a new military operation in Gaza to pressure Hamas to release hostages