The PKK decision is set to have far-reaching political and security consequences for the region, including in neighboring Iraq as well as in Syria. ISTANBUL — The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which has been locked in bloody conflict with the Turkish state for more than four decades, decided to disband and end its armed struggle, a news agency close to the group reported Monday. The PKK decision is set to have far-reaching political and security consequences for the region, including in neighboring Iraq and also in Syria, where Kurdish forces are allied with U.S. forces. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the PKK launched its insurgency in 1984. It is designated a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies. “The PKK has completed its historic mission,” the group said, according to the Firat news agency, which published what it said was the closing declaration of a congress that the PKK held last week in northern Iraq where it is based. The PKK held the congress in response to a call in February from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan to disband. “The PKK 12th Congress decided to dissolve the PKK’s organizational structure, with the practical process to be managed and carried out by Leader Apo, and to end the armed struggle method,” the statement said, using Ocalan’s nickname. “The PKK struggle has broken the policy of denial and annihilation of our people and brought the Kurdish issue to a point of solving it through democratic politics,” the statement said. The PKK’s decision will give President Tayyip Erdogan the opportunity to boost development in the mainly Kurdish southeast, where the insurgency has handicapped the regional economy for decades. Omer Celik, spokesperson for Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, said the PKK’s decision to dissolve was an “an important step toward a terror-free Turkey.” Turkey’s foreign ministry did not immediately comment on the announcement, which Ankara had been expecting. The lira was flat at 38.7375 against the dollar while the main share index rose 2.4%. There have been intermittent peace efforts over the years, most notably a ceasefire between 2013 and 2015 that ultimately collapsed.

The release came the day before President Donald Trump is set to travel to the Middle East in a trip that is expected to intensify ceasefire efforts. An American-Israeli soldier held hostage for more than 19 months in the Gaza Strip was released by Hamas on Monday. Edan Alexander, who is believed to be the last living U.S. citizen held captive in Gaza, was handed over to Red Cross representatives in the enclave’s southern city of Khan Younis. The 21-year-old was then transfered to its special forces inside the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said in a statement Monday. They subsequently returned him to Israel where “he will undergo an initial medical assessment and meet with his family,” the statement added. Pictures released by the IDF, showed a smiling Alexander hugging his parents Adi and Yael Alexander. President Donald Trump congratulated Alexander’s “wonderful parents, family, and friends,” on the release in a post on Truth Social. Alexander's family earlier told NBC News that Trump had expressed the wish to meet with Alexander during his visit to Qatar later this week, but added that the meeting would be subject to Alexander’s wishes and medical condition. Calling Alexander’s release “a very moving moment,” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the release was “achieved thanks to our military pressure and the political pressure exerted by President Trump.” Hamas confirmed the release earlier in the day. Shortly after Alexander was freed, the militant group said in a news release that the move was part of “the steps being taken to achieve a ceasefire, open the crossings, and allow aid” into the Gaza Strip. “We urge the Trump administration to continue its efforts to end this brutal war,” it added. Israel on Monday paused its military operations, including airstrikes and drone artillery, in Gaza ahead of the release, according to NBC News' crew on the ground. But Netanyahu's office said in a statement Monday that it was committing only to a safe corridor to allow Alexander’s release, rather than any ceasefire or release of Palestinian prisoners or detainees. “We are in critical days, during which Hamas has a proposal before it that would allow for the release of our hostages,” the statement said, adding, “Negotiations will continue under fire and alongside preparations to intensify the fighting.” The Israeli security Cabinet last week approved a plan to capture the entire enclave under which more than 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza would be “moved” out of the strip as Israel’s military launched operations to defeat Hamas. Welcoming the news that he would be freed, Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday said in a post on X that Israel is “founded on a profound commitment to mutual responsibility, and we are obligated to continue doing everything in our power to bring back all the hostages.” The release comes as Trump is set to travel to the Middle East in a trip that is expected to intensify efforts to bring a pause to Israel’s sweeping military offensive in the Gaza Strip, from which aid has been cut off for several weeks. The trip is not expected to include a stop in Israel. In a post on his Truth Social account Monday, Trump called Alexander’s release “great news.” Alexander, 21, was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and grew up in New Jersey. He was serving in the Israeli army when Hamas captured him during its terrorist attack Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people and took around 250 hostage, according to Israeli counts, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict. Alexander’s family confirmed in a statement Sunday that it was expecting his release. “Today, on Mother’s Day, we received the greatest gift imaginable—news that our beautiful son Edan is returning home after 583 days in captivity in Gaza,” it said. In his hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey, residents gathered in Huyler Park to celebrate the news and watch the events unfold on livestream screens. More than 52,000 people have been killed in the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip since then, according to health officials in the enclave, which has been run by Hamas since 2007. On Monday, they said that Israeli strikes had killed 33 people and injured 94 others in the past 24 hours, adding that many more remain trapped under rubble. Alexander is one of 59 hostages remaining in Gaza, according to Israeli officials, although less than half are believed to be alive. Hamas previously reneged on an agreement to release Alexander in March, along with the bodies of four other dual nationals, saying it had lost contact with the group holding him and blaming Israel for targeting the area where he was allegedly being held with strikes. Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, told NBC News on Sunday that he was traveling to Israel to secure Alexander’s release. “We are picking him up probably tomorrow,” Witkoff said. “There was a long negotiation with lots of people to thank.” He added that it was a big moment “in large part” because of Trump. Trump on Sunday said that he hoped Alexander’s release signified a step toward ending the war in Gaza. “This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Mediators Qatar and Egypt also welcomed the move in a statement Sunday.

Thousands of children have been found with acute malnutrition in the past month, but adults as well are not getting proper nutrients, according to the United Nations. It cost a fortune, she said, but Asmaa Fayez managed to buy a few zucchinis in a Gaza market. She cooked them with rice and brought it to her 4-year-old son, who has been in the hospital for the past week. The soup was his only meal of the day, and he asked for more. “It’s all finished, darling,” Fayez replied softly. Still, it was an improvement from the canned beans and tuna she brings on other days, she said. Hospital patients are among the most vulnerable as Palestinians across Gaza struggle to feed themselves, with Israel’s blockade on food and other supplies entering the territory now in its third month. With hospitals unable to provide food, families must bring whatever they can find for loved ones. “Most, if not all, wounded patients have lost weight, especially in the past two months,” Dr. Khaled Alserr, a general surgeon at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, told The Associated Press. Nutritional supplements for intensive care unit patients are lacking, he said. “Our hands are tied when it comes to making the best choice for patients. Choices are limited,” he said. Malnutrition is on the rise across Gaza, aid groups say. Thousands of children have been found with acute malnutrition in the past month, but adults as well are not getting proper nutrients, according to the U.N. It estimates that 16,000 pregnant women and new mothers this year face acute malnutrition. Since Israel’s blockade began on March 2, food sources have been drying up. Aid groups have stopped food distribution. Bakeries have closed. Charity kitchens handing out bowls of pasta or lentils remain the last lifeline for most of the population, but they are rapidly closing for lack of supplies, the U.N. says. Markets are empty of almost everything but canned goods and small amounts of vegetables, and prices have been rising. Local production of vegetables has plummeted because Israeli forces have damaged 80% of Gaza’s farmlands, the U.N. says, and much of the rest is inaccessible inside newly declared military zones. Fayez’s son, Ali al-Dbary, was admitted to Nasser Hospital because of a blocked intestine, suffering from severe cramps and unable to use the bathroom. Fayez believes it’s because he has been eating little but canned goods. She splurged on the zucchini, which now costs around $10 a kilogram (2.2 pounds). Before the war it was less than a dollar. Doctors said the hospital doesn’t have a functioning scanner to diagnose her son and decide whether he needs surgery. Israel says it imposed the blockade and resumed its military campaign in March to pressure Hamas to release its remaining hostages and disarm. Hamas ignited the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostage, most of whom have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel’s offensive has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. Israeli officials have asserted that enough food entered Gaza during a two-month ceasefire earlier this year. Rights groups have disputed that and called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a potential war crime. Now Israeli plans to control aid distribution in Gaza, using private contractors to distribute supplies. The U.N. and aid groups have rejected the idea, saying it could restrict who is eligible to give and receive aid and could force large numbers of Palestinians to move — which would violate international law. Those under care at hospitals, and their families who scrounge to feed them, would face further challenges under Israel’s proposal. Moving to reach aid could be out of the question. Another patient at Nasser Hospital, 19-year-old Asmaa Faraj, had shrapnel in her chest from an airstrike that hit close to her tent and a nearby charity kitchen in camps for displaced people outside Khan Younis. When the AP visited, the only food she had was a small bag of dates, a date cookie and some water bottles. Her sister brought her some pickles. “People used to bring fruits as a gift when they visited sick people in hospitals,” said the sister, Salwa Faraj. “Today, we have bottles of water.” She said her sister needs protein, fruits and vegetables but none are available. Mohammed al-Bursh managed to find a few cans of tuna and beans to bring for his 30-year-old son, Sobhi, who was wounded in an airstrike three months ago. Sobhi’s left foot was amputated, and he has two shattered vertebrae in his neck. Al-Bursh gently gave his son spoonfuls of beans as he lay still in the hospital bed, a brace on his neck. “Everything is expensive,” Sobhi al-Bursh said, gritting with pain that he says is constant. He said he limits what he eats to help save his father money. He believes that his body needs meat to heal. “It has been three months, and nothing heals,” he said.

Six strikes targeted Yemen’s Hodeidah port, Houthi-affiliated TV reported. The Israeli military said it carried out airstrikes against Yemen’s Hodeidah Port on Monday, a day after the Iran-aligned Houthis fired a missile that struck near Israel’s main airport. The strikes injured at least 21 people, the Houthi-run health ministry spokesman Anees al-Asbahi said. The Houthis shut down the area around the port and cement factory following the strikes, three sources said. They said the extent of the damage at the port was unknown, yet the intensity of the strikes and fire caused severe damage to the containers’ berth. Two other sources estimated the damage at 70% of the port’s five docks, warehouses and customs area. The strikes occurred as two ships were unloading their cargo, with traffic at the port at a complete standstill, a worker at the port said. The port is the second-largest in the Red Sea after Aden and is the entry point for about 80% of Yemen’s food imports. More than 10 strikes targeted Hodeidah Port and the Al Salakhanah and Al Hawak neighborhoods in the city of Hodeidah, five residents told Reuters. Four strikes also targeted a cement factory east of Hodeidah. “The attack was carried out in response to repeated attacks carried out by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel in which surface-to-surface missiles and unmanned aircraft were launched at the territory of the state and its citizens,” the Israeli military said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate for Sunday’s missile attack, which was the first known to have escaped interception by Israel’s air defenses in a series of attacks since March. Houthi official Abdul Qader al-Mortada said in an X post commenting on the attack that Israel should wait for the “unimaginable”. The Yemeni group resumed its attacks on Israel and shipping lanes following a brief suspension after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza ended. The Houthis, who control Yemen, have been firing at Israel and shipping in the Red Sea since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians. A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity said that U.S. forces were not actively involved in Monday’s strikes, but there is general coordination between the two allies, the official said. Meanwhile, an oil company operated by the Houthis announced it has begun operating an emergency system for supplying cars with fuel, owing to difficulties in unloading cargo at the oil port of Ras Isa. The company, in a statement, attributed the decision to U.S. strikes on the country, including the port. U.S. President Donald Trump in March ordered large-scale strikes against the Houthis. The strikes have killed hundreds of people in Yemen while Israel has largely limited its strikes on Yemen since December last year. Earlier on Monday, Israel approved a plan that may include seizing the Gaza Strip and controlling aid to the Palestinian enclave. The war in Gaza started after Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s offensive on Gaza has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials have said, and destroyed much of the enclave. Netanyahu said in a video message the operation would be “intensive” and would see more Palestinians in Gaza moved “for their own safety. He said Israeli troops would not follow previous tactics based on short raids by forces based outside Gaza. “The intention is the opposite,” he said, echoing comments from other officials who have said the country would hold on to the ground it has seized. Israeli troops have already taken over an area amounting to around a third of Gaza, displacing the population and building watchtowers and surveillance posts on cleared ground the military has described as security zones, but the new plan would go further.

The donation was announced on the day Israel approved plans to seize the Gaza Strip and stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time. Pope Francis donated one of his popemobiles to be converted into a mobile health unit to serve the children of Gaza, officials said Monday. The Jerusalem and Sweden branches of the Vatican’s Caritas charitable federation released photos of the repurposed vehicle on Monday. There is no word, though, on when it might be put to use. The donation was announced on the same day that Israel approved plans to seize the Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time. “When the humanitarian corridor to Gaza reopens, it (the popemobile) will be ready to give primary healthcare to children in Gaza,” Caritas Jerusalem said in a statement. The vehicle will be outfitted with equipment for diagnosis, examination, and treatment. Caritas said it would have testing equipment, suture kits, syringes and needles, oxygen supply, vaccines, and a refrigerator. “This vehicle represents the love, care and closeness shown by His Holiness for the most vulnerable, which he expressed throughout the crisis,” the secretary general of Caritas Jerusalem, Anton Asfar, said in a statement. During Israel’s war in Gaza, Francis became increasingly outspoken in his criticism of the Israeli military’s harsh tactics while also demanding the return of hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. Last year, he urged an investigation into whether Israel’s war amounted to genocide -– a charge Israel vehemently denies. He repeatedly spoke out about the plight of people in Gaza, and had a nightly ritual that he even maintained while he was in the hospital in February with pneumonia: he would call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping.

An expansion of Israel’s operation will “inevitably lead to countless more civilians killed and the further destruction of Gaza,” a United Nations spokesperson warned Tuesday. As the frail newborn shivers in his mother’s arms, Yussuf Al-Najjar’s parents fear he will leave the world as quickly as he arrived in it. “His condition is deteriorating,” Nagia Al-Najjar said of her baby Monday in the intensive care ward at Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza. Born prematurely, Yussuf is now suffering from acute malnutrition, with the family unable to obtain formula or medication as Israel’s blockade of aid and goods reaching Gaza enters its third month. After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he would give an order to ramp up the military offensive in Gaza with a plan to seize the entire strip, Yussuf’s future is increasingly uncertain. Palestinians and observers fear fresh bombings and displacement, and aid groups warn of a spiraling humanitarian crisis marked by scarce food supplies. Across Gaza, Palestinians expressed anxiety as they learned of the plan unanimously approved by Israel's security Cabinet to seize the entire territory in what Netanyahu described as an effort to defeat Hamas. “We were hoping and waiting for a decision for Israel to end the war against us — not the decision to occupy Gaza and displace its people,” Walid Abu Muhsin, a street vendor from Khan Younis, told NBC News’ crew Monday. Inside Gaza and abroad, humanitarian and aid groups condemned the Netanyahu-led government's plans to control Gaza indefinitely and distribute aid to Gaza via "Israeli hubs under conditions set by the Israeli military" once Israel lifts its blockade. The two goals will "inevitably lead to countless more civilians killed and the further destruction of Gaza," U.N. deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a briefing Monday in New York. More than 52,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the local Health Ministry, since Israel launched its offensive in the enclave following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, which marked a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict. Around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage into Gaza in the attacks, with more than 50 people, both dead and alive, believed to remain in Hamas' captivity, according to Israeli officials. The families of hostages who remain held in Gaza have warned that a ramped-up offensive will only put the lives of their loved ones at further risk. Meanwhile, right-wing ministers in Netanyahu’s fragile government coalition celebrated the plans for an expanded offensive, having advocated for such a move before and after the last ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which held for two months from Jan. 19 to March 18. Prior to that ceasefire, the Israeli military had taken control of around a third of Gaza. Even so, hopes remained in Gaza and Israel for a resumption of that truce ahead of a visit from President Donald Trump to the region planned for next week. While Trump has repeatedly touted a proposal for the U.S. to eventually take ownership of the Gaza Strip, Palestinians there implored him to take action to halt Israel’s plans for an expanded offensive. Khan Younis resident Abu Muhsin, 55, asked “Where is Trump who calls for freedom and democracy?” In Israel, meanwhile, Cabinet Minister Ze’ev Elkin said Monday that a “window of opportunity” remained for talks to resume. From outside of his Cabinet, Netanyahu has faced growing criticism for resuming and expanding Israel's offensive in Gaza. The latest denunciation came from Eran Duvdevani, a prominent retired colonel who led a campaign by former and reserve Israeli paratroopers calling for an end to the war. Duvdevani told NBC News that a growing number of reservists were already rejecting calls to return to service in a war they increasingly view as politically motivated. He added that without a fresh truce between Israel and Hamas, Trump's intervention was likely the only thing that could stop an expanded offensive. "This is the only way, to press Netanyahu," Duvdevani said in a phone interview early Tuesday. "Nothing will happen if Trump will not press him." Meanwhile, a hearing for Netanyahu's testimony in his ongoing public corruption trial ended early Tuesday, according to Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel. It came as the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for Yemen’s Sanaa Airport ahead of what appeared to be a pending attack.

Gaza is under its longest blockade of humanitarian aid since the war began as Israel’s total ban on the entry of all goods, including food, fuel and medical supplies, enters its third month. Israel's security Cabinet has unanimously approved a plan to seize all of the Gaza Strip in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would be an intensive military operation aimed at defeating Hamas. Palestinian civilians will be moved during the “powerful” new operation in Gaza, Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media, adding that his forces would not launch raids inside the enclave and then retreat. The security Cabinet took the decision on the recommendation of Zamir, the military chief, Netanyahu said. Israel, before the last ceasefire went into effect, had already taken full control of a third of Gaza. The besieged enclave has been under the longest blockade of humanitarian aid since the war began in October 2023, as Israel’s total ban on the entry of all goods, including food, fuel and medical supplies, enters its third month. As a result, the risk of famine hangs over Gaza’s population, prompting alarm even among some of Israel’s closest allies. The United Nations on Sunday rejected an Israeli proposal for aid distribution, describing it as “Israeli hubs under conditions set by the Israeli military.” It added that the plan was “dangerous” and appeared to “reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic,” and would mean that large parts of Gaza, including the less mobile and most vulnerable people, would continue to go without supplies. eli soldiers near the border with Gaza on Sunday.Menahem Kahana / AFP via Getty Images But a senior Israeli security official said in a statement Monday that the “humanitarian blockade will continue, and only later — after the operational phase begins and a large-scale civilian evacuation to the south is completed — will a humanitarian plan be implemented.” They added that unlike in the past the military “will remain in every area it secures to prevent the return of terror.” The Israeli army has begun calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers to “intensify and expand” its fight against Hamas in an attempt to get the militant group to return hostages still being held since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack. “We are increasing the pressure with the aim of returning our men and defeating Hamas,” Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said in a statement, adding that the troops would “operate in additional areas and destroy all infrastructure above and below the ground.” However, some reservists have indicated they will refuse to serve in a war they increasingly view as politically motivated, and at a Knesset committee meeting Monday, Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is being held hostage, called on soldiers “not to report for reserve duty for moral and ethical reasons.” More than 51,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive, including thousands of women and children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The war has also decimated Gaza’s medical facilities and infrastructure and driven most of its population from their homes — often several times. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, recently warned that nearly a half-million Palestinians in Gaza have been newly displaced. Meanwhile, the families of the 59 remaining hostages under Hamas' captivity issued a "red alert" Monday over the impending expansion in Gaza. “The expansion of military operations puts every hostage at grave risk,” the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters, said in a statement, adding, “It also threatens the lives of our soldiers and deepens the toll on countless Israeli families already carrying the burden of this war.” Some 1,200 people were killed during Hamas' terrorist attacks in southern Israel, with around 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli counts, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict. Israel resumed launching airstrikes in Gaza after a fragile eight-week truce between Israel and Hamas collapsed March 18, just more than two weeks after the first phase of the three-part ceasefire deal came to an end. Negotiations on the second phase of the deal, meant to establish a permanent end to the fighting, have since stalled. The ceasefire and hostage release talks could resume before a planned visit by President Donald Trump to the region next week, Israeli Minister Ze'ev Elkin told the public broadcaster Kan on Monday. “There is still a window of opportunity until President Trump concludes his visit to the Middle East, if Hamas understands we are serious,” Elkin said. Trump said last month that he and Netanyahu were “on the same side of every issue” in a post on Truth Social, shortly after the two leaders spoke over the phone. In February, Trump announced that the U.S. would seek ownership of the Gaza Strip to develop it into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” after saying Palestinians have no choice but to leave their homes there. He reiterated those plans after a meeting with Netanyahu at the White House in April, saying that the Gaza Strip was “an incredible piece of important real estate” and that U.S. control and ownership of the territory would “be a good thing.”

The United Nations estimates that 70% of Gaza has been under evacuation orders or in designated “no-go zones,” leaving Palestinians with “no safe place to go.” Bombarded on a near daily basis and with food and medicine increasingly scarce, Gaza has effectively shrunk for its Palestinian population since Israel resumed its military campaign in March and has taken control of more territory. An NBC News analysis of maps, evacuation orders and statements released by the Israel Defense Forces, as well as interviews with experts, humanitarian workers and civilians, shows that people have been pushed into increasingly crowded areas, and that a humanitarian zone once deemed safe is no longer designated as such. Israel broke its fragile truce with Hamas on March 18, just over two weeks after the first phase of the three-part ceasefire deal came to an end. Negotiations on the second phase of the deal, meant to establish a permanent end to the fighting, have since stalled, with Israel also blocking the flow of aid and goods into Gaza for more than 60 days. Along with regular airstrikes and ground operations, its military has also moved to secure more of the enclave, while nearly half a million Palestinians in Gaza have been newly displaced, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, recently warned. After launching its offensive following the Hamas-led terror attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel created a sweeping buffer zone along the entirety of its western border with Gaza, while cutting off the north from the rest of the enclave with the establishment of the Netzarim Corridor. Sitting to the south of Gaza City it stretches from Israel’s western border with Gaza to the Mediterranean Sea. But since March 18, maps released by the IDF indicate an expansion of its security zone around the corridor. To the south, it has stationed its forces along the Philadelphi Corridor along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt and taken control of the border crossing in the city of Rafah, once designated a safe zone for Palestinians. On April 12, Israel said it had completed what it calls the “Morag Corridor” to the north of Rafah and south of the city of Khan Younis, effectively sealing Rafah off from the rest of the enclave. 'No longer protective' As well as taking territory, the Israeli military routinely issues evacuation orders or designates areas as “no-go zones.” But the United Nations estimated in mid-April that around 70% of Gaza was under one or both of these. This has left “Palestinians in Gaza with no safe place to go and little to survive on,” it said in a statement. Yaakov Garb, an environmental studies professor at Ben Gurion University in Israel who has been studying the Israeli military’s maps, told NBC News in a phone interview last month that he estimated Israel’s buffer zones and other restricted areas now account for around 48% of the Gaza Strip. “These buffers are no longer protective of Israel,” Garb said. “They’re more kind of moats around enclaves,” he said, referring to the increasingly packed areas that Palestinians are being ordered to evacuate to. Humanitarian zones have vanished The majority of the evacuation orders issued by the IDF since March 18 have seen Palestinians in northern Gaza ordered to move to Gaza City, while those under evacuation orders in central and southern Gaza have been funneled toward “known shelters” in Khan Younis and Al-Mawasi. Prior to the ceasefire that began on Jan. 19, the IDF would frequently refer to Al-Mawasi as the “humanitarian zone” in its evacuation orders. But after it resumed its offensive, those references appeared to vanish. The IDF told NBC News in a statement last week that Al-Mawasi was “currently not defined as a safe zone.” It added that evacuation zones would also change “in accordance with IDF operations” in the enclave. Asked if anywhere in Gaza was considered a “safe zone,” the IDF did not respond. However, Palestinians in Gaza have said nowhere in the enclave has been “safe” throughout the war, which began after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Palestinian health officials say the Israeli offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza since then. Even when Al-Mawasi was designated as a humanitarian zone, repeated Israeli strikes were reported in the area. “They used to drop leaflets telling us to head to ‘safe zones,’” Ahmed Alam Sobhy Abou Nama said in an interview last week at the camp in Al-Mawasi where he sheltering. He added that they didn’t go “because in Gaza, there is no ‘safe zone.’” Hany Daboor, a member of Gaza’s Civil Defense, said civilians were increasingly calling the agency to express concerns over what they believed was the targeting of safe zones in Israeli strikes. Echoing Abou Nama, he said, “There is no ‘safe zone.’” Now, as Israel continues to expand its security zones in the enclave, fears are growing about the increasingly limited space within which civilians can seek relative safety. “We feel that we are all been blockaded in a small zone,” Abou Nama said. 'Part of the war' But Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, maintained that Israel’s latest measures are aimed at pressuring Hamas — not to “reduce the size of the Gaza Strip for the sake of annexation or something like that.” Still, he said it was likely that Israel would maintain control of buffer zones and seized territory indefinitely, or at least until Hamas’ rule in Gaza is brought to an end, with a new system of authority ushered in. “We are still in a war against Hamas. And this is part of the war,” he said.

BEN-GURION INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Israel — A missile launched by Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen on Sunday briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at Israel’s main international airport after an impact left a plume of smoke and caused panic among passengers. The Houthi rebels have been striking Israel throughout the war in Gaza in solidarity with Palestinians. The attack on Ben-Gurion International Airport came hours before top Israeli Cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip. The army meanwhile began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in Gaza, officials said. The missile launch Sunday set off air raid sirens in multiple parts of Israel. A plume of smoke was visible at the airport, according to footage shared by Israeli media. Passengers were heard yelling and scrambling for cover. It was not immediately clear whether the projectile, which landed in a field near an access road leading to airport parking lots, was the missile or its fragments, or an interceptor from Israel’s air defense systems. It left a deep crater in the ground and a nearby road was littered with dirt. Israel vows to respond to the airport attack Police said that air, road and rail traffic were halted following the attack. The traffic resumed after about an hour, Israel Airports Authority said. Israel’s paramedic service Magen David Adom said four people were lightly wounded. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a video statement that the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport. Houthi rebels have been firing at Israel since the war with Gaza erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, and the missiles have mostly been intercepted, although some have penetrated Israel’s missile defense systems, causing damage. Israel has struck back against the rebels in Yemen and the U.S., Israel’s top ally, also launched a campaign of strikes in March against them. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed retribution for the airport attack: “Whoever harms us, we will harm them sevenfold.” Israeli ministers will vote on expanding the war in Gaza An Israeli official said the influential security Cabinet would meet on Sunday evening to vote on plans to expand the fighting. A military official said the country was calling up thousands of reserves. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in an interview with Israeli Army Radio, said he wanted to see a “powerful” expansion of the war, but did not disclose details as to what the new plans would entail. “We need to increase the intensity and continue until we achieve total victory. We must win a total victory,” he said. He demanded that Israel bomb “the food and electricity supplies” in Gaza. The plans to escalate fighting in Gaza more than 18 months after the war there erupted come as a humanitarian crisis in the territory deepens. As part of its efforts to pressure the militant group Hamas to negotiate on Israel’s terms for a new ceasefire, Israel in early March halted the entry of goods into Gaza. That has plunged the territory of 2.3 million people into what is believed to be the worst humanitarian crisis since the war began. An eight-week-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that brought a lull in fighting and freed Israeli hostages collapsed in March. Israel resumed its strikes on Gaza on March 18 and has captured swaths of the coastal enclave. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since the fighting resumed, according to local health officials. Fighting in Gaza drags on At least seven Palestinians including two parents and their two children, ages 2 and 4, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern and central Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics said. Asked about the strikes, the Israeli military had no direct comment. The Israeli military said Sunday that two soldiers were killed in combat in Gaza, bringing the number of soldiers killed since fighting resumed in March to six. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. Israel says 59 remain in Gaza, although roughly 35 are said to be dead. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children according to Palestinian health officials, who do not distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count. The fighting has displaced more than 90% of Gaza’s population, often multiple times. Hunger has been widespread and the shortage of food has set off looting.

Thousands of children in Gaza have been admitted to hospitals for malnutrition, but even as they waste away, doctors’ options for treating them have been depleted. Gazans are fighting over the last cans of food, malnourished mothers are struggling to make milk for their thinning babies, and doctors have begun counting down the days before the slow deaths by starvation begin to happen en masse. “Within one week, we will see a severe starvation,” Dr. Ahmad Al-Farra, head of pediatrics and obstetrics at Nasser Hospital, told NBC News. The besieged enclave is under its longest blockade of humanitarian aid since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, as Israel’s total ban on the entry of all goods, including food, fuel and medical supplies, enters its third month. Despite international outrage, Israel has not only kept the gates shut past 63 days, but the security Cabinet is voting Sunday night to expand its offensive in Gaza. For weeks, families were surviving on very little — fewer meals and smaller spoonfuls — and each day has brought a new low of deprivation. Parents are now watching their vulnerable children starve, with warehouses now empty and community kitchens forced shut. In a place where 80% of the population relies on aid, according to the United Nations, those aid agencies no longer have much to supply. What little food is left in the markets is sold at exorbitant prices. Ossama Al-Raqab was lying in the pediatric ward of Nasser Hospital, unable to sit up properly. The 5-year-old suffers from cystic fibrosis and is so starved that he can barely lift his gaunt head. His cheeks have sunk into the hollows of his face, his ribs are protruding, and his scrawny limbs are little more than bone. His facial muscles have wasted away so much, he can no longer close his mouth. “Mommy, Mommy, I want to go back,” he whimpers, unable to speak for long. His mother, Mona Al-Raqab, sits next to him, showing a picture of her once healthy and smiling son, at a time when his diet included eggs, avocados, cashews and almonds. “He needs food and food that contains protein and fat,” she says. “But these things are not available now, and if they are, they are expensive.” Young Ossama is among the thousands of people already being treated for malnutrition, and for months, doctors like Al-Farra have been warning that the hunger will one day turn fatal. That warning is now a reality. “We are talking about 57 deaths from starvation for pediatrics,” Al-Farra told NBC News, adding the cases were not only expected to rise in number, but also severity. “We are talking about increased cases of malnutrition and anemia.” More than 52,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, local health officials say, where less than half of the remaining 59 hostages taken from southern Israel are believed to still be alive in captivity. About 1,200 were killed in Israel and 250 kidnapped during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that sparked this major escalation of a decadeslong conflict. Israel imposed the current blockade on March 2 after it ended a two-month ceasefire and resumed its military operations, justifying the blockade as necessary for pressuring Hamas into releasing the hostages. Israel, which has been accused of violating international humanitarian law by using starvation as a weapon of war, has defended its blockade by saying enough aid entered the strip during the ceasefire and accused Hamas of hijacking its delivery. Those who survive malnutrition in Gaza also have to survive Israel’s ongoing bombardment. But in Gaza’s barely functioning health care system, even the most critical injuries are not being treated and the simplest injuries are turning fatal without blood supply, which is also being depleted by hunger. Even when there is an available donor, Al-Farra said, “unfortunately a lot of them already have anemia,” which disqualifies them from donation. The blockade’s resumption has resulted in a sharp increase in acute malnutrition among children, according to UNICEF, which said the number of such cases doubled in March from the previous month. More than 9,000 children have been admitted or treated for acute malnutrition since the start of the year, it said. With bakeries shut, fishing restricted and farming land destroyed or taken over by Israeli forces, “humanitarian aid has provided the only lifeline for children, and now it is close to running out,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement Friday. Starvation begins with the most vulnerable, and newborns and children already suffering other conditions are especially prone. Siwar Ashour, a 5-month-old child from Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, has lost half of her weight, her mother, Najwa Aram, 23, told NBC News. “I can’t even afford milk. I beg for clothes for her,” Ashour said, crying. Ashour said her daughter first contracted intestinal flu, which worsened with the lack of clean water and food. “Every day his condition worsens,” Al-Raqab says, looking at her son, Ossama, who was so frail he now appeared swallowed by the clothes that once fit him. “I want him to be like a normal child, play with children and go out and finish kindergarten.”