Rifts among senior Israeli officials over handling of the war

Palestinians walk on a damaged street in a refugee camp in Tulkarm, occupied West Bank

Rifts are emerging among top Israeli officials over the handling of the war against Hamas in Gaza. A member of the country's War Cabinet cast doubt over the strategy for releasing hostages, and the country's prime minister rejected the US' calls to scale back its offensive. Only a cease-fire deal can win the release of dozens of hostages still held by Islamic militants in Gaza, and claims they could be freed by other means was spreading "illusions," said former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, one of four members of the War Cabinet, in his first public statements on the course of the war.

Damaged buildings in Gaza Strip. Pics/AP

Eisenkot's comments were the latest sign of disagreement among political and military leaders over the direction of Israel's offensive on Hamas. Israel has also cut off all but a trickle of supplies into the besieged Gaza Strip, including food, water and fuel. Several dozen trucks with critical supplies now enter the territory each day, just a fraction of the pre-war volume of about 500 trucks. Both the US and UN have said more aid needs to be delivered.

Islamic Jihad leader killed in south Gaza

The Israeli military killed a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist in an airstrike in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said. Wael Abu-Fanounah was the deputy head of Islamic Jihad's psychological warfare operations. He also held other positions in the Iran-backed terror group's ranks, including as an assistant to Khalil Bahtini, the Islamic Jihad's Commander of Gaza's northern region. He was in charge of publishing videos of the Islamic Jihad's rocket attacks against Israel, as well as the creation and distribution of documentation of the Israeli hostages as part of the terror group's strategy.

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