Israeli airstrikes reportedly kill at least 16 in Gaza

Israeli air strikes killed 16 people, including five women and four children, in the Gaza Strip on Monday, Palestinian sources said.

One strike flattened a house in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least 10 people, including four women and two children.

Awda Hospital, which received the bodies, confirmed the death toll and said 13 people were wounded.

A separate strike on a house in Gaza City killed six people, including a woman and two children, according to the Civil Defense, the first responders that operate under the Hamas-run government.

Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the German government, the EU, the US and some Arab states.

Hamas chief says Houthis strike sends message to Israel

Meanwhile, Hamas chief Yehya Sinwar has congratulated Yemen's Houthi rebel group for its missile attack on Israel, saying it sent a message to its enemy, according to the Houthis' Al-Massirah TV.

The Iran-allied Houthis, who control northern Yemen, reached central Israel with a rocket for the first time on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would impose a "heavy price" on them.

"I congratulate you on your success in reaching the depth of the enemy entity," Sinwar said in a letter to Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi.

The Hamas chief added that Israel's plans to neutralize the militant group had failed. "I assure you that the resistance is fine. We have prepared ourselves to fight a long battle of attrition," he said.

Gallant says military operation needed on Lebanese border

A potentially wider war between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah may be approaching, according to Israeli government comments.

The possibility for a deal is running out as Hezbollah continues to "tie itself" to the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement and refuses to end the conflict, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said at a meeting with US mediator Amos Hochstein.

"Therefore, the only way left to ensure the return of Israel's northern communities to their homes will be via military action," he said.

His comments came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Hochstein: "It will not be possible to return our residents without a fundamental change in the security situation in the north."

US still working on revised Gaza cease-fire proposal

In a separate development, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States is still working with mediators Egypt and Qatar on a revised proposal for a cease-fire in the Gaza war.

According to Miller, Washington was working with the mediators on what the proposal will contain and ensuring that "it's a proposal that can get the parties to an ultimate agreement."

US officials say much of the deal has been agreed upon, but negotiations are continuing to encounter two major obstacles — Israel's demand to keep its forces in the Philadelphi corridor to maintain a buffer between Gaza and Egypt, and the details for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Miller confirmed that these remain the main sticking points.

dh/jsi (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)