Live updates | Fighting in central and southern Gaza after Israel says it's pulling some troops out

Israel's army said several thousand troops would be taken out of Gaza in the coming weeks, though it has not said publicly whether the withdrawal reflects a new phase of the war. The move is in line with the plans that Israeli leaders have outlined for a low-intensity campaign, expected to last for much of the year, that focuses on remaining Hamas strongholds.

Still, fierce fighting was ongoing Tuesday in central and southern Gaza. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled to the southern portion of

the cramped enclave

, with more than 85% of the population driven from their homes.

About 1,200 people were killed after Hamas

raided southern Israel

on Oct. 7, with

around 240 people taken hostage

.

More than 21,900 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, have been killed since the start of the war, according to the

Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza

, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants among the dead.

Currently:

— Israel’s Supreme Court

overturns a key component

of Netanyahu’s polarizing judicial overhaul.

— The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is

returning home after extended deployment

defending Israel.

— An Israeli who fought Hamas for 2 months

indicted for impersonating a soldier

and stealing weapons

— U.S. Navy helicopters fire at Yemen’s Houthi rebels, killing several in the

latest Red Sea shipping attack

.

— Find more of AP's coverage at:

https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

.

Here's what's happening in the war:

ISRAEL WILL DEFEND ITSELF AGAINST GENOCIDE ACCUSATIONS AT WORLD COURT

JERUSALEM — Israel says it will defend itself against

genocide accusations filed by South Africa

with the world court.

Eylon Levy, an official in the Israeli prime minister’s office, on Tuesday accused South Africa of “giving political and legal cover” to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered Israel’s war against the militant group.

“The state of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice at the Hague to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel,” Levy said.

South Africa launched the case Friday at the U.N.’s top court, accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and asking the court to order Israel to halt its attacks.

Israel dismisses international cases against it as unfair and biased and rarely cooperates. The Israeli response signals the government is taking the case seriously.

ISRAELI FORCES KILL 4 PALESTINIANS IN THE WEST BANK

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says its forces killed four Palestinian militants early Tuesday during a raid in the West Bank, in the latest deadly violence in the occupied territory.

The military said the men opened fire on troops raiding the village of Azzun, in the northern West Bank, before barricading themselves in a home. It says an Israeli soldier was moderately wounded.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, an armed group loosely tied to President Mahmoud Abbas’ secular Fatah movement, claimed the dead as its fighters and said they died defending the village.

Israel has stepped up raids across the West Bank since Oct. 7, when an attack by the militant Hamas group triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.

More than 300 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since Oct. 7, mostly in confrontations with Israeli forces during raids or protests, though some have also been killed in attacks by armed settlers.

UK SENDS FIRST MARITIME SHIPMENT OF SUPPLIES FOR GAZA

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The U.K. says its first maritime shipment of nearly 100 tons of thermal blankets, shelter packs and medical supplies for Gaza has reached Egypt’s Port Said, from where it will cross into the enclave.

The U.K. Foreign Office said Tuesday that the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Lyme Bay delivered the aid after departing from Cyprus. The aid will be distributed by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

The aid delivery was made possible following visits by British Foreign Secretary James Cameron and Defense Secretary Grant Shapps to Egypt and Cyprus last month. The aid includes 11 tons of medical supplies donated by Cyprus.

The British government said it would “explore other routes for aid deliveries,” including the

Cypriot initiative

to set up a maritime corridor to continuously ship large quantities of assistance to Gaza and the land corridor from Jordan.

ISRAELI STRIKES HIT THE OUTSKIRTS OF DAMASCUS, SYRIAN NEWS AGENCY SAYS

BEIRUT — Several Israeli airstrikes hit the outskirts of Damascus early Tuesday, causing “material damage,” Syrian state media reported.

State news agency SANA, citing an unnamed military official, said the strikes came from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights at around 4:30 a.m.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor, reported that the airstrikes hit a Syrian army artillery unit where members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah were also stationed.

Israel for years has struck parts of government-held Syria. On the rare occasions it acknowledges the strikes, Israel says it's targeting Iranian-backed groups there that have backed President Bashar Assad’s government. The observatory said Israel carried out 76 attacks on Syrian territory in 2023.

On Monday, the Israeli military said it had identified five missiles launched from Syria that fell in open areas.