The Latest | Blinken urges Israel not to invade Rafah. Netanyahu says he'll 'do it alone'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sternly rejected calls by the visiting U.S. secretary of state not to launch a ground invasion into Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, saying Friday “we will do it alone” if necessary.

The looming Rafah invasion has cast a shadow over ongoing efforts to forge a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters “there’s still a lot of work to be done” as he wrapped up his sixth trip to the Mideast since the war began.

Israel is seeking the release of the more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas, while the militant group wants an end to the war — not a temporary pause — as well as the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

International aid officials say the entire population of the Gaza Strip — 2.3 million people — is suffering from food insecurity and that famine is imminent in the hard-hit north. More than a million people have crowded into Rafah a they flee fighting across the besieged territory.

Gaza's Health Ministry raised the territory's death toll to 32,070 people, with around 74,300 wounded. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

Some 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militants launched a surprise attack out of Gaza, triggering the war, and abducted another 250 people. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 100 Israelis hostage, as well as the remains of 30 others.

Currently:

— Russia and China veto US resolution calling for immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

— Blinken says an Israeli assault on Gaza’s Rafah would be a mistake, and isn’t needed to defeat Hamas.

— Israel says Rafah is Hamas’ last major stronghold in the Gaza Strip, and it's determined to launch an offensive.

— U.S. House speaker says he plans to invite Netanyahu to address the Congress.

— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.

Here's the latest:

HEAD OF UNRWA PRAISES FINLAND'S DECISION TO RESUME FUNDING TO EMBATTLED U.N. AGANCY

GENEVA — The head of the U.N.’s lead agency helping Palestinians praised Finland's decision to resume funding the agency, weeks after it lost hundreds of millions of dollars in support following Israeli allegations against some of its staffers in Gaza.

Philippe Lazzarini on Friday welcomed the news that all five Nordic countries have restored their funding to the agency, known by the acronym UNRWA.

Israel accused 12 employees of UNRWA in Gaza of participating in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people. In response, more than a dozen countries including Finland suspended funding to UNRWA worth about $450 million, almost half its budget for the year.

Israel now alleges that 450 UNRWA employees were members of militant groups in Gaza, although it has provided no evidence.

Lazzarini has accused Israel of seeking to eliminate the UNRWA. It was created more than 70 years ago to assist Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes during the 1948 Mideast war over Israel’s creation.

ISRAEL SAYS IT WILL INVESTIGATE AIRSTRIKE THAT APPARENTLY KILLED FIVE MEN WALKING IN GAZA

JERUSALEM — Israel’s military says it has opened an investigation into an airstrike that appears to have killed five Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip.

Aerial footage of the episode circulating on social media shows four men walking along a dirt road before they are hit in the strike. A fifth man is then hit as he tries to run away.

The origin of the footage remains unclear. But in a statement Friday, the army said the airstrike had occurred in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, a focus of army operations against Hamas, in early February.

It said the video was being investigated by its special “fact finding” body tasked with investigating potential crimes by its forces.

Khan Younis has seen some of the fiercest fighting of the war, sparked when Hamas militants invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7 and killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.

Rights groups have accused Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza, where nearly 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war.

South Africa has filed a case in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide – a claim Israel rejects. Israel says Hamas is guilty of war crimes and says its military acts within the rules of international law.

BLINKEN URGES ISRAELI LEADERS NOT TO INVADE RAFAH

TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has once again urged Israel not to carry out its promised invasion of the Gaza city of Rafah.

Blinken told reporters Friday that the U.S. shares Israel’s goal of defeating Hamas. But he said the ground operation “is not, in our judgment, the way to achieve it.”

He spoke after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he had told the secretary that Israel remains committed to the Rafah ground operation.

Blinken spoke shortly before returning to the U.S. after his sixth trip to the Mideast since the war erupted last October.

Blinken says much of the trip focused on efforts to forge a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and to increase the amount of humanitarian aid flowing into the war-battered Gaza Strip.

He said there has been progress, but still “lots of work to be done” before a deal is reached.

The U.S. has been working for weeks with mediators Qatar and Egypt in search of a formula that would halt the fighting in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza.

ISRAELI FORCES KILL PALESTINIAN SHOOTER WHO WOUNDED THREE ISRAELIS IN OCCUPIED WEST BANK

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Israeli military said it killed a Palestinian man who opened fire near a Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank on Friday, as violence has surged across the territory amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

Three Israelis were wounded in the shooting, one in a serious condition, medical officials said.

The military said the man opened fire at an Israeli vehicle at a junction near Dolev settlement around 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the city of Ramallah early Friday morning.

After a search, Israeli forces later killed the shooter near the name junction. During the search, troops raided his home in the nearby Palestinian village of Deir Ibzi. His wife, Lamees Samhan, said she was she briefly detained and blindfolded.

Violence has spiked across the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. At least 447 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in east Jerusalem and the West Bank since October, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

ISRAEL SEIZES ANOTHER 2,000 ACRES FOR SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST BANK, WATCHDOG SAYS

JERUSALEM — An Israeli anti-settlement watchdog group says Israel has seized nearly 2,000 acres of land in the occupied West Bank, clearing the way for Israel to build settlements there.

The announcement came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Israel. The international community, along with the Palestinians, considers settlement construction illegal or illegitimate and an obstacle to peace.

In a statement, Peace Now said the area is the largest piece of land seized by Israel since the interim Oslo peace accords three decades ago.

Peace Now said Friday that Israeli Cabinet Minister Bezalel Smotrich had declared the area “state land” — a designation that makes it government property. The land is in the Jordan Valley — a strategic area that is home to many Palestinian farms and seen as essential for the viability of a future Palestinian state.

“The year 2024 marks a peak in the extent of declarations of state land,” the group said.

Smotrich serves as Israel’s finance minister and in a newly created ministerial position in the Defense Ministry putting him in charge of Israel’s settlement policy. Smotrich, himself an outspoken settler leader, heads an ultra-nationalist party in parliament and has used his position to bolster the settlements.

Israel’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition is dominated by West Bank settlers and their political supporters.

Over 500,000 Israeli settlers now live in the West Bank, captured by Israel with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future independent state.

NETANYAHU REJECTS U.S. CALL NOT TO INVADE RAFAH

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rebuffed American calls to halt plans for a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Netanyahu said Friday that he told the visiting U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken, that a ground offensive is the only way to destroy Hamas.

“I said we have no way to defeat Hamas without entering Rafah and destroying the remaining battalions there,” he said. “I told him that I hope we will do this with the support of the United States, but if necessary, we will do it alone.”

Ahead of the meeting, Blinken had said the U.S. supports Israel’s goal of defeating Hamas, but believes there are alternatives to a ground invasion.

Over 1 million displaced Palestinians have sought shelter in Rafah after fleeing fighting elsewhere in Gaza. The U.S. and the rest of the international community fear an Israeli invasion will lead to large civilian casualties.

Blinken was set to speak to reporters later Friday before returning to the U.S.

RELATIVES OF ISRAELI HOSTAGES RALLY OUTSIDE BLINKEN'S HOTEL, DEMANDING A DEAL TO RELEASE CAPTIVES IN GAZA

TEL AVIV, Israel — Dozens of relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas demonstrated Friday outside the hotel where the U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is staying in central Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to bring the release of their loved ones.

Many held up American and Israeli flags while others brandished placards of their relatives who were seized by the militant group when its fighters invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7., the act that sparked the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

“Hostage deal now!” the crowd chanted. “Blinken, you can bring them home again!”

The rally came hours before the start of the Jewish holiday of Purim, normally a festive occasion. Referring to one hostage by name, a sign read: “This is Purim without Ofer.”

Blinken arrived in Israel earlier Friday in the final stop of his Mideast tour, his sixth visit to the region since October.

Families of the captives have accused Israel’s war cabinet of not doing enough to secure the release of the hostages after months of failed cease-fire negotiations.

Any cease-fire deal would likely see the hostages freed in return for the release of a larger number of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. About 120 hostages held by Hamas and hundreds of imprisoned Palestinians were freed during a week-long cease-fire in November.

Hamas is believed to still be holding around 100 hostages.

RUSSIA AND CHINA VETO A U.N. CEASE-FIRE RESOLUTION

UNITED NATIONS— Russia and China on Friday vetoed a U.S.-sponsored U.N. resolution calling for “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to protect civilians and enable humanitarian aid to be delivered to more than 2 million hungry Palestinians.

The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 11 members in favor, three against and one abstention.

Before the vote, Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow supports an immediate cease-fire, but he questioned the language in the resolution and accused U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield of “misleading the international community” for “politicized” reasons.

EUROPEAN UNION UNANIMOUSLY CALLS FOR A CEASE-FIRE IN GAZA

BRUSSELS — After five months of fighting in Gaza and tens of thousands of casualties, the 27 European Union countries have overcome their differences and agreed to call for a cease-fire.

In a statement overnight, EU leaders called “for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian assistance.”

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said the EU position is largely in line with that of the United States. It comes as the United Nations Security Council prepares to vote later Friday on a U.S.-sponsored resolution declaring “the imperative of an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas war.

EU countries have long been divided over their support for Israel and the Palestinians, and the U.N. vote will be a fresh public test of their unity. In December, two EU members voted against calling for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire” while four countries abstained.

BLINKEN ARRIVES IN ISRAEL FOR TALKS WITH NETANYAHU OVER THE WAR IN GAZA

TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for what were expected expected to be fractious talks over the war in Gaza as public differences over the conflict have intensified.

It’s the final stop in Blinken’s sixth urgent diplomatic mission to the Middle East, and he started the brief six-hour visit Friday with a one-on-one meeting with Netanyahu followed by a larger gathering with Israel’s war Cabinet aimed at convincing them not to proceed with plans for a large-scale military offensive in the southern city of Rafah that many fear could make an already disastrous humanitarian crisis in Gaza even worse.

“A major military operation in Rafah would be a mistake, something we don’t support,” Blinken said Thursday in Cairo, where he met with top diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. “And, it’s also not necessary to deal with Hamas, which is necessary.”

Instead, Blinken will present Netanyahu with alternatives for dealing with Hamas in Rafah in discussions that will continue next week when Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and a separate delegation of senior Israeli officials visit Washington. Netanyahu agreed to send the delegation in a Monday phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden — their first conversation in a month amid the widening divisions.

Blinken’s brief visit to Israel, which was announced only Wednesday and was not part of his original Mideast itinerary, comes as top intelligence officials from the U.S., Israel, Egypt and Qatar were to meet in Doha to hammer out details of a proposed cease-fire-for-hostages deal. Qatar, and to a lesser extent Egypt, are the main interlocutors with Hamas, which has thus far rebuffed offers the negotiations have produced.

UN SECURITY COUNCIL WILL VOTE ON US RESOLUTION FOR AN ‘IMMEDIATE AND SUSTAINED CEASE-FIRE’ IN GAZA

The United Nations Security Council is set to vote on a United States-sponsored resolution declaring that “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is “imperative” to protect civilians and enable humanitarian aid to be delivered to more than 2 million hungry Palestinians.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she was optimistic that the new, tougher draft resolution would be approved Friday by the 15-member council.

The draft being put to a vote “determines” — which is a council order — “the imperative of an immediate and sustained cease-fire,” with no direct link to the release of hostages taken during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which was in the previous draft. But it would unequivocally support diplomatic efforts “to secure such a cease-fire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages," and emphasizes “the urgent need to expand the flow of humanitarian assistance to civilians in the entire Gaza Strip.”

Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky said Moscow will not be satisfied “with anything that doesn’t call for an immediate cease-fire,” saying it’s what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pressing for and what “everybody” wants. He questioned the wording of the draft, asking, “What’s an imperative? I have an imperative to give you $100, but … it’s only an imperative, not $100.”

The Security Council has already adopted two resolutions on the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, but none calling for a cease-fire.