WASHINGTON: The Israeli military has begun pumping seawater into Hamas’ tunnel complex in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal and ABC News reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed US officials.
The Journal reported the process would likely take weeks. ABC News reported that the flooding appears to be limited as Israel evaluates the strategy’s effectiveness.
Israel’s military did not provide comment on the reports. An Israeli defense ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

TRIPOLI: Libya on Tuesday repatriated nearly 1,000 migrants from Egypt and Nigeria who had been staying in the North African country illegally, officials and AFP journalists said.
The 664 Egyptians were to be taken by bus to the Emsaed border post with Egypt, nearly 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) east of Tripoli.
General Mohamad Bardaa, who heads the country’s anti-immigration body affiliated to the interior ministry, said 300 Nigerians were taken to the airport to be flown home.

JERUSALEM: Israel said Monday that more humanitarian aid will enter Gaza as it announced two additional checkpoints for examining relief supplies before dispatching them to the Palestinian territory through Rafah gateway.
International aid organizations have struggled to get supplies to desperate Gazans under Israeli bombardment, with only the Rafah crossing in Egypt open.
No new direct crossings will be opened, Israel stressed on Monday, but the Nitzana and Kerem Shalom crossings will be used to carry out checks before sending the trucks through Rafah.

BAGHDAD: A drone and rockets targeted two military bases in Iraq and Syria on Monday housing forces of the international coalition against the Daesh group, a US military official said.
Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose formation of armed groups affiliated with the Hashed Al-Shaabi coalition of former paramilitaries that are now integrated into Iraq’s regular armed forces.

TEL AVIV, Israel: Israel’s defense minister on Monday pushed back against international calls to wrap up the country’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip, saying the current phase of the operation against the Hamas militant group will “take time.”