Israeli strikes kill at least 25 in Gaza and Huckabee makes first appearance as US ambassador

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes across Gaza killed at least 25 people on Friday including children, hospital workers said, as the new U.S. ambassador to Israel made his first public appearance in Jerusalem.

The dead included 15 people killed in three strikes on the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Ten people were killed in Jabaliya, including eight from the same home, according to the Indonesian Hospital, where the bodies were brought.

The strikes came a day after more than two dozen people died in Gaza as Israel continued attacks, pressuring Hamas to disarm and return hostages it took in October 2023.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee visited the Western Wall on Friday, the holiest Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem’s Old City. He inserted a prayer into the wall, which he said was handwritten by U.S. President Donald Trump. "Those are his initials, D.T.,“ said Huckabee while showing the note to the media.

In his first act as ambassador, Huckabee said Trump told him to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Huckabee also said every effort was being made to bring home the remaining hostages held by Hamas. A one-time presidential hopeful, Huckabee has acknowledged his past support for Israel’s right to annex the West Bank and incorporate its Palestinian population into Israel but said it would not be his “prerogative” to carry out that policy.

During his first term, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital over Palestinian objections and moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv. Palestinians seek the eastern part of the city, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as their future capital.

Huckabee's arrival comes at a pivotal time in the 18-month war, as international mediators including the U.S. are trying to get a broken ceasefire back on track.

Israel is demanding that Hamas release more hostages at the start of any new ceasefire and ultimately agree to disarm and leave the territory. Israel has said it plans to occupy large “security zones” inside Gaza.

Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas’ negotiating delegation, said Thursday the group had rejected Israel’s latest proposal along those lines. He reiterated Hamas’ stance that it will return hostages only in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal and a lasting truce, as called for in the now-defunct ceasefire agreement reached in January.

Hamas currently holds 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

Friday’s airstrikes came a day after aid groups raised alarm over Israel’s blockade of of Gaza, where it has barred entry of all food and other goods for more than six weeks. Thousands of children have become malnourished, and most people are barely eating one meal a day as stocks dwindle, the United Nations said.

Israel’s Defense Minister says the blockade is one of the “central pressure tactics” against Hamas, which Israel accuses of siphoning off aid to maintain its rule. Aid workers deny there is significant diversion of aid, saying the U.N. closely monitors distribution. Rights groups have called it a “starvation tactic.”

As Israel continued its offensive, Palestinian Christians gathered inside Gaza’s Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrios to mark the Good Friday holiday. Worshippers clad in black bowed their heads in prayer and lit votive candles to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus.

A building in the St. Porphyrios compound was hit soon after the war began in October 2023, killing more than a dozen people taking refuge there. Friday’s holiday was the second Good Friday celebrated in Gaza since then. St. Porphyrios is believed to be the third oldest church in the world, according to the World Council of Churches.

Gaza was home to about 1,300 Christians before the start of the war, according to the U.S. State Department.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has since killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The war has destroyed vast parts of Gaza and most of its food production capabilities. The war has displaced around 90% of the population, with hundreds of thousands of people living in tent camps and bombed-out buildings.

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Khaled reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Christian pilgrims carry crosses during Good Friday procession in the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Catholic clergymen take part in a Good Friday ceremony reenacting the funeral of Jesus Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Traders hold a demonstration against Israeli airstrikes and to show solidarity with Palestinian people living in Gaza, in Peshawar, Pakistan Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

Traders hold a demonstration against Israeli airstrikes and to show solidarity with Palestinian people living in Gaza, in Peshawar, Pakistan Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

Traders hold a demonstration against Israeli airstrikes and to show solidarity with Palestinian people living in Gaza, in Peshawar, Pakistan Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

Traders hold a demonstration against Israeli airstrikes and to show solidarity with Palestinian people living in Gaza, in Peshawar, Pakistan Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

Traders chant slogans during a demonstration against Israeli airstrikes and to show solidarity with Palestinian people living in Gaza, in Peshawar, Pakistan Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

Supporters of the Pakistani religious group "Jamaat-e-Islami" take part in a rally against Israeli airstrikes and to show solidarity with Palestinian people living in Gaza, in Multan, Pakistan Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Asim Tanveer)

Palestinian Christians light candles during Good Friday mass at the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinian Christians attend a Good Friday Mass at the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians prepare for burial the bodies of several members of the al-Atal family, killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent in the Jabalia refugee camp, at the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025.(AP Photo/(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians prepare for burial the bodies of several members of the al-Atal family, killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent in the Jabalia refugee camp, at the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025.(AP Photo/(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians inspect the remains of a displacement tent hit by an Israeli airstrike overnight, killing 10 members of the Abu Al-Rous family, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians inspect the remains of a displacement tent hit by an Israeli airstrike overnight, killing 10 members of the Abu Al-Rous family, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Ahmed Dalloul mourns over the body of his 4-year-old daughter, Siwar, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, at the morgue of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, center, visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee holds a note given to him from US President Donald Trump to be placed in the cracks of the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee holds a note given to him from US President Donald Trump to be placed in the cracks of the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Mourners carry white sacks covering the bodies of members of the Abu Al-Rous family, killed when an Israeli airstrike struck their displacement tent overnight, during their funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Glenn Hall, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose ironman streak of 502 starts as a goaltender remains an NHL record, has died. He was 94.

Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” Hall worked to stop pucks at a time when players at his position were bare-faced, before masks of any kind became commonplace. He did it as well as just about anyone of his generation, which stretched from the days of the Original Six into the expansion era.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed the team received word of Hall’s death from his family. A league historian in touch with Hall’s son, Pat, said Hall died at a hospital in Stony Plain, Alberta, on Wednesday.

A pioneer of the butterfly style of goaltending of dropping to his knees, Hall backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs in 1968 with St. Louis when the Blues reached the final before losing to Montreal. He was the second of just six Conn Smythe winners from a team that did not hoist the Cup.

His run of more than 500 games in net is one of the most untouchable records in sports, given how the position has changed in the decades since. Second in history is Alec Connell with 257 from 1924-30.

“Glenn was sturdy, dependable and a spectacular talent in net,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “That record, set from 1955-56 to 1962-63, still stands, probably always will, and is almost unfathomable — especially when you consider he did it all without a mask.”

Counting the postseason, Hall started 552 games in a row.

Hall won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1956 when playing for the Detroit Red Wings. After two seasons, he was sent to the Black Hawks along with legendary forward Ted Lindsay.

Hall earned two of his three Vezina Trophy honors as the league's top goalie with Chicago, in 1963 and '67. The Blues took him in the expansion draft when the NHL doubled from six teams to 12, and he helped them reach the final in each of their first three years of existence, while winning the Vezina again at age 37.

Hall was in net when Boston's Bobby Orr scored in overtime to win the Cup for the Bruins in 1970, a goal that's among the most famous in hockey history because of the flying through the air celebration that followed. He played one more season with St. Louis before retiring in 1971.

“His influence extended far beyond the crease," Blues chairman Tom Stillman said. “From the very beginning, he brought credibility, excellence, and heart to a new team and a new NHL market.”

A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Hall was a seven-time first-team NHL All-Star who had 407 wins and 84 shutouts in 906 regular-season games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, and his No. 1 was retired by Chicago in 1988.

Hall was chosen as one of the top 100 players in the league's first 100 years.

Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz called Hall an innovator and “one of the greatest and most influential goaltenders in the history of our sport and a cornerstone of our franchise.”

“We are grateful for his extraordinary contributions to hockey and to our club, and we will honor his memory today and always,” Wirtz said.

The Blackhawks paid tribute to Hall and former coach and general manager Bob Pulford with a moment of silence before Wednesday night’s game against St. Louis. Pulford died Monday.

A Hall highlight video was shown on the center-ice videoboard. The lights were turned off for the moment of silence, except for a spotlight on the No. 1 banner for Hall that hangs in the rafters at the United Center.

Fellow Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the league's leader in wins with 691 and games played with 1,266, posted a photo of the last time he saw Hall along with a remembrance of him.

“Glenn Hall was a legend, and I was a big fan of his,” Brodeur said on social media. “He set the standard for every goaltender who followed. His toughness and consistency defined what it meant to play.”

AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

FILE - Glenn Hall, second from left, stands with fellow former Chicago Blackhawks players Stan Mikita, former general manager Tommy Ivan, Bobby Hull, Bill Wirtz and Tony Esposito during a pre-game ceremony at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Ill., April 14, 1994. (AP Photo/Fred Jewell, File)

FILE - St. Louis Blues goalie Glenn Hall, top right, is pinned to his net waiting to make a save on a Montreal Canadians shot as Blues' Noel Picard (4) tries to block the puck while Canadiens' John Ferguson (22) and Ralph Backstorm wait for a rebound in the third period of their NHL hockey Stanley Cup game, May 5, 1968. (AP Photo/Fred Waters, File)