Israel launches a new military operation in Gaza. Netanyahu tells negotiating team to stay at talks

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Saturday it launched a major military operation in the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a negotiating team to remain in Qatar for indirect talks with the militant group.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Operation Gideon Chariots was being led with “great force.” Netanyahu had vowed to escalate pressure with the aim of destroying the militant group that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades.

The military operation in the Palestinian territory came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump concluded his Middle East trip without a visit to Israel. There had been hope that his visit could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has prevented for more than two months.

An Israel official said that Netanyahu was in constant contact throughout the day with the negotiating team in Doha, Qatar, and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, and instructed the team to remain there. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the sensitive negotiations with the media.

Hamas, which released an Israeli-American hostage as a goodwill gesture before Trump’s trip, insists on a deal that ends the war and leads to the withdrawal of Israeli forces — something Israel said that it won't agree to.

Israel’s army said on social media it wouldn't stop until the hostages are returned and the militant group is dismantled. Israel believes as many as 23 hostages in Gaza are still alive, although Israeli authorities have expressed concern for the status of three of them.

More than 150 people had been killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It said more than 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a January ceasefire on March 18.

On Saturday afternoon, an Israeli strike killed at least four children in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to al-Awda Hospital, which received the bodies. Seven others were wounded in the strike, which hit a house. A later strike in Jabaliya killed four, the hospital said.

"This is unacceptable. Until when? Until we all die?” asked a sweating Naji Awaisa as he and others fled Jabaliya with their belongings down streets lined with shattered buildings. Smoke from airstrikes rose in the distance.

Airstrikes around Deir al-Balah in central Gaza killed 14 people, with the bodies arriving at al-Aqsa hospital. One strike on a house killed eight people, including parents and four children.

A strike hit outside a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, killing four, the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service said.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the strikes. A separate statement said that the military had killed dozens of fighters while dismantling an “underground route” in northern Gaza.

Hundreds of protesters rallied Saturday night in Tel Aviv, some holding photos of Palestinian children killed in Gaza, with others demanding a deal to end the war and bring all hostages home.

“Let me be crystal clear. All of Israeli society, left, right, secular, religious, stands united in calling for a hostage deal. To miss this moment for a deal would be a betrayal of history, a stain that will never fade,” Dalia Kushnir-Horn, sister-in-law of hostage Eitan Horn, told the crowd.

Gaza is in the third month of an Israeli blockade with no food, water, fuel or other goods entering the territory of more than 2 million people. Food security experts say Gaza will be in famine if the blockade isn't lifted.

Earlier this week, a new humanitarian organization that has U.S. backing to take over aid delivery said that it expects to begin operations by the end of the month, after what it described as key agreements with Israeli officials. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation identified several U.S. military veterans, former humanitarian coordinators and security contractors to lead the effort.

Many in the humanitarian community, including the U.N., said that they won’t participate, because the system doesn't align with humanitarian principles and won’t be able to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza.

Tom Fletcher, the U.N. humanitarian chief, said Friday that there's already an aid delivery plan with 160,000 pallets of supplies ready to move: “It is ready to be activated — today — if we are simply allowed to do our jobs.”

The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Tia Goldenberg contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel.

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

Palestinians jump into the water of the Mediterranean Sea to cool down during a heat wave in Gaza City, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Protesters hold pictures of Palestinian children killed during Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip in a protest demanding the end of the war, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A photo of 5-year-old Palestinian girl Naya Kareem, who was killed during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, is displayed during a protest calling for an end to the war, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike on central Gaza Strip are brought to Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

People take part in a protest demanding the end of the war and immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 17, 2025.(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Protesters hold pictures of Palestinian children killed during Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip in a protest demanding the end of the war, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A Palestinian man killed in an Israeli airstrike on central Gaza Strip is brought to Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians inspect the damage caused by an Israeli airstrike that struck tents at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A man holds a piece of an explosive device as Palestinians inspect the damage caused by an Israeli strike that hit tents near Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Smoke rises following an Israeli army airstrike in northern Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

An Israeli tank moves in a staging area in southern Israel, near the border with Gaza, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Palestinians inspect the damage caused by an Israeli airstrike that struck tents at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)