After over 100 days of war, Palestinians fight in hard-hit areas of Gaza and fire rockets at Israel

By NAJIB JOBAIN, SAMY MAGDY and MELANIE LIDMAN
Associated Press

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian militants have battled Israeli forces in devastated northern Gaza and launched a barrage of rockets from further south. Tuesday’s show of force comes more that 100 days into Israel’s massive air and ground campaign in the tiny coastal enclave. The north was the first target of Israel’s offensive, and entire neighborhoods there have been pulverized. The fighting showed how far Israel remains from achieving its goals of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war. Meanwhile, the conflict threatens to widen, with the U.S. and Israel trading strikes with Iranian-backed groups across the region.