Palestine

Michael Driquez’s job description changed October 7 when Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing more than 1,400 citizens and kidnapping 241.Driquez is the deputy counsel general of Israel for Florida, Missouri, Kansas and Puerto Rico. The consulate is based in Miami.His job description was to strengthen the political, economic and cultural ties between Israel and the areas the consulate represents.

Israeli forces raided Gaza’s largest hospital early Wednesday, where hundreds of patients, including newborns, have been stranded with dwindling supplies and no electricity, as the army extended its control across Gaza City and the north.

Israeli troops divided the northern and southern parts of Gaza, as communications across the besieged territory were temporarily cut Monday for a third time since the war started. The troops are expected to enter Gaza City on Monday or Tuesday, Israeli media reported.

Israeli troops and tanks pushed deeper into Gaza on Monday, freeing a soldier held captive by Hamas militants and advancing on two sides of the territory’s main city. The U.N. and medical staff warned that airstrikes have hit closer to hospitals where tens of thousands of Palestinians have sought shelter alongside thousands of wounded.

Thousands of people broke into aid warehouses in Gaza to take flour and basic hygiene products, a U.N. agency said Sunday, in a mark of growing desperation and the breakdown of public order three weeks into the war between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers.

Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowicz of Chabad Lubavitch of Southwest Florida and his son, Meir Simcha Minkowicz, also a rabbi at the Fort Myers Chabad, were part of a group of 30 rabbis from the United States, Australia and Canada. They spent their week in Israel comforting the families of victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas raid, speaking with military units, praying over the remains of those killed and visiting other sites around the country.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he’s arranged to send drones, weapons, and ammunition to Israel as it prepares for an incursion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ attack. It’s the latest official response DeSantis has taken to back Israel as he competes in the 2024 Republican primary.

Israeli troops and tanks launched an hourslong ground raid into northern Gaza overnight into Thursday, the military said, striking several militant targets in order to “prepare the battlefield” before a widely expected ground invasion after more than two weeks of devastating airstrikes.

The chancellor of Florida’s university system is calling on schools to disband chapters of the group National Students for Justice in Palestine amid the war between Israel and Hamas.

Legal experts are skeptical over a move by the DeSantis administration to shut down pro-Palestinian student organizations on college campuses in Florida by employing a state law intended to punish providing material support to terrorists.