US troops head to region as fears grow over Gaza war spreading

Israel continues attacks in central Gaza; some Western airlines avoiding Iranian airspace

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GAZA STRIP - Troop reinforcements from Israel's ally US headed to the region on April 13, with fears of a wider war growing more than six months into Israel's battle against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

After pulling forces from the southern Gaza City of Khan Younis one week ago, Israel's military said on April 13 that it was continuing to operate against militants in central Gaza.

In central Gaza's main city of Deir al-Balah, fire burned in the rubble of a destroyed mosque.

Israel's military "demanded that the whole area be evacuated" before it was "wiped out in minutes", said Mr Abdullah Baraka, a witness.

The military said it struck more than 30 militant targets across the Palestinian territory over the previous day.

Airlines said they are avoiding Iranian airspace, nearly two weeks after a strike which Iran blamed on its arch foe Israel destroyed Teheran's consular annex at its embassy in Damascus, Syria.

Violence involving Iran-backed groups around the Middle East, including in Lebanon, Yemen and Syria, has increased since Israeli forces began their retaliation against Hamas militants in Gaza for their Oct 7 attack on Israel.

Tensions have also flared in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where settler attacks left at least one Palestinian dead and dozens injured, and a search continued for a missing Israeli teenager, sources from both sides said.

As talks for a Gaza truce and hostage release dragged on, the region braced itself for the retaliation that Iran has vowed after the consular strike, whose victims included two generals.