Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 22

Apparent truck attack on bus stop near Mossad headquarters in Israel wounds dozens

TEL AVIV: Israeli strikes on northern Gaza have killed at least 22 people, mostly women and children, Palestinian officials said Sunday, as the Israeli offensive in the hard-hit and isolated north entered a third week and aid groups described a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel said it targeted militants.

In a separate development, a truck rammed into a bus stop near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, wounding 35 people, according to first responders. The circumstances were not immediately clear, but Palestinians have carried out dozens of vehicle-ramming attacks over the years. The attack occurred near the headquarters of Israel's Mossad spy agency.

Iran's supreme leader, meanwhile, said Israeli strikes on the country over the weekend "should not be exaggerated nor downplayed," while stopping short of calling for retaliation, suggesting Iran is carefully weighing its response to the attack.

On Saturday, Israeli warplanes attacked military targets in Iran in response to an Iranian ballistic missile attack earlier this month.

The exchange of fire has raised fears of an all-out regional war pitting Israel and the United States against Iran and its militant proxies, which include Hamas and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion earlier this month after nearly a year of lower-level conflict.

The Israeli military said Sunday that four soldiers, including a military rabbi, have been killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, without providing details about the circumstances. It said five other personnel were severely wounded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the strikes "severely harmed" Iran and achieved all of Israel's goals.