By SAMY MAGDY

CAIRO (AP) — Israeli forces on Wednesday killed at least 11 Palestinians in Gaza, including two 13-year-old boys, three journalists and a woman, hospitals in the war-battered enclave said.

It was one of the deadliest days in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect in October and comes at a time when the U.S. is trying to push the deal forward and implement its challenging second phase.

The two boys were killed in separate incidents. In one strike, a 13-year-old, his father and a 22-year old man were hit by Israeli drones on the eastern side of the central Bureij refugee camp, according to officials from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah, which received the bodies.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the three had crossed into Israeli-controlled areas.

The Israeli military said one strike came after it spotted and struck several people who were operating a drone in central Gaza that posed a threat to its troops.

A mounting death toll

The other 13-year-old was shot and killed by troops while collecting firewood in the eastern town of Bani Suheila, the Nasser hospital said after receiving the body. In a video circulated online, the father of Moatsem al-Sharafy is seen weeping over his body on a hospital bed.

The boy’s mother, Safaa al-Sharafy, told The Associated Press that he left to gather firewood so she could cook.

“He went out in the morning, hungry,” she said, tears running down her cheeks. “He told me he’d go quickly and come back.”

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Later Wednesday, an Israeli strike on the central town of Zahraa hit a vehicle carrying three Palestinian journalists who were filming a newly established displacement camp managed by an Egyptian government committee, said Mohammed Mansour, the committee’s spokesman.

Mansour said the journalists were documenting the committee’s work in the newly established camp in the Netzarim area in central Gaza. He said the strike occurred about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Israeli-controlled area.

He said the vehicle was known to the Israeli military as belonging to the Egyptian committee.

Video footage circulating online showed the charred, bombed-out vehicle by the roadside, smoke still rising from the wreckage, with debris scattered about.

Nasser Hospital officials also said they received the body of a Palestinian woman shot and killed by Israeli troops in the Muwasi area of the southern city of Khan Younis, which is not controlled by the military.

In a separate attack, three brothers were killed in a tank shelling in the Bureij camp, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, where the bodies were taken.

The deaths were the latest among Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire that stopped the war between Hamas and Israel went into effect in October.

More than 470 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, according to the strip’s health ministry. At least 77 have been killed by Israeli gunfire near a ceasefire line that splits the territory between Israeli-held areas and most of Gaza’s Palestinian population, the ministry says.

The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.

A mother’s plea

The first phase of the October ceasefire that paused two years of war between Israel and Hamas focused on the return of all remaining hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces in Gaza.

The bodies of all but one hostage have been returned to Israel. Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer known affectionately as Rani, was killed while fighting Hamas fighters during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war. Gvili’s body still has not been recovered.

His relatives on Wednesday called again on the government and Trump to ensure the release of his remains.

“We need to continue to amplify Rani’s voice, explain about him, talk about him, and explain to the world that we, the people of Israel, will not give up on anyone,” his mother, Talik Gvili, said. She told the AP the family still doesn’t “really know where he is.”

Hamas said Wednesday it has provided “all information” it has on Gvili’s body to the ceasefire mediators, and accused Israel of obstructing search efforts in areas it controls in the Gaza Strip.

The ceasefire also allowed a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, mainly food. But residents say shortages of blankets and warm clothes remain, and there is little wood for fires. There’s been no central electricity in Gaza since the first few days of the war in 2023, and fuel for generators is scarce.

More than 100 children have died since the start of the ceasefire — including a 27-day-old girl who died from hypothermia over the weekend.

Israel targets more sites in Lebanon

Israel’s air force carried out strikes Wednesday in three villages in southern Lebanon that it said were part of the militant Hezbollah group’s infrastructure.

The strikes came more than an hour after the Israeli military issued warnings to evacuate the areas, including southern village of Qennarit, just south of the port city of Sidon.

Earlier Wednesday, two drone strikes hit cars in the villages of Bazouriyeh and Zahrani, killing two people, according to state-run National News Agency.

The strikes were the latest in near-daily Israeli military action since a ceasefire signed more than a year ago ended the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war. The agreement included a Lebanese pledge to disarm militant groups, which Israel says has not been fulfilled.

Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

Following testimony from a state representative and a review of dozens of pages of text messages, a Ramsey County family court referee tossed out a petition this week for a restraining order against newly elected St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her filed by a former family friend.

Shirly Yang, a former confidante of the mayor, told the court she attends weekly therapy and was driven to thoughts of suicide after her friendship with Her deteriorated into a war of words by text message last summer, causing Yang to fear retaliation.

Yang said the two served together on the board of the National Kidney Foundation in Minnesota from October 2023 until October 2025, when the executive director dropped her from her board seat, citing her “public conflict” with Her, who was then still a state representative.

Yang said she was a suburban “nobody, twice divorced” and in the midst of a child-custody dispute when Her introduced her last year to state Rep. Ethan Cha, a DFLer who represents Woodbury and part of Washington County.

The two started an on-again, off-again romantic relationship, and Her began asking increasingly intrusive questions about their sex lives, oversharing about her own personal life, and calling or texting from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., said Yang, who represented herself before the court.

“I tried to set boundaries without hurting her feelings,” said Yang, whose petition describes unwanted conversations Her allegedly initiated around spirituality, sexuality and the personal lives of the mayor’s children.

Under direct examination from Yang, Cha testified that he considered himself a neutral party between the two women and had tried without success to get both sides to de-escalate the situation and avoid legal proceedings.

Her, who appeared in court represented by attorney Charlie Nauen and Rachel Kitze Collins of Lockridge Grindal Nauen, did not testify Tuesday. Nauen noted in his questions to Yang that both women had blocked each other on social media and have had almost no contact since the end of last July, other than meeting for mediation Nov. 2 with two elders in the Hmong community.

Yang displayed a thread of text messages from last July on an overhead screen. Her had written to Cha at the time that if Yang’s behavior continued she risked being psychiatrically committed, at great loss to her four children.

“Please get her to stop sending threats,” Her wrote at the time. “I don’t want to take action against her and get her committed. I can lose a race but she can lose her life and livelihood.”

Yang said she was “terrified” by the wording. Her and her husband “threatened legal action if I refused to talk to them,” Yang wrote, in her petition for a harassment restraining order. “I felt helpless.”

Cha testified he felt Her had escalated the situation, but that he also had concerns about Yang’s mental stability.

Yang, who continued to criticize Her and her mayoral campaign on Facebook, posted a picture to social media of one of Her’s campaign fliers with the candidate’s name crossed out on Oct. 13. When she lost her board seat with the National Kidney Foundation a week later, she said she came to see the July text thread as a serious threat on her life and employment, and filed a petition for an emergency restraining order Nov. 17.

It was not initially approved. In blocking the subsequent petition Tuesday, court referee Elizabeth Clysdale said there was no evidence the July text was intended in a threatening manner or that there was a sustained pattern of intrusive behavior.

In an interview after the 90-minute hearing, Yang said she had no plans to appeal the decision and that she thought her anti-bullying message to the mayor had gotten through.

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“Mayor Her is pleased with the referee’s decision to dismiss this matter from the bench, finding that the petitioner did not meet her burden of proof,” Nauen wrote in a public statement Tuesday.

“In this day and age, public figures are subject to many unfounded allegations attacking their integrity,” he added. “Mayor Her appreciated the opportunity to clear her name and looks forward to getting back to work. She hopes petitioner finds peace and wishes her well.”

By MATT OTT

Nathan’s Famous, which opened as a 5-cent hot dog stand in Coney Island more than a century ago, has been sold to packaged meat giant Smithfield Foods in a $450 million all-cash deal, the companies announced Wednesday.

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Smithfield, which has held rights to produce and sell Nathan’s products in the U.S., Canada and at Sam’s Clubs in Mexico since 2014, will acquire all of Nathan’s outstanding shares for $102 each. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Smithfield jumped nearly 9% higher in midday trading, to $100.81 a share.

Smithfield said it expects to achieve annual savings of about $9 million within two years of closing the deal.

“As a long-time partner, Smithfield has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to investing in and growing our brand while maintaining the utmost quality and customer service standards,” said Nathan’s CEO Eric Gatoff.

Nathan’s board of directors, which own or control nearly 30% of the outstanding shares of Nathan’s Famous common stock, approved the buyout and agreed to recommend to its shareholders to vote in favor of the deal.

Smithfield, which also owns the Gwaltney bacon and Armour frozen meat brands, rang up more than a billion dollars in operating profit in 2024 on sales of $14.1 billion. It’s on track to eclipse both those figures when it reports its fourth-quarter results.

Smithfield shares were unchanged in midday trading Wednesday at $23.39.

In fiscal 2025, Nathan’s reported profit of $24 million on revenue approaching $150 million.

Entrepreneur and local small business advocate Sheletta Brundidge is teaming up with a state agency to connect food businesses to support during an immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

Sheletta Brundidge (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)

Hosted by Brundidge’s nonprofit and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the free lunch-and-learn event, called, “Growing Food & Agriculture Businesses,” will connect food producers, vendors and entrepreneurs with support, resources and funding opportunities that are available through the agriculture department.

The Feb. 2 event comes at a time when some local businesses are afraid to open their doors due to “Operation Metro Surge,” which has sent thousands of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

“The immigration crackdown is destroying the infrastructure that entrepreneurs and small business owners have been working to build up for years,” Brundidge told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday.

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“ICE is terrorizing our citizens and people are afraid to leave the house,” she said. “If they are afraid to leave the house, they aren’t coming to your pop-up, they aren’t buying your products and you are going out of business.”

The upcoming event will include information on starting a food business in Minnesota, accessing commercial kitchens, ingredient sourcing, wholesale markets and grant programs.

Assistant Commissioner Patrice Bailey and other MDA staff will also be available to help food entrepreneurs navigate licensing, marketing and whether to sell under cottage food versus wholesale, Brundidge said.

Catered by Afro Deli, the event kicks off at 11 a.m. at 625 N. Robert Street. To register, go to http://pipr.es/BvY45zT.

Local shops speak out

Some local businesses are speaking out about ICE actions and decrying the death of Minneapolis mother Renee Good, who was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7.

Mischief Toy Store, located on St. Paul’s Grand Avenue, is being vocal about its feelings toward ICE by handing out whistles and posting signs on social media that read “No Ice: Resist Fascism.” The toy store caught the attention of ICE this week after ABC News ran a story about its activism. “Three hours later, two plainclothes ICE agents came into our store and served us with a Notice of Inspection,” said owner Dan Marshall.

The Black Hart of St. Paul, Makwa Coffee in Roseville and 620 Club in St. Paul are among the businesses making their stances known. Wes Burdine, owner of Black Hart, said he has gotten some blowback over his vocal opposition to the president and ICE. He recently received an email from someone telling him he’s alienating half of his customers, which he disputes.

Upcoming strike

Thousands of union members, religious faithful and ordinary citizens are expected to participate in a massive statewide economic strike on Friday that organizers are hoping will bring an end to ICE activity in Minnesota.

The event, called “A Day of Truth and Freedom,” is being organized by union representatives, faith leaders and community members who are urging Minnesotans not to go to work, school or go shopping in response to the ongoing federal immigration enforcement surge in the state.

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Businesses, stores and restaurants across the metro area have announced plans to be closed on Friday. Among them is Mississippi Market Co-op, which has three stores in St. Paul, Claddagh Coffee, J. Selby’s, Wet Paint, River Market Co-op in Stillwater, Marc Heu Patisserie and others.

Some businesses are modifying their approach: Catzen Coffee, on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, plans to pause its regular business model to open for the day as a community space with free drip coffee.

“A Day of Truth and Freedom” will culminate in a 2 p.m. rally and march through downtown Minneapolis. The rally will start at the Commons, at 425 Portland Ave. S., organizers say.