��ɫ��

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel claimed Tuesday to have killed a top Iranian general as it traded more strikes with its longtime foe, and U.S. President Donald Trump warned residents of Tehran to evacuate while demanding that Iran surrender without conditions.

Trump left the Group of Seven summit in Canada a day early to deal with the conflict between Israel and Iran, telling reporters on Air Force One during the flight back to Washington: "I'm not looking at a ceasefire. We're looking at better than a ceasefire."

When asked to explain, he said the U.S. wanted to see "a real end" to the conflict that could involve Iran "giving up entirely." He added: "I'm not too much in the mood to negotiate."

Later on social media, he warned Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the U.S. knows where he is hiding and called for Iran's "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER."

Iran offered no immediate response to the president's posts, but the country's military leaders vowed that Israel would soon see more attacks.

"The operations carried out so far have been solely for the purpose of warning and deterrence," Gen. Abdul Rahim Mousavi, the commander in chief of Iran's army, said in a video. "The punishment operation will be carried out soon."

Israel says its sweeping assault is necessary to prevent its adversary from getting any closer to building an atomic weapon. The strikes killed at least 224 people in Iran.

Iran retaliated by launching some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel. So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military killed at least 51 Palestinians and wounded more than 200 in the Gaza Strip while people waited for U.N. and commercial trucks to enter the territory with desperately needed food, Gaza’s Health Ministry and a local hospital reported Tuesday.

Palestinian witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd in the southern city of Khan Younis.

The Israeli military said soldiers spotted a gathering near an aid truck that was stuck in Khan Younis, near where Israeli forces were operating. It acknowledged “several casualties” as Israelis opened fire on the approaching crowd and claimed authorities would investigate what happened.

Israel targets more leaders

Iran did not immediately comment on the reported killing of Gen. Ali Shadmani, whom Israel described as the most senior military commander in Iran.

Shadmani was little-known in the country before being appointed last week to a chief-of-staff-like role as head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters. That appointment followed the killing of his predecessor, Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, in an Israeli strike.

The Israeli military warned the population to stay close to shelters as Iran fired new salvos of missiles, but officials said most were intercepted. Sirens blared in southern Israel, including in the desert town of Dimona, the heart of Israel's never-acknowledged nuclear arms program.

The U.S. State Department announced that the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will remain closed through Friday due to “the current security situation and ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.”

Iran has fired fewer missiles in each of its barrages, with just a handful launched late Tuesday. It has not explained the drop in missiles fired, but the decline comes after Israel targeted many Iranian launchers.

Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin announced a new wave of strikes on Iran on Tuesday evening as explosions and anti-aircraft fire boomed throughout Tehran, shaking buildings across the capital. The Israeli military said its warplanes targeted 12 missile launch sites and storage facilities.

Iran's capital shelters

Echoing an earlier Israeli military call for some 330,000 residents of a neighborhood in downtown Tehran to evacuate, Trump warned on social media that "everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran."

Tehran is one of the largest cities in the Middle East, with about 10 million people, roughly equivalent to the entire population of Israel. People have been fleeing since hostilities began.

Downtown Tehran emptied out early Tuesday, with many shops shuttered, even the ancient Grand Bazaar, which has closed only in times of crisis, such as during the 2022 anti-government protests and the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the roads out of Tehran to the west, traffic stood bumper to bumper. Many middle- and upper-class Iranians were headed to the Caspian Sea, a popular getaway spot. Long lines snaked from Tehran's gas stations.

Restricted access 

Iranian authorities appeared to be limiting the public's access to the outside world. Phone and internet service was disrupted, with landline phones unable to receive or dial international calls. NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, reported that it detected a significant drop in internet traffic from the country.

Iran, which crippled important communications tools in past nationwide protests and during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, did not acknowledge restrictions.

International websites appeared to be blocked, but local websites were functioning, likely signaling that Iran turned on the so-called "halal net," its own locally controlled version of the internet aimed at restricting what the public can see.

Iran's state TV on Tuesday urged the public to remove the messaging app WhatsApp from their cellphones, alleging without evidence that the app gathered user information to send to Israel.

In a statement, WhatsApp said it was concerned that "these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most."