Israel-Palestine war: Hamas threatens execution of captives; UN 'distressed' by Gaza 'siege'; Netanyahu vows to 'change Middle East'

In the ongoing Israel-Palestine armed conflict, civilians are paying a high price. Around 800 people have been killed in Israel. Nearly 500 have been killed in Gaza, a tiny, impoverished enclave of 2.3 million Palestinians bordering Israel and Egypt. Palestinian militant group Hamas is holding over 130 captives from the Israeli side and has announced it will kill one Israeli civilian captive any time Israel targets civilians in their homes in Gaza “without prior warning.”

Jerusalem: The military wing of the militant Hamas group said on Monday it will kill one Israeli civilian captive any time Israel targets civilians in their homes in Gaza “without prior warning.”

Abu Obeida, the spokesman of the Qassam Brigades, said in an audio released Monday night that the past hours have witnessed intense strikes by Israel on civilian areas in which homes were destroyed over people’s heads.

“We have decided to put an end to this and as of now and we declare that any targeting of our people in their homes without prior warning will be regrettably faced with the execution of one the hostages of civilians we are holding,” he said.

The latest warning comes as Israel’s military ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip on Monday, halting deliveries of food, fuel and supplies to its 2.3 million people as it pounded the Hamas-ruled territory with waves of airstrikes in retaliation for the militants’ bloody weekend incursion.

More than two days after Hamas launched its surprise attack, the Israeli military said it had largely gained control in its southern towns where it had been battling Hamas gunmen. Israel’s vaunted military and intelligence apparatus was caught completely off guard by Hamas, resulting in heavy battles in its streets for the first time in decades.

Israeli tanks and drones were deployed to guard breaches in the Gaza border fence to prevent new incursions. Thousands of Israelis were evacuated from more than a dozen towns near Gaza, and the military summoned 300,000 reservists — a massive mobilization in less than 48 hours.

The moves, along with Israel’s formal declaration of war on Sunday, pointed to Israel increasingly shifting to the offensive against Hamas, threatening greater destruction in the densely populated, impoverished Gaza Strip. A major question remains whether Israel will launch a ground assault into the tiny Mediterranean coastal territory, a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties.

Israel and Hamas have had repeated conflicts in past years, often sparked by tensions around a Jerusalem holy site. This time, the context has become potentially more explosive, and both sides talk of shattering with violence a years-long Israeli-Palestinian deadlock left by the moribund peace process.

Israel has been stunned by a surprise attack and death toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria. That is fomenting calls to crush Hamas no matter the cost, rather than continuing to try to bottle it up in Gaza. Israel is run by its most hard-right government ever, dominated by ministers who adamantly reject any Palestinian statehood.

Hamas, in turn, says it is ready for a long battle to end an Israeli occupation it says is no longer tolerable. Desperation has grown among Palestinians, many of whom see nothing to lose under unending Israeli control and increasing settler depredations in the West Bank, the blockade in Gaza and what they see as the world’s apathy.

Civilians are already paying a high price. Around 800 people have been killed in Israel — a staggering toll by the scale of its recent conflicts. Nearly 500 have been killed in Gaza, a tiny, impoverished enclave of 2.3 million Palestinians bordering Israel and Egypt. The Gaza Health Ministry said 493 people, including 78 children and 41 women, were killed in the territory. Thousands have been wounded on both sides. Palestinian militant groups claimed to be holding over 130 captives from the Israeli side.

UN Secy General 'distressed' by Israel's plans for a Gaza siege

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres says he’s “deeply distressed” by Israel’s announcement of a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. “The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities. Now, it will only deteriorate exponentially,” Guterres said at a news conference Monday. He spoke after the Israeli defense minister said he had ordered a cutoff of electricity and deliveries of food, fuel and other supplies to the territory.

Guterres called for U.N. access to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza's 2.3 million residents. He pressed the international community to provide immediate support for the humanitarian effort.

'Going to change the Middle East'

“I ask you to stand firm because we are going to change the Middle East,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told authorities from the south Monday. “I know you have been through terrible and difficult things. What Hamas will go through will be difficult and terrible … we have only just begun.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meanwhile ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza, saying authorities would cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel. Israel and Egypt have imposed various levels of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.

Earlier, Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua told The Associated Press over the phone that the group's fighters continued to battle outside Gaza and had captured more Israelis as recently as Monday morning. He said the group aims to free all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, which in the past has agreed to painful, lopsided exchange deals in which it released large numbers of prisoners for individual captives or even the remains of soldiers.

International aid group warns of 'utter disaster' in Gaza

The secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, an international aid organization, warns that the Israeli government's vow to besiege and blockade the Gaza Strip would spell “utter disaster” for the more than 2 million Palestinians living in the small territory.

Jan Egeland’s comments came after Israel’s defense minister ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza after an unprecedented incursion by Hamas fighters into Israel early Saturday. Israel formally declared war on Sunday and has since retaliated against Hamas for the attack.

“There is no doubt that collective punishment is in violation of international law. It’s clear as that.” Egeland told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “If and when it would lead to wounded children dying in hospitals because of a lack of energy, electricity, and supplies, it could amount to war crimes.” Egeland also slammed donor countries for halting humanitarian assistance to Gaza after the unprecedented attack by Hamas militants on Saturday.

UN Agency near capacity for displaced Palestinians in Gaza

The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, says it is near maximum capacity in accommodating internally displaced people in Gaza. The agency’s director of external communications, Tamara Alrifai, said Monday that nearly 137,000 people have sheltered so far in over 70 U.N. schools around Gaza. Alrifai said the agency can host up to 150,000 people at up to 79 schools around the territory. She added there is fuel in Gaza that could last for up to 10 days.

European Union suspends all aid to Palestinians

The European Union's commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement Oliver Várhelyi has said that it is putting Palestinian development aid worth 691 million euros under review, saying that the scale of terror against Israel has "reached a turning point." “All payments immediately suspended. All projects put under review. All new budget proposals, incl. for 2023 postponed until further notice. Comprehensive assessment of the whole portfolio," he wrote in a post on X.

Arab League meeting at request of Palestinians

Arab foreign ministers plan to convene Wednesday in Cairo for a meeting on the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant groups in Gaza. Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki said the ministers would discuss Arab efforts to “stop the Israeli aggression” on Gaza. The meeting was called by the Palestinians.

9 Americans, 2 French among the dead in Israel

The U.S. State Department said Monday that at least nine American citizens have been killed in the weekend Hamas attacks on Israel, raising the toll from four. The State Department says an undetermined number of American citizens remain missing and unaccounted for. It is not clear whether the missing had been taken hostage, were killed or are in hiding. The State Department is in touch with families “and providing all appropriate consular assistance,” spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Two French citizens have also been confirmed dead in the fighting, the French Foreign Ministry said Monday, without elaborating. Several others (or dual citizens) are unaccounted for believed missing or held hostage.

Zelenskyy compared Hamas to Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has drawn a parallel between Russia’s invasion of his country and the Hamas militant group’s incursion into Israel, saying only “rules (and) international law” can ensure peace around the world.

“The same evil, and the only difference is that there is a terrorist organization that attacked Israel, and here is a terrorist state that attacked Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in a video address Monday to a NATO parliamentary assembly in Copenhagen.

“Our unity must and can stop the evil,” Zelenskyy said. “Let everyone who sponsors terror feel the power of our wrath. And let everyone who needs help defending themselves against terror feel the power of our solidarity.”

Have hit more than 1000 targets in Gaza, says Israel

Meanwhile, Israel hit more than 1,000 targets in Gaza, its military said, including airstrikes that levelled much of the town of Beit Hanoun in the enclave’s northeast corner. Hagari said Hamas was using the town as a staging ground for attacks. There was no immediate word on casualties, and most of the community’s population of tens of thousands likely fled beforehand.

Hagari said the army had called up around 300,000 reservists — a massive mobilization — and that Israel would aim to end Hamas’ rule of Gaza. “Our task is to make sure that Hamas will no longer have any military capabilities to threaten Israel,” said spokesperson Jonathan Conricus in a video tweeted by Israel’s military. “And in addition to that, we will make sure that Hamas is no longer able to govern the Gaza Strip.”

Hamas is deeply rooted in Gaza and has ruled the territory since driving out forces loyal to the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority in 2007. Its rule has gone unchallenged through the 16-year Israeli and Egyptian blockade and four previous wars with Israel.

After breaking through Israeli barriers with explosives at daybreak Saturday, Hamas gunmen rampaged for hours, gunning down civilians and snatching people in towns, along highways and at a techno music festival attended by thousands in the desert. Palestinian militants have also launched around 4,400 rockets at Israel, according to the military.

Around 1,000 Hamas fighters involved in Saturday's incursion

The Israeli military estimated 1,000 Hamas fighters took part in Saturday’s initial incursion. The high figure underscored the extent of planning by the militant group, which has said it launched the attack in response to mounting Palestinian suffering under Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, its blockade of Gaza, its discriminatory policies in annexed east Jerusalem and tensions around a disputed Jerusalem holy site sacred to Muslims and Jews.

The Palestinians want a state of their own in all three territories, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, but the last serious peace talks broke down well over a decade ago, and Israel's far-right government is opposed to Palestinian statehood.

More than 130 takes as captives

Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group claim to have taken captive more than 130 people from inside Israel and brought them into Gaza. The captives are known to include soldiers and civilians, including women, children and older adults, mostly Israelis but also some people of other nationalities. The Israeli military has said only that the number of captives is “significant.”

Mayyan Zin, a divorced mother of two, said she learned that her two daughters had been abducted when a relative sent her photos from a Telegram group showing them sitting on mattresses in captivity. She then found online videos of a chilling scene in her ex-husband’s home: Gunmen who had broken in speak to him near the two weeping daughters, Dafna, 15, and Ella, 8. Another video showed the father being taken into Gaza.

“Just bring my daughters home and to their family. All the people,” Zin said. The Israeli military was evacuating at least five towns close to Gaza, while the U.N. said more than 123,000 Gazans had been displaced by the fighting. In Gaza, residents feared further escalation.

As of late Sunday, Israeli airstrikes had destroyed 159 housing units across the territory and severely damaged 1,210 others, the U.N. said. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said a school sheltering more than 225 people took a direct hit. It did not say where the fire came from.

In the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike early Monday killed 19 people, including women and children, said Talat Barhoum, a doctor at the local Al-Najjar Hospital. Barhoum said aircraft hit the home of the Abu Hilal family, and that one of those killed was Rafaat Abu Hilal, a leader of a local armed group. The strike caused damage to surrounding homes.

Israel seeks help from Cairo

An Egyptian official said Israel sought help from Cairo to ensure the safety of the hostages. Egypt also spoke with both sides about a potential cease-fire, but Israel was not open to a truce “at this stage,” according to the official, who insisted on not being identified because he was not authorized to brief media.

On Sunday, the U.S. dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel, and said it would send additional military aid. In northern Israel, a brief exchange of strikes with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group fanned fears that the fighting could expand into a wider regional war. The Israeli military said the situation was calm after the exchange. Elsewhere, six Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers Sunday around the West Bank. (With AP inputs)