Tel Aviv: Israeli warplanes are striking targets across Gaza as the U.S. says a delay in Israel's expected ground offensive in the besieged Hamas-ruled territory would allow more time to negotiate the release of hostages. Fears of a widening war have grown as Israel struck targets in the occupied West Bank, Syria and Lebanon and traded fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.
Two aid convoys arrived in the Gaza Strip over the weekend through the Rafah crossing from Egypt. Israel said the trucks carried food, water and medical supplies. Israel has not allowed fuel, which is critically needed for water and sanitation systems and hospitals.
The war, in its 17th day on Monday, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Health Ministry said Monday that at least 5,087 Palestinians have been killed and 15,270 wounded. In the occupied West Bank, 96 Palestinians have been killed and 1,650 wounded in violence and Israeli raids since Oct. 7.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians who died in the initial Hamas rampage into southern Israel. In addition, 222 people including foreigners were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza, Israel's military has said. Two of those have been released.
Currently:
1. Premature babies hooked up to incubators are at risk of dying because of dwindling fuel in the Gaza Strip
2. Biden walks tightrope with support for Israel as allies and the left push for restraint
3. A second convoy of trucks carrying desperately needed aid reaches Gaza
4. Blinken and Austin say the U.S. is ready to protect American forces should the war escalate
Here’s what’s happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:
- Hamas-run health ministry says more than 5,000 have died in Gaza
The death toll in Gaza has climbed to at least 5,087 Palestinians since the war between Israel and Palestinian militant groups broke out on Oct. 7, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Monday. Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesperson for the ministry in Gaza, said the fatalities included 2,055 children and 1,119 women. More than 15,270 others were wounded, he said. The tally includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion last week, which the two sides have traded blame for.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed — mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack. At least 222 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza, including foreigners.
- US advises Israel that delay in ground offensive could allow release of more hostages
The U.S. has advised Israeli officials that a delay in a possible ground offensive in Gaza would allow more time for the U.S. to work with its regional partners to release more hostages, according to a U.S. official familiar with Biden administration's thinking on the matter. The official, who requested anonymity to discuss the private discussions, said it was unclear how much the argument will “move the needle” on Israeli thinking.
The official noted that Qatar's help in mediating with Hamas was able to win the release of two captives, Judith and Natalie Raanan. The process that led to their release — just two of the more than the 222 people believed taken hostage in Israel in the Oct. 7 attacks — started soon after the Hamas operation. The official said arranging for the release of the Raanans “took longer to come together than folks really realize.”
Doctors treating at least 130 premature babies across six neonatal units in Gaza say they are at “grave risk” due to fuel shortage hitting hospital generators. The dangerous fuel shortages are caused by the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which started — along with airstrikes — after Hamas militants attacked Israeli towns on Oct. 7.
Activists denounce Netanyahu at International Criminal Court
Dutch authorities detained 19 activists who occupied the entrance to the International Criminal Court on Monday, denouncing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s actions during the war with Hamas.
Activists from the Extinction Rebellion group took over a bridge in front of The Hague-based court just after noon, carrying a banner that read “Netanyahu is a war criminal.” The Dutch branch of the activist group, which was originally set up to campaign against climate change, has staged several other pro-Palestinian actions since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. An ICC spokesperson said the demonstration did not disturb the court's normal activities.
After police released the 19 following a brief detention, they joined a small pro-Palestinian protest outside the ICC’s grounds. The demonstration took place as Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrived in the Middle East to meet with both Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
- Fuel running out in hospital neonatal wards
The head of the neonatal unit in Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis said it will run out of fuel within 48 hours. Dr. Hatem Edhair said there are eight babies in the intensive care unit and 10 others in the neonatal department. “Half of these children are on CPAP (pressurized air) machines and oxygen machines,” he said Monday. “If the hospital runs out of fuel, half of these babies will die in less than 24 hours.”
Doctors treating premature babies across Gaza have warned that at least 130 are at “grave risk” across six neonatal units because of worsening fuel shortages. The fuel shortages are caused by the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which started — along with airstrikes — after Hamas militants attacked Israeli towns on Oct. 7. “We are working around the clock,” Edair said. “We need to save these babies.”
- Iran-backed militias say they targeted base used by US military
Iran-backed militias in Iraq said Monday they targeted a strategic base used by the U.S. military in southeastern Syria. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iranian-backed militias, said two drones were used to attack the al-Tanf garrison near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders. The attack came after a string of similar attacks on bases housing U.S. military in Iraq and Syria over the past week. In one, the same group attacked two bases in Iraq with drones, causing minor injuries among U.S. forces.
The was no immediate U.S. comment on Monday's incident and no word on damage or injuries. The al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria is located at a sensitive location often used by Iranian-backed militants to transport weapons to Hezbollah. The U.S. military has maintained a presence there to train forces as part of a campaign against the Islamic State group.
- Attacks in Rafah city leave casualties
Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry said at least 18 people were killed in Israeli attacks on neighbourhoods in Rafah city on Monday. It said scores of Palestinians were also wounded. An airstrike hit a residential building about 200 meters (yards) from the U.N. headquarters in Rafah on Monday, killing and wounding several people, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene, underscoring the perils of humanitarian operations.
Videos released by the Israeli military showed airstrikes decimating buildings in the Gaza Strip. The military said the videos showed attacks on Hamas infrastructure but did not specify the locations. Flashes of yellow light were followed by an explosion sending gray smoke and debris shooting upward as multistory buildings collapsed or toppled over. The explosions could be seen from Israel.
- Gaza's health ministry appeals for blood donations as shortages
As conditions rapidly worsen, Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry appealed on Monday for blood donations for hospitals in the besieged territory that are suffering from dire shortages of blood and medical supplies. The ministry urged residents to rush to hospitals and blood banks across Gaza for blood donations and called for the International Committee of the Red Cross to bring blood to the territory.
- Ireland calls for immediate ceasefire
Ireland is calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza so that civilians can get access to desperately needed aid and supplies. Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said “this is a matter of the utmost urgency. The loss of life is enormous, is at a scale that has to be stopped.” Speaking Monday in Luxembourg at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers, Martin called for food, water and medical supplies to be allowed into Gaza at an “accelerated and comprehensive scale.”
“We understand Israel’s need to deal with Hamas, because it was an appalling attack. But the degree of suffering now -– the innocent civilians in Gaza suffering -– is just not acceptable at all,” he said.
- Iraq says it will pursue militants who attacked bases housing US troops
Iraq’s army spokesperson says the state will go after militants who have carried out attacks against army bases housing U.S. troops in the country. Maj. Gen. Yahya Rasoul said in a statement Monday that military advisers from the U.S.-led coalition are in the country “at the invitation of the government” and their mission is to train Iraqi forces.
Rasoul said the prime minister has ordered the country’s security agencies to go after those who carried out attacks and prevent any attempt to harm Iraq’s national security. Over the past week, several bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq came under rocket and drone attacks that were believed to have been carried out by Iran-backed groups. There are about 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, whose main mission to train Iraqi forces and prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group.
- Europe minister discussing getting aid into Gaza
European Union foreign ministers are meeting Monday to discuss ways to help vital aid get into Gaza, particularly fuel, after two convoys entered over the weekend. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that “in normal times, without war, 100 trucks enter into Gaza every day. So it’s clear that 20 is not enough.”
Borrell said the emphasis must be on getting power and water-providing desalination plants running again. “Without water and electricity, the hospitals can barely work,” he told reporters in Luxembourg, where the meeting is taking place. He said the ministers will also look at ways to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians longer term. “The great powers have forgotten about the Palestinian issue, thinking it was going to be solved alone, or it doesn’t matter. Yes, it matters,” Borrell said.
- Israel says 2nd batch of humanitarian aid entered Gaza
Israel says Sunday that a second batch of humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza, at the request of the U.S. and according to instructions from other political officials. On Saturday, 20 trucks entered in the first shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago. Sunday’s batch included only water, food, and medical equipment, with no fuel, Israel said.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel “affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza,” the White House said in a statement after a phone call between the leaders. The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “under control,” even as the U.N. called for 100 trucks a day to enter. Hospitals say they are scrounging for generator fuel in order to keep operating life-saving medical equipment and incubators for premature babies.
On Sunday, Associated Press journalists saw seven fuel trucks head into Gaza. Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, and the Israeli military said those trucks were taking fuel that had been stored on the Gaza side of the crossing deeper into the territory, and that no fuel had entered from Egypt. (With AP inputs)
