More than a million people have fled their homes in the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected Israeli invasion that seeks to eliminate Hamas’ leadership after its deadly incursion. Aid groups warn an Israeli ground offensive could hasten a humanitarian crisis.
Israeli forces, supported by U.S. warships, positioned themselves along Gaza’s border and drilled for what Israel said would be a broad campaign to dismantle the militant group. A week of blistering airstrikes have demolished neighborhoods but failed to stop militant rocket fire into Israel.
The war that began Oct. 7 has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides, with more than 4,000 dead. The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, and at least 199 others, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza, according to Israel.
Currently:
1. Water has run out at U.N. shelters across Gaza and overwhelmed doctors as the territory’s largest hospital struggles to care for patients as supplies of water, fuel and medicine run dangerously low.
2. U.S. President Joe Biden is considering a trip to Israel in the coming days, though no travel has been confirmed.
3. An urban battle during Israel's 2014 war against Hamas offers a glimpse into the type of fighting that could lie ahead.
Here's what's happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:
BRUSSELS — European Union leaders will hold an emergency summit Tuesday as concern mounts that the war between Israel and Hamas could fuel inter-communal tensions in Europe and bring more refugees in search of sanctuary.
The leaders will also attempt to restore some order after a series of social media messages, statements and visits by EU officials sowed confusion about the 27-nation bloc’s intentions after Hamas attacked southern Israel.
“The conflict could have major security consequences for our societies,” EU Council President Charles Michel said Monday as he announced the video summit. The meeting will also focus on getting aid to civilians and working with other countries in the region to stop tensions from spreading.
LONDON — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says at least six British citizens were killed in Hamas’ attack on Israel and another 10 are missing.
He told lawmakers in the House of Commons Monday that some of the missing are feared dead.
Sunak said the people killed and missing in the attack came from more than 30 countries, as well as Israel. He called the attack “an existential strike at the very idea of Israel as a safe homeland for the Jewish people.”
He said Britain supports “absolutely Israel’s right to defend itself, to go after Hamas, take back the hostages, deter further incursions and strengthen its security for the long term … in line with international humanitarian law.”
Sunak said the U.K. has earmarked 10 million pounds ($12 million) to alleviate the “acute humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, and urged Israel and Egypt to open a border crossing to let in aid.
Across besieged Gaza, food shortages are causing desperation. With trucks full of humanitarian goods idling at the Rafah border, unable to get through, many in Gaza not only have no running water but also don't have enough food.
Residents said they ate whatever morsels they could find in their fridge from before the war and were scared about the coming days. The worsening shortages were most visible in U.N. shelters, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have taken refuge after fleeing intensifying bombardment, and in houses where dozens of family members were sheltering.
Hourslong lines snaked from bakeries, where Palestinians waited anxiously to get whatever basic food they could to distribute among their relatives.
“I have been waiting for 10 hours to get bread … and of course this amount is not enough,” said Ahmad Salah in Deir al-Balah, where he said he had to feed 20-30 family members. “This is a painful suffering for us.”
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group says its fighters have targeted five Israeli posts along the border in the country’s south.
Hezbollah said in a terse statement that various types of “direct weapons” were used in the late Monday afternoon attack.
Hezbollah fighters have been destroying surveillance cameras placed on Israeli posts along the border amid heightening tensions.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has renewed pledges of American support for Israel in its war against Hamas as he returned to the country for the second time in less than a week.
In Jerusalem on Monday to consult with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials, Blinken also briefed them about discussions he had with Arab leaders on the conduct of the war and the need to protect civilians.
Blinken “underlined his firm support for Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas’ terrorism and reaffirmed U.S. determination to provide the Israeli government with what it needs to protect its citizens,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Blinken also discussed U.S. efforts with the U.N. and others to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians, and the U.S. commitment to helping in attempts to rescue nearly 200 hostages held by Hamas.
Blinken arrived after a six-nation tour of Arab states during which he heard the concerns of Arab leaders about an impending Israeli ground invasion of Gaza causing a humanitarian catastrophe for Palestinians and possibly igniting a broader regional conflict.
Blinken has twice extended his diplomatic mission and plans to return to Jordan after his visit to Israel.
The aid group Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, says many of its personnel in northern Gaza have decided to stay in hospitals to continue to treat the wounded.
“Hospitals are overwhelmed,” said Claire Magone, general director of MSF France, in a video statement. “There are no more painkillers now. Our staff tells us about the wounded screaming in pain, the injured, the sick who cannot get to the hospital, and the terror of finding themselves bombed in a few hours.”
She said the situation in southern Gaza is also difficult. “People are crowded into makeshift precarious camps, where access to water and food is extremely problematic,” she said. “Our teams report that accessing water is difficult, and is getting worse by the hour. Gaza’s water shortage has now reached a critical threshold.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and their Iranian backers that they will pay a high price if they become involved in the war.
Speaking to the Israeli Knesset on Monday, Netanyahu warned Iran and Hezbollah, “Don’t test us in the north. Don’t make the mistake of the past. Today, the price you will pay will be far heavier,” referring to Israel’s 2006 war with Hezbollah.
With a ground invasion of Gaza expected, Israel is preparing for the potential of a new front opening on its northern border with Lebanon, where it has exchanged fire repeatedly with the Hezbollah. The military has ordered residents from 28 Israeli communities close to the border to evacuate.
The U.N. Security Council is set to vote Monday on dueling resolutions on the Israel-Hamas war. A Russian proposal calls for a cease-fire while a Brazilian draft seeks “humanitarian pauses” to let aid flow and urges Israel to rescind its order for the evacuation of northern Gaza.
Either draft, if adopted, would mark the first collective statement on the war from the U.N.’s most powerful organ.
Both draft resolutions, obtained by The Associated Press, call for releasing all hostages. In somewhat different language, both also condemn violence toward civilians, express concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and seek the provision of food, fuel and other aid.
But the differences are significant. Ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive in Gaza, Russia’s proposed resolution calls for a “humanitarian cease-fire.” The Brazilian draft calls for “humanitarian pauses” and encourages establishing aid corridors and a notification mechanism to protect U.N. facilities, humanitarian sites and aid convoys.
The council has become increasingly divided amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russia is a veto-wielding member. Brazil, a two-year member without a veto, currently holds the rotating presidency.
Oil tankers bearing United Nations flags have crossed into Egypt from Gaza to pick up fuel for the besieged enclave.
A U.N. escort vehicle led the trucks across the Rafah border as people stood in line in hopes of crossing.
Hospitals in Gaza are expected to run out of generator fuel in the next 24 hours, endangering the lives of thousands, according to the U.N. Gaza’s sole power plant shut down for lack of fuel after Israel completely sealed off the 40-kilometer (25-mile) long territory following the Hamas attack.
ROME — The Roman Catholic Church’s top representative in the Holy Land has said he will offer himself in exchange for Hamas’ hostages if it would help bring children home.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa’s offer wasn’t a formal proposal but a response to a journalist's hypothetical question. It was unlikely to be considered seriously by Hamas, which is believed to be holding at least 199 people in Gaza after its Oct. 7 incursion into Israel.
Asked on a Zoom briefing Monday with Vatican-based reporters if he would be willing to offer himself for the hostages, Pizzaballa said: “If I’m available for an exchange? Anything, if this could bring about the freedom of children, no problem. My absolute willingness.”
Pizzaballa has been criticized by Israel for an initial responses to the Hamas attack by Christian leaders in Jerusalem. The patriarchs’ statement made no explicit mention of the Hamas attack, restating in general terms its condemnation of any act that targets civilians.
PARIS — France says Gaza residents must be allowed to leave, accusing Hamas of preventing them from doing so, and wants the blockade of Gaza eased to allow in humanitarian aid.
The message was delivered Monday by French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on a visit to Egypt, following talks the previous day with officials in Israel. “The blockade doesn’t respect humanitarian law,” she said. “Humanitarian aid must be permitted to enter Gaza, because it’s unacceptable to leave women, men, children who aren’t responsible for Hamas’ crimes suffering like this.”
BEIRUT — Ahmed Abdul-Hadi, the representative of Hamas in Lebanon, insisted Monday that the decision to launch the surprise Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel was made by Hamas leadership and not directed by Iran or any other outside party. But in event of a ground invasion of Gaza, he said, allied groups will intervene.
The war in Gaza is “a Palestinian battle and the decision to enter it was a Palestinian decision” made by Hamas and its military wing, the Izz ad-Din al Qassam Brigades, “together with the Palestinian resistance factions,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of a conference convened by the group in Beirut.
Hamas officials have denied that Iran was involved in planning the attack or gave it the green light, and no government worldwide has offered direct evidence that Iran orchestrated the attack. But many point to Iran’s long sponsorship of Hamas that has included training, funding and providing it with weapons.
Abdul-Hadi said allies Iran and Hezbollah will not allow Israel “to crush Gaza” or to launch a “comprehensive ground attack,” but that the groups have been ambiguous about when and how they would respond.
In case of a “ground attack, regardless of its level,” or if “more massacres continue” in Gaza there will be “surprises announced,” he said.
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian President Bashar Assad discussed the volatile situation in Gaza and ways of ending Israel’s attacks with his Russian counterpart.
Assad’s office said in a statement released Monday that Assad and Vladimir Putin called for aid to be allowed to enter Gaza and for an end to the Israeli bombardment and displacement of Palestinians.
Russia has been a main backer of Assad since Syria’s conflict began more than 12 years ago, and joined the war in 2015.
Israel’s military has carried out several attacks in Syria over the past week targeting the airports of Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, putting them out of service.
BEIRUT — The Lebanese army says search operations have led to the discovery of 20 rockets launchers near the Lebanon-Israel border.
The army said in a statement that four of the launchers discovered had rockets inside them and were ready to be fired.
The army said military experts are dismantling the launchers that were discovered near the village of Qlaileh, south of the port city of Tyre.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
