Israel threatens to destroy civilians in the next stage of the war in the West Bank, according to a statement from an Israeli deputy commander of Hamas
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told the Israeli military that it will intensify its strikes on Gaza. “We will deepen our attacks to minimize the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war. Hagari said that they were going to increase the attacks. He wants Gaza’s residents to leave for their own safety.
There were five Palestinians killed in separate incidents on Sunday. Israel carried out an airstrike during a battle in another West Bank refugee camp last week, in which 13 Palestinians, including five minors, and a member of Israel’s paramilitary Border Police were killed.
Israel has confirmed that 212 people are being held hostage in Gaza. The deputy chief of Hamas rocket forces was among dozens of Palestinian fighters killed in Israeli strikes overnight.
In response to questions from The New York Times, the Israeli military said that it did not intend to consider those who have not evacuated south to be members of armed Palestinian groups, which it considers terrorist organizations. It said in a statement that it “treats civilians as such, and does not target them.” A spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry also said that there was no basis for the suggestion that its evacuation warnings could amount to ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
According to Israel, it hit a Terrorist compound in the West Bank, including “operatives” from a Hamas cell within a mosque, who were allegedly planning attacks.
Israel uses air power in the occupied West Bank less than in Gaza. Israel says its forces have detained over 700 suspects in the West Bank, including 480 members of Hamas, since the start of hostilities.
One Israeli soldier was struck by an anti-tank missile in northern Israel on Saturday and Israel carried out strikes on Hezbollah targets on the border with Lebanon. The deputy leader of Hezbollah said they are in the middle of the battle, the same day the group said six of its fighters were killed.
The state media in Syria reported that a person was killed when Israeli jets targeted the international airports of the Syrian capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo. The runways were out of commission. The Israeli military did not immediately make a comment.
The Arrival of the First Convoy of Humanitarian Aid to the Middle East: U.S. and Israeli Air Forces in the Gaza Strip
He said the Pentagon is sending an anti-ballistic missile defense system called the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) to the Middle East, as well as additional Patriot air defense missile system battalions.
Two aircraft carriers and their supporting ships have been deployed to the area by the U.S. in recent weeks.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu agreed that after the entry of the first two convoys of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Saturday, there “will now be continued flow of this critical assistance,” a White House summary of the call said. The leaders also “discussed ongoing efforts to secure the release of all the remaining hostages taken by Hamas — including U.S. citizens — and to provide for safe passage for U.S. citizens and other civilians in Gaza who wish to depart,” the White House said.
Loaded on the trucks were medical supplies for trauma treatment and chronic disease, the World Health Organization said Saturday. The food and blankets were part of the delivery. Aid groups say hospitals and Desalination plants are in need of fuel because there is not enough to power them.
The arrival of the trucks Saturday is a small first but important start, according to Lynn Hastings. It’s actually a drop in the bucket.
But Amani Abu Odeh, who lives in the town of Jabalia in Gaza’s north, said that the danger of Israeli airstrikes on the road had pushed up the cost of travel. She said drivers were charging between $200 and $300 to take a family south. The trip before the war cost $3 a person.
Ms. Abu Odeh said that they could not afford to eat. We do not have the money to leave. Instead, she and other members of her extended family have hunkered down together in one home.
Most medical specialties in the Gaza Strip have run out of supplies, according to a British-Palestinian surgeon.
The Gazan Airstrike Bombing of a Gaza City Hospital, Revisited: “This is not Israel,” says a Palestinian Civil Service Official
She wrote on X on Saturday, “designating hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians who were unwilling or unable to flee as a result of terrorism was a threat of collective punishment and could possibly amount to ethnic cleansing.” She added that deliberately targeting civilians was a war crime.
There are a few reasons why some families are staying put in the north.
“I did not go to the south mainly because I know no one there; where am I to go?” said Yasser Shaban, 57, a civil servant in Gaza City. We will end up in the streets.
The family of Mr. Shaban was taken to the south after the beginning of the airstrikes on Gaza City. But a week ago, he said, an Israeli airstrike hit the place where they were sheltering in the city of Khan Younis, killing the cousin’s wife and two daughters. The cousin and his surviving family members traveled to Gaza City to get help for their wounded relatives at Al Shifa Hospital.
Five days after Hamas accused Israel of bombing a hospital in Gaza City and killing hundreds of people, the armed Palestinian group has yet to produce or describe any evidence linking Israel to the strike, says it cannot find the munition that hit the site and has declined to provide detail to support its count of the casualties.
The Gazan authorities changed their story about the explosion as new evidence appeared refuting Hamas’ claim. The death tolls ranged between 500 and 833 before finalising at 476.
On Sunday, Hamas denied The Times access to any evidence that it claimed showed that the hospital was struck by a munition.
A senior Hamas official said the missile has dissolved into the water. It’s gone. There is nothing left.
Salama Maroof, the head of the Hamas-run government media office, said in a text message: “Who says we’re obligated to present the remnants of every rocket that kills our people? You can confirm for yourself from our evidence, in general.
The U.S. Army in Israel: Preparing for a War in the Balkans and Towards the End of the Land War
Even behind closed doors, American officials are carefully wording their advice to the Israelis. When Mr. Biden met with the Israeli war cabinet during his trip to Tel Aviv last week, he avoided making requests of Mr. Netanyahu, officials said. Instead, the president offered a series of questions that should be answered before a ground invasion starts and raised the specters of the disastrous U.S. decisions to invade Iraq and to wage a long, open-ended war in Afghanistan.
American officials also want more time to prepare for attacks on U.S. interests in the region from Iran-backed groups, which officials said are likely to intensify once Israel moves its forces fully into Gaza.
According to the officials, the administration supports the ground invasion of Israel and the goal of ending Hamas in Gaza, even though it isn’t making a demand of Israel.
The release of two American women on Friday has spurred the administration to argue that the Israeli government should allow time to negotiate the release of other hostages, the officials said.
The conversation was just one of dozens Netanyahu has had with world leaders in recent days. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is visiting Israel today, while France’s Macron is scheduled to visit tomorrow.
Two U.S. officials said the advice to the Israelis to hold off on the land war was being conveyed through Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III because the Pentagon is helping advise Israel on military actions, including the ground invasion.
He has had calls from Yoav Gallant to discuss everything from American arms shipments to U.S. military deployment to the region. One official said he talked about recovering the hostages as a priority.
An official with knowledge of the hostage negotiations, which are taking place mainly through Qatar, said Hamas had warned that a ground invasion would make hostage releases much less likely. Qatar has close ties to the political leaders of Hamas.
Mr. Blinken continued: “There are many, many Israelis who are hostages and of course, hostages from other nationalities. So we’re working to do everything we can, using whatever levers, partnerships, relationships we have to get them out. Israel is doing the same. But in terms of what we’re talking to Israel about with regard to their military operations, it really is focused on both how they do it, and how best to achieve the results that they seek.”
According to American officials, they’re hopeful the ground invasion will be delayed, but they don’t want to play into the narrative that Iran and its allies have created about the US secretly controlling Israel.
A number of drone strikes have targeted U.S. forces in the region. U.S. officials said that leaving the impression that Biden administration officials are the ones pulling the strings in Israel could drag the United States into a direct conflict with Iran or pro-Iran groups in the region.
There was a likelihood of an increase in Iranian proxies directed against our forces, Mr. Blinken said on NBC. We want to make certain that we can effectively defend our people.
The State Department announced Sunday that it had ordered the departure of nonessential American government employees and family members from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, Iraq, and increased the travel alert in Iraq to Level 4, meaning U.S. citizens should not go there. The department cited the threats of “terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest and Mission Iraq’s limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens.”
American institutions and citizens are worried that Iraqi militias will attack them.
The status of Gaza’s humanitarian aid, according to U.N. Secretary of State Benjamin Hagari and a spokesperson for UNRWA
The Israel Defense Force said that it hit over 320 targets, most of which were in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
Hagari said they were working to free the hostages and bring them home, as well as the raids inside Gaza to gather information on them.
The Secretary of State briefed reporters on Friday about the release of two Americans who were being held hostage and said that at least 10 Americans are still missing.
A further 14 truckloads of aid were delivered on Sunday. An additional shipment entered on Monday.
But humanitarian workers say the relief is not nearly enough. The shipments amount to about 3% of what would normally cross the border before the hostilities began, according to the U.N.
“Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries. Aid won’t reach those in desperate need without fuel. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance,” said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner-general, in a statement issued Sunday. “Without fuel, we will fail the people of Gaza whose needs are growing by the hour, under our watch.”
An emergency supply of fuel held by the U.N.’s relief agency for Palestinians, known as UNRWA, will be exhausted within a few days, officials have warned.
An estimated 14,700 people have been wounded and consumed all the supplies needed to care for them.
The Joint Statement of the U.S. Embassy to the Middle East urging Israel to protect itself from terrorist attacks and for preserving stability in the region
Amid the worsening humanitarian crisis, a group of Western leaders issued a joint statement Sunday reiterating support for Israel’s “right to defend itself against terrorism” while also calling for the country to adhere to humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.
The leaders committed to coordinating with partners in the region to ensure aid reached those in Gaza, as well as “close diplomatic coordination, including with key partners in the region, to prevent the conflict from spreading, preserve stability in the Middle East, and work toward a political solution and durable peace,” the statement reads.
China’s special envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun, is also in the region today. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, is also planning to head to the Middle East, but will start with allies in Iran on Monday.