Israel ignores calls for a ceasefire as the civilian death toll rises in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, where an Israeli airstrike killed three children. Former child prisoner Ahed Tamimi was among 70 Palestinians arrested in the West Bank.
Casualties: 0,022 killed, including at least 4,800 children
24,808 wounded. Occupied West Ban 155 killed 2,100 wounded
Key Developments:
- At least 144 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since October 7 in the occupied West Bank, including 43 children, accounting for “more than one-third of all [383] Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank in 2023,” reportedOCHA.
- Seven water facilities in the Gaza Strip were “directly hit and sustained major damage” on Saturday and Sunday. These included two water wells in Rafah, three sewage pipelines in Gaza City, and two water reservoirs, according to OCHA.
- 88 UNRWA staff members have been killed in Gaza since October 7, making this the “highest number of UN fatalities ever recorded in a single conflict,” saidUNICEF.
- 175 medical personnel and 24 civil defense workers have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the Palestinian Health Minister.
- 16 out of 36 hospitals and 51 of 72 clinics in the besieged enclave are nonoperational due to Israel’s ongoing bombardment, denial of the entry of fuel, and a lack of medicine, according to the Palestinian Minister of Health.
- Israeli airstrikes targeted their third refugee camp within 24 hours on Sunday: al-Bureij camp, killing at least 20 people, says Al Jazeera.
- An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon killed three children and their grandmother, according to AP news. Hezbollah followed the attack by firing at Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, killing one Israeli.
- Israeli forces arrest Ahed Tamimi from her home overnight, accusing her of “incitement” on social media. Her family denies the claims.
- At least 346 Israeli soldiers have been killed since October 7, including 32 who died during Israeli military ground incursions on Gaza, according to the Israeli army.
Israeli fighter jets struck 450 Hamas targets in Gaza in the past 24 hours, as troops also seized a militant compound, according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). The IDF said it struck “tunnels, terrorists, military compounds, observation posts, and anti-tank missile launch posts.” A senior Hamas Commander, Jamal Mussa, who led Hamas’ special security operations, was among those killed, according to the IDF. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
The Israeli military has divided the northern and southern parts of Gaza as the region suffers a third outage of communications since the war broke out. Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari called it a “significant stage’ in the war as Israeli troops are expected to enter Gaza City either today or tomorrow after having completely encircled the region. Meanwhile a U.N. Palestinian refugee agency spokesperson said they have “lost communication with the vast majority of the UNRWA team members” due to the telecoms blackout. Najib Jobain, Wafaa Shurafa And Kareem Cheyeb report for AP News.
The Rafah border crossing has been closed since Saturday following an Israeli strike on Friday on an ambulance in Gaza being used to transport wounded people, Egyptian official sources say. The Israeli military alleged the vehicle was carrying Hamas militants, although no evidence has been provided. The Rafah crossing,the only exit point not controlled by Israel,was opened under an internationally brokered deal last Wednesday. Yusri Mohamed, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Simon Lewis,Aidan Lewis, Andrew Mills and Nafisa Eltahir report for Reuters.
Dozens were killed and many more were injured following an Israeli airstrike at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip late Saturday, according to eyewitnesses. The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza said 47 people were killed, although the director of the local Al-Aqsa hospital Dr Eyad Abu Zaher said 52 people had been killed. Kareem Khadder, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Kathleen Magramo report for CNN.
Israeli airstrikes in the Bureij refugee camp on Thursday killed at least 15 people with many others buried in the rubble, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense. Bureij, which is located in central Gaza – an area home to around 46,000 people – where Israel had urged people to go to stay safe from heavy fighting further north.The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that airstrikes across Gaza targeted Hamas military command centers hidden amongst civilian areas, although their statement did not reference Bureji specifically. Julia Frankel reports for ABC News.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that he “refuses a temporary cease-fire that does not include the freeing of our hostages” and that “Israel does not allow the entry of fuel into the Gaza strip.” Vivian Salama and Margherita Stancati report for the Wall Street Journal.
The U.N. reports unprecedented levels of Palestinian displacement, with over 1,100 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank having been displaced since 2022 primarily due to a rise in Israeli settler violence, according to a report released last thursday. The report documented approximately three settler-related incidents per day in the West Bank – the highest since the U.N.’s analysis began in 2006. Julia Frankel reports for AP News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – REGIONAL RESPONSE
Jordan air dropped medical aid to Gaza today as King Abdullah II says it is “our duty to aid our brothers and sisters in the war on Gaza…we will always be there for our Palestinian brethren.” The comments – made via X, formerly twitter – come after Jordan announced it had recalled its ambassador from Israel last week. Summer Said reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah says Israel “will pay the price for its crimes against civilians,” after an Israeli strike on a car in south Lebanon killed three children and their grandmother yesterday, Lebanese authorities said. Hezbollah fired grad rockets at Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel in response, marking the first use of anti-aircraft missiles during the four weeks of clashes. Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military said it intercepted a drone over Lebanese territory which was flying to Israel, and that an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit the Yiftah region in Northern Israel. Reuters reports.
Hundreds of people gathered at a pro-Palestinian demonstration yesterday at the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey. Turkish police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. The air base houses U.S troops and the demonstration took place just hours before the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due in Ankara. It is understood that the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, an Islamist Turkish aid agency, organized the protest. By Dilara Senkaya and Mehmet Emin Caliskan report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
China’s foreign ministry said it “will do its utmost to encourage the Security Council to fulfill its responsibilities, play its role, build consensus and take responsible and meaningful actions as soon as possible to ease the current crisis and safeguard the safety of civilians,” ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a news conference. China’s special envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun, has just finished a tour of the region, as China took over the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council last week. The presidency rotates among the 15 member states each month, with China last holding the presidency in August 2022. Bernard Orr reports for Reuters.
France is in discussion with Egypt to open a medical facility which would include surgical units for those seriously wounded in the Gaza strip, France’s defense minister said today. Paris is due to host an international humanitarian conference later this week as it seeks to coordinate aid efforts. Egypt has prepared its own field hospital around nine miles from the Rafah crossing, with France having sent a Tonnerre helicopter to Gaza with the aim of aiding Gaza hospitals. Military sources say the helicopter is ill-equipped to offer medical assistance, although the French military is due to send a helicopter with advanced medical facilities in the next ten days. John Irish reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – U.S. RESPONSE
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit last Friday about “concrete steps” Israel could and should take to reduce civilian deaths. Blinken said Israel can follow his guidance “while still achieving its objectives of finding and finishing Hamas terrorists.” Anonymous U.S. officials said the steps included gathering more intelligence on Hamas, using smaller bombs to collapse the tunnel network, and deploying ground forces to separate the civilians from the militant-known locations. Adam Entous, Eric Schmitt and Julian E.Barnes report for the New York Times.
Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq yesterday during his visit through the Middle East. Blinken met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, and also received a security briefing at a U.S. embassy visit. Blinken said the meeting was “productive” and that both countries have a “shared purpose and commitment” in preventing Iranian-backed militia attacks. Al-Sudani is “working with his own security forces and others to take necessary action” to prevent any further attacks, Blinken said. Jennifer Hansler reports for CNN.
Blinken also met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah yesterday amid rising violence in the West Bank. It marks Blinken’s first visit to Ramallah, although Abbas and Blinken met twice last month in Jordan. A senior State Department official said that Blinken told Abbas how he “pressed Israel to minimize civilian harm” and gave updates on the work undertaken to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza and get “essential services restored.” The official confirmed that future governance of Gaza “was very much not the focus of the conversation.” Jennifer Hansler reports for CNN.
The U.S. military said an Ohio-class guided missile submarine (SSGN) has arrived in the Middle East, in a rare announcement likely viewed as a message of deterrence directed at Iran and its proxies amid escalating tensions. The SSGN, of which the U.S. Navy only has four, are former ballistic missile submarines that can carry almost four times the load of the newest Navy’s attack submarines. It joins other U.S. Navy assets in the region, including two carrier strike groups. Oren Liebermann and Brad Lendon report for CNN.
The C.I.A. Director William J. Burns arrived in Israel yesterday for intelligence-sharing discussions, marking the first stop in his trip to the Middle East. Discussions are expected to include hostage negotiations, intelligence cooperation, and the importance of preventing a regional escalation of the war. Julian E. Barnes reports for the New York Times.
Over 300 Americans and their family members have evacuated Gaza, although U.S. citizens remain trapped in the enclave as hostage negotiations continue, a White House official confirmed yesterday. Doina Chiacu and Jarrett Renshaw report for Reuters.