Israel-Hamas war Highlights: Hamas commander killed as Israel launches dozens of strikes on Gaza, says report

Israeli military said it killed a Hamas commander in a series of airstrikes on approximately 250 targets, primarily concentrated in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, CNN reported. The identity of the commander, Muetaz Eid, who served as the head of Hamas' Southern District of National Security, was disclosed in a statement by the Israel Defense Forces. Intelligence from the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency played a role in locating him.

As of now, Hamas has not issued a statement regarding the incident. The IDF further mentioned that their strikes targeted numerous military facilities, including military headquarters, observation posts, and rocket launching sites utilized by both Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist groups.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made a plea to Hamas on Sunday, urging them to release all civilian hostages, news agency AFP reported. He also expressed deep concerns about Israeli attacks, stating that innocent Palestinian civilians and children were bearing the brunt of the conflict.

Ghebreyesus further said that this conflict was a stark reminder of how rapidly the well-being of millions of people could be jeopardized. Speaking at the World Health Summit in Berlin from Manila, he asserted, "War will bring nothing but destruction and horror."

The recent escalation of hostilities began when Israel declared war on Hamas following an attack by the militant group, which resulted in the death of over 1,400 people of Israel.

Israel declared war on the Hamas militant group last Sunday, a day after waves of its fighters broke through the heavily fortified border and shot, stabbed and burned to death more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians.

The relentless bombing since against those who masterminded the attack have flattened neighbourhoods and left at least 2,670 people dead in the Gaza Strip, the majority ordinary Palestinians.

But as Israel seeks to avenge the worst attack in its history, the Arab League and African Union warned the invasion could lead to "a genocide of unprecedented proportions".

It also faced a grave warning about the wider security implications of putting boots on the ground in the densely populated enclave.

(AFP)

-France has reported 19 of its citizens killed in Hamas' attack on Israel just over a week ago, while the fate of 13 others, potentially held hostage, remains unknown.

-A rocket struck the headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon's coastal town of Naqoura, marking an escalation in clashes between Hezbollah and its allies and the Israeli military on Sunday.

-Iran's hardline president engaged in a conversation with France's leader on Sunday, cautioning that unless Israel's blockade of Gaza ends, the conflict would expand, according to state-run media.

-The regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) conveyed to The Associated Press on Sunday that the evacuation of hospitals from the northern part of the Gaza Strip is "impractical" and emphasized that Israel's request for their evacuation violates international law.

-Confrontations between armed groups in Lebanon and Israel along the border escalated on Sunday, with Hezbollah firing rockets and Israeli forces responding with artillery fire.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed on Sunday that the border crossing into Gaza, controlled by Egypt, would soon reopen, news agency Reuters reported. The United States, in collaboration with Egypt, Israel, and the United Nations, is actively working on facilitating the delivery of much-needed assistance.

For several days, hundreds of tons of aid from various countries have been held in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, awaiting a resolution for its secure transport to Gaza, along with the evacuation of foreign passport holders through the Rafah crossing.

Egypt has intensified its diplomatic efforts to overcome the impasse. Blinken, in Cairo after a "very good conversation" with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, stated, "We have put in place, Egypt has put in place a lot of material support for people in Gaza, and Rafah will be reopened." He also mentioned, "We are putting into place — with the United Nations, with Egypt, with Israel, with others — the mechanism by which to get the assistance in and to get it to the people who need it."

Lebanese Hezbollah fighters launched attacks on Israeli army posts and a northern border village on Sunday, prompting Israel to respond with strikes in Lebanon. Meanwhile, the United Nations peacekeepers warned that border clashes were intensifying.

Intermittent cross-border fire between Israel and Lebanon over the past week has raised concerns that the conflict with Hamas militants in Gaza could potentially escalate into a broader confrontation.

Hezbollah's assault on Shtula, a farming community located adjacent to the border fence, resulted in one fatality and three injuries, as reported by both the militant group and Israeli medical personnel. This marked the most significant border violence since a month-long war in 2006.

Hezbollah also claimed to have targeted Israeli barracks in Hanita with guided missiles and indicated that they had inflicted casualties among the enemy forces.

In retaliation, the Israeli military stated that it had conducted strikes within Lebanon and established a restricted zone extending 4 km (2 miles) from the Lebanese border, prohibiting public access.

(Reuters)

Israel's airstrikes in the Gaza Strip have caused a severe humanitarian crisis, United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees said on Sunday. Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general of UNRWA, highlighted the dire situation, stating, "Not one drop of water, not one grain of wheat, not a litre of fuel has been allowed into the Gaza Strip for the last eight days." He further emphasised the urgency of the situation, saying, "Raise the alarm that as of today, my UNRWA colleagues in Gaza are no longer able to provide humanitarian assistance as I speak. In fact, Gaza is being strangled, and it seems the war right now has lost its humanity." Lazzarini also pointed out the critical issue of water scarcity, noting that "water is life, and Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life."

On the other hand, Israel's Energy Minister Israel Katz mentioned earlier that talks between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden had resulted in the resumption of water supply to southern Gaza.

(AFP)

Families in Israel, whose members are believed to have been held hostage by Hamas, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured that ‘one of the goals of the war is the return of the captive and missing’.

In response, the families forum issued a statement slamming the government for “effectively saying that it is abandoning its citizens who have been kidnapped.”

Medics in Gaza warned Sunday that thousands could die as hospitals packed with wounded people ran desperately low on fuel and basic supplies. Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave struggled to find food, water and safety ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive in the war sparked by Hamas' deadly attack.

Israeli forces, supported by a growing deployment of U.S. warships in the region, 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 entire neighborhoods but failed to stem militant rocket fire into Israel.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,450 Palestinians have been killed and 9,200 wounded since the fighting erupted, more than in the 2014 Gaza war, which lasted over six weeks. That makes this the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for both sides.

More than 1,400 Israelis were killed, the vast majority of them civilians, in Hamas' Oct. 7 assault. An estimated 150 others, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza. It's also the deadliest war for Israel since the 1973 conflict with Egypt and Syria.

The U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken would return to Israel on Monday after completing a frantic six-country tour through Arab nations aimed at preventing the fighting from igniting a broader regional conflict.

Fighting along Israel's border with Lebanon, which flared since the start of the latest Gaza war, intensified Sunday with Hezbollah militants firing rockets and an anti-tank missile, and Israel responding with airstrikes and shelling. The Israeli military also reported shooting at one of its border posts. The fighting killed at least one person on the Israeli side and wounded several on both sides of the border.

A spokeswoman for Hezbollah, Rana Sahili, said the increased fighting represents a “warning” and does not mean Hezbollah has decided to enter the war.

With the situation in Gaza growing increasingly desperate, the U.S. named David Satterfield, the former U.S. ambassador to Turkey with years of experience in Mideast diplomacy, to be special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement Sunday that Satterfield will focus on getting humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.

“Our responsibility now is to enter Gaza, to go to the places where Hamas is preparing, acting, planning, launching. Attack them everywhere, every commander, every operative, destroy infrastructure,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi quoted as saying by Times of Israel.

The death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip surged to at least 2,670 since Hamas's bloody attack on southern Israel last week, the Gaza health ministry said Sunday.

Another 9,600 people have also been injured as Israel continued its blistering air campaign on targets in the Palestinian coastal enclave, the Hamas-controlled ministry added.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said its headquarters was struck by a rocket in the southern town of Naqoura, amid exchanges of fire on the border with Israel.

"Our headquarters in Naqoura was hit with a rocket and we are working to verify from where. Our peacekeepers were not in shelters at the time. Fortunately, no one was hurt," UNIFIL said in a statement.

US President Joe Biden recently called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to condemn the attack by Hamas on Israel and reiterate that the declared militant group doesn't represent Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination.

Iran warned Israel of escalation if it failed to end aggressions against Palestinians, with its foreign minister saying other parties in the region were ready to act, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday.

"If the Zionist aggressions do not stop, the hands of all parties in the region are on the trigger," Hossein Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying.

Israel Air Force chief Maj General Tomer Bar said its primary mission from this point on would shift to paving way for ground troops into Gaza Strip.

"We are laying the groundwork for the most effective possible ground maneuvers. We are removing as many threats as possible regarding the land and the air," the Air Force chief told Israel's daily Jarusalem Post.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that the Biden administration hopes to push a new weapons package for Israel and Ukraine through Congress that will be significantly higher than $2 billion.

Sullivan, in an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation," said U.S. President Joe Biden will have intensive talks with the U.S. Congress this week on the need for the package to be approved.

Republicans' struggles to pick a speaker for the House of Representatives after party hardliners ousted Kevin McCarthy nearly two weeks ago has delayed action on legislation, as Israel prepares a ground war against Hamas in Gaza and U.S. officials warn the regional crisis could escalate.

Water has run out at U.N. shelters across Gaza as thousands packed into the courtyard of the besieged territory's largest hospital as a refuge of last resort from a looming Israeli ground offensive and overwhelmed doctors struggled to care for patients they fear will die once generators run out of fuel.

Palestinian civilians across Gaza, already battered by years of conflict, were struggling for survival Sunday in the face of an unprecedented Israeli operation against the territory following a Hamas militant attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians.

Israel’s Tax Authority has opened applications for an estimated NIS 80 million of monetary assistance grants for residents of the Gaza border communities who were evacuated or chose to leave, since Hamas launched its mass assault on October 7.

Residents of communities within seven kilometers of the Gaza Strip border are eligible for grants, according to a cabinet decision.

NIS: Israeli New Shekel

Hamas' armed wing, Al Qassam Brigades, said on Sunday it fired 20 rockets from Lebanon on two Israeli settlements.

Separately, Lebanon's Hezbollah also said it had targeted barracks in Israel's Hanita with guided missiles and said it had inflicted casualties on "the enemy ranks".

Iran warned that "no one can guarantee" control of the situation if Israel invades Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive by Israeli forces. Read more

Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 2,450 people since Hamas' bloody attack on southern Israel last week, the Gaza health ministry said Sunday.

Another 9,200 people have also been injured as Israel continued its blistering air campaign on targets in the Palestinian coastal enclave, the Hamas-controlled ministry added.

The Hezbollah terror group claims responsibility for attacking a number of Israeli military posts along the Lebanon border with light arms.

The IDF said troops returned fire at the gunmen, and that combat helicopters were carrying out strikes in the area.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since the attack unleashed last week by Hamas militants from the blockaded Gaza Strip, the Israeli prime minister's office said Sunday.

"Over 1,400 were killed (and) over 120 Israelis were abducted by Hamas terrorists" since the October 7 attack, Tal Heinrich, spokeswoman for the prime minister's office, told journalists.