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Hamas and Israel at war: what we know on day nine Hamas and Israel at war: what we know on day nine
(about 11 hours later)
US sends second carrier group to eastern Mediterranean to prevent widening of conflict; order to evacuate Gaza hospitals could be ‘death sentence’, says WHO IDF confirms 126 Israeli hostages are being held in Gaza; death toll in Gaza stands at over 2,300 as humanitarian aid remains blocked at Rafah crossing
The US is sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean, the US defence secretary has confirmed, saying it is “to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack”. Lloyd Austin said on Saturday the deployment signalled Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war”. The USS Eisenhower and its affiliated warships will join another carrier group already deployed to the region in the wake of the attack on Israel a week ago and Israel’s ongoing response. The US has sent munitions to Israel and warned other countries not to escalate the conflict. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said that the number of confirmed Israeli hostages being held in Gaza is 126. Hamas has previously claimed that 13 hostages have been killed within Gaza by Israeli airstrikes. It said there were foreigners among those who died, without specifying their nationalities.
The Israeli military also said that at least 279 of its soldiers have been killed since 7 October, when Hamas launched its attack on southern Israel. At least 1,300 Israelis have been killed and at least 3,400 wounded in total. A sign with a prayer for IDF forces and those killed or missing has been placed on Sunday at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where Psalms are being recited.
The World Health Organization has condemned Israel’s order to evacuate 22 hospitals in northern Gaza that are treating more than 2,000 inpatients. Moving that many patients to southern Gaza, “where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence”, the organisation said.The World Health Organization has condemned Israel’s order to evacuate 22 hospitals in northern Gaza that are treating more than 2,000 inpatients. Moving that many patients to southern Gaza, “where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence”, the organisation said.
Iran has warned of “far-reaching consequences” if Israel’s “war crimes and genocide” are not stopped immediately. On Saturday, the permanent mission of Iran to the United Nations added: “The responsibility of which lies with the UN, the security council and the states steering the council toward a dead end.” Medics in Gaza said on Sunday that thousands could die if hospitals packed with wounded people ran out of fuel and basic supplies, as civilians under an air bombardment struggled to find food, water and safety before an expected Israeli ground offensive. Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 2,329 Palestinians, with more than 9,714 wounded. In addition at least 53 people have been reported killed in the West Bank, with more than 1,100 wounded.
Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha, Qatar. Hamas said the two had agreed to continue cooperation to achieve Hamas’s goals. Earlier, Haniyeh said in a televised speech that “there will be no migration from Gaza to Egypt” in the wake of Israel’s order to evacuate, and that Egypt “welcomes the Palestinian people, but not on the basis of migration or an exodus.” Egypt is intensifying efforts with its international and regional partners to deliver aid to Gaza, according to a statement released by Egypt’s presidency on Sunday. Egypt said its national security was a red line and that it rejects any plan to displace Palestinians. Egypt is proposing hosting a summit that would cover recent developments involving the crisis in Gaza and the future of the Palestinian issue.
US president Joe Biden spoke separately with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday. Netanyahu’s office said that the prime minister told Biden that “unity and determination” were needed to achieve Israel’s goal of defeating Hamas. Meanwhile, Abbas’s office said that Abbas told Biden that he rejected the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza as thousands fled amid deadly Israeli airstrikes. The Egyptian Red Crescent, World Health Organization and other NGOs and volunteer groups remain poised to deliver aid through the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza, but as yet it remains closed.
Russia has asked the United Nations security council to vote on Monday on a draft resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict that calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and condemns violence against civilians and all acts of terrorism. One person was killed and three others wounded in a northern Israeli village after fire across the blue line from Lebanon into Israel. The Israeli military it was striking in Lebanon in retaliation, and it declared a zone within 4 km (2.5 miles) of the blue line off-limits to public access. It said it is deliberately disrupting GPS operations in northern Israel near Lebanon, and also in the south near Gaza.
The Syrian defence ministry has confirmed Israel’s targeting of its Aleppo airport on Saturday night, putting it out of action. “The Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting Aleppo international airport, which led to material damage to the airport and it being out of service,” Reuters reports the ministry saying. Israel’s communications minister has said he is seeking a possible closure of Al Jazeera’s local bureau and accused the Qatari news station of pro-Hamas incitement and of exposing Israeli soldiers to potential attack from Gaza. Shloma Karhi said the proposal to shut Al Jazeera had been vetted by Israeli security officials and was being examined by legal experts. He would bring it to the cabinet later in the day, he said. Al Jazeera and the government in Doha had no immediate comment.
Israel’s military said on Saturday that it had fired back at Syrian areas from which two rockets were launched towards Israeli territory and fell into open areas. The military also said it fired an interceptor towards a “suspicious target” that crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon but did not provide any additional details. Pope Francis on Sunday called for humanitarian corridors to help those under siege in Gaza and renewed his appeal for the release of hostages held by militant Islamist group Hamas. “I strongly ask that the children, the sick, the elderly, women and all civilians do not become victims of the conflict,” the pope said during his weekly address to the crowds in St Peter’s square. “Humanitarian right must be respected, above all in Gaza.”
The European Council chief has called on a virtual summit with EU leaders next week to discuss the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. “It is of utmost importance that the European Council, in line with the treaties and our values, sets our common position and establishes a clear unified course of action that reflects the complexity of the unfolding situation,” said Charles Michel, president of the European Council. The US is sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean, the US defence secretary has confirmed, saying it is “to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack”.
Médicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has called on the Israeli authorities to “show humanity”. In a statement issued on Saturday, MSF condemned Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip “without restraint for a week”. The US embassy in Israel has published details of how it will attempt to evacuate people by sea from Haifa to Cyprus tomorrow.
Israel has admitted to intelligence “mistakes” in failing to predict Hamas’s attacks last weekend. “It’s my mistake, and it reflects the mistakes of all those making [intelligence] assessments,” Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, said at a press briefing. US secretary of state Antony Blinken said his meeting with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh was “very productive”.
The Israeli military announced on Saturday that its forces are preparing to implement a wide range of operational offensive plans. It also announced that its forces had been deployed throughout Israel and were preparing for the next stages “with an emphasis on significant ground operations”. The EU is to convene an emergency meeting of its member states to discuss the consequences of the deteriorating situation in Israel and Palestine. Sending out an invitation for a summit on Tuesday, the European Council president, Charles Michel, said if the EU was “not careful” the conflict could “feed extremism” across Europe. He said he is also concerned about the consequences for neighbouring countries’ capacity to deal with refugees and the potential for onward crisis support in the EU.
Lebanon said on Saturday that Israel had launched a deadly strike on Friday that killed a Reuters journalist and injured six other journalists from Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Al Jazeera. The Lebanese army said in a statement that “the Israeli enemy fired a rocket shell that hit a civilian car belonging to a media team, leading to the death of Issam Abdallah”. Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone “beyond the scope of self-defence” and the Israeli government must “cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza”, China’s foreign minister said in remarks published on Sunday.
The UN’s under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “fast becoming untenable”. In a statement issued on Saturday, Griffiths said: “Even wars have rules, and these rules must be upheld, at all times, and by all sides. Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including humanitarian workers and assets, must be protected.” The Jerusalem Post reported earlier that Iran had sent a private message to Israel through the UN that it could intervene if Israel continues its military campaign in Gaza.
The European Commission announced that it will triple humanitarian aid for Gaza. The move comes after the EU faced criticism for conflicting messaging from its senior leadership. The commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke on Saturday with the UN secretary general, António Guterres, the commission said. Britain’s foreign secretary has said Israel should show “restraint” as it prepares to invade Gaza, marking a slight change of tone from the UK government. James Cleverly on Sunday urged the Israel Defence Forces to show “discipline” and avoid mass casualties. He told the BBC the UK government had been lobbying Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing.
The US is sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean, the US defence secretary has confirmed, saying it is “to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack”. Lloyd Austin said on Saturday the deployment signalled Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war”. The USS Eisenhower and its affiliated warships will join another carrier group already deployed to the region in the wake of the attack on Israel a week ago and Israel’s ongoing response. The US has sent munitions to Israel and warned other countries not to escalate the conflict. Cleverly said that considering about 10 British people dead or missing was not an “unreasonable estimate”, and declined to say if the UK believed actions by Israel so far had been a breach of international law. The UN’s OHCHR position has been that the evacuation order imposed by the Israeli military on the civilian population of the Gaza Strip is “a crime against humanity, and collective punishment is prohibited under international humanitarian law”.
The Scottish National party has supported the UN’s calls for an immediate ceasefire on the Gaza Strip. The motion, passed by acclaim on Sunday morning at its conference in Aberdeen, follows repeated pleas from Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader, for restraint in the conflict. Yousaf’s mother-in-law and father-in-law, who is Palestinian, are stranded in Gaza and living without enough food, water and power.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said that the number of confirmed Israeli hostages being held in Gaza is 126. Hamas has previously claimed that 13 hostages have been killed within Gaza by Israeli airstrikes. It said there were foreigners among those who died, without specifying their nationalities.
The Israeli military also said that at least 279 of its soldiers have been killed since 7 October, when Hamas launched its attack on southern Israel. At least 1,300 Israelis have been killed and at least 3,400 wounded in total. A sign with a prayer for IDF forces and those killed or missing has been placed on Sunday at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where Psalms are being recited.
The World Health Organization has condemned Israel’s order to evacuate 22 hospitals in northern Gaza that are treating more than 2,000 inpatients. Moving that many patients to southern Gaza, “where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence”, the organisation said.The World Health Organization has condemned Israel’s order to evacuate 22 hospitals in northern Gaza that are treating more than 2,000 inpatients. Moving that many patients to southern Gaza, “where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence”, the organisation said.
Iran has warned of “far-reaching consequences” if Israel’s “war crimes and genocide” are not stopped immediately. On Saturday, the permanent mission of Iran to the United Nations added: “The responsibility of which lies with the UN, the security council and the states steering the council toward a dead end.” Medics in Gaza said on Sunday that thousands could die if hospitals packed with wounded people ran out of fuel and basic supplies, as civilians under an air bombardment struggled to find food, water and safety before an expected Israeli ground offensive. Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 2,329 Palestinians, with more than 9,714 wounded. In addition at least 53 people have been reported killed in the West Bank, with more than 1,100 wounded.
Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha, Qatar. Hamas said the two had agreed to continue cooperation to achieve Hamas’s goals. Earlier, Haniyeh said in a televised speech that “there will be no migration from Gaza to Egypt” in the wake of Israel’s order to evacuate, and that Egypt “welcomes the Palestinian people, but not on the basis of migration or an exodus.” Egypt is intensifying efforts with its international and regional partners to deliver aid to Gaza, according to a statement released by Egypt’s presidency on Sunday. Egypt said its national security was a red line and that it rejects any plan to displace Palestinians. Egypt is proposing hosting a summit that would cover recent developments involving the crisis in Gaza and the future of the Palestinian issue.
US president Joe Biden spoke separately with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday. Netanyahu’s office said that the prime minister told Biden that “unity and determination” were needed to achieve Israel’s goal of defeating Hamas. Meanwhile, Abbas’s office said that Abbas told Biden that he rejected the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza as thousands fled amid deadly Israeli airstrikes. The Egyptian Red Crescent, World Health Organization and other NGOs and volunteer groups remain poised to deliver aid through the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza, but as yet it remains closed.
Russia has asked the United Nations security council to vote on Monday on a draft resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict that calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and condemns violence against civilians and all acts of terrorism. One person was killed and three others wounded in a northern Israeli village after fire across the blue line from Lebanon into Israel. The Israeli military it was striking in Lebanon in retaliation, and it declared a zone within 4 km (2.5 miles) of the blue line off-limits to public access. It said it is deliberately disrupting GPS operations in northern Israel near Lebanon, and also in the south near Gaza.
The Syrian defence ministry has confirmed Israel’s targeting of its Aleppo airport on Saturday night, putting it out of action. “The Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting Aleppo international airport, which led to material damage to the airport and it being out of service,” Reuters reports the ministry saying. Israel’s communications minister has said he is seeking a possible closure of Al Jazeera’s local bureau and accused the Qatari news station of pro-Hamas incitement and of exposing Israeli soldiers to potential attack from Gaza. Shloma Karhi said the proposal to shut Al Jazeera had been vetted by Israeli security officials and was being examined by legal experts. He would bring it to the cabinet later in the day, he said. Al Jazeera and the government in Doha had no immediate comment.
Israel’s military said on Saturday that it had fired back at Syrian areas from which two rockets were launched towards Israeli territory and fell into open areas. The military also said it fired an interceptor towards a “suspicious target” that crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon but did not provide any additional details. Pope Francis on Sunday called for humanitarian corridors to help those under siege in Gaza and renewed his appeal for the release of hostages held by militant Islamist group Hamas. “I strongly ask that the children, the sick, the elderly, women and all civilians do not become victims of the conflict,” the pope said during his weekly address to the crowds in St Peter’s square. “Humanitarian right must be respected, above all in Gaza.”
The European Council chief has called on a virtual summit with EU leaders next week to discuss the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. “It is of utmost importance that the European Council, in line with the treaties and our values, sets our common position and establishes a clear unified course of action that reflects the complexity of the unfolding situation,” said Charles Michel, president of the European Council. The US is sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean, the US defence secretary has confirmed, saying it is “to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack”.
Médicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has called on the Israeli authorities to “show humanity”. In a statement issued on Saturday, MSF condemned Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip “without restraint for a week”. The US embassy in Israel has published details of how it will attempt to evacuate people by sea from Haifa to Cyprus tomorrow.
Israel has admitted to intelligence “mistakes” in failing to predict Hamas’s attacks last weekend. “It’s my mistake, and it reflects the mistakes of all those making [intelligence] assessments,” Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, said at a press briefing. US secretary of state Antony Blinken said his meeting with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh was “very productive”.
The Israeli military announced on Saturday that its forces are preparing to implement a wide range of operational offensive plans. It also announced that its forces had been deployed throughout Israel and were preparing for the next stages “with an emphasis on significant ground operations”. The EU is to convene an emergency meeting of its member states to discuss the consequences of the deteriorating situation in Israel and Palestine. Sending out an invitation for a summit on Tuesday, the European Council president, Charles Michel, said if the EU was “not careful” the conflict could “feed extremism” across Europe. He said he is also concerned about the consequences for neighbouring countries’ capacity to deal with refugees and the potential for onward crisis support in the EU.
Lebanon said on Saturday that Israel had launched a deadly strike on Friday that killed a Reuters journalist and injured six other journalists from Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Al Jazeera. The Lebanese army said in a statement that “the Israeli enemy fired a rocket shell that hit a civilian car belonging to a media team, leading to the death of Issam Abdallah”. Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone “beyond the scope of self-defence” and the Israeli government must “cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza”, China’s foreign minister said in remarks published on Sunday.
The UN’s under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “fast becoming untenable”. In a statement issued on Saturday, Griffiths said: “Even wars have rules, and these rules must be upheld, at all times, and by all sides. Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including humanitarian workers and assets, must be protected.” The Jerusalem Post reported earlier that Iran had sent a private message to Israel through the UN that it could intervene if Israel continues its military campaign in Gaza.
The European Commission announced that it will triple humanitarian aid for Gaza. The move comes after the EU faced criticism for conflicting messaging from its senior leadership. The commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke on Saturday with the UN secretary general, António Guterres, the commission said. Britain’s foreign secretary has said Israel should show “restraint” as it prepares to invade Gaza, marking a slight change of tone from the UK government. James Cleverly on Sunday urged the Israel Defence Forces to show “discipline” and avoid mass casualties. He told the BBC the UK government had been lobbying Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing.
Cleverly said that considering about 10 British people dead or missing was not an “unreasonable estimate”, and declined to say if the UK believed actions by Israel so far had been a breach of international law. The UN’s OHCHR position has been that the evacuation order imposed by the Israeli military on the civilian population of the Gaza Strip is “a crime against humanity, and collective punishment is prohibited under international humanitarian law”.
The Scottish National party has supported the UN’s calls for an immediate ceasefire on the Gaza Strip. The motion, passed by acclaim on Sunday morning at its conference in Aberdeen, follows repeated pleas from Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader, for restraint in the conflict. Yousaf’s mother-in-law and father-in-law, who is Palestinian, are stranded in Gaza and living without enough food, water and power.