The US secretary of state holds call with Israeli war cabinet members Benny Gantz and Yoav Gallant; witnesses report multiple injures and deaths in strikes on Rafah
See all of our Israel-Gaza war coverage
It’s just gone past 9:30am in Gaza and Tel Aviv. Welcome to our latest live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and the wider Middle East crisis. I’m Yohannes Lowe and I’ll be with you for the next while.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is urging Israel and Hamas to agree a ceasefire and hostage deal, as fresh strikes were reported in Rafah overnight and into Monday morning.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Sunday that if Hamas agrees to the deal to end the Gaza war, the US expects Israel to also accept the plan. “This was an Israeli proposal. We have every expectation that if Hamas agrees to the proposal … then Israel would say yes,” Kirby said in an interview with ABC News’ This Week programme. “We’re waiting for an official response from Hamas,” he added.
An aide to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that Israel had accepted a framework deal for winding down the war on Gaza now being advanced by US president Joe Biden, though he described it as flawed and in need of much more work. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Ophir Falk, chief foreign policy adviser to Netanyahu, said Biden’s proposal was “a deal we agreed to … it’s not a good deal but we dearly want the hostages released, all of them”.
Two far-right Israeli ministers have threatened to quit prime minister Benjamin Netanyhau’s government if he goes ahead with a ceasefire and hostage-release deal outlined by Joe Biden. The US president said on Friday that Israel had offered a new roadmap towards a full ceasefire including the release of hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, said on Sunday that all 36 of its shelters in Rafah “are now empty”, after at least a million people have fled the city. “The humanitarian space continues to shrink”, Unrwa said, adding that about 1.7 million people were now sheltering in southern Gaza’s main city of Khan Younis and in central areas.
In the besieged territory’s north, Israeli helicopters fired at Gaza City’s Zeitun and Sabra areas, AFP reporters said. A hospital medic said three people were killed when an airstrike hit a family apartment in Gaza City’s Daraj district. And in central Gaza, shelling hit areas of Deir al-Balah and the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps, witnesses said.
Ten civilians were killed after Israeli warplanes targeted two homes on the Nuseirat refugee camp and the adjacent Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, reported.
The body of an Israeli who went missing during the 7 October Hamas attack, and was presumed to be among hostages taken to the Gaza Strip, has been located in the border village where he had lived, Israeli media said on Monday.
Israel’s military confirmed the identification of Dolev Yehud’s remains, saying this required lengthy forensics. It said he was killed by Hamas during the attack in kibbutz Nir Oz, many of whose residents died.
Israeli airstrikes around the Syrian city of Aleppo killed several people early on Monday, Syrian state media reported. The state-run SANA news agency gave no specific toll. It said the strikes were around the south-eastern edge of Aleppo. Israel did not immediately acknowledge the strikes and rarely does when it comes to Syria.
Iran’s hard-line former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has registered as a possible candidate for the presidential election, seeking to regain the country’s top political position after a helicopter crash killed the nation’s president. The populist former leader’s registration puts pressure on supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Associated Press reported. In office, Ahmadinejad openly challenged the 85-year-old cleric, and his attempt to run in 2021 was barred by authorities.
Continue reading…The US secretary of state holds call with Israeli war cabinet members Benny Gantz and Yoav Gallant; witnesses report multiple injures and deaths in strikes on RafahSee all of our Israel-Gaza war coverageIt’s just gone past 9:30am in Gaza and Tel Aviv. Welcome to our latest live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and the wider Middle East crisis. I’m Yohannes Lowe and I’ll be with you for the next while.The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is urging Israel and Hamas to agree a ceasefire and hostage deal, as fresh strikes were reported in Rafah overnight and into Monday morning.White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Sunday that if Hamas agrees to the deal to end the Gaza war, the US expects Israel to also accept the plan. “This was an Israeli proposal. We have every expectation that if Hamas agrees to the proposal … then Israel would say yes,” Kirby said in an interview with ABC News’ This Week programme. “We’re waiting for an official response from Hamas,” he added.An aide to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that Israel had accepted a framework deal for winding down the war on Gaza now being advanced by US president Joe Biden, though he described it as flawed and in need of much more work. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Ophir Falk, chief foreign policy adviser to Netanyahu, said Biden’s proposal was “a deal we agreed to … it’s not a good deal but we dearly want the hostages released, all of them”.Two far-right Israeli ministers have threatened to quit prime minister Benjamin Netanyhau’s government if he goes ahead with a ceasefire and hostage-release deal outlined by Joe Biden. The US president said on Friday that Israel had offered a new roadmap towards a full ceasefire including the release of hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza.The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, said on Sunday that all 36 of its shelters in Rafah “are now empty”, after at least a million people have fled the city. “The humanitarian space continues to shrink”, Unrwa said, adding that about 1.7 million people were now sheltering in southern Gaza’s main city of Khan Younis and in central areas.In the besieged territory’s north, Israeli helicopters fired at Gaza City’s Zeitun and Sabra areas, AFP reporters said. A hospital medic said three people were killed when an airstrike hit a family apartment in Gaza City’s Daraj district. And in central Gaza, shelling hit areas of Deir al-Balah and the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps, witnesses said.Ten civilians were killed after Israeli warplanes targeted two homes on the Nuseirat refugee camp and the adjacent Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, reported.The body of an Israeli who went missing during the 7 October Hamas attack, and was presumed to be among hostages taken to the Gaza Strip, has been located in the border village where he had lived, Israeli media said on Monday.
Israel’s military confirmed the identification of Dolev Yehud’s remains, saying this required lengthy forensics. It said he was killed by Hamas during the attack in kibbutz Nir Oz, many of whose residents died.Israeli airstrikes around the Syrian city of Aleppo killed several people early on Monday, Syrian state media reported. The state-run SANA news agency gave no specific toll. It said the strikes were around the south-eastern edge of Aleppo. Israel did not immediately acknowledge the strikes and rarely does when it comes to Syria.Iran’s hard-line former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has registered as a possible candidate for the presidential election, seeking to regain the country’s top political position after a helicopter crash killed the nation’s president. The populist former leader’s registration puts pressure on supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Associated Press reported. In office, Ahmadinejad openly challenged the 85-year-old cleric, and his attempt to run in 2021 was barred by authorities. Continue reading…