The Israeli army said those killed included Jamal Moussa, a senior Hamas commander who led a special security forces unit. A Portal journalist reported from the Gaza Strip that the overnight shelling was one of the heaviest since the war began a month ago, following the Hamas attack on southern Israel.
Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health reported more than 200 deaths in the overnight attacks. The dead were called “martyrs”. A report by Palestinian news agency WAFA spoke of “unprecedented bombings” by Israel. There were deaths in the city of Gaza, but also in the cities of Sawaida and Deir al-Balah, which are a little further south. Since fighting began, 10,022 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, the health authority in the Hamas-controlled area said. There are 4,104 children among the dead. The information cannot be independently verified.
APA/AFP/Israeli Army Israeli tanks in the north of the Gaza Strip
Communication services are “gradually” returning.
Telecommunications provider Paltel reported further disruptions to internet and communications services on Sunday evening. Apparently, this also prevents Hamas from communicating, but the emergency services are also no longer able to communicate. According to the Washington Post, it was the third “communications blackout” since the beginning of military measures. Internet and communication services will gradually be available again on Monday, the newspaper reported.
After a break of several hours, rockets were fired again at Israeli cities from the Gaza Strip on Monday. Warning sirens sounded early in the morning in several towns in the border area, the Israeli army said. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
Graphics: APA/ORF; Source: ISW/WarMapper
Tunnels in the “next level” sights
The Israeli army wants to pay more attention to Hamas tunnels. Military spokesman Richard Hecht announced on Monday that the “next phase of the offensive” would be launched to destroy Hamas. The armed forces are ready to attack Hamas fighters in their underground tunnels and bunkers in the northern Gaza Strip. “Now we’re going to start getting closer to them,” Hecht said. This means they are attacked above ground and underground.
According to the army’s statement a few days ago, “various types of robots and explosive devices” are already being used to destroy the tunnels used by Hamas as a hideout, as was said a few days ago. To do this, it is necessary to locate the entrances to the tunnel network.
However, Jair Golan, former deputy chief of the Israeli General Staff, said in an interview with Army Radio on Thursday that Israeli soldiers should not enter the tunnels under any circumstances, as reported by the Times of Israel. “It would be a big mistake to go into the tunnels” where Hamas hides and waits.
In addition to the traps, it is practically impossible not to be injured during combat in the tunnel systems. But from the moment the entrances are found, the attackers have complete advantage. The tunnels would become a death trap for Hamas.
Army names new escape corridor
However, on Monday morning, the Israeli army again gave civilians in the northern Gaza Strip a window of opportunity to flee to the southern coastal area. The army is allowing passage on a southern link road between 10am and 2pm local time (1pm CET), a spokesperson wrote in Arabic on Twitter (X) on Monday morning. He published a map showing Salah al-Din Street. The spokesperson urged people to move south as quickly as possible for their own safety.
Borrell puts the Red Cross on the line
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell suggested a temporary suspension of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip if Hamas, in return, allows representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to hostages held in the Strip. of Gaza for a month. Such an approach could be “a first step” towards the release of the hostages, Borrell told EU diplomats in Brussels on Monday.
“We must ensure that violence decreases and that international humanitarian law is respected,” said Borrell. There is “no military solution to the conflict”. The EU foreign policy chief warned that an “overreaction” by Israel in its actions against Hamas could ultimately lead to the country “losing the support of the international community”. Hamas’ attack on Israel a month ago was “a turning point in history” and will influence the future of the region for decades.
EU increases humanitarian aid
The “tragedy” currently unfolding in the Middle East is the result of “a collective political and moral failure” over the past few decades, for which both Israelis and Palestinians are “paying dearly,” Borrell said. The international community has not done enough to find a solution to the conflict in the Middle East.
ORF Cupal correspondent on the situation in Gaza
ORF correspondent Tim Cupal reports from Tel Aviv and talks about the current situation in Gaza City.
The European Union is now increasing its humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip by 25 million euros. The EU is thus providing a total of 100 million euros in humanitarian aid to civilians in Palestinian territory, said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The Union is working with Israel, Egypt and the UN to ensure that aid reaches the population.
Jordan drops aid supplies
Meanwhile, the Jordanian Air Force dropped medical supplies over the Gaza Strip, according to a media report. The Times of Israel news platform reported this on Monday night, citing a corresponding statement from King Abdullah II of Jordan: Israel has imposed an embargo against uncontrolled aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. According to the BBC, Israel confirmed a coordinated action with Jordan after speculation about whether the action had been coordinated.
APA/AFP/Jordanian Armed Forces In Jordan, aid supplies for Gaza are loaded onto a military plane
Around midnight, medical supplies and medicines were parachuted into a Jordanian field hospital in Gaza, Jordan’s king said. “It is our duty to help our brothers and sisters who were injured in the war against Gaza. We will always be at the side of our Palestinian brothers,” he wrote.
Paris wants to build a field hospital
Israel demands that all aid supplies, which so far only reach the southern Gaza Strip through the Egyptian Rafah border crossing, be verified. The aim is to prevent weapons destined for Hamas from being smuggled into the Gaza Strip. Humanitarian organizations complain that the aid supplies that have so far reached the Gaza Strip by truck are far from sufficient.
France plans to create a field hospital for seriously injured people from the Gaza Strip. Talks are ongoing with Egypt, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu told the Lebanese newspaper “L’Orient le jour”. It is a military clinic where surgical interventions can be carried out.
Portal/Israel Defense Forces A possible entrance to the tunnel system in Gaza
Egypt has already created its own field hospital near the Gaza border. The Paris government will organize an international conference later this week to discuss aid efforts for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
UN organizations call for immediate ceasefire
Taking into account the high number of civilian casualties and the critical supply situation in the Gaza Strip, several UN organizations called for an immediate ceasefire on Monday night. “It’s already 30 days. That’s enough. It has to end now,” they said.
The United Nations Office of Emergency Relief (OCHA), the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Food Program (WFP), as well as how humanitarian organizations CARE and Save the Children joined the UN appeal. So far, Israel has rejected calls for a ceasefire because it fears that Hamas will use them to reorganize itself. However, it promised ceasefires in certain areas to allow civilians to escape from north to south.
AP/Hatem Moussa People fleeing in Gaza
The approximately 1,400 deaths on the Israeli side and the abduction of more than 200 hostages following the Hamas attack were “horrible”, the organizations also stated. “But the horrific deaths of even more civilians in Gaza are a shame, as is the cutoff of food, water, medicine, electricity and fuel for 2.2 million Palestinians.” An entire population “is denied access to the things most necessary for survival.” “. They were “bombed in their homes, shelters, hospitals and places of worship,” the organizations wrote.
USA: Nuclear-capable submarine in operation
Meanwhile, Washington said US Vice President Kamala Harris would increase humanitarian aid to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. According to the US vice president’s office, Harris will brief foreign leaders on the US government’s efforts in a telephone conversation on Monday.
The US military claims to be present in the Middle East with a nuclear-capable submarine. On Sunday, an Ohio-class submarine arrived in its area of responsibility, the US military regional command (CENTCOM) announced on Twitter. The military did not provide further details about the destination, name or armament of the approximately 170-meter-long submarine.
The Ohio class are nuclear-capable submarines that the US has used since the Cold War, primarily as a deterrent. They can also be armed with dozens of conventional Tomahawk cruise missiles. CNN saw the use of the submarine as a message of deterrence for Iran and its proxies in the region. Such an announcement from the US military about the deployment of an Ohio-class submarine is rare, the broadcaster said.