After Gaza, Israeli attacks intensify in the south of the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank. Hit Jenin, Khan Younis and Rafah. At the request of the White House, Israel is sending fuel to the Palestinians; the UN is talking about the risk of famine.
9:47 p.m. – Netanyahu: Israel must maintain freedom of action in the Gaza Strip
“The Palestinian Authority cannot manage Gaza in its current situation. Should we really leave everything to them, after everything we have done, after the fighting?,” Netanyahu asked in a televised address to the nation. The Israeli prime minister criticized Palestinian Authority leader Abu Mazen for failing to condemn Hamas, the Islamist fundamentalist group that controls the enclave, for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, adding that the Palestinian Authority should be reformed.
9:24 p.m. – Israeli Army: We are still working at Al-Shifa Hospital
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said troops were still operating at the Al-Shifa hospital complex in Gaza City to uncover Hamas underground infrastructure in the area. “Already special forces are deployed in the well we discovered in Shifa and we will publish the material soon,” he said.
9:06 p.m. – Netanyahu disagrees with Biden: no PNA administration of Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted today that he disagrees with US President Joe Biden on the future structure of the Gaza Strip. “The Palestinian Authority, in its current structure, is unable to take responsibility for Gaza,” he told a news conference. “Abu Mazen,” Netanyahu continued, “still refuses to express condemnation 43 days after the most horrific massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust.” The prime minister claimed that the PNA “pays salaries to the murderers and their families” and recalled that in the early 2000s the PNA “received the Gaza Strip from us, only to be quickly driven out of it by Hamas.”
8:50 p.m. – Israel: The army will soon also operate in the south of the Gaza Strip
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that the Israeli army would “soon” also conduct military operations in the southern Gaza Strip: “We are in the second phase of the ground invasion, which also includes the eastern part of the strip.” As for the leaders, the apparently hiding in the south of the Gaza Strip, where the IDF has not yet sent ground troops: “You will notice soon,” Gallant assured.
8:20 p.m. – Netanyahu: No agreement yet on hostages
“There are unfounded rumors: no agreement has been reached on the hostages so far, but if there is one, we will say it immediately,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this at a press conference. “I,” he added, referring to the demonstration that took place today in Jerusalem beneath his office, “march with you. The entire people of Israel march with you. We understand your suffering and the nightmare you are experiencing.”
8:17 p.m. – Netanyahu: Determined to carry on until victory
“We are determined to fight until victory: until we destroy the enemy and recover the hostages,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a news conference. Another goal, he explained, is the need for “Gaza not to pose a threat to us again after the victory.”
7:55 p.m. – Israeli media, hostage negotiations stand still
According to some Israeli officials, negotiations for the release of the hostages held in Gaza are currently stalled, reports the Times of Israel, citing other media. In comments carried by all major television networks that suggested a coordinated leak, an anonymous Israeli official said military pressure was pushing Hamas toward a deal. Israel is unwilling to compromise on its demand to release all children and their mothers detained in Gaza.
7:44 p.m. – Israel TV: 2 Hamas leaders hidden in southern Gaza Strip
Hamas’s two main figures in Gaza – Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Def – are hiding in the Khan Yunes area in the south of the Gaza Strip. This was stated by the Israeli public television channel Kan, citing assessments from military sources. Sinwar is the head of the political executive while Def is the commander of the military wing.
7:43 p.m. – Israeli Security Minister: On Monday I will present a bill on the death penalty for terrorists
Israeli National Security Minister and far-right figure Itamar Ben Gvir has announced that he will introduce a bill to impose the death penalty on terrorists for initial approval in the Knesset this week. In a post on “I expect all Knesset members to support this important bill,” he writes.
7:40 p.m. – Israel: The release of hostages takes priority over the destruction of Hamas
“The return of the hostages to Israel is a top priority and also precedes the dismantling of Hamas,” Minister Gadi Eisenkot, a member of the Israeli War Cabinet, told a delegation of the hostages’ families today. “The destruction of Hamas takes time, and there is no time to waste for the hostages.” Eisenkot added that the Israeli leadership was working on it “day and night.”
6:36 p.m. – “Israel uses Apache helicopters in southern Lebanon”
Israeli forces carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon using Apache helicopters for the first time since the conflict with Hezbollah began on October 8. These flew over the interior of Lebanese territory and attacked alleged Party of God locations. This was confirmed by eyewitnesses, confirming local media reports. The airstrikes were carried out today on Blida and Aytarun in the eastern part of the Hezbollah-Israel front line.
6:22 p.m. – Hamas: Lost contact with some hostage monitoring teams
“Contacts with some teams tasked with guarding the hostages” taken by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel “were interrupted.” This was stated by the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist movement, Haaretz reported. It was also reported that Hamas has no knowledge of the fate of the hostages monitored by these teams, nor of the conditions of the kidnappers themselves.
6:13 p.m. – Biden City Council: Releasing hostages is the only way to stop the conflict
The release of the hostages kidnapped in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 is the only way to bring about a break in the Gaza conflict. This was stated by US President Joe Biden’s Middle East advisor Brett McGurk, according to Axios. “Only the release of all women, infants and newborns” held hostage in Gaza “could lead to a halt in fighting and an increase in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population,” McGurk told the Manama Dialogue.
5:49 p.m. – Scholz hears Netanyahu: ceasefire
In a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a ceasefire and emphasized the need to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. “The Chancellor has underlined the urgent need to improve the humanitarian situation of the population in the Gaza Strip,” said deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann. “The humanitarian ceasefire could contribute to a significant improvement in aid to the population,” he said.
5:21 p.m. – Israel, thousands in Jerusalem for the hostages: “Ready to march on Gaza”
At the height of the march that began in recent days, thousands of people gathered outside the Israeli prime minister’s office in Jerusalem to demand the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s horrific October 7 attack. The Times of Israel reported on it. “We walked for five days,” said Orin, the mother of Eden Zacharia, who was held hostage in Gaza, and was quoted by the newspaper. “Even if we had to walk to Gaza, we would go there. We will go wherever it is necessary, we will never give up.” Children” .
5:20 p.m. – The head of Pasdaran: “Israel in the dustbin of history”
“Palestine is headed for a war of attrition… Israel will suffer a final defeat and end up in the dustbin of history,” said Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami during a demonstration in the capital Tehran that was broadcast live on state television. And again: “The fight is not over, the Islamic world will do whatever it has to do. There remain major untapped capabilities.”
4:52 p.m. – Israel, we are investigating news of deaths at a UN school
Israeli forces are investigating reports from Al-Fakhoura School in Jabalia refugee camp, where dozens of people are reported to have died in a raid. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, IDF spokesman, told the BBC that the matter was “under investigation.” The school is run by the United Nations.
4:23 p.m. – Jordanian minister will not send Arab troops to Gaza
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has rejected the idea that Arab troops could enter Gaza to “clean up the chaos caused by the Israeli invasion.” “I speak on behalf of Jordan, but after discussing this issue with almost all of our brothers, no Arab troops will enter Gaza. No. We are not seen as an enemy,” Safadi said during an ongoing regional security forum in Bahrain.
4:10 p.m. – Erdogan: Letter received from relatives of the Hamas hostages
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he received a letter from relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas. The latter called on him to intervene in the situation and for Ankara to work for his release. “I received a letter from the families of Israelis held hostage by Hamas asking me to intervene to ensure the release of their loved ones. “We don’t want Israelis or Palestinians to be held captive,” were his words.
Here is the first part of the live broadcast