Israel’s military called for more evacuations in southern Gaza as it widened its offensive aimed at eliminating the territory’s Hamas rulers. The war has already killed thousands of Palestinians and displaced over three-fourths of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, who are running out of safe places to go.
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory since Oct. 7 has surpassed 15,500, with more than 41,000 wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70% of the dead were women and children.
Israel says it targets Hamas operatives and blames civilian casualties on the militants, accusing them of operating in residential neighborhoods. It claims to have killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence. Israel says at least 81 of its soldiers have died.
Hopes for another temporary truce faded after Israel called its negotiators home over the weekend. Hamas said talks on releasing more of the scores of hostages seized by Palestinian militants on Oct. 7 must be tied to a permanent cease-fire.
The United States, along with Qatar and Egypt, which mediated the earlier cease-fire, say they are working on a longer truce.
Currently:
— 3 commercial ships hit by missiles in Houthi attack in Red Sea, US warship downs 3 drones
— Biden’s allies in Senate demand that Israel limit civilian deaths in Gaza as Congress debates U.S. aid
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here’s what’s happening in the war:
RED CROSS CHIEF SAYS CIVILIAN SUFFERING ‘INTOLERABLE’
GENEVA — The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross is visiting Gaza in an effort to ease the conflict’s “intolerable” toll on civilians, the organization said Monday.
ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric “will call for the protection of civilians in Gaza and respect for the laws of war. She will also reiterate the ICRC’s call for the hostages to be immediately released,” it said in a statement.
“The level of human suffering is intolerable,” Spoljaric said. “It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza, and with a military siege in place there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible.”
The ICRC has been providing supplies to health care facilities and livelihood support for displaced people, the statement said. ICRC medical teams are also helping conduct surgeries at Gaza’s European Hospital.
“We have urgently appealed for civilian life to be protected and respected on all sides, in line with international humanitarian law, and I reiterate that appeal today,” Spoljaric said.
TURKISH PRESIDENT SAYS NETANYAHU SHOULD BE TRIED FOR ALLEGED WAR CRIMES
ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be put on trial for alleged war crimes just like former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.
A vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, Erdogan once again referred to Netanyahu as the “butcher of Gaza.”
“Netanyahu, the butcher of Gaza, is not only a war criminal, but he will definitely be tried as the butcher of Gaza, just like Milosevic was tried,” Erdogan said in a speech at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul.
The Israeli prime minister would need to be indicted by an international tribunal in order to stand trial for alleged war crimes. Milosevic was put on trial by a U.N. tribunal in The Hague on charges of fomenting bloody conflicts as Yugoslavia crumbled in the early 1990s. He died in his cell before the court could reach a verdict.
Erdogan also renewed his criticism of the United Nations system, accusing the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council of blocking efforts to end the violence.
“On the one side, there are 121 countries that say ‘stop the war’ and ‘no more bloodshed,’ and on the other side, there are three or five countries that give carte blanche to Israel’s attacks,” Erdogan said.
RIGHTS GROUPS CALL FOR A HALT IN DUTCH EXPORTS OF FIGHTER JET PARTS TO ISRAEL
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Human rights lawyers went to court in the Netherlands on Monday calling for a halt to the export of fighter jet parts to Israel that could be used in attacks on Gaza.
The rights organizations say that delivery of parts for F-35 jets makes the Netherlands complicit in possible war crimes by Israel in its war with Hamas.
The civil case in The Hague opened as the Israeli military renewed calls for mass evacuations from the southern town of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in recent weeks, as it widened its ground offensive and bombarded targets across the Gaza Strip.
The rights lawyers want The Hague District Court to issue an injunction banning exports of F-35 parts that are stored in a warehouse in the town of Woensdrecht.
“The state must immediately stop its delivery of F-35 parts to Israel,” lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld told the court.
She said Dutch customs officials asked the government if it wanted to continue exports after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that triggered the Israel-Hamas war.
“The warning that the fighter jets can contribute to serious breaches of the laws of war does not, for the (Dutch) state outweigh its economic interests and diplomatic reputation,” she said.
Government lawyer Reimer Veldhuis urged the court’s single judge to reject the injunction, saying that even if it were to uphold the rights lawyers’ legal arguments and ban exports, “the United States would deliver these parts to Israel from another place.”
A decision is expected within two weeks. It can be appealed.
NETANYAHU’S CORRUPTION TRIAL RESUMES
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial has resumed after a hiatus prompted by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the war it set off.
Netanyahu is on trial for alleged fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases involving powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. He denies any wrongdoing.
In Monday’s hearing, police investigators will be questioned over allegations that Netanyahu promoted regulatory benefits for a telecom company in exchange for favorable coverage from a news outlet it owned.
Netanyahu’s lengthy trial, which began in 2020, was paused after the Hamas attack, when the country’s courts were put under emergency status and all but shut down. The last hearing took place at the end of September.
HEAD OF SHIN BET SAYS IT WILL DESTROY HAMAS ‘IN EVERY PLACE’
TEL AVIV, Israel — The head of Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, says his organization is prepared to destroy Hamas “in every place,” including in other Middle Eastern countries.
The remarks by Ronen Bar, aired late Sunday by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, echoed similar comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister last month.
“In every place, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Turkey, in Qatar, everywhere,” Bar said in an audio recording. “It’ll take a few years but we will be there to do it.”
Bar compared the mission to Israel’s operation to assassinate militants behind the 1972 killings of members of its Olympic team in Munich, Germany.
Kan did not say when Bar made the remarks.
Most of Hamas’ top leadership lives in exile, primarily in the Gulf state of Qatar, a key player in bringing about the recently expired truce between Israel and Hamas, and the Lebanese capital of Beirut.
Israel’ Mossad spy agency has been accused of involvement in a series of assassinations overseas of Palestinian militants and Iranian nuclear scientists over the years.
YOUNG ISRAELI HOSTAGES RETURN TO SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER BEING FREED
TEL AVIV, Israel — Freed from Hamas captivity, several young Israelis are doing what young people do and are posting to TikTok.
Dancing, keeping up with trends or just thanking their followers, several young Israelis have begun appearing on social media just days after they were freed.
Alma Or, 13, who was released after 50 days in captivity, posted a video in which she dances with a friend under the text “Roses are red this trend might be over but I’ve just been freed from Hamas captivity.”
Sahar Kalderon, 16, posted a video of herself and a friend dancing to a beat-infused track in front of a mirror, under text reading “The sound that crossed though my head the moment I came home from captivity.”
Another freed captive, Gali Tarshansky, 13, has posted at least two videos since being freed, with one captioned “Captives humor.”
Under a now-expired truce deal, Hamas released 105 Israeli and foreign captives it snatched on Oct. 7. Most returned physically well but doctors have cautioned it will take time for them to heal emotionally from their weeks in captivity. Four other hostages were released before the truce and one was rescued.
ISRAEL SAYS IT HAS EXPANDED GROUND OPERATIONS TO ‘EVERY PART’ OF GAZA STRIP
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it has expanded its ground operation against the Hamas militant group to “every part” of the Gaza Strip.
The army resumed its offensive on Friday after a weeklong cease-fire expired. After focusing its ground operation on the northern part of Gaza in recent weeks, it began carrying out airstrikes in southern Gaza as well. The vast majority of Gaza’s population has fled to the south in search of safety.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said late Sunday that ground troops were also pushing into the south.
“The Israeli army is continuing and expanding the ground operation against the Hamas presence in every part of the Gaza Strip,” he said.
BRITAIN TO USE DRONES TO SEARCH FOR HOSTAGES IN GAZA
LONDON — The British government said its military plans to fly unarmed surveillance drones over the Gaza Strip in search of hostages taken by Hamas.
The Ministry of Defense said the flights will not have a combat role and the only information passed on will be for the purpose of rescuing hostages still held since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
The fate of the hostages, including British nationals, has been a key concern as a weeklong cease-fire ended Friday and Israel began a new round of bombardments. During the break in fighting, Hamas released 110 hostages but another 137 remain captive, Israel said.
“Having had around 100 hostages released, there are still many more who are being held captive by Hamas,” Health Secretary Victoria Atkins told Sky News on Sunday. “We want to do everything we can to help find those hostages and to secure their release.”
Atkins said unmanned drones will be used to conduct the surveillance.
ITALIAN NAVAL SHIP RECEIVES FIRST PATIENT
ROME — An Italian naval ship, anchored off Egypt on Sunday, has received its first patient as part of the Italian government’s commitment to care for civilians needing medical assistance in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The Italian defense ministry, in a post on social medium platform X, quoted Defense Minister Guido Crosetto as saying that a girl was the first person to receive treatment aboard the ship, Vulcano. No details were given about her medical condition.
The ship’s facilities include operating rooms.
POPE CALLS FOR ISRAEL AND HAMAS TO FOLLOW ‘COURAGEOUS PATHS OF PEACE’
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has called the end of the truce in the Israel-Hamas “painful.”
“That means death, destruction and misery,” the pontiff said on Sunday in remarks read for him by an aide because he has bronchitis.
The pope, noting that many hostages are still held in Gaza, said “Let’s think of them, of their families, who had seen a light, a hope of embracing again their loved ones.”
He also lamented the lack of basic necessities of life in Gaza. “I hope that all who are involved can reach as soon as possible a new accord for a cease-fire and find solutions that are different than weapons, trying to follow courageous paths of peace.”