Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will have “overall security responsibility” in Gaza “for an indefinite period” after its war with Hamas and expressed openness to “little pauses” in the current fighting to facilitate the release of hostages.
His comments, in an interview that aired late Monday on ABC News, offered the clearest indication yet that Israel plans to maintain control over the territory that is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.
Netanyahu ruled out any general cease-fire without the release of the more than 240 captives seized by Hamas in its Oct. 7 raid into Israel, but said he was open to “tactical little pauses.” U.S. President Joe Biden had raised the need for humanitarian pauses directly with Netanyahu on a call earlier Monday, but no agreement was reached, the White House said.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war surpassed 10,000, including more than 4,100 children and 2,640 women, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
In the occupied West Bank, more than 140 Palestinians have been killed in the violence and Israeli raids. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the fighting, and 242 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.
Roughly 1,100 people have left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing since Wednesday under an apparent agreement among the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas.
Currently:
— Israeli military says it has surrounded Gaza City and is preparing for expected ground battles.
— South Africa recalls diplomatic mission to Israel and accuses it of genocide in Gaza.
— Majority of Israelis are confident in justice of Gaza war, even as world sentiment sours.
— U.S. secretary of state ends Mideast tour with tepid support for pauses in fighting.
— A U.N. official says the average Palestinian in Gaza is living on two pieces of bread a day.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s what is happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:
GERMANY RELEASES $97 MILLION FOR UN PALESTINIAN REFUGEE AGENCY
BERLIN -– The German government says it is releasing 91 million euros ($97 million) for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees following a review that it launched after Hamas attacked Israel.
Germany on Oct. 8 suspended development aid for the Palestinian areas pending a review, though it has kept up humanitarian aid.
The Development Ministry said Tuesday that it hasn’t yet completed the review, but focused initially on U.N. agency UNRWA. It said that “as a first partial result” it has decided to release 71 million euros already earmarked for UNRWA and to add 20 million euros in new funding.
It said that funding, announced by Development Minister Svenja Schulze after a meeting in Jordan with the head of UNRWA, will be used to help continue providing basic services -– particularly drinking water --- to displaced people in the Gaza Strip and help Palestinian refugees in Jordan.
BLINKEN SEEKS G7 CONSENSUS ON ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
TOKYO — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shifted his intense diplomacy on the Israel-Hamas war to Asia on Tuesday with an appeal for the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies to forge a consensus on how to deal with the crisis.
As he and his G7 counterparts began two days of talks in Japan, Blinken said it was critically important for the group to show unity as it has over Russia’s war in Ukraine and other major issues and prevent existing differences on Gaza from deepening.
“This is a very important moment as well for the G7 to come together in the face of this crisis and to speak, as we do, with one clear voice,” Blinken told Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa.
The devastating monthlong conflict in Gaza and efforts to ease the dire humanitarian impacts of Israel’s response to the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack will be a major focus of the meeting. Yet with the Russia-Ukraine war, fears North Korea may be readying a new nuclear test, and concerns about China’s increasing global assertiveness, it is far from the only crisis on the agenda.
ISRAELIS OBSERVE ONE-MONTH ANNIVERSARY OF HAMAS ASSAULT
JERUSALEM — Israelis observed a minute of silence on Tuesday morning in memory of the victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and the 348 soldiers killed since the assault, on its one-month anniversary.
Israelis are marking the anniversary as a day of mourning over the attack, in which more than 1,400 people were killed and 242 were taken hostage. The one-month anniversary is a milestone in the timeline of Jewish mourning.
Memorial events are scheduled to be held in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem later in the day.
UAE TO ESTABLISH 150-BED FIELD HOSPITAL IN GAZA
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates says it will establish a field hospital in Gaza with 150 beds, a surgery department and intensive care units for adults and children.
The state-run WAM news agency reported the move late Monday, saying five aircraft had flown to Egypt, where the equipment will be unloaded and transferred to Gaza.
It says the hospital will be set up in multiple stages, without providing an exact timetable.
The UAE was the driving force behind the Abraham Accords in which four Arab countries normalized relations with Israel in 2020.
The wealthy Persian Gulf country has previously said it would provide $20 million in aid to the Palestinian people and bring about 1,000 Palestinian children, along with their families, to the UAE for medical treatment.
PAKISTAN SENDS SECOND PLANELOAD OF RELIEF GOODS FOR GAZA
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan sent a second planeload of relief goods for people in Gaza on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said.
It said the humanitarian assistance consisted of hygiene kits, medicines and food.
Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani expressed Pakistan’s full solidarity with the Palestinian people and condemned Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. He said Israel was targeting civilians, including women and children, and demanded an end to the strikes.
SINGAPORE WARNS AGAINST DISPLAYING EMBLEMS LINKED TO ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Singapore’s government has warned that anyone who displays or wears emblems linked to the Israel-Hamas war could be jailed, saying the conflict was an “emotive issue” that could disrupt national peace.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement late Monday that Singapore’s laws prohibited the display or wearing of foreign national emblems, including flags and banners of any state. It also warned that promoting or supporting terrorism by exhibiting apparel or paraphernalia with logos of terrorist or militant groups such as Hamas or its military wing, Al-Qassam Brigade, will not be condoned.
Those convicted face up to six months in prison or a fine of up to 500 Singapore dollars ($370) or both. Travelers who wear such apparel can also be denied entry into Singapore, it added.
NETANYAHU SAYS ISRAEL OPEN TO ‘LITTLE PAUSES’ IN FIGHTING
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was open to “little pauses” in its fight against Hamas — although it was not clear whether some kind of small stoppage had been agreed to or whether the U.S. was satisfied with the scope of the Israeli commitment.
U.S. President Joe Biden had raised the need for humanitarian pauses directly with Netanyahu on a call earlier Monday, but there was no agreement reached, the White House said. Lulls in the fighting are being sought to facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries and the release of some of the estimated 240 hostages that Hamas seized during its Oct. 7 raid into Israel.
Netanyahu, in an interview Monday night with ABC News, also said there would be no general cease-fire in Gaza without the release of the hostages.
UNITED NATIONS FAILS TO AGREE ON RESOLUTION TO HALT GAZA WAR
UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council has failed again to agree on a resolution on the Israel-Hamas war.
Despite more than two hours of closed-door discussions Monday, differences remained. The U.S. is calling for “humanitarian pauses” and many council members are demanding a “humanitarian cease-fire” to deliver desperately needed aid and prevent more civilian deaths in Gaza.
“We talked about humanitarian pauses and we’re interested in pursuing language on that score,” U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters after the meeting. “But there are disagreements within the council about whether that’s acceptable.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier Monday told reporters he wanted an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and a halt to the “spiral of escalation” already taking place from the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Syria to Iraq and Yemen.
Guterres said international humanitarian law, which demands protection of civilians and infrastructure essential for their lives, is clearly being violated and stressed that “no party to an armed conflict is above” these laws. He called for the immediate unconditional release of the hostages Hamas took from Israel to Gaza in its Oct. 7 attack.
China, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, and the United Arab Emirates, the Arab representative on the council, called Monday’s meeting because of the “crisis of humanity” in Gaza, where more than 10,000 people have been killed in less than a month.
PROTESTERS BLOCK ROAD AT US PORT AS MILITARY CARGO SHIP DOCKS
TACOMA, Wash. — Hundreds of protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza blocked traffic on Tuesday at the Port of Tacoma, where a military supply ship had recently arrived.
Organizers say they targeted the vessel based on confidential information that it was to be loaded with weapons bound for Israel. Those claims could not immediately be verified. Police said no arrests had been made.
The Defense Department confirmed that the ship is supporting the movement of U.S. military cargo. The Cape Orlando drew similar protests in Oakland, California, on Friday before it sailed to Tacoma.
