KEY POINTS
- Over 32,000 dead in Israel's military offensive, says Hamas-run Gaza health ministry
- France's Emmanuel Macron says forced transfer of Rafah residents may constitute to "war crime"
- UN Security Council to vote on another draft resolution after China, Russia vetoed US ceasefire call
It's Day 171 of the Israel-Hamas war – Philippe Lazzarini, chief of the embattled United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), said Israeli authorities informed the agency that they will halt approvals for UNRWA food convoys heading toward northern Gaza.
Iranian-backed Hezbollah fired about 15 missiles toward an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) post overnight as the Lebanon-based terror group once again stepped up its attacks against Israel.
- Hamas fires toward Ashdod, breaking 2 months of peace in southern Israel
- IDF, Shin Bet foil attempt to smuggle Iranian weapons into Judea, Samaria
- Netanyahu wants US to veto new UNSC ceasefire call text: Report
- Israel will no longer work with UNRWA, says government spokesperson
- Israeli army raids Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in Khan Younis: Report
- Unlike previous moves at UNSC, the US abstained on Monday's Gaza ceasefire vote
- UN chief says 'unforgivable' to not implement latest Gaza ceasefire resolution
- Netanyahu says Israeli delegation will no longer visit US: Local media
- UN is a 'wasteland,' says Israel's national security minister
In Yemen, where Iranian-backed Houthis have been stocking up on weapons to attack commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea following U.S. self-defense attacks by Central Command (CENTCOM) forces that targeted Houthi assets, there was reportedly movement of long-range missiles Monday.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to defy allied calls to spare overcrowded Rafah. He said it was "impossible" to defeat Hamas by leaving it intact in the southern Gaza city that has been home to some 1.5 million Palestinians since the war started.
As mediators work to get Israel and Hamas agree on a ceasefire agreement, Israel signaled openness to allowing displaced northern Gaza residents to return home as part of truce negotiations.
Fighting between Israel and Hamas has been going on for decades due to the deep-rooted history of the Israel-Palestine conflict. However, things took its deadliest turn on Oct. 7, when Hamas operatives raided Israel, killing more than a thousand people and abducting over 250 hostages, of which some 130 are still being held in Gaza.
The live update has ended.
Israeli national security minister calls UN a 'wasteland'
Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday said the UN "is a wasteland" following the adoption of a new UNSC resolution that called for both an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of all remaining hostages in Gaza.
Netanyahu says Israeli delegation won't travel to Washington: Local media
The Israeli delegation that was supposed to travel to the U.S. will no longer push through with the visit, Netanyahu announced Monday following the UNSC's adoption of a new resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, local N12 News reported.
Washington has been vetoing earlier texts at the UNSC, but this time, it abstained, highlighting the widening gap between the U.S. and Israel's views of the war in Gaza.
'Unforgivable' to not implement new resolution: Guterres
UN chief Antonio Guterres on Monday, shortly after the UNSC approved a resolution that called for an immediate Gaza ceasefire, said failing to implement the text "would be unforgivable."
The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 25, 2024
This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable.
US abstains in latest Gaza ceasefire UNSC resolution vote
The UN Security council on Monday passed a resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the Ramadan month, and demands that all remaining hostages in Gaza be freed unconditionally. The U.S. abstained from the vote, but also did not veto the resolution as it did in previous voting sessions.
This comes following reports that Netanyahu threatened to pull out an Israeli delegation to Washington if the U.S. doesn't veto the said resolution.
The change has been made (see red text). https://t.co/6K3f3kABYy pic.twitter.com/pcDwqT8n0b
— Rami Ayari (@Raminho) March 25, 2024
Israel raids two more Gaza hospitals: Report
The Israeli army conducted raids on two more hospitals in the Gaza Strip Monday, Reuters reported. Israeli forces "besieged" the Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in Khan Younis, southern Gaza's main city and the known hometown of Hamas' top leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
The raids come about a week after the IDF stormed into the Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest health and medical complex, where troops assassinated a key figure in Hamas' Gaza leadership.
Israel confirms government will halt cooperation with UNRWA
Israel has confirmed that it will no longer collaborate with the UNRWA. "UNRWA are part of the problem, and we will now stop working with them. We are actively phasing out the use of UNRWA because they perpetuate the conflict rather than try and alleviate the conflict," Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters Monday, as per Reuters.
As earlier reported, the agency's chief said Israel has informed the UN it will no longer allow UNRWA food convoys to enter northern Gaza.
Israel revealed in an exposé late in January that some UNRWA employees were directly involved in Hamas' Oct. 7 atrocities. The UN has since launched an investigation into the allegations and fired some personnel in relation to the scathing revelation.
Netanyahu reportedly warns US of Israeli delegation pullout
The Israeli prime minister has warned that it will pull out an Israeli delegation to Washington if the U.S. doesn't veto a new UNSC resolution calling for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, the Jerusalem Post reported Monday.
The report comes as Israel's National Security Council chief Tzachi Hanegbi and Israeli strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer are scheduled to visit the U.S. this week.
Israel says it thwarted Iranian weapons smuggling attempt
A joint operation between the Israeli army and Israel's security agency Shin Bet resulted in the foiling of an attempt by "Iranian security forces" to smuggle weapons into the Judea and Samaria areas "with the intention of carrying out terrorist acts against Israeli targets," the IDF said in a press release Monday.
Among the weapons that were seized were 50 guns and 15 kilograms of explosives, according to the IDF.
Sirens sound in Ashdod, breaking 2-month southern peace
Rocket sirens sounded in Ashdod, southern Israel Monday afternoon, local time, the IDF and other local media reported.
🚨Sirens sounding in the city of Ashdod in southern Israel🚨 pic.twitter.com/p11GcYGRE1
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 25, 2024
This comes following some two weeks of peace in the southern part of the country as sirens only sounded in the north amid Hezbollah attacks. Hamas has taken responsibility for the attacks, according to Israel's national broadcaster, Kan. A total of eight rockets were fired, with some falling in open areas and others being intercepted by Israel's air defense system, as per the outlet.
לראשונה זה כחודשיים: 8 רקטות נורו לעבר אשדוד, חלקן יורטו וחלקן נפלו בשטחים פתוחים. אין נפגעים. חמאס נטל אחריות@Itsik_zuarets @yonatanraveh11 @ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/6QLzgVDWxe
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 25, 2024
UNSC to vote on another Gaza ceasefire resolution
The UN Security Council will once again vote on a draft resolution calling for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza after China and Russia vetoed a U.S. resolution on the same matter.
The new text "demands an immediate ceasefire" during the ongoing Muslim Ramadan month and also "demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."
Read the full story here.
French president hardens stance on Israel's planned Rafah invasion
Macron told Netanyahu during a phone call Sunday that he was firmly opposed to an Israeli ground incursion on Rafah. "He recalled that the forced transfer of populations constituted a war crime within the meaning of international law," according to a Google-translated press release from the Elysée.
The French leader further noted that Gaza's future "could only be decided within the framework of a future Palestinian state and under the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority."
France is just one of a growing list of countries that have called on Israel to spare Rafah, considering the massive population that found shelter in the southern Gaza city since the war started.
Israel signals openness to allowing return of northern Gaza residents: Report
Israel on Sunday signaled that it was open to allowing the return of displaced Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip as part of ceasefire talks, Reuters reported.
This comes as mediators Qatar and Egypt attempt to achieve a six-week truce deal between the warring sides in exchange for the release of 40 hostages still being held in Gaza.
"We are now willing to discuss a return of some of the displaced," an Israeli official briefed on Doha talks said as per the report. There is speculation that such an arrangement would be limited to women and children, but the official did not elaborate on numbers and specific groups.
'Impossible' to defeat Hamas if Rafah left intact: Netanyahu
Despite mounting calls on Israel to refrain from launching a ground incursion into Rafah without a clear plan to keep Gaza civilians safe, the Israeli prime minister insisted that the Israeli army has to enter the overcrowded southern city.
"It is impossible to defeat the sheer evil by leaving it intact in Rafah. As in ancient times, like our brothers, we are also united. We are fighting and will be victorious. We will enter Rafah and achieve total victory," he said Sunday night, as per a release from his office.
This comes as Israel's ties with the U.S. begin to show cracks due to contradicting views over Israel's military offensive in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre.
IRGC 'experts' assist Houthis in moving missiles: Arab media
Following the destruction of some assets belonging to the Houthi rebel militia on Saturday by U.S. CENTCOM forces, it appears the Iranian-backed rebels have started stockpiling on their weapons arsenal again.
Some "experts" with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) provided assistance to the Houthis in transferring long-range missiles from the Yemeni capital of Sana'a to the Houthi-controlled port town of Hodeidah Monday, Sky News in Arabic reported, citing Yemeni sources.
Iran previously denounced joint U.S. and UK strikes targeting Houthi assets in Yemen, saying they "contradict" the allied nations' call to refrain from starting a "wider conflict" in the region.
Hezbollah fires 15 missiles toward IDF post
Hezbollah fired "about 15 missiles" from Lebanese territory toward an Israeli army post near Menara in northern Israel overnight, the IDF said Monday. The missiles fell on open areas and there were no casualties from the launches.
In response to the attacks, Israeli warplanes struck a "military building" in the Meiss Ej Jabal area in southern Lebanon that belonged to the Iran-backed terror group.
מטוסי קרב תקפו הלילה מבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, במרחב מיס אל ג׳בל, בו שהו מחבלים.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 25, 2024
במהלך הלילה זוהו כ-15 שיגורים שחצו משטח לבנון לעבר מוצב צה״ל סמוך למנרה, שנפלו בשטחים פתוחים, אין נפגעים.
התרעה במרחב הופעלה על פי מדיניות pic.twitter.com/jDHHqGHicN
Israel denies UNRWA food convoys from entering northern Gaza: UNRWA
Lazzarini made the announcement Sunday, saying Israel has informed the UN that "as of today," UNRWA food convoys en route to the devastated northern part of Gaza will no longer be approved for entry.
"This is outrageous & makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man made famine," the UNRWA chief wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "By preventing UNRWA to fulfill its mandate in Gaza, the clock will tick faster towards famine & many more will die of hunger, dehydration + lack of shelter," he added.
Israel has yet to deny or confirm the report.
📍# Gaza: as of today, @UNRWA, the main lifeline for #Palestine Refugees, is denied from providing lifesaving assistance to northern Gaza.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) March 24, 2024
Despite the tragedy unfolding under our watch, the Israeli Authorities informed the UN that they will no longer approve any @UNRWA food… pic.twitter.com/lfp9xRQuh1
