Israeli forces launched a raid on Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Monday, accusing Hamas militants of using it as a base, while the U.N. food agency warned that 鈥渇amine is imminent鈥 in northern Gaza.
The military said it killed a Hamas commander who was armed and hiding inside the medical center, and that one of its own soldiers was killed in the operation.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesman, earlier said that senior Hamas militants had regrouped and were directing attacks from the compound.
Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry said the army attacked the hospital, directing gun and missile fire at a building used for specialized surgeries.
Israel after claiming that Hamas was concealing a major command and control center within and beneath the compound. It revealed a tunnel running to an underground bunker beneath the hospital, and some weapons discovered inside, but not the elaborate facilities it had described before the raid.
The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 31,726 Palestinians have been killed in the war. The ministry between civilians and combatants in its count, but says make up two-thirds of the dead.
Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people in the surprise Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza that triggered the war, and they took another 250 people hostage. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 100 captives, as well as the remains of 30 others.
Currently:
鈥 鈥榠mminent鈥 in northern Gaza as Israel raids hospital again
鈥 to send Israeli officials to Washington to discuss prospective Rafah operation
鈥 Israel urges to reject South Africa鈥檚 request for more emergency orders in genocide case
鈥 Find more of AP鈥檚 coverage at
Here's the latest:
US OFFICIAL SAYS ISRAELI STRIKE HAS KILLED MARWAN ISSA
WASHINGTON -- A senior U.S. official says an Israeli strike killed Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas鈥 armed wing in Gaza who helped plan the Oct. 7 attack. Israel and Hamas have not confirmed Issa鈥檚 death, and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan did not say how U.S. intelligence had concluded he was killed. But if the reports are confirmed, Issa would be the highest-ranking Hamas leader to have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. Israel has killed several top leaders of Hamas over the years, only to see them quickly replaced with little apparent impact on the group鈥檚 operations. Sullivan told reporters in Washington on Monday that Issa 鈥渨as killed in an Israeli operation last week.鈥 Issa was the deputy to Mohammed Deif, the shadowy longtime leader of Hamas鈥 military wing, who is said to have survived several previous Israeli attempts on his life. , and the alleged mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, is Yehya Sinwar. Both Sinwar and Deif are believed to be alive and in hiding in Gaza, and Israel has vowed to kill them. Israel says it has killed over 13,000 Hamas fighters since the start of the war, without providing evidence. The Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that at least 31,726 Palestinians have been killed in Israel鈥檚 offensive since Hamas鈥 Oct. 7 on southern Israel. The ministry between civilians and combatants in its count, but it says make up two-thirds of the dead.
UN OFFICIAL SAYS GAZA CHILDREN WILL BE DYING IN 鈥楬UNDREDS AND THOUSANDS鈥 WITHOUT FOOD
UNITED NATIONS - Unless sustained nutritious food gets into Gaza quickly Palestinian children won鈥檛 be dying in the 20s and 30s, 鈥渢hey will be dying in hundreds and thousands,鈥 a U.N. official is warning. Arif Husain, the World Food Program鈥檚 chief economist, said Monday that the U.N. food agency has enough food for the 2.2 million people in Gaza, but it can鈥檛 get to all those in need to avoid starvation without a cease-fire, much greater access and safety for humanitarian workers. 鈥淚n the north, and in the rest of the Gaza Strip, time is running out for many, many people,鈥 he warned U.N. journalists at a virtual press conference. 鈥淭his is why children are dying.鈥 Husain was commenting on a report Monday by more than a dozen high-powered global organizations that determine the severity of food crises which said famine is 鈥渋mminent鈥 in northern Gaza and a further escalation of the war could push around half of Gaza鈥檚 total population to the brink of starvation. 鈥淪o, cease-fire is a necessary condition for us to be able to halt this famine in northern Gaza and frankly in the rest of the country,鈥 Husain said.
ISRAEL'S MILITARY RELEASES CORRESPONDENT DETAINED IN GAZA HOSPITAL RAID, REPORT SAYS
CAIRO 鈥 The Al-Jazeera television network says Israel鈥檚 military has released a freelance correspondent who was detained during its raid on Gaza City鈥檚 Shifa Hospital.
Correspondent Ismail Alghoul was detained along with other journalists early Monday while he was covering the raid on the hospital, the network said. It said Israeli troops beat him and destroyed the network鈥檚 broadcast vehicle as well as cameras and equipment.
Later Monday, the Qatari-owned network reported that Alghoul was released. It quoted him as saying that he and other journalists were handcuffed, blindfolded and stripped from their clothes for 12 hours.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Israeli forces raided Shifa, the Gaza Strip鈥檚 largest hospital, early Monday, saying Hamas militants had regrouped there and fired on them from inside the compound. Palestinian officials say tens of thousands of people have been sheltering in the compound.
FRENCH PRESIDENT VOWS TO COMBAT RESURGENT ANTISEMITISM
PARIS 鈥 French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to combat resurgent antisemitism that is seeding fears and doubts among France鈥檚 Jewish population, the largest in Europe.
鈥樷橳here is no place for antisemitism鈥欌 in France, Macron said at a ceremony Monday marking the 80th anniversary of France鈥檚 leading Jewish organization, called CRIF.
He decried a rise in anti-Jewish attacks since the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre and acknowledged fears of Jewish people questioning whether they are still safe in France. He said the government is punishing antisemitism relentlessly, 鈥樷檞hether in the street, on screens, in our universities.鈥欌
Tensions erupted at the prestigious Sciences Po in Paris last week after pro-Palestinian demonstrators were accused of barring entrance to a member of a Jewish student union.
鈥樷橶herever antisemitism prospers, all other forms of hatred prosper 鈥 hatred of differences, of minorities, of foreigners, of Muslims, of women, of homosexuals,鈥欌 Macron said.
France鈥檚 government initially sought to restrict pro-Palestinian protests after Oct. 7. In recent months, Macron has been increasingly critical of Israel鈥檚 protracted and deadly offensive on Gaza.
"To defend and love Israel, to want its security, does not mean subscribing to all the choices of the democratic government of the moment,鈥欌 he said.
UN AID OFFICIAL CALLS FOR USE OF ROADS TO EXPEDITE AID INTO GAZA
GENEVA 鈥 A top U.N. aid official for Palestinian areas is calling for an opening of 鈥渁ll roads鈥 into Gaza to help avert what food security experts say could be imminent famine in the coming weeks.
Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said that roads from Ashdod in Israel into beleaguered north Gaza, the military road, coast road and middle road into Gaza should be used. He said Israeli scanners should check trucks in Jordan and elsewhere to expedite deliveries of needed food and other supplies.
鈥淯nless we can put significant supply increases into those areas, those people who are at catastrophic levels of malnutrition or food insecurity will face real serious problems and imminent death,鈥 McGoldrick said by videoconference to reporters in Geneva. 鈥淲e have to get all roads open and get all opportunities open for us to actually do more in the current situation.鈥
McGoldrick spoke shortly after the U.N. food agency said 鈥渇amine is imminent鈥 in northern Gaza, where 70% of the remaining population is experiencing catastrophic hunger, and that a further escalation of the war could push around half of Gaza鈥檚 total population to the brink of starvation. Israel has faced mounting pressure from even its closest allies to streamline the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip.
He downplayed the prospects that maritime shipments or air drops, carried out by some Western countries, into Gaza could be a substitute for entry by land, saying the only real way to sufficient amounts of food and other supplies "into all parts of Gaza would only be by roads.鈥
SCORES OF ISRAELIS HAVE ACQUIRED GUN LICENSES SINCE OCT. 7 ATTACK BY HAMAS
JERUSALEM 鈥 More than 100,000 Israeli citizens have acquired gun licenses since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war last October, Israel鈥檚 far-right minister of 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Security said Monday.
Itamar Ben-Gvir called the figure a 鈥渕ilestone鈥 in a speech to Israel鈥檚 parliament.
鈥淲e see today on the streets of Israel that when citizens have weapons, they feel safe, they can counter and neutralize armed terrorists,鈥 he said.
The figure released Monday represented a massive jump from the roughly 150,000 Israelis who held gun licenses before the war, according to his ministry.
Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist West Bank settler, has urged Israelis to arm themselves and after the war erupted, pushed for new regulations through parliament making it easier to acquire a gun. Ben-Gvir said Monday an additional 200,000 citizens are waiting for their license applications to be approved.
Rights groups have cautioned of the dangers of so many guns on the streets, saying they can lead to , vigilante violence and domestic abuse.
UN CHIEF SAYS 1.1 MILLION IN GAZA FACE 鈥楥ATASTROPIC HUNGER鈥 WITHOUT IMMEDIATE CEASE-FIRE
UNITED NATIONS 鈥 The United Nations chief says 1.1 million people 鈥 half the population of Gaza 鈥 are facing 鈥渃atastrophic hunger鈥 as he again called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire.
鈥淲e must act now to prevent the unthinkable, the unacceptable and the unjustifiable,鈥 Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
While not blaming Israel, the secretary-general鈥檚 comments to reporters Monday were clearly aimed at its ongoing military offensive in Gaza following Hamas鈥 surprise Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw about 250 taken hostage. The offensive has killed over 31,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which says about two-thirds of the dead are women and children.
Referencing a report issued Monday by the Integrated Food Security Classification System, or IPC, Guterres said that 鈥淧alestinians in Gaza are enduring horrifying levels of hunger and suffering.鈥
鈥淭he world鈥檚 leading experts on food insecurity clearly document that famine in the northern part of Gaza is imminent,鈥 he said.
The IPC report states that the latest evidence confirms that famine 鈥渋s imminent in the northern governorates of the Gaza Strip and projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May 2024.鈥
Guterres called on Israel to 鈥渆nsure complete and unfettered access for humanitarian goods throughout Gaza鈥 and for the international community to fully support U.N. humanitarian efforts.
ISRAEL ASKS UN COURT TO REJECT LATEST REQUEST FOR EMERGENCY ORDERS IN GENOCIDE CASE
THE HAGUE, Netherlands 鈥 Israel has urged the top United Nations court to reject the latest for interim orders to prevent starvation in Gaza, as part of a case accusing Israel of breaching the Genocide Convention with its military offensive against Hamas.
In a written response published Monday by the International Court of Justice, Israel said that claims by South Africa filed earlier this month are 鈥渨holly unfounded in fact and law, morally repugnant, and represent an abuse both of the Genocide Convention and of the Court itself.鈥
Israel鈥檚 response was published on the day that the U.N. food agency said that famine is imminent in northern Gaza and that a further escalation of the war could push around half of Gaza鈥檚 total population to the brink of starvation.
Israel fervently denies that it is breaching the Genocide Convention, but acknowledged in a written response to South Africa's allegations that there are 鈥渁lso tragic and agonizing civilian casualties in this war. These realities are the painful result of intensive armed hostilities that Israel did not start and did not want.鈥
No date has been set for judges to rule on the South African request for more measures.
AL-JAZEERA SAYS ITS REPORTER HAS BEEN DETAINED IN A HOSPITAL RAID IN GAZA
CAIRO 鈥 The Al-Jazeera television network says Israeli troops arrested one of its correspondents during their raid on Gaza City鈥檚 Shifa Hospital on Monday.
In a statement, it said the troops severely beat correspondent Ismail Alghoul while he was covering the raid on the hospital and destroyed the network鈥檚 broadcast vehicle as well as cameras and equipment. It said he was detained along with other journalists and that his whereabouts are unknown.
The Qatari-owned network demanded Alghoul鈥檚 release and called the arrest 鈥渁n intimidation tactic against journalists鈥 to prevent them from reporting on the military鈥檚 鈥渃rimes against innocent civilians.鈥
The Israeli military said it had no comment.
Israeli forces early Monday on Shifa, the Gaza Strip鈥檚 largest hospital, saying Hamas militants had regrouped there and had fired on them from inside the compound where Palestinian officials say tens of thousands of people have been sheltering.
People sheltering in the hospital said troops backed by tanks and artillery had surrounded the medical complex and that snipers were shooting at people inside. They said the army raided a number of buildings and detained dozens of people.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 90 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Israel鈥檚 assault in Gaza, while two Israeli journalists were killed in Hamas鈥 Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the offensive.
ISRAEL SAYS IT KILLED A SENIOR HAMAS OPERATIVE IN GAZA HOSPITAL
TEL AVIV, Israel 鈥 The Israeli military says it has killed a senior Hamas operative in an assault on Gaza鈥檚 main hospital.
The military said Faiq Mabhouh was a top official in Hamas鈥 internal security. It said Mabhouh operated and directed militant activity from inside the Shifa Hospital compound in Gaza City.
A soldier was killed during Monday鈥檚 operation, it said.
The military earlier said it was conducting a 鈥渉igh-precision operation鈥 in parts of the medical complex after intelligence indicated senior Hamas militants had regrouped there and were directing attacks from the compound.
Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry said the army attacked the hospital, directing gun and missile fire at a building used for specialized surgeries.
Israel raided the medical center in November after claiming that Hamas was concealing a major command and control center within and beneath the compound. It revealed a tunnel running to an underground bunker beneath the hospital, and some weapons discovered inside, but not the elaborate facilities it had described before the raid.
Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian facilities to shield its fighters.
