Israel-Hamas war live updates: Israel denies targeting Gaza hospital, Palestinian leader Abbas cancels meeting with Biden

The
U.S.
State
Department
advised
Americans
against
traveling
to
Lebanon,
citing
an
unpredictable
security
situation
due
to
kidnappings,
unrest
in
the
wake
of
the
Israel-Hamas
war
and
“rocket,
missile,
and
artillery
exchanges”
between
Israel
and
Hezbollah.

The
department
raised
its

travel
advisory
for
Lebanon
to
level
4,
the
highest
on
its
rating
scale,
and
warned
that
the
embassy
in
Beirut
has
limited
capacity
to
support
U.S.
citizens
there.

State
currently
has
a

level
4
travel
advisory
for
Gaza,
citing
terrorism,
civil
unrest
and
armed
conflict.
It
has
a
level
3
advisory
for
Israel
and
the
West
Bank,
recommending
Americans
reconsider
traveling
due
to
terrorism
and
civil
unrest.

—
Christine
Wang

President
Joe
Biden
is
planning
to
submit
a
request
for
$100
billion
in
supplemental
funding
to
Congress
in
the
coming
days
that
would
include
money
for
Israel,
Taiwan,
Ukraine
and
U.S.
border
security,
two
people
familiar
with
the
discussions
told
NBC
News.

One
source
said
the
details
of
the
package
have
not
been
finalized
and
could
still
change.
The
president
is
expected
to
send
his
request
to
lawmakers
by
the
end
of
this
week
after
he
returns
from
his
Middle
East
trip.

—
NBC
News

The
United
Nations
Security
Council
will
now
vote
on
Wednesday
on
a
Brazilian-drafted
resolution
that
calls
for
humanitarian
pauses
in
the
conflict
between
Israel
and
Palestinian
militants
Hamas
to
allow
humanitarian
aid
access
to
the
Gaza
Strip.

The
council
is
then
expected
to
discuss
–
at
the
request
of
the
United
Arab
Emirates
and
Russia
–
a Gaza
hospital
blast that
killed
hundreds
of
people
on
Tuesday,
diplomats
said.

Palestinian
U.N.
envoy
Riyad
Mansour
blamed
Israeli
forces
for
the
“massacre”
at
the
hospital,
calling
for
an
immediate
ceasefire.
Israel’s
U.N.
Ambassador
Gilad
Erdan
issued
a
statement
accusing
the
Palestinian
Islamic
Jihad
militant
group
of
responsibility.

—

Reuters

President
Joe
Biden
will
no
longer
visit
Jordan
as
part
of
his
Middle
East
trip
this
week,
after
a
leaders
summit
on
humanitarian
aid
for
Palestinians
was
abruptly
canceled
Tuesday.

The
decision
was
made
as
unrest
across
the
region
swelled,
in
response
to
the
deadly
bombing
of
a
hospital
in
Gaza.

Biden
had
been
scheduled
to
meet
in
with
Jordan’s
King
Abdullah,
Egyptian
president
Abdel
Fattah
El-Sisi,
and
Palestinian
Authority
president
Mahmound
Abbas
after
first
visiting
Israel.

“There
is
no
use
in
talking
now
about
anything
except
stopping
the
war,”
Jordanian
foreign
minister
Ayman
Safadi
said
on
state
television.

The
bombing
of
the
al-Ahli
Hospital
in
Gaza
City
Tuesday
killed
hundreds
of
people
and
escalated
the
ongoing
conflict
between
Israel
and
Hamas.

“I
am
outraged
and
deeply
saddened
by
the
explosion
at
the
Al
Ahli
Arab
hospital
in
Gaza,
and
the
terrible
loss
of
life
that
resulted,
Biden
said
in
statement
Tuesday.

“The
United
States
stands
unequivocally
for
the
protection
of
civilian
life
during
conflict
and
we
mourn
the
patients,
medical
staff
and
other
innocents
killed
or
wounded
in
this
tragedy,”
he
added.

—

Christina
Wilkie

President
Joe
Biden
departed
for
a
10-hour
flight
to
Israel
and
did
not
take
questions
from
reporters
on
the
status
of
his
scheduled
trip
to
Amman,
Jordan.

A
White
House
official
confirmed
to
NBC
News
that
Biden
will
postpone
his
travel
to
Amman
in
consultation
with
King
Abdullah
II
of
Jordan
following
an
announcement
from
President
Abbas
of
the
Palestinian
Authority
calling
for
days
of
morning.

The
official
added
that
Biden
sent
his
condolences
following
the
deadly
attack
on
the
hospital
in
Gaza.

—
Amanda
Macias

The
World
Health
Organization,
or
WHO,
called
the
strike
on
a
hospital
in
Gaza
“unprecedented
in
scale,”
according
to
a
Reuters
report.

“This
attack
is
unprecedented
in
scale,”
said
Richard
Peeperkorn,
WHO
Representative
for
the
West
Bank
and
Gaza,
according
to
Reuters.

He
added
that
the
WHO
has
observed
“consistent
attacks
on
healthcare
in
the
occupied
Palestinian
territory.”

Peeperkorn
said
there
have
been
more
than
50
attacks
against
healthcare
facilities
in
Gaza
and
at
least
15
health
workers
killed.

—
Amanda
Macias

The
United
Nations
Human
Rights
chief
Volker
Turk
condemned
the
deadly
attack
on
the
Al
Ahli
Arab
Hospital
in
Gaza
calling
the
strike
“totally
unacceptable.”

“Words
fail
me.
Tonight,
hundreds
of
people
were
killed
–
horrifically
–
in
a
massive
strike
at
Al
Ahli
Arab
Hospital
in
Gaza
City,
including
patients,
healthcare
workers
and
families
that
had
been
seeking
refuge
in
and
around
the
hospital,”
Turk
said
in
a
statement.

“Hospitals
are
sacrosanct,
and
they
must
be
protected
at
all
costs,”
he
said,
adding
“Those
found
responsible
must
be
held
to
account.”

“We
don’t
yet
know
the
full
scale
of
this
carnage,
but
what
is
clear
is
that
the
violence
and
killings
must
stop
at
once,”
he
said.

Both
Hamas
and
Israel
have
placed
blame
for
the
strike
on
each
other.

—
Amanda
Macias

British
Defense
Secretary
Grant
Shapps
arrived
in
Washington
for
his
first
visit
since
ascending
to
the
role
to
meet
with
U.S.
Secretary
of
Defense
Lloyd
Austin.

The
two
will
discuss
the
ongoing
security
and
humanitarian
crisis
in
the
Middle
East
at
the
Pentagon.

Shapps
will
also
meet
with
congressional
leaders
on
Capitol
Hill
while
in
Washington.
Last
week,
British
Prime
Minister
Rishi
Sunak
ordered
the
deployment
of
British
military
assets
to
the
eastern
Mediterranean
to
provide
support
and
deter
malign
actors
for
intensifying
the
ongoing
conflict.

—
Amanda
Macias

The
Associated
Press
is
reporting that
hundreds
of
Palestinians
are
taking
to
the
streets
in
the
West
Bank,
including
the
seat
of
the
Palestinian
Authority,
Ramallah,
to
protest
the
strike
on
the
Gaza
City
hospital
that
killed
hundreds
of
people.

The
AP
reported
that
protesters
threw
stones
at
Palestinian
security
forces
who
responded
with
stun
grenades.

—

Riya
Bhattacharjee

The
United
Nations
said
that
humanitarian
teams
and
supplies
are
ready
to
move
into
Gaza
but
have
yet
to
be
able
to
do
so.

“The
World
Food
Programme
tells
us
they
have
more
than
310
tonnes
of
ready-to-eat
food
either
at
the
border
or
on
their
way
to
Rafah
–
enough
to
feed
about
a
quarter-million
people
for
about
a
week,”
United
Nations
Secretary-General
spokesman
Stéphane
Dujarric
said
during
a
press
briefing.

Dujarric
said
more
food
supplies
are
arriving
at
an
airport
in
northeastern
Egypt
in
the
coming
days.

“Meanwhile,
the
UN
Refugee
Agency,
or
UNHCR,
is
supporting
the
overall
U.N.
efforts
to
provide
much-needed
support
to
Gaza
through
the
Egyptian
Red
Crescent.
UNHCR
will
be
providing
bottled
water,
blankets,
mattresses,
jerrycans,
hygiene
kits
and
clothing
items,”
he
added.

—
Amanda
Macias

Mahmoud
Abbas,
the
President
of
the
State
of
Palestine,
has
canceled
a
planned
Wednesday
meeting
with
Biden,
according
to
a
senior
Palestinian
official.

Abbas
reportedly
dropped
out
of
a
summit
in
Amman,
Jordan
to
protest
an
alleged
Israeli
airstrike
on
a
Gaza
hospital,

the
Associated
Press
reported.

The
Palestinian
leader
was
scheduled
to
meet
with
Biden
along
with
Jordan’s
King
Abdullah
and
Egyptian
President
Abdel
Fattah
Al-Sisi.

The
official
spoke
on
condition
of
anonymity
because
the
cancelation
has
not
been
formally
announced.

—
Chelsey
Cox

A
spokesperson
for
the
Israeli
Defense
Forces
said
it
did
not
carry
out
a
strike
on
a
hospital
in
central
Gaza.

“A
hospital
is
a
highly
sensitive
building
and
not
an
IDF
Target.
The
IDF
is
currently
investigating
and
as
always
prioritizes
accuracy,”
the
spokesperson
said
according
to
an
NBC
News
report.

“We
urge
everyone
to
proceed
with
caution
while
reporting
about
a
terror
organization,”
the
spokesperson
added.

—
Amanda
Macias

United
Nations
Secretary-General
Antonio
Guterres
will
travel
to
Cairo,
Egypt
on
Thursday
to
discuss
humanitarian
aid
with
Egyptian
President
Abdel
Fattah
El-Sisi.

“In
order
to
move
humanitarian
aid
through
Gaza,
we
need
safe
passage,”
United
Nations
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric
said
during
a
press
briefing
announcing
Guterres’
trip.

“There
are
intense
discussions
going
on
which
we’re
involved
with
a
number
of
parties
in
order
to
try
to
get
the
most
basic
humanitarian
aid
in
as
quickly
as
possible,
and
that’s
food,
water,
medicine,”
Dujarric
added.

Dujarric
declined
to
comment
when
asked
by
reporters
at
the
United
Nations
if
Guterres
would
travel
to
Israel.

—
Amanda
Macias

Turkish
President
Recep
Tayyip
Erdogan
slammed
the
airstrike
on
a
hospital
in
Gaza,
placing
the
blame
squarely
on
Israel.

“Hitting
a
hospital
containing
women,
children
and
innocent
civilians
is
the
latest
example
of
Israel’s
attacks
devoid
of
the
most
basic
human
values,”
Erdogan
wrote
in
a
social
media
post
on
X,
according
to
a
Google
translation.

“I
invite
all
humanity
to
take
action
to
stop
this
unprecedented
brutality
in
Gaza,”
he
added.

An
Israeli
Defense
Forces
spokesman
said
the
airstrike
was
under
investigation
but
added
that
the
explosion
could
be
from
a
Hamas
rocket.

—
Amanda
Macias

A
Hamas
official
told
NBC
News
that
the
group
is
prepared
to
release
all
civilian
hostages
in
an
hour
if
Israel
halts
airstrikes
in
Gaza.

It
was
not
immediately
clear
how
many
civilian
hostages
the
militant
group
has
kidnapped
since
the
war
began
on
Oct.
7.

—
Amanda
Macias

The
White
House
said
President
Joe
Biden
spoke
with
the
bipartisan
congressional
delegation
led
by
U.S.
Senate
Majority
Leader
Chuck
(D-N.Y.)
that
went
to
Israel
over
the
weekend.

Republican
Senator
Bill
Cassidy
of
Louisana,
Democrat
Senator
Mark
Kelly
of
Arizona,
Democrat
Senator
Jacky
Rosen
of
Nevada
and
Republican
Senator
Mitt
Romney
of
Utah
were
forced
to
shelter
in
place
during
their
trip
due
to
air
raid
sirens.

—
Amanda
Macias

The
Gaza
Health
Ministry
said
an
Israeli
airstrike
hit
a
hospital
in
central
Gaza
and
has
killed
at
least
500
people,
according
to
an
AP
report.

If
confirmed,
the
Israeli
airstrike
would
be
by
far
the
deadliest
since
2008,
according
to
the
AP.

Palestinian
Health
Ministry
spokesman
Ashraf
Al
Qudra
said
there
were
about
500
victims
in
the
attack,
NBC
reported.
He
estimated
that
between
200
to
300
were
killed.
It
is
unclear
when
Al
Qudra
made
his
statement.

Israeli
Defense
Forces
spokesman
Rear
Adm.
Daniel
Hagari
said
that
the
reports
of
an
Israeli
airstrike
against
a
hospital
in
Gaza
are
still
under
investigation.

“There
are
a
lot
of
airstrikes,
a
lot
of
failed
rockets,
and
a
lot
of
fake
reports
by
Hamas,”
Hagari
said

according
to
a
Times
of
Israel
report.

—
Amanda
Macias

Olena
Zelenska,
the
first
lady
of
Ukraine,
spoke
to
Israeli
First
Lady
Michal
Herzog
to
express
condolences
to
the
victims
of
the
Hamas
terrorist
attack
on
Oct.
7.

“We
feel
your
pain,
the
pain
of
every
family
in
Israel.
Ukrainians
in
all
corners
of
our
country
express
support
for
the
people
of
Israel,
and
I
want
to
convey
this
to
you.
These
and
many
other
manifestations
of
solidarity
confirm
how
close
our
peoples
are
in
both
joy
and
sorrow,”
Zelenska
said,
according
to
a
readout
of
the

call
provided
by
the
Ukrainian
government.

Zelenska
said
that
at
least
13
Ukrainian
citizens
were
confirmed
dead
since
the
start
of
the
Isael-Hamas
conflict.

—
Amanda
Macias

The
French
ministry
of
foreign
affairs
has
condemned
the
“ignoble”
first
video
posted
by
Palestinian
militant
group
Hamas,
which
appears
to
depict
a
hostage.

It
is
not
immediately
clear
when
the
footage
was
shot.

The
footage,
released
on
Tuesday,
features
21-year-old
French-Israeli
Mia
Schem,
who
was
abducted
during
the
terror
attacks
of
Oct.
7.
She
is
shown
receiving
care
for
an
arm
injury,
before
she
addresses
the
camera,
requesting
to
be
released.

Referencing
the
capture
of
hostages,
the
French
ministry
of
foreign
affairs
said
on
Tuesday
in
a

CNBC-translated
social
media
post
that
“France
denounces
the
ignoble
video
staging
of
Hamas.”

The
ministry
added
that
21
French
nationals
were
killed,
with
another
11
still
missing.

—

Ruxandra
Iordache

Egypt’s
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs
Sameh
Shoukry
has
denounced
attempts
to
“misrepresent”
Cairo’s
position
on
opening
the
Rafah
crossing
that
borders
the
north
African
country
with
the
Gaza
Strip.

“Attempts
to
misrepresent
Egypt’s
position
about
Rafah
Crossing
are
unacceptable
…
the
crossing
has
been
subject
to
4
aerial
bombing
by
the
Israeli
side
and
hence
its
not
functioning
normally…
the
crossing
has
never
been
officially
closed
by
[Egypt],”
Shoukry
said
in
a
BBC
interview,

according
to
a
foreign
ministry
spokesperson
on
X,
formerly
known
as
Twitter.

“We
are
in
constant
contact
with
all
UN
agencies
to
extract
a
safe
passage
for
the
relief
aid..
There
is
no
yet
any
sort
of
authorisation
for
a
safe
passage
from
the
other
side
of
the
Crossing,”

Shoukry
added.

U.N.
and
human
rights
agencies
have
called
for
the
Rafah
crossing
to
be
opened
to
allow
for
the
evacuation
of
residents
of
the
Gaza
Strip
and
foreign
nationals
as
the
local
humanitarian
crisis
deepened.
Cairo
has
said
that
Israel
has
failed
to
take
a
position
that
would
facilitate
opening
the
crossing,
amid
ongoing
attacks.

—

Ruxandra
Iordache

The
Israeli
air
force
said
on
Tuesday
that
it
has
killed
a
senior
Hamas
commander.

In
a

post
on
X,
the
platform
formerly
known
as
Twitter,
it
said
the
air
strike
attack
on
Ayman
Nofal
was
conducted
in
collaboration
with
Shin
Bet,
Israel’s
intelligence
agency.

“Air
Force
fighter
jets,
under
joint
intelligence
guidance
with
the
Shin
Bet,
killed
one
of
the
senior
members
of
the
Hamas
terrorist
organization,
Ayman
Nofal,
who
served
as
the
commander
of
the
Hamas
central
camps
brigade
in
the
Gaza
Strip,
and
as
the
former
head
of
Hamas’s
military
intelligence,”
it
said,
according
to
a
Google
translation.

Hamas’
armed
wing
Izz
el-Deen
Al-Qassam
Brigades
announced
Nofal’s
death
earlier
Tuesday
in
a

post
on
Telegram.

—
Karen
Gilchrist

A
senior
Hamas
armed
commander
was
killed
in
an
Israeli
airstrike
in
Gaza,
Hamas’
armed
wing
Izz
el-Deen
Al-Qassam
Brigades

said
Tuesday
on
Telegram,
according
to
a
Google
translation.

Nofal
was
a
member
of
the
General
Military
Council
and
commander
of
the
Central
Brigade
in
the
al-Qassam
Brigades,
the
Palestinian
militant
group
said.

CNBC
was
unable
to
independently
verify
the
reports.

Israel
has
been
targeting
the
strategic
positions
of
Hamas
in
a
bid
to
strip
away
its
military
capabilities,
following
the
group’s
terrorist
attacks
of
Oct.
7.

—
Karen
Gilchrist

Jordan’s
King
Abdullah
II
will
host
a
four-way
summit
in
Amman,
reuniting
U.S.
President
Joe
Biden,
his
Egyptian
counterpart
Abdel
Fattah
el-Sisi
and
Palestinian
Authority
President
Mahmoud
Abbas,
the
Jordanian
royal
house

said
on
social
media.

The
meeting
will
“discuss
dangerous
developments
in
Gaza,
its
regional
impact,
&
ensuring
provision
of
aid
into
the
Strip.”

Biden
will
head
to
Jordan
on
Wednesday,
after
a
first
stop
in
Tel
Aviv
and
an
anticipated
meeting
with
Israeli
Prime
Minister
Benjamin
Netanyahu.
A
spate
of
high-profile
U.S.
officials
have
visited
Israel
to
express
solidarity
since
the
Hamas
terror
attacks
of
Oct.
7,
with
U.S.
Secretary
of
State
Antony
Blinken
making
the
voyage
on
two
occasions.
Blinken
has
also
met
with
Abbas.

The
bolstered
U.S.
diplomatic
foray
into
the
Middle
East
comes
amid
humanitarian
concerns
over
Israel’s
retaliatory
siege
of
the
Gaza
Strip
and
broader
fears
that
the
Israeli-Hamas
war
will
ripple
into
the
region.

—

Ruxandra
Iordache

The
United
Nations
Relief
and
Works
Agency for
Palestine
Refugees
(UNRWA)
is
no
longer
able
to
provide
aid
to
the
civilians
of
the
besieged
Gaza
Strip,
amid
a
deepening
dearth
of
fuel,
clean
water
and
medical
supplies,
spokesperson
Tamara
Alrifai
told
CNBC.

“As
we
speak,
UNRWA,
the
largest
aid
agency
in
Gaza,
is
no
longer
able
to
assist
and
protect
civilians,
especially
those
who
have
taken
shelter
in
our
schools
and
in
our
buildings.
We
do
not
have
the
supplies,
we
do
not
have
water,
clean
drinking
water,
we
do
not
have
food,
we
do
not
have
hygiene
kits,”
she
said,
noting
that
UNWRA
staff
have
lost
the
ability
to
move
freely
on
Gaza
territories
without
fear
of
being
targeted.

The
140-square-mile
enclave
has
been
under
siege
by
Israel
since
the
start
of
last
week,
following
a
terror
attack
perpetuated
by
Palestinian
militant
group
Hamas.
Fifteen
UNRWA
staff
members
have
been
killed
in
the
Gaza
Strip
since
the
start
of
hostilities,
Alrifai
said.

Residents
have
lost
access
to
Israeli
supplies
of
food,
electricity,
fuel
and
water
—
and
the
only
operating
power
plant
of
the
Gaza
Strip
has
also
exhausted
its
fuel.
The
local
health
system
is
collapsing,
lacking
the
necessary
electricity
resources
and
medical
equipment.

This
deficit
threatens
to
be
compounded
by
a
potential
ground
incursion
from
Israel
into
the
region,
humanitarian
agencies
say.

“We
have
to
get
aid
in,”
Alrifai
said.
“The
safest
way
is
to
establish
what
we
call
in
the
humanitarian
world
a
humanitarian
cessation
of
hostilities.
This
is
an
agreed
window
where
all
parties
agree
that
convoys
of
aid
will
be
going
into
Gaza
and
that
whoever
receives
them
…
will
not
be
targeted
while
they’re
organizing
a
distribution
of
water
and
food.”

She
said
that
the
urgent
priorities
were
to
procure
fuel
to
generate
electricity
and
subsequently
purify
water
supplies.

The
international
community
has
yet
to
be
able
to
broker
a
corridor
to
receive
such
supplies,
or
to
allow
the
evacuation
of
stranded
Gaza
residents
or
foreign
nationals
into
Egypt,
through
the
shuttered
Rafah
crossing.

—

Ruxandra
Iordache

The
Israel
Defense
Forces
is
advancing
its
campaign
to
eliminate
the
military
abilities
of
Palestinian
militant
group
Hamas,
a
spokesperson
said,
but
the
next
step
may
not
be
a
long-anticipated
ground
incursion.

“We
are
preparing
for
the
next
stages
of
war.
We
haven’t
said
what
they
will
be.
Everybody’s
talking
about
the
ground
offensive.
It
might
be
something
different,”
the
IDF’s
Lt
Colonel
Richard
Hecht
told
reporters,
according
to
Reuters.

Expectations
have
mounted
that
Israel
will
launch
a
ground
offensive
into
the
besieged
Gaza
Strip,
which
it
has
sealed
off
from
its
electricity,
fuel,
food
and
water
supplies.
Israeli
troops
have
amassed
at
the
border,
with
the
IDF
on
Friday
last
week
instructing
the
residents
of
Gaza
City
to
evacuate
south
of
the
Wadi
Gaza
wetlands.

But
there
has
been
no
ground
offensive
as
yet
amid
widespread
warnings
from
human
rights
groups
that
a
potential
Israeli
incursion
could
dramatically
exacerbate
the
humanitarian
crisis
taking
place
in
the
Gaza
Strip.

“The
bottom
line
is
that
we
will
commence
the
enhanced
military
activities
when
the
timing
suits
the
goal,”
IDF
spokesperson
Jonathan
Conricus
said
in
an
overnight
press
update.

U.S.
President
Joe
Biden
will
follow
in
the
footsteps
of
Secretary
of
State
Antony
Blinken
with
a
visit
to
Tel
Aviv,
Israel
on
Wednesday.

—

Ruxandra
Iordache

Iran’s
Supreme
Leader
Ayatollah
Seyyed
Ali
Khamenei
on
Tuesday
said
the
Israeli
government
“must
be
tried”
for
its
actions
against
the
Palestinian
people,

in
Google-translated
comments
reported
by
Iran’s
state-run
Islamic
Republic
News
Agency.

“If
the
crimes
of
[Israel]
continue,
the
Muslims
and
the
resistance
forces
will
become
impatient
and
no
one
will
be
able
to
stop
them,”
he
said.
Iran
refers
to
groups
that
oppose
Israel
—
including
Palestinian
militant
group
Hamas
and
Lebanon’s
Hezbollah,
which
it
sponsors
—
as
participants
in
a
resistance
movement.

Israel
last
week
launched
a
complete
siege
of
the
Gaza
Strip
and
instructed
those
in
the
northern
half
of
the
region
to
evacuate
south,
following
bloody
terrorist
attacks
by
Hamas
on
Oct.
7.
Iran
has
repeatedly
called
for
aid
and
relief
for
the
Palestinian
people,
while
celebrating
but
denying
involvement
in
the
Hamas
offensive.

Iranian
President
Ebrahim
Raisi
has
stressed
that
the
so-called
resistance
groups
are
independent
in
their
decision-making,
but
Tehran’s
Foreign
Minister
Hossein Amirabdollahian
on
Monday
warned
that
this
resistance
front
could
proceed
with
“pre-emptive
action”
in
the
“coming
hours.”

Fears
have
mounted
over
the
possibility
of
the
contagion
of
the
Israeli-Hamas
conflict
within
the
Middle
East.

“It
is
in
everyone’s
interest
to
prevent
a
regional
spillover.
Urged
Iran
to
use
its
influence
to
avoid
regional
escalation,”
EU
top
diplomat
Josep
Borrell

said
on
social
media
on
Monday,
after
speaking
with
Amirabdollahian.

—

Ruxandra
Iordache

Israel’s
Gaza
evacuation
order
could
amount
to
a
crime
of
“forcible
transfer”
in
breach
of
international
law,
according
to
a
spokesperson
for
the
U.N.
human
rights
office.

“We
are
concerned
that
this
order,
combined
with
the
imposition
of
a
complete
siege
of
Gaza,
may
not
be
considered
as
lawful
temporary
evacuation
and
would
therefore
amount
to
a
forcible
transfer
of
civilians
in
breach
of
international
law,”
Ravina
Shamdasani
said,
according
to
Reuters.

The
Rome
Statute
of
the
International
Criminal
Court
lists
the
“deportation
or
forcible
transfer
of
population”
as

a
type
of
crime
against
humanity,
which
it
punishes.
The
Palestinian
Authority

accepted
the
Rome
Statute
in
2015,
“thereby
accepting
the
jurisdiction
of
the
Court
over
alleged
crimes
committed
in
the
occupied
Palestinian
territory,
including
East
Jerusalem,
since
June
13,
2014,”

the
ICC
says.

Israel
has
signed
but
not
ratified
the
Rome
Statute
and
contests
the
ICC’s
authority
to
carry
out
such
an
investigation.

Human
rights
organizations
have
decried
the
humanitarian
impact
of
the
siege
and
resource
deprivation
inflicted
by
Israel
against
the
Gaza
Strip
since
last
week
in
its
retaliatory
strikes
against
Palestinian
militant
group
Hamas.

—

Ruxandra
Iordache

Palestinian
militant
group
Hamas
said
its
official
appointed
to
oversee
crossings
out
of
the
Gaza
Strip
has
been
killed
in
an
Israeli
air
strike.

General
Fouad
Abu
Butihan
died
in
a
strike
on
Nuseirat
in
central
Gaza,
Hamas
said
on
Telegram,
according
to
a
Google
translation.
CNBC
could
not
independently
verify
the
report.

The
besieged
Gaza
Strip
is
bordered
by
Israel,
the
sea
and
the
Rafah
crossing
leading
into
Egypt.

Israeli
military
has
said
it
is
targeting
Hamas’
armed
positions
in
the
Gaza
Strip
with
the
aim
of
stripping
away
all
of
the
group’s
military
capabilities.

—

Ruxandra
Iordache

German
Chancellor
Olaf
Scholz
on
Tuesday
warned
Iran
and
Lebanese
militant
group
Hezbollah
not
to
become
involved
in
the
ongoing
Israel-Hamas
hostilities.

“I
expressly
warn
Hezbollah
and
Iran
not
to
intervene
in
the
conflict,”
Scholz
said
Tuesday,
in
commented
reported
by
Reuters.
He
spoke
after
a
meeting
with
Jordanian
King
Abdullah
in
Berlin.

Scholz
is
expected
to
visit
Israel
in
an
expression
of
solidarity
on
Tuesday,
according
to
domestic
and
international
media
reports
—
a
day
before
the
scheduled
arrival
of
U.S.
President
Joe
Biden.

The
international
community
has
largely
condemned
the
Oct.7
terrorist
attacks
perpetrated
by
Iran-backed
Palestinian
militant
group
Hamas,
with
fear
now
mounting
over
a
potential
spill-over
of
the
conflict
into
the
wider
Middle
East
following
repeated
fire
exchanges
between
Israel
and
Hezbollah.

Iran’s
foreign
minister
on
Monday
evening
warned
that
so-called
resistance
groups
could
take
“pre-emptive
action”
against
Israel
in
“the
coming
hours,”
without
supplying
details.

—

Ruxandra
Iordache

Roughly
half
a
million
Israeli
people
have
been
internally
displaced,
largely
“at
their
own
merit
and
at
their
own
initiative”
to
avoid
civilian
damage
in
the
ongoing
conflict
with
Palestinian
militant
group
Hamas,
Israeli
Defense
Forces
spokesperson
Jonathan
Conricus
said
during
an
overnight
press
update.

“We’ve
evacuated
all
of
southern
Israel
close
to
the
border,
close
to
Gaza.
Most
of
Sderot
has
been
evacuated,
parts
of
Ashkelon
has
been
evacuated,
and
those
are
cities
with
tens
of
thousands
of
people,”
he
said,
noting
that
official
evacuation
instructions
have
now
been
sent
to
Sderot
and
other
communities
near
the
Gaza
Strip
,
while
the
residents
of
more
than
20
Israeli
settlements
in
the
north
have
been
displaced.

Israel’s
Ministry
of
Defense
on
Monday
said
it
would
evacuate
civilians
from
28
communities
near
northern
Israel
up
to
2
kilometers
(1.24
miles)
from
the
Lebanese
border
to
state-funded
guesthouses.

The
internal
Israeli
displacements
come
amid
an
anticipated
Israeli
ground
incursion
into
the
Gaza
Strip,
along
with
ongoing
fire
exchanges
with
Lebanese
militant
group
Hezbollah
since
last
week.

They
also
come
around
the
same
time
as
evacuations
in
the
embattled
Gaza
Strip,
where
more
than
1
million
people
—
or
nearly
half
the
local
population
—
were
internally
displaced,
the
United
Nations
Relief
and
Works
Agency
for
Palestine
Refugees
said
in
its
latest
report
on
Monday.

The
U.N.
expressed
alarm
at
the
Israeli
military’s
evacuation
directive
to
the
1.1
million
residents
of
northern
Gaza
and
warned
it
was
“impossible”
for
such
a
human
movement
to
take
place
without
“devastating
humanitarian
consequences.”

—

Ruxandra
Iordache

Iran’s
foreign
minister
on
Monday
evening
warned
that
“pre-emptive
action”
from
so-called
resistance
forces
could
be
imminent
against
Israel
in
the
short
term.

“The
resistance
front
is
capable
of
waging
a
long-term
war
with
the
enemy
[Israel]
…
in
the
coming
hours,
we
can
expect
a
pre-emptive
action
by
the
resistance
front,”
Hossein Amirabdollahian
said
on
state
TV
without
supplying
further
details,
in
comments
reported
by
Reuters.

“All
options
are
open
and
we
cannot
be
indifferent
to
the
war
crimes
committed
against
the
people
of
Gaza,”
he
added.

Striking
a
discordant
note,
Iran’s
President
Ebrahim
Raisi
earlier
on
Monday
said
that
the
alleged
resistance
group
active
against
Israel
are
independent
and
make
their
own
decisions,

in
Google-translated
comments
reported
by
Iran’s
state-run
Islamic
Republic
News
Agency.

Iran
has
historically
backed
Hamas
and
has
celebrated
but
denied
involvement
in
the
Palestinian
militant
group’s
terrorist
attacks
of
Oct.
7.
Like
many
Arab
countries
in
the
Middle
East
region,
Tehran
has
supported
the
cause
of
the
Palestinian
people,
and
it
has
repeatedly
called
for
aid
and
relief
for
the
civilians
of
the
besieged
Gaza
Strip
enclosure.

Iranian
officials
have
repeatedly
warned
of
the
possibility
that
the
Israeli-Hamas
hostilities
could
spill
over
into
the
Middle
East,
amid
increasing
fire
exchanges
between
Israel
and
the
Tehran-supported
Hezbollah
militant
group
in
Lebanon.
Like
close
ally
Russia,
Iran
has
attributed
the
current
conflict
between
Israel
and
Hamas
to
a
failure
of
Western
—
and
particularly
U.S.
—
diplomacy.

—

Ruxandra
Iordache

Israel’s
military
continues
to
prepare
for
an
“enhanced
military
operation
in
Gaza”
and
is
monitoring
the
evacuation
of
civilians
from
the
northern
part
of
the
Gaza
Strip
south
of
the
Wadi
Gaza
wetlands,
Israel
Defense
Forces
spokesperson
Jonathan
Conricus
said
in
a
press
update.

Israel
declared
full
siege
of
the
Gaza
Strip
at
the
start
of
last
week,
depriving
it
of
Israel’s
water,
electricity,
food
and
fuel
supplies
within
two
days
of
a
multi-pronged
terrorist
attack
delivered
on
Oct.
7
by
Palestinian
militant
group
Hamas.
The
timing
of
Israel’s
anticipated
ground
incursion
remains
under
question.

“As
always
military
activity
is
timed
according
to
many
variables,
some
of
them
physical,
some
of
them
related
to
humanitarian
constraints,
some
of
them
related
to
the
state
of
your
enemy
and
the
state
of
your
own
readiness.
But
the
bottom
line
is
that
we
will
commence
the
enhanced
military
activities
when
the
timing
suits
the
goal,”
Conricus
said,
stressing
that
the
“aim
of
this
war
is
to
completely
dismantle
Hamas
and
their
military
capabilities.”

Several
human
rights
organizations
have
decried
the
imminent
offensive
and
Israel’s
ongoing
blockade
of
the
Gaza
Strip,
citing
concerns
over
a
worsening
humanitarian
crisis.

In
addition
to
combating
Hamas,
Conricus
said
that
the
IDF
has
been
carrying
out
military
responses
“in
kind”
to
attacks
coming
from
Lebanese
militant
group
Hezbollah,
with
which
it
has
been
exchanging
fire
since
last
week.
Hezbollah
has
expressed
its
readiness
to
get
involved
in
the
Israeli-Hamas
hostilities,
amid
growing
fears
that
the
conflict
will
engulf
the
broader
Middle
East.

“Our
message
to
Hezbollah
is
that
any
aggression,
any
escalation
to
the
situation
would
not
serve
the
purposes
neither
of
Hezbollah
and
definitely
not
those
of
Lebanon
and
the
Lebanese
people,”
Conricus
said.

—

Ruxandra
Iordache

President
Joe
Biden
said
he
will
travel
to
Israel
on
Wednesday
to
“stand
in
solidarity
in
the
face
of
Hamas’s
brutal
terrorist
attack.”

“I’ll
then
travel
to
Jordan
to
address
dire
humanitarian
needs,
meet
with
leaders,
and
make
clear
that
Hamas
does
not
stand
for
Palestinians’
right
to
self-determination,”
Biden
wrote
on
X,
the
social
media
platform
previously
known
as
Twitter.

—
Amanda
Macias

Every
Arab
leader
who
met
U.S.
Secretary
of
State
Antony
Blinken
in
the
last
few
days
highlighted
the
importance
of
dealing
with
the
humanitarian
crisis
in
Gaza,
a
senior
State
Department
official
told
NBC
News.

The
official
said
President
Joe
Biden
told
Blinken
to
return
to
Tel
Aviv,
Israel
following
his
whirlwind
trip
through
the

six
Arab
countries:
Jordan,
Bahrain,
Qatar,
United
Arab
Emirates,
Saudi
Arabia
and
Egypt.

After
nine
hours
of
negotiations
with
Israel,
Blinken
announced
that
both
sides
“agreed
to
develop
a
plan
that
will
enable
humanitarian
aid
from
donor
nations
and
multi-lateral
organizations
to
reach
civilians
in
Gaza
—
and
them
alone.”

The
new
U.S.
envoy
for
Middle
East
humanitarian
issues,
David
Satterfield,
is
set
to
meet
Israeli
officials
on
Tuesday
to
see
if
they
can
get
the
plan
worked
out,
the
official
added.

—

Joanna
Tan

The
top
U.S.
general
overseeing
American
forces
in
the
Middle
East
made
an
unannounced
trip
to
Israel
on
Tuesday,
saying
he
hoped
to
ensure
its
military
has
what
it
needs
as
it
fights
a
deepening
war
against
Palestinian
militant
group
Hamas.

The
trip
by
Army
General
Michael
“Erik”
Kurilla,
head
of
U.S.
Central
Command,
is
the
latest
by
a
senior
U.S.
official
to
Israel
ahead
of
an
expected
ground
assault
by
Israel’s
military
in
Gaza.
It
comes
a
day
before
a planned
visit by
U.S.
President
Joe
Biden
to
the
country.

The
U.S.
military
is
increasing
its
firepower
in
the
region,
aiming
to
prevent
Iran
and
other
Iran-backed
groups
from
getting
involved
in
the
conflict
as
international
fears
of
a
wider,
regional
war
grow.

The
Pentagon
is
also
rushing
weaponry,
including
air
defenses
and
munitions,
to
Israel.

“I’m
here
to
ensure
Israel
has
what
it
needs
to
defend
itself,
particularly
focused
on
avoiding
other
parties
expanding
the
conflict,”
Kurilla
told
Reuters,
which
is
traveling
with
him,
in
brief
remarks
before
landing.

A
U.S.
official
told
Reuters
Kurilla
was
scheduled
to
hold
high-level
meetings
with
Israel’s
military
leadership,
ensuring
a
clear
understanding
of
the
close
U.S.
ally’s
defense
requirements.

—

Reuters

The
Israel
Defense
Forces
claims
to
have
struck
unspecified
Hezbollah
military
infrastructure
in
Lebanon
early
Tuesday
local
time,
in
response
to
earlier
strikes
by
the
Iran-backed
militia
group,
the
IDF
said
in
an
update
on
its
official
Telegram
channel.

Hezbollah
reportedly
targeted
five
Israeli
outposts
in
its
Monday
strikes,
Lebanon’s
National
News
Agency

reported,
citing
a
Hezbollah
statement.

—
Clement
Tan

New
satellite
images
taken
by
Maxar
Technologies
show
crowds
of
people
and
vehicles
gathering
on
the
Gaza
side
of
the
Rafah
border
crossing
into
Egypt.