By Austin Ogwuda with Agency report
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dashed the hope of possible ceasefire in the ongoing war with Hamas.
He was reported saying that Israel would not agree to a ceasefire noting that “this is a time for war”.
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*Israel’s military said it killed dozens of Hamas fighters overnight and struck targets in northern Gaza as part of its expanded ground operations in the enclave. Israeli media showed the country’s troops atop a hotel about 2 miles into the strip.
*Many organizations have expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza. UNICEF’s chief warned of a possible “catastrophe” due to a lack of clean water, the World Health Organization said hundreds have been killed in attacks on the health sector and the UN warned “civil order” is deteriorating in Gaza, with people breaking into warehouses to take survival essentials.
*Hamas has released a video showing three women who are believed to be captives held by the Palestinian militant group since its terror attack on Israel on October 7. The video comes just days after Israeli leaders dismissed talks of progress in hostage negotiations.
*Hamas spokesperson said Israel was not successful in entering Gaza “except in some limited areas” and described the humanitarian situation in the enclave as “disastrous.”
*The Israel Defense Forces has not released details about how far it has advanced, but it is clear that Israeli troops have established positions well within the strip, with CNN crews reporting armored personnel carriers moving inside the border fence on Monday.
*Ground operation: The Israeli military said Monday its troops have killed four prominent Hamas operatives as part of its expanded ground operations in the Gaza Strip.
*The United Nations reported that thousands of desperate Palestinians are taking basic items like flour and hygiene supplies from warehouses — while facing sustained Israeli airstrikes. A total of 26 trucks went through the Rafah crossing into Gaza on Monday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said. The head of surgery at the largest hospital in Gaza described dire conditions and said staff at the facility “cannot cope” with the huge number of patients they are treating.
*Strikes in the West Bank: Israel reported new operations against armed Palestinian groups in the occupied West Bank overnight. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said four men were killed in an Israeli air and ground operation in Jenin, which sits toward the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and has officially been under the administration of the Palestinian Authority since 1993. According to Palestinian eyewitnesses there, the Israeli army launched two airstrikes on the refugee camp, causing severe damage to buildings.
*Continued fears of a wider conflict: Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister said an escalation of the war in Gaza could plunge the whole region into chaos. An uptick in clashes with Hezbollah has raised fears that the powerful Lebanese paramilitary group could actively participate in the conflict. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said Sunday that Israel has “crossed the red lines” and it “may force everyone to take action”.
*The White House said the US is working to send a “strong” message of deterrence to Iran.
*UN organization calls for opening of Kerem Shalom crossing into GazaThe United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has called for the Kerem Shalom crossing linking Israel to Gaza to be opened in a bid to amp up humanitarian deliveries to the war-torn Gaza strip.
In an address to the UN Security Council Monday, OCHA Director Lisa Doughten stressed the vital need to “get humanitarian supplies and relief into Gaza safely, reliably, without impediment and at the scale required.
Credit: CNN, AFP