Israeli strikes pounded the Gaza Strip early on Monday, killing dozens, including people sleeping in a school-turned-shelter, local health officials said. The Israeli military said it targeted militants operating from the school.
Israel has vowed to seize control of Gaza and keep fighting until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed and exiled, and until the militant group returns the remaining 58 hostages, a third of them believed to be alive, from the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war.
Israel had blocked all food, medicine and fuel from entering Gaza for 2 1/2 months before enter last week, after experts鈥 warnings of famine and pressure from . It says the militant Hamas group has been siphoning off aid but U.N. aid groups say there is no significant divergence of aid.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7 attack. Israel鈥檚 retaliatory offensive has killed around 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
Here’s the latest:
Germany’s chancellor says he doesn’t understand what Israel is trying to achieve in Gaza
Friedrich Merz told a forum organized by WDR television that 鈥渨hat the Israeli army is now doing in Gaza 鈥 I don鈥檛 understand, to say it openly.鈥
“Affecting the civilian population to the extent that has increasingly been the case in recent days can no longer be justified by a fight against the terrorism of Hamas,鈥 Merz said.
Israeli protesters who stormed the UN compound are joined by a lawmaker
The Israeli protesters who stormed the UNRWA compound in east Jerusalem were joined by Yulia Malinovsky, one of the legislators behind an Israeli law that banned UNRWA.
Israel has accused the agency, which is the biggest aid provider in Gaza, of being infiltrated by Hamas, allegations denied by the U.N.
There was no immediate comment from Israeli police.
UN agency for Palestinians says Israeli protesters have broken into its compound in east Jerusalem
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says Israeli protesters have broken into its compound in east Jerusalem.
UNRWA West Bank coordinator Roland Friedrich said around a dozen Israeli protesters, including a member of parliament, forcefully entered the compound on Monday.
Israeli far-right Cabinet minister visits flashpoint Jerusalem holy site
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Jewish worship was allowed at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site as he visited the holy hilltop compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.
鈥淭oday, thank God, it is possible to pray on the Temple Mount, to bow (in prayer) on the Temple Mount,鈥 he said, according to a statement from his office.
Palestinians and the broader Muslim world view Jewish visits to the sacred site as a provocation. An understanding between Israeli and religious authorities at the site holds that Jews cannot pray there.
Hamas warns Palestinians not to work with the new aid group backed by US and Israel
Hamas is warning Palestinians in Gaza not to cooperate with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is supposed to take over aid distribution under a .
Gaza’s Hamas-run government claimed the GHF aims to further to other countries, without offering evidence for the claim.
U.N. agencies and aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF, saying it would fail to meet Gaza鈥檚 mounting needs, give Israel control over who receives aid and cause mass displacement by forcing Palestinians to relocate to distribution hubs.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visits Israel after Washington shooting
Noem’s visit comes in solidarity with Israel after the fatal shooting in Washington last week of two Israeli Embassy employees.
Noem said that President Donald Trump had asked her to come to Israel after the shootings of Sarah Milgrim, an American citizen, and Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli. A suspect identified as Elias Rodriguez said he 鈥渄id it for Palestine,鈥 according to court papers.
Noem told Israel’s leaders that Trump 鈥渟tands with you as we fight this hatred in the world.鈥 She said Milgrim and Lischinsky鈥檚 lives 鈥渨ill bring a unity among us that will help us defeat our enemies.鈥
The Israeli military says 3 projectiles have been fired from Gaza
The military says the projectiles were fired toward southern Israel. Two landed inside Gaza and one was intercepted by Israel鈥檚 missile defense system.
Militants in Gaza still occasionally fire rockets toward Israel, a sign of their tenacity even after more than 19 months of grueling war in the territory and an intensifying Israeli offensive.
A US-backed group still plans to begin aid distribution in Gaza after its director resigns
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it’s still going ahead with its launch on Monday despite the unexpected resignation of its American executive director over the weekend.
Jake Wood said he was resigning because the organization would not be allowed to operate independently.
The foundation 鈥 made up of former humanitarian, government and military officials 鈥 is the linchpin of a new aid system for Gaza that would wrest aid distribution away from aid groups who have traditionally carried out the task.
鈥淥ur trucks are loaded and ready to go,鈥 GHF said, adding that it plans to reach more than 1 million Palestinians by the end of the week.
Australia’s prime minister calls Israel’s blockade of Gaza aid 鈥榦utrageous鈥
It was the strongest language to date from Anthony Albanese on the Gaza humanitarian crisis.
鈥淚t is outrageous that there be a blockade of food and supplies to people who are in need in Gaza,鈥 Albanese told reporters in the Australian capital Canberra on Monday.
Albanese said that Australia finds 鈥淚srael鈥檚 excuses and explanations completely untenable and without credibility.鈥
“People are starving, and the idea that a democratic state withholds supply is an outrage,鈥 he added.
