Israel expanded its military assault deeper into the northern Gaza Strip as the U.N. and medical staff expressed fears over airstrikes hitting closer to hospitals, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have sought shelter alongside thousands of wounded. Relief workers said the largest convoy of humanitarian aid to arrive in Gaza still fell far short of needs.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war exceeds 8,000, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 110 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them civilians slain in the initial Hamas rampage that started the fighting Oct. 7. In addition, 239 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.
Currently:
1. Internet, phone service gradually returns to Gaza
2. People storm airportin Russia in antisemitic riot over arrival of plane from Israel
3. Israeli media, traumatized by Hamas attack, become communicators of Israel’s message
4. Biden says Mideast leaders must consider a two-state solution after the war ends
5. Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s what is happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:
UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS GAZA MONDAY AFTERNOON
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Monday afternoon on Israel’s ground incursion in Gaza and the dire humanitarian plight of Palestinians at the request of the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE, the Arab representative on the council, is one of 10 elected council members working on a new Security Council resolution on the Israel-Hamas war which is still in discussion. The council has rejected four draft resolutions — one vetoed by the United States, one vetoed by Russia and China, and two that failed to get the minimum nine “yes” votes.
The Gaza meeting will take place after the council meets first on Western Sahara and then on Colombia.
The General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, adopted a resolution Friday by a vote of 120-14 with 45 abstentions calling for humanitarian truces leading to a cessation of hostilities. Security Council resolutions are legally binding. General Assembly resolutions are not but they are an important barometer of world opinion.
4 PEOPLE KILLED IN CLASHES IN JENIN
CAIRO — Four Palestinians were killed early Monday in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, as Israeli forces clashed with Palestinians.
The ministry said five other Palestinians were wounded, including two with critical injuries.
Israeli media reported that there was heavy exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinians in Jenin in a battle that included drone strikes.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since the war between Israel and Gaza broke out on Oct. 7. Since then, Israeli forces and settlers killed 115 Palestinians, including 33 minors, as of Sunday, according to the U.N. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs.
OCHA said half of the fatalities were during clashes that followed Israeli search-and-arrest operations.
GAZA’S WATER SHORTAGE MEANS PEOPLE BATHE AND WASH DISHES IN THE SEA
On a beach in Gaza, a young boy hunches over a plastic tub full of soapy water and laundry. Nearby, a woman uses sand to clean metal pots and pans. A man stands waist-deep in the sea cleaning a pair of sweatpants, while elsewhere, three women sit in the salty Mediterranean and let the lapping waves rinse their dresses.
The besieged Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people don’t have access to clean, running water after Israel cut off water and electricity to the enclave. If water does trickle from the tap, residents have said it’s so contaminated with sewage and seawater that it’s undrinkable. Under these circumstances, some are forced to use the sea to bathe, wash clothes and clean their cookware.
On Sunday, 33 trucks carrying water, food and medicine entered the only border crossing from Egypt. Israel said it has opened two water lines in southern Gaza within the past week. The AP could not independently verify that either line was functioning.