Israel-Hamas war: UN warns of Gaza 'graveyard for children'

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that his country would take "security responsibility" over the Gaza Strip after the war.

"Israel will, for an indefinite period, will have the overall security responsibility," he said in a television interview with US broadcaster ABC.

"When we don't have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn't imagine."

Several governments consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization including the US, the EU and Germany.

Netanyahu also said hat there would be no ceasefire in Gaza until hostages were released by Hamas. The militants are holding more than 200 people hostage after abducting them from Israel on October 7.

"There will be no ceasefire, general ceasefire, in Gaza, without the release of our hostages," he said.

US President Joe Biden on Monday discussed pauses in Israel's retaliatory military offensive in Gaza to allow for humanitarian assistance in the besieged region.

White House spokesman John Kirby said Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had discussed the issue in a phone conversation and that the two had agreed to speak again later in the week. 

Though Washington has rejected others' calls for a cease-fire, it is pushing the idea of short tactical breaks that might allow more aid into Gaza as well as open the possibility for hostage negotiations. Hamas militants are currently holding more than 200 people hostage after abducting them from Israel on October 7.

Washington voiced concern over the amount of aid trickling into Gaza as Israel keeps it besieged.

One of the most densely populated areas in the world, Gaza's more than 2.2 million people have been cut off and under siege after Hamas terrorists launched an October 7 attack into Israel that killed more than 1,400 people.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza claims that more than 10,000 people in the tiny strip of land have been killed since October 7.

Though outside groups and governments have called Israel's response disproportionate, the Israeli government has refused to let up, pointing to Hamas and its allies' stated goal of destroying Israel. 

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which he said was "becoming a graveyard for children."

"The unfolding catastrophe makes the need for a humanitarian ceasefire more urgent with every passing hour," said Guterres on Monday. "The parties to the conflict… and, indeed, the international community… face an immediate and fundamental responsibility: to stop this inhuman collective suffering and dramatically expand humanitarian aid to Gaza. The nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis. It is a crisis of humanity."
  
Guterres invoked Israel's refusal to allow fuel into the region, which it claims would be used by Hamas. "Without fuel, newborn babies in incubators and patients on life support will die. The way forward is clear. A humanitarian ceasefire — now. All parties respecting all their obligations under international humanitarian law," he said. 
      
The diplomat, who infuriated Israel in late October by suggesting the Hamas attack had not taken place in a vacuum, again voiced shock over the, "clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing… Let me be clear: No party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law."

Guterres also forcefully condemned Hamas' "abhorrent acts of terror" and repeated his call for the release of over 200 individuals abducted by the Islamist group and taken to Gaza, where they continue to be held hostage.

The US acknowledged there have been "thousands" of civilian deaths in Gaza, although it did not provide an exact figure.

It comes as President Joe Biden has previously questioned the validity of the numbers published by the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Following Biden's comments, senior UN officials said the health ministry figures had proven generally reliable in past conflicts.

"As it relates to civilian casualties in Gaza... we know the numbers are in the thousands," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told journalists when asked about the recent Gaza health ministry's announcement of 10,000 casualties.

"This is a reason why it has been a point of emphasis with the Israelis and others in the region on how important it is to get humanitarian assistance and aid into Gaza," Ryder said.

The armed wing of Hamas, the Qassam brigade, fired 16 rockets from Lebanon towards northern Israel on Monday, the organization said in a statement.

Israel's city of Nahariyya and southern Haifa were targeted, with Hamas saying on Telegram that the strikes were: "in response to the occupation's (Israel's) massacres and its aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip".

In response, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) claimed that 30 rockets had been fired towards northern Israel leading to air raid sirens going off in several villages.

Hamas has a number of fighters in south Lebanon and has previously claimed attacks on Israel from there.

The strikes come as tensions have run high at the border between Israel and Lebanon. The two countries remain technically at war. The Iran-backed group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has also regularly exchanged attacks over the Lebanese border since October 7.

The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 10,022 since the start of the war on October 7, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the enclave.

That number includes more than 4,000 children, according to the ministry. The figure could not be verified independently.

Israel has been facing growing pressure to at least pause its airstrikes on the besieged enclave, as outrage grows over a rising civilian death toll.

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, US, Germany, Israel and others.

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has partially reopened, Hamas officials that rule the Gaza Strip said Monday. It is the only Gazan crossing that is not controlled by Israel. 

Hamas officials said the border crossing would only allow some Egyptians and some foreign nationals on pre-approved lists to leave the besieged enclave.

Roughly 1,100 people have left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing so far under an agreement reportedly among the US, Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas.

Some 450 trucks carrying aid have been allowed to enter Gaza through the crossing so far, but the number falls far short of the aid required by the 2.2 million Palestinians in the enclave, aid groups have said.

The northern strip is also facing a severe water shortage and a fuel shortage, as Israeli military expands its ground combat there.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he "discussed working toward a durable lasting peace in Middle East" with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Blinken was in the Turkish capital, Ankara, for the last leg of his diplomatic tour in the Middle East, which included surprise visits to the occupied West Bank and Iraq this weekend.

Blinken said other NATO countries can also play an important role in getting hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza released. Turkey is a NATO member.

The US' top diplomat said they were working "very aggressively on getting more humanitarian aid into Gaza, as well having people continue to come out of Gaza."

Negotiations have continued to allow more people to leave the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. The crossing was partially opened last week to allow some people to leave.

Rafah is the only Gazan border crossing that is not controlled by Israel, and has become an important route as the humanitarian situation in the enclave worsens.

Turkey has stepped up its criticism of Israel as the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates.

Ankara has recalled its ambassador to Israel and said it was breaking off contacts with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in protest over the strikes on Gaza.

Internet connectivity and cellular services were restored Monday morning in Gaza, after a total communications blackout on Sunday evening, Paltel said.

Paltel, which is based in the West Bank, is one of the largest telecommunication companies operating in Gaza.

The company said in a statement on Facebook that there has been a "gradual" return of service to landlines, mobile phones and internet services. Paltel said the communications outage came after Israel switched off the main network lines.

Internet monitoring site Netblocks also confirmed the return of services, adding that: "Overall service remains significantly below pre-war levels."

Sunday's outage was the third communications disruption since the start of Israel's large-scale military operations against Hamas militants.

Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group carried out terror attacks against Israel on October 7. The EU, US, Germany, Israel and others have designated Hamas a terrorist organization.

Israeli fighter jets struck around 450 Hamas targets in Gaza and troops seized a militant compound in the last 24 hours, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday.

The overnight bombardment was one of the most intense that has been carried out since Israel declared war on Hamas militants for its terror attacks against Israel on October 7, according to a Reuters journalist who is on the ground in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said more than 200 people were killed overnight into Monday.

The death toll covered those who had died in Gaza City and the northern strip, according to the ministry. There was no independent confirmation of the figure.

The report comes as the death toll in Gaza climbs over 9,700, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. More than 4,000 of the deaths were children.

The strikes come as Israel expands its ground combat in Gaza, and outrage grows over the high civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip.

The heads of 12 United Nations agencies and six humanitarian organizations have issued a joint plea for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, saying the situation there was "unacceptable."

"An entire population is besieged and under attack, denied access to the essentials for survival, bombed in their homes, shelters, hospitals and places of worship. This is unacceptable," the international groups said in a statement.

More than 100 attacks against health care facilities have been reported, the statement said.

"Enough is Enough," wrote UN's emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths on X, formerly Twitter.

The statement said the terror attacks carried out by Hamas militants on October 7 in Israel were "horrific" and added that "the horrific killings of even more civilians in Gaza is an outrage."

Israel declared war on Hamas militants following the October 7 attacks, expanding a ground operation in Gaza in recent days.

The UN and humanitarian organizations said more than 23,000 injured people need immediate treatment and hospitals are overstretched in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicked off difficult talks in Turkey on Monday, as part of an attempt to assuage Ankara over the bombardment of Gaza.

Turkish media showed Blinken shaking hands with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday morning. The visit is the latest in a tour of US diplomacy in the Middle East and the first trip to Turkey since the conflict between Israel and the Islamist militant Hamas group erupted on October 7.

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the US, the EU, Israel and Germany among other countries. The Turkish government maintains contacts with Hamas and has been trying to negotiate the release of hostages taken by the group's militants.

The fighting threatens to have wide-ranging repercussions on US ties with Turkey — a NATO member with stakes in conflicts across the region.

Speaking from Istanbul, DW correspondent Dorian Jones said the priority for Blinken's trip is the "containment of this conflict."
 
He noted that Turkey could play a key role in preventing the war from spreading further, due to Ankara's currently good relations with Iran.
 
"Blinken will be looking for talks on how to keep Iran out of this conflict and preventing a major, regional war," Jones said.

 
Washington's top diplomat will also need to do some smoothing over with NATO-ally Turkey.
 
"Blinken could face a frosty reception given that there is a lot of frustration in Ankara that Blinken had appeared to be sidelining Turkey," Jones said.

The talks come as fury at both Israel and the West spilled onto the streets of southern Turkey on Sunday, as hundreds of people at a pro-Palestinian protest marched to an air base housing US troops. 

Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the demonstrators. 

On Sunday, Blinken made a surprise visit to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who joined international calls for an immediate cease-fire.

The US top diplomat traveled under tight security through the city of Ramallah in an armored motorcade.

The British Foreign Office has said it was temporarily withdrawing some British Embassy staff from Lebanon due to the "security situation" amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas militants.

The Foreign Office added that all family members of staff have also been temporarily withdrawn, and encouraged any British nationals still in the country to leave while commercial flights remain.

"There is also a risk of civil unrest. There have been large protests outside embassies, including outside the US and French embassies on 17 October. Further protests are expected," it warned.

The UK had already advised people against all travel to Lebanon due to regular artillery exchanges and airstrikes in southern Lebanon on the border with Israel, the ministry said.

While Gaza has been the main focus of the conflict, Israeli soldiers and militants within Lebanon's Hezbollah group have been exchanging fire since the start of the war.

Jordan's King Abdullah II said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Jordan's air force personnel had air-dropped urgent medical aid to a Jordanian field hospital in Gaza early on Monday.

"This is our duty to aid our brothers and sisters injured in the war on Gaza," the king said, adding: "We will always be there for our Palestinian brethren."

Last week, Jordan announced that it had recalled its ambassador to Israel and told the
Israeli ambassador to stay away in protest at the Israeli strikes in Gaza, saying the military operation has caused a humanitarian catastrophe.

Meanwhile, fighting in Gaza enters its 31st day on Monday. 

Israel has said at least 240 hostages were captured by the Islamist militant group Hamas in its October 7 attacks in southern Israel. Over 1,400 people were killed in the attacks, according to Israeli figures.

Since then, Israel has regularly bombarded the Gaza Strip and sent in ground troops. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza has said more than 9,770 people have been killed, around two-thirds of them women and children.

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union as well as Germany, Israel and the United States among other countries.

Three children and their grandmother died in an Israeli strike on a car in southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to Lebanese authorities. 

The four people were killed when Israel hit the car they were in as it drove between the villages of Aynata and Aitaroun, a report by Lebanese security forces stated.

Israel's military said its soldiers had engaged a vehicle "identified as a suspected transport for terrorists" in Lebanon on Sunday. It said that it was looking into reports that there were civilians inside.

The country's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, has called the attack a "heinous crime."

Following the incident, the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said it had responded to the Israeli strike by firing a barrage of Katyusha rockets at the town of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel.

dv/rs (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)