Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a ceasefire in
Israel’s war against Hamas “will not happen”, as ground forces fought inside
Gaza and air strikes pounded the besieged Palestinian territory.
Netanyahu spoke to foreign press after telling his war
cabinet Israeli forces were making “systematic progress” against Hamas in
response to the October 7 attacks – the deadliest in the country’s history.
Netanyahu told the press briefing a ceasefire would
amount to surrendering to Hamas, whose gunmen killed 1,400 people and took more
than 230 hostages, according to the latest Israeli figures.
“Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to
surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism… this will not happen,” he
said, vowing Israel would “fight until this battle is won”.
The Israeli military said a woman soldier was released
from captivity after an operation in the Hamas-run territory.
“Ori Megidish was released during a ground operation,”
said the Army, adding she had been “medically checked” and was “doing well”.
Netanyahu’s office published a photo of her surrounded by family members.
The Israeli leader said the international community
must demand the captives remaining in Gaza “be freed immediately,
unconditionally”.
As Israeli forces fought deadly battles with Hamas
militants inside the narrow Palestinian territory and sent tanks to the
outskirts of Gaza City, concern has surged about the widening humanitarian
crisis.
Many hospitals in Gaza have been affected and the
World Health Organization (WHO) has warned patients cannot be safely moved out
of the war zone.
Israeli Tanks On Gaza Highway
In heavy clashes overnight, the Israeli Army said it
had killed dozens of militants hiding “inside buildings and tunnels”.
Columns of Israeli tanks and armoured bulldozers were
seen churning through the sand, and snipers took positions inside emptied
residential buildings.
Dozens of tanks advanced for more than an hour into
the southern fringes of Gaza City and blocked the main north-south highway, “firing
at any vehicle that tries to go along it”, an eyewitness told AFP by phone.
The Israeli ground forces were supported by heavy fire
from the air and artillery, with the Army striking more than 600 targets within
24 hours, up from 450.
Hamas said it had fired anti-tank missiles at two
Israeli armoured vehicles and that “blows delivered by the resistance have
prevented” Israeli troops from establishing a presence in Gaza.
‘Bombing Followed Us’
More than 230 hostages – aged between a few months and
above 80 – are believed to be held in a network of underground tunnels where
Hamas has hid its military infrastructure from Israeli surveillance and air
attacks.
German-Israeli Shani Louk (23) was captured by Hamas
when its gunmen stormed a music festival in the desert.
Fear and desperation have spiralled in Gaza, under
weeks of siege that have cut off water, food, fuel and other essentials to the
long-blockaded territory.
Internet access had been severed for days but restored
Sunday following US pressure, said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
“We made clear to the government of Israel over the
weekend that communications networks needed to be restored,” he said.
“It is about ensuring that vital information flows,
humanitarian coordination continues, and families can stay in touch.” The
United Nations had reported Sunday that civil order was starting to break down
after “thousands of people” ransacked aid warehouses.
Donkey carts were lining up to load water, as safe
drinking water has become scarce, in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
According to the UN, all 10 hospitals in northern Gaza
have received evacuation orders – despite sheltering thousands of patients and
about 117,000 of the displaced.
“We were displaced from our homes to the hospital,”
Gaza City resident Ashraf al-Muzani, 38, said from Al-Quds hospital where he
and his family have been sheltering for a week.
“The bombing followed us,” he said. “We haven’t been
able to sleep and our children are so frightened.”
Among those being treated are intensive care patients,
infants and elderly people on life support systems.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X,
formerly Twitter, that “it’s impossible to evacuate hospitals full of patients
without endangering their lives.”
‘Collective Punishment’
UN chief Antonio Guterres has said the situation in
Gaza is getting “more desperate by the hour” and warned against the “collective
punishment” of Palestinians.
Limited aid has entered Gaza from Egypt under a
US-brokered deal, but its volume, 117 trucks so far, has fallen far short of
the hundreds of trucks a day aid agencies say are needed.
Anti-Israel Anger Flares Across Region & Beyond
In Russia’s Muslim-majority Dagestan, police said they
had arrested 60 people after a crowd stormed an airport on Sunday to attack
Jewish passengers coming from Tel Aviv.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday accused
the United States of being responsible for what he called “deadly chaos”
unfolding in the Middle East.
Washington has warned Israel’s enemies – in particular
Iran-allied “axis of resistance” groups – not to become more fully involved
after a series of attacks across the region.
The Israeli Army has struck targets in Syria and
traded cross-border fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, where caretaker prime
minister Najib Mikati told AFP he was “doing my duty to prevent Lebanon from
entering the war”.
In annexed east Jerusalem, police said a
knife-wielding Palestinian stabbed and seriously wounded an Israeli police
officer before the attacker was shot dead.
AFP
