Israel has expanded its operations in Gaza, issuing warnings to residents in Jabalia to evacuate on Sunday. Gaza reports a staggering 13,000 casualties as international pressure mounts on Israel. Meanwhile, Qatari mediators suggest progress in negotiations for a hostage deal with Hamas.
Israel has warned residents of Gaza’s largest refugee camp, Jabalia, and a nearby coastal camp to evacuate as the military stated on Sunday that it was “expanding its operational activities in additional neighborhoods of the Gaza Strip.” A Gaza Health official reported that more than 80 people were killed in twin strikes on Jabalia on Saturday, including at a UN school sheltering displaced people. Israel’s military has indicated that Jabalia is among the areas of focus as they “target terrorists and strike Hamas infrastructure.” On Monday, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said the Indonesian hospital near Jabalia had also come under shelling.
Gaza’s government claims the death toll from Israel’s aerial bombardment and ground operations in Gaza has reached 13,000, with thousands of them being children. Six weeks into the war, Israel is facing intense international pressure to justify its toll, and officials have warned that the “window of legitimacy” for the war to rout Hamas may be closing.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Monday for urgent action to stop the “humanitarian disaster” unfolding in Gaza while visiting diplomats from Arab and Muslim-majority nations.
Over the weekend, hundreds of people fled Al-Shifa Hospital on foot as loud explosions were heard around the complex. The WHO on Sunday reported evacuating 31 premature babies from the facility.
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On Sunday, Qatari mediators mentioned they were inching closer to a deal to free some hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Qatar’s prime minister stated that efforts to bring hostages “safely back to their homes” in return for a temporary ceasefire were now within reach, raising hopes that Israeli, Nepali, American, or other captives could soon be free.
US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer told US media that negotiators were “closer than we have been in quite some time” to securing a deal.
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Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels said on Sunday that they had seized a ship owned by an Israeli businessman in the Red Sea and rerouted it to Yemen’s coast. The vessel is operated by a Japanese firm, prompting Tokyo to intervene and “directly” approach the rebels. Israel quickly refuted any ownership of the vessel, asserting that it was a commercial ship staffed by a multinational crew.
Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
