Israeli warplanes are striking targets across Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive in the besieged Hamas-ruled territory. Fears of a widening war have grown as Israel struck targets in the occupied West Bank, Syria and Lebanon and traded fire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.
Two aid convoys arrived in the Gaza Strip over the weekend through the Rafah crossing from Egypt. Israel said the trucks carried food, water and medical supplies. Israel has not allowed in fuel, which is critically needed for water and sanitation systems and hospitals.
The war, in its 17th day Monday, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Health Ministry said Monday that at least 5,087 Palestinians have been killed and 15,270 wounded. In the occupied West Bank, 96 Palestinians have been killed and 1,650 wounded in violence and Israeli raids since Oct. 7.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians who died in the initial Hamas rampage into southern Israel. In addition, 222 people including foreigners were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza, Israel’s military has said. Two of those have been released.
Currently:
1. Premature babies hooked up to incubators are at risk of dying because of dwindling fuel in the Gaza Strip
2. Biden walks tightrope with support for Israel as allies and the left push for restraint
3. A second convoy of trucks carrying desperately needed aid reaches Gaza
4. Blinken and Austin say the U.S. is ready to protect American forces should the war escalate
5. Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here’s what’s happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:
CAIRO — The head of the neonatal unit in Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis said it will run out of fuel within 48 hours.
Dr. Hatem Edhair said there are eight babies in the intensive care unit and 10 others in the neonatal department.
“Half of these children are on CPAP (pressurized air) machines and oxygen machines,” he said Monday. “If the hospital runs out of fuel, half of these babies will die in less than 24 hours.”
Doctors treating premature babies across Gaza have warned that at least 130 are at “grave risk” across six neonatal units because of worsening fuel shortages.
The fuel shortages are caused by the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which started — along with airstrikes — after Hamas militants attacked Israeli towns on Oct. 7.
“We are working around the clock,” Edair said. “We need to save these babies.”
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Iran-backed militias in Iraq said Monday they targeted a strategic base used by the U.S. military in southeastern Syria.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iranian-backed militias, said two drones were used to attack the al-Tanf garrison near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.
The attack came after a string of similar attacks on bases housing U.S. military in Iraq and Syria over the past week. In one, the same group attacked two bases in Iraq with drones, causing minor injuries among U.S. forces.
The was no immediate U.S. comment on Monday’s incident and no word on damage or injuries.
The al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria is located at a sensitive location often used by Iranian-backed militants to transport weapons to Hezbollah. The U.S. military has maintained a presence there to train forces as part of a campaign against the Islamic State group.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Norway is willing to assist in a possible investigation of alleged war crimes in Gaza and Israel, its justice minister said Monday.
”War crimes are never acceptable. Those guilty of any war crimes must be held accountable,” Emilie Enger Mehl said in a statement. “If we receive a request to contribute to an investigation, we are prepared to provide resources quickly. Regardless of who is behind it.”
Norway earlier contributed to the International Criminal Court to investigate possible war crimes, including in Ukraine.
“The international community must come together to protect fundamental principles in a war,” she said.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry said at least 18 people were killed in Israeli attacks on neighborhoods in Rafah city on Monday. It said scores of Palestinians were also wounded.
An airstrike hit a residential building about 200 meters (yards) from the U.N. headquarters in Rafah on Monday, killing and wounding several people, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene, underscoring the perils of humanitarian operations.
Videos released by the Israeli military showed airstrikes decimating buildings in the Gaza Strip. The military said the videos showed attacks on Hamas infrastructure but did not specify the locations.
Flashes of yellow light were followed by an explosion sending gray smoke and debris shooting upward as multistory buildings collapsed or toppled over.
The explosions could be seen from Israel.
CAIRO — The death toll in Gaza has climbed to at least 5,087 Palestinians since the war between Israel and Palestinian militant groups broke out on Oct. 7, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Monday.
Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesperson for the ministry in Gaza, said the fatalities included 2,055 children and 1,119 women.
More than 15,270 others were wounded, he said.
The tally includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion last week, which the two sides have traded blame for.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed — mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack. At least 222 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza, including foreigners.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — As conditions rapidly worsen, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry appealed on Monday for blood donations for hospitals in the besieged territory that are suffering from dire shortages of blood and medical supplies.
The ministry urged residents to rush to hospitals and blood banks across Gaza for blood donations and called for the International Committee of the Red Cross to bring blood to the territory.
BRUSSELS — Ireland is calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza so that civilians can get access to desperately needed aid and supplies.
Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said “this is a matter of the utmost urgency. The loss of life is enormous, is at a scale that has to be stopped.”
Speaking Monday in Luxembourg at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers, Martin called for food, water and medical supplies to be allowed into Gaza at an “accelerated and comprehensive scale.”
“We understand Israel’s need to deal with Hamas, because it was an appalling attack. But the degree of suffering now -– the innocent civilians in Gaza suffering -– is just not acceptable at all,” he said.
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s army spokesperson says the state will go after militants who have carried out attacks against army bases housing U.S. troops in the country.
Maj. Gen. Yahya Rasoul said in a statement Monday that military advisers from the U.S.-led coalition are in the country “at the invitation of the government” and their mission is to train Iraqi forces.
Rasoul said the prime minister has ordered the country’s security agencies to go after those who carried out attacks and prevent any attempt to harm Iraq’s national security.
Over the past week, several bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq came under rocket and drone attacks that were believed to have been carried out by Iran-backed groups.
There are about 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, whose main mission to train Iraqi forces and prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group.
BRUSSELS — European Union foreign ministers are meeting Monday to discuss ways to help vital aid get into Gaza, particularly fuel, after two convoys entered over the weekend.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that “in normal times, without war, 100 trucks enter into Gaza every day. So it’s clear that 20 is not enough.”
Borrell said the emphasis must be on getting power and water-providing desalination plants running again. “Without water and electricity, the hospitals can barely work,” he told reporters in Luxembourg, where the meeting is taking place.
He said the ministers will also look at ways to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians longer term.
“The great powers have forgotten about the Palestinian issue, thinking it was going to be solved alone, or it doesn’t matter. Yes, it matters,” Borrell said.
Israel says Sunday that a second batch of humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza, at the request of the U.S. and according to instructions from other political officials.
On Saturday, 20 trucks entered in the first shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago. Sunday’s batch included only water, food, and medical equipment, with no fuel, Israel said.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel “affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza,” the White House said in a statement after a phone call between the leaders.
The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “under control,” even as the U.N. called for 100 trucks a day to enter.
Hospitals say they are scrounging for generator fuel in order to keep operating life-saving medical equipment and incubators for premature babies.
On Sunday, Associated Press journalists saw seven fuel trucks head into Gaza. Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, and the Israeli military said those trucks were taking fuel that had been stored on the Gaza side of the crossing deeper into the territory, and that no fuel had entered from Egypt.
