Latest developments
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to "demolish Hamas" as Israel masses troops on Gaza border for likely invasion.
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to return to Israel Monday after talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
- The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will begin evacuating U.S. nationals by sea from Haifa to Cyprus.
- U.S. says 30 Americans killed, 13 unaccounted for.
- Israeli military says 199 hostages were taken to Gaza, raising previous figure.
The United States says a border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt will be reopened, but the timing remained unclear as the United Nations warned of dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza and Israel told Palestinians living in the northern part of the enclave to leave ahead of a military operation.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who returned to Israel Monday after visits to several other countries in the region, said the United States was working with Egypt, Israel and the U.N. to ensure aid can enter Gaza and reach those in need.
"Over the past few days, I’ve traveled to Israel, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt," Blinken said Monday on X. "What I’ve heard from every partner is a shared view to prevent the conflict from spreading, to safeguard innocent lives, and to get assistance to those in Gaza who need it."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Monday there was no agreement in place for a cease-fire to allow aid into Gaza and for foreigners to exit.
The head of the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee agency said Sunday that Gaza is "being strangled" and that soon supplies of water, food and medicine will run out.
"Last week’s attack on Israel was horrendous," he told reporters. "The attack and the taking of hostages are a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. But the answer to killing civilians cannot be to kill more civilians."
Israel’s military said Monday the number of hostages taken to Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attack was 199, a jump from the previously released figure of 155.
"The efforts on the hostages are a top national priority," military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said. "The army and Israel are working around the clock to bring them back."
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Hamas to immediately release the hostages without conditions. He also urged Israel to allow for unimpeded access for humanitarian supplies and workers to Gaza.
U.N. humanitarian relief chief Martin Griffiths said he will travel to the region Tuesday “to try to help in the negotiations, to try to bear witness and to express solidarity with the extraordinary courage of the many thousands of aid workers who have stayed the course and who are still there helping the people in Gaza and in the West Bank.”
The U.N. Security Council is set to vote Monday on separate draft resolutions, submitted by Russia and Brazil, on humanitarian access to Gaza.
Netanyahu vowed Sunday to “demolish Hamas” as 300,000 Israeli troops massed on the border of the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground invasion to find and attack Hamas militants.
The Hamas attack has killed 1,300 Israelis and foreign nationals. Israel, in turn, has launched hundreds of airstrikes and missile attacks on Gaza and killed 2,750 Palestinians.
"Hamas thought we would be demolished," Netanyahu said. "It is we who will demolish Hamas." He said the show of political unity "sends a clear message to the nation, the enemy and the world."
Thirty Americans have been killed in the fighting and 13 others remain unaccounted for.
U.S. President Joe Biden expressed support for Israel’s response to Hamas, saying in an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” broadcast Sunday night that Israel “is going after a group of people who have engaged in barbarism that is as consequential as the Holocaust.”
Biden said Israel would do “everything in their power to avoid the killing of innocent civilians.”
He also said it would be “a big mistake” if Israel were to occupy the Gaza Strip.
Following a series of cross-border attacks in northern Israel by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, Israel on Monday announced the evacuation of residents from 28 villages within two kilometers of the border.
Some information for this article came The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
