‘Immediate end to the aggression’: Jordan to US
Jordan’s King Abdullah warned the US secretary of state of “catastrophic repercussions” from the continuation of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and Washington has a major role to play.
In a meeting with Antony Blinken, Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, emphasised the “necessity of the immediate end to the aggression, of the protection of civilians in the Gaza Strip, and delivering adequate and lasting humanitarian and medical aid to all the areas of Gaza”.
Inside a World Food Programme warehouse stocked with pallets of aid, the senior UN official in Jordan Sheri Ritsema-Anderson described the situation in Gaza as unlike anything she’d seen during 15 years in the Middle East.
“[It is] catastrophic. This is epic,” she told reporters.
US warns Israel of failure in war with Hezbollah: Report
Israel will likely not succeed in winning a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon as it invades Gaza because its forces would be stretched too thin, a news report says.
Citing the assessment from the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), The Washington Post reported that Biden administration officials have “privately” warned Israeli leaders against entering into direct conflict with Hezbollah.
It also cited unnamed officials as saying Israel’s military has targeted “US-funded and trained Lebanese Armed Forces” more than 30 times since the Gaza war began. “US officials are concerned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may see an expanded fight in Lebanon as key to his political survival amid domestic criticism,” the news report said.
Official Gaza death toll surpasses 22,800 with 9,600 children killed
At least 22,835 Palestinians, including over 9,600 children, have been killed by the Israeli army since the start of the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
It said at least 113 Palestinians were killed and another 250 injured in the past 24 hours.
Real numbers are believed to be much higher as the authorities in Gaza have been unable to regularly update casualty numbers since last November amid a collapse of the enclave’s health system.
Jenin: Israel’s main target in the occupied West Bank
Six Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air raid in Jenin. At least 332 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza.
Witnesses: Human remains scattered at scene of Jenin attack
Witnesses say Israel’s bombing of a public gathering in Martyrs’ Square in Jenin resulted in many casualties. Human remains are scattered at the scene, and the wounded have been taken to a hospital in the city.
At daybreak on Sunday, Israeli forces stormed the city of Jenin and its refugee camp. Gunshots and explosions rang out, according to witnesses. An Israeli attack helicopter bombed the refugee camp, but no casualties were reported immediately. Activists say an Israeli military vehicle was damaged in an improvised explosive device blast.
