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More than 12,100 children killed in Gaza: Rights group
According to Defense for Children International – Palestine, this number is likely to rise given there are more than 8,000 people still missing under the rubble.
“Since October 7, an average of 250 children are killed every day as a result of the continuous bombardment by the Israeli army. This is unprecedented – it has not occurred in any place in the world subject to war,” General Director Khaled Quzmar told Al Jazeera.
Israeli group condemns announcement of settlement expansion near Bethlehem
The Israeli anti-occupation group Peace Now has issued a statement condemning an announcement from the Israeli Ministry of Housing over the weekend about a tender for the construction of 62 additional housing units in the settlement of Efrat, south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.
All Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law.
“Advancing construction deep in Palestinian territory, adjacent to Palestinian population, undermines the chances for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel and deepens the conflict,” the group said in a statement. “The current tender is a clear statement by the Israeli government that settlement construction continues unabated, and any political resolution is far from the goals of this government.”
US says it will divert UNRWA funds to ‘other partners’
The US Department of State has suggested that Washington, UNRWA’s largest donor, could cut off the agency. A White House-backed Senate bill released on Sunday would bar US aid to UNRWA. Asked whether the Biden administration is committed to funding UNRWA, US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said: “Obviously, there is text in this pending legislation that would preclude us from doing so.”
The bill, which includes more than $14bn in assistance to Israel, has bipartisan support, but it is not clear when it would be put forward for a vote. Patel said the US will divert aid for Palestinian civilians to “other partners” and bypass UNRWA even as UN officials emphasise that the agency plays an indispensable role in humanitarian work in Gaza and across the region.
The US has already suspended funding for UNRWA after allegations by Israel that a handful of agency employees took part in the October 7 Hamas attacks, claims that Israel has yet to substantiate. Those allegations are under investigation by the UN, which immediately terminated nine of the accused employees.
Israel’s defence minister predicts ‘months of fighting in northern Gaza’
Yoav Gallant says that Israel’s military plans to press ahead with its offensive in the south until it takes “full reign” of the entire Gaza Strip. During a news conference, he said the army in the north has “free rein for ground operations and they will continue in the coming months as well”.
Israel said weeks ago that it dismantled Hamas’s “military framework” in northern Gaza. Gallant claimed that Israel has dismantled three-quarters of Hamas’s forces, and that half of the group’s fighters have either been killed or wounded. He said Israel is focusing on the southern city of Khan Younis, where it has been locked in heavy fighting for weeks, and then will continue on to the town of Rafah, on the Egyptian border, where some 1.5 million displaced Palestinians have sought refuge.
Gallant described Rafah as “the last stronghold of Hamas”.
Netanyahu says "war must not end" before Israel kills Hamas leadership
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the "war must not end" before Israel kills Hamas leadership. "Our goal is an absolute victory over Hamas. We will kill the Hamas leadership, therefore we must continue to act in all areas of the Gaza Strip. The war must not end before that. It will take time — months not years," he said at at a faction meeting of his party, Likud.
In the past, Israel has made no secret of its intention to continue hunting Hamas leaders long after the war is over. Netanyahu has also previously said that the war against Hamas "will be a long fight."
US and coalition forces in Syria attacked 3 more times since Friday airstrikes, official says
The United States and coalition forces have come under attack three more times in Syria since the US launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed militias over the weekend, a US official said. US President Joe Biden said “yes” on Sunday when asked whether the strikes were working to deter Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups — but several attacks were carried out in the region in the last few days.
- On Saturday, multiple rockets were launched against US forces at Mission Support Site Euphrates, Syria. No casualties or infrastructure damage were reported.
- On Sunday evening a one-way drone attack against US, coalition and Syrian Democratic Forces at Omar Oil Field near Mission Support Site Green Village, Syria, resulted in multiple SDF casualties and “significant damage to infrastructure,” the official said.
- On Monday morning, a single rocket was launched at Mission Support Site Euphrates. There were no casualties or infrastructure damage reported.
You don't de-escalate by escalating, the proof is right there in the 75 year old conflict.
