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at an undisclosed location in southern Israel on October 15, 2023.
YURI CORTEZ / AFP
Summary of the day so far …
It has just gone 1pm in Gaza and Tel Aviv. Here are the key points so far today …
Israel has activated a plan to evacuate residents within 2km (1.2 miles) of Lebanon, the military said on Monday. It follows exchanges of fire with Hezbollah in parallel to the conflict in southern Israel with Hamas. In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces and the ministry of defence said the plan had been approved by the defence secretary, Yoav Gallant, and included the evacuation of 28 settlements. Residents will be moved to state-subsidised guest houses.
The Israeli military has said it has confirmed that Hamas is holding 199 hostages in Gaza. The hostages were seized on Saturday 7 October when Hamas fighters broke through the Israeli border fence in southern Israel, and attacked a music festival and multiple settlements killing more than 1,300 Israelis.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said “There is a top national priority effort for the issue of the abductees and we are focused on this effort as a national top priority. The IDF is working around the clock to return the abductees”, adding that the IDF had notified the families of all 199. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem, has offered himself in exchange for child hostages.
Gaza’s health ministry says at least 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since 7 October. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has said that Israel has killed 11 Palestinian journalists in its airstrikes on Gaza.
The UN relief and works agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has said “there are not enough body bags for the dead in Gaza”. Its latest situational report noted that Gaza had been without electricity for five days, there was limited access to clean drinking water, and more than 1 million people had been displaced.
Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said on Monday that the Israeli government had yet to take a stance that allowed the crossing to open. There has been some movement of UN-flagged fuel trucks Monday morning at the border, but despite speculation of a local ceasefire and a limited opening, the crossing between Egypt and Gaza has remained closed.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Monday he would be travelling to the Middle East on Tuesday to support negotiations on getting aid into the blockaded Gaza Strip. Griffiths said his office was in “deep discussions” with Israel, Egypt and other parties.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken has arrived back in Israel, his second visit since the Hamas attack. US citizens are boarding an evacuation ship at the port of Haifa which will take them today to Limassol in Cyprus.
Leaders of all 27 countries in the EU have called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of all the hostages. The leaders will tomorrow meet over video link at an emergency summit called over the weekend as fears across the EU rise over the volatility of the region. In a strongly worded statement European Council president, Charles Michel, said the EU defended Israel’s right to defend itself but said it must be “in full compliance with international law and international humanitarian law”.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday in a televised press conference that “Iran considers that the US is already militarily involved in the conflict.”
China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, has called for a ceasefire, saying “The UN security council must take action, and the major powers should play an active role. It is imperative that a ceasefire be put in place, that the two sides be brought back to the negotiating table, and that an emergency humanitarian channel be established to prevent a further humanitarian disaster.”
Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, will travel to Israel on Tuesday.
This is Martin Belam with you on the live blog in London, and I will be here for the next few hours. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.
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