Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel would not agree to a ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. At a media briefing on Monday, Mr Netanyahu said a ceasefire would amount to surrendering to Hamas.
"Just as the United States would not agree to a ceasefire after the bombing of Pearl Harbor or after the terrorist attack of 9/11, Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas after the horrific attacks of October 7th," he said.
"Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism. That will not happen," he added.
The UN Humanitarian Office (OCHA) today said that 8,309 Palestinians, of whom 70 per cent are said to be children and women, have so far been killed in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
"Since 7 October, 8,309 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 3,747 children and at least 2,062 women," the OCHA wrote on its website.
Israeli ground forces have been fighting inside the Gaza Strip and air strikes pounded the Palestinian territory in response to the October 7 attacks, when Hamas operatives killed 1,400 people and took more than 230 hostages.
Here are the Highlights on the Israel-Hamas war:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will begin a new trip to the Middle East on Friday, a spokesperson said, as Israel's war against Hamas in response to the October 7 attack intensifies.
"Secretary Blinken will travel to Israel on Friday for meetings with members of the Israeli government, and then will make other stops in the region," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters Tuesday.
The foreign ministries of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have condemned Israel's strikes in Jabaliya in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, in which Hamas, in an unverified claim, said some 50 Palestinians were killed, The Times of Israel reported.
The statement of three nations comes after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that it has killed the commander of Hamas's Central Jabaliya Battalion, Ibrahim Biari, in a strike on the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, CNN reported.
Senators voted Tuesday to confirm President Joe Biden's nominee for US ambassador to Israel, filling a crucial posting that had been vacant for months as America's closest ally in the Middle East battles Hamas militants.
Former Treasury secretary Jack Lew had drawn opposition from Republicans over his role in then-president Barack Obama's 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, but emerged successful from a 53-43 Senate vote to secure the ambassadorship.
Israel launched its most intense military campaign ever on Gaza after suffering the bloodiest attack in its history when Hamas gunmen killed some 1,400 people in a brutal cross-border raid, according to Israeli officials.
Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels on Tuesday pledged more attacks against Israel if its war on Hamas in Gaza continues, saying it had already fired drones and ballistic missiles in three separate operations.
"The Yemeni Armed Forces... confirm they will continue to carry out qualitative strikes with missiles and drones until the Israeli aggression stops," said a Huthi military statement aired on the rebels' Al-Masirah TV.
It said Huthi rebels "launched a large batch of ballistic missiles... and a large number of armed aircraft" towards Israel on Tuesday, in the third such operation since the Gaza assault began on October 7 after Hamas militants staged the worst attack in Israel's history.
Top Hamas Commander Killed In Strike On Gaza Camp, Claims Israel: ReportThe Israel Defence Forces on Tuesday claimed that it killed the commander of Hamas's Central Jabaliya Battalion, Ibrahim Biari, in a strike on the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, CNN reported.
"Two Israeli soldiers killed during combat in north Gaza," the military said in a statement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to use the Israel-Hamas war in a bid to reduce Western support for Ukraine.
"Putin is very much trying to take advantage of the Hamas attack on Israel in the hopes that it will distract us... and that it will result in the United States pulling back its resources" from Ukraine, Blinken told a Senate hearing.
Israel Army Says Intercepted Missile From Red Sea Region, Jets ScrambledThe Israeli military said on Tuesday its forces intercepted a missile fired from the Red Sea region, as tensions surged across the Middle East amid Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.
Israel-Hamas War: Amid Controversy, Columbia Professors Rally Behind Students Who Endorsed HamasOver 100 Columbia University professors defended students supporting Hamas' actions and called for protection from backlash.
Over the last day, during ground operations:
- Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 31, 2023
🔻Numerous Hamas terrorists have been eliminated.
🔻The IAF struck terrorist targets and infrastructure.
🔻IDF combat forces struck approximately 300 targets, including:
• Anti-tank missiles posts.
• Rocket launch posts.
•... pic.twitter.com/RymFDCFrw1
"This follows several days of gradual improvement of water supply in central and southern Gaza following the distribution of limited amounts of fuel available in Gaza to key water facilities, enabling their reactivation," it added.
Israel Hamas War Gaza Palestine: How Israel Is Running Online Campaign To Target Hamas, Justify Gaza BombingsIsrael is running a hard-hitting online campaign targeting mostly Europeans with shocking images from the Hamas attacks on October 7.
Putin Blames Ukraine, West For Anti-Israel Riot At Russia AirportRussian President Vladimir Putin on Monday accused Ukraine and the West of instigating the anti-Israel riot at Dagestan's Makhachkala airport Sunday evening.
*Joint IDF and ISA announcement:*
- Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 30, 2023
Overnight, the soldier PVT Ori Megidish was released during IDF ground operations. PVT Megidish was kidnapped by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7th.
The soldier was medically checked, is doing well, and has met with her family.... pic.twitter.com/s3a4s5GJK3
"Just like my grandparents, and the grandparents of millions of Jews, from now on my team and I will wear yellow stars," he said, standing up to affix one on the breast of his suit inscribed with the words "Never Again," in reference to the yellow stars Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis.היום הודעתי במועצת הבטחון שאענוד טלאי צהוב כדי להזכיר את החרפה של שתיקתה אל מול מעשי הזוועות שהנאצים של חמאס עוללו. הבהרתי לחברות המועצה, שאנחנו נשבענו לאחר השואה, NEVER AGAIN ולכן לא תהיה הפסקת אש ונמשיך עד להשמדת חמאס, כדי שזוועות כאלו לא יקרו שוב לעולם. צפו ושתפו >> pic.twitter.com/2DWErUrwyM
- Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) October 30, 2023
Statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Foreign Media:
- Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 30, 2023
"The horrors that Hamas perpetrated on October 7th remind us that we will not realize the promise of a better future unless we, the civilized world, are willing to fight the barbarians."https://t.co/8QZPL9WvzT pic.twitter.com/1cgCegRgRD
