Israel Latest: Military Intensifies Assault, Isolating Gaza City
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(Bloomberg) -- Israeli troops have entirely encircled Gaza City, effectively cutting off the northern part of the strip from the south, an Israeli army spokesman said, adding that targets both above and below ground were under attack.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unscheduled stop in Baghdad, expanding US diplomacy in the Middle East with the goal of preventing a spread of the Israel-Hamas war. He also met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, with the pair discussing how the Palestinian Authority could play a central role in a post-Hamas future for the Gaza Strip.
Biden administration officials are frustrated at the scale of civilian casualties from Israel’s military campaign, the Washington Post reported. Israeli attacks have killed about 9,500 people in the territory, according to the Gaza health ministry run by Hamas.
For more on the Israel-Hamas war, click here.
(All time stamps are Israeli time)
Biden Administration Sees Few Options Amid Gaza Fallout, WP Says (3:50 a.m.)
Biden administration officials say Israel’s military campaign against Hamas has resulted in too many civilian casualties and lacks a coherent endgame, but are struggling to exert significant influence on their ally, the Washington Post reported. The paper cited a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to relay the conversations, while the White House declined to comment for the article.
That has left the administration trying to cool anger among Arab nations by making clear the US is distressed by the suffering in the Gaza Strip, the newspaper said. But there is little indication Arab leaders are moved by these assurances, leaving the shape of the Middle East after the war — and the US role in it — uncertain.
Jordan Air-Drops Medical Aid to Gaza Hospital (1:49 a.m.)
Jordan’s King Abdullah II said the nation air-dropped “urgent medical aid” to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza City. “This is our duty to aid our brothers and sisters injured in the war on Gaza.” the king wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “We will always be there for our Palestinian brethren.”
CIA Chief Visits Israel in Tour of Region (10 p.m.)
William Burns, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, arrived in Israel on his first stop of a tour of the Middle East, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed US officials.
The US wants to expand intelligence cooperation with Israel and other allies in region, the Times reported. Among the issues is hostages held by Hamas inside Gaza.
Israel Carrying Out ‘Significant, Expanded’ Attack on Gaza City (8:57 p.m.)
Israeli troops have entirely encircled Gaza City, effectively cutting off the northern part of the strip from the south, Israel’s army spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said, adding senior Hamas commanders were being sought out.
At the same time, Hagari emphasized that a humanitarian corridor for Gaza City area residents to move south remained open.
Israel Fires on Lebanese Hezbollah Targets (8:52 p.m.)
Israel fired on Hezbollah targets after anti-tank fire from Lebanon killed a civilian, Hagari said. Other attacks were made on “terrorist infrastructure, terrorist units and vehicles used by terrorists,” as well as armed aircraft on its way to Israel, he said.
Blinken Makes Unannounced Stop in Baghdad (8:50 p.m.)
Blinken made an unscheduled stop in Baghdad, expanding US diplomacy in the Middle East with the goal of preventing a spread of the Israel-Hamas war.
Blinken’s visit to the Iraqi capital came against the backdrop of repeated attacks on US military forces in the Middle East by what US officials have termed Iranian-backed groups.
“It was very important to send a very clear message to anyone who might seek to take advantage of the conflict in Gaza to threaten our personnel here or anywhere else in the region,” Blinken told reporters in Baghdad on Sunday. “Don’t do it.”
Hezbollah Fires Grad Missiles At Israel After Strike Kills Civilians (8:15 p.m.)
The Hezbollah militant group said it launched several Grad missiles at Kiryat Shmona, a city in Israel’s north, after the Israeli military struck a civilian car in South Lebanon, state-run NNA reports. Hezbollah said it “will never tolerate harm and assault on civilians,” adding that its “response will be firm and strong.” An Israeli drone killed four people, including three children, Lebanon’s prime minister office said in a post on X.
US Senators Call on Israel to Shift Tactics (8:08 p.m.)
Senior US senators expressed concern about civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, signaling growing scrutiny in Washington over Israel’s military response to last month’s attack by Hamas.
“Israel has a right to defend itself, but what Israel does not have the right to do is to kill thousands and thousands of innocent men, women and children who had nothing to do with that attack,” Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, said on CNN’s State of the Union.
Internet and Communication Disrupted in Gaza (6:40 p.m.)
Internet and telecom services have been disrupted in Gaza for the third time since the Israel-Hamas war began, Paltel, the main telecom provider in the Palestinian territory, said.
Israel Calls Hamas Military Use of Hospitals ‘Systematic’ (4:30 p.m.)
Israel’s army said Hamas is using hospitals in Gaza in a “systematic” way to hide its military activities in Gaza. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said the Qatari-built Sheikh Hamid bin Khalifa al Thani hospital is above a tunnel used by Hamas. He also said Hamas has shot at Israeli troops from inside the hospital.
Another health facility, the Indonesian Hospital, is being used by Hamas to hide an underground command and control center, Hagari told reporters on Sunday. A launch pad for Hamas rockets is situated 75 meters (245 feet) from the hospital, he added.
The Israeli army on Oct. 27 said Hamas has its military headquarters under the Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s biggest medical complex.
Israel’s UN Rep Says ‘No Humanitarian Crisis’ in Gaza (4 p.m.)
“There is no humanitarian crisis” in Gaza and therefore no need for a humanitarian pause to the conflict with Hamas, Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday.
Almost 100 trucks a day with food and medicines are now reaching the Gaza Strip from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, Erdan said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding, “We don’t see the need for humanitarian pauses right now, because it will only enable Hamas to rearm and regroup.”
Blinken Discusses Gaza Aid With Cyprus (3:30 p.m.)
Blinken made a brief stop in Cyprus, where he discussed humanitarian aid to Gaza with President Nikos Christodoulides at Larnaca airport. The Mediterranean island’s initiative to create a maritime corridor for the provision of aid from Cyprus was discussed in detail, said government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis in a written statement.
Blinken Meets Abbas Amid Push for Pause (3:20 p.m.)
Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday, as the Biden administration presses Israel to avoid civilian casualties in its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Blinken reaffirmed the US commitment to the delivery of humanitarian assistance and resumption of essential services in Gaza, “and made clear that Palestinians must not be forcibly displaced,” according to a State Department readout.
The visit, which wasn’t announced in advance, came after stops in Tel Aviv and Amman, where Blinken met with Israeli and Arab officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza and to urge countries to consider a post-Hamas future for the enclave.
Read more: Blinken, Abbas Talk Gaza’s Post-War Future in West Bank Meeting
EU Sees ‘Extraordinary’ Rise in Antisemitic Incidents (3:09 p.m.)
The European Commission said the spike of antisemitic incidents across the continent in the last few days has reached “extraordinary levels” reminiscent of some of the darkest times in history.
The commission condemned the resurgence of activity “in the strongest possible terms,” and vowed to continue to step up security measures in cooperation with member states.
Separately, Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said France’s capital region and the nation as a whole is is seeing an “explosion” in antisemitic actions. The greater Paris region has seen 257 such acts since Oct. 7, more than in a typical year, he said. A Jewish woman was stabbed in her home in Lyon, the city’s mayor said, with an “antisemitic inscription” was found on her door.
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