Israel-Hamas war updates: Here’s what happened on Oct. 16

This live coverage has now ended. Find the latest up-to-date information on the Israel-Hamas war here.

11:30 p.m. ET

UN Security Council rejects Russia’s resolution on Gaza that fails to mention Hamas

The U.N. Security Council rejected a Russian resolution Monday night that condemned violence and terrorism against civilians but made no mention of Hamas, whose surprise attack that killed 1,300 Israelis was the worst Jewish massacre since the World War II Nazi Holocaust.

Only four countries joined Russia in voting for the resolution — China, United Arab Emirates, Mozambique and Gabon. Four countries voted against it — the United States, Britain, France and Japan. The other six countries abstained. Adoption needs a minimum of nine “yes” votes in the 15-member council.

The U.N.’s most powerful body, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has failed to respond to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and to Israel response with retaliatory airstrikes that have killed 2,750 and an order to Gazans in the north to head south to avoid an expected ground war.

Britain’s U.N. ambassador, Barbara Woodward, said it would be “unconscionable for this council to ignore the largest terror attack in Israel’s history.”

With the Russian resolution rejected, she said negotiations would continue on a rival Brazilian resolution. It also “firmly condemns all violence and hostilities against civilians and all acts of terrorism.” But it “unequivocally rejects and condemns the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas” that started Oct. 7.

It was unclear if the council would vote on the Brazilian resolution Monday night.

- The Associated Press

10:40 p.m. ET

Desperately needed aid for Gaza stuck on Egyptian border as leaders call for corridor to open

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With Gaza increasingly desperate for water and medicine, dozens of aid trucks are stuck on the Egyptian side of the Gaza border, unable to enter the Palestinian territory because of Israeli restrictions and continued missile strikes near the border.

Relief agencies have been sending emergency supplies to an Egyptian airport near the Gaza Strip for several days, but the border has remained closed, even as Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been searching frantically for drinking water.

Gazans have practically run out of water, the United Nations children’s agency Unicef said in a social-media post on Monday, warning that the use of dirty water from wells was raising the risks of waterborne diseases.

Israel has fired thousands of missiles at Gaza and kept the territory under a strict blockade since Oct. 7, when hundreds of people in southern Israel were killed or abducted by militants from Hamas, the radical group that controls Gaza. By official count on each side, more than 1,400 people were killed by Hamas in southern Israel and more than 2,778 have been killed in Gaza in the past 10 days.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is among those calling for a humanitarian corridor to be established to bring aid into Gaza, including food, fuel and water. “It is imperative that this happen,” Mr. Trudeau told the House of Commons on Monday.

- Geoffrey York and Mark MacKinnon

9:35 p.m. ET

Canadians in Gaza face harrowing choices ahead of expected Israeli invasion

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A Canadian pediatrician faces the prospect of watching 40 newborns die in Gaza.

A Canadian mother learns the Palestinian father of her children cannot join them in crossing a humanitarian corridor to Egypt expected to open this week.

A Canadian dad fasts so his children will have enough to eat.

As Israeli air strikes continue to pound the Gaza Strip in response to the attack by Hamas, the group that controls Gaza, and Palestinians flee south ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion, hundreds of Canadians are among the 2.3 million people facing limited options for escaping a humanitarian disaster.

Israel authorities halted supplies of food, fuel, water and medicine into Gaza soon after the Hamas attack began on Oct. 7. Since then, 378 Canadians in Gaza have requested assistance from Global Affairs Canada.

Among them is Ehab Bader, a pediatrician volunteering in the neonatal intensive care unit of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. He has roughly 40 newborns on his patient roster, most being kept alive by an array of ventilators, incubators and monitors, he said. As of Monday evening, he was told the hospital’s electrical generators would run out of fuel in 24 hours.

“If we run out of electricity, that’s it, they will die on the spot,” he said of the babies.

Israel has ordered the city’s residents, including the hospitals, to empty out and move south. But moving the newborns – as well as patients on ventilators, dialysis and other mechanical interventions – would be logistically challenging. “Most patients we have would not survive,” he said.

Dr. Bader is keen to leave Gaza and reunite with his wife and children in London, Ont., but Canadian officials haven’t confirmed whether his elderly Palestinian parents would be able to go with him if the Egyptian border crossing at Rafah opens this week.

The journey south remains perilous. Days ago, he said, a close friend heeded the Israeli directive only to die en route with his wife and son.

- Patrick White

9:15 p.m. ET

IDF displays weapons captured from Hamas fighters

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8:30 p.m. ET

Biden to travel to Israel Wednesday

U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday in a bid to reaffirm his backing of the country’s war against Hamas, while also trying to prevent the conflict from spreading and pressing his ally to protect civilians in Gaza during the expected ground invasion.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the visit shortly after 3 a.m. local time after meeting with Israel’s war cabinet.

“The President will reaffirm the United States’s solidarity with Israel and its ironclad commitment to its security,” Mr. Blinken said, adding Mr. Biden will also get more information about the country’s military needs so he can push Congress to grant more aid. “Israel has the right and, indeed, the duty to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists.”

Mr. Blinken said Mr. Biden, who has already ordered two groups of warships to the area, would also deliver a warning to Israel’s enemies in a bid to discourage them from getting involved.

“President Biden will underscore our crystal-clear message to any actor, state or non-state, trying to take advantage of this crisis to attack Israel: Don’t,” he said.

The President will also seek to have Hamas’s hostages released, Mr. Blinken said. And he will receive a full briefing from Israel on its “war aims and strategy.”

“The President will hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and allow humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas,” Mr. Blinken said.

He said Israel and the U.S. are working on a plan for humanitarian aid to get into Gaza, with safe zones for civilians.

Mr. Blinken said “it is critical that aid begin flowing into Gaza as soon as possible” but announced no immediate plan for this to happen, even as the besieged territory rapidly runs out of water, food and medicine for its 2.3 million people.

After his Israel visit, Mr. Biden will go to Amman, the Jordanian capital, to meet with King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, the White House said. His discussions with the Arab leaders will focus on humanitarian aid in Gaza.

– Adrian Morrow

7:55 p.m. ET

‘Preemptive action is possible,‘ says Iran’s foreign minister as Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza nears

JERUSALEM — Iran’s foreign minister has warned that “preemptive action is possible” if Israel moves closer to its looming ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The comments by Hossein Amirabdollahian follow a pattern of escalating rhetoric from Iran, whose theocracy provides support to Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel cannot “do whatever it wants in Gaza and then go after other resistance groups after it’s done with Gaza,” he told state television. “Therefore any preemptive action is possible in the coming hours.”

He did not elaborate on what form any action might take.

“If the limited and extremely tight windows of opportunity available to the United Nations and political actors are not used over the coming hours, opening new fronts against the Zionist regime is inevitable,” he said.

– The Associated Press

7:30 p.m. ET

Nearly 1,000 U.S. citizens, family have departed Israel on charter flights

Nearly 1,000 U.S. citizens and family members have departed Israel on State Department-sponsored charter flights since Friday for Europe, a department spokesperson told Reuters on Monday.

The State Department said it had offered more than 4,000 seats on U.S. government-chartered transport by air and sea to U.S. citizens and immediate family but said the flights and other departure options have generally departed at half capacity or less.

The State Department said the U.S. government-facilitated flights are scheduled to continue from Tel Aviv through at least Thursday.

— Reuters

7:10 p.m. ET

U.N. Security Council meets on competing resolution on Israel-Hamas

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The U.N. Security Council met Monday evening to vote on rival Russian and Brazilian resolutions that reflect deep divisions over the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the latest Hamas’ attacks and Israeli retaliation.

But immediately after the meeting was gaveled to order, the United Arab Emirates ambassador, Lana Nusseibeh, asked for members to go into closed consultations, and the 15 council ambassadors left the room. Several diplomats said they wanted a delay in the vote, especially on the Brazil resolution.

The U.N.’s most powerful body, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has failed to respond to Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack.

The Russian draft resolution, which was scheduled to be voted on first, calls for “an immediate, durable and fully respected humanitarian cease-fire " and “strongly condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism.” It never mentions Hamas.

The Brazilian draft resolution calls for “humanitarian pauses” and also “firmly condemns all violence and hostilities against civilians and all acts of terrorism.” But it also “unequivocally rejects and condemns the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas.”

Council diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations have been private, said the Russian draft resolution was unlikely to get support from at least nine of the 15 council members, the minimum required.

The Palestinian U.N. Ambassador, Riyad Mansour, told reporters before the meeting that “the Arab group is supportive of the Russian draft.”

Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun said both resolutions “have very positive elements in their respective text” and “we are ready to support the Security Council to move forward with decisive actions and to send a strong message at this very critical moment.”

Apparently expecting a defeat of its resolution, Russia proposed two amendments to the Brazilian draft resolution to be voted on separately after the vote on the Russian resolution but before the entire Brazilian resolution would be put to a vote.

One amendment would add a call “for an immediate, durable and fully respected humanitarian ceasefire.”

The second proposed amendment “also unequivocally condemns indiscriminate attacks against civilians as well as against civilian objects in the Gaza Strip depriving civilian population of means indispensable for their survival, in violation of international law.”

The Security Council met behind closed doors Friday for the second time in five days on the Israel-Hamas war, but couldn’t reach a united approach. Russia proposed its draft resolution and Brazil, the current council president, circulated a rival draft over the weekend.

— The Associated Press

6:20 p.m. ET

Mourners in heavily Palestinian Chicago suburb remember Muslim boy killed in an alleged hate crime

Crowds of mourners in a heavily Palestinian Chicago suburb paid respects Monday to a 6-year-old Muslim boy killed in an alleged hate crime, hours after authorities revealed new details about the evidence used to charge the family’s landlord with stabbing the child and his mother.

Wadea Al-Fayoume, who had recently had a birthday, died Saturday after being stabbed dozens of times in a brutal attack that drew condemnation from local elected officials to the White House. Authorities said the family’s landlord, Joseph Czuba, was upset over the Israel-Hamas war and attacked them after the boy’s mother proposed they “pray for peace.”

– The Associated Press

5:56 p.m. ET

Many in Lebanon dread the prospect of war with Israel as tensions escalate

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For Lebanon, a country that has spent the past half-decade in the grip of successive crises, the threat of war could hardly have come at a worse time.

Since 2019, a financial and economic crisis has brought about the collapse of the country’s banking system and currency. A colossal explosion in the Port of Beirut in 2020 killed more than 200 people and shattered parts of the city. Inflation hit 171 per cent in 2022. Gross domestic product has fallen in half. In Beirut, basic civic infrastructure such as traffic lights barely functions.

But the past year brought a few glimmers of optimism. The currency has stabilized. New investment money trickled in. Travellers began to return, freed from the grips of pandemic restrictions. In Beirut, restaurants opened by the hundreds.

If those seeds of hope are shattered by a new period of conflict, Nabil Debs said, “everything would be set back.”

“So people are certainly not supportive of any war.”

– Nathan VanderKlippe

5:30 p.m. ET

Biden speaks with Iraq’s Prime Minister

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Monday afternoon as he worked to contain the Israeli conflict, the White House said.

5:30 p.m. ET

‘You cannot ask people to move out of harm’s way without assisting them to do it’: U.N. humanitarian chief

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Calling this “the worst of times,” the U.N. humanitarian chief said the United Nations is in “deep discussions” with the Israelis, Egyptians and others about getting aid through the Rafah crossing, “hugely helped” by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken who has been traveling in the region.

Martin Griffiths, who is heading to Cairo on Tuesday “to try to help in the negotiations,” said in an interview with the U.N. Monday that he was hoping for “some good news” soon.

Griffiths said the U.N.’s “overwhelming priority” is to get access to Gaza, saying humanitarian rules of war are being violated.

“You cannot ask people to move out of harm’s way without assisting them to do it,” by providing safe places and humanitarian aid, and right now Israel has not made these provisions for Gazans moving from the north to the south, Griffiths said.

He also called for the immediate release of all hostages taken from Israel, many of them children, women, the elderly and the sick, which he said is “unacceptable” and illegal.

4:57 p.m. ET

Air raid sirens punctuate U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s return to Israel

TEL AVIV — Air raid sirens interrupted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s return to Israel three times on Monday, twice as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet for discussions over Israel’s war with Hamas.

The sirens signaling incoming rocket fire followed by the loud booms of Iran Dome air defenses intercepting rockets underscored an often-daily reality for Israelis, especially in the past week.

Blinken and his team got their first taste of the warning system and Iron Dome response as they drove from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, minutes after sirens sounded in both cities causing motorists to pull over and take cover.

Blinken’s motorcade did not slow or alter its route but sped quickly to the Israeli Ministry of Defense as motorists on the shoulders of the road returned to their vehicles.

Later, Blinken and his aides were meeting Netanyahu and his war cabinet at the prime minister’s office when sirens sounded again. Blinken, Netanyahu and the others took shelter in a bunker, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

Others huddled in defense ministry stairwells until the all clear was given.

– The Associated Press

4:50 p.m. ET

Israel hits southern Gaza with more air strikes

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli air strikes continue to lay waste to Gaza, hitting homes sheltering people seeking safer ground and wiping out 18 members of the same family.

Three families who had fled Gaza City were in a house that was struck early Monday in the southern city of Rafah. The attack killed a dozen people and left nine buried in the rubble, according to surviving family members.

A vast crater marked where the building had stood.

In the Nuseirat refugee camp in the middle of the besieged Gaza Strip, the bodies of 18 members of the Ghabayen family were loaded onto a truck.

“This is an entire family,” said Mustafa Ghabayen, a relative. “Eighteen martyrs and three are still under the rubble.”

– The Associated Press

4:30 p.m. ET

Israel’s evacuation has made Sderot a ghost town

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Sderot was a ghost town on Monday, 24 hours after the Israeli military recommended that residents evacuate ahead of an expected ground invasion of Hamas-ruled Gaza. In all, the remaining residents of 25 towns and kibbutzim near the strip were advised to evacuate and move to subsidized hotel rooms in Jerusalem and the southern port of Eilat.

Ten days ago, 30,000 people lived in Sderot, and the city was preparing for municipal elections at the end of the month. On Monday, only a few hundred residents remained. Partially torn-down campaign posters fluttered in front of abandoned buildings.

– Mark MacKinnon

3:40 p.m. ET

Trudeau calls for humanitarian corridor into Gaza for essential aid

Canada is calling for “unimpeded” humanitarian access and a humanitarian corridor so essential aid such as food, fuel and water can be delivered to civilians in Gaza, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday in the House of Commons.

Mr. Trudeau called the situation in Gaza of “deep concern” and said the humanitarian crisis there is “dire.”

Mr. Trudeau also called Hamas a terrorist organization and that nothing can justify their actions.

He said he wanted to be “extremely clear” that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people, nor their “legitimate aspirations” and the better future that they deserve.

Mr. Trudeau noted that Canada has given $10-million in aid to help Palestinians and Israel.

“I want to be clear: None of this aid is going to Hamas,” he said.

The Prime Minister said Canada fully stands with Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international law.

In Gaza, and elsewhere, international law, including humanitarian law, must be upheld by all, Mr. Trudeau said.

He also told the Commons that as of Monday Canada had airlifted about 1,300 people to Athens from Tel Aviv on 10 flights.

– Kristy Kirkup, Ian Bailey and Steven Chase

3:15 p.m. ET

Hezbollah destroys Israeli surveillance cameras along the Lebanese border as tension soars

Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said Monday it has started destroying surveillance cameras on several Israeli army posts along the border as tension rose following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

Hezbollah’s military media arm released a video showing snipers shooting at and destroying surveillance cameras placed on five points along the Lebanon-Israel border including one outside the Israeli town of Metula.

The militant group appears to want to prevent the Israeli army from monitoring movements on the Lebanese side of the border after days of fire exchange that left at least seven people dead, including four Hezbollah fighters, on the Lebanese side.

Since the Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian militant Hamas group on southern Israel that killed more than 1,400 Israeli civilians and troops, tension has been on the rise along the Lebanon-Israel border. Hezbollah fighters fired anti-tank missiles on Israeli army positions and Israeli troops shelled border areas on the Lebanese side of the border.

Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah said Sunday that the group is ready for all possibilities adding, “we don’t want to reveal what the next step is.” He said Hezbollah’s next step “is tied to what is going on in Gaza.”

– The Associated Press

3:00 p.m. ET

Fifth Canadian confirmed dead in last weekend’s Hamas attack

Toronto’s Israeli Consul-General has identified the fifth Canadian killed in the Hamas attack on Israel earlier this month. Idit Shamir said on X that Netta Epstein was killed in his family’s house in southern Israel.

Ms. Shamir said the 21-year-old and his girlfriend were hiding in the home when a terrorist threw a grenade inside. The Israeli-Canadian leapt on the blast to save his partner, who survived and was rescued, according to Ms. Shamir’s post and another post from Israel’s Toronto consulate.

“Without hesitation, Netta jumped to shield his loved one with his own body,” Ms. Shamir wrote.

– Mike Hager

2:35 p.m. ET

Israel evacuates Lebanon border

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In the biggest sign yet that the war could spread to a new front, Israel ordered the evacuation on Monday of 28 villages in a two kilometre-deep zone near the Lebanese border. Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement said it had targeted five Israeli positions.

Clashes this last week have been the deadliest in the Lebanon border area since a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, which, like Hamas, is an ally of Iran.

In a speech to parliament, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israelis should prepare for a long battle.

“Now we are focused on one target: to unite forces and charge forward to victory. This requires determination because victory will take time,” he said. “And I have a message for Iran and Hezbollah, don’t test us in the north. Don’t make the same mistake you once made. Because today the price you will pay will be much heavier.”

– Reuters

2:30 p.m. ET

Putin pushes need for talks in calls with Israeli, Arab and Iranian leaders

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that Moscow wanted to help prevent a humanitarian disaster in Gaza as he waded into the Middle East crisis with a flurry of calls to key regional players.

The Kremlin said Putin expressed Russia’s willingness to work towards “ending the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation and achieving a peaceful settlement through political and diplomatic means”.

Its readout of the call did not include any mention of the ceasefire that Russia is trying to achieve by putting forward a resolution in the United Nations Security Council. But Putin briefed Netanyahu on conversations with the leaders of Iran, Egypt, Syria and the Palestinian Authority in which the Kremlin said earlier that this had been discussed.

“A unanimous opinion was expressed on the need for an early ceasefire and the establishment of a humanitarian truce in order to urgently provide assistance to all those in need,” it said of those conversations. “There was also serious concern about the likelihood of the conflict escalating into a regional war.”

Iranian state media said President Ebrahim Raisi told Putin in their conversation that supporting the Palestinians was Iran’s foreign policy priority but “resistance” groups made their own independent decisions. They quoted Raisi as saying: “There is a possibility of the conflict between Israel and Palestinians expanding to other fronts.”

Putin also spoke to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Palestinan President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whom he asked for assistance from Cairo in evacuating Russian citizens from Gaza, the Kremlin said.

– Reuters

2:25 p.m. ET

EU to launch a humanitarian air bridge to bring aid to Gaza

The European Union said on Monday it would launch a humanitarian air bridge operation consisting of “several flights” to Egypt aiming to bring supplies to humanitarian organisations on the ground in Gaza.

“The first two flights will take place this week, carrying humanitarian cargo from UNICEF including shelter items, medicines and hygiene kits,” the EU said in a statement.

Israel has put Gaza, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, under a total blockade and pounded it with unprecedented air strikes, and is widely expected to launch a ground assault. Gaza authorities say at least 2,750 people have been killed there, including many civilians.

“Palestinians in Gaza are in need of humanitarian help and aid, they cannot pay the prize of Hamas’ barbarism,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a press conference in Tirana.

– Reuters

2:20 p.m. ET

Humanitarian aid is stuck at Gaza-Egypt border as Israeli siege strains hospitals, water supply

Hospitals in Gaza faced collapse Monday as water, power and medicine neared depletion, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians searched for dwindling food supplies while Israel maintained punishing airstrikes in retaliation for last week’s deadly rampage by Hamas. Thousands of patients’ lives were at risk, U.N. officials said, and mediators struggled for a cease-fire to let in aid waiting at the Egyptian border.

More than a week after Israel stopped entry of any supplies, all eyes were on the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only connection to Egypt, where trucks carrying aid have waited for days to pass through. Israel forced the crossing to shut down with airstrikes on the Gaza side last week and has not agreed to reopening it for aid. Egyptian state TV and Gaza media reported Israel struck the crossing again Monday.

Israel-Hamas war: Water running out in Gaza as UN warns of ‘death sentence’ to hospital patients

Hospitals are expected to run out of generator fuel in the next 24 hours, meaning life-saving equipment like incubators and ventilators will stop functioning, the U.N. said.

People grew increasingly desperate in their search for food and water. With taps dry, many have resorted to drinking dirty or sewage-filled water, risking the spread of disease.

More than 400,000 displaced people in the south crowded into schools and other facilities of the U.N. agency for Palestinians, UNRWA. But the agency can’t provide them any supplies. UNRWA said it has only 1 liter of water a day for each of its staff members trapped in the territory.

“Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life,” said UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini, calling for a lifting of the siege. “We need this now.”

– The Associated Press

1:30 p.m. ET

Potential Biden trip to Israel rife with security, political challenges

U.S. President Joe Biden’s White House is wrestling with a host of thorny security and political challenges as officials plot a potential trip to Israel that may hold longer-term diplomatic advantages for Biden.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited Biden, who has been outspoken in his support for Israel, Washington’s closest Middle East ally, still reeling after a devastating cross-border assault by Palestinian Hamas militants on Oct. 7. The White House declined to comment on any planning for the trip.

Biden’s trip could be interpreted as support for Netanyahu’s political and military choices, but it could also give Biden fresh leverage to influence events on the ground. A meeting in person would allow Biden to privately discuss concerns and possible red lines in a looming Israeli ground invasion of Gaza.

Biden and Netanyahu, uncomfortable allies in the best of times, have joined forces despite being at odds over the path forward in the Middle East with Biden frequently stressing support for independent Israeli and Palestinian states.

In recent days, the Democratic president has tried to thread a needle by publicly lending unconditional support for Israel’s response to Hamas attacks while showing humanitarian concern for Palestinians in Israeli-bombarded Gaza.

Biden could pair the visit with a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, as he did on the sidelines of his one prior visit to Israel as president last year, said Alon Pinkas, a longtime foreign policy adviser in Israel who served former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak.

“It’s very, very sensitive and the White House is working through very sensitive areas,” Pinkas said.

– Reuters

1:15 p.m. ET

Five UN fuel trucks seen entering Gaza through Rafah border crossing

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Oil tankers bearing United Nations flags have crossed into Egypt from Gaza to pick up fuel for the besieged enclave.

A U.N. escort vehicle led the trucks across the Rafah border as people stood in line in hopes of crossing.

Hospitals in Gaza are expected to run out of generator fuel in the next 24 hours, endangering the lives of thousands, according to the U.N. Gaza’s sole power plant shut down for lack of fuel after Israel completely sealed off the 40-kilometre long territory following the Hamas attack.

– Reuters

1:10 p.m. ET

Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian man near Jenin in West Bank, Palestinian health ministry says

Israeli forces shot dead a 19-year-old Palestinian man near the Salem military checkpoint outside Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry said.

It said Anas Raed Farid Manasra was shot in the head and chest. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army.

– Reuters

12:35 p.m. ET

More than 20 Canadians evacuated from West Bank to Jordan

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The first group of Canadians evacuated from the West Bank just crossed into Jordan by bus, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced Monday.

“I am elated to announce that the first group of Canadians have now safely crossed from the West Bank into Jordan,” Ms. Joly said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Thank-you to our teams in Ramallah, Amman, Tel Aviv and Ottawa who worked around the clock to make this happen.”

The evacuation included 21 Canadian citizens, along with about 10 Australian and New Zealand citizens, according to Isabella Orozco-Madison, press secretary for the foreign affairs minster. About 100 Canadians living in the West Bank had registered with Ottawa and had been seeking assistance to get out, but not all of them chose to leave or were able to do so — in some cases because they lacked the documents that are now required for border permissions from Israel and Jordan.

It was believed to be the first evacuation of foreign citizens from the West Bank to Jordan and required complex bureaucratic negotiations between Canada and the Jordanian government. It is expected to pave the way for further evacuations of citizens from other countries who have been stuck in the West Bank.

There could also be a second evacuation bus for other Canadians from the West Bank in the next few days. But after the first bus on Monday, the Israeli authorities imposed new restrictions on diplomatic movements at the Jordanian border, according to a message sent to several diplomatic missions and seen by The Globe and Mail. One of the new restrictions would prohibit diplomats from accompanying the evacuation buses.

Ms. Joly’s office said two evacuation flights are airlifting Canadians and permanent residents from Tel Aviv today. The first left around 3 p.m. local time in Israel and the second was scheduled to depart around 7 p.m. local time.

The flights are shuttling people to Athens, after which they are responsible for financing their own way back to Canada.

– Steven Chase, Geoffrey York

12:25 p.m. ET

Israeli intel agency chief says it failed in stopping Hamas attack

The head of Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency on Monday took responsibility for failing to prevent Hamas from carrying out its deadly rampage through Israeli towns.

“Despite a series of actions we carried out, unfortunately, on Saturday we were unable to generate sufficient warning that would allow the attack to be thwarted,” said Shin Bet director Ronen Bar in a statement.

“As the one who heads the organization, the responsibility for this is on me. There will be time for investigations. Now we fight.”

– Reuters

12:20 p.m. ET

Scottish leader says wife’s parents risk running out of food in Gaza

Scotland’s leader Humza Yousaf said his wife’s parents were fast running out of food and drinking water in Gaza and could die if unable to leave soon.

Yousaf’s parents-in-law live in Scotland but were visiting relatives in Gaza when Hamas militants poured into Israel and killed 1,300 people last weekend. Yousaf, 38, said Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla had limited themselves to an egg a day and sips of clean water as they rationed food so there was enough for their grandchildren.

“Their supplies are going to run out very soon. They are down to their last rations ... They are obviously thinking about the kids,” he told Reuters in an interview, citing information gleaned from short calls over patchy phone lines. “If the border is not reopened, and there is no way out, people will die ... My parents (in law) - I don’t think I will see them again.”

Yousaf, the first Muslim leader of a Western European country in modern times, said Israel had a right to defend itself and expressed “absolute” sympathy for Hamas’ victims. But he said Israel was imposing an illegal form of collective punishment, and rebuked the British government for giving such robust support to Israel immediately after the attack, without questioning its response.

“There is no doubt that collective punishment is a breach of international law,” he said. “I don’t know why people are dancing around on that issue. There are rules of engagement.”

– Reuters

11:45 a.m. ET

Canadians advised to consider leaving Lebanon while commercial flights are available: Joly

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is advising Canadians to leave Lebanon as tensions mount.

“As the crisis in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel continues to unfold, the security situation in the region is becoming increasingly volatile. Canadians in Lebanon should consider leaving while commercial flights remain available,” Ms. Joly said via X, formerly known as Twitter.

– Steven Chase

11:40 a.m. ET

Canada warns only citizens, not permanent residents, may be allowed through Rafah crossing

The Canadian government said it continues to try to evacuate Canadians from Gaza but cautioned that only Canadian citizens, not permanent residents, may be allowed out.

“Canada is actively working with international partners to explore all options to secure safe passage from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah border crossing for Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families, however there is a possibility only Canadian citizens will be given access,” Department of Global Affairs spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod said in a statement.

“This situation is complex and fluid,” she added.

She said Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has spoken with her Israeli and Egyptian counterparts about the matter and will continue to reach out to partners.

“We are in contact with Canadians and permanent residents in Gaza and will continue to provide real time updates as plans are finalized.”

– Steven Chase

11:30 a.m. ET

Ottawa announces new special envoy for Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a new special envoy for Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism, Deborah Lyons, who will serve for a two-year period.

Ms. Lyons is a diplomat who previously served as Canada’s ambassador to Israel. Ms. Lyons replaces former attorney general Irwin Cotler, who served as the country’s special envoy from 2020 to 2023.

A news release from the Prime Minister’s Office describes Ms. Lyons as a “firm ally to the Jewish community” and an individual with a history of working with community organizations.

“Ms. Lyons will be a critical voice in fighting antisemitism and preserving the memory of the Holocaust so that younger generations know the truth about what happened – and how antisemitism continues today,” Mr. Trudeau said in a statement. “We all must confront antisemitism, hatred, and intolerance in all its forms.

The Prime Minister’s Office said as special envoy, Ms. Lyons will be responsible for leading efforts to address antisemitism and Holocaust remembrance in Canada, as well as with international partners. The position was created by Ottawa in 2020.

– Kristy Kirkup

11:18 a.m. ET

Israel’s currency weakens against the US dollar, temporarily hits 4 shekels per USD for first time since 2015

Israel’s shekel weakened on Monday, briefly hitting the psychologically key level of four per U.S. dollar for the first time since 2015 on investor jitters over Israel’s war with Hamas.

Since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the shekel has weakened roughly 4 per cent against the greenback. It was last down 0.7 per cent at 3.9981 per dollar.

While the Bank of Israel has never stated a specific exchange rate level at which it would intervene in the market, market participants see four per dollar as a psychologically key threshold.

Part of the shekel’s weakness in recent days is due to investors starting to price in Bank of Israel interest rate cuts starting on Oct. 23.

Last week, the central bank said it would sell $30 billion of foreign currency to maintain financial stability and keep the shekel from weakening too much.

– Reuters

11:12 a.m. ET

Gold slips, but holds above $1,900 pivot on Israel-Hamas conflict

Gold prices fell on Monday after solid gains in the previous session, but the safe-haven metal held firm above key $1,900 per ounce level as escalating conflict in the Middle East kept investors on edge.

Spot gold was down 0.7 per cent to $1,917.59 per ounce by 10:49 a.m. ET, after hitting its highest since Sept. 20 in the previous session. U.S. gold futures was down 0.6 per cent to $1,930.30.

Gold, used as a safe investment during times of political and financial uncertainty, has risen more than $100 since falling to a seven-month low on Oct. 6, owing to safe-haven inflows as the Israel-Hamas conflict enters its 10th day.

– Reuters

11:10 a.m. ET

UK’s Sunak increases Palestinian aid, says at least six British citizens killed in Israel

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The British government is increasing its aid to the Palestinian people by a third with 10 million pounds ($16.60 million) more in support, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday.

“We are increasing our aid by a third with an additional 10 million pounds of support. An acute humanitarian crisis is unfolding to which we must respond,” Sunak told lawmakers. “We must support the Palestinian people because they are victims of Hamas too.”

Sunak also said on Monday at least six UK citizens had been killed after Hamas militants attacked Israel nine days ago, characterising the incident as a “pogrom.”

“We should call it by its name. It was a pogrom,” Sunak said of the attack.

“The terrible nature of these attacks means it is proving difficult to identify many of the deceased but with a heavy heart I can inform the House (of Commons) that at least six British citizens were killed, a further ten are missing, some of whom are feared to be among the dead.”

– Reuters

10:39 a.m. ET

Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it targeted Israeli positions

Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it targeted five Israeli positions in northern Israel on Monday, as a security source in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s al-Manar television reported Israeli shelling into northern Lebanon.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire across the Lebanese-Israeli frontier for days, in violence touched off by the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas.

– Reuters

10:35 a.m. ET

Hamas armed wing says it fired a ‘barrage of missiles’ at Jerusalem, Tel Aviv

The armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Monday it fired a “barrage of missiles” on Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Al Qassam Brigades said in a statement that its attack came in response to Israel’s “targeting of civilians.”

– Reuters

10:20 a.m. ET

Israel’s Netanyahu warns Iran, Hezbollah militants: ‘Don’t test us’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and their Iranian backers that they will pay a high price if they become involved in the war.

Speaking to the Israeli Knesset on Monday, Netanyahu warned Iran and Hezbollah, “Don’t test us in the north. Don’t make the mistake of the past. Today, the price you will pay will be far heavier,” referring to Israel’s 2006 war with Hezbollah.

With a ground invasion of Gaza expected, Israel is preparing for the potential of a new front opening on its northern border with Lebanon, where it has exchanged fire repeatedly with the Hezbollah. The military has ordered residents from 28 Israeli communities close to the border to evacuate.

– The Associated Press

10:20 a.m. ET

Trucks cross into Egypt to load up with fuel for Gaza

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Oil tankers bearing United Nations flags have crossed into Egypt from Gaza to pick up fuel supplies for the besieged enclave.

The trucks were led across the Rafah border by a U.N. escort vehicle as people stood in line in hopes of crossing.

Hospitals in Gaza are expected to run out of generator fuel in the next 24 hours, endangering the lives of thousands of patients, according to the U.N. Gaza’s sole power plant shut down for lack of fuel after Israel completely sealed off the 40-kilometer long territory following the Hamas attack.

– The Associated Press

10:15 a.m. ET

UN Security Council to vote on duelling proposed resolutions for Israel-Hamas war

The U.N. Security Council is set to vote Monday evening on duelling proposed resolutions on the Israel-Hamas war. A Russian proposal calls for a cease-fire while a Brazilian draft seeks “humanitarian pauses” to let aid flow and urges Israel to rescind its order for an evacuation of northern Gaza.

Either draft, if adopted, would mark the first collective statement on the war from the U.N.’s most powerful organ.

Both draft resolutions, obtained by The Associated Press, call for releasing all hostages. In somewhat different language, both also condemn violence toward civilians, express concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and seek the provision of food, fuel and other aid.

But the differences are significant. Ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive in response to Hamas’ attack earlier this month, Russia’s proposed resolution calls for a “humanitarian cease-fire.” The Brazilian draft instead calls for “humanitarian pauses” and encourages establishing aid corridors and a notification mechanism to protect U.N. facilities and humanitarian sites and aid convoys.

Brazil’s draft presses Israel to call off its evacuation order — which the U.N. and aid groups have said would cause immeasurable human suffering — while Russia’s proposal speaks of “creating conditions for the safe evacuation of civilians in need.”

The council has become increasingly divided on many issues amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russia is a veto-wielding member. Brazil, a two-year member without a veto, currently holds the rotating presidency.

– The Associated Press

Israel-Hamas war

As of Oct. 16

Rocket strikes by Hamas

Israeli air strikes

Military base

Closed bordercrossings

3

4

WEST

BANK

Tel Aviv

Jerusalem

DEAD

INJURED

Israel

Gaza

1,400

2,670

3,500

9,714

1,500 Hamas militants killed

in Israel Oct. 7–8

Closed

military

zone

Mediterranean

Sea

Ashkelon

Israeli-ordered

evacuation zone

Zikim

Evacuation routes

Sderot

Wadi Gaza

Kfar Aza

1

Refugee

camps

Nahal Oz

Be’eri

Rahat

Re’im

ISRAEL

GAZA

STRIP

Ofakim

Magen

2

Sufa

EGYPT

8 KM

1

Gaza: Reports of truce denied by Hamas and Israel. Israel says Hamas is not allowing people to evacuate.

Four hospitals no longer functioning, 21 told to evacuate – WHO says this may breach humanitarian law.

2

Rafah: Situation remains unclear at border crossing.

3

Israel: Israeli Defense Forces confirm Hamas holding 199 hostages in Gaza.

Twenty-eight communities within 2 km of Lebanese border to be evacuated as Hezbollah attacks escalate.

4

West Bank: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says Hamas does "not represent the Palestinian people."

THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC

NEWS; OPENSTREETMAP; REUTERS

Israel-Hamas war

As of Oct. 16

Rocket strikes by Hamas

Israeli air strikes

Closed border crossings

Military base

3

4

WEST

BANK

Tel Aviv

Jerusalem

DEAD

INJURED

Israel

Gaza

1,400

2,670

3,500

9,714

1,500 Hamas militants killed

in Israel Oct. 7–8

Closed

military

zone

Mediterranean

Sea

Ashkelon

Zikim

Israeli-ordered

evacuation zone

Evacuation routes

Sderot

Wadi Gaza

Kfar Aza

1

Refugee

camps

Nahal Oz

Be’eri

Rahat

Re’im

ISRAEL

Ofakim

GAZA

STRIP

Magen

2

Sufa

EGYPT

8 KM

1

Gaza: Reports of truce denied by Hamas and Israel. Israel says Hamas is not allowing people to evacuate.

Four hospitals no longer functioning, 21 told to evacuate – WHO says this may breach humanitarian law.

2

Rafah: Situation remains unclear at border crossing.

3

Israel: Israeli Defense Forces confirm Hamas holding 199 hostages in Gaza.

Twenty-eight communities within 2 km of Lebanese border to be evacuated as Hezbollah attacks escalate.

4

West Bank: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says Hamas does "not represent the Palestinian people."

THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS;

OPENSTREETMAP; REUTERS

Israel-Hamas war

As of Oct. 16

Rocket strikes by Hamas

Israeli air strikes

Military base

Closed border crossings

3

Mediterranean

Sea

ISRAEL

Ashkelon

Closed military zone

4

Tel Aviv

WEST

BANK

Israeli-ordered

evacuation zone

Zikim

Jerusalem

Evacuation routes

Sderot

Kfar Aza

Wadi Gaza

1

Nahal Oz

Be’eri

Refugee

camps

Netivot

Rahat

Re’im

Kisufim

GAZA

STRIP

Ofakim

Magen

2

DEAD

INJURED

Sufa

1,400

2,670

3,500

9,714

Israel

Gaza

EGYPT

1,500 Hamas militants killed

in Israel Oct. 7–8

8 KM

1

3

Gaza: Reports of truce denied by Hamas and Israel. Israel says Hamas is not allowing people to evacuate.

Israel: Israeli Defense Forces confirm Hamas holding 199 hostages in Gaza.

Twenty-eight communities within 2 km of Lebanese border to be evacuated as Hezbollah attacks escalate.

Four hospitals no longer functioning, 21 told to evacuate – WHO says this may breach humanitarian law.

4

West Bank: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says Hamas does "not represent the Palestinian people."

2

Rafah: Situation remains unclear at border crossing.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS; OPENSTREETMAP; REUTERS

9:37 a.m. ET

Palestinians mourn relatives as Israeli airstrikes continue

9:30 a.m. ET

Russia’s Putin speaks to Iran, Israel, Palestinians, Syria and Egypt

Russian President Vladimir Putin entered the fevered diplomatic fray of the Middle East on Monday, speaking to five of the major players including Iran and leading Arab powers in an attempt to secure a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

Russia, which has relationships with Iran, Hamas, major Arab powers as well as with the Palestinians and with Israel, has repeatedly said the United States and the West have ignored the need for an independent Palestinian state within 1967 borders.

Putin spoke to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by telephone, the Kremlin said. He also plans to speak to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it said.

The results of the calls were unclear. TASS said Putin and Assad want humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza.

– Reuters

9:10 a.m. ET

First group of Canadians evacuate West Bank by bus to Jordan

The first group of Canadians evacuated from the West Bank just crossed into Jordan by bus, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced Monday.

“I am elated to announce that the first group of Canadians have now safely crossed from the West Bank into Jordan,” Ms. Joly said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Thank-you to our teams in Ramallah, Amman, Tel Aviv and Ottawa who worked around the clock to make this happen.”

The evacuation included 21 Canadian citizens, along with about 10 Australian and New Zealand citizens. About 100 Canadians living in the West Bank had registered with Ottawa and had been seeking assistance to get out, but not all of them chose to leave or were able to do so.

It was believed to be the first evacuation of foreign citizens from the West Bank to Jordan and required complex bureaucratic negotiations between Canada and the Jordanian government. It is expected to pave the way for further evacuations of citizens from other countries who have been stuck in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, there was no progress Monday on the estimated 300 Canadians who are trapped in Gaza. Officials had been hoping that the Rafah border crossing would open, allowing the Canadians to travel south into Egypt, but that did not happen. There is still a chance it could happen Tuesday.

– Steven Chase, Geoffrey York

9 a.m. ET

Biden postpones Colorado trip to discuss Israel-Hamas conflict

U.S. President Joe Biden postponed a trip to Colorado on Monday to stay in Washington and focus on the growing conflict in the Middle East.

Biden had been heading to the district of Rep. Lauren Boebert, where he was to visit CS Wind, the world’s largest facility for wind tower manufacturing. But the White House said just a few hours before Biden was set to take off for the trip that it would be rescheduled.

Instead, Biden is expected to hold a series of high-level meetings with aides on Israel and the growing humanitarian concerns in Gaza. The Democratic president is weighing a decision to visit the region.

– The Associated Press

8:27 a.m. ET

Hezbollah destroys Israeli surveillance cameras along the Lebanese border

Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said Monday it has started destroying surveillance cameras on several Israeli army posts along the border.

Hezbollah’s military media arm released a video showing snipers shooting at and destroying surveillance cameras placed on five points along the Lebanon-Israel border, including one outside the Israeli town of Metula.

The militant group appears to want to prevent the Israeli army from monitoring movements on the Lebanese side of the border after days of fire exchange that left at least seven people dead, including four Hezbollah fighters, on the Lebanese side.

– The Associated Press

8:23 a.m. ET

Half of Israel’s hotel rooms filled with Gaza war evacuees

Half of Israeli hotel rooms are being used to house families evacuated from communities near the Gaza Strip, the head of the Israel Hotel Association said on Monday.

Israel has 56,000 hotel rooms and 28,000 are being provided to evacuees with the state footing the bill, said association chief executive Yael Danieli.

She told a parliamentary panel debating compensation for residents impacted by the war that an additional 27,000 from border towns near Lebanon were expected. The Israeli-Lebanon border has seen an increase in hostilities as the Gaza war rages.

The Dan Hotel chain said its hotels in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Herzliya were being used for evacuees while rival Isrotel said its hotels in the Red Sea resort of Eilat were housing displaced families.

– Reuters

8:15 a.m. ET

Boy killed and woman wounded in Illinois hate crime motivated by Israel-Hamas war, police say

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An Illinois landlord accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy and seriously wounding his mother was charged with a hate crime after police and relatives said he singled out the victims because of their faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas.

In recent days, police in U.S. cities and federal authorities have been on high alert for violence driven by antisemitic or Islamophobic sentiments. FBI officials, along with Jewish and Muslim groups, have reported an increase of hateful and threatening rhetoric.

In the Chicago-area case, officers found the 32-year-old woman and boy late Saturday morning at a home in an unincorporated area of Plainfield Township, about 65 kilometres southwest of Chicago, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on social media.

Relatives and a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group identified the slain boy as the wounded woman’s son.

The boy was pronounced dead at a hospital. The woman had multiple stab wounds and was expected to survive, according to the statement. An autopsy on the child showed he had been stabbed dozens of times.

“Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the sheriff’s statement said.

– The Associated Press

8 a.m. ET

Oil prices steady above $90 as investors assess Israel-Hamas war

Brent oil futures steadied above $90 a barrel on Monday after topping that level on Friday, as investors waited to see if the Israel-Hamas conflict escalates further.

Brent futures were down 4 cents, or 0.04 per cent, at $90.85 a barrel at 11:20 a.m. GMT (7:20 a.m. ET). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose by 12 cents, or 0.14 per cent, to $87.81 a barrel.

The war between Hamas and Israel poses one of the most significant geopolitical risks to oil markets since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, analysts say.

– Reuters

7:52 a.m. ET

Canadians lend their efforts to help as humanitarian crisis grows dire

The conflict in the Middle East has galvanized Canadians into action with financial and material donations as calls grow for safe passage of aid and essential supplies into Gaza.

The United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation of Greater Toronto said it raised more than $50-million in five days, a response that spokesperson Steve McDonald said reflected the horror of the situation and the close connection that the Toronto Jewish community has to Israel.

“If you look at so many different metrics, whether it’s Hebrew literacy in our community, whether it’s travel to Israel, family connections to Israel, we are one of the most deeply connected Jewish communities in North America to Israel,” he said.

Islamic Relief Canada, the country’s largest Muslim charity, launched a campaign over the weekend joining the calls for a humanitarian corridor in Gaza to deliver essential supplies as the situation on the ground grows more dire.

The Canadian arm of the organization has received more than $2.7-million in donations to its Palestine Emergency Appeal and is preparing to distribute medical supplies to hospitals and food to displaced families when able, chief executive Usama Khan said.

– Andrea Woo

7:41 a.m. ET

Desperate crowds wait to escape at closed Rafah crossing

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Crowds of Palestinian dual nationals waited anxiously at the still-closed Rafah crossing on Monday, sitting on their suitcases or crouching on the floor, comforting crying infants and trying to entertain bored children.

For many, the despair over the impasse was turning to outrage.

“They are supposed to be a developed country, talking about human rights all the time,” Shurouq Alkhazendar, a 34-year-old whose two children are American citizens, said of the United States.

“If you want to do one of the basic things that you are talking about you should protect your citizens first, not leave them all alone suffering and being humiliated in front of the crossing.”

Rafah, Gaza’s only connection to Egypt, was shut down nearly a week ago because of Israeli airstrikes. While people wait to leave on the Gaza side, aid supplies are stalled inside Egypt. Mediators are pressing for a cease-fire.

– The Associated Press

7:32 a.m. ET

Israel says 199 hostages are being held in Gaza

The Israeli military says Hamas and other Palestinian militants are holding 199 hostages in Gaza — higher than previous estimates.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a military spokesman, said Monday that the families have been notified. He did not specify whether that number includes foreigners, or say who is holding them.

– The Associated Press

7:30 a.m. ET

Blinken returns to Israel after tour of Arab states

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has returned to Israel for the second time in less than a week to consult with senior Israeli officials about discussions he had with Arab leaders over Israel’s war with Hamas.

Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday after a six-nation tour of Arab states during which he heard the concerns of Arab leaders about an impending Israeli ground invasion of Gaza causing a humanitarian catastrophe for Palestinians and possibly igniting a broader regional conflict.

His talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his national security team come as the White House is weighing a potential trip to Israel by President Joe Biden as early as this week. Blinken will also meet separately with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and opposition leader Yair Lapid.

– The Associated Press

7:09 a.m. ET

Gaza’s crowded hospitals near breaking point

Palestinians in besieged Gaza crowded into hospitals and schools on Monday, seeking shelter and running low on food and water.

Hospitals in Gaza warn they are on the verge of collapse, with emergency generators that power machines like ventilators and incubators down to about one day of fuel and supplies of medicine almost exhausted.

Hospitals are expected to run out of generator fuel in the next 24 hours, endangering the lives of thousands of patients, according to the U.N. Gaza’s sole power plant shut down for lack of fuel after Israel completely sealed off the 40-kilometer long territory following the Hamas attack.

The World Health Organization said hospitals are “overflowing” as people seek safety. “We are concerned about disease outbreaks due to mass displacement and poor water and sanitation,” it said. Four hospitals in northern Gaza are no longer functioning and 21 have received Israeli orders to evacuate. Doctors have refused, saying it would mean death for critically ill patients and newborns on ventilators.

The WHO said water shortages caused by Israel’s decision to cut off water supplies, combined with a lack of fuel for pumps and desalination stations, put thousands of hospital patients at risk.

– The Associated Press

5:59 a.m. ET

UN aid chief to travel to Middle East to assist in Gaza aid negotiations

United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Monday he would be travelling to the Middle East to support negotiations on getting aid into the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Griffiths said his office was in “deep discussions” with Israel, Egypt and other actors.

“I shall be going myself tomorrow to the region to try to help in the negotiations, to try to bear witness and to express solidarity with the extraordinary courage of the many thousands of aid workers who have stayed the course and who are still there helping the people in Gaza and in the West Bank,” he said in a statement.

The fate of aid deliveries and limited evacuations through the only entry to Gaza not controlled by Israel remains in doubt after Egyptian sources said a temporary truce was struck but Israel and Hamas said no deal was in place.

– Reuters

5:35 a.m. ET

Ceasefire plans stall as Israel intensifies strikes on Gaza

Hopes for a brief ceasefire in southern Gaza to allow foreign passport holders to leave the besieged Palestinian enclave and aid to be brought in were dashed on Monday, with Israeli bombardments intensifying ahead of an expected ground invasion.

Residents of Hamas-ruled Gaza said the overnight strikes were the heaviest yet in nine days of conflict. Many houses were flattened and the death toll rose inexorably, they said.

Diplomatic efforts have been underway to get aid into the enclave, which has endured unrelenting Israeli bombing since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants that killed 1,300 people - the bloodiest single day in the state’s 75-year history.

Israel has imposed a full blockade and is preparing a ground invasion to enter Gaza and destroy Hamas, which has continued to fire rockets at Israel since its brief cross-border assault. Israeli troops and tanks are already massed on the border.

Authorities in Gaza said at least 2,750 people had so far been killed by the Israeli strikes, a quarter of them children, and nearly 10,000 wounded. A further 1,000 people were missing and believed to be under rubble.

As the humanitarian crisis deepened, with food, fuel and water running short, hundreds of tons of aid from several countries have been held up in Egypt pending a deal for its safe delivery to Gaza and the evacuation of some foreign passport holders through the Rafah border crossing.

Earlier on Monday, Egyptian security sources had told Reuters that an agreement had been reached to open the crossing to allow aid into the enclave.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement: “There is currently no truce and humanitarian aid in Gaza in exchange for getting foreigners out.”

Hamas official Izzat El Reshiq told Reuters that there was “no truth” to the reports about the opening of the crossing with Egypt or a temporary ceasefire.

Egypt has said the crossing remained open from the Egyptian side in recent days, but was rendered inoperable due to Israeli bombardments on the Palestinian side.

The situation remained unclear at the Rafah crossing, the only one not controlled by Israel. Reuters journalists said a small crowd of people had gathered there waiting to enter Egypt.

– Reuters

2:09 a.m. ET

Israel moves to evacute villages abutting Lebanon border

Israel has activated a plan to evacuate residents of 28 villages within 2 km of the Lebanese border, the military said on Monday following hostilities with Hezbollah in parallel to the spiralling war in Gaza.

One of the villages, Shtula, came under a Hezbollah missile attack on Sunday. Israeli media said a civilian was killed.

– Reuters

8:52 a.m. ET

Inside the Israel-Gaza war zone

In the latest episode of The Decibel, Mark MacKinnon, The Globe’s Senior International Correspondent, reports on the Israel-Hamas war. He’s been travelling through the region since the war began.