According to Bloomberg, an Israeli army spokesman said that targets above and below ground were being attacked. Israeli troops have completely surrounded Gaza City, essentially cutting off the northern portion of the strip from the south.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken unexpectedly stopped in Baghdad as part of an effort to intensify US diplomacy in the Middle East aimed at halting the spread of the Israel-Hamas conflict. In the West Bank, he also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, with whom he discussed the potential importance of the Palestinian Authority for Gaza’s post-Hamas future.
Officials in the Biden administration are not happy with how many civilians have died as a result of Israel’s military conflict, according to The Washington Post. Israeli attacks have killed almost 9,500 people in the region, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas.
In addition.
WP says that the Biden administration believes there aren’t many options in the aftermath of Gaza (3:50 pm).
According to the Washington Post, Biden administration officials argue that Israel’s military campaign against Hamas has resulted in an excessive number of civilian casualties and lacks a clear end goal, despite the fact that they are unable to have a meaningful impact on their ally. An anonymous senior administration official who spoke with the paper about the discussions provided the information; the White House declined to comment on the article.
Thus, the newspaper reports, the administration is trying to appease Arab resentment by claiming that it is worried about the suffering in the Gaza Strip. There is little indication that these assurances are having any effect on Arab leaders, so the nature of the post-war Middle East and the US’s role in it remains to be seen.
Jordan Air Provides Medical Support to a Gaza Hospital at 1:49 p.m.
Jordan, according to King Abdullah II, airdropped “urgent medical aid” to the Gaza City-based Jordanian field hospital. Helping people injured in the Gaza conflict is our duty. The monarch made posts on X, the former name for Twitter. We promise to always stand by our Palestinian brothers and sisters. As mentioned.
Chief of CIA Takes a Region Tour in Israel (10 p.m.).
William Burns, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, arrived in Israel on his first stop of a Middle East tour, according to a report by The New York Times that quoted anonymous US officials.
The Times reports that there will be an increase in US intelligence cooperation with Israel and other allies in the region. The hostages that Hamas is detaining inside Gaza is one of the worries.
At 8:57 p.m., Israel launched a “Significant, Expanded” attack on Gaza City.
Senior Hamas leaders are being sought after, according to Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. Israeli troops have encircled Gaza City, cutting off the northern part of the strip from the south.
Hagari emphasized that residents of the Gaza City area could still move south through an open humanitarian corridor.
Israel starts shooting in Lebanon at 8:52 p.m. against Hezbollah targets.
Israel reportedly opened fire on Hezbollah targets after a civilian was killed by anti-tank fire from Lebanon, according to Hagari. He said there had been more attacks on armed planes headed for Israel, along with “terrorist units, terrorist infrastructure, and terrorist-used vehicles.”. “.”.
Blinken Surprise Visits Baghdad at 8:50 p.m.
Blinken made an impromptu visit to Baghdad and stepped up US diplomacy in the area in an effort to contain the Israel-Hamas conflict from getting worse.
The US military was facing continuous attacks in the Middle East from groups that the US has identified as receiving support from Iran while Blinken was visiting the capital of Iraq.
Blinken told reporters in Baghdad on Sunday, “We felt it was crucial to convey a very strong message to anyone who could try to exploit the situation in Gaza to put our personnel in danger here or elsewhere in the region.”. “Don’t take that action. ****. ****. “.”.
At 8:15 p.m., Hezbollah launches Grad missiles towards Israel in response to an attack that claimed civilian lives.
The militant Hezbollah group claimed to have fired multiple Grad missiles towards Kiryat Shmona, a city in northern Israel, following an Israeli military strike on a civilian car in South Lebanon, state-run NNA reported. Hezbollah vowed to respond forcefully and decisively, declaring that it “will never tolerate harm and assault on civilians.”. An Israeli drone killed four people, three of them were children, according to a post from the prime minister’s office in Lebanon on X.
United States Senate Members Call on Israel to Adjust Its Approaches (8:08 p.m.).
With prominent US senators expressing concern over civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, Israel’s military response to Hamas’ attack last month has come under closer scrutiny in Washington.
Independent senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders said on CNN’s State of the Union, “Israel has the 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.”.
At 6:40 p.m., internet and communication disruptions are reported in Gaza. me. I. ( ).
Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict, there has been a third disruption to internet and telecom services in Gaza, according to Paltel, the main telecommunications provider in the Palestinian territory.
Israel Calls Hamas’s Military Hospital Utilization “Systematic” at 4:30 p.m.
Hamas allegedly uses local hospitals “systematically” to hide its military activities in Gaza, according to the Israeli army. Built in Qatar, the Sheikh Hamid bin Khalifa al Thani hospital is located above a tunnel used by Hamas, according to Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari. He continued by saying that Hamas was firing at Israeli troops from within the hospital.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Hagari revealed that Hamas is hiding an underground command and control center at another hospital, the Indonesian Hospital. He also mentioned that a Hamas rocket launch pad is located 75 meters (245 feet) from the hospital.
The Israeli army arrived in October. 27 said that Hamas keeps its military headquarters under Gaza’s biggest hospital, Shifa Hospital.
There is “no humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, according to the UN representative for Israel.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, stated on Sunday that there is “no humanitarian crisis” in Gaza and, as a result, there is no need for a humanitarian break in the fighting against Hamas.
On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Erdan reported that about a hundred trucks filled with food and medicine are presently traveling from Egypt to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing. He went on to say that humanitarian pauses are not needed right now since they will just give Hamas more time to regroup and reassemble. Indeed it is.
Cyprus and Blinken Discuss Gaza Aid at 3:30 p.m.
Blinken discussed humanitarian aid for Gaza with President Nikos Christodoulides at the airport in Larnaca during a brief stopover in Cyprus. A formal statement from the government’s spokesperson, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said that a comprehensive discussion took place regarding the Mediterranean island’s proposal to create a maritime route for the transportation of aid from Cyprus.
Abbas and Blinken Cross Path at 3:20 p.m. when the call for pausing is made.
Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday in Ramallah. Israeli forces fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip are under pressure from the Biden administration to avoid killing civilians.
Blinken reaffirmed US commitment to humanitarian aid and basic service restoration in Gaza, saying in a readout from the State Department that “Palestinians must not be forcibly displaced.”.
The unplanned journey came after Blinken’s discussions about the Gaza humanitarian crisis and his desire for countries to consider the enclave’s post-Hamas future with Arab and Israeli officials in Tel Aviv and Amman.
Also see: Abbas and Blinken Talk About Gaza’s Post-War Prospects at a West Bank Meeting.
EU Reports “Extreme” Rise in Antisemitic Incidents (3:09 pm).
The European Commission claims that the current wave of antisemitic incidents across the continent has reached “extraordinary levels,” bringing to mind some of the worst moments in recorded history.
The commission condemned the resurgence of activity “in the strongest possible terms” and pledged to continue stepping up security measures in cooperation with member states. ****.
In addition, France’s chief law enforcement official, Laurent Nuandriedelez, claimed that antisemitic incidents are “exploding” both nationally and in the capital region. Since October, 257 of these incidents have happened in the greater Paris region. 7, he said, more than a typical year. A Jewish woman was stabbed in her home, and the mayor of Lyon reported that there was a “antisemitic inscription” on her door.