Israel-Hamas War Day 25 HIGHLIGHTS: Two Israeli Soldiers Killed In Gaza, Says IDF
Israel-Hamas War HIGHLIGHTS: Follow this space for all the live and latest updates on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
According to officials in Gaza, a massive explosion at a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip has resulted in several injuries, CNN reported.
The explosion was blamed on the Israel Defence Forces by Hamas-controlled authorities.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both highlighted the need of passing a national security supplemental that finances both Israel and Ukraine in back-to-back statements, CNN reported.
Schumer called the House of Representatives plan that finances Israel as a standalone supplemental while including rescissions to the Internal Revenue Service enforcement funding in the Inflation Reduction Act "insulting."
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA), commonly known as Shin Bet, confirmed in a joint statement Tuesday that the Hamas leader who ordered the October 7 attack in the Israeli kibbutz of Erez and the community of Netiv HaAsara was killed on Monday, CNN reported.
According to CNN, thirteen supply trucks have passed inspection and arrived in Gaza from Egypt. According to an Egyptian border officer at the crossing who talked to CNN, 81 trucks are presently undergoing security inspections by Israeli officials.
Ambassador of Greece to India, Dimitrios Ioannou says, "First, we condemn the atrocities made by Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organisation. We would not be able to have a solution on the Israel-Palestine conflict without a solution on the end of Hamas. It is a factor to play in this situation...Second, we believe in the solution of two states...The lives of innocent civilians should be saved and protected..."
According to the Israel Defence Forces and eyewitnesses, the Israeli army demolished Hamas commander Saleh al-Arouri's residence in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday morning, CNN reported.
According to the IDF, personnel "operated in town" overnight to "demolish the residence of Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the Hamas terrorist organization's political bureau and in charge of Hamas' activities in Judea and Samaria."
According to Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military targeted "hundreds" of Hamas sites overnight.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Monday that it was "doing everything possible to bring all kidnapped and missing people home."
After Hamas published a short video Monday showing three women thought to be hostages in Haza, Netanyahu's administration made a brief response.
"Our hearts go out to you and the other abductees. We are doing everything to bring all the kidnapped and missing people home," the statement was quoted by CNN in its report.
The head of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre situated in Jerusalem, has slammed Israel's ambassador to the UN for wearing a yellow star during a UN Security Council meeting, claiming that the gesture "disgraces both Holocaust victims and Israel."
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at a press conference Tuesday that the number of hostages believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza is up to 240, reported the Times of Israel. He added that 315 Israeli soldiers have died since Hamas' October attack.
A suspected drone infiltration alert is sounding in the southernmost city of Eilat in Israel and surrounding areas, reports Times of Israel. The Israeli military says it is looking into the incident.
This comes after Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen were accused of making such attempts to launch drones and missiles at Israel in the past two weeks.
According to the staff at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, an overnight Israeli airstrike in central Gaza killed at least 13 people. Dr Khalil Al Dikran told CNN that the strike hit a home in al-Zawaida in Deir al Balah killing all 13 people inside, including children.
Three Israelis have been arrested on suspicion of having connections with ISIS, Israel Police and the intelligence agency Shin Bet said, reported Jerusalem Post.
The Israel Defense Forces says their troops killed “numerous” Hamas terrorists during ground operations in the Gaza Strip over the past day. They claimed to have struck nearly 300 targets in the operations, reports Times of Israel.
The military said it hit targets by ground, air and navy forces including anti-tank guided missile and rocket launch positions, tunnel entrances and Hamas military compounds.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has destroyed a home owned by Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in Arura, a town near Ramallah in West Bank. According to the Times of Israel, IDF Central Command head Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox signed the demolition order on October 27.
He was the deputy head of Hamas's political bureau and was also responsible for some of the activities of the terrorist organisation in the West Bank, the Jerusalem Post said.
Saudi Defence Minister Khalid Bin Salman met with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
"Met with @JakeSullivan46 to discuss the Saudi-US partnership. I stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, protection of civilians, allowing humanitarian aid, and resuming the peace process. We also discussed the Kingdom’s efforts in Yemen to end the crisis and achieve peace," the minister shared in a post on X after meeting.
Israeli troops and tanks advanced on two sides of Gaza's biggest metropolis, as the United Nations and medical personnel reported that bombings had landed closer to hospitals where tens of thousands of Palestinians had taken refuge alongside thousands of injured, AP reported.
An escalation of the conflict in Gaza might destabilise the whole region, Lebanon's interim prime minister warned on Monday. “I see that there is a real race between a ceasefire in Gaza and escalation, because escalation is not only affecting Lebanon, and I fear that escalation will spread to the whole region, plunging the Middle East into chaos," Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati stated in a video interview with AFPTV.
The Israeli Defence Forces reported Monday that a female Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 was released during ground operations in Gaza, CNN reported.
Israeli troops and tanks stormed Gaza's key northern metropolis from both sides on Monday, three days after launching a major military incursion in the Palestinian territory that has prompted increased international pleas for civilian protection, news agency Reuters reported. Israel's military claimed it had attacked over 600 militant targets in recent days as it increased ground operations in Gaza, where Palestinian people are in desperate need of gasoline, food, and clean water as the conflict approaches its fourth week.
"At the moment, we know of at least 239 hostages in Gaza, I say at least, because we still have many missing persons, and we don't know whether they were abducted or whether Hamas simply destroyed their bodies. 239 innocent people, including 33 children under the age of 10, including 10 children under the age of five. There are children inside the Gaza Strip. Babies, their parents were murdered in front of them they were ripped out of their parents' arms, and now they're being held in a dark tunnel in Gaza. by terrorists", detailed Eylon.
"This is a war we're fighting against Hamas, not against the Palestinians not against Gaza, against the terror group that waged war on us with the October 7 massacre. Now we take very seriously our obligations to get civilians out of harm's way. That's why two and a half weeks ago, the Israeli Army gave people in northern Gaza 24 hours to evacuate for their own safety that 24 hours has since become two and a half weeks. And that's because northern Gaza is where Hamas has embedded itself under civilian areas. It is using civilians as human shields", said Eylon.
Regarding India's support during the crisis, Israeli government spokesperson Elyon Levy expressed gratitude and expressed a desire for greater diplomatic assistance from friends and allies. He also indicated that he would have preferred India to vote against the UN decision. India refrained from voting at the UN General Assembly on Friday (local time) on a draught resolution filed by Jordan that called for an urgent humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict since it made no reference of the terrorist group Hamas.
Israeli troops have increased air attacks and tank shelling on Gaza City, resulting in a very dangerous situation. Israeli forces fired on vehicles attempting to leave the city, Al Jazeera reported.
According to a Kremlin statement, the Russian government blames "external interference" for an anti-Israel brawl at Dagestan's Makhachkala airport.
According to the Kremlin, ill-wishers utilised information and horrific photos of Gaza to agitate and stir up people.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he has instructed the Finance Ministry to halt funds transferred to the Palestinian Authority and is urging the cabinet to reassess its policy on the transfer of funds.
He said it was being done in light of what Smotrich characterised as PA “support” for Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught. “I would like to inform you that I have instructed the Finance Ministry to stop the transfer of payments this month,” Smotrich wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin, reports Times of Israel.
The UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on Monday afternoon on Israel’s ground operation in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis of Palestinians there at the request of the United Arab Emirates.
The United Kingdom said it needs Israel to win the war with Hamas in Gaza. According to Times of Israel, Britain’s Ambassador to Israel Simon Walters said, "Hamas must not remain in control in the Gaza Strip,” he tells Army Radio in an interview, adding that “Israel must adhere to the laws of war."
The Israel Defense Forces said the ground operations continued in the northern Gaza Strip overnight and its troops killed dozens of Hamas members. It said they killed terrorists who barricaded themselves in buildings in the Gaza Strip, and tried to attack troops, reported the Times of Israel.
The military said that in one incident, ground troops directed the Air Force to carry out a drone strike on a Hamas staging ground, killing more than 20 operatives.
The death toll due to Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7 has risen to 8,005, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah said Sunday, reported CNN.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), the only Arab country with a seat in the UN Security Council, will on Monday seek a binding resolution from other members for an "immediate humanitarian pause" in the war in Gaza Monday, in an emergency meeting, reported CNN citing sources said.
Earlier, the United States had vetoed a draft resolution at the council that called for a humanitarian pause.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said that a stand-alone Israel funding bill will be moved on the floor this week. In an interview on Fox News, he said he believes the measure will draw bipartisan support and that Republicans will back a similar measure in the Senate, reported Jerusalem Post.
According to the Times of Israel, two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces carrying out raids in the West Bank city of Jenin. The agency quoted the official Palestinian WAFA news site reports that the two died when some 100 military vehicles entered the city along with bulldozers.
US Vice President Kamala Harris has said that the US will not be putting foot on the ground in Israel or in Gaza. “We have absolutely no intention nor do we have any plans to send combat troops into Israel or Gaza, period,” she told CBS, as reported by the Times of Israel.
The United States pushed Israel to restore communications in Gaza after it was shut off on Friday night, reported the Washington Post citing a US official, the Times of Israel stated. According to the report, the official said that Israel did not give a reason for shutting off communications.
As the Israel-Hamas war continues to escalate, close US ally Jordan has asked Washington to deploy Patriot missiles to strengthen its air defences at its borders, a Jordanian military spokesperson told state media on Sunday as per CNN.
Israeli forces said it struck military infrastructure in Syrian territory after the other side attacked Israel, reported CNN. It added that Israeli warplanes regularly bombed targets in Syria.
Background
Israel-Hamas War HIGHLIGHTS: Hello and welcome to the live blog on the Israel-Hamas War. Follow this space for all the live and latest updates.
The war between Israel and Hamas continues to deteriorate the situation for residents in the Gaza Strip who are struggling to survive with limited aid amid a scarcity of fuel and possible internet blackout. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, the death toll among Palestinians has surpassed 8,000, with the majority of those killed being women and minors. Over 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, the majority of whom were civilians killed during the initial Hamas onslaught.
On Sunday, thousands of people broke into aid warehouses in Gaza, a UN agency said, in a sign of growing desperation three weeks into Israel's war with Gaza's militant Hamas rulers, according to news agency AFP. Tanks and infantry pushed into Gaza over the weekend, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a "second stage" in the war sparked by Hamas's brutal incursion into Israel on Oct. 7. Israel also bombarded the territory from the air, the ground, and the sea.
Israel has "crossed the red lines" in Gaza, which "may force everyone to take action," said Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday. "The crimes of the Zionist regime have crossed red lines, forcing everyone to act." "Washington asks us not to do anything, but they continue to provide widespread support to Israel," Raisi said in a social media post. "The US sent messages to the Axis of Resistance but received a clear response on the battlefield," he said.
According to the Associated Press, communications were restored to much of Gaza early Sunday after what residents described as the most intense bombardment of the war knocked out most contact with the territory late Friday. The besieged enclave's 2.3 million inhabitants were largely cut off from the rest of the world.
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