• It is the 173rd day of war: «Over 32,705 people killed» in Gaza and 75,190 wounded since October 7
• Syria, Israeli raid near Damascus, two civilians injured
• Tens of thousands outside the Knesset for early elections
• Netanyahu underwent hernia surgery, interim Justice Minister Levin
• The Israeli Prime Minister: «Hamas would celebrate if the elections were held now»
• Hamas: distant positions, there is still no talk of a new round of negotiations
06.46 am – Israeli army: 600 of its soldiers have been killed since October 7th
The Israeli army has announced that 600 of its soldiers have been killed since October 7, when the war with the Palestinian movement Hamas began in the Gaza Strip. «Nadav Cohen, 20 years old, from Haifa (…) fell in combat in the southern Gaza Strip», announced the Israeli army spokesman on his official website, bringing the number of Israeli soldiers killed to 600. in Israel and the Palestinian territories since the beginning of the war.
06.21 am – Hamas apologizes to Gazans, but the war continues
With a statement published on social media, Hamas apologized for the first time to the inhabitants of Gaza for the suffering caused by the war. The Palestinian movement “apologies” for the difficulties caused by the conflict against the Israeli army which has lasted for almost six months, but reiterates its desire to continue the war to obtain “victory and freedom” for the Palestinians. Hamas sent “a message of thanks to the people” of the Gaza Strip whose “exhaustion” it recognizes. The movement insisted on the measures it sought to implement to alleviate the difficulties, in particular attempts to “control prices” within the limits of its capabilities “given the ongoing aggression” and said it was communicating with “all members” of Gaza society, citing other armed movements, “popular committees” and “families” to “solve the problems caused by the occupation”.
05.34 am – Dozens of martyrs’ bodies discovered after withdrawal from al-Shifa hospital
Hamas’ Health Ministry said it discovered dozens of bodies in al-Chifa hospital after the withdrawal of Israeli army tanks and other vehicles. “Dozens of bodies of martyrs, some in a state of decomposition, were found in the complex and around the al-Shifa hospital”, specifies the ministry in a press release, specifying that the material damage is “very significant” on all buildings.
05.32 am – Gaza, one soldier killed, toll rises to 256
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the death yesterday in combat in the southern Gaza Strip of Sergeant Major Nadav Cohen, 20 years old. The toll of soldiers killed in the Palestinian enclave since the start of the ground operation.
05:14 am – Israel has begun its withdrawal from al-Shifa hospital
The Israeli army removed the tanks from al-Shifa hospital this morning. The army vehicles left the hospital complex, which they had entered two weeks earlier. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired shells to cover the retreat of the tanks and left the al-Rimal neighborhood to head southwest of Gaza city, towards the Tel al-Hawa district. The IDF have not yet officially confirmed the withdrawal.
04.58 am – A virtual US-Israel summit on Rafah begins today
The United States and Israel will hold a virtual meeting today to discuss the Biden administration’s alternative proposals to the Rafah military invasion, Israeli and US officials told Axios. The meeting will take place via a secure video conference, according to the US news website’s sources. Israeli officials quoted by Axios said holding a virtual meeting was a way for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “save face” and discuss Rafah with the White House without sending a delegation to Washington, as the United States had requested. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is expected to lead the American side in the meeting, which will be attended by representatives of the Pentagon, the State Department and US intelligence agencies. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi will lead the talks on the Israeli side, with the participation of senior defense and intelligence officials. An Israeli Axios source announced that a second meeting will take place in person as early as next week.
03.09 am – Israeli attack near Damascus, Syria. Two civilians injured
Two civilians were injured yesterday evening in an Israeli air attack near Damascus, launched from the Golan Heights: the Syrian state news agency SANA reported it, citing a military source.
02:38 – There will be a virtual meeting between the United States and Israel on Rafah on Monday
The United States and Israel will have a virtual meeting on Monday to discuss the Biden administration’s alternative proposals to the military invasion of Rafah, Axios reported on Sunday, citing three Israeli and US officials.
02.35 am – Hamas accuses the ANP of sending undercover security forces
Hamas accuses the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) of sending security agents to the northern Gaza Strip to covertly protect humanitarian aid trucks. This was announced by the British news agency Reuters, adding that a PNA official denied these charges. Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry told broadcaster Al-Aqsa that the mission was supervised by Majed Faraj, the PA’s intelligence chief, and that six people escorted humanitarian trucks crossing the Rafah crossing with Egypt were arrested. “The suspected security forces that entered with Egyptian Red Crescent trucks coordinated their operations entirely with the occupation forces” of Israel, a Hamas official said.
02.29 am – WHO, Israeli attack on a hospital in Gaza, 4 victims, 17 injured
Four people died and 17 others were injured in an Israeli air strike yesterday against a hospital in Gaza, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The attack on Al-Aqsa hospital was witnessed by a World Health Organization team sent there to assess needs and collect incubators for northern Gaza, Tedros said in a post on X. The army Israeli denied that the hospital was damaged. “A WHO team was on a humanitarian mission to the Al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza when a tent city within the hospital complex was hit (Sunday) by an Israeli air strike,” wrote the WHO chief, who He provided no details on the victims. The Israeli army stated on “Following the impact, the Al-Aqsa hospital building was not damaged and its function was not compromised,” he added. Tedros renewed his appeal for patients, health workers and humanitarian workers to be protected during the conflict and for attacks on hospitals to stop. «The ongoing attacks and the militarization of hospitals must end – he added -. International humanitarian law must be respected.” Tedros urged all parties to the conflict to respect the UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire.
02:00 – Damage to Eilat, Israel, due to drone attack launched from Iraq
A drone strike apparently launched from Iraq has caused damage to a building in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, on the shores of the Red Sea. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) made this known, specifying that there were no injuries. The army of the Jewish state says it has identified a “suspicious air target that entered Israeli territory from the east” and had an impact “in the Eilat Bay area”. Previously, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq had claimed responsibility for an attack on Israel.
01.59 am – Netanyahu underwent successful surgery
Netanyahu is “fit and starting to recover”, his office specifies at the end of the operation performed last night under general anesthesia. In the same hours, thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Jerusalem to demand the resignation of the prime minister and the release of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Yesterday the Palestinian Islamist movement said it still considered Israel’s position “too distant” to “make progress” in the negotiations. Netanyahu claimed for his part that it is Hamas that has hardened its positions on the terms of a truce.
01.45 am – WHO: 21 patients died in Israel’s siege of Shifa hospital
The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says that “21 patients have died” since the Israeli siege of Gaza’s Shifa hospital began on March 18. In a post published last night on his account Many have infected wounds and are dehydrated. Only one bottle of water remains for every 15 people. Contagious diseases are spreading due to extremely unsanitary conditions. Food is extremely limited.” The director general of the WHO then returns to call for a ceasefire and urges Israel “to urgently facilitate access and a humanitarian corridor” so as to be able to “carry out the life-saving transfer of patients”.
