United Nations:

The UN agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) warned Monday that the limited number of aid trucks entering Gaza were insufficient to meet the “unprecedented humanitarian needs” in the territory.

“The handful of convoys being allowed through Rafah is nothing compared to the needs of over two million people trapped in Gaza,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told the UN Security Council, referring to the sole border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

Israel has unleashed a massive bombing campaign on Hamas-run Gaza after gunmen stormed across the border on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 230 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

The strikes have flattened thousands of buildings and, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, killed over 8,000 people, also mostly civilians.

According to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, 33 trucks carrying water, food and medical supplies entered Gaza through Rafah on Sunday.

Prior to the war, some 500 trucks carrying aid and other goods entered Gaza every day.

“The system in place to allow aid into Gaza is geared to fail unless there is political will to make the flow of supplies meaningful, matching the unprecedented humanitarian needs,” Lazzarini said, calling for the Security Council to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

He said that 64 of his UNRWA colleagues had been killed in just over three weeks, “the highest number of UN aid workers killed in a conflict in such a short time.”

He added that a UN worker named Samir, as well Samir’s wife and eight children, had been killed just hours before the meeting.

“My UNRWA colleagues are the only glimmer of hope for the entire Gaza Strip… but they are running out of fuel, water, food and medicine and will soon be unable to operate,” said the Swiss-Italian official.

“An entire population is being dehumanized,” he warned.

UNICEF chief Catherine Russell told the council that her agency believes “the true cost of this latest escalation will be measured in children’s lives — those lost to the violence and those forever changed by it.”

The UN General Assembly adopted a nonbinding resolution last week calling for an immediate humanitarian truce, but the Security Council has thus far been unable to reach agreement on any text related to the war.

With permanent members Russia, China and the United States applying their vetoes to previous resolutions, the Security Council’s 10 elected members have begun working on a new draft they hope will garner consensus.

“We have the means to get something done and yet we repeatedly and shamefully fail,” said Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, whose country currently holds the Security Council’s rotating chair.

“The eyes of the world are staring at us and will not move away from our distressing inability to act,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Tel Aviv:

 Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel is in the midst of war with the goal of destroying the military and governing capabilities of Hamas. He noted that Israel is doing this “systematically.”

At the start of the Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said, “We are in the midst of the war. We have set the clear goal of destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities. We are doing this systematically,” according to the statement posted by Israel Prime Minister’s Office on X.

Netanyahu said that Israel Defence Forces has expanded its ground incursion in the Gaza Strip. He said, “The first blocking stage is over. The 2nd stage, pounding them from the air is continuing all the time. The 3rd stage – the IDF has expanded its ground incursion inside the Gaza Strip. It is doing so in measured, very powerful, steps making methodical, step-by-step progress.”

He stated that Israel is working to have active deterrence on the northern front. He further said, “I reiterate to Nasrallah: You will be making the mistake of your lives if you decide to fully intervene in the campaign. You will receive a blow that you cannot even imagine.”

Netanyahu said that Israel is continuing the efforts to free the hostages and stressed that this campaign will take time. He noted that there will be “losses, difficulties and surprises.” However, Hamas in the end “will be crushed.”

According to Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office statement on X, Netanyahu said, “We are continuing the efforts to free the hostages, both with the manoeuvre, which is even creating possibilities of securing release that we will not miss. This campaign will take time.”

“There will be pitfalls. There will be difficulties. There will be losses. There will also be surprises, but in the end, I promise you one thing: Hamas will be crushed. Hamas will be defeated; there will be a different Gaza,” he added.

He stressed that Israel for this needs patience and time and ensuring diplomatic support. Netanyahu said that he is in daily contact with US President Joe Biden and his team is talking with their counterparts constantly.”

He said, “We have made it clear that we are fighting not only our war, but their war as well; because if Hamas is not defeated, then the axis of evil will win. And if the axis of evil wins, the free world will lose.” He added, “This effort is also a humanitarian effort. This is true in and of itself, and because it assists our forces. We are trying to move the population to the southern Gaza Strip.”

Netanyahu said that Israel has made a safe zone and it is there Israel wants to direct the humanitarian assistance. He said that Israel is doing this in coordination with the US and stressed that the process will take time.

At the start of the cabinet meeting, he said that Israel had formed a national emergency government for the war. He noted, “The nation is more united now than it has ever been. There is a fighting spirit among the soldiers; I visit them.” He spoke about meeting Israel Police Unit 33 – the Gidonim.

Netanyahu said, “This morning, I was with the Gidonim. Before that, I have been with all of the forces. One simply needs to see them imbued with fire because they understand that we are fighting for our existence, and it is this unity that will be decisive.”

Israel Air Forces said that IDF forces have been continuing their ground operations in the Gaza Strip for the past few hours.

Taking to X, Israel Air Forces said, “IDF forces have been continuing their ground operations in the Gaza Strip for the past few hours. IDF fighters with the help of combat helicopters and remote manned aircraft, directed by the forces, eliminated terrorist squads that tried to attack the forces.”

Meanwhile, The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Monday said that a soldier captured by the Hamas terror group has been rescued during ground operations and she is now with her family. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has congratulated the IDF and Shin Bet for this “important achievement” and stressed that the release of the soldier showcases their commitment to the release of all the abductees.

According to IDF, Pvt Ori Megidish was abducted by Hamas on October 7. Taking to X, IDF stated, “She is home. PVT Megidish was abducted by Hamas on October 7. Tonight, she was released during ground operations. Ori is now home with her family.”

Netanyahu called terrorists of Hamas “monsters” and stated that Israel would continue to hunt them down. He hailed the Shin Bet security agency and IDF for rescuing the soldier captured by Hamas.

Taking to X, Netanyahu said, “Last night our forces freed the female soldier Pvt Uri Magidish from Hamas captivity. Ori was kidnapped on the black morning of October 7. Welcome home, Uri. I congratulate the Shin Bet and the IDF for this important and exciting achievement, an achievement that expresses our commitment to the release of all the abductees.”

“The entire nation of Israel salutes the Shin Bet and salutes the IDF. And to the terrorists of Hamas and ISIS, I say – you are monsters. We will continue to pursue you, we will continue to hunt you down. We will cripple you until you fall at our feet,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jerusalem:

Israel has not launched a ground invasion of Gaza, despite announcing its imminence, a delay media reports and experts attribute to international pressure, political-military divisions and concerns over hostages.

Eighteen days after the deadliest attack ever launched into Israel by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas that rules Gaza, the Israeli military is relentlessly pounding the territory.

But apart from some relatively minor incursions, the much-vaunted land offensive has not been unleashed.

“There’s a crisis of confidence between (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF (army),” noted editorial writer Nahum Barnea in the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

“The government is having difficulties taking decisions that everyone agrees on about the top issues,” he wrote.

According to government and military sources cited by Barnea, “Netanyahu is angry at the generals and blames them for what happened” during what Israelis are calling “the October 7 fiasco”.

On that day, the country was left stunned after Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza border and went on a rampage that Israeli officials say has killed more than 1,400 people.

They also snatched more than 220 hostages in the worst-ever attack in Israel’s history, which has prompted a ferocious Israeli bombardment of Gaza which Hamas officials say has killed 5,791 people.

Unanimity has brought together the left and right wings of mainstream Israeli politics.

“Disputes over these operations are creating tensions, especially between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant,” wrote columnist Amos Harel in Tuesday’s left-leaning Haaretz daily.

State radio noted “dissent between the premier and senior ranks in the military”, with mutual accusations of failing to prevent the bloody attack by Hamas militants.

– ‘Mutual trust’ –

Commentators say the fact that official statements often mention convergence of views at the highest level means the opposite, revealing the artificial nature of a united front.

“The prime minister, the defence minister and the IDF chief of staff are working in close and full cooperation, around the clock, to lead the State of Israel to a decisive victory over Hamas,” said a communique on Tuesday from the Government Press Office.

“There is total and mutual trust between the prime minister, the defence minister and the IDF chief of staff; the unity of the goal is clear.”

Patrick Bettane, an intelligence specialist at Israel’s International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) think tank, confirmed “disagreement about a ground offensive”.

“But the fact that there are hostages being held in the Gaza Strip complicates everything,” he said.

“Israel is waiting to see how this problem can be resolved before it acts.”

Relatives of those seized and taken to Gaza have staged daily demonstrations outside Gallant’s home in Tel Aviv.

Akiva Eldar, an expert on Israeli politics, asserted that “after the emotions aroused by this terrible massacre, Bibi (Netanyahu) and the generals are starting to think differently”.

He said the presence in Israel of US military personnel was aimed at preventing any move that could mean the death of hostages, including Americans.

This, Eldar said, sheds new light on pledges by both Netanyahu and Gallant that Hamas will have been eradicated when the war is over.

– ‘Nice’ words –

Nevertheless, army chief Herzi Halevi repeated overnight that his aim was the complete removal of Hamas and its leaders.

“We are well prepared for the ground operations in the south,” he told troops according to a statement released by an army spokesperson.

Political analyst Daniel Bensimon said: “Disagreement or not, it’s a fact that Americans and the Europeans are coming to Israel to caress it with honeyed words with the aim of preventing a ground offensive.”

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday became the latest foreign leader to visit the region and meet with Israeli premier Netanyahu.

“The international community fears a ground operation would spark a chain reaction that could engulf the whole region, and maybe even further afield,” Bensimon said.

Israelis have been touched by expressions of compassion and solidarity from several leaders to visit the country over the past two weeks, including US President Joe Biden who came on October 18.

Macron told Israelis they were not alone in the “fight against these terrorist groups” but cautioned against “enlarging this conflict”.

For Bensimon, “Biden and Macron say nice things.”

“But in the end they want to stop Israel from going into Gaza and prevent Iran from becoming involved” through the Shiite Hezbollah movement, its proxy in Lebanon, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Tel Aviv:

 Israel will not hold off on a possible ground invasion of Gaza over the issue of captives being held there, Israel’s energy minister told German tabloid newspaper Bild.

Hamas gunmen killed 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostages in cross-border assault on Oct. 7.

In an interview published on Tuesday, energy minister Israel Katz said everything would be done to bring the hostages home. “But that cannot hinder our actions including the ground offensive, if we decide on it,” he was quoted as saying.

“Hamas wants us to deal with the captives and wants the military to not go in to eliminate their infrastructure. That will not happen,” Katz added.

The armed wing of Hamas said on Monday it had released two more female civilian captives on health grounds in response to Egyptian-Qatari mediation efforts.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)