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The UN says it has had to halt the movement of aid and aid workers within Gaza on Monday due to a new Israeli evacuation order for the Deir al-Balah area, which had become a hub for its workers.
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A senior UN official had earlier said that UN operations had stopped completely within the Strip, but officials later clarified that operations “in situ” and “embedded” with local populations would continue.
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According to the official, the UN had relocated most of its personnel in operations to Deir al-Balah following a Rafah evacuation order several months ago.
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The Israeli military said on Monday it was targeting “terror operatives” in Deir al-Balah and working to dismantle the remaining “infrastructure” of Hamas, whose 7 October attack on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza. The Israeli military has told people to evacuate immediately.
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According to the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA), 15 premises hosting aid workers and four warehouses either in or near the area ordered to evacuate were affected.
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After it appeared that the UN had shut down its Gaza operations, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for secretary-general António Guterres, clarified that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees was continuing operations, although under restrictions.
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More on that in a moment, first here’s a summary of the day’s other main news:
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The new evacuation orders forced many families and patients to leave al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of residents and displaced people had taken shelter, for fear of Israeli bombardments. Gaza’s health ministry called for the 100 patients inside the hospital, and the medical teams who remained to care for them, to be protected.
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The UN’s World Food Programme warned that the food distribution centres and community kitchens it supports in Gaza are increasingly being disrupted by Israeli evacuation orders.
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Five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on the occupied West Bank on Monday in the Nur Shams refugee camp near the city of Tulkarm, the Palestinian health ministry said in a statement. The Israeli military said its aircraft struck a militant operations centre in the camp, and that troops were separately blocking routes and conducting searches in the West Bank after reports of an abduction.
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Israeli settlers shot dead one Palestinian and wounded three others in the occupied West Bank’s Bethlehem. The Israeli military said it was looking into reports on the settler raid, it added.
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Some Israeli officials and media reacted with satisfaction on Monday after a long-expected missile attack by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement appeared to have been largely thwarted by pre-emptive Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said Hezbollah had suffered a “crushing blow” from the Israeli strikes but that a longer lasting solution was still needed.
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Benjamin Netanyahu faced a political backlash in Israel for the limited nature of Sunday’s airstrikes against Hezbollah, amid calls for a broader offensive in Lebanon. Some of the fiercest criticism came from the far-right wing of the prime minister’s own fractious coalition, which is also increasingly divided over the status of Jerusalem’s holiest site.
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The United States continues to assess that the threat of attack against Israel by Iran and its proxy groups still exists, the Pentagon said on Monday, after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander. “I would point you to some of the public comments that have been made by Iranian leaders and others … we continue to assess that there is a threat of attack,” Pentagon spokesperson air force Maj Gen Patrick Ryder told reporters.
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The brother of the Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, has called for those responsible for his sister’s death to be prosecuted and punished. Frankcom, a 43-year-old from Melbourne who was working in Gaza with World Central Kitchen, was one of seven people killed in April when a convoy of cars was hit by an Israeli airstrike. Israel’s defence force conducted an investigation into the incident, which resulted in two officers being dismissed and three others being reprimanded. Mal Frankcom told the ABC he did not feel this was an adequate response.
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Main Events
A top U.S. commander said the near-term risk of a broader war in the Middle East had been somewhat mitigated by Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah exchanging fire without further tension, but that Iran, which is considering attacking Israel, still posed a major danger.
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, spoke to Reuters on returning from a three-day visit to the Middle East just hours after Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel and the Israeli military struck Lebanon to thwart a larger attack.
It was one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border fighting, but Israeli casualties were limited and there were no immediate threats of further retaliation from either side, according to Reuters.
Brown noted that the Hezbollah attack was just one of two major threats of attack against Israel that have emerged in recent weeks. Iran has also threatened attacks over the killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran last month.
Asked whether the imminent risk of regional war had decreased, Brown said: “To some extent it has.”
“There were two things that we knew were going to happen. One has already happened. It just depends on how the second one plays out,” Brown said on the flight out of Israel.
“Iran's response will determine Israel's response and whether it leads to a broader conflict.”
Summary at the beginning
Hello and welcome to the Guardian's live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and the wider crisis in the Middle East.
The United Nations said new Israeli evacuation orders for delivery areas that served as bases for Israeli aid operations had forced it to halt the movement of aid supplies and workers within the Gaza Strip on Monday.
A senior UN official had previously said UN operations in the Gaza Strip had been completely halted, but UN officials have since clarified that operations “on the ground” and “with local residents” would continue.
Officials said the UN received orders to evacuate Rafah several months ago and relocated most of its operational personnel to Deir ez-Zor Barah.
The Israeli army said on Monday it was targeting “terror operatives” in Deir ez-Zor Barah and working to dismantle remaining Hamas “infrastructure” whose attacks in southern Israel on October 7 sparked the Gaza war. The army has urged residents to evacuate immediately.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 15 aid worker homes and four warehouses in or near the evacuation areas were damaged.
While the UN appears to have halted its activities in Gaza, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, clarified that UN agencies helping Palestinian refugees continue to work, albeit with restrictions.
We'll go into more detail on that shortly, but first, here's a rundown of the other major news from the day:
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New evacuation orders have forced many families and patients to leave Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza.In the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of residents and refugees have fled for fear of Israeli bombing, the Gaza Health Ministry called for the protection of 100 patients in hospitals and the medical teams that remained to treat them.
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The United Nations World Food Programme has warned of increasing chaos at food distribution centres and community kitchens it supports in the Gaza Strip. Due to Israeli evacuation orders.
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Five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on Monday at Nur Shams refugee camp near the city of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank.The Palestinian health ministry said in a statement. The Israeli army said its aircraft had struck a militant base inside the camp, and that forces had blocked off separate routes in the West Bank and were conducting searches after reports of the abduction.
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Israeli settlers shot dead one Palestinian and wounded three in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.The Israeli military said it was investigating reports of settler attacks.
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Some Israeli officials and media reacted with satisfaction on Monday after a long-anticipated missile attack by Iran-backed Hezbollah appeared to have been largely thwarted by a pre-emptive Israeli strike. Israeli government spokesman David Mensah said Hezbollah had suffered a “devastating blow” from the Israeli attack but that a longer-term solution was still needed.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced political backlash in Israel for Sunday's limited airstrikes against Hezbollah.The sharpest criticism came amid calls for a broader offensive in Lebanon, where divisions are deepening among the far-right wing of the prime minister's ruling coalition over the status of holy sites in Jerusalem.
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The Pentagon said Monday it continues to assess that the threat of attacks on Israel from Iran and its proxies remains viable.Tensions with Iran have risen after Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for the killing of a senior commander. “I want to highlight some of the public comments that have been made by Iranian leaders. We continue to view the threat of attack as a threat,” Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters.
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The brother of Australian aid worker Zomie Francom, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, has called for those responsible for his sister's death to be prosecuted and punished.Ms Frankcomb, 43, from Melbourne, was working for World Central Kitchen in the Gaza Strip and was one of seven people killed when their convoy was hit by Israeli airstrikes in April. The Israel Defense Forces conducted an investigation into the incident which resulted in two officers being fired and three others being reprimanded. Mal Frankcomb told the ABC she felt this was not an appropriate response.
