Gaza live: Several dead including Hezbollah commander after Israeli strike on southern Beirut

Al Jazeera is reporting that an Israeli strike near Nuseirat camp has killed at least two Palestinians, including a child.

Another strike was reported near al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah.

Rising cases of Hepatitis A in Gaza are raising concerns among experts about the risk of more severe epidemics in the enclave.

Dr John Kahler, co-founder of MedGlobal, said in an interview with Anadolu Agency that the destruction of Gaza's healthcare system and other critical infrastructure means outbreaks of salmonella, Shigella and cholera could dramatically increase fatalities.

“Given that the entire public health system and infrastructure has been destroyed, if cholera is introduced into this community, the deaths will mount by powers of 10,” he said.

Israeli forces raided the city of Tulkarm on Monday, according to a report by Wafa news agency. 

Accompanied by several bulldozers, Israeli troops stormed the city from its western part, and besieged the Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital and Al-Israa Specialised Hospital. The raid sparked confrontations with Palestinian residents. 

Bulldozers reportedly caused widespread damage near the Al-Alimi roundabout.

Meanwhile in Jenin, Israeli forces opened fire on a group of journalists near the city centre. Two of the journalists were wounded from shrapnel, according to Wafa.

Israel's escalation since last Wednesday in the West Bank has resulted in the killing of 30 Palestinians, including 18 in Jenin, five in Tulkarm, four in Tubas, and three in Hebron. It raises the death toll of those killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since 7 October to 682. 

In a column for Middle East Eye, academic Nancy A Khalil argues that universities across the US have paid lip service to diversity, equity and inclusion, while suppressing calls for Palestinian liberation. 

She writes: "I have been stunned by the response of most higher education institutions to the encampments on their campuses. 

Colleges are imagined to be sites of free speech and expression, intellectual inquiry, and encountering differences. For many, they form a bridge towards independence as adults. Most colleges have spent the better part of the new millennium ramping up their investments in DEI work. 

But today, at a moment when students have united to erect encampments that have organically achieved - even amid their internal disagreements - pluralistic communities that welcome people from myriad backgrounds, universities are not embracing them, but rather treating them as a threat. 

Instead of joining the encampment communities and trying to learn from their students about how to foster a culture of liberation, most university administrations have at best kept them at arm’s length, or worse, violently dismantled them."

You can read the full column below. 

Opinion: Campus protests expose flaws in higher education diversity initiatives

A Serbian state-owned arms trader exported over $8m worth of arms to Israel in July, Haaretz reported on Monday. 

It occurred as five Israeli military flights took place between Belgrade and an Israeli airbase near Beersheba. 

According to customs data, the main state-owned arms trader, Yugoimport-SDPR, exported $25.6m worth of arms and ammunition in 2024.

Airports, schools, banks and hospitals across Israel have closed, as its largest trade union called for a one-day strike to protest over the government’s failure to secure a hostage deal.

Histadrut announced a nationwide strike as public anger escalated following the discovery of the bodies of six Israelis taken captive by Hamas in Gaza over the weekend.

On Sunday night, after half a million people took to the streets in major cities across Israel demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secure a deal with Hamas to free the captives, the head of the union, Arnon Bar-David, announced a "complete strike" starting Monday.

“I have come to the conclusion that only our intervention can shake those who need to be shaken,” Bar-David said. “A deal is not progressing due to political considerations and this is unacceptable.”

The stoppage was originally set to conclude at 6am on Tuesday, however Israeli media is reporting that Bar-David told the Labour Court in Bat Yam that it would end at 6pm on Monday.

Read more: Israel shuts down as general strike calls for deal with Hamas

A Saudi-owned vessel has been attacked in the Red Sea, Reuters reported on Monday, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.

It was unclear if the ship was attacked by Yemen's Houthis, who have launched missile and drone attacks on international shipping since November in solidarity with Palestinians. 

Earlier on Monday, British maritime agencies reported that a merchant vessel was hit by a drone 50 miles off Yemen's port city of Hodeidah.

Israel's Labour Court has ruled that the general strike which has shut down much of the country's economy must end at 2:30pm local time, according to court documents seen by Reuters.

Israel's main trade union launched the general strike to urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into agreeing to a ceasefire deal in Gaza after the deaths of six captives in Gaza triggered mass protests.

Hundreds of Israeli protesters calling for a deal to release captives in Gaza have marched towards Israel's defence headquarters in Tel Aviv. 

The protesters are intermittently blocking traffic at a major junction in southern Israel, according to a report in Haaretz. 

The demonstration is occurring alongside a general strike across Israel. The strike is set to end at 6pm on Monday in Israel, according to the head of the Histadrut labour federation.

A merchant vessel was hit by an unmanned aerial vehicle near Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, British maritime agencies said on Monday.

No damage or casualties on the vessel were reported, according to British security firm Ambrey.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said the ship was proceeding to its next port of call.

Yemen's Houthis have launched drone and missile attacks on international shipping since November, in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza under Israeli bombardment. 

A Palestinian man killed by Israeli forces in Jenin was handed over received by paramedics with "torture marks" found on his body, according to health officials.

Ayman Rajeh Abed, 55, was killed by Israeli forces after they stormed his home in the Kufr Dan town northwest of Jenin amid the ongoing major offensive in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said they received his body on Monday from Israeli authorities. The body was transferred to a local hospital after signs of torture were found on it, they added. 

Wisam Bakr, the director of the Jenin Governmental Hospital, also known as the Khalil Suleiman Hospital, told Wafa news agency that Abed's body arrived handcuffed with marks in different parts indicating he was beaten before his death.

Ayman Taha, Abed's relative, said the 55-year-old was detained this morning by Israeli forces after they raided his house and brutally beat him.

The Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv was closed to departures at 8:00 AM local time as a general strike in Israel takes hold, according to Israeli media. 

Hospitals were also operating on a reduced weekend schedule with many banks and schools joining the protest action, Haaretz reported. 

The one-day strike was called for by Israel's largest labour union on Sunday as an act of protest against the government over its failure to agree a deal with Hamas to release captives held in Gaza in a prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement.

Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his New Zealand counterpart Chris Luxon on Monday said they were united in calling for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict in Gaza and finding a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

"We both are very united in calling for an immediate ceasefire, getting the parties around the negotiating table and finding a two-state solution," Luxon said at a joint press conference.

Anwar said prospects for a ceasefire did not look encouraging at present, saying there was a lack of commitment from countries, particularly the United States, who could exert their influence to stop the conflict.

"The only hope is to engage the United States to take a stronger stance," Anwar said.

Reporting by Reuters

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates from the Israeli war on Gaza, now in its 331st day:

1. Israeli forces have killed at least six Palestinians in air strikes on Gaza City and the Nuseirat refugee camp late on Sunday and into Monday morning, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

2. Meanwhile, a drone strike near the occupied West Bank city of Jenin killed one Palestinian on Sunday, as the death toll from Israel's ongoing assault on the West Bank reaches 29.

3. In Israel, nearly half a million people joined ant-government protests on Sunday evening, according to organisers, in the largest demonstrations calling for a ceasefire agreement with Hamas and denouncing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the war began nearly 11 months ago.

4. More protests are planned today across Israel as a one-day labour strike takes effect and pressure on Netanyahu mounts to release the captives in a prisoner exchange deal.