Live: Six more Palestinians die of famine as Israel blocks Gaza aid

An Israeli stike on al-Mawasi camp in Gaza on Monday killed at least one child and injured several others, according to Al Jazeera. 

Israel has ramped up its strikes across the enclave, including on Gaza City. 

At least three Palestinians were killed on Monday by an Israeli strike on Gaza City, according to Arabic media. 

The reports said that Palestinian journalist Islam al-Koumi and his son were among the victims.

Earlier this month, Israel assassinated prominent Gaza journalist Anas al-Sharif, along with scores of Palestinians. 

At least two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire southeast of Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera Arabic. 

Israel has been ramping up its attacks on the enclave as it expands its genocide to Gaza City. 

The Middle East simply cannot sit back and watch Israel's genocide against Palestinians in Gaza happen, Middle East Eye's editor-in-chief David Hearst argues. 

Israel's 22 month genocide in the enclave is just one part of a bigger "collective journey" that transcends Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rule, Hearst says. It is part of an effort to expand Israel's existing borders across the biblical Land of Israel. 

Hearst writes that as Israeli forces have vanquished each neighbour in turn - first Gaza, then Lebanon, then Iran, and now Syria too - and as Israeli forces occupy Gaza, outposts in Lebanon and a substantial area of southern Syria, maps have begun to re-emerge laying claim to areas far beyond the lines where their conquering forces have stopped."

Israel’s neighbours are asleep to the threat they face. This is not a threat that can be negotiated away - nor is it a threat that Washington will do anything to stop, Hearst adds. 

Only a regional security pact, enforced by modern armies coming to each other’s aid, will stop Israel’s expansion and protect the young nation states of the Middle East. They should wake up, and soon, he argues. 

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.

Read More: Netanyahu is on a mission to seize the Middle East. Will anyone stop him?

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he opposed any ceasefire in Gaza after Hamas said it accepted a deal put forward by Arab mediators. 

“We fight only to win! Under no circumstances to stop in the middle with a partial deal that abandons half of the hostages and could lead to ending the war in defeat,” Smotrich wrote in a post on X. 

Reuters reported on Monday that Hamas accepted a 60 day ceasefire proposal that would see the release of some Israeli captives in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued cryptic remarks in a video on Monday appearing to address Hamas's statement that it had agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza. 

"I, like you, hear the reports in the media, and from them you can get one impression - Hamas is under immense pressure," he said. 

Netanyahu did not comment directly on the proposal that Reuters reported calls for a 60 day halt in fighting and the exchange of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners. 

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is moving to draft an interim constitution for a future Palestinian state. 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday issued a decree to form a committee to draft the document. 

The statement said that committee would include; “national, political and community figures, as well as legal and constitutional experts, taking into account the representation of civil society and gender." 

The move comes as several European countries have announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state headed by the PA in September at the UN General Assembly. 

At least 26 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza since dawn on Monday, according to Al Jazeera Arabic. 

Israel has been ramping up its attacks on Gaza in anticipation of a wider offensive. 

Earlier in the day, Hamas said it accepted a 60 day ceasefire proposal in Gaza. 

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim wrote on Facebook on Monday that Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire proposal presented by mediators.

"The movement has handed over its approval to the new proposal presented by the mediators," Naim said. 

Reuters reported earlier in the day citing an Egyptian source that Hamas has agreed to a 60 day ceasefire in Gaza that will say half the remaining captives in the enclave freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a stop in fighting. 

Israel and the US have yet to comment on the report. 

Israeli settlers attacked scores of villages in the occupied West Bank on Monday according to Al Jazeera Arabic. 

The news site reported that settlers attacked Palestinian homes in the village of Susiya in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. 

Attacks by settlers and the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank have ratcheted up amid Israel's war on Gaza. 

Reuters reported on Monday that Hamas agreed to a ceasefire that includes a 60 day halt in military operations, according to an Egyptian official. 

The period of suspension would see the exchange of Palestinian prisoners in return for the release of half of the Israeli captives held in Gaza, the source added. 

Around 20 living captives-all military aged men-are believed to be held in Gaza. 

At least 20 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip since dawn on Monday, according to Al Jazeera Arabic. 

Israel has accelerated its strikes on the Gaza Strip. 

Israeli National Security Minister Itmat Ben Gvir said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has "no mandate" for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

"We now have an opportunity to defeat Hamas, and I say to the Prime Minister, you have no mandate to go for a partial deal without defeating it," Ben Gvir said. 

Earlier in the day, Reuters reported that Hamas had accepted a new ceasefire proposal from Israel. 

Hamas has informed mediators that it approves the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal, a group official told Reuters on Monday.

The announcement comes amid talks between Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo to discuss ceasefire efforts.

Reporting by Reuters

Palestinians in Khan Younis mourned relatives and neighbours killed by Israeli gunfire on Sunday while trying to collect food aid.
Witnesses described the shootings as indiscriminate and devastating, with people struck in the head, legs, hands, mouths and other parts of the body. pic.twitter.com/hcphinEKm3

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) August 18, 2025