Israel-Palestine live: Netanyahu rejects Hamas ceasefire proposal, vows ‘total victory’

A UN spokesperson said on Monday that Antonio Guterres met with the head of internal UN investigations to ensure the probe into Israeli accusations against Unrwa staff "will be done swiftly and as efficiently as possible".

The UN secretary general will also host a meeting with major Unrwa donors in New York on Tuesday, the spokesperson said. 

France condemned an Israeli conference on Sunday, in which Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Israeli settlers to return to Gaza.

"We expect from the Israeli authorities a clear denunciation of [this] position," the French foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani says discussions have moved towards the possibility of a permanent ceasefire in the near future.

In a talk with the Washington-based think tank the Atlantic Council, the prime minister said that putting an end to the war is not just a demand coming from Gaza, but also from the entire region.

In response to a question about Israel's allegations that 12 Unrwa employees were involved in the 7 October attacks, Sheikh Mohammed stressed the importance of continuing funding to the agency.

"It's the only agency that can provide help and aid for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank," he said.

"If there are claims against some of the staff … these claims need to be investigated," he continued.

He said the claims have been made against a "small group of people among tens of thousands who are working in Unrwa. It cannot be a way to label an entire agency as violating or adopting such acts".

Hamas's armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, says they fired a salvo of rockets targeting Tel Aviv.

Despite the four months of Israel's war on Gaza, in which Israel says it aims to eliminate Hamas, the armed Palestinian group still has the ability to fire rockets inside Israel.

Muhammad Salem, a 25-year-old Palestinian in Khan Younis, can no longer find medicines for his mother who suffers from osteoporosis and requires a weekly supply of drugs.

The downtown pharmacy he used to visit at the beginning of the war is no longer accessible because of the siege imposed by Israel and the presence of tanks there.

He then went to Rafah looking for pharmacies, but the last time he managed to find medicines was three weeks ago.

"My mother's need for consistent treatment is critical due to her slow gait and osteoporosis,” he told Middle East Eye. 

Pharmacies have been forced to shut in southern Gaza because of a severe shortage of medicines, as Israel continues its onslaught on the enclave for the fourth month.

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Pharmacies in Gaza forced to shut because of lack of medicines

A group of nearly 20 Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to the Biden administration calling for clarification over its decision to approve two arms sales to Israel without congressional approval.

The Democrats called the decision "highly unusual" in their letter sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In the letter, reported by Politico, the lawmakers raised questions about why bypassing Congress was necessary, given that arms sales involve a process that includes congressional approval.

“It is essential for Congress to be able to conduct oversight of these arms transfers and determine whether they are consistent with humanitarian principles and US law, and whether they advance or harm US national security,” said the letter, spearheaded by Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that Madrid was monitoring the ongoing investigation of allegations that several Unrwa workers were a part of the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October.

However, Albares said this will not stop the country from funding Unrwa, which is currently providing life-saving assistance to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

"We will not modify our relationship with Unrwa although we are closely monitoring the internal investigation and the results it may yield due to the actions of a dozen of the around 30,000 people" who work for the agency, Albares said.

Spain contributed 18.5 million euros ($20m) to Unrwa in 2023.

Lloyd Austin said at the Pentagon that Washington would take "all necessary actions" to defend its troops, following a drone attack over the weekend that killed three American troops in Jordan.

The attack, launched by Iran-backed armed groups, marks a major escalation in tensions since the war in Gaza erupted last October.

"The president and I will not tolerate attacks on US forces and we will take all necessary actions to defend the US and our troops," Austin said.

As of three hours ago, a seven-year-old girl has been trapped inside her family's vehicle and is surrounded by Israeli tanks, the Palestine Red Crescent Society is saying.

The vehicle was struck by Israeli fire, killing her father and four brothers who were with her inside the car.

Israeli forces fired on the girl's family when they tried contacting emergency services, according to the relief group.

Ambulances are unable to reach her because the Israeli military has closed off the area, and the PCRS team is currently trying to communicate with her to calm her down.

Local Palestinian media reported on Monday that Israeli forces are firing directly at a medical point in the Mawasi area, located in the west of Khan Younis. 

The reports cite the Palestinian Red Crescent. 
 

US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has denounced countries cutting off funding for Unrwa as “unacceptable” in a post on X on Monday.

She added that the organisation was “the primary source of humanitarian aid to 2 million Gazans”.

She also said that the US must restore the aid immediately. 
 

The Norwegian Foreign Affairs minister urged countries to continue funding Unrwa on Monday, after a number of countries including the US, UK, Switzerland and Finland suspended their funds for the organisation. 

Espen Barth Eide said in an interview with Al-Jazeera that countries should resume funding and then they will collectively work with Unrwa to carry out investigations into what happened on 7 October. 

“We cannot collectively punish all of the people who are refugees or internally displaced, remember these people did not choose a life as a refugee,” he said.

The comments come after Israel alleged that some Unrwa staff took part in the 7 October attack on Israel. However, Israel is yet to provide more details on the allegations or provide evidence. 

A number of Palestinian surgeons have announced that they have been able to run seven plastic surgery theatres at Gaza’s European Hospital, despite the dire conditions caused by the Israeli bombing and siege. 

“The health system in Gaza has collapsed, and we're doing our best to save lives,” one of the doctors said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. 
“Most patients in Gaza can't access medical treatment, as Israel has destroyed the majority of the hospitals in Gaza Strip,” he added.

The vicinity and courtyard of the al-Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s Khan Younis neighbourhood has been converted into a graveyard, videos shared online show. 

Palestinians have resorted to making makeshift graveyards amid a lack of resources and heavy Israeli bombing. 
 

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Monday that around 700,000 people in Gaza now suffer from contagious diseases, including skin diseases, infections, diarrhoea and jaundice. 

The ministry said the spread was due to Israel cutting off all food and water, as well as overcrowding in shelters and the number of forcibly displaced people.