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

At least 12 Israeli ministers participated on Sunday in "The Return to Gaza Conference" about rebuilding Israeli settlements in Gaza, and encouraging the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza. 

The conference - attended by Israeli cabinet ministers and members of parliament - presents a plan for the re-establishment of 15 Israeli settlements and the addition of six new ones on where recently destroyed Palestinian communities stood.

The Israeli military says it has shot and killed a Palestinian boy who allegedly attempted to attack troops standing guard near the West Bank village of Tuqu’, near Bethlehem. The claims by the Israeli army could not be independently verified. 

No soldiers were hurt in the incident.

The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has begun debating a request to remove a parliamentarian after he supported South Africa's petition to the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.

More than 70 members of the Knesset across the political spectrum signed the petition for Ofer Cassif's removal. 

Israeli law allows the removal of members of the Knesset for actions of incitement to racism or in support of an armed struggle against Israel. It is not clear which of Cassif's statements meets this definition.

Israel attacks near the al-Amal Hospital are ongoing in southern Gaza, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said on Monday.

Tanks have closed in on al-Amal Hospital last week and laid siege to it as part of an Israeli offensive that began to take control of Khan Younis. 

Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to resort to extreme measures amid growing starvation among the Strip's population as a result of Israel's relentless bombardment and a full siege imposed since October. 

Many families across the besieged enclave had to mix various ingredients into flour to make bread using traditional methods, due to the scarcity of food. 

Families have been forced to use animal fodder and bird feed baked into their bread, sometimes causing medical problems, particularly in young children. 

Abu Alaa, an owner of a mill in central Gaza, said that the food available to people is inedible. 

“Something should be done about this urgently,” he told Middle East Eye. 

Read more: Palestinians forced to mix animal fodder with flour to make bread

The Gaza Strip is facing “inevitable famine” as a result of western actions, Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said on Sunday. 

“Famine was imminent” and now “inevitable”, said Fakhri in a comment following the news that the US and nine other countries were suspending additional funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa) over unproven allegations that 12 of the group’s employees took part in the Hamas attack on 7 October last year. A UN investigation has been launched.

“This collectively punishes over 2.2 million Palestinians,” he added. 

A group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for the drone attack that killed three American soldiers and wounded 34 others at a base along the Jordan-Syria border.

“Continuing our approach to resisting the American occupation forces in Iraq and the region, and in response to the massacres of the Zionist entity against our people in Gaza, the Islamic Resistance fighters in Iraq attacked at dawn on Sunday by drones, four enemy bases, three of which are in Syria and the fourth inside our occupied Palestinian territory.”

Thousands, including ministers from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party, gathered in Jerusalem on Sunday for a conference calling to resettle the Gaza Strip.

At least 12 Israeli ministers participated in the conference about rebuilding Israeli settlements in Gaza and encouraging displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, Israeli journalist Barak Ravid reported.

Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich and several others from Netanyahu's Likud party gave "supportive speeches", he said.

Itay Epshtain, a special adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council, shared a video in which national security minister Ben-Gvir and  minister of finance Smotrich stood arm-over-shoulder, dancing at the conference. 

The human rights lawyer said that the image "would form part of the compelling evidence of noncompliance" with the International Court of Justice's recent order to take all measures within its power to prevent acts of genocide and to punish acts of incitement.

Read more: Israeli ministers attend 'Return to Gaza Conference', speak in support of resettlement

Iran’s Foreign Ministry called accusations that it was connected to the attack that killed three US soldiers as "baseless" in a statement on Monday. 

“This is a conspiracy by those who see their interests in again dragging the US into a new conflict in the region,” spokesman Nasser Kanani said.

“Resistance groups across the region do not take orders from the Islamic Republic of Iran in their decisions and actions. And even though Iran does not welcome expanding fighting in the region, it also does not interfere in the decisions of resistance groups on how they support the Palestinian nation, or defend themselves and their countries’ peoples against any violations or occupation,” Kanani said.

The Houthis launched a rocket at US warship Lewis B. Puller as it sailed through the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, the group's military spokesman said in a statement on Monday.

Rocket attacks on US ships are in response to US attacks on Yemen in recent weeks. 

Several US senators, who say they don’t want war, have called for direct strikes on Iran. This follows an attack by an Iran-backed group in Iraq killing three US soldiers on the Syria-Jordan border.

“Target Tehran,” wrote John Cornyn of Texas on X. He later clarified he meant attacks on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and this would be “about deterrence, not war”.

While South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham wrote, “Hit Iran now. Hit them hard.”

In addition, former Nato commander and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark called for Biden to “take out their capabilities and strike hard at the source: Iran”.

Good morning readers of Middle East Eye,

We are on day 114 of the Israeli war on Gaza and the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since 7 October now stands at 26,422, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

In its latest update the Palestinian Health Ministry has said that  at least 65,087have been wounded in attacks by the Israeli military.

More than 8,000 missing who are believed to be dead and buried under rubble. 

Here are the major developments from the last few hours: 

• The Palestine Red Crescent Society says it has buried three people in the courtyard of the al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza as Israeli forces besiege the area
• Israeli soldiers have shot and killed a man in the town of al-Yamoun in the occupied West Bank, with widespread raids and violent clashes also reported in Jenin
• Israeli President Isaac Herzog has accused the ICJ of twisting his words in its interim ruling ordering Israel to take measures to prevent genocide in Gaza
• Iran has denied any involvement in a drone strike that killed three US soldiers near the Jordan-Syria border
• Jordan, Turkey, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Amnesty International call on countries to reinstate funds for the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing criticism after suggesting some pro-Palestinian protesters are “connected to Russia.”

“We have to think about what we’re doing, and what we have to do is try to stop the suffering in Gaza … but for them to call for a ceasefire is Mr. Putin’s message,” she said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Make no mistake, this is directly connected to what he would like to see.”

She swiftly received criticism from the head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Nihad Awad, who said the organisation was “deeply disturbed” and called Pelosi’s suggestion that the FBI investigate the protesters “downright authoritarian.”

“We are deeply disturbed by Former House Speaker Pelosi’s comments. Rep. Pelosi’s claim that some of the Americans protesting for a Gaza ceasefire are working with Vladimir Putin sounds delusional and her call for the FBI to investigate those protesters without any evidence is downright authoritarian,” Awad said in a statement.

Hello MEE readers, 

The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since 7 October now stands at 26,422, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

At least 65,087 others have been wounded, the ministry added.

Meanwhile, tension across the region flared today after three US service members were killed and dozens injured in an attack on a military base near the Jordan-Syria border. 

While the White House and US Defense Department said the attack took place in Jordan, Jordanian officials said the strike hit a military base just across the border on Syrian soil. 

US President Joe Biden took on heavy criticism in the wake of the attack, which was likely carried out by pro-Iran militias in the region. 

Biden, during a campaign event today, vowed to respond to the deadly attack. 

Former US President Donald Trump took the opportunity to strike out against his campaign rival, saying in a social media post: "This brazen attack on the United States is yet another horrific and tragic consequence of Joe Biden’s weakness and surrender.”

In Israel, thousands, including ministers from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party, gathered for a conference calling to resettle the Gaza Strip.

At least 12 Israeli ministers participated in the conference about rebuilding Israeli settlements in Gaza and encouraging displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. 

Other updates include: 

• Official Wafa news agency reported that medical sources said Israeli forces have committed 38 massacres in the Gaza Strip in the last 48 hours, killing 350 people, of whom at least 24 were killed in the Israeli shelling of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza.

• Talks initiated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas were "constructive" but meaningful gaps remain, a statement from the Israeli prime minister's office said.

• Former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has claimed that some pro-Palestine protests in the US could be linked to Russia, and called on the FBI to investigate their funding.

• Turkey expressed concern after several countries suspended financing for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, and urged states to reconsider the decision.

• The HMS Diamond, a British warship, has repelled a drone attack from Yemen's Houthis in the Red Sea.

• Israeli jets have launched aerial attacks on two Hezbollah military sites in the southern Lebanese villages of Zibqin and Khula, according to Israel's military.

Several US Senators have called for military attacks against Iran in response to today's deadly strike against US troops near the Jordan-Syria border. 

While Iran has not commented on today's attack, in the past it has been clear that such actions are not conducted or planned by Iran, but rather by its "axis of resistance" allies, which make decisions based on their own assessments.

Following today's attack, US Sentaor Lindsey Graham, a Republican, said that the US Defense Department's "efforts to deter aggression against our forces in the region has failed miserably".

"I’ve long since lost confidence in the Biden national security team to deter Iran. If they do not change their policies now, more American service members in the region will pay the price," he continued. 

The post was followed by another that reads only: "Hit Iran now. Hit them hard."

Republican Senator John Cornyn shared a similar post, which reads: "Target Tehran"

US Senator Jacky Rosen, a Democrat who is staunchly pro-Israel, posted that Iran "must be held accountable".