Israel-Palestine war: First week ends with over 2,500 Palestinians, 1,400 Israelis killed

Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, said on Monday evening that he lost six members of his family in Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli bombing of the area.

“For 100 years, we have been treated as lesser human beings. We are not the children of a lesser God,” Zumlot told an audience during a conference for the Labour Party.

“Our right to self-determination has to be respected. Our state, independence and sovereignty has to be respected.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the UN to immediately intervene to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe after the “ongoing Israeli aggression, especially in Gaza”, according to Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency.

Abbas earlier on Monday spoke with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine.

President Erdogan said it was ready to take a mediator role in the current conflict, saying that peace cannot be restored “unless a free, sovereign Palestinian state is established”.

Hezbollah said that it has fired rockets on areas in northern Israel, in response to the killing of four of its members from Israeli fire.

Four members of Hezbollah were killed on Monday from Israeli shelling, as fighting near the country's border with Lebanon escalates.

Israel has said it detected a number of rockets fired from Lebanon on Monday evening, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Israeli military said it is targeting three positions in Lebanon. Hezbollah says they have not undertaken any operations in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address on Monday evening that an emergency government must be formed.

"The people are united and now the leadership needs to unite," he said. "I'm calling for unity and I'm calling on the opposition to have a national front as we take care of this [sic] war."

The heads of the two opposition parties in Israel have said they were open to the idea of temporarily joining an emergency unity government led by Netanyahu, but on the condition that they would be given real influence in directing the war against Hamas.

During his address, Netanyahu also said that the war was just in the beginning phases.

"We have started attacking Hamas. The pictures that you see ... is just the beginning," Netanyahu said. "We have killed many of those fighters. Every place where Hamas is active in working will be completely destroyed. And we will continue to intensify the operations."

The European Commission said it is not suspending aid payments to Palestinians, directly contradicting one of its official's comments made earlier in the day.

The Commission did say that it was launching a review of its assistance, following Hamas's attack on Israel over the weekend.

"In the meantime, as there were no payments foreseen, there will be no suspension of payments," the Commission said in a statement.

Janez Lenarcic, the commissioner on crisis management, said on social media: "EU humanitarian aid to #Palestinians in need will continue as long as needed."

Earlier on Monday, Oliver Varhelyi, another European commissioner, said the Commission was suspending payments on its entire portfolio of development aid for Palestinians and placing it under review.

Hezbollah said a fourth member of the group has been killed in earlier Israeli shelling in Lebanon, as fighting near the Israel-Lebanon frontier escalates.

The Israeli army said it has detected a number of rockets were fired from Lebanon to Israel on Monday evening, but that there were no immediate reports of casualties.

At least 687 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli shelling in Gaza, including 140 children, the Palestinian health ministry has said in its latest update. 

Israeli forces killed another 15 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the fighting started on Saturday, the ministry added.

A senior Hamas official said the group has "achieved its targets" after launching a surprise attack on Israel, and is open to discussions over a possible truce with Israel.

Moussa Abu Marzouk said in a phone interview with Al Jazeera that the armed group is open to "something of that sort" and "all political dialogues" when asked whether Hamas is willing to discuss a possible ceasefire.

Hezbollah has announced that three of its members have now been killed as a result of Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah and Israel exchanged artillery and rocket fire on Sunday.

Some residents in southern Lebanon have told Middle East Eye that they are leaving their homes along the border with Israel out of fear that the situation will escalate.

The Israeli military released instructions to Israeli citizens, calling on them to stock up on food and water for at least the next 72 hours.

“The campaign may be long and it is important that each family ensure it has water, food, medicine, and necessary equipment for emergency situations,” it said in a statement.

It added that people ensure they know where the nearest bomb shelter is and how to get to it.

An armed clash between Israeli forces and suspected Palestinians coming from Gaza was reported in the city of Rahat, some 25km from the besieged enclave. 

Some Israeli reports say one of the suspected Palestinians has been killed and another one has fled.

Zaka, the unofficial Israeli search and rescue volunteer organisation, said it has identified over 100 dead bodies in Beeri, a kibbutz near the boundary between Israel and Gaza.

The Israeli death toll has now reached at least 900 people, according to Israeli reports.

Israel's foreign minister Eli Cohen also said that more than 100 people have been taken captive by Hamas.

If Israeli bombing of civilians without warning does not stop, hostages will be killed, Abu Ubaida, the spokesman of the Izzideen al-Qassam Brigades, has said. 

Abu Ubaida said his group has been abiding by Islamic, humanitarian and military values by keeping the Israeli captives safe and sound.

However, he said they are being forced "unfortunately" to act differently due to Israel's stepped-up bombing and killing of civilians inside their homes.

He said if Israel does not stop its bombing of civilians without warning, the group will kill civilian prisoners and document it on video. 

Speaking on Monday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before the hostilities.

He added that the UN has received reports that Israeli missiles have struck health facilities inside Gaza as well as multistoried residential towers and a mosque.

Guterres said he was “deeply alarmed” by reports of over 500 Palestinians killed in Gaza, over 3,000 injured, as well as over 800 Israelis dead and over 2,500 injured.

He condemned “abhorrent attacks by Hamas and others” against Israeli towns.

“I reiterate my call to immediately cease these attacks and release all hostages.”

“I urge all sides and the relevant parties to allow UN access to deliver urgent humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians trapped in Gaza.”

Guterres added that 137,000 people are sheltering in UNRWA facilities.