18:55 GMT — Ceasefire in Gaza 'will not happen' — Israel's Netanyahu
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that a ceasefire in the Gaza war "will not happen" as it would amount to surrendering to the territory's rulers Hamas.
"Just as the United States would not agree to a ceasefire after the bombing of Pearl Harbor or after the terrorist attack of 9/11, Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas after the horrific attacks of October 7," he said at a press conference with foreign journalists.
"Calls for a ceasefire are a call for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism. This will not happen."
Vowing that Israel would "fight until this battle is won", Netanyahu said the army was going out of its way to "prevent civilian casualties" in Gaza.
18:46 GMT — Hamas says Israel must heed to captives' demands
Hamas on Monday said Israel must heed to the demands of its captives held in Gaza, who in a video message called for their release in exchange of Palestinian prisoners.
"The (Israeli) occupation leaders must heed the message of the captives held by the (Palestinian) resistance in Gaza before it's too late," spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said in a statement.
He said ex panding the ground operation in Gaza may put the lives of captives in danger, and only Israel will be to blame.
In the video, an Israeli woman captive urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release all Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails in exchange for their release.
18:36 GMT — Israeli army claims to free one female soldier held in Gaza
The Israeli army claimed that its forces had managed to free one Israeli female soldier held by the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
In a joint statement on Monday, the Israeli army and general security service (Shin Bet) identified the soldier as Ori Megidish and claimed to have rescued her during an overnight military operation.
The Israeli statement, however, gave no details on how or when she was rescued, saying this was necessary to protect similar operations in the future. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also hailed her release.
Hamas denied the Israeli claim, saying it aimed to distract from the release of a video of three Israeli female captives earlier Monday in which one asked Netanyahu to heed Hamas’ demands in exchange for their release.
18:10 GMT — Netanyahu says ground operation in Gaza creates possibility of 'getting our hostages out'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said a ground offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip creates the possibility for the release of Israeli hostages.
Addressing the media after a war cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said this “creates the possibility of getting our hostages out.”
“They will only do it when they are under pressure. This creates pressure. We think that this method stands a chance,” he added.
In the meeting, according to an official statement, he said the fight against Hamas could be long, but the aim is to defeat it and having a "different Gaza."
17:28 GMT — UK home secretary labels pro-Palestine rallies 'hate marches'
The UK's home secretary on Monday called pro-Palestine rallies "hate marches," saying protests against Israeli attacks on Gaza saw "a large number of bad actors who are deliberately operating beneath the criminal threshold."
Suella Braverman addressed the impact of the Israel-Palestine conflict on communities in the UK following an emergency cabinet meeting (Cobra) chaired by Pr ime Minister Rishi Sunak.
She called for heightened efforts by law enforcement agencies, particularly the Metropolitan Police and other regional forces, to address the issue of antisemitism.
17:10 GMT — Turkish Red Crescent condemns bombing of aid warehouse in Gaza
The Turkish Red Crescent on Monday "strongly" condemned a heavy bombing that rendered the Palestinian Red Crescent's aid warehouse in Gaza unusable.
"We strongly condemn all attacks on humanitarian aid workers and facilities, especially those targeting the dedicated staff and volunteers of the Palestinian Red Crescent, who work tirelessly to meet humanitarian needs under challenging conditions," said the Turkish Red Crescent in a statement.
"The warehouse belongs to the Palestinian Red Crescent, our humanitarian aid partner. There is no Turkish Red Crescent warehouse in Gaza," it added.
The Turkish Red Crescent on Monday "strongly" condemned a heavy bombing that rendered the Palestinian Red Crescent's aid warehouse in Gaza unusable.
"We strongly condemn all attacks on humanitarian aid workers and facilities, especially those targeting the dedicated staff and volunteers of the Palestinian Red Crescent, who work tirelessly to meet humanitarian needs under challenging conditions," said the Turkish Red Crescent in a statement.
"The warehouse belongs to the Palestinian Red Crescent, our humanitarian aid partner. There is no Turkish Red Crescent warehouse in Gaza," it added.
17:00 GMT — Israeli warplanes bombed part of Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza City: Hospital Director
Israeli warplanes made a direct hit on the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in the Gaza Strip, inflicting severe damage, the hospital director said on Monday.
"Israeli warplanes bombed the third floor of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, the only hospital in Gaza for cancer patients," Dr. Subhi Skaik said.
He added that the Israeli bombing "caused extensive damage, as a fire broke out in the floor before being contained."
Read more here
15:28 GMT — Gaza breakdown halts four aid distribution centres — UNWRA
A breakdown in civil order has put four UN aid distribution centres and a storage facility out of action in Gaza as people search desperately for food and water, a UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) official has said.
Tom White, director of UNWRA Affairs in Gaza, also said that a logistics base at the Rafah border crossing vital to aid distribution had become increasingly difficult to operate because 8,000 people were sheltering at it.
"With the breakdown of civil order, every day now we've got hundreds of people trying to get into the warehouses to steal flour," he told Reuters.
"Right now people are in survival mode. It's about getting enough flour and it's about getting enough water."
15:10 GMT - Hamas' armed wing releases video of Israeli captives in Gaza
The armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas released a video of three Israeli women held captive in Gaza.
The short video released by the Al-Qassam Brigades via Telegram on Monday shows one captive directing her message to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister.
"We are facing this situation because of the failure you caused on October 7, you are obliged to release us all," the Israeli captive, whose name was not given, said in words directed at Netanyahu.
"On October 7 there was no (Israeli) army (in response to Hamas’ surprise attack) and no one came to (help) us, you want us all killed," she added.
14:14 GMT - Jordanian king meets UNRWA chief, calls for support to humanitarian organizations
Jordanian King Abdullah II called on the international community to support the work of international humanitarian organizations in Gaza, including the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
According to a statement by the Royal Hashemite Court on Monday, the monarch met UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini in Amman and reaffirmed the importance of an immediate cease-fire in the besieged Palestinian enclave, and enabling the work of humanitarian organizations to proceed without impediments.
UNRWA is the main UN agency operating in the Gaza Strip, which is under heavy bombardment since the Oct. 7 cross border offensive by Hamas. The Israeli army widened its air and ground attacks over the weekend, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “second stage” of the "war with Hamas."
14:07 GMT Ex-NATO chief calls Netanyahu ‘worst politician’ in Israel’s history
Former NATO chief Javier Solana said he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the “worst politician” in Israeli history.
“I don’t think anything good will come of this,” he told Spanish broadcaster Cadena Ser on Monday, referring to this month’s events in Israel and Palestine. “But it could make Netanyahu disappear from Israeli politics.”
Not mincing words, Solana, 81, also emphasized that despite US support for Israel, President Joe Biden “doesn’t like Netanyahu at all, just like anyone who has been involved in this war for a long time.”
13:37 GMT: Vatican top official discusses Gaza with Iran
The Vatican’s top diplomat discussed the latest situation in Gaza with his Iranian counterpart, the Vatican Press Office announced on Monday.
During the phone call with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, which was requested by the Iranian side, Vatican Foreign Affairs Secretary Paul Richard Gallagher expressed the Vatican's “serious concern about what is happening in Israel and Palestine an d reiterated the absolute necessity to avoid escalating the conflict,” the office said.
In addition, Gallagher reaffirmed the Vatican’s commitment to achieve a two-state solution for a stable and lasting peace in the Mideast.
10:00 GMT - Israeli tanks enter eastern Gaza
Israeli tanks pushed deep into eastern Gaza and reached a main highway in Gaza City on Monday, witnesses told Anadolu news agency.
“Some Israeli tanks and a bulldozer moved into eastern Gaza and reached Netzarim junction and Salah al-Din street in Gaza City,” they said.
The tanks moved Sunday night from Juhor Ad-Dik town in the eastern Gaza Strip to Salah al-Din street, southeast of Gaza City, according to the witnesses. The incursion coincided with heavy artillery shelling and airstrikes, they said.
09:35 GMT- US says no intention to send soldiers to Gaza
US Vice President Kamala Harris said that Washington has no plans or intentions to send troops to Israel or Gaza.
"We have absolutely no intention nor do we have any plans to send combat troops into Israel or Gaza, period," Harris said in an interview with CBS News aired on Sunday.
She stressed the importance of adhering to the rules of war in the Israel-Palestine conflict and of continuing humanitarian aid flows to Gaza.
8:50 GMT - ICC warns of criminal responsibility over Gaza blockade
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor on Sunday warned about the criminal responsibility for blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, stressing the dire humanitarian situation as the Israel-Palestine war rages.
Following his visit to the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Karim Khan said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the suffering of children and women and men old and young is “profound and it is ongoing.”
“Most fundamentally, at this moment, underline the fact that there should not be any impediment to humanitarian relief supplies going to children, to women and men, civilians. They are innocent. They have rights under international humanitarian law,” Khan stressed.
6:30 GMT - Israel must protect innocent Gaza residents by distinguishing between Hamas and civilians, the White House warned, as world leaders stepped up calls for desperately needed humanitarian aid to reach the war-torn Palestinian territory.
Israel has intensified its air and ground operations in Gaza following a surprise attack by Hamas more than three weeks ago that Israeli authorities say killed at least 1,400 people.
Since the October 7 attack, more than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's relentless retaliatory bombardments, half of them children, says the health ministry in the Gaza.
5:08 GMT - 33 aid trucks entered Gaza Sunday: UN
More than 30 aid trucks entered Gaza, the largest convoy to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory since deliveries began trickling in again over a week ago, the UN said.
The United Nations humanitarian organisation OCHA said 33 trucks carrying water, food and medical supplies had gone into Gaza on Sunday, through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
4:00 GMT - Israel reopens 2nd water pipeline into Gaza Strip
Israel has reopened the second of three pipelines supplying water to Gaza, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said the pipeline was reopened, the Times of Israel newspaper reported.
Opening the pipeline will allow a total of 28.5 million liters of potable water to flow daily, which constitutes a little more than half of what Israel was supplying to Gaza, or nearly 49 million liters per day, before on October 7.
3:20 GMT - Al Quds Brigades members killed in clashes with Israeli army near Lebanese border
The Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, said that two of its members were killed in clashes in the Israeli area of Hanita near the Lebanese border.
The group said the two members were killed late Sunday “while carrying out the heroic operation at the Hanita military site.” It noted that the operation took place after infiltrating through Israel’s security fence.
2:45 GMT - 47 mosques, 3 churches damaged in Gaza since October 7
Continuous Israeli attacks on Gaza have led to the destruction of 47 mosques and damage to three churches, the local government media office said.
“Israeli raids on Gaza have caused the destruction of 47 mosques and damaged three churches and 203 schools in addition to 80 government buildings,” the director of the office, Salama Maarouf, said at a press conference.
He said the number of medical personnel killed by Israel had reached 116 along with 18 members of rescue teams and civil defense crews and 35 journalists.
2:13 GMT - Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza severely damaged from Israeli air strikes
The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital for cancer patients in Gaza has been severely damaged by Israeli air strikes, the enclave’s Health Ministry announced early Monday.
"A state of panic afflicts cancer patients and medical staff as a result of the heavy Israeli bombardment of the only Turkish Friendship Hospital for cancer patients in Gaza and the infliction of severe damage to it as a result of the Israeli occupation repeatedly targeting its surroundings," Dr. Subhi Skaik, the director general of the hospital, said on Facebook.
"The occupation not only increased the suffering and pain of cancer patients and deprived them of medicines and travel for treatment abroad, but it now endangered their lives by targeting the hospital surroundings," he added.
2:00 GMT - Israeli army says 239 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza Strip
The Israeli army said that 239 people are being held by the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
Speaking at a press conference broadcast by Israeli Army Radio, spokesman Daniel Hagari said the families of 239 abductees in Gaza have been informed that their relatives are being held by Hamas. Hagari pointed out that foreign workers are among the prisoners.
1:50 GMT - Egypt will never allow displacement of Palestinians from Gaza to Egyptian territory, el Sisi tells Biden
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told his US counterpart Joe Biden that Egypt will never allow the displacement of Palestinians from their lands to Egyptian territory.
“Egypt has not and will never allow the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egyptian territory,” el Sisi told Biden in a phone call, according to a statement released by the Egyptian presidency.
For our live updates from Sunday (October 29), click here
