Gaza Strip
\nIsrael continues to face mounting international pressure over the rising civilian death toll and destruction of hospitals in Gaza, with even staunch allies such as the US, France, UK and Germany voicing disquiet with its brutal and indiscriminate bombing campaign in the besieged enclave.
\nOn Monday, the health ministry said at least 19,453 people had been killed in the Palestinian territory since October 7, while 52,286 people have been wounded in more than two months of fighting.
\nVisiting Israel, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said: \u201cWe must get more humanitarian assistance in to the nearly two million displaced people in Gaza and we must distribute that aid better.\u201d
\nWith no let-up in the more than two-month-old bombardment and siege of the densely populated enclave, Mr Austin was the latest US official to head to Israel to press for a transition away from high-intensity warfare.
\nHowever, the official said that Washington would continue to provide \u201ccritical munitions, tactical vehicles and air defence systems\u201d.
\nPressure from UK
\nBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday too many civilian lives had been lost in the Israel-Hamas conflict and he repeated his call for a \u201csustainable ceasefire\u201d to allow the release of hostages.
\nSaying that Britain believed Israel had the right to defend, Mr Sunak said: \u201cBut it must do that in accordance with huma\u00adn\u00adi\u00adtarian law\u2026 It\u2019s clear that too many civilian lives have been lost,\u201dhe told reporters in Scotland.
\nMeanwhile, former UK def\u00ade\u00adnce secretary Ben Wallace noted in an op-ed that \u201cIsrael\u2019s original legal authority of self-defence is being undermined by its own actions. It is making the mistake of losing its moral authority alongside its legal one.\u201d
\nWriting in The Telegraph, the ex-UK cabinet minister de\u00ad\u00ads\u00ad\u00adc\u00adribed the actions of the Beja\u00admin Netanyahu-led Israeli government as a \u201ckilling rage\u201d, saying: \u201cHis methods will not solve this problem. In fact, I believe his tactics will fuel the conflict for another 50 years. His actions are radicalising Mus\u00adlim youth across the globe\u201d.
\nEU top diplomat Josep Bor\u00adr\u00adell accused Israel of displaying an \u201cappalling lack of distinction\u201d in its campaign in Gaza.
\nSeparately, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa charged that \u201cwhat is unfolding in Gaza is a genocidal onslaught\u201d, calling for a complete ceasefire.
\nFrench Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna was in Israel on Sunday, where she called for an \u201cimmediate and durable\u201d truce. France separately condemned an Israel bombardment that killed one of its foreign ministry officials in Gaza.
\nQatar, which helped mediate a truce last month that saw 80 Israeli prisoners exchanged for 240 jailed Palestinians, said there were \u201congoing diplomatic efforts to renew the humanitarian pause\u201d.<\/p>\n
Criticism from rights groups
\nWHO chief Tedros Adha\u00adnom Ghebreyesus said the agency was \u201cappalled by the effective destruction\u201d of the Kamal Adwan hospital, where Israeli forces carried out a multi-day operation and bulldozed tents of those taking refuge outside the hospital.
\nThe WHO also said Israeli bombing had reduced the emergency department at the Al-Shifa hospital to \u201ca bloodbath\u201d.
\nThe Palestinian health ministry said that an Israeli strike on Sunday hit Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza\u2019s main city of Khan Yunis, killing one person and injuring seven others.
\nIsraeli forces also stormed Al Awda hospital in northern Gaza on Sunday and detained medical staff following several days of siege and bombing, the ministry said.
\nThe New York-based Human Rights Watch has charged that Israel \u201cis using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in the occupied Gaza Strip, which is a war crime\u201d.
\n\u201cWorld leaders should be speaking out against this abhorrent war crime,\u201d HRW said.<\/p>\n
Anger in Israel
\nApart from the international community, Tel Aviv is also facing mounting pressure within Israel to either slow, suspend or stop hostilities.
\nThis includes families of the remaining 129 prisoners who are believed to be held in Gaza, whose anger and fear intensified after Israeli forces mistakenly shot dead three hostages who had escaped their captors.
\nThe trio waved white flags and used food leftovers to write a Hebrew-language message on a white sheet before they were shot, reports said.
\nThe deaths prompted IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi to tell his troops that, if enemy fighters \u201clay down their arms and raise their hands, we capture them, we don\u2019t shoot them\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gaza Strip Israel continues to face mounting international pressure over the rising civilian death toll and destruction of hospitals in Gaza, with even staunch allies such as the US, France, UK and Germany voicing disquiet with its brutal and indiscriminate bombing campaign in the besieged enclave. On Monday, the health ministry said at least 19,453 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376212,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-376186","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n