Pressure mounts on Israel over civilian casualties as ceasefire calls rebuffed

Israel is expected to face intense pressure on Monday to prevent civilian fatalities during its attack on Gaza after rejecting pleas for a truce. Meanwhile, the United States is stepping up its diplomatic efforts to lessen the likelihood that the conflict will worsen.

After hundreds of protesters attempted to overrun an air station housing American troops in southern Turkey on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to meet with Turkey’s foreign minister in Ankara.

Blinken met with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, on Sunday during an unexpected trip to the West Bank. Abbas echoed pleas from across the world for an urgent ceasefire.

Over 9,770 Palestinians have died in the conflict, which started when Hamas launched an unexpected offensive on southern Israel one month ago, murdering 1,400 people and kidnapping over 240 more, according to health officials in Gaza, which is under Hamas control.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out a ceasefire until Hamas captives were freed, while Blinken reiterated U.S. fears that a truce might help Hamas.

“Unless the hostages are returned, there won’t be a truce. This needs to be taken out of the language entirely, according to Netanyahu.

Gaza City, which is located at the northern end of the territory, was surrounded, the Israeli military declared on Sunday. WAFA, a Palestinian news agency, claimed “unprecedented bombardment” from Israel, while Paltel, a telecom company, reported yet another interruption of internet and communication services.

Since it started expanding its ground operations in Gaza on October 27, Israel claims to have killed 31 troops. The Hamas combatants, who think they can withstand Israel’s approach in a maze of tunnels underneath the territory, number in the thousands.

CNN was informed late on Sunday by an Israeli military spokesman that two days in a row, bombardments in northern Gaza were stopped for several hours to give civilians a safe route to relocate south of the restricted coastal strip.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus stated, “Not only are we telling them where to go, but we’re also helping and creating much better humanitarian conditions in the south,” yet it was unclear how long the pauses would last.

Conricus claimed that although supplies of water and humanitarian aid were available in the southern part of Gaza, Hamas was obstructing convoys by opening fire on them. Reuters could not readily verify his account.

According to the New York Times, U.S. CIA Director William Burns was scheduled to visit Israel on Monday to talk with senior authorities about the conflict and intelligence. An unidentified U.S. source was reported by the Times as adding that Burns will also stop in other Middle Eastern nations to talk about the Gaza crisis.

When Reuters asked the CIA for comment, the agency did not reply.

In a conversation with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “reiterated his ironclad commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself and emphasized the importance of both protecting civilians and delivering humanitarian assistance,” according to the Pentagon.

Texas “reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this conflict.”

According to her office, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will speak with international leaders later on Monday to address the situation and further the administration’s efforts to improve the supply of humanitarian supplies to Gaza’s civilian population.

According to a message by Jordan’s king on X, the previous Twitter platform, and reports in official media, the Jordanian Air Force air-dropped essential medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza early Monday.

The Ohio-class nuclear missile submarine has landed in the Middle East, according to the U.S. Central Command, which oversees the area. Some experts saw this rare public revelation of a nuclear submarine’s location as a warning to Iran.

‘RIPPED APART FLESH’
At Gaza’s Maghazi refugee camp, where the health ministry of the Hamas-run enclave said that Israeli troops had killed at least 47 people in strikes early on Sunday, residents looked for casualties or survivors.

“I spent the entire night attempting to separate the deceased from the debris with the other men. We received youngsters, mutilated, with ripped flesh,” 53-year-old Saeed al-Nejma remarked.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) indicated they were gathering information when contacted for comment.

According to the health ministry, 21 Palestinians from a single family were murdered in strikes in a different incident. The IDF chose not to respond.

Reuters was unable to confirm these reports independently. Insisting on an “immediate ceasefire” from Israel, Abbas said to Blinken, “We demand that you stop them from committing these crimes immediately.”

According to the news agency WAFA, Abbas stated that the Palestinians were up against a battle of “genocide and destruction.”

According to Lebanese officials, tensions with Lebanon increased after an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the country’s south killed three children and their grandmother.

The IDF hit “terrorist targets of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon,” according to Israel’s top military spokesman, in retaliation for a missile strike against tanks that claimed the life of an Israeli civilian.

In response, Hezbollah claimed to have fired missiles into the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. The gang declared that it would respond “firm and strong” to any attacks on civilians and that it would never allow them.