Israeli troops and tanks have been pushing deeper into Gaza, freeing a soldier held captive by Hamas militants and advancing on two sides of the territory's main city. The UN and medical staff warned that airstrikes have hit closer to hospitals where tens of thousands of Palestinians have sought shelter alongside thousands of wounded.
Here are latest updates on the Israel-Hamas war:
# UN envoy: Israel-Hamas war spilling into Syria
The Israel-Hamas war is spilling into Syria, fueled by growing instability, violence and a lack of progress toward a political solution to its 12-year conflict, the United Nations special envoy for the country said Monday.
Geir Pedersen told the Security Council that, on top of violence from the Syrian conflict, the Syrian people now face “a terrifying prospect of a potential wider escalation” following Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel and the ongoing retaliatory military action.
“Spillover into Syria is not just a risk; it has already begun,” the U.N. envoy for Syria said.
Pedersen pointed to airstrikes attributed to Israel hitting Syria's airports in Aleppo and Damascus several times, and retaliation by the United States against what it said were multiple attacks on its forces “by groups that it claims are backed by Iran, including on Syrian territory.”
# Israel wants India to name Hamas in its terror list
In an interview with News18, Kobbi Shoshani, the Consul General of Israel to Midwest India, called upon the Indian government to put Hamas on the terror list.
"What we're expecting from India is something very, very clear: to put Hamas on the list of terrorist organisations," Shoshani said.
He added, "I think that we are fully confident that we will get full support from the Indian government."
He also alleged that there was fake news coming from Gaza as a part of Hamas propaganda and that the
hospital attack was orchestrated from the Palestinian side.
# Netanyahu disappointed with 'deeply flawed' UN resolution
On the issue of the UN proposal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to News 18 India's question, saying that no civilised country, including India, would tolerate such horror.
The question asked to Netanyahu was: "How do you see India's stand on recent UN resolution? India abstained as there was no condemnation of terrorism?"
He expressed disappointment with the resolution, calling it deeply flawed, and hoped to avoid similar resolutions in the future.
"Resolution was deeply flawed. And even I was sorry to see that many of our friends did not insist that there should be powerful condemnation of horror that was committed here. Horror that no civilized country including your country and others will tolerate," the prime minister said
# Netanyahu rules out Gaza ceasefire
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday a ceasefire in Israel's war against Hamas "will not happen", as the UN warned not enough aid was coming in to meet "unprecedented humanitarian needs".
"Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism... this will not happen," he said, vowing Israel would "fight until this battle is won".'
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.
# Israel reports new West Bank operations
Israel reported new operations against armed Palestinian groups in the occupied West Bank overnight, as the Palestinian Ministry of Health said four men were killed in an Israeli air and ground operation in Jenin.
The Israeli military said Monday its troops have killed four prominent Hamas operatives as part of its
expanded ground operations in the Gaza Strip.
# UNSC to hold emergency meeting
The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting regarding Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza, diplomatic sources confirmed.
First Published: Oct 31, 2023 9:05 AM IST
