Live updates: Dozens were killed as Israeli airplanes struck a Gaza Strip refugee camp

 Live updates: Dozens were killed as Israeli airplanes struck a Gaza Strip refugee camp

Numerous individuals were killed by Israeli airstrikes that struck a refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip early on Sunday, according to health authorities. The attacks occurred at a time when the United States is pressuring Israel to halt its merciless shelling of Gaza in light of the growing number of civilian casualties.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken went to the West Bank's Ramallah for an unexpected meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of Palestine. After meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, Blinken met other Arab foreign ministers on Saturday in Jordan. Netanyahu maintained that there could not be a temporary cease-fire until all of the hostages held by Hamas were freed. On Saturday, President Joe Biden hinted that the humanitarian halt was moving forward.

The Health Ministry in Gaza, which is operated by Hamas, said that 9,700 Palestinians had died in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Over 140 Palestinians have lost their lives in Israeli incursions and acts of brutality in the occupied West Bank.

Over 1,400 Israelis have lost their lives, the majority of them in the Hamas strike on October 7 that sparked the conflict, and the terrorist organization has taken 242 Israeli prisoners into Gaza.

Since Wednesday, over 1,100 individuals have evacuated the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border as a result of an apparent agreement between Israel, Egypt, the United States, as well as Qatar—which mediates with Hamas.

Presently:

1. Blinken intensifies Mideast diplomacy as the Gaza battle intensifies by meeting with the Palestinian leader in the West Bank.

2. Protest marches from the United States to Berlin demand that bombing cease right now.

3. These figures highlight the horrific cost of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

4. Israel sends hundreds of Palestinian laborers back into the combat zone around Gaza.

5. Two pieces of bread a day are the typical diet for Palestinians in Gaza, according to a U.N. official.

6. Visit https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war for more of AP's coverage.

The most recent Israel-Hamas conflict is unfolding as follows:

HEZBOLLAH SAYS IT ATTACKED A MILITARY VEHICLE IN ISRAEL

BERLIN — Hezbollah, a terrorist organization based in Lebanon, claimed to have used guided missiles to destroy and injure members of an Israeli military vehicle that was crossing the border on Sunday.

In a statement, the Israeli military acknowledged that an antitank missile had been fired into Yiftah in northern Israel from Lebanon and claimed it was hitting the firing sources. It did not state whether there were victims or not.

Hezbollah claimed to have damaged Israeli equipment near the border and announced many more missile launches on Sunday. According to the Israeli military, a drone that was heading toward Israel from Lebanon was intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defensive system.

According to Abbas, PA will only take control of Gaza as part of a comprehensive solution.

CIARO — According to the official WAFA news agency, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas informed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday saying the Palestinian Authority will only take over in Gaza as part of a "comprehensive political solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

According to WAFA, Abbas called Israel's assault of Gaza a "genocidal war" and urged Blinken "to immediately stop them out of committing such crimes."

In addition, he demanded that fuel and humanitarian goods be sent to Gaza right once, as well as the restoration of power and water.

Since Hamas gained control of Gaza via force in 2007, the Palestinian Authority, led by Abbas and located in Ramallah, has ceased to play any role in the region.

According to Abbas, security and peace can only be achieved by putting an end to the occupation and creating a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem on the lines of the Middle East conflict prior to 1967.

REITERATING THE DEMAND FOR URGENT AID AND A CEASE-FIRE

France — France is once again calling for an immediate end to hostilities between Israel and Hamas and for there to be a cease-fire in Gaza.

Following a meeting with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna expressed in a tweet on Sunday "the requirement for an immediate truce."

"We are working on it together," she said, adding that they both believed that a cease-fire and long-term humanitarian help for Gaza's civilian population were necessary.

In an attempt to secure the release of French-Israeli nationals taken captive by Hamas since the latter's surprise assault on Israel on October 7 that started the conflict, France is turning to Qatar for assistance. 39 French nationals have been officially confirmed dead in the assault, while nine more French nationals, including several verified captives, are listed as missing.

A STOPOVER FOR BLINKEN IN CYPRUS

Cyprus's Laranca On his urgent diplomatic trip to the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is taking a little diversion and stopping in Cyprus to speak with the head of that country.

According to the State Department, the major purpose of Blinken's short discussion with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides as well as Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos on Sunday was to express gratitude for Cyprus' assistance in providing temporary shelter to a number of American citizens who had left Israel during the first weeks of the Gaza conflict.

As Israel's military operations against Hamas progressed and the organization launched rocket strikes on Israel after its surprise onslaught on October 7, the United States hired at least one cruise ship that transported Americans that extends from the Israeli port of Haifa to Larnaca.

Blinken is traveling to Turkey on Monday to speak with high-ranking authorities.

A Cease-FIRE VATICAN CITY IS A PRAYER OF POPE FRANCIS — Invoking God to halt and end the violence, Pope Francis prayed for the fighters in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Francis spoke to the crowd in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, "I hope that every potential route are pursued so that the broadening of the conflict can absolutely be avoided."

Francis said that a cease-fire would "allow the wounded to be assisted" and that help would come to lessen "a very grave humanitarian situation."

"Release all hostages right away. There are a lot of kids among them as well. The pope added, "May they return to their families," as he made the plea from the window of his studio. Indeed, let us consider the children involved in this war, in the Ukraine, and in other wars, all of them are minors. This is how they are destroying their future.

In order for "them to have the strength to say 'enough,'" he asked for prayers.

WFP Chief Begs for Expanded Access to Gaza Urgently

CIARO — Food supplies are running short, therefore the director of the U.N. food organization has asked for more humanitarian access to the beleaguered Gaza Strip.

Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program, said, "At this moment, parents in Gaza do not know how well they can feed their children today as well as whether they will even survive to see tomorrow." In order to address "the catastrophic conditions facing families there," she urged for increasing the amount of assistance being sent to Gaza.

"The situation in Gaza serves as a sobering warning that the world food crisis is becoming worse and is not simply a local catastrophe. This crisis jeopardizes not only the peace and security of the area, but also our combined efforts to end global hunger," the speaker said.

McCain met with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo on Saturday and traveled to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing point, which is the only port of entry for supplies into Gaza.

Israeli drone strikes are catastrophic, according to Lebanese officials.

BERLIN — Four paramedics were injured when an Israeli drone hit close to two ambulances carrying victims of nighttime attacks in southern Lebanon, according to local authorities who spoke to The Associated Press.

The civil defense unit of a scouting organization connected to the Hezbollah-aligned Amal Movement in Lebanon said that the drone "directly targeted" their two ambulances. They were traveling south to rescue a number of injured parties from an Israeli attack that occurred overnight on a residence.

According to medical and local sources who spoke with AP, Israeli attacks apparently continued, so the Red Cross and the Lebanese army moved the injured paramedics to a hospital in Tyre. Because of the delicate nature of the matter, the officials only spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to accounts, the paramedics were their route to retrieve two deceased Hezbollah terrorists.

Israeli troops have struck a "terrorist cell" that was trying to launch missiles into Israel from the Ras Naqoura region in south Lebanon, according to an announcement made by Israeli army Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adraee on X, previously Twitter. Although the two automobiles were not the planned target, he stated they had arrived at the location during the attacks.

Nearly a month has passed since the beginning of the Hamas-Israel conflict when Israeli forces and Hezbollah terrorists and their supporters clashed along the sensitive border between Lebanon and Israel. Even while the fighting is still mostly limited to the vicinity of the border, it has become more intense as Israel begins its ground invasion of Gaza.

By Kareeem Chehayeb, an Associated Press reporter

THE ISRAELI MINISTER'S ATOMIC BOMB COMMENT IS CRITICIED BY NETANYAHU

Tel Aviv — Amihai Eliyahu, Israel's minister of Jewish heritage, claimed an atomic bomb may be dropped on the Gaza Strip. Other Cabinet members swiftly criticized his remarks.

In an interview with Kol Beramah radio, Eliyahu, a deputy minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhau's Cabinet, made the remark. Subsequently, he attempted to retract it, stating that "any reasonable person would understand that the comment was metaphorical." However, we must unquestionably react to terrorism with force and appropriate response.

According to Army Radio, Netanyahu said that the statement was "divorced from reality."

"Israel and the IDF adhere to the strictest guidelines of global law to prevent harming civilians—and we will persist in doing so until we triumph," he was quoted as adding.

According to the radio, Netanyahu has taken the ineffective step of excluding Eliyahu from Cabinet meetings until further notice.

Additionally criticizing Eliyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, "It's a good thing that people like this are not in charge of Israel's security."

Gallant's advisor Giora Eiland said that Israel is still a long way from defeating Hamas.

Former chairman of the National Security Council and reserve officer Eiland told Army Radio, "We aren't seeing hundreds of people starting to escape." "You see incredibly well-planned attacks from the other side that include mortar fire, antitank missile fire, and paragliders." They perform a great job of coordinating troops, which is necessary for this.

MAGHAZI REFUGEES CAMP ISRAELI WARPLANES HIT, KILLING AT LEAST 40

Hank YOUNIS in the Gaza Strip At least 40 people were killed when Israeli jets attacked the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza early on Sunday, according to health authorities.

As it concentrates its military assault on the northern regions, Israel's military has asked Palestinian inhabitants in Gaza to take shelter in the evacuation zone, which includes the camp. Israel has maintained its bombing of Gaza despite these pleas, claiming that it is targeting Hamas militants and assets across the confined area. It has charged Hamas with using people as human shields.

Given how many women and children are killed in these assaults, critics claim that Israel often launches disproportionately large-scale strikes.

IN INDONESIA, THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS MARCH

Indonesia's Jakarta — On Sunday, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators demanded a halt to Israel's shelling of the Gaza Strip as they marched through the heart of Indonesia's capital.

The protesters crowded the National Monument park in downtown Jakarta, waving Palestinian and Indonesian flags as they shouted chants decrying Israel's conduct in Gaza. Many of them were wearing scarves with the words "Save Palestine" on them.

The world's most populous country with a majority of Muslims saw its largest-ever protest since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict last month.

The Indonesian Ulema Council, the most powerful Islamic organization in the nation, organized the demonstration, which was attended by a number of cabinet members and lawmakers, including Speaker of the House Puan Maharani and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

With no formal diplomatic connections to Israel, Indonesia has always been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian people.

Searchers search through destroyed homes for survivors of airstrikes.

Gaza Strip's GAZA CITY — In the Jabaliya refugee camp, firefighters doused twisted metal and jumbled masonry with water jets while flames raged from buildings damaged by an Israeli bombardment.

The intensifying barrage coincides with an announcement by Israel's military that it has surrounded Gaza City, the original objective of its operation to destroy Hamas.

The number of fatalities and injuries from the attack that occurred late on Saturday in the northern Gaza Strip was not immediately known. While attempting to extract victims from the wreckage, rescuers yelled at one another.

A guy was taken through the concrete skeleton of a destroyed building on a stretcher while wearing bare feet with blood seeping through his clothing, as shown in an Associated Press video.

Someone shouted "Careful, careful!" as they stumbled through the debris. A deceased corpse was removed from the scene by others using a bed sheet. A little kid was carried in the lap of a rescuer wearing black latex gloves as they drove away in a bouncy ambulance. From off-camera, a guy yelled.

IN PROGRESS OF GETTING ISRAEL TO PUSH ATTACKS, PRESIDENT BIDEN

Delaware's Rehoboth Beach — On Saturday, President Joe Biden hinted that US efforts to convince Israel to suspend its military operations in Gaza for humanitarian purposes had made some progress.

When asked whether there had been progress in a quick interview with reporters as he exited the St. Edmond Roman Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Biden said, "Yes," but he withheld more details.

This follows a meeting on Saturday between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Arab colleagues. He made it plain that the farthest he would go was support a halt so that supplies could reach residents in Gaza, even if he disagreed with them on the need of an immediate cease-fire. According to Blinken, a cease-fire would not remove Hamas.

HOSTAGES' FAMILY AND SUPPORTERS IN GAZA CALL FOR THEIR RELEASE "IMMEDIATELY"

Jerusalem, Israel — Families of over 240 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip have planned a march in Tel Aviv that has drawn thousands of participants.

The audience kept chanting, "Now!" demanding the immediate release of the hostages after they had been held captive for over a month. Many carried images of the captives, who are mostly elderly and children.

Hadas Kalderon of Kibbutz Nir Oz demanded a cease-fire in return for the release of the captives, citing his two children, aged sixteen and twelve, as the victims.

In a cross-border incursion on October 7, Hamas terrorists kidnapped the captives, sparking the most recent Israel-Hamas conflict. The country's attention has been drawn to the captives' and their families' predicament.

Israeli Ella Ben-Ami, 23, claimed she blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the kidnapping of her parents.

She demanded that all humanitarian supplies to Gaza be stopped until the captives be released.