Israel-Hamas war live: 33 aid trucks enter Gaza as strikes continue; Israeli forces hit targets in Syria and Lebanon | Israel-Hamas war

Palestinians in northern Gaza are reporting an uptick in air and artillery strikes in the early hours of Monday morning, according to Reuters.

Israeli airstrikes hit areas near Gaza City’s Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals, and Palestinian militants clashed with Israeli forces in a border area east of the city of Khan Younis, in the enclave’s south, the news agency reported, citing Palestinian media.

Reuters notes that there was no comment from Hamas or the Israeli military on the fighting on Monday and the agency was not able to confirm the reports.

However, the reports come hours after Israel released images of battle tanks on Gaza’s western coast, signalling a potential effort to surround Gaza’s main city two days after the Israeli government ordered expanded ground incursions across its eastern border.

Israel’s self-declared “second phase” of its three-week war against Hamas militants has largely been kept from public view, with forces moving under darkness and a telecommunications blackout cutting off Palestinians in Gaza.

The phone and internet cuts appeared to ease on Sunday, but telecoms provider Paltel said that Israeli airstrikes again had knocked out internet and phone service in parts of the enclave’s northern sections, where Hamas has command centres. The outages have severely hampered rescue operations for casualties of Israeli barrages.

More information about the unrest at the Makhachkala airport in Dagestan has come through.

We reported earlier that a mob in the Russian region has stormed the airport in search of Jewish passengers arriving from Israel, after reports emerged that a flight from Tel Aviv was arriving in the city.

Local authorities have said that 20 people were injured before security forces contained the protest, but the passengers on the plane were safe. The Dagestani government has said that it is strengthening security measures across the republic, which is home to about 3 million people.

Sergei Melikov, the head of Dagestan, said the incident was a gross violation of the law, even as Dagestanis “empathize with the suffering of victims of the actions of unrighteous people and politicians, and pray for peace in Palestine”.

“There is no courage in waiting as a mob for unarmed people who have not done anything forbidden,” Melikov said on the Telegram messaging app.

Israel has urged Russian authorities to protect Israelis and Jews after a recent spate of violence against Israeli and Jewish targets.

In the past few days, a Jewish centre under construction in Nalchik, the capital of the nearby Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, was set on fire, emergency officials said.

There were also reports on social media of small anti-Israeli gatherings over the weekend in Dagestan and across the North Caucasus in Russia’s south.

Some more details on those aid trucks that were allowed through. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the 33 trucks contained beds, food, medical and hygiene supplies. The OHCA said 12 trucks were carrying medical supplies and three carrying medical supplies and other items. Another two were carrying water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies.

“All humanitarian agencies and personnel have faced significant constraints in providing humanitarian assistance, due to ongoing hostilities, movement restrictions and shortages of electricity, fuel, water, medicines, and other essential items. Humanitarian partners cannot safely access people in need and warehouses where aid supplies are stored.”

Of the total number of trucks to have made it across the border since the conflict began, (reports vary around 117 or 118), at least 13 carried water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, and at least 70 carried medical supplies.

“While limited in volume, these supplies play a crucial role in bolstering trauma response and sustaining essential healthcare services,” said the OCHA on Sunday.

“The ongoing hostilities have displaced most of the medical professionals in Gaza, forcing the hospitals to operate with less than one-third of their normal staffing levels, according to MoH in Gaza. The hospitals continue to suffer from a severe fuel shortage, leading to stringent rationing and limited use of generators for only the most essential functions. Moreover, maintaining and repairing backup generators, originally not intended for continuous operation, is growing increasingly challenging due to the scarcity of spare parts.”

On a live feed of the Israel-Gaza border, the sound of explosions, jets and other aircraft is near constant. The vision of a distant Gaza City, provided by Reuters, shows a dark sky occasionally lit up by explosions, some quite large.

Palestinians in northern Gaza have reported fierce air and artillery strikes in the last few hours.

Palestinian media reported Israeli air strikes had hit areas near Gaza City’s Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals, and that Palestinian militants and Israeli forces had fought in southern border areas east of Khan Younis.

Summary