Israel-Palestine war LIVE: Israel demands UN chief quits after he appeared to blame their policies for Hamas terrorism – as IDF claims to have ‘thwarted’ three Hamas deputy commanders

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Tuesday he will not meet with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres after the UN chief criticized Israel’s bombing of Gaza.

‘I will not meet with the UN Secretary-General. After the October 7th massacre, there is no place for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased off the face of the planet!’ Cohen wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.

Addressing the UN Security Council chamber in New York on Tuesday, Guterres said he is ‘deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza.’

‘Protecting civilians does not mean ordering more than one million people to evacuate to the south, where there is no shelter, no food, no water, no medicine and no fuel – and then continuing to bomb the south itself,’ Guterres said.

‘Let me be clear: no party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law,’ he added.

Cohen, who was also present in the chamber, responded to Guterres: ‘In what world do you live? Definitely, this is not our world.’

With Israel preparing for a possible ground invasion of Gaza and exchanging fire with Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, the U.S. is making contingency plans for a possible massive evacuation to get Americans out of the region.

The U.S. Navy has dispatched two aircraft carrier strike groups to the region, along with additional aircraft and deployments intended to discourage the any parties from expanding the situation into a wider regional conflict.

But the administration is still engaged in ‘prudent’ planning for worst case scenarios that would involve evacuating potentially hundreds of thousands of Americans, with an administration shaped by the botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

A number of Hamas terrorists who were attempting to infiltrate into Israel from the Gaza Strip via the sea have been killed by Israeli Navy forces, the military says.

The Israel Defense Forces did not specify how many divers had made the attempt, but Hebrew-language media reports say at least 4 terrorists were killed.

One report puts the number of Hamas terrorists killed at 8.

During the incident, a suspected infiltration alarm sounded in the border communities of Zikim and Karmia.

The IDF says a fighter jet also carried out an airstrike against a compound from which the terrorists set out.

Forces are continuing to scan the area, the IDF adds.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, says they will be forced to stop operations in Gaza tomorrow night if they do not get fuel urgently.

The Israel Defense Forces said it dropped leaflets in Gaza on Tuesday, appealing to residents for any information about the hostages being held by Hamas.

‘As part of the extensive efforts to free the hostages held by the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, the IDF today used multiple channels to communicate with the residents of Gaza and ask for information about the hostages, offering protection and compensation in return’ said the IDF in a social media post.

According to a CNN translation, the leaflet said: ‘If you want a better future for you and your children, do good and share verified and valuable information about hostages being held in your area.

‘And the Israeli military promises you that it will invest maximum effort in providing security for you and your home, and you will receive a financial reward. We guarantee you complete confidentiality. The Israel Defense Forces.’

• Eli Cohen said on X he would not be meeting with Antonio Guterres after the UN chief said Hamas’s terror attack on October 7 ‘did not happen in a vacuum’

• The Ambassador’s criticism of the UN chief comes after he suggested Hamas’s October 7 attack ‘did not happen in a vacuum’

The IDF’s chief of general staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said in a six-minute address, posted on Telegram this evening:

I want to make this clear: the IDF is ready for ground operations and will take a decision together with the political echelon regarding the manner and timing of the next stage.

• An airstrike hit a bustling marketplace in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing several shoppers and wounding dozens, witnesses said
• Men used sledgehammers to break up concrete and dug with their bare hands through the wreckage to save anyone they could
• Those killed and wounded had been buying meat and vegetables when the explosion hit

• The French President has been pictured meeting Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah
• Emmanuel Macron earlier made a solidarity visit to Israel after the October 7 attacks by Hamas
• His visit to the West Bank makes him the first western leader to go to the Palestinian Authority headquarters during the crisis
• British PM Rishi Sunak last week met with Abbas in Egypt

• UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has sparked outrage in Israel after saying the Hamas attacks on Israel ‘did not happen in a vacuum’
• ‘The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,’ he said
• He stressed: ‘the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas’
• ‘And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,’ Guterres added
• Israel Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan attacked the remarks, calling them ‘shocking’ and saying they ‘constitute a justification for terrorism and murder’

A further 20 aid trucks set to arrive in Gaza today, according to a senior UN official.

The supplies will come in from Egypt, they said, where humanitarian aid has been piling up in recent days.

The third convoy of aid trucks came in on Monday, though it was smaller than the previous two which came via the Rafah crossing over the weekend.

The US Maritime Administration is warning ships traveling through the Red Sea to ‘excercise caution’ after a drone and missile attack launched from Yemen.

The US Navy says it shot down missiles and drones believed to have been launched by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in recent days.

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has alleged violations of international law in Gaza
• He did not name Israel but his comments come as Gaza is pounded by Israeli airstrikes
• Guterres urged an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to bring in relief as he spoke at a Security Council session
• He welcomed the crossing of three aid convoys so far through the Rafah crossing but said ‘it is a drop of aid in an ocean of need’

I am deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza. Let me be clear: No party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law

• Rescue worker Moshe Melayev told how families were slaughtered in their homes

*** WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT ***

• Hamas official Osama Hamdan urged Arab countries and the UN to try to halt Israel’s assault on Gaza, in a press conference held in Beirut on Tuesday
• Hamdan also called on Arab countries to end any normalisation of diplomatic relations with Israel
• The official called for humanitarian aid crossings to be opened, allowing fuel, aid and rubble removal equipment into Gaza

Rocket warning sirens have been heard across the Tel Aviv region and in the city itself amid a significant rocket barrage.

Two further rocket attacks, which were also aimed at Israel’s most populated areas, were claimed by Hamas earlier today.

The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has warned that it could be forced to end its aid work in the Gaza Strip tomorrow due to fuel shortages.

Juliette Touma told BBC Radio 4 that ‘if we do not get fuel urgently, we will be forced to halt our operations in the Gaza Strip as of tomorrow night’.

• The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said that 12 hospitals of the territory’s 32 health centers are not functioning
• ‘We fear that more will be out of service in the coming hours due to targeting and running out of fuel,’ a statement said
• It also warned that the hospitals that remain open may be unable to provide a service to the ‘flood of wounded people’ coming through their doors

If you are just joining this live blog, here is what has happened so far on the 18th day of the conflict:

• The number of Britons confirmed to have been killed by Hamas terrorists since October 7 has risen to 12, with five missing, the government has said
• Families of Israelis taken hostage and killed by Hamas have spoken of the ‘nightmare’ they have faced
• Almost two-thirds of Gaza health facilities are ‘not functioning’, according to the World Health Organisation
• The death toll in Gaza is nearly 5,800, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry
• Palestinian authorities said 704 people had been killed in the last 24 hours alone – the biggest jump in the daily death toll so far
• An 85-year-old hostage freed by Hamas described the ‘hell’ she went through but said she wished the terrorists ‘shalom’ because ‘they treated us very nicely’

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said 46 out of 72 healthcare facilities have stopped functioning across the Gaza Strip.

This includes 12 out of 35 hospitals across the territory.

• Aerial footage released by the IDF is said to show on a target in southern Lebanon.
• The military said it ‘eliminated’ a terrorist who tried to launch a rocket from Lebanese territory towards the northern Israeli community of Bar’am.

The southern Gazan city of Khan Yunis has come under fresh bombardment from Israel.

At around 12.30 local time (10:30 BST), more airstrikes hit buildings in the area, the BBC reports.

Pictures this morning have shown the horrific aftermath of strikes overnight and into today.

People who have fled the bombing in the north, under instruction by the Israeli military, have been killed while sheltering in the south, according to reports.

The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes since 7 October now stands at 5,791, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

It added that 704 people had been killed in the last 24 hours alone – the biggest jump in the daily death toll so far.

The number of British nationals confirmed to have been killed by Hamas terrorists has risen to 12, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister has said.

A further five Britons remain missing, they said.

Teacher David Barr, who moved to kibbutz Alumim from Leeds in 1991, described living through Hamas’s attack on his area and losing loved ones.

His sister-in-law was out for a run when Hamas terrorists shot her at point-blank range in the head and the back. It took the family four days to identify her body.

‘It’s horrible to say but the relief that came through when we found out she had been shot four days later… it was a relief.’

‘It was easier to bury our loved ones than to live through what they’re going through’.

David’s children and grandchildren live in nearby villages and told him and his wife to stay inside their safe house during the October 7 attack.

He said there were ‘moments when you think your whole family is going to be wiped out, your whole life goes in front of you in seconds.’

He said his son, who stayed behind to help, told him Hamas ‘could not be of this world’. All that remained to be buried of his son’s best friend was his teeth, David said.

Ofri Bibas Levi, whose brother Yarden Bibas and his wife Shiri were taken by Hamas terrorists with their two young sons, said she has been living in a ‘nightmare’ since October 7.

Video of Shiri Silberman Bibas and her two redheaded sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9-months-old, being taken by the terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Oz have shocked the world.

Ofri said this footage, along with pictures of her brother bleeding profusely and surrounded by Hamas fighters, were the last proof of life they had seen.

‘Its been like living in a nightmare ever since’

‘The terrorists shot the family dog in front of their eyes, he was trying to protect them coming from the safe house’

Knowing the suffering her young nephews have faced, Ofri said: ‘I feel guilty playing with my children, covering them up at night.’

She added: ‘Just days before the attack Ariel was telling his mom he wanted to leave the Kibbutz and come live next to us to play with my daughter’

A British-Israeli woman whose family members were killed and kidnapped by Hamas terrorists says pictures of her mother and brother were uploaded to her Facebook when they were taken hostage.

Ayelet Svatitzky said her mother’s neighbour saw the pair being led away by Hamas fighters.

‘Maybe the pictures were proof of life… I didn’t know what was better, being killed or being kidnapped by Hamas.’

She revealed that her diabetic mother ‘needs insulin shots. I don’t know if she’s getting them and how long she can survive without them.

She has also been working to identify her other brother, who is believed to have been killed by Hamas.

‘I am chasing dental records… so I can identify my other brother and bring him to rest… This has been my life for the last 18 days.

‘My life stopped on October 7. I try not to deal with my loss of my brother at the moment because I find it too painful. If I start thinking about that it will break me, and I don’t have the privilege of breaking because I have a mission.’

She showed a picture of her mum and brother and said: ‘She was supposed to be in London now, for shows, a hotel. I had to cancel everything because she is still in Gaza.’

• A vigil is being held by Medical Aid for Palestinians at Parliament Square in central London to mourn the children killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza
• Attendees have written the name of a Palestinian child on the palm of their hand
• They say this emulates Gazan children who write their own names on their hands, terrified that if killed in the bombing, their bodies would not be identified or buried with their loved ones

Treasury minister Victoria Atkins earlier said that it was understood the six missing Britons were being held captive by the terrorists, but Number 10 later said that this was ‘incorrect’.

The government said it does not know whether the missing are among the over 200 hostages being held by Hamas, Downing Street clarified.

Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, told a press conference: ‘We were the scapegoats, they had warned us three weeks before but the masses came to our roads and burnt our fields, they sent balloons with fire and they burnt our fields – the IDF didn’t take that seriously.

‘On Saturday morning, everything was quiet and then there was huge shelling on our community. It exploded the huge fence that was there, they opened the gates of the kibbutz and entered on masses, that was very very tough, I have all these images in my mind.’

Yocheved Lifshitz, one of the two hostages freed by Hamas last night, is speaking to the press outside hospital in Tel Aviv alongside her daughter.

British citizen Sharone Lifshitz, 52, briefly broke into English to explain what her mother was saying in Hebrew about her traumatic experience.

‘My mum is telling the horrific stories, she is saying many, many people came through the fence.

‘She was taken on the back of a motorbike with her legs on one side and head on another side.

‘As she was taken she was hit with sticks.’

She added her elderly mother was forced to walk for a few kilometres on wet ground over a ‘spider web’ network of tunnels.

The terrorists took off Lifshitz’s watch and jewellery during the journey, her daughter said.

• Universities in Israel will delay the start of the academic year until the call-up of reservists soldiers ends, the Committee of University Presidents has announced
• The autumn term, which had been due to begin on October 15, had already been pushed back to November 5 and will now not start until December 3
• Some 360,000 reservists have so far been called up to fight, including thousands of university staff and students
• Around 30 per cent of all university students are among those now serving, The Times of Israel reports

The death toll in Gaza has risen to 5,300, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run Health Ministry.

It also said that about 18,000 people have been injured since Israel’s airstrikes on the territory began over two weeks ago.

• Yochved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper, 79, were released by Hamas on Monday
• They were among more than 200 people taken from Israel in Gaza on October 7
• The women were handed over to the Red Cross at the Rafah crossing by black-clad masked Hamas gunmen
• As she was released, Yochved turned to one of her captors and said ‘shalom’

IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari has warned Israelis not to become complacent despite an apparent slowing of rocket fire in recent days.

‘Complacency must not be shown in the home front. This is an attempt by the enemy to put us to sleep,’ Hagari said.

• France’s President will meet Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah today, the Palestinian Authority leader’s office has said
• Emmanuel Macron is the latest Western leader to make a solidarity visit to Israel after the October 7 attacks by Hamas
• If he goes to the West Bank today, he would become the first world leader to visit the Palestinian Authority headquarters during the crisis
• Rishi Sunak last week met with Abbas in Egypt
• The French presidency did not immediately confirm the meeting

• Isaac Herzog has told Emmanuel Macron that Israel is committed to ‘destroying’ its enemies
• ‘We demand the immediate release of all our citizens,’ Herzog also said
• He said of fighting between Hezbollah and the IDF in the north of Israel: ‘We are following very closely the situation,’ he said
• He added that while Israel is not looking for a confrontation, Lebanon was ‘playing with fire’ and ‘will pay the price’ if Hezbollah ‘drags us into war’
• France’s President said his country would ‘be here today, tomorrow and the day after for peace and stability’
• He added that Israel would not be ‘left alone in the war against terrorism’

• IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israel’s military was ‘ready and determined’ for the next stage in the war and was awaiting political instruction.
• He said Israel was learning from US experience in the Middle East but ‘our war is on our borders, not thousands of miles from Israel’
• Hagari said that he is expecting weeks of fighting ahead
• He said Egypt was playing a key role in negotiations for the release of hostages from Gaza

• IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, suggested Israel had no intention of curbing its strikes
• Hamas has repeatedly offered to release hostages on the condition that Israel stops its bombing campaign of Gaza
• IDF claims it hit more than 400 militant targets overnight and killed dozens of Hamas fighters

Israel’s health ministry says 278 people are still in hospital after the Hamas terror atrocity of October 7.

Of those being treated it said, 40 have suffered ‘severe’ injuries.

• At least 10 British nationals have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas
• A further six remain missing and are feared to be among the hostages taken by Hamas, junior British finance minister Victoria Atkins has said
• Hamas last night freed two Israeli women who were among the more than 200 hostages taken during its October 7 rampage in southern Israel

What you need to know this morning as the Israel-Palestine war enters its 18th day:

• Hamas has released two Israeli women, Yochved Lifshitz aged 85 and Nurit Cooper, 79
• At least 10 British nationals have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas
• A further six remain missing and are likely being held hostage by Hamas, a minister has said
• Israel’s military said it had hit more than 400 militant targets in Gaza overnight and killed dozens of Hamas fighters, including three deputy battalion commanders
• French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting Tel Aviv and has met with families of hostage victims
• The Palestinian health ministry says the Gaza death toll has topped 5,000, with the majority of those killed being civilians