Palestinians are reporting some of the heaviest bombardments in weeks in areas east of Gaza City, even as international outcry mounted over the targeted killing of five Al Jazeera journalists and another freelance reporter.
Israeli tanks and planes pounded three eastern suburbs of Gaza City on Monday after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the military to speed up its plans to take over the enclave.
Netanyahu’s new offensive to occupy the entire enclave has been condemned by a host of countries including the UK, France and Germany, who have called on the United Nations to intervene. Mourners gathered in large numbers to attend the funeral of six journalists killed while sheltering in a tent near Al Shifa hospital, including Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif.
The Israeli military had accused Al-Sharif of being a “Hamas terrorist”, something Al Jazeera has denied.
The UN’s human rights office condemned the killings, calling it a grave breach of international law.
Sir Keir Starmer’s office said the British government was “gravely concerned” and demanded an independent investigation.
The killing of Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif in Gaza is an attack on truth itself
The news of Anas al-Sharif’s killing hit me like a physical blow. A journalist with Al Jazeera, Anas was not my friend in the everyday sense – we never shared coffee, never walked the streets of Gaza together. But he was my neighbour.
He was born in the same place I was born: Jabalia refugee camp. His family’s home stood in the same crowded lanes where I grew up, among the same walls scarred by decades of displacement and war.
Over the past 674 days, I saw him every single day – not in person, but through my screen. When the rest of the world looked away, Anas was still there, reporting from the very heart of my city, from the streets where my family still lives. At a time when no one else dared to enter northern Gaza, he walked through the rubble, speaking into his camera, delivering not just the news, but fragments of home.
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‘It was horrific’: Witnesses tell how Israeli missiles tore through journalists’ tent in Gaza City
Anas al-Sharif, 28, one of the news channel’s most prominent voices in Gaza, was killed alongside reporter Mohammed Qreiqeh and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa. A sixth journalist, a freelance, was killed nearby.
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Blinken criticises France, UK, Australia and Canada’s plan to recognise Palestinian state
Former US secretary of state Antony Blinken has argued that France, the UK and Canada’s move to “unconditionally recognise” Palestine is “morally right” but “beside the more pressing realities.”
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Mr Blinken said the focus should be on averting famine, freeing hostages and ending the Gaza war.
He warned that recognition alone would not create a Palestinian state or end the suffering, calling instead for a “time-bound, conditions-based path” to recognition.
He said Israel could not accept a state led by Hamas, one that is militarised or aligned with Iran and others who reject Israel’s right to exist.
The three countries’ decision comes amid anger at Israel’s continuing atrocities and starvation in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu’s government has refused to commit to a ceasefire, pressing ahead with an offensive on Gaza City, where over a million Palestinians are sheltering.
Mr Blinken also criticised Israel’s lack of a plan to withdraw from Gaza, saying continued occupation would fuel insurgency and “bleed Israel militarily and morally.”
Defiant Netanyahu vows to ‘finish the job’ in planned takeover of Gaza
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel “has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas”, as he addressed foreign media in Jerusalem.
Mr Netanyahu remarked that chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, one of Israel’s strongest backers, had “buckled under” by announcing that Germany won’t authorise exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza until further notice.
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Madonna urges Pope Leo to visit Gaza ‘before it’s too late’
Madonna has appealed to Pope Leo to travel to Gaza on a humanitarian mission to help starving Palestinian children, warning that “there is no more time.”
In an Instagram post on Monday, the American singer – who was raised a Roman Catholic – urged the pontiff to bring “light to the children before it’s too late.”
“Most Holy Father. Please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it’s too late. As a mother, I cannot bear to watch their suffering. The children of the world belong to everyone. You are the only one of us who cannot be denied entry.”
Madonna said she was appealing to Pope Leo because “politics cannot effect change” but “consciousness can.”
The post, shared on her son Rocco’s birthday, described her plea as the best gift she could give him – asking “everyone to do what they can to help save the innocent children caught in the crossfire in Gaza.”
Since beginning his papacy in May, Pope Leo has been outspoken in his criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza, repeatedly voicing concern for Palestinian civilians under Israeli bombardment. It is unclear whether prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government would allow him entry to the enclave.
Australian PM says Netanyahu in denial about humanitarian situation in Gaza
Speaking about his phone call with the Israeli leader, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said Benjamin Netanyahu was “in denial” about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
His comments came a day after Australia joined a number of countries in plans to recognise a Palestinian state for the first time.
Mr Albanese said on Tuesday that the Netanyahu government’s reluctance to listen to its allies contributed to Australia’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state.
“He again reiterated to me what he has said publicly as well, which is to be in denial about the consequences that are occurring for innocent people,” Mr Albanese said in an interview with state broadcaster ABC, recounting a Thursday phone call with Mr Netanyahu discussing the issue.
‘Give us the flour – or we will kill you’: Gaza’s starving face impossible choices
To get a bag of flour for his starving three children, Nedal AbuSharbi arms himself with a knife to protect against thieves and prepares to be shot by the Israeli military.
There is so little food in Gaza – in the grip of famine due to a punishing Israeli blockade and the war – that lawlessness has taken over around the land crossings where the few aid trucks are able to get in.
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Israel plans to widen coming offensive beyond Gaza City into last areas not under its control
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel plans to widen its coming offensive beyond Gaza City to the last areas not yet under Israeli control, and where most of Gaza’s 2 million residents have sought shelter as the territory slides toward famine.
The mobilization of forces is expected to take weeks, and Israel may be using the threat of a wider offensive to try to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages or surrendering after 22 months of war sparked by its Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel.
Any expansion of Israeli operations is likely to bring even more death and destruction to the war-ravaged territory, around 75% of which is already largely destroyed and controlled by Israel. A wider offensive would also force more people to flee and further disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid during a severe hunger crisis.
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Watch: ‘ Every airstrike could cost him his life’
Families of Israeli hostages make desperate plea for end to war
International leaders accuse Israel of losing ‘humanity and reason’
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese on Monday added his country to a list moving toward recognition of a state of Palestine, along with France, Britain and Canada.
He said his government’s decision aimed to build momentum toward a two-state solution, which he called the best path to ending violence and bringing leadership other than Hamas to Gaza.
“The situation in Gaza has gone beyond the world’s worst fears,” he said. “The Israeli government continues to defy international law and deny sufficient aid, food and water to desperate people, including children.”
Also on Monday Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni announced new aid to Gaza in a phone conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
She stressed the need to bring hostilities with Israel to an immediate halt and “shared her deep concern about recent Israeli decisions that appear to be leading to further military escalation,” her office said in a statement.
Meloni reiterated that “the humanitarian situation in Gaza is unjustifiable and unacceptable.”
Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto also told the Italian daily La Stampa that Israel’s government has “lost reason and humanity” over Gaza and raised the possibility of imposing sanctions.
