From the front lines of the Israeli-Palestinian war, NDTV brings you daily reports from journalist Allan Sorensen, Middle East correspondent for the Danish newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad, who provides insights and gripping first-hand accounts from the war-torn region.
One anti-tank missile after another was fired at Israel from Lebanon on Sunday. At least six such attacks killed two Israeli soldiers and injured several others. By Sunday afternoon, it seemed that an all-out war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah was more likely than an Israeli land invasion of Gaza. Helicopters, drones and fighter jets patrolled the cloudy skies over Israel’s northern border as the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of all villages within two kilometers of the Lebanese border.
The headquarters of the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon in the coastal town of Naqoura was hit by a rocket during the firefight and escalation between Israel and Hezbollah. No one was injured in the attack and it has not yet been determined where the rocket came from. The UN mission, known as UNIFIL, was established in 2006 after a long summer war between Israel and Hezbollah.
In an attempt to de-escalate tension at the border, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant sent a clear message to Hezbollah.
“We have no interest in a war in the north, we do not want to escalate the situation. If Hezbollah chooses the path of war, it will pay a very high price. But if it holds back, we will respect the situation. and leave things as they are, despite shooting from both sides,” he said in a video message.
At the same time, while Israel was still preparing for a land invasion of Gaza, the local Palestinian population was still struggling to flee from northern Gaza. It is estimated that at least one million Palestinians in Gaza are internally displaced. It is believed that around 6,00,000 people have left the northern areas at Israeli request.
UNRWA, the UN Palestinian refugee agency, said on Sunday that Gaza is “being strangled” as the number of people seeking shelter in their schools and facilities in southern Gaza continues to grow.
The Israeli military said it would not target a specific route south in the coming hours and again urged Palestinians to leave the north. According to Israeli media, the request to the people of Gaza has two different purposes. One of these is to evacuate the northern areas in anticipation of an expected ground invasion. The second is to maximize pressure on Hamas by creating a situation on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel hopes Hamas will release some of the 199 kidnapped Israelis in Gaza in exchange for immediate humanitarian aid.
Hospitals in Gaza are expected to run out of emergency fuel within a few days, putting the lives of a large number of patients at immediate risk, according to the UN.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the Biden administration does not support the mass relocation of Palestinians outside Gaza.
“I heard directly from the president of the Palestinian Authority [Mahmoud] Abbas and virtually every other leader I’ve spoken to in the region, that this idea is a non-starter, and that’s why we don’t support it,” Blinken said in an interview with Al Arabiya from Cairo.
“We believe that people should be able to stay in Gaza, their home. But we also want to ensure that they are not in danger and that they get the help they need.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Sunday with the relatives of hostages held in Gaza. Netanyahu has promised to make the release of the hostages a clear goal of the current war against Hamas. The decision was met with relief by the hostages’ relatives. According to Israeli media reports, negotiations for the release of children, women and the elderly from Gaza are ongoing, with Qatar as mediator. No details have been released about the negotiations.
The total death toll on the Israeli side stands at over 1,300, while the number of deaths in Gaza rose to at least 2,670 on Sunday.
The number of Americans killed since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas rose to 30 on Sunday, according to the US State Department.
“At this time we can confirm the deaths of 30 American citizens. We express our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General, warned that the Middle East is “on the brink of collapse”.
He urged Hamas to release hostages and pledged that Israel would allow humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza.
“Each of these two objectives is valid in itself. They must not become a bargaining chip,” the UN chief said in a statement.
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday he would try to put together a “generous” war aid package for Israel with the help of the Senate.
“America will stand with its ally Israel. “I, along with my colleagues here, will lead efforts in the United States Senate to provide Israel with the support it needs to fully defend itself against this monstrous attack,” he said at a news conference in Israel.
In an interview with 60 Minutes, US President Joe Biden stated that he believes Hamas should be eliminated. He also said it would be a mistake for Israel to reoccupy parts of Gaza.
Until 2005, approximately 8,000 Israeli Jews lived in settlements in Gaza.
Sunday was also the day when several incidents against Jews were reported in Europe and the US.
FBI officials said they had noticed an increase in threatening rhetoric against Jewish and Muslim communities in the week after the brutal Hamas attacks in Israel. In Germany, the Jewish symbol, the Star of David, was painted on the doors of several Jewish families in the city of Berlin.
(Allan Sorensen is the Middle East correspondent for the Danish daily Kristeligt Dagblad.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.
