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On the 129th day of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, the Al-Qassam Brigades announced the killing of 10 Israeli soldiers from zero distance, and the Jerusalem Brigades said that they had ambushed an Israeli force, leaving its members dead and wounded, while Israel admitted the killing of a battalion commander.
Warnings about the situation in Rafah
Amnesty International warned of what it described as an "imminent risk of genocide" in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where civilians have nowhere to escape from Israeli bombing.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan also expressed concern about the bombing and possible Israeli ground incursion into Rafah.
This comes as Al Jazeera's correspondent said that the number of people martyred in the Israeli raids on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip since dawn on Monday rose to 74.
American position
The White House said that it does not support a general ceasefire in Gaza now, considering that the crisis there will not end until Hamas releases all the Israeli hostages.
Washington added that it does not want a major military operation in Rafah without an implementable plan and ensuring the security of civilians, according to the White House, which considered that there are legitimate military targets for the Israelis in Rafah, but urged them to be cautious during their pursuit of Hamas.
Israel's losses
The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), announced that it had killed 10 Israeli occupation soldiers from point zero in the Abasan al-Kabira area, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
It added that it was able to detonate an anti-personnel device with Israeli force in the same area, killing and wounding its members.
This comes as the Israeli army admitted that two soldiers were killed and 9 wounded in battles in the southern Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours.
Al-Qassam’s announcement of the killing of 10 soldiers within hours came after Israeli media sources confirmed that the occupation army was subjected to an ambush, which it described as large and precise, carried out by the Palestinian resistance in Khan Yunis, which claimed the lives of more than 11 soldiers.
Later on Monday evening, Israeli media revealed that an Israeli army battalion commander was killed during battles in Gaza.
On the other hand, Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, said that it bombed with mortar shells a command and control site for the Israeli forces in the Al-Taqadum axis in the center of Khan Yunis.
It also said that it placed an Israeli force in a tight ambush in Khan Yunis in the early hours of Monday. It stated that its fighters surprised the force's members with machine guns, anti-personnel shells, fortifications, and explosive devices, causing deaths and injuries among their ranks.
The issue of prisoners
Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said that field press accounts confirm that the two Israeli prisoners whom the occupation claimed to free in the Shaboura camp in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, were not in the possession of the movement but rather in the possession of a civilian family, stressing the need to wait for the resistance’s account of the incident.
Hamdan added - in a press conference in Beirut - that the marketing and exaggeration of what happened in light of the defeats and resistance faced by the occupation army in various axes of fighting comes within the framework of the search for a lost achievement in the face of resistance, and a blatant attempt to raise the collapsed morale of the occupation army and its soldiers.
In an exciting development when Israel reported that it was able to free two prisoners, CNN on Monday evening quoted a senior official in the administration of US President Joe Biden as saying, “The rescue operation of two hostages in Rafah may have led to the death of about 100 Palestinians, and we are concerned about it.”
For his part, Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced the killing of 3 Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip in an Israeli bombing of the Strip during the past five days.
Abu Ubaida added that the three dead were among eight prisoners who were reported to have been seriously injured - Sunday - during occupation raids, indicating that the brigades will postpone announcing the names and photos of the dead for days to come until the fate of the rest of the wounded becomes clear.
Egypt and Israel
Monday witnessed an Israeli escalation towards Egypt, as extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich criticized the Egyptian position strongly opposing Israel's intention to launch a large-scale ground operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Smotrich said that Egypt is largely responsible for what happened on October 7, in reference to the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, and that Hamas was armed through them.
Smotrich called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ignore American pressure and not send an Israeli delegation to Cairo tomorrow in order to complete the talks in which Egypt, Qatar and the United States are participating regarding reaching a prisoner exchange deal. He added that the most appropriate solution for returning Israeli prisoners is to continue the military operation.
On the other hand, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said, during a press conference with his Slovenian counterpart Tanja Vajon, in the capital, Ljubljana, on Monday evening, that his country continues to implement the “peace agreement” and normal relations with Israel.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry also considered that Smotrich’s statements were completely unacceptable, as Egypt has full control over its territory. “It is unfortunate that Smotrich continues to make statements that reveal a hunger for killing and destruction.”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (French)
Qatari communications
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, discussed with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, during their meeting in Doha on Monday, the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories.
A statement from the Emiri Diwan said that the Emir of Qatar discussed with the Palestinian President the ongoing efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The statement added that the Emir of Qatar welcomed the efforts to end the division, and wished them to be crowned with success, and to serve the Palestinian people and their national interests.
For its part, the Palestinian News Agency reported that the Palestinian President said during his meeting with the Emir of Qatar that the Palestinian Authority is coordinating with Qatar to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and to support the official Palestinian position seeking to end the occupation.
In turn, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani discussed with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian the developments in the Gaza Strip and the expanding circle of violence in the region. During the meeting, the Qatari official confirmed Qatar's call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
West Bank
The Prisoners' Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club announced the martyrdom of the boy, Muhammad Tariq Abu Sneina (16 years old), inside the prison as a result of his wound the previous day by occupation bullets in Jerusalem, while Israeli forces continue to storm cities in the West Bank.
The occupation forces arrested the boy on Sunday, claiming he attempted to carry out a stabbing attack.
A number of Palestinians were also injured, and a number of others were arrested, during a campaign of arrests and incursions into various areas of the occupied West Bank launched by the Israeli occupation forces.
The occupation forces stormed the village of Madama, south of Nablus, on Monday evening, amid confrontations with Palestinian youths. The occupation forces also stormed the neighborhoods of Ain Munjid, Ramallah al-Tahta, and Umm al-Sharayet in the city, the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah, and the Jalazoun camp in the north, and stormed and searched several homes.
Al Jazeera's correspondent said that settlers carried out attacks in the village of Asira al-Qibliya, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, and burned cars and property of Palestinian citizens. He added that two Palestinians were injured by settlers' bullets while attacking the village.
South Lebanon Front
The Lebanese Hezbollah announced the killing of two of its members in confrontations with the Israeli occupation army in southern Lebanon, bringing its death toll to 190 since October 8, 2023.
For its part, the Civil Defense in southern Lebanon said that 4 people were killed and others were injured in two Israeli raids on two homes in the towns of Tayr Harfa and Maroun al-Ras.
Hezbollah announced in separate statements that it had targeted spy equipment at the Israeli radar site opposite the towns of Shebaa and Kafar Shuba with a guided missile, and that it had targeted the Pranit barracks with a “Falaq 1” missile, achieving a direct hit.
The party also targeted the Zarit barracks with missile launches from Falaq 1, achieving direct hits, and a building in the Yaroun colony where enemy soldiers were positioned with appropriate weapons, and it sustained a direct hit.
Earlier on Monday, an Al Jazeera correspondent reported that a local Hezbollah official survived after an Israeli drone bombed a car near Bint Jbeil Governmental Hospital in Nabatieh Governorate, southern Lebanon, while others were injured in the targeting.
Spying on Israel
On Monday, the Israeli "Wala" website revealed exciting details about a case it described as the worst security breach in the history of Israel, after a court in Beersheba allowed the publication of additional details in the case that exploded last month, where a reserve officer was able to wander for weeks between military bases that he had no right to enter. He obtained highly sensitive and confidential information, including the deployment of forces, and handed it over to military and civilian personnel, before being arrested and prosecuted on charges of espionage and impersonation.
The website revealed what it described as "one of the aspects of chaos" that prevailed in the Southern Command of the Israeli occupation army in the first days of the war on the Gaza Strip.
According to the website, the detained Israeli previously served in the army for 6 years in multiple units and left as a first lieutenant, a rank he held in the reserve forces in the current war.
British sanctions on 4 settlers
The British Foreign Office announced the imposition of sanctions on 4 extremist Israeli settlers, for committing acts of violence and human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The ministry added that there have been unprecedented levels of violence by extremist settlers in the West Bank over the past year.
The sanctions impose financial restrictions and a travel ban on the four settlers.
This step comes after the United States also imposed sanctions earlier this month on 4 Israelis it accused of involvement in violence in the West Bank.
On the other hand, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir criticized Britain's decision, and considered it a major moral confusion and not based on a legal background, he said.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies