Summary
- Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu warns Israel is just getting started, after the worst attack on its soil in decades
- Israel says it will impose a “total blockade” on Gaza, including cutting off water and electricity and not letting in food and fuel
- The Gaza Strip is being hit by what Israel calls the largest aerial bombardment it has ever conducted against the besieged enclave
- The latest death toll stands at 687 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health officials, and more than 900 Israelis, report Israeli medical services
- Hamas has pledged to kill captured Israelis if Palestinian civilians are targetted without warning
- Hamas’s surprise attack on Saturday came after a record number of Palestinians were killed by Israel in recent months
Children ‘suffer first and suffer most’ in war – UNICEF
The UN agency for children, UNICEF, has warned the humanitarian situation in the conflict zone is “rapidly deteriorating”, saying aid workers need safe passage to bring lifesaving aid to children and families.
“I remind all parties that in this war, as in all wars, it is children who suffer first and suffer most,” UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said in a statement released on Monday night.
“I am also deeply concerned about measures to block electricity and prevent food, fuel and water from entering Gaza, which may put the lives of children at risk,” she added.
UNICEF has estimated that there are roughly 1 million children living in the Gaza Strip, meaning almost half of the people in Gaza are children.
She also called for the “immediate and safe release of any children being held hostage in Gaza so that they can be reunited with their families or caregivers”.
