LIVE | Israel-Hamas War Day 25: Soldier rescued; Netanyahu rejects ceasefire calls
Death toll among Palestinians crosses 8,300, mostly women and children, an unprecedented figure in decades of Israeli-Palestinian violence
Israeli ground forces pushed deeper into Gaza on Monday (October 30), advancing in tanks and other armoured vehicles on the territory’s main city and freeing a soldier held captive by Hamas militants. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls for a ceasefire, even as airstrikes landed near hospitals where thousands of Palestinians are sheltering beside the wounded.
The military said a female soldier captured during Hamas’s brutal October 7 incursion was rescued in Gaza — the first since the weekslong war began. It provided few details, but said in a statement that Pvt Ori Megidish was “doing well” and had met with her family.
Netanyahu welcomed her home, saying the “achievement” by Israel's security forces “illustrates our commitment to free all the hostages”. He also rejected calls for a cease-fire to facilitate the release of captives or end the war, which he has said will be long and difficult.
“Calls for a cease-fire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas,” he told a press conference. “That will not happen.” He also said he has no plans to resign in the face of mounting anger over the failure of Israel’s vaunted security forces to prevent the worst surprise attack on the country in a half century.
Hamas and other militant groups are believed to be holding some 240 captives, including men, women and children. Netanyahu has faced mounting pressure to secure their release even as Israel wages a punishing war it says is aimed at crushing Hamas and ending its 16-year rule over the territory.
Hamas, which has released four hostages, has said it would let the others go in return for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, including many implicated in deadly attacks on Israelis. Israel has dismissed the offer, and Netanyahu said the ground invasion “creates the possibility” of getting the hostages out, adding that Hamas will “only do it under pressure”.
Hamas released a short video Monday purporting to show three other female captives. One of the women delivers a brief statement — likely under duress — criticizing Israel’s response to the hostage crisis. It was not clear when the Hamas video was made.
The military has been vague about its operations inside Gaza, including the location and number of troops. Israel has declared a new “phase” in the war but stopped short of declaring an all-out ground invasion, even as it has deployed tens of thousands of troops to the border.
(With agency inputs)
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Live Updates
- 31 Oct 2023 3:16 AM GMT
Death toll crosses 8,300
The death toll among Palestinians crossed 8,300, mostly women and children, the Gaza Health Ministry said Monday. The figure is without precedent in decades of Israeli-Palestinian violence. More than 1.4 million people in Gaza have fled their homes.
Over 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas' initial attack, also an unprecedented figure.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, says nearly 672,000 Palestinians are sheltering in its schools and other facilities across Gaza, which have reached four times their capacity.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, declined to comment on where Israeli forces are deployed. He said additional infantry, armoured, engineering and artillery units had entered Gaza and the operations would continue to “expand and intensify.”
The military said troops have killed dozens of militants who attacked from inside buildings and tunnels. It said that in the last few days, it had struck more than 600 militant targets, including weapons depots and antitank missile launching positions. Palestinian militants have continued firing rockets into Israel, including toward its commercial hub, Tel Aviv.
Hamas said its fighters clashed with Israeli troops who entered the northwest.
In the occupied West Bank, Israel said its warplanes carried out airstrikes Monday against militants clashing with its forces in the Jenin refugee camp. Hamas said four of its fighters were killed there. As of Sunday, Israeli forces and settlers have killed 123 Palestinians, including 33 minors, in the West Bank, half of them during search-and-arrest operations, the UN said. (AP)
