Israel-Hamas war live: 126 confirmed Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, says IDF | Israel-Hamas war

The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has promised to “dismantle” Hamas, whom he described as “bloodthirsty monsters” at the first cabinet meeting of Israel’s new national emergency government in Tel Aviv.

Speaking before the session, which began with a moment of silence for Israeli victims of the violence, he said:

This is the first meeting of the national emergency government, to which five additional ministers have joined – Benny (Gantz), Gadi (Eizenkot), Chili (Tropper), Gideon (Sa’ar) and Yifat (Shasha-Biton).

We are working around the clock, as a team and a united front. The unity among us gives a clear message to the nation, the enemy and the world.

I have seen our amazing soldiers who are now on the frontline. They know that the entire nation is behind them. They understand the scope of the mission. They are ready to take action at any time in order to defeat the bloodthirsty monsters who have risen against us to destroy us.

Hamas thought that we would come apart – we will dismantle Hamas.

Over 1,300 Israelis were killed after Hamas launched an incursion in southern Israel on 7 October which included a an attack on civilians at a music festival and an attack on the kibbutz Kfar Aza which was described as a “massacre” by the IDF commander whose troops reached it.

The Israel Defence Forces have confirmed that at least 126 people are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

Retaliatory airstrikes by Israel on the Gaza Strip have so far killed more than 2,300 Palestinians, with an Israeli military order for people to evacuate from the north of Gaza to the south described by the UN human rights body as “a crime against humanity”.

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza remains closed, with humanitarian aid waiting to be delivered to the Palestinians.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened Israel’s expanded emergency cabinet for the first time on Sunday, saying the national unity on display sent a message at home and abroad.

Reuters reports the meeting, held in military headquarters in Tel Aviv, began with ministers standing for a moment’s silence in memory of the more than 1,300 Israelis killed in Hamas’s 7 October attack.

It is approaching 3pm in both Gaza and Tel Aviv. Here is a summary of developments so far today …

• The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have said that the number of confirmed Israeli hostages being held in Gaza is 126. Hamas has previously claimed that 13 hostages have been killed within Gaza by Israeli airstrikes. It said there were foreigners among those who died, without specifying their nationalities.

• The Israeli military also said that at least 279 of its soldiers had been killed since 7 October, when Hamas launched its attack on southern Israel. At least 1,300 Israelis have been killed and at least 3,400 wounded in total. A sign with a prayer for IDF forces and those killed or missing was placed on Sunday at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where psalms were being recited.

• Medics in Gaza said on Sunday that thousands could die if hospitals packed with wounded people ran out of fuel and basic supplies, as civilians under an air bombardment struggled to find food, water and safety before an expected Israeli ground offensive. Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 2,329 Palestinians, with more than 9,714 wounded. In addition at least 53 people have been reported killed in the West Bank, with more than 1,100 wounded.

• Egypt is intensifying efforts with its international and regional partners to deliver aid to Gaza, according to a statement released by Egypt’s presidency on Sunday. Egypt said its national security was a red line and that it rejected any plan to displace Palestinians. Egypt is proposing hosting a summit that would cover recent developments involving the crisis in Gaza and the future of the Palestinian issue.

• The Egyptian Red Crescent, World Health Organization and other NGOs and volunteer groups remain poised to deliver aid through the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza, but as yet it remains closed.

• One person was killed and three others wounded in a northern Israeli village after fire across the blue line from Lebanon into Israel. The Israeli military said it was striking in Lebanon in retaliation, and it declared a zone within 2.5 miles (4km) of the blue line off-limits to public access. It said it was deliberately disrupting GPS operations in northern Israel near Lebanon, and also in the south near Gaza.

• Israel’s communications minister has said he is seeking a possible closure of Al Jazeera’s local bureau and accused the Qatari news station of pro-Hamas incitement and of exposing Israeli soldiers to potential attack from Gaza. Shloma Karhi said the proposal to shut Al Jazeera had been vetted by Israeli security officials and was being examined by legal experts. He would bring it to the cabinet later in the day, he said. Al Jazeera and the government in Doha had no immediate comment.

• Pope Francis on Sunday called for humanitarian corridors to help those under siege in Gaza and renewed his appeal for the release of hostages held by the militant Islamist group Hamas. “I strongly ask that the children, the sick, the elderly, women and all civilians do not become victims of the conflict,” the pope said during his weekly address to the crowds in St Peter’s Square. “Humanitarian right must be respected, above all in Gaza.”

• The US embassy in Israel has published details of how it will attempt to evacuate people by sea from Haifa to Cyprus tomorrow.

• The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said his meeting with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh was “very productive”.

• The EU is to convene an emergency meeting of its member states to discuss the consequences of the deteriorating situation in Israel and Palestine. Sending out an invitation for a summit on Tuesday, the European Council president, Charles Michel, said if the EU was “not careful” the conflict could “feed extremism” across Europe.

• He is also concerned about the consequences for neighbouring countries’ capacity to deal with refugees and the potential for onward crisis support in the EU.

• Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone “beyond the scope of self-defence” and the Israeli government must “cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza”, China’s foreign minister said in remarks published on Sunday.

• The Jerusalem Post reported earlier that Iran had sent a private message to Israel through the UN that it could intervene if Israel continues its military campaign in Gaza.

• Britain’s foreign secretary has said Israel should show “restraint” as it prepares to invade Gaza, marking a slight change of tone from the UK government. James Cleverly on Sunday urged the Israel Defence Forces to show “discipline” and avoid mass casualties. He told the BBC the UK government had been lobbying Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing.

• Cleverly said that considering about 10 British people dead or missing was not an “unreasonable estimate”, and declined to say if the UK believed actions by Israel so far had been a breach of international law. The UN’s OHCHR position has been that the evacuation order imposed by the Israeli military on the civilian population of the Gaza Strip is “a crime against humanity, and collective punishment is prohibited under international humanitarian law”.

• The Scottish National party has supported the UN’s calls for an immediate ceasefire on the Gaza Strip. The motion, passed by acclaim on Sunday morning at its conference in Aberdeen, follows repeated pleas from Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader, for restraint in the conflict. Yousaf’s mother-in-law and father-in-law, who is Palestinian, are stranded in Gaza and living without enough food, water and power.

This is Martin Belam on the live blog from London, and I will be with you for the next few hours. You can reach me at [email protected].

Scotland’s SNP backs motion on UN Gaza ceasefire calls as leader’s parents-in-law remain stranded

Severin Carrell

The Scottish National party has supported the UN’s calls for an immediate ceasefire on the Gaza strip and urgent humanitarian and medical aid to Gaza’s civilian population in an emergency motion at its annual conference.

The motion, passed by acclaim on Sunday morning at its conference in Aberdeen, follows repeated pleas from Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader, for restraint in the conflict. Yousaf’s mother-in-law and father-in-law, who is Palestinian, are stranded in Gaza and living without enough food, water and power.

The first minister told BBC One’s Kuenssberg progamme on Sunday he learned at 1am on Sunday morning his mother in law Elizabeth El-Nakla was told their street was about to be targeted by Israeli bombing and expected to die imminently; it turned out to be a false alarm.

The SNP said it “unequivocally” condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel, called for the unconditional release of its hostages, and “recognises the right of Israel to protect itself from terror”.

It said the party “supports the United Nation’s call for a humanitarian corridor, protected by a ceasefire, to be agreed to allow people to leave and civilian supplies, including food, fuel, water and medical supplies, to reach those who cannot leave. Conference calls on the UK government to support the United Nation’s call for a humanitarian corridor and to commit supplies and aid to mitigate the human tragedy unfolding in Gaza.

“(Conference) reaffirms support for a two-state solution which recognises the right of both the state of Israel and the state of Palestine to exist and prosper, and which respects international law and the human rights of those in the region.”