Israel sets its eyes on southern Gaza as IDF mops up Hamas remnants in northern Gaza City

A U.K. doctor who worked at the Al-Shifa hospital says there were areas of the complex where he was not allowed to go on threat of being shot.

He said he frequently saw “dodgy-looking non-medical characters” going in and out of the restricted area, adding that hospital workers avoided the area for fear of Hamas.

“I was welcome everywhere else, and as I say, the doctors and nurses there were very welcoming and very kind, and the hushed tones under which this was said were consistent with all the other hushed tones with which Hamas was discussed. You know, people were genuinely fearful,” the doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told France 24.

“I cannot emphasize too much the air of collective paranoia that existed there,” he added.

His comments come after critics of Israel have cast doubt on the Israeli military’s claim that Hamas used the Al-Shifa facility as a base of operations.

Israeli Defense Forces are clashing with Hamas terrorists around the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza on monday.

Intense fighting has seen Israel encircle the medical facility much the same way it did with Al-Shifa hospital earlier this month. Thousands of refugees and patients are currently using the hospital, and staff say at least 12 people were killed when a mortar strike struck the second floor of the building. Staff say the attack originated from Israel.

The IDF has yet to respond to the claim.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claims that more than 12,500 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict.

The Associate Press contributed to this report

The Washington Post inaccurately reported that the United States brokered a deal to pause conflict between Israel and Hamas for five days to free women and children hostages in Gaza but issued a correction after being called out by the White House National Security Council. 

On Saturday, the Washington Post published a story that claimed a tentative deal was reached that featured the headline, “Israel and Hamas reach tentative U.S.-brokered deal to pause conflict, free dozens of hostages.” The paper cited “people familiar with the terms of the agreement” and reported the pause in fighting would be monitored by aerial surveillance. 

The Post then shared the story on social media, writing, “Israel and Hamas reach tentative U.S.-brokered deal to pause conflict for five days and free women and children hostages.” 

White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson quickly threw cold water on the report. She quoted it on X and explained, “We have not reached a deal yet, but we continue to work hard to get to a deal.”

The Post then deleted the tweet promoting the inaccurate report and issued a correction to the online story.

“A previous version of this article, headline and accompanying news alert incorrectly characterized The Post’s reporting about the status of negotiations among Israel, Hamas and the United States to pause conflict for five days and free women and children held hostage in Gaza. The article stated that the parties had agreed to a tentative deal. In fact, Israel and Hamas were close to a U.S.-brokered agreement. The article has been corrected,” the Post wrote. 

Fox News’ Brian Flood and Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., slammed Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., over his call to make Israeli aid conditional on its actions in Gaza, as the tensions in the Middle East continue to push a wedge between Democrats in the U.S.

Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, released a statement over the weekend urging President Biden to force Israel into curbing its West Bank settlements and pledging no long-term blockade of Gaza before the U.S. releases aid dollars.

Moskowitz pledged that he would work to remove those conditions from the legislation if it was sent to the House of Representatives or force stricter measures on aid to Gaza. 

“I am absolutely for humanitarian aid to Gaza. But if Bernie Sanders puts political requirements on the Aid to Israel, I will work in the House to remove those conditions or condition Aid to Gaza that requires the removal of Hamas,” Moskowitz wrote on X over the weekend. Both Moskowitz and Sanders are Jewish.

“Let’s not play this game. Send the aid to both,” Moskowitz added.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report

An opinion article by Elan Siegel:

On October 7, life for my family stopped, and I don’t know when it will begin again. The civilized world is rightly horrified by the unspeakable brutality of the atrocities committed by Hamas. It is hard for me to believe, let alone write these words, but October 7 happened to us. My parents, Keith and Aviva Siegel, were kidnapped from their home and are now hostages in Gaza. 

Because my parents can’t speak for themselves, as their daughter, I want the world to know who they are. I want the world to know that they believe that love for humanity will defeat hatred. I want the world to know that time is running out to prove them right and secure their release. 

My father was born in the United States, while my mother grew up in South Africa. They moved to Kibbutz Kfar Aza more than 40 years ago, falling in love with this beautiful part of the world. There, they built a wonderful home for our family. In my mind, that home is a haven of love, comfort and happiness. 

But it was shattered on October 7 when terrorists invaded. They forced my parents, unassuming people filled with kindness and a quiet sensitivity, into my father’s car and We don’t know where they were taken. We have no idea what condition they might be in. We have heard nothing from them or about them since they were kidnapped.  

Eventually, we had to tell their five young grandchildren. We held hands in a circle and my sister (an American citizen like myself and our father) tried to explain where grandma and grandpa have gone. But how do you explain to children that monsters really do exist? Each day, they ask when their grandparents are coming home. I just hope that my parents are together, so that they too can hold each other’s hands just like we did.      

Israeli forces say they arrested 300 terrorists in Gaza and have taken them into Israel for interrogation
about Hamas tunnel locations and other key information.

Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari announced the action on Monday, saying members of all terror groups inside Gaza were among the 300 arrestees.

“We arrested over 300 terrorists from the terrorist organizations during the ground maneuver who were taken for further investigation in Israeli territory. The information that emerges from the interrogations of the captives is of great value, leads to the elimination of terrorists and the preservation of the security of our forces,” Hagari wrote in a statement.

“300 terrorists from all the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip were interrogated and they gave the locations of underground terrorist tunnels, warehouses and weapons, along with exposing the enemy’s methods of operation, and the enemy’s assimilation efforts within the civilian population,” the IDF wrote.

More than 30 premature babies in “extremely critical condition” were evacuated from Gaza’s main hospital on Sunday, health officials said.

A World Health Organization-led team said the babies had been safely removed
from the Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, where power was cut and clean water, fuel, medical supplies, food and other essential items had ran out. They are now receiving urgent care in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and will ultimately be transferred to Egypt.

“The babies were successfully transported to the neonatal intensive care unit at Al-Helal Al-Emarati Maternity Hospital in southern Gaza, where they are being assessed and stabilized,” the WHO said. “Doctors there say all the babies are fighting serious infections due to lack of medical supplies and impossibility to continue infection control measures in Al-Shifa Hospital. Eleven are in critical condition.”

Many had dehydration, hypothermia and sepsis in some cases, said Mohamed Zaqout, director of Gaza hospitals. At least two babies died in the days before the facility was evacuated, the WHO said.

Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report

Israeli Defense Force spokesman Daniel Hagari shared footage of an Israeli attack on a group of Hamas terrorists attempting to fire an anti-tank missile on Monday.

Hagari says the group was trying to fire the missile inside an area the Israeli military had designated safe
for Palestinian refugees attempting to flee south. The official went on to describe an exchange of fire with Hezbollah terrorists at Israel’s northern border.

“Earlier today, the IDF attacked a terrorist squad that tried to launch anti-tank missiles in a safe area, in addition, the IDF attacked terrorist infrastructures of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanese territory with a fighter plane, a combat helicopter and tank fire in response to launches towards the territory of the State of Israel earlier today,” Hagari wrote.

“In addition, about 25 launches from Lebanese territory towards Israeli territory were detected at several points in the border area, the air defense fighters intercepted several launches and the rest fell in open areas, also, three unmanned aircraft were detected that hit near the IDF post, there were no casualties,” he added.

Israeli Defense Forces say numerous Hamas hostages were taken to Al-Shifa Hospital following the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.

Israel has obtained footage showing Hamas terrorists escorting migrants inside the medical complex, which Israel says the terrorist organizaton used to conceal a base of operations. They say at least one hostage, 19-year-old Noa Marciano, was murdered inside the hospital.

Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says the likelihood of reaching a deal with Hamas to release hostages “has gone up” in recent weeks.

Regev told ‘Fox & Friends’ that the past six weeks of fighting have been devastating for Hamas, and that the terrorist group “needs” a reprieve. He said Israel may be willing to pause fighting if Hamas releases a “significant” number of hostages.

Regev and U.S. officials have warned that no deal has been hammered out yet, however.
Israel says there remain nearly 240 hostages in Hamas custody, though the U.S. has cautioned it is impossible to know how many of those remain alive.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday slammed the Palestinian Authority for denying that the terrorist group Hamas was responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre at a music festival in Israel that killed hundreds of attendees.

The Sunday night address came in response to an official statement from the Palestinian Authority that blamed “Israeli helicopters” for the death of hundreds of participants of the Supernova music festival near kibbutz Re’im.

The claim, echoed by Hamas, appeared to reference a report from Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, which said that an Israel Defense Forces helicopter had accidentally hit festival-goers while firing at terrorists.

However, the report, which cited senior Israeli security officials, did not say the helicopters were responsible for all the deaths at the massacre. Fox News Digital has reached out to the reporter for comment.

“Today, the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah said something utterly preposterous. It denied that it was Hamas that carried out the horrible massacre at the nature festival near Gaza. It actually accused Israel of carrying out that massacre. This is a complete reversal of truth,” Netanyahu said in a statement posted on X.

Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-NY, says the roughly 240 hostages held by Hamas must be the top priority of the international community.

Goldman made the statement during a Sunday appearance on MSNBC’s ‘Inside with Jen Psaki.’ He reacted to the news that the U.S., Israel and Hamas were ‘closing in’ on a deal to release more than a dozen hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting.

“This is what we all should be focusing on right now is the release of 240 hostages,” Goldman said. “That should be the focus of the entire international community right now.

The Israeli military eliminated three senior Hamas commanders in overnight airstrikes in Gaza on Monday.

Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst delivered an update on the situation in Israel early Monday morning. He pointed to footage uncovered by Israel showing Hamas terrorists taking Israeli hostages into the Al-Shifa hospital on the morning of October 7.

Israel has long claimed that Hamas used the hospital and tunnels under it as a base of operations.

IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari released new details about the death of an Israeli hostage during a press conference on Sunday.

IDF servicemember Noa Marciano, 19, was abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7.

“Noa was taken into Gaza alive, she was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza City next to the Shifa Hospital,” Hagari said. “During ongoing combat, in the vicinity of where she was held captive, Noa’s Hamas captor was killed and Noa was injured.”

Hagari said that Noah’s injuries were “not life-threatening” and said that Hamas terrorists murdered her inside the Al-Shifa Hospital after she was wounded.

“Hamas terrorists took Noa into Shifa hospital where she was murdered quickly,” he continued. “Hamas murdered Noa inside Shifa hospital. Our thoughts are with Noa’s family. We send our heartfelt condolences to Noa’s family. We did not reach Noa in time.”

“This has only made the IDF more determined to do everything, everything in our power, to bring all our hostages home,” Hagari added.

Fox News Digital’s Dana Karni contributed to this report.

A cargo ship linked to an Israeli billionaire was allegedly seized by
Iran-backed rebels in the Red Sea on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it “strongly condemns the Iranian attack against an international vessel.”

“The ship, which is owned by a British company and is operated by a Japanese firm, was hijacked with Iran guidance by the Yemenite Houthi militia,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “Onboard the vessel are 25 crew members of various nationalities, including Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Filipino and Mexican. No Israelis are onboard. This is another act of Iranian terrorism and constitutes a leap forward in Iran’s aggression against the citizens of the free world, with international consequences regarding the security of the global shipping lanes.”

Israel Defense Forces also wrote on X, “The hijacking of a cargo ship by the Houthis near Yemen in the southern Red Sea is a very grave incident of global consequence. The ship departed Turkey on its way to India, staffed by civilians of various nationalities, not including Israelis. It is not an Israeli ship.”

While Israeli officials insisted the vessell was British-owned and Japanese-operated, ownership details for the Bahamian-flagged Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier, in public shipping databases associated the ship’s owners with Ray Car Carriers, which was founded by Abraham “Rami” Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel, according to The Associated Press.