Mikati speaks, Israel bombs Rafah aid route, Hamas hostages estimate upped: Everything you need to know to start your Tuesday

Catch up on our live coverage of Day 10 of the Hamas-Israel war here. 

“We are working for peace,” caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said yesterday as Hezbollah and Israel continued to exchange fire at Lebanon’s southern border. “The decision to wage war is in the hands of Israel, and what is required is to deter it and stop its provocations so as not to create tensions,” Mikati added. Yesterday, the Lebanese Army dismantled 20 missile launchers in the South Lebanon towns of Qlaileh and Chaaitiyeh. The same day, Hezbollah said in a statement that it had targeted five Israeli positions and inflicted casualties on the Israeli Army. Israeli Army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said no casualties were recorded and that they responded with “artillery strikes towards the origin of the fire.” The Lebanese Army confirmed to L’Orient Today that the village of Dhaira in South Lebanon was bombarded by Israel. Earlier yesterday, Israeli Army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced the evacuation of 28 settlements on the Lebanese border, saying that the measure is being taken to give greater freedom of offensive action to Israeli troops. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, border crossfire between the Israeli Army and Hezbollah has caused several deaths and injuries on both sides. Lebanese authorities and eyewitnesses blame Israel for the death of Issam Abdallah, a Reuters video journalist killed Friday evening in a bombing raid on South Lebanon that also wounded six other journalists.

Israel’s bombardment of the Rafah crossing, the only access to Gaza not under its control, has stranded hundreds of tons of supplies direly needed amid a siege depriving Palestinians of electricity, water and food. Egypt said its border with Gaza, while open, is non-operational due to Israeli airstrikes. According to several media outlets, around a hundred trucks carrying humanitarian aid are waiting to enter the enclave after the crossing was scheduled to open yesterday morning. Hospitals across the Gaza Strip yesterday had only 24 hours left of fuel reserves, putting thousands of patients at risk, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. “Not a drop of water, not a grain of wheat, not a liter of fuel has been allowed to enter Gaza in the last eight days,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), during a press conference. He added that “Gaza is being strangled.” European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that “unimpeded access must be granted to the UN to and throughout Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, including water and essential supplies. Human suffering can be no bargaining chip.”

Israel claimed 199 people have been held hostage by Hamas since the Oct. 7 incursion into Israeli-controlled territory, increasing its earlier estimate of 150. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to Hamas for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages. Hamas previously said it would not negotiate on hostage release until the end of the war and threatened to broadcast their execution in response to unannounced attacks by Israel. Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz previously said, “No electric switch will be turned on, no water tap will be opened and no fuel truck will enter [Gaza] until the Israeli abductees are returned home.” On Sunday, Hamas claimed that nine hostages, including four foreigners, were killed by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza over the previous 24 hours. Since the start of the war, there have been more than 1,400 deaths on the Israeli side and more than 2,750 on the Palestinian side.

In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “How many people has the Hamas-Israel war killed so far?”

Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz