Gaza being 'strangled' UN says as Israel continues preparations for ground offensive

ITV News' Rohit Kachroo reports on the latest developments as the fighting between Israel and Hamas continues


  • At least 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,400 Israelis since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel over a week ago, officials have confirmed.

  • The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was planning an "air, sea and land offensive" on Gaza.

  • Gaza's hospitals are expected to run out of fuel for emergency generators within 24 hours, according to the United Nations (UN).

  • Hamas has claimed it has between 200 to 250 hostages and that 22 of them have been killed during air strikes, according to CNN


Conditions for millions of people left trapped in Gaza are continuing to worsen as supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine dwindle further, with the UN warning the territory is being "strangled".

Israel's military has said at least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas, with an IDF spokesman telling a media briefing the military has "updated the families" of all hostages.

Hamas claimed it has between 200 to 250 hostages and that 22 of them have been killed during air strikes, according to CNN.

On Monday, attention turned to the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, where thousands have gathered and which was closed nearly a week ago due to Israeli airstrikes.

The United States and international mediators have been negotiating a humanitarian ceasefire, which would allow aid to enter and foreign nationals to leave Gaza.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has said there is no ceasefire "at the moment".

The Israeli Air Force also claimed on Monday to have assassinated Hamas's "head of general intelligence" in an airstrike on Khan Yunis in south Gaza.

The post on X did not identify the target.

British nationals have been able to escape through the Rafah crossing, connecting Gaza and Egypt. Credit: ITV News

The UN has warned Gaza is "running dry" after Israel days ago cut off supplies of water, food and electricity into the 25-mile long stretch of land.

Israel's water ministry has said that water had been restored at one "specific point" in southern Gaza, but aid workers have not been able to confirm the claim.

A spokesperson for the UN's Palestinian refugee agency said Gaza "is being strangled", adding: "If we look at the issue of water - we all know water is life - Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life."

Hospitals in Gaza are expected to run out of generator fuel within the next 24 hours, according to the organisation.


ITV News Correspondents Emma Murphy and Dan Rivers discuss the conflict expanding and the potential visit President Biden plans to make to the Middle East


Israel's military has said it is planning to launch an "air, sea and land offensive" into Gaza, but has not specified when it will take place.

More than one million people in northern Gaza have been ordered to evacuate south by Israel, with at least 500,000 people having completed the journey, according to the IDF.

Khan Younis has seen its population nearly double in size since the order was made after hundreds of thousands of people flooded into the city.

On Monday afternoon Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Parliament at least six British citizens were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israel, with a further ten missing.


ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston reports on today's discussion in the House of Commons on the ongoing conflict

He also said the British government had organised eight flights evacuating 500 people from Israel.

Mr Sunak called the actions by Hamas a "pogrom" and called for " the immediate release of all hostages."

The prime minister also said "we stand with British Muslim communities too" announcing £10m worth of support for Palestinians and saying he had spoken to Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about getting aid into Gaza.


Plestia Alqad, 22, a journalist from Gaza, takes ITV News through the reality of those living on the Gaza Strip, describing her home as a "ghost town".


US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Israel on Monday after completing a frantic six-country tour through Arab nations, which was aimed at preventing the fighting from igniting a broader regional conflict.

It is understood President Joe Biden is also considering a trip to Israel, although no final decision has been made. On Monday, he postponed a trip to Colorado to stay in Washington and focus on ongoing issues in Israel and Gaza.

In a television interview broadcast on Sunday night, President Biden, who has repeatedly proclaimed support for Israel, said he thought it would be a "big mistake" for the country to reoccupy Gaza.

Elsewhere, Israel said it was evacuating 28 residential communities that are within 2km of its northern border with Lebanon.

The news follows renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants over the weekend, which left at least one Israeli dead and injured several others on both sides.


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