Live updates | Israel open to ‘little pauses’ as it bombards Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will have “overall security responsibility” in Gaza “for an indefinite period” after its war with Hamas and expressed openness to “little pauses” in the current fighting to facilitate the release of hostages.

His comments, in an interview that aired late Monday on ABC News, offered the clearest indication yet that Israel plans to maintain control over the territory that is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.

Netanyahu ruled out any general cease-fire without the release of the more than 240 captives seized by Hamas in its Oct. 7 raid into Israel, but he said he was open to “tactical little pauses.” U.S. President Joe Biden had raised the need for humanitarian pauses directly with Netanyahu on a call earlier Monday, but no agreement was reached, the White House said.

The Palestinian death toll in the Israel–Hamas war surpassed 10,000, including more than 4,100 children and 2,640 women, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.

In the occupied West Bank, more than 140 Palestinians have been killed in the violence and Israeli raids. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the fighting, and 242 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.

Roughly 1,100 people have left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing since Wednesday under an apparent agreement among the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas.

Currently:

– Israeli military says it has surrounded Gaza City and is preparing for expected ground battles.

– South Africa recalls diplomatic mission to Israel and accuses it of genocide in Gaza.

– Majority of Israelis are confident in justice of Gaza war, even as world sentiment sours.

– U.S. secretary of state ends Mideast tour with tepid support for pauses in fighting.

– A U.N. official says the average Palestinian in Gaza is living on two pieces of bread a day.

– Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.

Here’s what is happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:

Singapore’s government has warned that anyone who displays or wears emblems linked to the Israel–Hamas war could be jailed, saying the conflict was an “emotive issue” that could disrupt national peace.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement late Monday that Singapore’s laws prohibited the display or wearing of foreign national emblems, including flags and banners of any state. It also warned that promoting or supporting terrorism by exhibiting apparel or paraphernalia with logos of terrorist or militant groups such as Hamas or its military wing, Al-Qassam Brigade, will not be condoned.

Those convicted face up to six months in prison or a fine of up to 500 Singapore dollars ($370) or both. Travelers who wear such apparel can also be denied entry into Singapore, it added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was open to “little pauses” in its fight against Hamas – although it was not clear whether some kind of small stoppage had been agreed to or whether the U.S. was satisfied with the scope of the Israeli commitment.

U.S. President Joe Biden had raised the need for humanitarian pauses directly with Netanyahu on a call earlier Monday, but there was no agreement reached, the White House said. Lulls in the fighting are being sought to facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries and the release of some of the estimated 240 hostages that Hamas seized during its Oct. 7 raid into Israel.

Netanyahu, in an interview Monday night with ABC News, also said there would be no general cease-fire in Gaza without the release of the hostages.

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council has failed again to agree on a resolution on the Israel–Hamas war.

Despite more than two hours of closed-door discussions Monday, differences remained. The U.S. is calling for “humanitarian pauses” and many council members are demanding a “humanitarian cease-fire” to deliver desperately needed aid and prevent more civilian deaths in Gaza.

“We talked about humanitarian pauses and we’re interested in pursuing language on that score,” U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters after the meeting. “But there are disagreements within the council about whether that’s acceptable.”

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier Monday told reporters he wanted an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and a halt to the “spiral of escalation” already taking place from the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Syria to Iraq and Yemen.

Guterres said international humanitarian law, which demands protection of civilians and infrastructure essential for their lives, is clearly being violated and stressed that “no party to an armed conflict is above” these laws. He called for the immediate unconditional release of the hostages Hamas took from Israel to Gaza in its Oct. 7 attack.

China, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, and the United Arab Emirates, the Arab representative on the council, called Monday’s meeting because of the “crisis of humanity” in Gaza, where more than 10,000 people have been killed in less than a month.

JERUSALEM – Israel said it arrested young Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi during a raid early Monday in the occupied West Bank for alleged terrorist activity and incitement.

Now 22, Tamimi gained international recognition as a teenager when she spent eight months in prison for slapping a soldier. Israel treated her actions as a criminal offense, indicting her on charges of assault and incitement.

Israeli troops conducted several raids across the West Bank overnight, and the military statement said Tamimi was arrested for inciting violence on a social media account. The Associated Press could not verify if the account cited by Israel belongs to Tamimi.

TACOMA, Wash. – Hundreds of protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza blocked traffic on Tuesday at the Port of Tacoma, where a military supply ship had recently arrived.

Organizers say they targeted the vessel based on confidential information that it was to be loaded with weapons bound for Israel. Those claims could not immediately be verified. Police said no arrests had been made.

The Defense Department confirmed that the ship is supporting the movement of U.S. military cargo. The Cape Orlando drew similar protests in Oakland, California, on Friday before it sailed to Tacoma.

JERUSALEM – The Israeli military released videos Monday that it said show its ground troops uncovering Hamas rocket launchers in a youth center and near a mosque in northern Gaza. It did not provide the precise locations where the videos were filmed, and the images did not include any visible landmarks, so The Associated Press could not independently confirm the videos.

During its monthlong war against Hamas, Israel has blamed the Islamic militant group for the heavy civilian death toll in Gaza and said it uses civilians as human shields.

Critics say the vast destruction is evidence that Israel’s attacks are disproportionate and don’t take precautions to avoid civilians.

An Israeli strike hit the roof of Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital early Monday, killing a number of displaced civilians sheltering on its top floor and destroying solar panels.

WASHINGTON — CIA Director William Burns is in the Middle East meeting with intelligence partners and leaders of several countries on matters including ones related to the war between Israel and Hamas, a U.S. official said Monday.

Topics include the fate of some 240 people being held hostage by the Hamas militant group in Gaza, and the U.S. commitment to prevent state and nonstate actors from widening the Israel–Hamas war regionally, the U.S. official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Burns’ typically off-the-record travel plans.

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Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer contributed.

WASHINGTON – The Ohio-class submarine that U.S. Central Command announced had sailed into Middle East waters on Sunday is an SSGN, a guided missile submarine variant that is not capable of firing nuclear weapons, a defense official told The Associated Press.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

The vessel was photographed as it transited the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, the defense official said.

On Monday, Pentagon press secretary Brig . Gen. Pat Ryder said the submarine would provide “further support our deterrence efforts in the region.”

Although it’s not unusual for a U.S. submarine to transit the canal, Central Command’s online statement acknowledging the location of an Ohio-class submarine is rare. There are Ohio-class submarines that can fire nuclear weapons known as SSBN, or ballistic missile submarine variants.

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Associated Press writer Tara Copp contributed.

The International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday accompanied a convoy of four ambulances transporting seven critically wounded patients from al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City to the Rafah crossing point into Egypt, Jessica Moussan, a spokesperson for the ICRC told the AP.

The patients were evacuated to Egypt for treatment as part of a deal among Egypt, Israel and Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza. The deal also calls for foreign passport holders to exit the besieged territory to Egypt.

Monday’s evacuation was the first since the crossing was closed over the weekend because of a dispute among Israel, Egypt and Hamas.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip – Palestinians who fled southward on Monday reported a heavy Israeli bombardment overnight of the Shati refugee camp. They said the Israeli military pounded the camp and the area around al-Shifa hospital during a communications blackout.

Houses across the sprawling camp were reduced to the ground, leaving many dead or wounded under the ruble, they said. First responders and medics worked overnight to retrieve the dead and wounded, they said.

Ghassan Abu Sitta, a surgeon at al-Shifa hospital, said the bombardment of the camp shook the hospital’s buildings.