The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they happen.
IDF: Troops operating at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City following intel on Hamas terror activity
The Israel Defense Forces says troops are operating overnight at the Al-Shifa hospital complex in Gaza City amid intelligence that senior Hamas officials were in the area and using the hospital to plan and carry out terror activity.
In a statement overnight, the military says troops at the hospital were “briefed in advance regarding the importance of preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical teams, and medical equipment” and that Arabic speakers were with the security forces to facilitate communication with patients and staff.
IDF doctors were also on hand, according to the announcement.
The patients and the medical teams were not ordered to evacuate the hospital but the military created pathways for civilians to leave the area, the IDF says.
Once the operation at the hospital is over, “the IDF will continue the humanitarian effort and provide food, water and additional supplies to the patients and civilians in the complex,” the military says.
In an accompanying video message, IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the IDF is conducting a “high-precision operation in limited areas of Shifa Hospital, following concrete intelligence that demanded immediate action.”
“We know that senior Hamas terrorists have regrouped inside the hospital,” he says, “and are using it to command attacks against Israel.”
He says forces have undergone “specified training to prepare them for the sensitive environment and the complex scenarios they may encounter” at the hospital.
“We seek no harm to the civilians Hamas is hiding behind,” he says, adding that the IDF will conduct its operation “with caution and care while ensuring that the hospital continues its important functions.”
Hagari says IDF doctors were with the troops “to assist those in need.”
“We call upon all Hamas terrorists hiding in [the] hospital, surrender immediately. Medical facilities should never be exploited for terror. Hamas must be held accountable,” he says.
The IDF has repeatedly accused Hamas of deliberately operating from civilian areas, including hospitals, schools, mosques, and shelters.
Israel has presented evidence to back up long-standing allegations that Hamas used Al-Shifa Hospital as a major operational hub and command center and that the hospital sat atop tunnels housing headquarters for Hamas fighters using patients as shields. The US has previously corroborated the evidence presented by Israel.
Last month, the New York Times reported that a tunnel underneath Al-Shifa was used extensively by Hamas for military operations and is nearly twice as long as the IDF had previously revealed.
IDF: ‘Suspicious aerial target’ from Red Sea region fell in open area near Eilat
The Israel Defense Forces announced that a “suspicious aerial target” crossed into Israeli territory from Red Sea in southern Israel and “fell in an open area north of Eilat a short time ago.”
“The target was monitored by the Israeli Air Force,” and there are no damage or injuries, the military says in a short statement.
Security cabinet okays departure of Israeli delegation to Doha for hostage talks — report
The security cabinet has approved the departure of the Israeli negotiating delegation to Doha later today (Monday) for talks about a temporary truce in Gaza and a hostage release, Hebrew media reports.
According to Walla, the delegation led by Mossad director David Barnea received a “general mandate” to conduct negotiations, citing a senior Israeli official. Some of the issues related to the talks will need to be weighed and approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant separately, the report says.
Ynet reports that the negotiating team asked for “a significant amount of time to conduct the negotiations so that it would be possible to improve the deal, and to bring an outline that we can stand behind.”
An Israeli official cited by Ynet says: “We need to change the deal, it is important that we arrive with significant flexibility.”
Jordan army says it detected suspicious aerial movements near Syria border
The Jordanian army says its air defense radar system had detected suspicious aerial movements from an unknown source along the border with Syria.
Jets believed to be Jordanian had been heard hovering over the Jordanian city of Irbid and areas near the border crossing with Syria, witnesses say.
The army says an air force squadron had flown to ensure the airspace was not under any threat. It did not say from where the movements came.