The US urges Israel to do more to spare civilians in Gaza and continues hostage talks
The Israeli military said on Sunday that the hostages, all Israelis, had tried to use leftover food to make signs calling for help. The men emerged from a building shirtless, carrying a makeshift white flag, and tried to tell approaching Israeli soldiers in Hebrew that they were civilians, the military said.
The deaths have caused widespread fear in Israel and prompted renewed calls for a pause in the fighting so that more hostages can be released. On Monday, Hamas released the first video of hostages since the exchange agreement collapsed.
The video showed three men, bearded and seated. One of them speaks into the camera and identifies himself as a 79-year-old from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where Hamas militants have kidnapped more than 70 people. The video contains subtitles in English that do not directly match the Hebrew words used by the hostage, who calls for the prisoners’ release.
The Israeli government and military have dismissed such videos as “psychological warfare.”
At the United Nations, the Security Council on Monday pushed back by one day a vote on a resolution calling for more routes for humanitarian aid to Gaza by air, land and sea. The resolution also calls for the immediate release of the hostages and a lasting cessation of fighting. The United States vetoed previous resolutions calling for an immediate, permanent ceasefire.
Concerns are also growing over Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen launching drone and missile attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, a vital shipping lane that has become increasingly dangerous. Britain and the United States said last weekend that their militaries had shot down more than a dozen drones in the area.
On Monday, Mr. Austin said: “Iran’s support for Houthi attacks on commercial ships must stop.”
Shortly afterwards, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a senior member of the Houthis, defended the attacks in an attempt to force Israel to halt its military assault in Gaza. The United States, he saidhas “no right to speak about international law, which has been torn apart by your airstrikes and rockets and buried under the ruins of Gaza and Yemen.”
The war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, which Israeli officials said killed about 1,200 people. About 240 people were taken hostage. Health officials in Gaza say nearly 20,000 people have been killed in the Israeli response.